A/N: So I've decided that somewhere down the line, I'm going to take the first 15 chapters of this story and rewrite them. Like, certain elements will change, but nothing that actually changes the direction of the plot. Because five years of sitting there has made me want to fix some shit. Dat fanfic lyfe, yo.

We're on Stan once again, Enjoy~

I don't trust these men. I don't like the way they barged into our home, claiming that we're in significant danger. I don't like how they informed me that now we're on the threshold of battle, that something that Kenny did is going to result in horrors should I not get our men geared up and prepared. My mind has been nothing but a loop the last few days since they came with their declarations. I know Kenny, he's like my brother. He knows better than to do something to upset any foreign land, let alone the land we used to call home. I sigh, watching listlessly at my soldiers parrying swords and shields against one another. Their feet all sweep seamlessly along the grass and dirt beneath them. When I became in charge of our army, we were nothing but a mass of clunky marauders, but I knew better. Kyle had taught me when we were children that there was much more to being a leader than just having strength in body, you had to be quick on your feet to keep pushing forward.

That sound advice is maybe the only thing that's kept me going all these years.

"General Stanley!" a voice calls. I look back, seeing that Damien is walking towards me with a vicious smile over his face. I can't help but shudder. I've made it a habit to not trust anything that isn't a man, and any fool could tell you that the creature walking towards me is anything but. He steps up beside me with a self-righteous smirk. "How are you doing today, General?"

"Fine, yourself?" I respond tiredly, letting my vision fall back towards my men.

He follows my gaze and chuckles softly, "You've reared yourself a fine selection of soldiers, Stan. They will certainly be a force to be reckoned with."

"Hm," I muse. "Well it's always been my hope that there would be no need for them to be 'reckoned with'. I'm not one for wars, myself, Damien."

He nods, "Few are. But I think you'll be changing your mind here shortly."

I look over at him and can't help but cock my brow. "Few things on this earth could make me willing to take lives. I do this only out of necessity."

Damien chuckles again, his red eyes hazy as he continues scanning over the training grounds. "Their lives," he gestures. "Their lives are in your hands. Should they be threatened, you know you'll do anything to preserve them, even if it means being caked in the blood of your enemies."

I frown, taking a deep breath. He's right. I'd do anything for my soldiers, anything for the people of my country. However, this talk of doom that our guests have brought to us has put me as far onto the edge as I think I can take. "Just what is it that Kenny stole?" I ask.

He looks at me with a grin that I can't quite read. It's mischievous and gleaming. His garnet eyes are flashing with a devious glint that makes my hair stand on end. We just stare at each other in silence before quickly approaching footsteps come up behind us. "General! Prince Kenneth has returned!" a runner pants, looking at me firmly.

"Seems you're about to find out," Damien replies smartly.

I grimace, turning and walking down my wall, shaking the arm of my second in command. "I have to see Kenny," I tell him lowly. "Take charge for now, I'll see if I can return in time to send the men off. If not, you know what needs done." He nods and I turn back, meeting Damien's side and taking lead back towards the palace. I can't help but feel my chest tightening in anticipation. Something about this whole situation seems so off, my intuition is screaming that something drastic is about to take place, and I can't place how I feel about it all. We walk in through our beige corridors, down the hall towards the main congressional room at the forefront of the palace. I can't help instinct as my hand automatically flies to my hip, cupping my sword's hilt and stroking it with my thumb.

Damien notices and laughs, "There's no danger, Prince Stanley."

"I'm always prepared for the worst," I mutter. It was true, training on the battlefield and losing so much when I was young had turned me almost bitter. Perhaps not bitter, but rather pessimistic. The worst could always be around every corner, it was just the mantra that I'd grown with and lived by.

We approach Gary, Thomas, and Damien's group in the throne room. Gary looks at me worriedly, "Stanley...what do you think will happen?"

I shrug, taking my place next to them and staring at the door with tense shoulders, my hand falling off my sword to cross my arms. "I don't know. But Kenny better have a damn good excuse for possibly throwing us into Tartarus without consulting us."

"Oh trust me," Clyde chuckles, "you'll change your tune on that soon enough."

The three of us look at each other with quirked brows before the doors burst open. The light makes us wince as we see Kenny with a tall man beside him walking towards us. "Hey there, guys," he smiles brightly.

"Hello, Kenneth," Gary raises his brow. "We hear that you have sent us spiraling towards war."

He freezes, taking notice of the group surrounding us. "What uh...what's going on?"

Clyde perks up a bit, "Token! My god it's been such a long time," he smiles. He reaches forward with the other man and they shake hands.

"Clyde, good to see you. I trust Ithaca is doing well?"

He nods, "As well as it could be. And Opus?"

"Same with us," he grins.

Thomas looks between the two of them, "You know -FUCK- each other?"

Clyde nods once more, "Yes, this is Token, King of Opus. He and I have met in the past. He's a powerful ally and a dear friend."

"You flatter me, my king," he chuckles. "Sorry to come unannounced my kings," he bows at Gary and Thomas.

Gary waves it off, "No worries. It's always good to have a familiar face so close," he smiles gently. I can't help but feel jealousy towards him, Gary has always had an impeccable talent for dissolving tensions.

Clyde gestures towards his group, "Prince Kenneth, these are Craig, Pip, and Damien. They are here with myself to help unravel the mess that you have made for your kingdom."

"So...you guys are...mad for what I did?" Kenny stares at us, bewildered. "I can't believe it! I thought you'd be thrilled!" This is just getting more and more confusing I swear...

"They know not of what you have stolen from King Eric," Damien says with a dark grin. "I suggest you fetch it and change their minds before Stanley here rips you a new one," he jerks his head at me. I can't say he's far off from the truth. A part of me wants to start screaming bloody murder at the blonde in front of me.

Kenny grabs my arms and smiles brilliantly, "Stan, it's so worth it, trust me!" He turns his head and shouts over at the still opened doors, "Come in, it's safe!"

Myself, Gary, and Thomas look at each other confusedly before directing our attention back onto the door. A figure walks in quietly, cloaked in a tattered dark green hood. I raise my brow and turn to Kenny. "You stole a fucking servant? We're getting attacked because you wanted a slave?"

Kenny turns to me and pouts as the figure walks up beside him. I notice pale fingers twitching nervously beneath the heavy fabric. "Excuse me," Kenny says indignantly. "You happen to be talking about the King of Sparta."

"What?" Gary blinks.

The figure clears his throat, thin arms coming out and pushing the hood back on his head. My heart stops in my chest as ember curls break through and deep jade eyes lock in mine. "Hi, Stan," he says in a cracking voice.

My mouth drops with Gary and Thomas' and we all can't help but recoil in shock. "K-Kyle?!" I squeak. He nods with that shy smile that's been plaguing me for six years and I can't help myself. I throw myself forward and wrap him in my arms, tears leaking down my cheeks before I can stop them. I feel him flinch a bit before wrapping back around me, encircling my waist and burying his head into my chest. "Gods you're alive!" I sob out, swinging him in my hold.

"Kyle I -SHIT- can't believe it!" Thomas shouts as he and Gary both join our huddle, wrapping Kyle in the middle of us all. The smell of Kyle is the same, spiced and warm and so deliciously nostalgic I can barely take it. He's real. This isn't just another dream, this is my true in-the-flesh best friend snuggled into my arms. For once, everything seems brighter, my mind trying to beat away the countless questions and just enjoying what is perhaps the most serene moment I've had in so long.

"Can't breathe!" Kyle shouts, muffled from my chest and we all pull away from him, Gary and Thomas giving him idiotic smiles that I'm more than sure I'm mirroring. Kyle chuckles, his cheeks burning red as he runs his fingers through his hair bashfully. "It's wonderful to see you three again," he smiles gently.

"You can imagine it's more wonderful for us to see you," Gary laughs in disbelief. "Good gods, Kyle, how did you-, we thought you were-"

"It's...a very long story," he bites his lip, looking at Ken.

The blonde steps up and puts his hands on Kyle's shoulders. "Cartman kidnapped him," he says lowly. "He took him, staged his murder, and made him into his fucking sex slave once he fell into power. I had to get him out of there!" I blink, my stomach twisting up nauseatingly as I look back down at the redhead who's redirected his attention to the floor. His face is burning and his body is tensed.

"Ky..." I say, tilting his chin up. "You...I'm so sorry. W-we didn't know."

He cocks his brow, "You think I blame you, Stan? You along with everyone else in Sparta believed Eric's lies. Only a handful of people know I still live. I'm just thankful the four of you were sent off by my parents. I'm sure Eric would have loved to execute you," he growls, rubbing his arms tiredly. "H-he's done everything to keep me broken...telling me he did kill you off all that time ago. I had lost all hope, but then Kenny shows up in Sparta and now..." he trails off, glancing around the grand room before looking at the floor again guiltily. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Gary asks soothingly.

He looks back up and I can see the worry etched onto his features, a part of me wondering if that's become his permanent complexion over time as a hostage. My insides are curling with fury at my former "friend", taking a prince, taking our real friend, and locking him away like a toy...I always knew something was off about him, I just never knew it'd go to such extremes.

Kyle continues, "You know why. If I'd stayed there and just dealt with what fate had given me, Troy wouldn't be in danger of Eric coming after me. You all remember him, you know what a stubborn ass he is when he gets his hands on something...and he's had his hands on me for so long now," his shoulders droop. "He turned me into his property. The one piece of property that he never let out of his sight." He pauses, looking at our group with heavy eyes. "I...I'm going to throw your country onto the cusp of war if I stay here. If you want me to leave and go back to Eric, I will," he beats away Kenny's protesting arms. "I'm not about to ask so much from you, especially now that I'm no longer a prince or a king, I'm merely a whore," his face twists up. "I will feel no ill will towards you should you send me away. I'll still call you all my friends and never think differently of you, and knowing you're all alive will keep me going regardless of who I end up with. The decision is yours."

Kenny sputters, "Kyle! Cartman will kill you if you go back to him and you know it!"

He looks up at Ken tiredly, "One life is not worth thousands of others, regardless of who that person may be. It is not my decision to make, Kenny. And it's not yours either. It's up to your kings and your general," he gestures towards us. "You know I appreciate what you've done for me, but in the end, if I'm doing nothing more than leading Eric to the shores of a country that is not willing to fight, I may as well be the only one on the sand to avoid additional casualties."

Gary, Thomas, and I look at each other with cocked brows. A part of me can't believe the events unfolding in front of me, can't believe that Kyle is willing to throw himself back into Cartman's grasp to save our land. Actually, that I can believe. He's always been selfless like that, it was one of the reasons he and I became so close over the years. It's one of the reasons I always knew that he would be such a great king.

I can't help but look at Damien who just wiggles his brows at me. "General Stanley, what do you think?" he smirks.

Well I'll be damned, the man was right. There are reasons to bathe in blood. I feel the entire group staring at me, waiting for my decision. I always said there was just way too much pressure being the general, but another glance at Gary and Thomas shows that they agree with me all the way, that the decision doesn't take an ounce of thought.

I grasp Kyle in another tight hug, relishing in the familiar warmth. I back off and smile at him, getting another small one back that makes my heart melt. "That fat bastard doesn't know what Troy will do to protect you," I assure him. He looks like he's about to fall into another guilty spell before I cup his chin, staring into those green eyes that had for so long encouraged me and comforted me in my times of need. Now, I'm more than ecstatic to have this opportunity, to know that he's alive and well in front of me, to finally be able to return the favor. I promise him softly, "He'll never take you from us again."

A/N: Reunited and it feels so good, mothafukkas.

I kinda like how I set the precipice that these chapters are supposed to be short pft. I need to do that with other stories ugh.

Thanks for R&Ring!