Chapter 9
Even as they worked on making graphics on Adobe Illustrator, Mr. Wich's students still talked about Stan's healing abilities and whatnot.
"Stan is sooo creepy, isn't he?" Bebe spoke in a stereotypical girl voice.
"Tell me about it!" Wendy replied in the same tone, "He has no right to invade our privacies! Gross!!"
"He's gonna get a good ass-whipping with the school and with his parents! Y'all watch!" said Craig Tucker in his nasal voice.
Tweek was about to chime in with another comment when all of a sudden, they heard the door slam open.
"Well, speak of the devil!" Cartman got up with an evil grin, "If it isn't Kyle Broflovski, the one who told us of Stan's heritage!"
"You douchebag…" Kyle growled despite his pains, "Do you know… Do you have any goddamned idea… how much you hurt him?"
"That's the point!" Cartman cackled, "Damn pussy needs to be tossed around once in a while."
This prompted Kyle to deliver a clean, hard punch to Cartman's nose, causing it to turn scarlet.
"If you ever talk smack about my best friend again, I swear to God that I'll have your head. Capice?" Kyle warned, swiftly leaving the room before he got in trouble.
"Craig," Mr. Wich called the boy with the blue hat over, "Escort Cartman to the nurse's office."
~Meanwhile, with poor Stanley~
Damn him… Stan was halfway to his house now, and his heart was racing out of exhaustion, Damn that jerk! Kyle, I trusted you!!
After finally arriving at his house, Stan tossed his handbag on the ground. This sound only attracted the attention of his parents.
"Stanley Marsh!" Randy tried to catch up to his son, "Why are you home early?"
"Go away!" Stan rebuked his parents, "Leave now!"
Stan went into his room and slammed the door shut.
"Stanley?" Sharon banged on the door, "What's wrong?"
"I'm not telling!" Stan's pains were at their peak, and he cried.
"You have to! We order you to!" Randy demanded.
"Okay, just don't bug me afterwards, okay?" Stan gave in, "The whole school knows… that I am a Branded."
"What?!" Sharon's face contorted with horror, "I thought that your father and I told you not to tell anyone about your brand! Who was the first one you told?"
"Kyle," Stan bluntly replied.
"We specifically ordered you not to let him of all people know!" How dare you defy us?!"
~Back at South Park High School, right after the bell rang~
"Mfpmppffm, pmpffmpmfmpp, fppmfpmpppffmpp mpmmffmpm fmmfmpmmmppp mfmppf?" Kenny asked as he and Kyle were still in the room.
"You got me," Kyle replied.
"Mmpfmffmp ffmppffmf ppffmfmfmmfpfmp fmpppf pmppppppffpp! Ffmppffmf fmmmmmfpp mfpmffppm, mpmmffmpmpppfmp ffmppffmf?"
"Well, yeah, but… I dunno."
Just then, they heard Mr. Wich talking on the phone to Sharon.
"Yeah, he's home," Sharon said.
"Okay…" Mr. Wich nodded, "Okay… Okay, Mrs. Marsh, make sure you discipline him."
With that, Mr. Wich hung up the phone.
"Ppfmfpppmmffmfmppffmmmfp! Fmmfmpmmmppp mfffmm mmmfmp mfpppfppmmpp?!" Kenny was excited, though not in a good way.
"Apparently…" Kyle uttered, "Sorry, Kenny, I'm going to go to Stan's house to check things out!"
Then, without warning, Kyle began to run to Stan's house as promised.
~Right at the Marsh's front door~
"Ding-dong…" went the doorbell.
"Kyle?" Randy said as he saw the orange-haired beauty.
"Please! I really need to see Stan!" Kyle begged.
"Not you," Sharon came up to the door.
"Fine," Kyle appeared to give up, "I'll have to charge through you!"
Kyle unexpectedly charged through his best friend's parents.
"Kyle!" Randy growled, "Get the hell back here, you turdbucket!!"
Kyle ignored them, of course. How could he not? He hurriedly went upstairs to the front of Stan's room.
"Stan?! Stan!!" Kyle shouted as he banged the door, "It's me, Kyle."
"Kyle…?" Stan spoke lifelessly, "The one who ruined my reputation at school and told my ex?"
"At least let me talk…"
Without warning, the door flew open, as if by magic.
"Stan!" Kyle's pupils significantly shrank, "Did you… did you do that?"
"I did…" Stan sounded like he was dying.
"Why is it so dark?" Kyle tried to physically feel for Stan.
"The darkness… makes me feel comfortable."
"Stan?! You're out of your frickin' mind…"
"You're the one who's out of your mind!!"
"Stan…"
"Go away, Kyle!" Stan turned his whole body away from the Jewish boy.
"But Stan!"
"Why? Why did you tell everyone about my brand?" the Branded now faced Kyle, awash in tears, "You knew the horrid history behind it! You knew that if everyone found out, nobody would ever love me or look at me the same way again! Even my own parents abandoned me because they could not stand the presence of someone of mixed blood... And now, even my foster family would not tell me until it was too late! Of all people... I thought you would understand, Kyle. I thought that if anyone would keep my brand a secret, it would be you. I trusted you! It s-seems I was wrong."
"Stan, please..." Kyle touched Stan on the shoulder, only to be shoved off in melancholy.
"Now look at me," Stan came out of hiding in the darkness, and a scary aura surrounded him, "Because of what you have done, this is what I am now."
From this light, a number of feathers scattered. Stan now had two wings, the right one black as onyx and the left one as white as pearls. He had cat ears poking through his hat, and a tail to match.
"Stan… What have you become?!" Kyle blinked many times.
"I am… This is my true nature, the dormant powers from within me, the real blood that courses through my veins. Now that you know of my full heritage, you will do well to leave, Kyle."
"Stan, you have to-" Kyle attempted, only to get rebuked.
"Leave, now, and never come back!" Stan began to pelt books at him, "I hate you for making me this way! Sick bastard!!"
"At least let me explain..." Kyle felt tears of his own about to be shed.
"Twenty seconds tops," Stan stopped crying, "If you can't explain yourself in that much time, I will not be your friend anymore."
"Fine..." Kyle knew that he was short of time, but he couldn't bear to lose one so dear to him, "Cartman... he said that if I didn't tell him about your secret, he would go straight to your house and kill you. The thought of you dead... do you know how sad that makes me? Facing death and facing seclusion from society... which would you choose?"
"I would probably choose death..."
Kyle was so suddenly disgusted at what Stan had said that he slapped him very hard on the right cheek.
"You fucking idiot!" He now glared at Stan with a mixture of both anger and anguish, now crying, "You can't die! You just can't! Do you realize what would happen if you perished? You cannot be here anymore! That and the fact that..."
"That what, Kyle?" Stan went back to sobbing, "Well, your twenty seconds are up! So get the hell out of here and never look at me again!!"
"Fine!" Kyle shot an enraged look at Stan, "Maybe you're better off dead, anyway!"
At those words, Kyle dashed out of the room, leaving the frightened apostle to cry his eyeballs out.
Meanwhile, on the way to his house, Kyle suddenly stopped walking and poured a seemingly endless amount of tears. He spoke aloud, knowing full well that Stan could probably read his mind if he thought.
"Why, Stan, why?" Kyle barely managed to utter, "You know that I never want to say I wish you dead. Why does it have to be this way? Why... ugh!!"
The pain that Kyle had been feeling ever since he told Cartman that Stan was a Branded had now begun to amplify. He could feel what Stan had once felt during the rash incident.
"What is happening to me... no!!"
Kyle felt the twinge concentrate in his back, head, and tailbone, but being absolutely nowhere else. It felt as if he was going to die and that he needed to call out to Stan via mind-speech.
Stan! Stan, help me! I am in grave pain!! Kyle called out as loud as he could.
Not as much pain as you put me in, dolt! Stan barked back.
Huh? I really put you in that much pain? Kyle could not believe what he was experiencing.
What are you talking about?!
I think I just read your mind…
Is this a joke? Get the hell away from me. You disgust me, demon.
No, I'm serious!! Kyle pleaded, You know that rash from a while back? Well, now, I'm feeling something very similar to that!
Well, I don't care what happens to you anyway, you asshole.
Stan! I'm going to die! It's... AUGH!!!!
Kyle, don't joke around like...
After a while, Kyle still didn't reply, and despite what happened before, Stan quickly grew worried.
Kyle? Kyle!!!! Hold on, I'll be right there!
Stan flew (literally and non-literally) to where he sensed Kyle. He looked for such a long time that he thought all hope was lost.
Dammit, Kyle, where the hell are you? Huh?
All of his doubts nearly ended as Stan came across a whirlwind of pure white feathers, much like that of his left wing. When it eventually cleared, Stan was shocked at what he saw.
"K-Kyle?" The apostle put his hands over his mouth, "I-I-Is that you?"
"Stan..."
Kyle now looked up at the apostle. Stan had every right to be alarmed as he gazed upon Kyle's gorgeous white wings, wolf ears, and sleek tail.