Brainwashed Hatred

Chapter 15

"I was building a weapon, yeah. It was a sort of tranquilizer gun. Whenever I would shoot one of you, you would see or experience you greatest weakness or fear. I was able to get everyone's while being able to stay hidden, everyone except Tweek. All I had was to finish the last dart, HIS dart, and then I would just have to finish the gun. But he just had to cry wolf!"

Tweek flipped Code off as he finished speaking. They all stood silently, unsure of what to do next.

"So, what now, huh? Still gonna kill me?" Code asked Mysterion. 

Mysterion looked from Butters to Code. "Yeah," He said casually, shooting Code directly in the chest.

Silence.

Tweek walked up the stairs and out of the house without another word. Craig stood by the cage, watching Tweek leave. He was uncertain of what to do. He was worried for Tweek, but he knew that he needed space. Craig walked back over to the table and sat down, looking back through the phone. 

CC walked over to the table and sat down as well. She sat with a blank stare, trembling slightly. She felt lost. Her head hurt.

"Was I too hard on him?" Butters asked Mysterion as he stared down at his shoes.

"Nah, your good. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Yeah."

The two walked out of the house and down the sidewalk as they had done the night before. The silence seemed to follow them as they left, the weight of the situation hanging over them.

"I am sorry." Mysterion eventually spoke up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I killed him in front of everyone. I basically just traumatized everyone. I'm sorry...."

"You did the right thing. He was evil. He wasn't going to change." Butters put his arm around Mysterion and smiled softly.

"Thanks Butters..."

"No problem, Ken."

Craig set the phone on the table. He finished deleting everything for the weapons and the info on them. The rest, he decided, he would look more into later. He looked over at Code and Noah. He wasn't bothered by what happened. But as he looked over at Marie, his heart sank. He placed his hand on hers. "It's okay, Marie." He didn't know what else to say.

Marie flinched slightly. She looked up at Craig, her expression a mixture of fear and sadness. She opened her mouth to speak but found that she couldn't. She took his hand, squeezing it tightly. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was still silent.

Craig moved his chair so that he sat directly next to her. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him, her tears soaking into his sweater. He kept his eyes on the cages. In the back of his mind, he believed Code was alive. He KNEW he was alive.

Marie trembled violently against him. She gripped onto him, her nails digging into the worn blue fabric. Her eyes were wide open and filled with panic. 

Craig held her tighter, closing his eyes against his better judgement. He thought back to everything and everyone. He thought of Karen, who had thankfully not taken part in any more of this. He thought of Cartman, who had brought them all together. He thought of Mysterion and Butters, who had struggled painfully with Noah and Code. He thought of Marie, who was with him now, who had done her best to stay strong for everyone else, but needed comfort the most. He thought of Tweek, his love, his world. And he began to cry. He didn't want any of them to suffer.

As soon as Craig opened his eyes, he watched as Code's body seemingly collapsed on itself. As if he had never existed. Nothing but an empty cage remained. He closes his eyes again, his tears having blurred his visions completely. Suddenly, he felt an arm around him. He looked up to see Tweek, making him instantly relax. He put an arm around Tweek and kissed his cheek. 

Tweek blushed lightly, kissing Craig's cheek after. "I felt bad for walking off. I didn't know what else to do though, I n-needed a moment, I guess. Are you guys okay, though?"

"I'm alright, babe." Craig smiled, wiping away his tears. "Marie, do you feel a little better?"

She doesn't respond, just nods softly.

"What happened to..." Tweek stares at the empty cell where Code had been.

"He just kinda vanished."

"We can deal with it tomorrow. If he is still alive, then he's probably trying to heal back up. Either way, though, he is pretty powerless."

"Right. For now, everyone should just rest, then we'll regroup. I will work with the cops and Noah, as well as help with Code. There is still some stuff on his phone I want to look over." Craig looked down at Marie, then back to Tweek. "Do you think you could take her home again. She would do better to sleep in an actual bed instead of the floor like yesterday."

"Yeah, I can." Tweek nodded as Marie sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Are you sure you will be alright, Craig?"

"I'll be fine. Just get her home, then get some rest, okay?"

Tweek nodded again, then picked Marie up. He headed out of the lair and out of the house. As soon as they were gone, Craig pulled out his phone and called Sergeant Yates. Once he finished the call, he grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Noah's cage. 

"Another long night, huh?" He asked as he sat down.