Craig

To be fair, Craig didn't exactly have time to get upset about Tweek.

He'd already resigned himself to his fate, and didn't care enough to fight back against Chris Donnelly or his elves, and he had a feeling that Tweek was as well, but then they'd knocked out Tweek. Craig had heard the body slump to the ground. And then they'd hit him over the head, and well, it was kind of hard to be upset about something when you were unconscious. So he hadn't immediately gotten upset over the fact that they'd knocked Tweek out.

He did, however, make sure to make his views on the matter very clear the moment he woke up.

"Yeah," Chris Donnelly wheezed, doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath after Craig's solid punch to his stomach. "I deserved that, didn't I?" Pulling himself upright, Craig stared at the backs of the Elves surrounding the two of them, almost like a shield, but probably more like guard. They didn't pay attention to how he'd reacted to waking up, making him think that they'd probably expected it. Good, I'm not about to just bow to these people.

"What the fuck did you do to Tweek?" Craig asked, even though he already had a pretty good idea of what had happened. His head kept throbbing punishingly, which was probably to be expected, and his memories were still a little hazy, but he at least had some idea of what had happened. "You said you weren't going to hurt him." If he's not alright I'm going to h-

"We didn't hurt him," Chris said, finally getting his bearings back. The boy was shorter than Craig, but he didn't cow under the Noirette's glare, which admittedly did him credit. "We just knocked him out. He's in the backroom of Tweek Bro's right now." Glancing down at his phone, the boy added, "He hasn't even woken up yet. If we get this over with quickly enough, you can be back before he does wake up."

"How is knocking him out not hurting him?" Craig demanded, suffering under his lack of weapons as he glared daggers at Chris Donnelly, who was still armed. The blond boy rolled his eyes, as if this should be obvious, but okay it wasn't and fuck him for acting like it should be. "He didn't fucking deserve that. Don't fucking tell me otherwise, because I'm sick of your Elves and your bullshit already, and I only just got here." Here being, by his best estimation, Kyle's back yard. And knocking me out was necessary why…?

"Come on Craig, Feldspar," Chris said, tipping his chin upwards slightly, his curly blond hair ruffling slightly as he did so. "You know Tweek better than any of us do but even we know how well he reacts to you vanishing on him." Though Craig didn't want to give ground to these people, he couldn't deny that Chris had a point. Tweek did have a habit of flying off the handle when people or, in the case of the aliens, creatures separated him from the Noirette. It made an irritating amount of sense then for Chris Donnelly and the other Elves to forcefully keep the blond from following them.

But in Craig's mind, that didn't mean he had to like it. "Fuck you," he spat, clenching his hands into fists and staring at the ground. He wanted to wipe that smarmy smirk off of the boy's face, but past hitting him again, Craig couldn't think of how. And there was probably only so much he could do to the boy before the Elves around them decided to react. There had to be a line, and though Craig didn't give a fuck, he prefered not letting this come down to messy hand to hand combat.

As his mind wandered to Tweek, he could feel his heart clench. What the boy had said, about how casually other kids had hurt him before Craig showed up, it made the Noirette feel like shit. It wasn't like he could have done anything, not when he hadn't even paid attention to Tweek, but he wished that he could have. He just puts everything out there,Craig thought as an image of the blond's wide green eyes entered his head. It shouldn't be legal to be that open.

Now if only he could stop getting separated from him. But this isn't the first time, and it probably isn't the last time either.

"We wanted to talk," Chris Donnelly pointed out, spreading his hands placatingly, pulling Craig from his thoughts. "If we'd let your little Barbarian go free, this wouldn't have been so much talking as trying not to get our faces flattened by a frying pan. I happen to quite like my face, I'd rather it not get broken if it's all the same to you."

"Honestly, I don't give a fuck about your face," Craig said flatly. "You could have taken both of us if you just wanted to talk. That would have worked just fine." But Chris was already shaking his head, his lips pulled down into a frown as if Craig had already assumed something to be true that wasn't.

"The High Elf King wanted you, Craig, not Tweek. Don't ask me why." Waving his hands like they were clean of any wrongdoing, Chris Donnelly said, "Look, I don't care. I would have brought Tweek if I hadn't been specifically told not to." Craig wanted to stay annoyed, because all intentions and reasons aside Tweek had still gotten knocked out, but as he looked at the face of the boy in front of him, he realized that staying angry with this particular person wasn't worth the energy. He didn't give the orders, he just acted on them.

Which was the whole problem with the damn game, wasn't it?

"What the fuck do you people even want?" Craig finally asked, letting his face fall back into a disinterested deadpan. "I'm a Human, you're an Elf, we're about to have a war. So I'm assuming you have a pretty good reason for this." Despite everything he could have said about Kyle, the boy wasn't stupid like Cartman. He always had a reason.

"Well, that's not for me to say, now is it?" Leaning his head forward, smirking slightly, Chris touched the shoulder of the Elf beside him, prompting the boy to turn around. "I think that the prisoner is ready to speak to the High King." Though there were any number of comments he wanted to make on the subject, Craig held his tongue and just stared back at the boy when he turned to look at him. Nodding quickly, the Elf spoke in hushed tones to those around him before the circle finally parted, allowing Craig to see the rest of the yard properly at last.

Though he'd been in the Elven kingdom several times during battles, it was different to see it like this and be able to take it all in. The entire place was far more organized than Cartman's castle ever had been, they even had thrown a tarp over the shard of alien ship that had landed in the corner of the yard. But it wasn't the scenery that caught Craig's eyes, no, instead it was the lines of Elves that lined a path straight to the back of the yard. At their head, on his raised dias, sat Kyle, a scowl already set into his freckled face.

Though he couldn't be sure, he had a feeling that he was looking at the full force of the Elven armies. Perhaps he should have been taking note of that, but considering the fact that he wasn't even fighting for Cartman anymore, he didn't really give a shit.

He'd been texting Clyde almost all day, having only stopped that for a moment to update his relationship status on Facebook and make up some bullshit excuse for Butters, who'd of course decided to comment on it. The brunet was pretty excited about something today, but other than that, he didn't really have any plans for how he was supposed to create his army of darkness. That hadn't stopped him from inventing some elaborate plan involving leaving a clue on his desk as to the fact that he had the Stick, but Craig hadn't paid much attention to that fact. No, he had other ideas.

Namely, different methods by how he could get Clyde some help. So the game will be over, right? So that Tweek and I can be free of this shit.

"Hey Feldspar, this is supposed to be the part where you start walking," Chris hissed helpfully. Remembering where he was, Craig gave himself a little shake and walked forward obediently, allowing Chris Donnelly to follow him, as if watching for any shady behavior. The Elves he passed glared at him, and he didn't blame them, but he didn't bother to react. They could think what they wanted about him, he wasn't a Human anymore. He wasn't part of this game.

He was on Clyde's side, because at least Clyde wanted it to be over. And he was on his own side, because Craig figured that supporting himself was the least that he could do.

There was someone drumming as Craig walked towards Kyle, and Stan, who stood beside him with his head held high. Uncharitably, Craig wished whoever it was would stop, because it made this whole thing seem far more dramatic than it needed to be. Maybe I should be taking this more seriously? But then he remembered that Kyle was wearing a bathrobe and Halloween Elf ears and he stopped wondering.

Finally reaching the steps that lead up to the podium, Craig stopped, and as he did, the boys before him parted so that he could see Kyle. The boy's crown was looking a little worse for wear, and his robe looked dirty, but the regal expression on his face hadn't changed a bit. No, he was still the same boy who'd ordered Stan to fight Craig during the stupid festival. He was still the same king who'd challenged Cartman to a battle at Stark's Pond.

He was the same boy as the one who'd pushed Tweek into fighting Craig.

And he was the same person who Craig wanted to stop almost as much as he wanted to stop Cartman.

Kyle cleared his throat. "So…" He let the word hang in the air, the finger that he'd been tapping the arm of his deck chair with hovering dramatically as he did so. "Craig. Feldspar. Thief of Kupa Keep and soldier of the Humans. I see that my Elves have managed to find you."

Several sharp retorts came to his lips, but Craig settled with just flipping Kyle off. His actions earned him a snarl from the redhead, and a scowl from Stan, who said, "We haven't killed you yet Tucker, you should be grateful and you start taking this seriously, if you want us to continue to be so peaceful." Craig fought not to roll his eyes, but it was a trick. He'd never taken Stan Marsh seriously, not least of all when he was wearing a helmet that had a feather stuck in it. The boy's false bravado didn't work with him, and he wasn't afraid to say it.

But he knew better than to piss these people off too much, so instead, Craig fixed the boy with a flat expression and said, "I'm impressed with your self control. I'm sure it's killing you." Stan's frown deepened, and it took all Craig had not to flip him off again.

"You aren't hot shit, Craig," one of the Elves off to the side called. "You just think you are."

"He's got a point, Feldspar," Chris said, clicking his tongue. "You kind of are at our mercy. I'd keep that in mind if I were you." Craig didn't elbow the boy in the ribs, no one could prove that he did. The boy just happened to grunt in pain as some of the air left him.

Ignoring his Elves, Kyle exchanged a look with Stan, who gave him a level gaze which seemed to take some of the anger out of the redhead. Shaking his head, looking back at Craig, the boy slid off of his throne and walked down the steps of his dias, causing the boys around them to give them both a little room. Forced to look down, just because the boy was several inches shorter than him, Craig raised an eyebrow at the pinched expression on the boy's face.

Clearing his throat, Kyle said, "Craig, I brought you here for a reason, and it wasn't a popular reason, but it's still the reason I have." Lifting himself up to his full height, the boy continued, "You and Tweek are fighting on the wrong side, dude. You should be on our side."

Instantly, Craig took a step back, his hackles rising. Whatever he's been expecting Kyle to say, that hadn't been it. They fucking knocked Tweek out and dragged me here to tell me this? What the fuck? Gritting his teeth, Craig flatly said, "We're on the side we chose to be on. I don't give a shit whether you think I should be on your side or not. In fact, I don't like either of you, so it doesn't really matter." I'm not on Cartman's side, I'm on my own side.

"Look, Craig-" Kyle stopped, looking frustrated. "You're focusing on the wrong issue here. Liking me doesn't have anything to do with it. Neither does you hating Cartman." Crossing his arms, Craig furrowed his brows. He didn't know what Kyle was getting at, but he didn't really have the energy to care. Dealing with betraying one faction was plenty to think about already.

"Then what does it have to do with Broflovski, and why did it require you knocking Tweek out?" Craig asked belligerently, staring into Kyle's emerald green eyes until he looked away. Though he didn't say it, he didn't need to tell the Elven King that he didn't want to deal with his bullshit. I don't have the time, I need to get to Tweek.

"Tweek wouldn't have listened," Kyle said at once, waving it off as if knocking someone out was that unconcerning to him. "You, at least, do." Clasping his hands behind his back, the boy continued, "As for what this is about, well let me tell you. Cartman told you guys that I broke the rules and took the Stick last night? Well he's lying to you."

As the boy walked around Craig and the Noirette turned with him, Craig almost wanted to snort. Because yeah, of course Kyle hadn't taken the Stick, Craig had. Kenny probably knew it would cause this whole mess. Fucker knows everything. There was something almost amusing about how Kyle thought that the matter of who had the Stick mattered, but then the stoic boy thought about the fact that to everyone else, the Stick of Truth was still the most powerful thing around, and he sobered.

From the dias, Stan spoke up, pulling Craig's eyes to him. "Cartman's the one you should be fighting against. He's hiding the Stick, which is cheating, and acting all upset and betrayed to get you to recruit more people for him." No, he's not, but then you're not cheating either. You're doing all of this because you don't know the truth. But Craig couldn't make himself care, they deserved to tear each other apart.

Which is why he lifted his chin and said, "Look, I don't give a flying fuck who has the Stick of Truth. I want this game to be over." Saying it felt good, especially when the Elves around him started murmuring, clearly uncertain and actually listening to him. "Cartman is an asshole, and you two are as well."

"Then why are you recruiting people for him, huh?" Kyle spat, his eyes narrowing. "If you don't care, why are you playing? Why not just leave?" When Craig didn't answer, the boy took a step towards him and continued. "Go on, drop out. Do it. And what about Tweek? Take Tweek with you!" Waving his hands as he talked, the boy continued, "We tracked the carrier ravens and we know that you're going to recruit the goths, why would you even talk to them if you thought this game was bullshit?"

"Because assholes like Cartman need to be taught a lesson," Craig growled right back, matching Kyle's threatening step forward. He would have gone further, but Chris stuck his sword in front of the boy, stopping him.

When Craig glared at him, the boy shrugged and said, "Look, Feldspar, I agree with what you just said, but you have to be civil about this, we've been nothing but civil to you."

"Fine." Retreating, Craig stared at Kyle evenly and said, "This game is falling down around your fake pointy ears, and I am not about to stop it. Maybe you're right, maybe Cartman is hiding the Stick. I honestly wouldn't put it past him." This seemed to be the right thing to say, because Kyle relaxed slightly. "But I'm sick of seeing Tweek get hurt over this game, and I'm sick of being pushed around. Call it revenge, but I'm bringing Cartman down with me." He wasn't sure what possessed him to speak so much, but after finishing, he snapped his mouth shut and fell silent, irritated that he'd run his mouth.

"If you want this to be over, then help us take that fatass down!" Kyle exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Help us get the Stick back, help us destroy the Human faction." Knocking his crown askew in his fervor, the boy continued, "I'm saying you can bring Tweek, in fact, I want you to. Both of you hate Cartman, so join me. Recruit the Goths, but tell them to join our side. I want to win this."

"And I don't care who wins, as long as it ends," Craig said, deadpan. Thinking of Clyde, thinking of the shit that had happened because of the stupid game, he continued, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I want people to go back to being friends again." Looking over at Jimmy, who was standing off to the side of the raised platform, the Noirette finished, "I'm tired of fighting my friends over a game."

Both Stan and Kyle hardened their expressions, but the other Elves reacted to his words, all suddenly unable to look at anything as they got awkward. Chris Donnelly twitched an eyebrow up at that, but didn't speak. Craig just stood there, silent, waiting.

Finally, Stan said, "If you don't care, then why don't you just help us instead of Cartman. We aren't as bad as him dude." Though Craig wanted to disagree, he had to admit, they weren't. It wasn't a big difference, but it was there. "Just recruit people for us. If you don't want to switch sides because you don't care enough, then fine. Just stop helping Cartman."

"Trust me," Craig said, his tone emotionless. "I'm not helping Cartman."

"Well," Kyle said, clapping his hands together once. "I've made my case to you. You're not stupid Craig, I think you're going to make the right decision." Walking back up to his throne, the boy sat down and fixed Craig with an intense stare. "I'm going to send my best ranger with you, hopefully to help you, and if not, to perhaps help convince you. Past that, you may go." The moment the boy waved his hand, the rest of the Elves dispersed, and Craig was left standing there, with only the thought of how pointless this fight was going to be left to accompany him.

Not really caring if he waited for whoever Kyle wanted to send with him, Craig turned around stiffly and walked away towards the gate. Chris Donnelly followed him, his expression more thoughtful than it usually was. Glancing over at him, Craig said, "What?" even though he didn't particularly care.

"I want it to be over as well," Chris admitted, his words soft, as though he didn't want anyone else to hear. "Most of the rest of us do as well. I personally didn't care if you wanted to help Kyle or not, but I do care about this." Seriously, the boy said, "Some of my best friends are on the other side, I'm sick of fighting them."

Despite the fact that it was potentially stupid, Craig turned around sharply and stopped so he could examine the Elven boy. His classmate Craig mentally corrected. That didn't usually mean much of anything, but at that moment, it was better than continuing to think of people in terms of us versus them. He doesn't want to fight, and I don't either. We're both sick of our leaders, and we want to bring this game down. I should use that, shouldn't I?

"Cartman doesn't have the Stick," Craig said abruptly, his words coming out stilted because he was judging every one of them carefully before letting them escape him. "Neither does Kyle. Someone else has the Stick, and they want to bring down this game by destroying both factions and defeating the Elves and the Humans."

"Who?" Chris fired back, his eyebrows hiking up.

"Clyde." Craig snorted. "He's an idiot, but I'm siding with him. You can too, if you want. I'm not sure how, but I'm going to get as many people as don't want to play the game anymore together, and I'm going to take them to Clyde so that we can form a new faction and destroy the old ones. Then it'll all be over."

"Well, Clyde is definitely a fucking idiot," Chris Donnelly agreed, laughing. "But I think it would be hilarious if Cartman and Kyle fought over something like this, and I think I'd like to join you and Clyde. I know a lot of Elves will want to join as well." Standing up straight, the boy said, "We want a way out just as much as you do. If we can help you, then we will."

"Okay." Because Craig didn't care that they were Elves, and he knew that Clyde wouldn't care either. This is what it takes to be a good friend. It might have taken him a few months to see it, but now that he knew, he wasn't about to fuck it up.

Noticing Stan stepping down off of the dias and walking towards them, Craig asked, "Do you know if Tweek's awake yet or not?" He hoped that he could make it back to the boy before he regained consciousness, but if he didn't, then he needed to know because it would change where he'd head first.

Checking his phone, Chris said, "Well, he's not awake yet. Though I bet he will be soon." As Stan drew level with him, the curly haired boy said, "I hope everything goes well."

"The sooner we get this over with, the better," Stan agreed, his face turned down in a slight frown. "Kyle thinks I should go with you, so I will, but I don't like it any more than you do." Well, that much was probably true. Craig didn't bother spending the energy required to glare at the boy, he just flipped Stan off and started towards the exit once more, face a flat deadpan.

As he was leaving however, Chris Donnelly called out after him, "So what happened with Bebe?" When Craig stopped, the boy continued, "I saw that you two broke up. Why?"

Twisting his head so he could raise an eyebrow at Chris, Craig said, "Because she wanted to date Clyde, and I didn't want to date her. Why else?" Then he turned back towards the gate and left, because he had more important things to do.

He had a game to bring down.

And he had Tweek waiting for him.