A/N: Short epi for you all here. Many thanks to come at the ending note

Enjoy~

Watching the Nest range from an inferno down into smoldering ashes, the children stayed silent. The original resistance huddled together, arms wrapped around each other's backs, hands being held. This was the end of their era, and they were more than aware of that fact. Hours passed into the darkness of night, the glow of their spoils beaming angrily onto chilled faces. The remaining Rats had all came running at the sounds and had been swiftly dealt with until no one remained but those who belonged.

By the time it was nothing but a few flickering embers spewing from the carnage, a group of nearly one hundred wordlessly stalked to and from the Community Center, bringing a mess of blankets and pillows and lying them down onto Main Street. The rest of the group followed thereafter, and the children of South Park fell asleep together, a bundle of bodies lying in togetherness for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. Huddled together for warmth, few tears were shed, no words were spoken. They weren't needed. They all knew well enough that those could wait for the morning.

Stan, Kenny, Kyle, and Cartman fell asleep cuddled up next to one another, clinging to the others for dear life. They knew the risks that they'd taken, and they knew the fact that they'd walked out without a single casualty on their side was beyond their wildest hopes and dreams. Ike and Kyle held hands above their heads, both of them staring up into the sky before drifting off, seeing the stars glittering above them in a manner they hadn't seen since they were young. It was as though the universe rearranged itself for them, as though it knew that somewhere on Earth, there were people who needed a new start. For once, it was able to oblige.

Kyle was the first to wake as sun barely crept over their tangle, barely getting a wink of sleep. He unwound himself from Stan and Kenny's arms, hesitantly letting go of Ike's fingers curled loosely around his own. He unsteadily made his way through the pack underneath him, brushing blood-stained bangs from his face and grimacing. It wasn't over. He knew it wasn't. The next steps they would take would be critical. Maybe just as dangerous as what he'd led the kids out to do. He made his way through the thrall and looked over at the children still lying there. He felt more tears spring from his eyes, quickly wiping them away, wincing as he hit over his blackened one. It was just another painful reminder. It would heal, unlike the bullet wound in his arm, unlike the wounds of so many children he'd been unable to save. Unlike so many Rats that he'd led the extermination of.

He shuddered, making his way through the town, staring at the ground listlessly. Things were going to be different. He didn't know if they could start anew. He didn't know if they could turn the town back into what it once was. He'd made those promises to those kids. He told them he'd hold their hand and lead them back to the point where their parents would be so proud of them. But would they have been? He could never say for sure.

He came to the edge of town, at the large towering gate that the Rats used to transport people and cargo to and from their home. He sighed, raising a large bar used to hold it in place and grabbing a key from a hidden hook on the underside of the wood. He genially unlocked the gate, vaguely wondering if someone would be on the other side just to shoot him down. It certainly wouldn't surprise him. The one Rat who'd been determined to keep him alive was gone now. He was out of advantages.

He managed to get the gate open, slowly swinging it open to the outskirts of town and feeling his chest tighten. He could see it. The edge. The edge of the world was there, just out of his reach, the sun glistening as it crested over the fringe. Lilac and rose clouds greeted him, warm golden underbellies coasting along the sky as smooth as the tide. He took a deep breath, stepping outside of the gate, his arms flying up and crossing, rubbing up and down them anxiously. He glanced around, seeing not a soul in sight and wondering just how that was possible. How does a town completely vanish off the map? How were there no reporters? No protesters? How did the world just forget?

He looked back up at the sky and gulped, staring at a particularly elongated periwinkle cloud and biting his lip. "Mom, Dad?" he whispered. "What do I do now?" He felt the weight of his actions sinking down into him. Every plan he made, every fire he set, every throat he cut, every man he shot. Everything was piling on top of him at once. It was no longer a linear path, there was no end goal in his sight now. He was lost. He was that frightened little boy who found his mother dead in the driveway, bleeding onto her grocery bags. He couldn't help but wonder if she would have be proud of him for leading so many kids to their freedom. Or perhaps she would have scolded him, calling him a monster for finding such a destructive way to reach his goal. Perhaps the end never truly justified the means. He could never be sure.

"Ky?" a soft voice called. He turned, finding Ike watching him curiously. He stepped up beside him and looked up at his older brother with a concerned face. "What is it?"

He blinked down at him, turning his attention back to the horizon. "Whaddya think they woulda said?"

Ike frowned and took a deep breath, following his stare, his brown eyes glittering in wonder. "I think they would have been proud of us."

"How do you figure?"

He shrugged, shoving his dirtied hands into his pockets. "Because they always told us to fight for what was right. And we fought tooth and nail. I think...they watched us all this time. I think all the parents did. And...and they saw that we tried to worm our way out, but eventually we hit our breaking point. They wouldn't have blamed us for what we did."

Kyle let his words soak into his skin, slowly wrapping his arm around his brother's shoulder and pulling him in close. "Thanks," he whispered. Ike smiled sadly, wrapping his own arm around Kyle's waist and holding him tightly.

As dawn began to break over the bodies sprawled over the street, light reflecting the true horrors of their deeds splashed across shades of skin, eyes opened with a dull beam about them. Kenny couldn't help but be reminded of the Pit, it was nothing but lifeless eyes and blood soaked children. But the warmth that surrounded him was enough to sate him, to know that this wasn't another failure; this was their victory, somber as it was.

The two outside the gate could hear distant murmurings of kids beginning to stir, of the world beginning anew once more. The brothers glanced around at the wall, staring out towards the beauty of the sunrise back into the decrepit mess that had become their town. But between the two of them, the end of their story was clear enough. Between them all, it didn't need a moment's discussion.

As the Nest fell, so would the rest of the town. It would rise from the ashes with time and patience, the very things that their parents had instilled in them all so very long ago.

Kyle could see Peter's last snide grin so clearly etched in his mind, but he knew that it was moot. The man thought that he'd won, that he'd turn the children of South Park into nothing but blood-thirsty killers. The redhead knew better. Despite the fact that they had awoken soaked with blood, despite the very clear stench of burning bodies still wafting in the air around them, they all knew what would become of them.

Vengeance never brought them together. Instead, the lessons that they'd been taught so well by their elders had followed them into the heat of the battle. Fighting for each other, not for blood, is what would keep them from falling apart. Together, the kids of the town would tear down their wall of isolation, they would rebuild the foundations of what made them who they were. Despite the destruction, despite the very clear notion that it all rejuvenated from wanton desolation...they would take pride in it. They would love it as they had so long ago. After all, they all knew well enough that it would always be South Park. It would always be home.

A/N: Okay so I'm gonna get mushy up in here, be prepared.

I seriously want to thank the very few of you who kept up with this story. This is, without a doubt, my least popular story. And I'm more than sure it's due to the lack of slashing and sexy times. Which, I don't blame people, I'm just as bad sometimes. But I know that's what a lot of people want and it means the WORLD to me that some of you still found interest in this tale.

This is probably my favorite story that I have ever written. I learned a lot and I really got to go outside of my comfort zone when it comes to writing certain scenarios. I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words that kept me pushing through with this story. It meant so much to me. I cared so much more about how people felt regarding this story than any of my others, and I think you guys could tell that I had a lot of fun giving it my all.

I hoped you like this one as much as I did, I'm really excited to hear your thoughts, good or not.

So, for a final time, Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and I hope to catch ya on another story :)