Author's Note: The final chapter of part 2! Thanks to all that have read this far. If you enjoyed the story, any ratings or reviews would be greatly appreciated!
The five friends broke into a dead sprint as the raving crowd rushed after them. All of them were understandably pissed at Butters, but he attempted to offer a solution.
"Hey y'all, we should probably split up," Butters suggested.
"Are you insane? What, so we all die separately or something?" Heidi shot back.
"Erm, Listen. I may have not been entirely honest with you fellers," Butters admitted, starting to pant from running.
"You fuckin' think?" Cartman replied, still contemplating shooting him.
"The pendants I gave y'all are made of glass, and charmed to protect you. But, they can also subdue attackers! Shatter the pendants and toss the dust at your enemies! It'll put 'em to sleep," Butters desperately explained.
"That's *pant* the stupidest *pant* shit I've ever heard of," Wendy spat out, becoming exhausted from running. However, the group quickly determined that it was likely a better idea than continuing to run and being torn limb-from-limb by the crowd.
With that, the five separated, each rushing in different directions. After a brief run, Cartman found himself throwing open the door of a nearby house, left unlocked by the brainwashed owners. He slammed and locked the door behind him, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. The others likewise found abandoned houses and buildings to barricade themselves within, frenzied mobs striking against their doors. The one exception was Butters, who'd given the crowd the slip by hiding inside a dumpster.
"This dress is ruined…" Butters lamented, appearing to be more upset by that than the wild mob trying to kill him. Once the crowd was far enough out of sight, Butters emerged from the dumpster and began his journey back to the square where the Queen resided. "Monster, your days are numbered…" He muttered to himself, producing one of his concealed knives. The blade had an ethereal glow to it, forged from a rare mineral known as Moonsilver.
In truth, Butters knew far more about the cult, and their "God", than he'd let on. The blade he wielded held the power to put an end to the Queen, but only if she was stabbed through the heart by it. Fully aware that hiding near the Queen was futile, he approached her head-on. She was now alone, having dispersed all of her subjects in search of the five friends.
"How Adorable," spoke the Queen, "A precious little lamb straying from the flock." Upon the words leaving her mouth, the Queen tore off the large gown that'd concealed her body. Butters knew what to expect, but was still repulsed by the creature's true appearance. Her body was comprised of the same gaunt, sunken skin present on her face, nearly skeletal in nature. However, her arms told a far different story. She had dozens of pairs of them, jutting haphazardly from throughout her upper body. They all appeared to be from different sources, having wildly varied skin tones and lengths. The one commonality that all the arms shared were razor-sharp nails at their fingertips. Butters wasted no time in tearing the pendant from his neck, shattering it against the ground. He then rushed the Queen and attempted to throw the shattered glass at her.
Unfortunately, the Queen proved much too powerful for the effects of the glass to work, merely chuckling at Butters' desperate gambit.
"Nothing more than a cheap parlor trick," the Queen admonished, "A flea's last, desperate, bite." The Queen then reached forward her numerous arms and scooped Butters off the ground, her sharp nails digging into his skin, drawing blood. He tried urgently to stab at her, but her grip was so tight that he couldn't move. "Sleep now, precious child."
With those words, the Queen raised her many arms high, preparing to strike. However, her attack was quickly withdrawn when several bullets tore into her flesh.
"Forget someone, you BITCH? Called the gun's owner, Wendy.
"Preposterous. How has the madding crowd not torn you to shreds?" Wendy smirked at the Queen's question. Butters' pendants had worked like a charm in putting many of their assailants to sleep, and the handful that remained were fruitlessly chasing Kenny back and forth between two houses. Even if they managed to kill him, he'd simply come back. Wendy had needed to punch out a few before resorting to throwing the pendant, including Stan, which she felt a twinge of guilt about.
While the Queen attempted to posit on Wendy's escape from the crowd, several more shots tore through her.
"Fuck you, Queenie!" Shouted the arriving Cartman, a wide grin on his face. Heidi had also joined him, nervous, but resolute to help however she could.
"Y-You d-don't s-scare me!" Heidi stammered.
"Heh, hell yeah! Get her, Heidi!" Cartman did his best to hype her up.
"R-Right! Queen of the Red Moon? M-More like…um…Queen of the, uh, Dumb…Moon." She really was trying her best. The Queen hung her head, seemingly from a mixture of annoyance and disappointment.
"I truly do hate the lot of you, I really want you to understand that," The Queen slowly raised her head back up. "The old adage rings true. If you want something done properly, you must do it yourself."
Though the Queen was continually taking gunfire, her body was not permanently injured from the assault, and she gradually raised all of her hands toward the gleaming Red Moon. Save for, naturally, the hand that gripped hold of Butters.
"Guys, I don't know what she's doing, but we'd better take cover!" Wendy exclaimed.
"C'mon Wendy," Cartman replied, "She's probably just surrendering. We got the bitch dead to rights!"
"I-I agree. What could she really do to us now?" Heidi spoke with cautious optimism. Butters remained silent, appearing to be unconscious. Just then, the moon above their heads began to crackle, as thought it were burning. From the surface of the moon shot down a multitude of red beams, rushing toward the Earth. Seconds later, the numerous beams descended upon the group, piercing their arms and legs, pinning them to the ground.
"C'mooooon Wendy, she's probably surrendering!" Wendy angrily mocked Cartman's suggestion, "If we die, I'm not sitting with either of you at heaven's lunch table." Though the three had been pierced by the moonbeams, the wounds were strangely numb, and they felt little pain from the injuries.
"You really think I'll be in Heaven?" Cartman shot back.
"…Fair enough. Well, I'm not sitting with Heidi at the very least."
"SILENCE!" the Red Queen bellowed, "I've incapacitated the lot of you. I want nothing more than to see the life drain from your faces. My next wave of moonbeams will pierce you fools directly through the hearts."
"It seems that all festivals are ruined by a few brash interlopers. In life, I was a beautiful, beloved Queen. My subjects worshiped the ground I walked upon. Everything was PERFECT. Until a small band of miserable peasants staged a coup against the royal family. They dragged us into the streets, and I was forced to watch as my own family was guillotined before my very eyes. My husband, my siblings…even my…children." Something vaguely resembling tears began to drip from the Queen's eyeless face. She then craned her neck up, revealing stitch marks from where her head had been reattached to her body.
"I shall never fear the guillotine again! I am immortal! I am a GOD! I AM, I AM THE QUEEN OF THE RED- GAHHHH!" The queen screamed out in shock and horror. She looked down in agony to reveal a large, glowing knife protruding from her chest, dark, ashen blood pouring from the wound.
"Goodbye, Queen of the Red Moon. May you be reunited with your family once more." Butters had freed himself from the Queen's grasp during her speech, plunging the moonsliver knife deep into her chest. The Queen gazed down at Butters, her expression of fury slowly changing into one of…for lack of a better term, relief. Moments later, the wounded Queen's body crumbled into dust, the vile Red Moon steadily returning to its usual silvery glow.
The moonbeams restraining the three friends slowly vanished from view, allowing them to stand once more. Standing required great effort, however, due to the piercings through their legs.
"Oh my God!" Heidi exclaimed, "I can't believe we didn't die!" She and Wendy hobbled over to Cartman and helped him to his feet.
"Everything…fucking…hurts," Cartman stammered, "Butters, we're still gonna kill you for this." As he spoke, the wounds on their arms and legs steadily began to heal, seeming to vanish alongside with all trace of the Red Moon's curse.
"Eh, I guess everything worked out okay, right?" Wendy interjected, kissing Cartman's cheek, "Just a shame that Kenny's probably dead."
"Yeah, he kept saying he wasn't gonna die this time too. Rest in peace, man." Cartman replied.
"He really was brave," Heidi stated thoughtfully, "Maybe someday I'll indulge that gross request of his. Or, maybe not."
"Assholes! You guys have NO FAITH in me at ALL!" A voice cried out. Kenny then revealed himself from the shadows, baring numerous scrapes and bruises, but alive all the same. "You fuckers are more torn up than me anyhow. So, we still down to kill Butters?"
The group nodded, but upon turning to face down the boy, they discovered that Butters had completely vanished.
"Who does he think he is? Fucking Batman?" Cartman feigned anger, but in truth, he was quite sad that his friend had departed once again.
"Don't be sad, dude," Kenny remarked, noticing Cartman's expression, "Whenever another cult turns up or some kinda paranormal shit happens, he'll be there. He's weird like that." Cartman didn't really react to Kenny's statement, but it did lift his spirits somewhat.
Huh, now that's something you don't see every day," Heidi exclaimed, motioning behind the group. The friends looked on in surprise as a vast crowd of dazed citizens emerged from the darkness of the streets.
"Looks like a zombie apocalypse," Wendy giggled, the crowd murmuring in pure confusion to one another. It was evident that none of them had a single clue what had transpired, and Wendy felt a tad guilty upon seeing Stan confusedly rubbing his bruised cheek from where she'd punched him.
"Damn ho, you decked him pretty good!" Cartman said, patting Wendy's shoulder proudly.
"Heh, guess you really are a bad influence," Wendy replied coyly, giggling more as he held her closer.
"By the way, Heidi," Kenny remarked, a grin forming on his face, "Did you say something about 'indulging' some request from me? I am so happy that I didn't die this time."
"…Fine then," Heidi blushed, "Yes…I'll play a game of 'Magic: The Gathering' with you."
"…I've changed my mind. Kill me." as Kenny hung his head, Heidi chuckled and ruffled up his hair.'
"I think its time to get the hell out of here," Cartman proposed. "Hey Wendy…" he whispered, "We never got to take that shower together, did we?" Wendy flashed him a devious smirk and bumped her hip against his crotch.
Under the shining silver moon, the four friends set off into the night. Despite the struggles, battles, and demons the group had faced, they felt a stronger bond together as a result. Even in their darkest times, the friends now knew that they could face any struggle that came their way, no matter how monstrous, as long as they had one another.
End Part 2