A/N: Warning, May Contain Aliens

Tweek

They say it's not the fall, it's the sudden stop at the end.

Well if that's true, then Tweek wanted to say that it wasn't the getting dragged over rough, rocky ground, it was the sudden lack of that ground that did it.

He didn't even remember going to sleep. One moment, he'd been sitting in Bebe's spare bed, the next, he'd been staring at an alarming amount of gravel as something dragged him along. Alarming? Yes. Surprising? Well, actually no.

Why had Tweek still been awake? Probably because he never slept. But this time, it had also been because he'd been turning the stupid mood ring that Bebe had stashed away in her drawer over and over in his fingers. Call him stupid, call him hopelessly pathetic, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. As he'd watched the thing turn different colors in the moonlight, Tweek had wondered if perhaps Craig could somehow sense that he was holding the ring and knew, as only Craig could, how he was feeling.

Which was stupid on several levels, but Tweek was a little past stupid at the point one in the morning rolled around.

He'd been staring at it, watching as it went from an ugly pinkish green to a vivid red then down to a cool blue, when suddenly, everything sort of cut out.

The next thing he knew, he was desperately trying to keep ahold of the mood ring as something dragged him out of Bebe's window and towards something fuzzy and glowing that he couldn't see because there was too much dirt in his eyes.

And you'd think that Tweek of all people would have been panicking, but strangely enough, he was too stunned to do much past stare dumbly at the flying saucer that slowly became apparent. Because no matter how much time he'd spent yelling that no aliens were real and JESUS THEY'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL! he hadn't expected that he'd actually get abducted by them. Somehow, that hadn't really fit into the picture.

It wasn't until he couldn't feel the ground anymore that Tweek really started to panic. Again, it wasn't the fall, it was the sudden stop.

The first thing he really registered was the Aliens. They were exactly like he'd imagined they would be. Tall, grotesque, glowing green and staring. Two of them were dragging him, each with a long, strange limb wrapped around a leg. They were pulling him up a ramp that felt cold and steely under his cheek, and it was at this point that Tweek started to scream.

"OH GOD THERE ARE ALIENS!" the boy screeched, struggling helplessly to get back down the ramp, to get away from the monsters holding onto him. Oh god, they're going to kill me! They're going to kill everyone! They've got me and I'm never going to see my parents, or Bebe, or Token or Clyde ever again! JESUS I'LL NEVER GET TO SEE CRAIG AGAIN! "LET GO OF ME!" he shrieked, kicking violently, twitching hard enough and struggling strongly enough that the aliens actually stopped for a moment.

"Moo moo moo?" one of them asked, talking in a language that Tweek didn't know nor cared to know. Abruptly, Tweek found the ground lurching away from him as the creature lifted him up with the help of its friend. The two of them held him aloft, examining him like he was a sort of specimen. I AM A SPECIMEN! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME THEN EAT ME THEN WEAR MY SKIN AROUND! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS! Giving a great kick, Tweek managed to hit one of the aliens in the face with his heel.

Reeling back slightly, the two aliens held him out a little ways and shook him around in two different directions at once, clearly trying to get him to stop moving. Yelping in fear, only just managing to keep ahold of the mood ring that he'd take from Bebe, Tweek shivered and let out a moan of terror that seemed to confuse the aliens. Looking at each other, the two seemed to shrug before continuing to take him into the Alien ship, this time no longer dragging him but simply holding him aloft.

As the world swung by sickeningly in an upside-down fashion, Tweek tried to see what was going on without throwing up. I need to get away! But how was he supposed to get away from aliens?! It had been so long since he even thought of them, there had been so many other things on his mind. Now, he realized how foolish he'd been. Of course the aliens were the real problem. They were always the real problem. Why am I getting dragged away now?! Why not before, when he would have almost welcomed getting abducted over suffering through another day.

But the universe was as the universe did and today, the universe didn't seem to want to make sense, no matter how much Tweek wished it would. Now I'm going to die! I'm going to die and no one is going to know what happened to me and Craig is going to be worried! Or would the Noirette even notice he was gone? "JESUS JUST -NGH- LET ME GO!" he shrieked, the pressure in his head only getting worse. Yanking on his hair with the hand that wasn't clenched painfully around the mood ring, Tweek let out another wild screech and tried kicking at the aliens again.

"Moo moo," one of the aliens insisted, which would have been great if Tweek understood anything he was saying. "Moo mooo moo. Moo moo, moo mo mooo." Oh jesus, what are they saying. I don't get it! I don't get anything!? I just want to go home why is this happening to me!?

When he didn't answer, the alien gave him a shake before continuing to walk as if nothing had happened.

As they went, Tweek felt his sense of terror grow. There were sounds coming from the bowls of the large ship, horrible sounds. He would have sworn he heard people in there, other humans that the aliens had take captive. The screaming in his head was too loud to make much of it out, but none of it sounded good. And as if that wasn't enough, there was this constant whirring of machines that made Tweek feel like he was losing his mind.

No bad dream could have prepared him for this, no, reality was always so much worse.

Off to one side, he heard the voice of Mr. Mackey of all people talking, mumbling something. "I'm having the dream again," he was saying, his voice sounding faint and distorted. "M'kay, this is dreamy…" By the time he whipped his head around however, there was nothing but more black and green and purple wiring, nothing but aliens who didn't even bother to look down at him.

Twitching, Tweek covered his ears as best he could, squeezing his eyes shut tight and wishing, praying that this was all in his head. But it wasn't, these monsters were real. These aliens weren't pretend, and they definitely weren't his imagination. There was a moaning sound now, and Tweek wanted to hit his head on something rather than listen to it for much longer. He couldn't handle this. He couldn't take it!

JESUS I WANT OUT!

Eyes flying open, Tweek's gaze swiveled to the first thing in his line of sight and instantly, his stomach plummeted. Because suddenly things had gotten ten times worse. There, strapped down to one of those dreaded examination tables was Craig. The aliens were doing things to him, unspeakable things, things that Tweek tried to scrub out of his head the moment he saw them.

"What's… Happening?" Craig moaned out, his voice sounding hoarse and all wrong. OH GOD NO THIS IS TOO MUCH I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!

"CRAIG!" Tweek shrieked. For a moment, the boy's head came up and his bleary blue eyes met Tweek's but then the alien above him slapped his head back down and the two aliens carrying Tweek gave him several hard shakes, as though to make him stop. In the confusion, Tweek felt the mood ring he'd been carrying fall out of his hands and clatter to the floor of the ship. Helpless, now stripped of the one thing that he'd had to calm him down, Tweek felt frightened tears start to dribble from his eyes.

Oh god, we're both going to die. They're going to kill me. They're going to kill Craig. We can't get away, we're stuck, we're trapped, we're dead. Shaking harder, wishing he could just make it all stop, Tweek yanked on his hair and whimpered pathetically, sniffling as the aliens lifted him up and put him down on a table before walking away. As his face pressed into the rough padding, Tweek shook and twitched violently, too weak to move.

"Is this your first time getting probed?"

At the sound of that tired, sort of resigned voice, Tweek struggled to move, finding that he wasn't actually strapped down. He might as well have been though because his shaking limbs refused to cooperate, they just collapsed under him. Looking up, he found that he could sort of make out the outline of Stan Marsh's dad, Randy. The man was strapped down to a table of his own, though he didn't seem to much care about it. Behind him, there was a horrifying machine with parts that Tweek didn't understand, not that this seemed to faze the man.

"Ngh-" Tweek whimpered, twitching hard enough that he smacked his head against one of the protruding knobs on the table.

"Yeah, it's a pain," Randy agreed, shrugging as best he could when his arms were bound down. "But I guess that's the price for living in a remote little mountain town, right?" Oh god, what is he saying, I don't understand! Holding back his screeching, but only just, Tweek shivered and stared at the reflection and thought of Craig's glassy eyes until he was sure that he'd break down into tears again.

"At least we don't have to deal with traffic," Mr. Marsh commented absently, almost like he found this an acceptable trade off. When Tweek only let out a soft whimper, the man sighed and and said, "So, how's Richard? I haven't seen him in forever. Still running the coffee shop, isn't he?" When Tweek didn't answer, Randy muttered, "Well, it was nice talking to you, I guess."

"Moo moo moo moo." At the sound of an alien returning, Tweek let out a shriek of fear. OH GOD WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO TO ME!? ARE THEY GOING TO DO WHAT THEY DID TO CRAIG!? It had looked an awful lot like rape, and Tweek had read one too many wikipedia articles for that word to be anything but terrifying. So when there was that terrible whirring from behind him and the alien reached for him, Tweek did the first thing that he could think of.

He jumped up and he punched the alien in the face.

Stepping back, the creature shook its head in confusion and made several more 'mooing' noises before reaching for him again. Shaking harder, Tweek let out a scream of, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" before all but tackling the alien. As they both went down, Tweek attempted to hit the thing while it tried to pull him off of it. OH GOD IT'S GOING TO KILL ME!

Successfully removing the struggling boy from it, the flustered alien tried to back up, but Tweek was too quick. Tackling it again, slamming it into the forcefield that had been erected around the table, Tweek went for its eyes only to be thrown back once more. As the thing regained some of its senses, Tweek saw the gun that it was grabbing for and screeched. "OH JESUS!"

"MOO MOO!" the thing yelled back with equal fervor. Once again, Tweek found that there was no time to think. He just moved. With all the twitchy power he had in his body, Tweek tackled the alien, wrestling the gun from its weird hands. It went off, hitting the machine behind Tweek which crackled and gave out with a loud slurping sound. Finally getting the gun, Tweek screeched and pointed it at the alien, who didn't have time to react before it went off again.

All at once, the creature fell to the ground, limp. OH GOD I KILLED ONE CHRIST JESUS FUCK HELP! Scrambling backwards, whimpering, twitching and panting, Tweek shook his head, unsure what he was supposed to do.

"Ooh, you actually got free," Randy commented, his voice sounding duly unconcerned, as if nine-year-old boys fighting aliens was perfectly normal for him. "Well done Tweek, I didn't think you could do it. Very few people actually manage it."

"Oh god," Tweek whimpered, reaching spindly fingers up into his hair. "Oh god oh god ohgodohjesusohgod~" What's going on? No, he knew what was going on. He was on an alien ship and they were raping people and he'd broken free and killed one and now he was really screwed, not just physically, but metaphorically as well.

"Hey, you should break your forcefield and get me loose too," Randy suggested, almost like it was a pleasant thought rather than a life or death situation. WHAT DOES HE THINK IS GOING ON I CAN'T HAND L E TH I S. "Just grab his device thing," Mr. Marsh insisted. "Come on, it's not going to hurt you now."

Scrambling forward on all fours, Tweek pawed at the alien's belt, which did indeed have a device hanging from it, right next to the empty holster. "Just push the red button," the man behind him insisted. "Trust me, it won't kill you." Well, it might, but Tweek figured he was dead anyway so what was one more stupid thing?

He pressed it.

The alien, that had been slumped over against the forcefield before, fell through it and hit the ground with a thump.

"OH JESUS CHRIST!" Tweek shrieked, jumping back again. But nothing further happened, and he couldn't keep twitching here forever if he wanted to survive. Grabbing for the weird gun, which was ungainly to say the least but was more protection than he was going to get anywhere else, Tweek turned around to face Randy Marsh.

The man was on all fours, ass in the air, pants pulled down around his ankles and a smile on his face, as if all of those previous things were negated by the fact that Tweek was free. "Yeah, you should probably try to figure out how to get free," Randy said, trying and failing to sound encouraging. "The aliens, they get kinda squirrely when you escape and stuff."

"Wh-WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?" Tweek shrieked, only to get a reproachful look from the man above him.

"Not so loud, they'll hear you," the man admonished, shaking his head. "I'd just try to find a way out. And free everyone else, that would be nice."

"How do I do that!?" Tweek demanded, thinking of Craig and feeling his stomach lurch again. OH god, if I don't get him out of here, they'll kill him, I'm sure of it! I have to get him out! I can't let them hurt him!

"Just… I don't know, find the control room or something." Randy suggested, but Tweek was already backing away, throwing his head back and forth as he looked for a door.There! The moment he saw it, Tweek was running for it, pressing every button on his stupid device in an attempt to make it open. As his finger hit the orange button, it worked, and the thing slid open.

Skidding out into the hallway, his bare feet slipping on steel that he could see himself in, Tweek tossed his head back and forth, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do next. He was on a ship, an alien ship holding a gun that looked like a dildo and a device that looked like it could kill him. How was someone supposed to respond to that?! WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO!?

"Moo? Moo moo!" Twisting his head and catching sight of the alien that was hurrying for the emergency alarm, Tweek let out a shriek and pointed the gun at him, praying it would have some effect. Oh god there are buttons! What buttons do I press? What if one of them makes it explode oH JESUS! Well, there wasn't really time to be thinking about whether things would explode or not, now was there?

Letting out an unholy screech of fear, Tweek thumbed one of the buttons. There was a flash of light and the alien went over, unconscious or dead. It didn't really matter, Tweek had more pressing issues. Craig, I've got to get to Craig. Twitching, Tweek turned around and tore down the hallway.

Almost instantly he was lost. Everything looked the same. All of it looked distorted and terrifying and wrong and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He wanted to find Craig, but how was he supposed to find anything when he wasn't sure where he was. Another alien crossed his path and Tweek raised the gun again, turning away as he fired it. There was a protesting, "Mooo~" before a body hit the floor.

"JESUS!" Tweek screeched, going to yank on his hair only to realize both of his hands were full. He wanted nothing more than to break down and cry, but even as the world around him started to warp into shades of purple and chrome, he clenched his teeth and kept running. Craig needed him. And that meant something.

Turning down yet another hallway, Tweek pointed the device at the door and twisted his head away just in case something horrible happened. There was an hydraulic sound as the thing slid open, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the sounds of people. Wait, that means that this is the way! Swinging back towards the open door, Tweek felt his heart leap at the sight of a familiar small, greenish pink ring.

Racing forward, Tweek almost dropped the alien gun as he lunged for the mood ring. Yet more tears slipping down over his cheeks, the terrified blond fumbled for the tiny ring and slipped it onto his finger. It was too big to fit on his ring finger, but it stayed on his middle finger, which seemed appropriate. Despite the situation and the peril he was in, Tweek smiled slightly and felt something like warmth spread through him.

Craig might never wear his ring, but Tweek felt like he was still holding something that connected him to the Noirette and it grounded him.

"Moo!" Whipping his head up, Tweek just acted. Grabbing for the gun, steadying it with the back of his occupied hand, the boy fired it. As the alien went over, the blond shot to his feet and hurried forward. He'd been granted a reprieve, but he'd have to be stupid to think it was going to last. At any point, the aliens could figure out that he'd escaped, and then he'd really be screwed.

Craig will know what to do! I can free Craig, and then he can help me!

Turning another corner, Tweek almost ran headlong into a group of aliens. Noticing that these aliens were armed, Tweek instantly darted backward, fear racing through him. If they saw me, I'm dead! There! There was a door right here. Shaking his head and blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear some of the panic from his mind, Tweek looked up clicked the button he'd been using before again. The moment it slid open, Tweek darted inside and pressed himself against the wall.

This room was darker, but not that much darker. It was filled with dangerous whirring sounds and electronic beeps, which was Tweek's first clue that something was amiss. For a moment, he could only look into the gloom and stare at the shapes that his mind seemed incapable of understanding, but then he realized what he was seeing. Oh god…

Craig. His eyes were glazed over, and his face was covered in a sheen of sweat. Behind him, there was one of those wretched torture devices, complete with the horrifying appendages that Tweek had seen before. As everything in him fought to scream, Tweek lifted his stupid device and clicked at the buttons, trying to make something change.

"Tweek?" Oh god. Craig's voice sounded nothing short of dead, and Tweek could feel his insides all rip themselves into pieces at the same time. Running forward, unsure what else he was supposed to do, Tweek tried to get at Craig and only managed to hit a forcefield. As his head collided with it, the blond went over backwards, letting out a cry of pain as he did. "Tweek, what- What's going on?" Craig asked, his tone confused, not flat like it usually was.

"I- I'm going to g-get you out!" Tweek squeaked, his hands shaking horribly. Looking around the room desperately, Tweek spotted a panel and all but crawled over to it. It was too tall for him to see. Oh god oh god. "I'm going t-to get you out Craig, I swear! W-We're going to -ghn- get out of here!"

"Tweek, where am I?" Craig asked, sounding more awake this time. "What's going on? Tweek, talk to me, please." Shaking his head, feeling tears slip down his cheeks, Tweek saw a box nearby and dashed for it. Pushing it over, the boy climbed on top of it only to stare down at the panel and the brightly colored buttons adorning it. This thing would free Craig, but he didn't know how to do it. He didn't get it! There must be a code, I don't know the code! JeSUS FUCK HELP!

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Tweek shrieked. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS I WANT OUT I WANT OUT!" Before he could stop himself, the boy slammed his head against the panel, screeching as he did so. Behind him, there was the soft sound of hydraulics and then a disappointed series of beeps. Whimpering, head spinning, Tweek turned around to find Craig sitting up, rubbing his wrists and pulling his pajama bottoms up.

"Ngh- CRAIG!" Leaping off of the box, Tweek ran for the boy only to be thrown backwards once more by the forcefield that surrounded him.

"Tweek!" As he opened his eyes, he found Craig slipping off of the examination table and limping over to the edge of the forcefield. "Tweek, are you okay?" he asked, his voice sounding more even now. Which was stupid, because he was still trapped and Tweek had no way to get him out. Why is he worrying about me, he should be worrying about himself! He'd tried so hard to get Craig out, but he couldn't, he was useless and fucked up and why would the aliens even bother to kidnap him because he was pathetic.

And as he stared up at Craig, his head throbbing and his whole body trembling, Tweek just broke down. Shaking, pulling his legs to his chest, Tweek whimpered, "I'm s-sosorry." Everything hurt, his chest, his lungs, his head, his joints, nothing seemed to be making sense anymore. He'd done everything he could, and it still wasn't enough. He was still going to die and now Craig was definitely going to die too because the aliens would think that he was trying to escape as well.

Softly, from the area in front of him, Craig let out a sigh. "Hey… c'mere," he mumbled, his flat voice sort of slipping off at the edge, as if from exhaustion. Pulled from his misery by Craig's soft tones, Tweek blearily looked up at the Noirette. The boy was sitting cross-legged in front of him, his deep blue eyes calming, somber. Twitching, Tweek felt his chest depress as more tears escaped from his eyes.

"W-why are you even t- talking to me?" Tweek whispered, his throat feeling too tight for breath. "I -ngh- c-couldn't even save you f-from the aliens." He deserved to be hated, he deserved to be treated like dirt. He'd failed after all, the one time it really mattered, he'd just failed. "You should hate me."

Unexpectedly, Craig snorted bitterly. "You know, that's the same thing I've been telling myself," he admitted, his words making Tweek screw up his tearstained face in confusion. Putting his head down, running a hand through his hair, which Tweek belatedly realized was on display without the boy's usual hat to cover it, Craig muttered, "I mean, I've fucked everything up, and yet you keep… Giving me chances. Look at you." His flat voice was cut with misery. "We're fucking- We've been abducted, and you still came to save me."

Drawing in a shuddering breath at that self-deprecating tone that was Craig's voice, Tweek shook his head helplessly and said, "I d-don't care about all that stuff anymore." And even though he'd spent days trying to hate Craig, trying to not forgive him for what he had, or honestly hadn't, done, Tweek felt it all slip away. "Jesus man, I just- Rrr- I just want y-you back!"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Craig muttered, "Why?" Like he really didn't know, like he couldn't even come up with one possible reason that Tweek might not hate him. "Look at me, I couldn't even keep the fucking monsters away."

Shoved from his own misery by Craig's words, Tweek found himself lurching forward and pressing his hands against the crackling forcefield keeping Craig hemmed in. "It's not y-your fault," Tweek insisted in a small voice. Feeling desperate, Tweek frustratedly growled and continued, "I mean, we both made a lot of mistakes, b-but it's not your fault we're here!" Shaking his head, Tweek looked down at the pajama shirt that Bebe had lent him and shivered. "Jesus it's p-probably my fault! I'm not wearing the shirt you gave me! Th-that's why they came after us!"

Suddenly slamming his fist against the floor, Craig snapped, "It's not your fault!"

"WELL IT'S NOT YOURS EITHER!" Tweek fired right back.

For a moment, they both stared at each other, then Craig sighed again and placed his hand against the forcefield, right over where Tweek's palm was still pressed. His hand was bigger than Tweek's, the blond reflected distantly, making it look tiny by comparison. As the Noirette looked over Tweek, his eyes fixed on the mood ring still on Tweek's middle finger and his lips pulled slightly, almost like he was trying to smile but couldn't quite make it.

"You're going to be fine," he said at last, his voice flat, yet stronger in that return to its calm, even beat. "You're Tweek motherfucking Tweak, the Elves couldn't stop you, I can't stop you." His eyes locked with the blond's and they shone with certainty. "Those aliens won't stand a chance."

"I don't w-want to leave you," Tweek protested weakly. Leaning his head against the forcefield, he softly said, "What if th-they kill you?"

There was a soft sound, and Tweek realized that Craig had his forehead rested against the forcefield as well. Even though there was an immutable barrier between them, Tweek felt something run through him. Not exactly warmth, not exactly courage, but instead a settling, deep presence in his heart that spread through the rest of him like fire.

"Then I die," Craig murmured, his flat voice soft. "But I won't, and neither will you."

And maybe, later, Tweek would say that the moment had happened differently. That different thoughts had been running through his head. Maybe he would have lied and said that nothing happened, but in that second, there were three words at the tip of his tongue, and he almost said them. Even though they might have changed everything. But the moment passed, and Tweek wasn't really any the wiser.

Suddenly, there was the blaring of sirens above them.

"Shit," Craig muttered, moving back from Tweek. "They're coming."

"OH JESUS!" Tweek yelped, jumping to his feet and looking around for his gun. "WHAT DO I -GRRR- DO?"

Craig raised an eyebrow. "Give 'em hell, Tweek."

Well, admittedly, that could work…