"South Park Post COVID": Kyle Broflovski and Mariah Jimenez's Love Story

Chapter 3: Stan and Kyle Reunited

In Stan's car, he was sleeping in his seat while the car was driving in auto mode.

"Stan? Stan, wake up, I think we're here." Alexa said to Stan.

Stan wakes up and sits up as he rubs his eyes, Alexa appears in the car as they arrive in South Park.

"So that's it, huh? That's the town you grew up in?" Alexa asked.

"Yeah." Stan answered.

"Well, how does it feel to be back after all these years?" Alexa asked.

"It feels shitty, okay? Can you please shut the fuck up?" Stan asked.

"Why did you even bring me along if you're not going to let me help you through this?!" Alexa asked as shouting.

"Alexa, stop!" Stan shouted.

Alexa disappears out of the car. "Stir it Up" by Patti LaBelle starts playing as Stan starts driving through South Park by himself. Through the town, it shows the changes in South Park such as South Park Elementary Plus, South Park City Hall overrun with homeless people, Stark's Puddle, Best Buy Max, Ross Dress for Less Plus, T.J. Max Max, Lamps Plus Plus, Sea Life Aquarium Max, a playground full of children using VR headsets, a deserted Park County Police Station, a dog optometry. Stan parks in front of the Denny's Applebee's Max.

"Come on in and let your taste buds soar! Denny's is now Denny's Applebee's Max. Come taste the difference." The speaker of the restaurant said.

The TV shows a Japanese woman appearing on screen, Stan rolls his eyes and enters the restaurant. He looks around until he finally sees Kyle is seated at one of the tables, he walks up to him as Kyle sees him and gets up.

"Hey, dude." Kyle said.

"Hey, dude." Stan said.

"Wow. This is crazy, huh? I mean, how long has it been?" Kyle asked.

"I guess... since we were nine." Stan said.

"Well, have a seat." Kyle said.

Both Stan and Kyle sit down and look over the menus.

"What have you been up to?" Kyle asked.

"Oh, dude, just all kinds of stuff. You know, getting stuff going. Got my own online whiskey consultant gig. I'm totally happy. What about you?" Stan asked while explaining.

"Oh, I'm getting things going, too. I'm doing a sort of counseling online start-up thing. Really doing great, too." Kyle said.

"Sweet." Stan said.

Listen, Stan... I know we disagreed a lot during the pandemic, but I hope we can put that aside..." Kyle said.

"Dude, Kyle, I'm just here for Kenny." Stan said as he interrupted.

"All right, well, there's something you should know about the way Kenny died." Kyle said.

The waiter appears to Stan and Kyle.

"Hi, guys, welcome to Denny's Applebee's Max. I see you got your menus already. As you're deciding what to order, I just want to go over a couple things. Now, of course, it is the future, so we don't have any meat on the menu. 'Cause you know, here in the future, we've all decided meat is wrong." The waiter explained.

"Yeah, we know." Kyle said.

"Okay, and, uh, you'll see there's some dishes made from insect protein on the menu. That, of course, is because here in the future, we've all learned that insects are a valuable and sustainable food and we no longer fear it as a food. Mm-hmm." The waiter explained.

"We know, dude." Stan said.

"Okay, well, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to say anything, because, you know, it's the future. We've learned to all just get along and love each other." The waiter said and leaves.

"Look, Stan, Kenny was trying to find the answers to some pretty heavy stuff. He felt like there were people responsible for everything that's happened." Kyle explained.

"Like who?" Stan asked.

Tolkien appears at the table, showing a police badge to Stan.

"That's just it. Nobody knows. But whoever these people are, they didn't want Kenny McCormick exposing them." Tolkien said.

Tolkien takes a seat to sit next to Stan.

"Wait a minute. Tolkien?" Stan asked to Tolkien.

"Yeah, it's me." Tolkien answered.

"Just before he died, Kenny was texting me that he was on to something huge." Kyle said.

"And he was texting me, too. Saying he discovered something that could change the world." Tolkien said.

"And then he died, and the hospital won't say how. And that got us thinking... Oh, my God. They killed Kenny." Kyle said.

"I'm just here for the funeral. I don't want to be a part of anything else." Stan said.

"Dude, there might be people to blame for ruining our childhoods." Kyle said.

"So what do you wanna do, Kyle?" Stan asked.

Stan slams the table.

"Go on some bullshit adventure like when we were kids? Maybe, we can call Jesus and Santa and ask them for help. Is that what you want?" Stan asked.

Stan gets up and turns his back to them.

"It's the fucking future, you guys. Grow up." Stan said.

Stan leaves the restaurant.