Little toy soldier, stand up straight.
Little toy soldier, know your fate.
Little toy soldier, shirt stained red,
Little toy soldier, fall down dead.
Little toy soldier, with eyes that tell all,
Little toy soldier, who will take the fall,
Little toy soldier, eyes cast down,
Little toy soldier, you're gonna drown.
Little toy soldier, please don't die,
Little toy soldier, open your eyes,
Little toy soldier, please get back on,
Little toy soldier, you're already gone.
Broken toy soldier, you've been left behind,
Broken toy soldier, have they really been so unkind?
Broken toy soldier, they're all long gone,
Broken toy soldier, face the sad facts, they've all moved on.
Broken little boy, with so much left to fear,
Broken little boy, who isn't wanted here,
Broken little boy, too hollowed out to cry,
Broken little boy- it's time to say goodbye.
Poor little angel, did you ever stop to think,
Poor little angel, you might not had been on the brink,
Poor little angel, always ready with a fist-
Poor little angel - you didn't think that you'd be missed.
Poor little soul, why weren't you able to see,
Poor little soul, just what you meant to me?
Poor little soul, choking on words not spoken,
Poor little soul, you're just so broken…
Life isn't fair.
But I guess it doesn't have to be.
This was what Kenny thought as he stood in front of the grave, quiet little casket going down into the earth. Stan had been such a great person- a good friend, a good boyfriend, a strong person- he hadn't deserved to die. But die he had. Kenny choked back a quiet sob, and stared down at his feet, unable to watch.
Kenny ripped the gun out of his pocket, and let a bullet tear through Cartman's follower. He made a quiet choking noise, and his legs buckled. He fell down, and didn't get back up.
"Stan! Stan!" Kenny cried, grabbing his friend, who was sliding down the wall, leaving a thin trail of blood behind him.
"Stan…" He said quietly when Stan failed to respond, he just kept rasping air in and out of his poor, ravaged chest. "No… You're okay. You're okay. You're okay, Stan!"
Stan chuckled, chest heaving with the effort. Kenny held him up, desperate. "Not so okay. You kn-know that by now."
Kenny felt tears spring up in the corners of his eyes, "You idiot! That bullet was for me… Not for you…"
Stan smiled. He wasn't looking at anything anymore. Just staring blankly out. "I kind of figured. But you know… Life isn't fair. But I guess it doesn't have to be."
Kenny couldn't respond. He was afraid that if he said anything, he would cry. Kenny didn't cry. Kenny couldn't cry.
"But that's what makes it so worth living, right? Do me a favor, Kenny."
Kenny nodded, swallowing, "Anything."
"Don't forget me."
And Stan died.
Nothing is perfect. But if it were, life wouldn't be so interesting, would it?
After Cartman's attack on the pentagon, the military finally regarded him as a threat. They mobilized, and took out the entirety of his followers in one night. It was quick, it was clean, and it was over. But it was still too late for Stan.
After Cartman had been captured, the military transport he'd been in was raided. Cartman had disappeared, likely to attempt to start something again. But at the moment, he was still in hiding. So, for now, everything was safe.
Kyle, Kenny and Ike went back home, devastated. There had been so many tears, mostly from Stan's parents and friends. Ike, not being used to the psychosis that tended to follow Kyle and Kenny, didn't say anything for two weeks. Even after Stan's funeral, he refused to talk. They were so worried. But one day, he just asked for a juice box. Like nothing had happened. He asked Kyle if Stan was going to come over once, and that was when they realized he'd blocked off the entire thing from his mind.
But life went on, as it often seems to do.
Kyle cried a lot. Kenny would come over on those cold days when he couldn't go home, and he would find Kyle crying. He put up a good front at school, like everything was okay. But it wasn't really okay. Neither was Kyle.
But at least Kyle wasn't so far gone in grief that he couldn't survive. He knew he had to keep living- and so he did. He picked up.
No, he would never forget, or get over Stan completely. They were too close. Closer than brothers when they were kids, and even moreso in the few days before Stan had died. But to stop living would have been an insult to his memory, and so he kept on. And Kyle found that, yes, he could still be happy. Life was so short; they would see each other again soon.
Kenny stopped dieing so much after that. Not completely, no. But whereas he once would die at least once a day, he now died at most, twice a month. He didn't need Damien as a crutch anymore, and besides, Damien was often busy now.
It was the first time he died after Stan that Kenny realized his deal had been breached. Stan's death had nullified the contract- his Soul was his, and he'd still managed to save Kyle. It was better than nothing.
Eventually, even though there was still Stan's loss to consider, Kenny and Kyle got together. Love is a weird thing, and it works hand in hand with Life to confuse people. But sometimes, maybe once in a century, it can be fair to one person. One good, kind person who deserves it.
Kenny hung his head. God dammit Stan! That was meant for me… Not for you. He thought, and the wind whipped through his hair. It was an odd sensation, one he wasn't used to, since he always had his hood up to block the wind. But his little black suit was replacing that at the moment.
And that was when Kyle broke down. He'd spent the entire service trying not to cry- but Kenny had known he couldn't make it. He was Kyle. And Stan was dead.
He put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, and felt the tears leak out of the corners of his own eyes.
"I- I don't unders-stand…" Kyle choked out, "Why S-Stan had to die!"
Kenny didn't have an answer for him.
"Kenny…?" Kyle asked, sniffling, and Kenny nodded in acknowledgement. He wasn't sure if Kyle saw, but he continued anyway. "Do you think Stan went to heaven?"
Kenny nodded, completely sure of his answer as he quoted Saint Peter himself.
"'Self-sacrifice is a one-way ticket into Heaven.'"
Indeed, that's what Stan thought as the image in the clouds shifted. Stan smiled.
Broken toy soldier, you just need a little glue,
Broken toy soldier, just take a look at you!
Fixed up little soldier, every day has its dawn,
Fixed up little soldier, keep marching on.
---------------
Draik: D'aawwwww. And, it ends. I really hope you guys enjoyed this thang.
Kenny: I sure as hell got killed a lot.
Draik: Yush you did! *ruffles hair* How kyut!
Kyle: Blargh! Get off that, it's mine now, apparently! *tackles*
Stan: Nuuu! I'm still here! *runs after Kyle*
Kenny: Back off, Stan! You got killed! Killed dead! I called him! *wields broom dangerously*
Stan: DEAR GOD BROOM OH NOES *asplodes*
Draik: Um… I'm gonna go ahead and blame Mountain Dew and Kit-Kats for this, okay?
Ike: How come I don't get to be in these things!?!? AND WHY CAN'T I SAY HELL.
Kyle: Ike! Don't say Hell.
Ike: ARGH.
Kenny: Duh, you're in it right now.
Ike: Huh.
Draik: Okay, that's it. I'm finished. Kapoot. Done. No more!
Cartman: Rawr.
Draik: No! No sequel for you, go away! *shoos* I'm finished!
Draik: So, in conclusion: Story finished, you awesome, me hungry, and Kenny explosively epic.
Kenny: Eh? Hooray!
THANK YOU FOR READING. YOU ARE AWESOME. :)