Apologies for taking so long. It was a mix of being busy and also being lazy. But finally here it is.

EDIT 10/29/2020: Fixed some errors as well as expanding the end note. If you're wondering why this chapter was suddenly removed then reuploaded, that is exactly why. I might make some small edits in past chapters later.


Chapter Fifteen - National Watch Association.

After about five more minutes of walking, we finally stopped in front of the correct address. We were at the city center of North Park now, with buildings that were about as tall as ten stories. The streets were busy, teeming to life with cars blaring horns at each other. The adults were just dressed normally, but the kindergarten children that were wandering about (due to them being released from school early) were wearing black robes and holding wooden wands, as if they too were roleplaying the Harry Potter universe. As for us, we found ourselves at the parking lot of a D-Mobile.

"So it seems this is the place." Bebe had her phone out to map out our walk. Now that we've arrived, Bebe turned off her phone and put it away in her right pants pocket.

Wendy folded her arms as she scowled. "Why do I have a feeling this is gonna be some sort of repeat?"

Curiously, I raised my right eyebrow at Wendy. I wasn't even sure what she was on about, given I haven't went inside a D-Mobile store recently. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing...just nothing..." Wendy sighed.

"You guys ready?" The rest of us nodded at Kyle's question. "Alright. Stan, you know what to do."

I nodded back at Kyle again. "Got it." I went up to the door, opened it up, and held it open for the others. After the rest of my party went through into the building, I closed the door behind the rest of us. Then I moved forward through the others until I was front and center in the store.

The walls and ceiling inside the store were close to white. The carpet consisted of multiple shades of dark orange, beige, tan, and brown. As expected of a mobile store, there were racks of electronic equipment and other accessories, such as phone cases, headphones, and even phones themselves. The front desk was empty, and there was a door at the back wall near the right corner. But in front of the front desk were two giant crab-like mutants that stood on their hind legs.

Wendy groaned immediately. "Crab people...not again..."

Kyle looked over at Wendy. "You dealt with crab people too?"

"Yeah," Wendy replied. "They tried to take over the local D-Mobile back in South Park. What about you?"

"They were responsible for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," Kyle replied. I looked away in embarrassment. I can't believe I was stupid enough to become metrosexual in the first place.

Wendy nodded in acknowledgement. "Ah, the metrosexual fad the boys at school did. Gotcha."

The crab person on the left raised its claws. "Welcome to D-Mobile! Can I help you?!"

The rest of my party scrunched up their faces as they gazed at me. "What am I supposed to tell them?" I whispered. But the others shrugged. I turned back to the two crab people. "Yeah, um...we were actually sent here...sort of."

"Your name and D-Mobile number please?!" the crab person on the left said.

"Your name and D-Mobile number please?!" the one on the right repeated.

"Um..." Honestly, I wasn't sure what to say here. I don't even own a D-Mobile phone. But the note told us to go to this building specifically. With nothing else on my mind, I instead took out the note, opened it up, and handed it to the crab person on the left.

When the crab person examined the note, it gasped. Then it went over to the one on the right. The two of them began whispering furiously to each other. I wasn't able to make out what they were saying, but I knew at that moment that this was no normal situation. But then again, our lives can never be normal, can they? The one on the right then pointed to the far back door near the back right corner. "I see you are the special guests. The N.W.A. has been expecting you."

That made me blink in astonishment. Ron Weasley mentioned something about the N.W.A. back at the elementary school, but we didn't know what the acronym stood for, nor would he tell us. Perhaps this crab person might now. "We've heard that acronym being thrown around. What is the N.W.A.?"

"Why the National Watch Association, of course," the crab person on the left replied to me.

"And what exactly do you guys do?" Kyle asked.

"Well we just formed as of recent, though if you want to know a better answer, you'll find answers through the door," the one on the right said.

I turned to the others. "Well, we came this far. Might as well keep going, right?" The others nodded. "Well, time to travel on."

We did as told, going through the door at the back right corner. We arrived next in a pitch black room with no lights whatsoever. "Okay, this is creepy as fuck," Bebe said.

As the words left Bebe's mouth, the lights in the room suddenly turned on. The room was stacked with stainless steel shelves full of cardboard boxes. Some were open, others were closed. There seemed to be double elevator door further down the room. And in front of the door was a blonde boy with short hair, black robes, and a green-and-silver striped tie.

Tyler sighed. "Oh great, another Harry Potter kid..." He then peered closely at the boy. "Wait a minute..."

"Draco Malfoy!" I exclaimed excitedly. If there was one kid in North Park I was hoping to see again, it was him. He had been super helpful to me last time, standing up against Harry Potter, and leading us to safety when the Nazi Zombies attacked North Park.

"I can't believe it's you!" Wendy said with a smile.

Kathy turned to the others before staring at Wendy and me. "You three know each other?"

"Wait, wait, hold on, Draco Malfoy is the good guy here?" Kyle scoffed.

"Stan! Wendy! Am I so glad to see you both again and safe and sound." Wendy and I both hugged Draco tightly for a few moments before separating. He smiled and nodded at us before turning to the others. "And the other six I've not met before. They are your friends, I assume?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm still a warrior, though you probably know this." I held out my right hand towards Wendy. "Wendy's no longer a paladin, she's now a warlock. As for the others..." I first beckoned towards Kyle.

Kyle stepped forward. "I'm Kyle Broflovski, and I'm a shaman."

"I'm Bebe Stevens, and I'm a druid," Bebe said.

"I'm Christopher Howard, though most just call me Chris, and I'm a rogue," Chris said.

"I'm Kathy Freeman, and I'm a mage," Kathy said.

"I'm Tyler Hoffman, and I'm a paladin," Tyler said.

"And I'm Ellen Joseph, and I'm a hunter," Ellen finished.

"And of course I'm Draco Malfoy, head of House Slytherin." Draco made a rather sharp, yet polite bow towards all of us. "You know, I've heard what you guys have done just earlier. To Potter and his gang."

All of us grimaced and cringe. What does Draco even think of this? I know he hates Harry's guts as much as I do, but we kinda went too far. "You did?" Chris replied.

But then Draco laughed. "Can you believe how long have I waited for someone to knock his teeth in?! Holy shit, it was about damn time someone taught him a lesson. I wish I could participate as well, but still, I am ever grateful."

I nodded. "So anyways, Draco, what are you doing here? Didn't think I'd find you here of all places."

But instead, Draco grinned slyly. "Isn't it obvious by now? I've been expecting you eight to find yourselves here. Principal Dumbledore has sent me the word." Just then, the elevator doors opened up, revealing a large elevator room that could fit around twenty people. "Well, looks like the elevator is here. Shall we?"

As the nine of us, alongside Ellen's wolf and Wendy's felhunter, piled in, Kyle then piped up. "So where are we going anyways?"

"Underground and through the sewers," Draco replied. "To visit the N.W.A."

I have a hunch that where the N.W.A. lied might be where we found the Crab People previously here in North Park. But for now, I'll keep silent. The elevator ride took about ten seconds, but once the doors opened, we saw nothing but blackness, barely light in the tunnels. On the other hand, a foul stench of urine, feces, and rot filled my nose, and I gagged and nearly vomited as a result. This was the sewers alright.

Bebe pinched her nose with her right hand as she grumbled. "This place is super grody. Stinks."

"I mean, this is the sewers," Wendy scoffed. "Don't know what you were expecting, Candyland or something?"

"Let's just get this over with," Kyle muttered as he was the second one to exit the elevator, following closely behind Draco.

As we followed Draco out of the elevator through the sewers, Draco brandished his wand and lifted it a few feet in front of his face. A light blue light emitted from the tip of his wand in an orb, and as a result, the orb illuminated many yards away from us, showing us the way. Like before, the sewers were basically large, cylindrical pipes. But where we were specifically was at a three-way fork, with one pipe leading left, another right, and one straight ahead. Luckily, we were on little raised sidewalks so we didn't actually have to walk through dirty water.

"I know the way." Draco pointed his wand straight down as he passed us all, walking ahead. "The path is straight. Come." Without further ado, we followed.

As we walked, Tyler and Chris couldn't help themselves but periodically touch the hand railings. I'm not sure why, and it's not something I'd do myself. "I wouldn't touch the railings if I were you two. Rats probably took a piss on them or something."

"Probably true." Chris simply shrugged his shoulders at me. "But these would make nice trick spots for skateboarding."

Tyler immediately grinned as he used his right elbow to nudge Chris's left hip. "Dude, Chris, you know how slippery everything is here? Imagine speeding down these sewers on a skateboard. Would be a sickass ride, you'd think?"

"The sewers we have back in South Park are just like these, but you also had homeless people living there too," Chris added.

"Sometimes, they might accidentally build little ramps for us too. Makes some nice trick jumps. Fuck the skate park." Tyler then immediately facepalmed and groaned. "God fucking damnit, why didn't I think of this? Bringing our skateboards with us?"

"Would have been too cumbersome, and this sounds like a stupid idea anyways." Kathy scratched her own head. And honestly, I agree with Kathy here. Skateboarding down the sewers does sound like a bad idea.

"Yeah, you should try something safer like me and Kathy," Ellen piped up. "Just like how we both do Lacrosse."

"Ladies." Chris held out his left palm, but it was faced towards the ground. "Let me tell you: lacrosse ain't our style."

Kathy almost choked out a laugh. "Oh, that's why you two and some other boys get hurt all the time."

"Pft, and you think lacrosse is any 'safer'. Nevermind the times the girls team of our school 'accidentally' hit the other team with their sticks." Tyler rolled his eyes as we kept walking. Kyle, Wendy, Bebe, and I shot glances at each other, but we didn't really have much to contribute to the conversation here.

Kathy and Ellen both thinned their lips and narrowed their eyes in embarrassment. "We - we don't do it on purpose..." Ellen muttered.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Sure you don't." He and Tyler looked at each other, then both began to snicker. Gotta be honest; I've seen Kathy and Ellen both play lacrosse sometimes, and I too question whether or not them swinging their sticks at their opponents is truly as much of an accident as they claim.

Kathy folded her arms and scowled. "You two are jerks. Bad boys. Why can't you be good boys like Stan and Kyle?"

"Uh..." I was left speechless. Honestly, I'm not as much of a good boy as people claim I am. If the other kids at school truly knew half the things Kyle and I have done that are morally repugnant we'd be toasted. I guess to Kathy's credit, Kyle and I aren't as obvious about our behavior most of the time.

"I mean, Chris and Tyler do have a point." Kyle raised his right index finger up. "It's not like you two can claim yourselves to exactly be good girls, despite being compared to Wendy and Bebe, who are both well..."

Wendy put her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?" Uh oh. Kyle did it now.

Kyle's eyes widened. We all slowly turned to both Wendy and Bebe who both stared Kyle down. Their expressions seemed inquisitive, as if scrying Kyle closely for any slip-ups in his next words. "It's just uh...well...you know..." Kyle stammered and waves his palms around, unable to find his words. Now I could see where Kyle is going with this; he is correct in his implication that Wendy and Bebe are the bad girls when compared to Kathy and Ellen. Where he fucked up was actually implying this out loud.

"Just 'cause we're cheerleaders means we're bad girls?" I rubbed my own fingers in anticipation of coming conflict as Bebe spoke. But then Bebe grinned. "...because you're right, Kyle."

Wendy ran her left hand through her own hair and whipped it backwards. "We can't all be good girls, you know?" The rest of our jaws dropped; needless to say, this was not the reaction I expected out of Wendy or Bebe.

I turned to Draco, who too was pale with embarrassment as watched us from the corner of his right eye while leading us. "Sorry about that, Draco, it's...uh..."

But Draco held out his left hand, as if telling me to halt. "Your business is your own. I understand."

We all stared at Draco now. "We made things real awkward, didn't we?" Wendy asked.

"We did," Bebe replied.

"Still though." Kathy turned back to Ellen. "Lacrosse did teach us one thing, Ellen."

Ellen glanced back over at Kathy. "And what would that be?"

"Um..." Kathy then paused. It was quite clear she didn't think her statement through. "...play to win, I guess?" To that, Ellen rolled her eyes and sighed. Kathy then turned towards me. "Stan, when you and Kyle play football, what do you two learn? Like what do you two get out of it?"

Kyle and I both glanced at each other. I shrugged my shoulders before speaking, "I mean...football we because it's...fun, you know?"

Kyle nodded in agreement. "Yeah, totally. Just like how you two have fun playing lacrosse, or how Chris and Tyler have fun skateboarding. Unless you mean to tell me you both don't have fun. I mean, not everything has to have some deeper meaning, ya know?"

"It's not that we hate it, it's uh..." Ellen's voice trailed off into silence.

"My parents forced me to play a school sport," Kathy replied. "They wanted me to 'be involved' in school and its curriculum. Like I haven't had enough of crap from school already. So eventually we both just ended up choosing lacrosse."

"I only joined because I didn't want to feel left out or anything," Ellen replied. "I just wanted to fit in or something. That's it."

"Ah, that's your issue," Kyle replied. "You gotta find something you enjoy truly. Like how Chris and Tyler like skateboarding - which by the way, how did you two pick up skateboarding anyhow?"

Tyler exhale as he held out his right palm. "Well, skateboarding was one thing that always seemed to interest me. I wanted one, but my parents would never buy one for me as they thought it was a waste of time. There were these bratty rich kids from Denver who were visiting South Park in second grade on skateboards, and me and a few friends took them by force."

Well that was quite a story. Sure I've done fucked up shit, but rarely out of selfishness. On the other hand, this was much tamer than what Cartman's ever done. "Oh, uh..." I turned to Chris. "What about you?"

"Tyler got me into skateboarding in third grade. He taught me everything he knew." Chris shook his head. "I remember my parents were fighting one day. While they were too busy, I simply stole money from my mom's purse and went off to buy a skateboard myself."

"Wow, uh..." Bebe went speechless.

"Those are quite the stories, I'll admit," Wendy concluded.

"Hey, at the end of the day, they are honest about their hobbies and intentions, like how me and Stan like football," Kyle spoke.

Wendy scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Oh please, the only reason you and Stan play football is to try to get the attention of the girls."

Okay, Wendy was totally right; you just can't hide your motivations from her, ever. Kyle and I did pick up football just to show how badass we were. But of course, there was no way in hell I'm going to admit that aloud. It would be embarrassing for the both of us, especially in front of the girls. "Wh - what? No we totally don't, we just think it's cool."

"Yeah, that's right!" Kyle agreed.

Chris and Tyler were both busy snickering quietly, those two assholes. Thankfully, Wendy immediately turned her sights on the other two boys. "Oh don't act like you two aren't in it for the chicks either. Why else would you do school activities?"

Chris simply narrowed his eyes at Wendy while Tyler put his hands on his own hips. "We don't do skateboarding to attract girls, you idiot," Tyler asserted. "Weren't you listening at all?"

"Yeah, but that's why you both joined the soccer team, right?"

Ooh, good one Wendy. That's right. They can deny it all they want, but they joined soccer for the same reason Kyle and I joined football - to get the girls. Predictably, both blushed, their cheeks reddening in embarrassment. Chris buried his face into his scarf, muttering things unintelligibly. Tyler on the other hand gritted his teeth in fury, although he was no less embarrassed than Chris was. "We did not!"

Ellen smirked and put her right arm around Tyler. "Tyler, come on, you have to admit you wanted to show me you're badass."

Chris muttered, "I hate you all. That is all."

"And what about you two?" Kyle asked, pointing at Wendy and Bebe. "You both only joined cheerleading for the popularity too."

"That's true, but at least we're both the ones who are honest about our intentions." Bebe grinned as she put both hands on her hips. "Same can't be said for you four boys, can't it?"

"I won't forget what you told me that one time when you decided to make a Kickstarter, Stan." Wendy giggled. "'Dripping in bitches.'"

"Oh God..." I still couldn't believe how poorly my friends and I treated everyone else at school when we went off to make a Kickstarter, culminating in Butters burning down the school gym.

"Besides, the boys who are a fan of us are kinda cute," Bebe admitted.

Wendy laughed softly. "They are, a bit. Like the ones in our class. Especially Clyde, he's constantly trying to hit on me. I mean, he is kinda cute, but he is also creepy too." Okay, this is getting a bit awkward now. I guess we're steering the conversation to cutest boys in our class? And didn't they make a list of that already, which almost caused Kyle to burn the school down? On the other hand, that was one thing that annoyed me about Clyde: his admiration of Wendy. Sometimes, I worry that he'll just try to steal her away from me.

"What if we made a new, real cutest boys list?" Bebe asked. "One without all the drama about Clyde and shoes this time?"

"As long as Cartman gets put in last place, I think I would like that very much," Wendy grinned. She turned to Kathy and Ellen. "Well you heard us. Next meeting, we're making another cutest boys list, so better start brainstorming your placements now, you two."

"Oh, great..." the rest of us groaned and rolled our eyes in unison. Yeah, that's exactly what we all needed; for boys to be objectified again, then ultimately culminating into some bullshit such as Kyle attempting to burn the school down.

The path ahead dipped into the sewer water through metal stairs. Draco was the first one who made it into the water, and he was submerged up to his stomach. Given that we all were about as tall as Draco (as he was the same age as us), we knew the rest of us were going to stink past our waistlines as well. "We'll have to wade through the sewage here."

"Eugh...isn't there any other way?" Kathy grimaced, shaking her head in disapproval.

"If there were another way, I would have taken you through, sorry," Draco apologized.

Ellen sighed. "We have no choice."

Chris was the second person to walk down. He nearly slipped, struggling for balance before landing feet first into the water, and managed to stay standing. "Woah! Shit! Damn, it's slippery." I noticed his facial features. He was cringing and shivering. Something tells me this isn't gonna be good.

"How's the water?" Kyle asked.

"What do you think?" Chris grumbled softly.

When it was my turn to walk into the water, the water was above my waist. And as Chris mentioned, I could feel the deep chill of the sewer water. Nevermind the stink, my lower torso was already beginning to feel a bit numb, though hopefully I would get used to the temperature in time. Afterwards, our entire group continued forward.

"Ugh, I hate this, this place stinks and now I think I stink too now," Bebe complained, being the last to enter the water.

Tyler folded his arms. "Oh stop bitching. We all have to do this shit."

"Why don't you shapeshift into your aquatic form?" Ellen asked. "You would get there faster than we would, and as a sea lion, you'd probably be warmer and better insulated too in this freezing water."

Bebe clenched her teeth and glared at Ellen. "Why do you always have the worst ideas?"

"What's wrong with that?" Kathy asked. "She made some really good points. You're a druid, we're not, so we can't shapeshift, might as well take advantage of your special abilities."

"Because, you twits, I'll be fully wet from this sewer water, even after I shapeshift back into my human form again. And I really don't want to be soaked in this shit." Bebe does have a good point herself, and it's not like she would know where to go without Draco leading us. On the other hand, while I understand the aspect of wading through urine-filled water while stepping on feces isn't a desirable aspect to anyone, she didn't have to be a jerk about it.

"I could try using my magic to freeze the water so that we could walk on it," Kathy suggested.

"That would be bad, you dumbass," Bebe retorted. "Either we'd all end up frozen, or we'd just slip on ice anyways."

Wendy put her hands together as a bright fireball lit in her hands, flickering wildly. "I'll hold this fire. It should keep us a bit warm."

"Wendy, are you kidding me?" Bebe warned. "You're gonna light something on fire, come on now."

Wendy muttered underneath her breath as she extinguished her flame. Tyler held his hands together this time, holding a ball of holy light. "Okay, I guess I'll be the light source then."

Bebe scoffed, shaking her head. "With you and your small mana pool? You're wearing full strength gear, same as Stan."

Tyler groaned, putting out his light as he folded his arms. "He sacrificed strength for armor penetration, thank you very much."

"Shoulda specced as a healer, or at least brought intellect gear besides just a mace and shield," Bebe retorted.

At this point, I've had about enough of Bebe's complaining. Sure, I don't like walking through this as anyone else, but this is getting out of hand. "Oh stop it, Bebe. There's no reason to act like this." At least Bebe didn't make any sort of retort this time.

"Stan, you have to admit I'm right this time - because I'm actually right," Bebe refuted.

Kyle sighed. He moved over to Bebe's right side. "Hey, we'll be fine. I know we had a long day but there's no need to take it out on others. I'll walk with you by your side of you want." He slightly extended his left arm out.

Bebe smiled at Kyle. "It would be my pleasure." She wrapped her right arm around Kyle's left arm as the couple followed Draco closely behind.

As we continued wading through the dirty water, I glanced over at the rest of our party. They were all staring at Bebe and Kyle while snickering and giggling. I then heard Wendy's voice whisper into my right ear. "Don't they look so cute together? And yet they act like they aren't anything at all, tee hee."

"Who, Kyle and Bebe?" As I whispered, Wendy nodded. "Ah. Yeah, they do look nice together."

"You both aren't wrong," Ellen whispered to Wendy and me.

"Kyle and Bebe sitting in a tree," Kathy giggled. "K-I-"

"W-what?" Apparently, Kyle heard us. "We aren't dating!" In panic, he immediately retracted his left arm, letting go to Bebe, while lightly shoving Bebe away.

Of course, Bebe lost balance as she fell into the water, making a splash while being submerged. "Bebe!" Of course, my heartrate shot up. I doubt Bebe would drown here, but still, one would think it would be prudent to get her standing up as soon as possible.

As I managed to speed up to her, another splash was made, raining cold sewer water down on the rest of us, and out from the water came not Bebe, but rather a small gray sea lion. Wait, what the hell? What the fuck was a baby sea lion doing in these sewers?

But the sea lion spoke now, and from what I heard, it sounded exactly like Bebe's voice as it stood up as it pointed its right flipper at Kyle. "Kyle, you are such a jerk!" Turns out she did indeed shapeshift into her aquatic form. Kyle, of course, was speechless.

I turned back to the rest of our group, who were all just as completely drenched as I was now. Draco, Ellen's wolf, and Wendy's demon stared blankly at the rest of us. Kyle looked down into the water, embarrassed. The others glared angrily at Bebe. "Good job, retard!" Tyler yelled. "You got us all completely wet now!"

"Fuck you too!" Bebe shot back.

"Happy now?" Chris asked sarcastically.

"Actually, I think I am." Bebe made one last scoff before completely submerging herself back into the water. Given that she's a sea lion now, she can basically just stay in the water for the rest of our travel to where we needed to go.

"I swear to God, next list I make, I'm making 'Whiniest Kids in School' and putting Bebe in the number one spot," Wendy muttered.

Bebe poked her head out of the water. "I heard that, jackass," before submerging herself again.

"Let's just keep going you guys," I suggested. "We had a long day, so let's make it quick."

"I must agree with Stan," Draco added. "This way, people."

What we saw next would eventually catch us off guard. As the nine of us traversed the sewers, the sewer pipe eventually led into a rocky cavern, just like before. Only this time, there was no boulder blocking our path. The narrow tunnel diverged into a large clearing. The path dipped into a circular room made of stone whose radius is about at least ninety yards long. Unlike last time, it wasn't just a mostly-empty room with a bunch of crab people. This time, there were various wooden tables set up throughout the large room, with weapon racks full of medieval weaponry (such as swords and axes) around the perimeter of the room. There were about thirty kids our age dressed in all black robes with green and silver ties, as if also a part of House Slytherin. This, however, was not the part that threw us off.

What did throw us off was seeing precisely thirty other fourth graders that we knew all too well, alongside even younger children. To be exact, it was the other children from our class. Kenny was front and center of it all, dressed in his usual anime princess outfit. Kelly, the girl that was from "Getting Gay With Kids" and the girl Wendy and I rescued from vampires previously, was by his side. A lot of the Alliance members were from our class. However, what threw me off further was the fact that part of the Amazons, or girls, were here - more specifically the girls from my class. Heidi Turner, the girls' leader, was rather thrilled at the aspect of our arrival, a smile full of joy on her face. The other girls as well were cheering us on as well.

Bebe arrived first, shifting back into her human form. "Thank God we're outta there."

"You're all here?" I asked.

Kenny walked up to my party. He held out his left hand and chuckled softly. "You really think we're gonna let you do this alone, Stan?"

Kyle put his right hand on his right hip. "I don't understand, how'd you all know to come here?"

Kenny pointed straight at Draco. "You can thank him for that one. And you guessed it right, he did create the N.W.A."

"What does that stand for again?" Wendy asked.

"National Watch Association," Kelly replied. "Not what you're thinking of."

Butters came up to us, still dressed like the same paladin as ever, without any changes at all. He inspected each of us before pinching his nose with his nose. "Pee ew, why are you all so stinky? Did you go diving into the sewer water looking for treasure again?" Butters, I swear to God, I wanna strangle you right now.

"Don't ask," Chris growled, giving Butters a death stare. Thank you Chris for saving me the energy of having to strangle Butters.

Butters took one look at Chris before backing away cautiously, leaving us alone. Just after he left, Heidi came up to us now. She too inspected each and every one of us. She then frowned, giving us a more apologetic look, as she looked down at the ground. "Hey, uh, sorry for yesterday, me trying to beat you all up and all."

"Hey, it's no worries," Kyle reflected. "We kinda did a shitty job explaining ourselves anyways." He stuck out his right hand before realizing how drenched he was. "Oh, uh...probably best you don't shake hands with me, hehe." Kyle immediately retracted his hand after.

"I didn't realize what was going on until the others told me." Heidi glanced back towards the girls before making eye contact with me again. "And yeah, in case you're wondering, the girls in our class are rejoining the Alliance."

"You have House Slytherin by your side too," Draco added. That was it. Draco's and Heidi's words triggered a brief memory within me - a very recent one in fact. "Anyways, I'll be getting the others ready." Draco then left the conversation.

"What were you going to say?" Ellen likely wanted to be polite, allowing Principal Dumbledore to continue.

Principal Dumbledore smiled. "I would like to officially retract that statement and instead tell you eight this: help will always be there for those who deserve it."

"You really think we're worthy?" I'm in the same boat as Kyle here. I'm not sure if we're worth all the trouble.

"Yes indeed," Principal Dumbledore replied. "I trust you eight know what needs to be done and can do so in a timely manner, yes?" We all nodded silently. "Remember my words, for you eight will never be alone."

"I appreciate it," Wendy replied.

Kenny groaned. "I tried to get others in on this. Spoke with Cole Dimmons, Lucy van Pelt, and the likes. But they said no." At least Kenny tried. Charlie Brown's crew I'm not surprised - they're too passive. But Cole on the other hand, after everything we did for him last time, he still refuses to care for us? That stupid asshole!

So this was the help we're going to get. This was what we deserved. "I think we owe Principal Dumbledore a big one." I turned to Wendy, who was also standing there. "Two big ones, in fact."

"You can thank him later," Kenny replied. "But right now, we got another issue. You see, we actually captured a KND member. This one claims to be the head leader of the entire organization."

We all gasped. Tyler then asked, "Wait, how the hell did you guys already capture the head boss?"

"Well, you see..." Kelly looked over at Kenny before adding, "...she actually turned herself in." Kelly then retreated away from the conversation.

"What?!" our entire party exclaimed. Truthfully, I'm just as surprised as the rest of us. Why the hell would the leader of a rival organization willingly turn herself in this early? Perhaps we'll find out soon.

"She told us some stuff, but we can take you to her if you want," Kenny said.

"Show us," Wendy said quickly without hesitation.

Towards the back of the giant room we were in was a metal cage, just like the ones we found in the basements of Leven's and Winter's houses. This time, inside the cage sat one girl alone who was our age. She had blonde hair, an orange jacket, a pair of dark teal pants, and a viking helmet on her head. Currently she had her back turned towards us, but once we approached she stood up and turned towards our direction. She was silent, only staring at us. I wasn't sure what to think, given I have never seen this girl before in my life, but if her KND leader status was any indication, I don't think I'm going to get some friendly vibes at all from her.

"Well, this is her, the leader," Kenny said. "Claims her name is Rachel." The caged girl nodded in agreement.

"They call me 'Number Three-Hundred Sixty Two'," Rachel replied.

"What the hell does that mean?" Kyle asked. "That there's at least three-hundred sixty two of you?"

"Well, that wouldn't be...we actually get to choose our numbers." Her voice was soft, almost as if depressed about something. Oddly for a leader of an enemy group, she was right now being far more cooperative than I had originally anticipated.

"So they made you leader, huh?" I asked.

Wendy scanned Rachel entirely, taking in everything. Her face went from angry to sad now. "I...I take it something happened to you. Something that may be your fault."

"Well, sort of, not entirely..." Rachel groaned. "I came to you all because I need your help."

"Our help?" Tyler rolled his eyes. "You need our help? Last I checked, your group of shitheads put a hit out on us!"

"Maybe we should see what she had to say," I said.

"Oh no, Stan," Bebe rejected as she moved next to Tyler. "She's probably with them still, she's the leader! I bet this is a trap."

Kyle stood next to Bebe as well. "I have to admit, I'm on their side. Who knows what they have planned, especially if Cartman is a part of it all too?"

Chris nodded as he stood with Tyler, Kyle, and Bebe. "You know you can't trust the enemy."

But Wendy, Kathy, and Ellen stood by my side. "I truly trust in her," Wendy stated. "Why else would she come here out of her own volition? And I can see it in her, her voice, the way she speaks. I can tell she's not trying to lure us." I trust in Wendy's judgement over anyone else here, really because I know how socially perceptive she is.

"I think so too, especially when she's willing to turn herself in..." Kathy looked over at Kenny as she raised her right index finger. "Wait, Kenny, she didn't have some sort of tracker on her, did she?"

Kenny shook his head. "Nope, and we took away all her stuff, so yeah."

Kathy nodded as she sighed in relief. "Okay, good."

Ellen shrugged both her shoulders. "I'm not sure, really, but then again, she's being pretty cooperative so far."

"It's all a front, a trap." Chris grumbled, his usual scowl showing on his face. "She'll take us out first chance she gets."

None of them really seem to get it, do they? I guess I'll have to explain it to them the long way. "Look, it doesn't matter at all how you feel about her or not, you guys are all being dumb." The rest of my party, alongside Kenny, looked at me inquisitively. "You guys are forgetting one important detail: we have nothing to go off of specifically in terms of Cartman and the Lasso. We're in North Park, great - now what? Except we don't know jack shit. And Rachel here is the only one who could give us answers about either of them or the KND - whatever they are."

There was silence on all sides. But Tyler, Chris, Kyle, and Bebe didn't budge, their begrudging glares still trained mostly on Rachel. They all shook their heads disapprovingly. On the other side was Kathy, Ellen, Wendy, and myself, who was more apologetic to Rachel's cause. Kenny looked between us then muttered, "Guess I'm the tiebreaker here then, huh?" Without another second to spare, he walked up to the cage. "Alright, you're going to tell us everything you know, and I mean everything. And if Wendy here-" Kenny briefly pointed at Wendy, "-thinks you're bullshitting, then so help me God-"

"Alright, alright!" Out of frustration, Rachel put her right hand on her forehead as she blew off steam through her nostrils. She put her hand down before eyeing each and every one of us. "Yes, I am the leader of the Kids Next Door...or was the leader until rather recently."

"How long ago?" Kyle asked.

"Tuesday or so, I think." Rachel leaned her back onto the backside of the cage. "It all happened so fast. The entirety of my organization was swooned by that pink-haired kid. Ray I think he is, and the person he was with was Cartman, which I think you already know. But Ray, that kid, he has some special power...to make friends so fast, and that fat kid, he used the pink-haired kid." Well Rachel was confirming what we already know - Douchebag's special power to make so many friends so quickly with such little effort, like taking candy from a baby, really.

"So what happened next?" Wendy inquired. "And why?"

"The fat kid took charge. Next thing I knew, I was being ran out of town." Rachel frowned deeply as she let her head fall slightly down, breaking eye contact with us. "Do you know why the Kids Next Door was formulated in the first place?" The rest of my party just stared at each other, because honest to God none of us even heard of this organization before. "Adults have so much power over children's lives, and you know, they say power can corrupt in a sense." She glanced up again. "You all act like adults, par for the course for any South Park kid. At the end of the day, we just want kids to live happy and healthy lives. And if there's one holiday that lets us embody that, it's Christmas...do you see where I'm going with this?"

Oh no. This is exactly what we prevented from Cartman from doing before when we were playing superheroes. And he's really going to try this shit again? "Not this again..."

Rachel faced me. "So you do know what's going to happen?"

"Yeah, he's tried this shit before, once," Kyle replied. "And let me guess: he's using the Kids Next Door to carry out this plan?"

"Exactly, yeah!" Rachel nodded.

"What about the Lasso of Truth?" I asked. "Why does he want that? What is he using it for?"

"He just wants to hold it so that 'Stan, Kyle, and Wendy, those...,' well, he said some bad words after, but his point is to not let those three get their hands on it for...something. I don't know what though." Well, this basically confirmed what we already figured out.

"So basically shit we already know," Tyler replied.

Rachel stared at each and every one of us. "Wow you guys really are like adults...do you all swear all the time?"

"Well..." Bebe fell silent for a moment. "...sometimes?"

"More like all the fucking time," Kathy snickered.

Rachel shook her head once more. "Anyways...look, you all want to know where that Lasso is, right?" The rest of us nodded swiftly. "Done a little scouting on my own time. But needless to say, it's at the North Park Airport. Far north at the outskirts of town." We all beamed with delight. "But the thing is that the rest of the KND probably also figured this out too."

Tyler made a fist with his right hand and slammed it into his own left palm. "Then we gotta get there fast. Beat Cartman to it."

"But we can't take on the KND by ourselves." Yeah, just the eight of us and we'll be completely outnumbered.

"No, but you have the entire N.W.A. with you, right?" Rachel pointed past us. She's right. We do have backup. I'm so glad we aren't in this alone, and I'm so glad the people around us are the ones we're closest to.

Kenny had already left us and had gathered the entire crowed as he stood up on a stage to prepare his speech. I rarely ever see him give any sort of speech, and I honestly can't remember his last one. But this time I can feel he wanted to be up there, with a righteous purpose. Quite odd for a fellow who hides himself in his hood all the time. "That's right, guys! Thanks to the KND Betrayer over there-" Kenny briefly pointed in our direction to the cage where Rachel sat in before turning his attention back to the crowd, "we know where the enemy will be!"

"O-o-oh, that is way too much pressure!" Tweek was at the front, shaking as per usual. Poor guy, he's always having anxiety issues. "I-I-I d-don't know if I could do this!"

Kenny walked down the stage up to Tweek and put his right hand on Tweek's right shoulder. "You hurt, soldier?"

"N-n-no," Tweek replied.

Kenny made one harsh shake onto Tweek's right shoulder. "Then listen up!" Kenny then got back upon the stage and turned to face the crowd again. "Usually the good Lord works in mysterious ways. But not today! We got real wizards, masters of the Dark Arts, from House Slytherin, who can blow any motherfucker up on sky high! We also got the girls too, who can stand up to them KND assholes like nobody's business, pound their asses in harder than any self-proclaimed 'strong female character' ever could! We have one hell of an Alliance! If God is love, then you can call me Cupid!"

"...he completely stole that speech from Halo, didn't he?" Tyler whispered to me.

"Yeah he did." Tyler wasn't wrong at all.

"What about Cartman himself?" Sally Turner, from the crowd, asked Kenny.

"He's a damn coward, but he'll show up when he does." Kenny motioned his right hand towards my party now. "Stay with the Octopath Travelers. They'll know what to do." Okay, I'm not even sure I know what I'm doing. I feel like I'm the one under the pressure now as they're all expecting me to lead them.

"Thy will be done, your majesty!" Everyone in my class (besides my party) knelt down in respect. The Slytherin kids just stood up awkwardly, unsure of what to do or why.

"Guys," Rachel called out from the cage. "Take me with you. Please. The key is on the table next to you."

As I walked over to the key and picked it up, Kyle called out to me. "Stan, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. I think Rachel is with us." When I unlocked the cage, she opened it up.

She briefly walked around to the back. When she came around back to us, she was holding a black warhammer over her shoulder, and she had several small leather bags strapped to her waist. "The KND was my doing, my creation, my responsibility. We're completely compromised now with Cartman at its lead. I will see this to the end, even if I have to completely destroy the KND." She unstrapped one leather bag from her waist. She flipped it upside-down, and white sand fell onto the ground. A moment later, shadow energies erupted and a ghoul rose up, a synthetic, undead child-imitation with its spine and ribcage completely exposed with blood droplets, and fingers turned into sharp claws.

"You're a Death Knight!" Ellen exclaimed. "You live with us in South Park. But you don't go to our school - I never seen you around." I haven't seen Rachel around either, and I didn't know she existed until today.

"A level twenty, just like you eight." Rachel turned to her undead minion. "Come along, my servant. We have much work to do."


Our entire N.W.A. force exited out on the north side, just as I did last time when I was to head to the Sol Lighthouse. We finally made it into a snowy clearing. Some of the kids were complaining about the smell of the sewers, but Kenny stood front and center, and everyone else eventually fell into silence.

"We will march to the airport and show that fat fuck and his KND cohorts what we're of, and we're gonna kick bubble gum and chew ass...wait, I think I got that backwards." Yeah Kenny, you did get that backwards. "Irregardless, who's with me?!"

"Yeah!" The rest of us cheered with delight.

"Onward! To victory!"

Without further ado, we all began to march towards the airport, with Kenny at the lead. Our group was just behind Kenny, with the other forces further back. The other children were having various conversations about what to expect at the airport and from the KND. Kyle and Bebe, however, had something different in mind.

"You ever feel like questioning yourself Kyle?" Bebe asked. "Wondering if what you're doing is right?"

Kyle laughed. "Believe me, Bebe, I ask myself that quite often. Even when Cartman is involved. Especially when Cartman is involved." Kyle tilted his head at Bebe. "Why? Something eating at you?"

"Well, no, sorta, it's just..." Bebe lifted her left sleeve to scratch at her elbow. "It's just that we're kinda supposed to be the heroes of the story. Like what you or Stan said yesterday, right?" I believe it was Kyle who mentioned that we could be heroes yesterday when we were in Middle Park. "It's been getting me thinking: what would we do once we find Cartman and Douchebag? Because based on our track record, it's not like we're that heroic either."

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

Bebe let her left sleeve fall to cover her entire left arm again. "We didn't really have to fight Harry Potter or really beat him up earlier - or his friends either for that matter." I'll have to disagree with Bebe on that one, given how nasty those North Park kids can be.

"I don't know, I'm not sure we had any other choice." Apparently Kyle agrees with me too.

"Do the ends justify the means?" Bebe put her hands in her pockets.

Kyle nodded. "I get it now. You're wondering if we'll do the same to Cartman. Sometimes, doing the right thing means making sacrifices, perhaps for yourself or others so that...you know, justice or something could be carried out. To benefit others."

"Is it really though?" Bebe shook her head. "I hate to call out out on this, but let's recount. There was the time you wanted to make sure boys weren't bullying girls anymore...and had Canada nuked in the process."

"Bebe, I couldn't have ever foresaw that outcome, you know this." Well, I didn't know this either.

"Okay, different example-" Bebe pointed straight at Wendy. "What about Wendy and her crusade against photoshop? Just turned into her making fun of Lisa Berger for her flaws - the same reasons why everyone makes fun of her." Wendy frowned and stared at the ground. "What about Stan's bullying video, which just ended up in Butters punching, or kicking, Dr. Oz in the balls - or something like that, and our school got sued because of that?" I must admit: I'm still embarrassed about that to this very day.

Kyle nodded again. "I get your point now. Every time we try to do something good, it backfires horribly. I remember when I revealed my dad to be skankhunt42 later on. I thought it was justice. I thought girls would finally accept boys again. But instead made us look even worse."

When Kyle exposed his dad, the obvious outcome was that their family went in turmoil. The second outcome, however, was that it somehow "proved" that boys and men were not to be trusted as authority figures. This made relationships worse between both genders. Hell, the rift lasted so long that the conflict even happened until apparently today, when they had to set aside their difference to take out Cartman, and although it was important to note that there were various lengths of time where boys and girls got along well to the point of sporadic relationships, the rivalries at large still persisted.

"There is this old saying..." Bebe rubbed her chin a little. "'We judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by their actions.' It's clear that you truly wanted the gender war to end, but the other girls...even myself, used to think that you were only in it to save your own skin like the coward we thought you were." Woah, what the hell? Since when did Bebe get so wise?

"You're absolutely right," Kyle agreed. "But still...every time we try, no matter our intent, it's like God hates us, as if he wants to see us burn?"

"It always does, because we get misunderstood, or we just look more like a jackass." Bebe glanced up at the afternoon sky. "Once upon a time, I would have sought to be something great, like a marine biologist. But the shit we've been through, the shit we've done...this world can sorta burn for all I care. Not literally - sorta figuratively, if you catch my drift. They deserve it all. That is my intent. To show that I'm no pushover to the world. Because that's justice. It's what my peers taught me."

Kyle placed both his hands on his hips. "'Do unto others as others do unto you.' Can you truly believe that's justice, or is it purely vengeance?"

"I'd like to believe that justice is my intent..." Bebe groaned. "...but it doesn't matter now."

There was silence for a few moments. But Kyle spoke up once more. "Do you remember that list you girls made? The one that rated the boys' looks?"

"How could I forget?" Bebe replied quietly. "The boys at school are still probably scared of me a bit."

"You remember what I tried to do?" Kyle asked. "You know-"

Bebe grabbed Kyle's left hand with both of her own. "Kyle, I swear, I didn't mean to - I didn't think it would come to this. I was just being selfish for shoes, you have to believe me."

Kyle didn't try to yank himself away. "Do you understand how I felt?"

Bebe let go of Kyle's hand as she scratched the back of her head with her left hand. "A...a little bit, maybe."

"I thought the whole world was cruel and cold, that it needed to burn down, pay for its malevolence. And yet..." This time, Kyle grabbed Bebe's right hand with his left and slowly lifted it. "...here you are, feeling the same as I do. Except I only felt that for a week or whatever. You, it seems that you've had it in you for...quite some time."

"I think I get it now," Bebe mused. "That we're never alone."

"That's right. We both know how we feel. We can help each other. We can mutually benefit." Kyle let go of Bebe's hand. "A question, if I may?"

"Go for it," Bebe nodded.

Kyle put both his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Because I think we can all tell you have sort of a crush on me, I think." Bebe's cheeks burned red as she smiled slightly and looked off to her left side. "Just...I guess, what do you see in me? I'm not - I'm not gonna yell at you or anything or get mad, just...you know..."

"I'll be honest, you're quite handsome." Kyle smiled with delight. "But there's more to it, Kyle. Most guys, you know, they just live, they want to get a date, they get a date, eventually get married years later in adulthood, have kids, life goes on. They're like robots, you know? But when I look at you and see the way you interact with others...I know deep down you have something others do not." Bebe thrusted her right index finger straight into Kyle's chest, where his heart was located.

Kyle looked down at Bebe's finger. "A heart?"

"Exactly." Bebe retracted her right arm. "You know what I like about you? It's that you don't give up. Even when the world is against you. That you'd learn and compromise, and every single 'I learned something today' speech, no matter how corny or downright hilarious they may be, they're all...all too real, if you know what I mean. And even when they laugh and call you names, you don't let up. Me, I..." Bebe sighed. "...I guess I took a different route. I guess it's easier to step on people than to help people learn."

Kyle frowned. He put his left arm around Bebe. "Bebe, it's alright. You're not like Cartman, you're not a complete monster. If nothing else, you look up to me because you like my personality. That has to count for something, right? That's much more to say than Cartman, right?"

"Yeah...I guess that's true," Bebe spoke slowly.

"You're clever and smart, and I mean that seriously," Kyle nodded. "I just think you need a bit of guidance and direction, but I can tell, based on what I saw earlier, that you can definitely put your mind into a good cause and never falter from it."

Wendy has matchmade the two of them together back in third grade because Bebe did really have a crush on Kyle then. As for myself, I never really saw Kyle with Bebe; I would have imagined he would be someone much more similar to himself and his ideals. Bebe of course I thought was a diva and quite literally the embodiment of a backstabbing bitch, something that the likes of people like Chris and Kathy would never get along with. But listening to the conversation here, Bebe does have a tender and sensitive side, but the people around her never lets her express that. As for Kyle, I hate to say that lately, I've even seen less of his caring side. From the mistakes he has made in the past (and said mistakes even I myself have contributed), I can't blame him for his obsession over righteousness. But there is a silver lining for them both; that they're both incredibly self-aware, and they both know it, and has probably figured out at this point how to help each other.

And that's the beauty of a journey like this; where people I could never imagine would come together would actually come together to work towards a common goal. Even a hot-headed bad boy like Tyler, a stark contrast to myself, has even demonstrated respect for me.

"As I said before, you're a really good guy. It may be much to ask, but if you would help guide me, or something like that." Bebe held out both her palms.

Kyle placed his hands on both of Bebe's hands. "You know I will. And regardless of what happens next, we will go down together. I know you have your inner demons, but I have faith in you that you can overcome them in the end. We all deeply care about you, even if we do think you're a bitch sometimes."

Bebe giggled. "Okay, I guess I deserved that one."

As we continued to walk, Wendy grabbed my right hand with her left hand. "Looks like I know how to pick 'em. I'm sure Bebe will thank me later."

"I'm sure she will," I grinned.

Bebe broke free from Kyle as she turned back towards us. "Hey, I do want to apologize a bit for acting like a jerk earlier...and getting us all wet with sewer water."

"Apology accepted, now let's go focus on kicking some ass." The rest of us chuckled at Tyler's nonchalant response, though I know that deep down we all can forgive Bebe, even myself.

"Hey, on the bright side, since we stink now, they're definitely gonna hate us!" Kathy exclaimed.

Ellen facepalmed immediately. "Kathy, that's not...no..."

"I suppose if God knows how worried I am, so can everyone else." Chris unsheathed his daggers as he rolled his shoulders.

"We'll be fine, Chris," I said. "They aren't gonna stop us. No one will. Let's do this."

I knew that we were in for the long haul. It will not be any easier from there. But I know that with our entire force by our side, we can take on any challenge we set our mind into. The only question now is what sort of trouble we'll exactly be in. We'll see in due time.


One review I noticed was why I didn't add back Cole and Isaac as prominent characters in this story. The reason why is that when I wrote Cole, I felt he was too much of a self-insert, and I felt he was more appropriate as a rival anyways.

And that's a wrap. I will try to squeeze in a Stendy moment next chapter, but stay tuned.