Craig

It was like the calm before the storm.

Craig could hear them yelling, the other kids, the ones that were supposed to be attacking Clyde's castle, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. His brain wasn't working right, there was an unearthly silence over the castle as they waited for the inevitable, just like they'd been waiting since early that morning. But the wait was over. From where he stood at the top of the castle with Clyde, he could see the crowd that he'd soon be facing. There was no apprehension left in him however, there was only the cold, inevitable knowledge that this was it.

"It makes you wonder if we're actually going to win," Clyde said softly, his cape fluttering behind him in the breeze, his crown sitting lopsided on his head as he watched. Above them, the storm that had been brewing over the past few days let out a peal of thunder, as if to accent his words.

"We're going to," Craig said softly, his words as flat as ever. He wasn't sure, to be honest, but he also knew that he no longer cared. After this was over, he was going to drag himself to Tweek's house, apologize, and never do something like this again. Just one more battle, one more fight.

"They recruited the girls, apparently," Clyde commented, almost like it was an afterthought. It was obvious what he was thinking, and Craig wished he could tell Clyde that it didn't matter if Bebe fought against him, but he knew that it did. If he was asked to fight Tweek, he might not be able to move. How Clyde was still standing was beyond him.

"They might not have convinced all of them," Craig attempted nonetheless, anything to keep Clyde's spirits up. Almost done, this is it, this is the last I'm ever going to have to see of this stupid fucking game that isn't a game anymore. After this, I can forget it. "You might not have to-"

"If she shows up, I won't fight her," Clyde admitted, cutting Craig off. "I just- I can't. But I don't think she's here, she was too upset last time I talked to her." Nodding, unsure what else he was supposed to say, Craig watched as a blob he was pretty sure was Cartman yelled something and the gathered kids yelled something in return.

"I should probably head down now," Craig muttered, his eyes drifting towards the lower levels, where he was supposed to stand guard with Chris. Though Clyde insisted there was no way the resistance would get that far, he still wanted them there to be some of the last defenses. Well, if that's where Clyde wanted him, then Craig wasn't going to argue. He didn't want to be on the ground floor either, and he certainly didn't want to be near Clyde's large barrel of alien goo. Maybe down where he didn't have to deal with it was the best place for him.

"Yeah," Clyde said vaguely, his eyes distant, his hand clenched tightly around the Stick of Truth. "I guess you should." This was it, this was the end.

For a moment, Craig allowed himself to picture an entirely different scene. Tweek, sitting on the edge of the merrygoround, his small fingers clenched around the bar, his hair flying out in the breeze. He'd look over at Craig, with blurring yet still glowing green eyes, and he'd smile and laugh. In that moment, Craig could see the boy so vividly, it made his chest hurt. But then Clyde spoke, and it was gone.

"We're going to win."

"Of course dude." Shaking himself, Craig headed down towards his post.

Stepping down through the dark, ominous hallways, past the confusingly tied up Mr. Slave, Craig finally pushed through into the main room and caught sight of Chris Donnelly, attempting to calm down one of the nazi zombie cows by petting it on the snout. "Oh, Craig, right on time~!" the boy called up, his usual cocky grin suffering slightly under the conditions. "Come to actually help for once?"

"Fuck off, like you've been doing much," Craig grumbled, the tension in his shoulders loosening slightly. Swinging down from the upper level, Craig hit the floor feet first and strode over to Chris, who pulled his hands back from the zombie cow.

"True enough." Shaking his head, he muttered, "You know, when I agreed to join Clyde, I somehow didn't expect my future to be filled with nazis. It just… Never crossed my mind." Snorting at Chris's words, Craig found the boy's own bitter chuckle to be telling.

"Yeah, neither did I, but I guess this is just how things are working out," Craig muttered, walking over to the gate that separated them from the rest of the goings on. Technically, he wasn't even able to get out. Less technically, he didn't want to. "You think they're going to charge soon?"

Chris laughed. "Kyle's probably giving one of his speeches. I'd give it ten seconds."

Raising an eyebrow, Craig deadpanned, "Ten, nine, eight-"

"You are such an asshole," Chris Donnelly informed him, even as he cracked his neck and grabbed for the hilt of his sword.

"Seven, six, five-" Craig continued, his own heart starting to pound in his chest as the joking countdown started to feel more real.

Joining in, Chris said, "Four."

"Three," Craig countered, his hands going for his own knives.

"Two," Chris Donnelly's mouth quirked up in a smirk.

"One."

Nothing happened.

"Huh," Chris muttered, laughing. "I guess I got my timing a little-"

From below them, there was a roar. Craig's jaw tightened and he turned around before saying, "Actually, I think you were right on time." Clyde's yard was suddenly flooded with people as the resistance flowed in. Rising up from the shadows, Clyde's army of darkness met them in battle. Swords clashed against stolen street signs, and soon there were screams and yells filling the air.

Standing next to him, Chris hissed out a curse through his teeth and muttered, "God, is this really what we've become?" His words were echoed by Craig's thoughts, that and the chills running through him. Obviously the whole scene was giving him a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach, but there was something that kept hitting him, like he should be noticing something and he wasn't.

"Yeah, funny how little it takes to make us want to rip each other apart." At the sound of that voice, both of them spun around to find a flutter of pink skirts flying in through one of the windows. As Kenny landed neatly on the balls of his feet and straightened, Craig's face melted into an unimpressed deadpan, and Chris laughed, clearly more delighted than anything else at the Princess's arrival. Curtsying, the boy dramatically said, "Lady McCormick, at your service. How may I be of help to the two of you today?"

"Shouldn't you be betraying people right about now?" Craig asked, following the boy as he quickly scaled the rope ladder, leaving Chris to continue to watch the destruction below. "I mean, that was the whole plan, right?" In response to his words, Kenny spun around and patted his cheek lightly, an action which Craig took without reaction. He'd found that just letting Kenny do what he wanted worked out best for everyone involved. Maybe that wasn't always the best policy, but it worked for now.

"Oh Fucker, you're so cute when you're worried about me." Craig was about to protest and say that fuck nno, I'm not worried about you at all, when Kenny quickly said, "I'm kidding, I kid. No need to look so constipated Craig." Glancing out one of the barred windows, the boy hummed and murmured, "Look at all this destruction. You know, I might not even have to betray, you seem to be doing a fine job and making everything go to shit."

"I didn't want it to end this way," Craig said, staring at the back of Kenny's head and trying to say with his eyes what he couldn't explain with his words. "I just wanted everything to be better, I wanted Tweek and I to be happy again. I wanted us to go back to normal." At that, Kenny let out a short, bitter laugh before turning around to face him.

"Did you really think that you could prevent the inevitable?" Kenny asked, his eyes dark even if his lips were stretched into a smile. "Did you think that you could wave your hands and make this go away Craig? I told you, it's going to hurt. And guess what, I was right. It does hurt, doesn't it?" Spreading his hands, trails of glitter following his movements, reflecting in the almost hellish light that came from behind him. "I know how it works Craig. I'm very rarely wrong."

"I just wish someone had warned me what the inevitable was," Craig ground out, feeling helplessness rise up in his throat as the screams of battle got louder, closer. Goddamnit, he'd know that this was coming, but he hadn't wanted to accept it. Now, he was forced to, and it fucking sucked.

Softly, Kenny said, "I tried, Tucker." Running his hands along the side of the castle, passing Craig like a ghost, the boy continued, "I know what it's like to be blindsided by shit like this, and I know how much it fucking sucks. So believe me, I tried to warn you. But I can only do so much. Even I didn't think it would get this bad."

"It's going to get better," Craig said flatly.

"With that attitude, maybe it will." Softly chuckling, Kenny tipped his head back and sang, "Just remember to do what you want Craig, not what they want. Someone once told me that your heart was smarter than your brain, and I don't know if they're right, but I think they might be." His eyes glittered as he gave Craig one last smile. "Don't let your head get in the way of what your heart says is good." Then he danced up the stairs towards the throne room and the other upper levels, and Craig was left alone with Chris Donnelly.

"Well Craig, it sounds like you're fucked," Chris Donnelly admitted, letting out a laugh. Watching as the boy climbed the ladder as well, Craig's brows furrowed, but he didn't answer. Shrugging his shoulders, the Ranger said, "I'm going to see what I can do with sniping people off from on the ramp. You keep watch down here. Call if you need me."

As the boy left, Craig scaled down the ladder and stood in the middle of the room, trying to loosen his muscles for the fight that he was sure was coming. There was no way he'd get out of it, after all. He'd probably have to fight Cartman. Stan and Kyle too if he was unlucky. Would Butters bother to come up as well? Would they all make it that far? Would he end up fighting a bunch of kids he hardly knew?

He knew that there were sixth graders right outside of this place that would be able to defend him against ever having to fight anyone at all. That and a couple of vamp kids, for whatever that was worth. Chances were, he'd never even have to fight. But deep down, he knew that the odds were never in his favor. He was going to have to fight someone it was just a question of who.

I hope I don't have to fight Bebe. Though he wasn't as weak to her as Clyde was, obviously, Craig wasn't sure if he'd have the wherewithal to hold her back. Especially if she said she was doing this for Clyde's sake. Because the thing was, he'd believe her. Hell, he almost wanted someone to show up and tell him that they should stop Clyde, because he was too deep into this to do it himself. Closing his eyes, Craig attempted to pretend there weren't zombie cows behind him, along with several nazi hobos, so that he could calm his mind and body.

Whatever happens, it's going to be over. Whatever happens, I'm not going to have to deal with this any longer.

"HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Eyes flying open, Craig watched as one of the sixth graders ran out from the tower that Craig couldn't see and down towards the small, shadowed forms outside of the gate.

"You are such a conformist, don't you have anything more interesting to yell at us?"

"Hey, I was about to say that!"

Realizing that he recognized the voices, Craig ran over and threw on the outdoor lights that Clyde had mysteriously set up and found a crowd of first graders facing the sixth graders that were guarding the tower. Picking out the two who had spoken as Ike and Firkle of all people, Craig's eyes widened as he searched out the people he knew would be there.

"Go go go! Come on, get that gate out of the way, don't get distracted!" Momentarily distracted by Stan's voice, Craig realized what was happening and drew his knives, attempting to look imposing as the sixth graders drew their own blades.

"We're going to fucking cream you," one of the sixth grade girls threatened, advancing on Ike. "You had better get out of here firsty, otherwise, you're dead." Why are we fighting first graders, what's going on?

"You touch him, and I'll murder you." Before Craig's eyes, Kenny's little sister Karen slipped out from behind his field of vision and held up her sword, guarding Ike. "Go on, try me, I'd just love to knock you off of this tower."

"We don't care that you're little, we'll crush you!" One of the Vamp kids warned, his teeth rattling as he talked.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we have to listen to you. You're making me want to throw myself off of the tower," Firkle deadpanned, knocking the ash off of the tip of his cigarette.

"Craig?" The boy's stomach dropped. As the other kids were distracted by the voice of Ruby Tucker, Craig felt his insides churn. His little sister, standing there in her full pirate costume. Removed from the gloom, her bright hazel eyes fixed on him in an unreadable display of emotion, Craig's younger sister gripped her knife tighter and muttered, "I can't believe you'd do this. You are a fucking idiot."

"Guys, we don't have time for chatting, can we please get a move on?" Stan called from wherever he was standing. "Someone do something!"

"You want us to do something?" Before Craig could answer Ruby or tell her to leave or say anything, one of the sixth graders stepped forward and set Ike sprawling across the wooden platform, knocking into the other kids. "How's that for something?"

"Pirates," Ike coughed, picking his head up off of the wood and glaring at the sixth graders with venom in his big eyes. "ATTACK!"

As Craig watched, helpless to do anything inside of his self-made prison, the first graders threw themselves at the sixth graders. Karen and Ruby were instantly defending Ike as he went up against the head of this particular unit of fighters, and the others all took on their own targets as they attempted to break their way into the fort. One of the sixth graders caught Ruby's face in a backhanded move that knocked her off of her feet, almost throwing her off of the tower entirely, and Craig felt his voice catch in his throat.

Craig didn't care about much, but at that moment, he gave quite a few shits about what was happening to his sister.

"A little help here!" she grunted, her fingers going white-knuckled as she fought to keep ahold of the ledge. Noticing her vulnerability, a Vamp kid headed towards her, his club raised. Fearful that he was about to watch his sister be killed, Craig shook at the bars of the gate and let out a few choice words when it didn't budge

Thankfully someone else heard him. Jerking his head around, Ike yelled, "Someone do something!"

There was a string of irritable French before Firkle grumbled, "You Posers are useless." Kicking the vampire that was hovering over Ruby away like it was nothing, the youngest Goth offered Craig's sister a hand with the comment of, "You're just subjecting yourself to eternal suffering, but I guess it would suck if you died."

The moment she was back on her feet, Craig called out, "Ruby, what the hell are you doing here? Get out, you guys are going to get hurt!" Abruptly, he found himself ducking out of the way as an arrow whistled through the gate and almost hit him. "You're not even supposed to be here!"

"Yeah, well we're helping your sorry ass out so that you don't get yourself killed," Ruby retorted, her wooden sword flashing as she fought the sixth graders around her. "You should never have sided with Clyde, asshat."

"Son of a bitch- Ruby, you're going to die!" Craig tried to impress upon her, even as the wind picked up and slammed against the side of Clyde's castle. The storm was definitely coming, and Craig couldn't do anything but watch as the first graders were forced to give ground. They were fighting as hard as they could, but there was no way they were going to beat the people they'd been thrown against. And Stan hadn't even joined in, which sort of pissed Craig off to be perfectly honest. The least you could do is help them!

"Ignore him Rubes, we've got this!" Karen announced, her reckless ferocity mirroring her brother's typical attitude to a T. Stabbing one of the vamp kids in the eye, the girl let out a growl and yelled, "If you wanted to stop her, maybe you should have been there, instead of raising people from the dead."

"That wasn't my idea!" Craig insisted, even as the girls were once more distracted by a more concerted effort from the opposition. Feeling desperation well up in his throat, Craig started to look around for an exit if only so he could scoop Ruby up and get her out of there. He didn't want to fight a war where he had to watch his own sibling get hurt. Whoever had convinced her to fight was cruel.

"Rupy, Kare-bear! Your left!" Ike shouted, his voice urgent. Looking, Craig could do nothing as both girls were knocked out of sight. Slamming his fist against the bars of the gate, Craig grit his teeth together and tried to see what had happened. Damnit I can't do anything! Clyde literally locked me in here, I'm stuck!

"Oh you motherfucker!" Obviously pissed about his friends getting hurt, Ike leapt up and literally tackled the kid who had hit them. Giving up on watching, needing to do something, Craig raced for the rope ladder, pulling it up behind him just in case they made it in. Racing for the window, Craig tried to figure out how to open it as he listened to the screams and yells of the fighting kids outside of the keep. They're going to die, they're going to kill my sister, I have to do something!

"RESPECT MAH AUTHORITY!" Turning, Craig found that someone had already beat him. Both Kyle and Cartman had reached the upper level and were quickly depatching the remaining sixth graders, allowing the kids to leave.

"Ike you had better not say that again I'll tell mom!" Kyle yelled after his brother as he vanished up one of the ramps to go and open the gate at last. Crouching at the top of the landing, ready for whatever was coming, Craig contemplated finding Chris before discarding the idea. No, he had the zombies, he could handle this alone.

"Love you too Big Brother!" Ike called after him.

Then the gate was lifting, and Craig's eyes narrowed. He was ready for this, he was ready for-

"C-Craig!"

For the second time that night, Craig felt his stomach drop. But this time, it just kept falling. Because standing there, his hair a wild halo, his eyes wide and fierce, his hands clenched around the handle of his club, was Tweek Tweak. There were no words left, Craig's entire body just stopped working for a moment, he couldn't even breathe. All he could do was stare and try to remember what he was supposed to do.

"Tweek." The word came out as a hoarse whisper. His knives were still clutched in his hands, but he might as well have not been holding them at all for all the good they were going to do him. What is he doing here? But Craig couldn't get the words to come out, he just stared down at Tweek and tried to understand what was going on.

"Yeah, m-me," Tweek bit out, his words sounding bitter. As the gates under Craig lifted, their natural protocol if the gate were to lift, allowing the zombies to start to goose step into the room, the blond yelled, "G-get down here and fight me! I'm going to -rrr- KICK YOUR ASS!" Heart racing, leaping into his throat as his insides revolted and died, Craig clenched his fists and straightened his back. He hates me, Craig thought, his breath coming faster. I really did screw things up, he honestly...

"I am a level fourteen thief, loyal only to the Dark Lord," Craig said, his voice cold, dead, and devoid of emotion. He felt broken, and in those cracks, an irrational anger rose up.I only ever wanted to protect him, and now he hates me. "I am his chief assassin, and you, Tweek, will perish, here and now." Even though it tore at his gut to do so, he held his head high and glared down at Tweek, hiding the pain in favor of blank determination. "Fight me at your own risk."

"Do it," Tweek pushed out, his trembling almost completely gone. "I d-dare you."

As Kyle, Cartman and skidded into the room, Craig leaped down in front of the zombies and raised his knives. "If you want a fight, then you'll get one." Before he could stop himself, Craig leaped at Tweek.

His knife met the steel of Tweek's pan, and instantly, Tweek was yelling at him. "I c-can't believe you'd do this Craig!" Knocking the boy back, using a burst of strength to do so, Craig ignored the sight of the other boys attacking his zombie minions. "Jesus!" Tweek yelled from the floor, stumbling to his feet. "Y-you're going to get the whole townkilled!"

"I don't care, I just wanted to help Clyde!" Craig yelled back, flying at Tweek once more. His blades flashed, but this time, Tweek was faster. The frying pan connected with his side, driving the air from Craig's lungs and leaving him coughing on the ground. Rolling to avoid another strike, Craig lashed out with his blades, attempting to get Tweek on the ground as well but to no avail.

"Th-then why didn't you let me help!?" Tweek demanded, his eyes burning with anger and fire so bright that Craig feared he'd go blind. "Wh-why did you keep pushing me away Craig, oh god I COULD HAVE -NGH- MADE THINGS BETTER!" Stop saying this, stop talking like this!

Rising to his feet, Craig charged for Tweek with a cry of, "You couldn't have!" His knives caught Tweek across the stomach, and he could just feel the bruises he was leaving and it made him want to die inside. "You're not able to handle this, I am."

"I KILLED SOMEONE CRAIG!" Tweek suddenly shrieked, startling the boy into taking a step back. Pressing his advantage, Tweek came at him with a swing and it was only Craig's reflexes that saved him from a caved in skull. "H-he was a zombie, but I s-still pulled the trigger." Tweeks eyes were full of pain and Craig desperately wished he could make it go away, until the ugly head of anger reared up and reminded him that Tweek was fighting him, and that meant that anything they'd had before was gone.

"I don't care!" Craig said, his knives flashing as he kept trying to get Tweek to give ground. It had been a long time since their last fight, but they were still evenly matched. Even with their weapons, neither of them was backing down. "I'm just so sick of watching you be forced to play this fucking game when all it does is hurt you. I'm sick of feeling powerless!"

"When you throw me out -grrr- I FEEL POWERLESS!" Tweek shouted back, his frying pan flashing in the distorted lights. There was a roll of thunder from outside and Craig's hip exploded with pain as Tweek's weapon connected once again. "You -rrr- k-keep doing this and I can't take it anymore, I'm done!"

"Look around you there are zombies!" Craig yelled, his eyes as wild as Tweek's as he attempted to keep the blond from crushing him. Several quick jabs to the boy's kidneys gave him a moment's breathing room so he could say, "God, they're just like the things from the Alien ship, I know how much you hate Aliens, I didn't want you-"

He was cut off as he was forced to duck Tweek's frying pan once more. "I d-don't care about the Aliens!" Tweek screeched, his green eyes conveying so much pain and anguish that Craig wished he could unsee. "As long as you were there -ghn- I'D HAVE BEEN F-FINE!" You don't get to say that, it hurts too much.

"How was I supposed to know that?!" Craig demanded, his voice coming out as choked as he continued to fight desperately against Tweek. "How was I supposed to know what you would have been fine with. I just want to protect you!" As he succeeded in knocking Tweek to the ground once more, Craig stood over him and panted, "I know it's wrong, I know that I shouldn't, but I fucking care about you." There, he'd said it.

As the anger drained away, leaving him feeling like he just wanted to die, Tweek got up from the floor and raced at him. Craig couldn't even summon up the will to raise his blade as the boy flattened him, tossing him to the ground and landing on top of him. Frying pan forgotten, Tweek planted his hands on either side of Craig's head and yelled, "THEN FUCKING ACT LIKE IT!"

The battle around them faded from Craig's head as he pushed out in an unsteady voice, "I'm trying, but I've never done this before. I don't know how." Everything hurt, every breath he took made him feel like he wanted to die. Closing his eyes, Craig got ready to accept his fate, knowing without having to be told that this was it.

All he wanted was Tweek.

All he couldn't have, was the blond.

"I th-thought you told me to fight with you, Craig, not against you." At Tweek's broken words, Craig felt something hot and wet hit his face. Tears, Craig realized, as his heart shattered and something else rose up from the ashes. Because he doesn't hate me, he just-

"That's all I ever wanted," Craig admitted softly, his voice no more than a whisper. "That's all I ever wanted."

Leaning upward, reaching towards his blond spaz, Craig crushed the boy in a hug that was instantly reciprocated by Tweek. As he felt the boy's heartbeat against his own chest, Craig finally felt like his own breathing eased. I don't have to save him from everything, I just have to be his friend.

"Help me stop Clyde," Craig whispered into Tweek's ear, his voice coming out horace, like he'd been crying as well. "Help me fight these assholes, and then go up there and stop Clyde before he hurts himself."

"Ngh- I th-thought you'd never ask," Tweek squeaked back, his voice so much stronger than Craig would have ever believed possible. Getting to his feet, pulling Tweek up with him, the Noirette grabbed for his knives and found Tweek already holding his frying pan. Staring over at Stan, Kyle, and Cartman, who had all stopped moving after defeating the zombies so they could watch in horror, Tweek grinned, and Craig managed a slight smile of his own.

"Oh my god," Kyle muttered in the momentary silence. "You have got to be shitting me."

"No pe." As one, they both leaped at the other boys.

For the first time in ages, Craig found a swell of joy run through him as he attacked Stan. The Ranger was strong, but he had Tweek with him, and that meant that nothing could stop him, not even these people. Knives flashing quickly, avoiding the spells Cartman was trying to cast, Craig all but kicked Stan into the wall of the castle before catching the rising boy with his blades. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Tweek hit Kyle, sending him sprawling across the floor.

"SORRY!" Tweek yelped, even as he attacked again, his movements fluid and almost beautiful. As Stan rushed to help his friend, Craig cut him off and tossed him to the ground once more, finally killing him in game. Turning to Tweek, who had already dispatched Kyle, the boys both looked over at Cartman, who was backing up till he hit the wall.

"Tweek, y-you're on our side, right?" Cartman asked, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Think again, f-fatass," Tweek spat, before launching himself forward and clocking the boy over the head with his frying pan. As he fell to the ground unconcious, Tweek turned to Craig and grinned widely. "I think he's dead~" the boy said mischievously, his eyes glittering.

Even though he knew that it was only in game, Craig smiled as well and said, "I'm proud of you."

"I know!" Tweek announced, and Craig felt his heart swell.

"Not to break up your party or anything, but what's going on?" Turning, both boys found Bebe heading for them. Her hair was everywhere, and her eyes were wide, but they were full of determination. Crossing her arms, she said, "Well, to be honest, you two were just the people I was looking to find."

"W-what's going on?" Tweek asked, twitching as he flicked his eyes between Bebe, who was still breathing heavily from her climb, and Craig, who had no fucking clue what the girl was talking about.

"Clyde," she explained, constantly clearing the confusion. "He's still up there, I need to get to him." Looking at Craig, the girl said, "You told me you were going to end this game? Well you had better fucking do it Craig Tucker, otherwise, I'm going to have words with you."

Glancing down at Tweek, who nodded his head fervently, Craig cocked his head back and said in a confident monotone, "Let's go save our idiot."

Together, they could do anything.

A/N: If you've made it this far, congratulations, you get a cookie. Also, an update. Also, THEY FUCKING MADE UP GODDAMNIT IT TOOK SO MANY FUCKING CHAPTERS BUT THEY FINALLY GOT THEIR SHIT TOGETHER AHHHHHHHHHH-