Hello reader(s)!

I don't think I'm going to continue this story... I just kind of lost interest, but I'll publish some oneshot-type things that are vaguely related to it.

Here's the first one. It's not exactly the same storyline; it's more like my original idea of the Old Ones/Elder Gods being actual humans. Ever wondered what Nyarlathotep and Azathoth would be like as little boys?


"Hey, retard!" came the shout from across the hall. Niel sighed and looked behind him to find the source of the voice. The insult wasn't aimed at him, but it was annoying all the same. He had been in the middle of some particularly interesting plans, but that would have to wait. Niel turned to the boy walking beside him and whispered:

"Alex, you might want to think of a comeback right about now, or they'll never leave you alone."

Alex didn't respond, as usual, but continued humming some crazy little song. Everything about his manner was vague, from the vacant eyes to the loose, confused-looking way he walked. He was tall for his age, with pale skin, dark features, and an abnormally long slash of a mouth.

Niel, on the other hand, had the face of an Arab angel; exotic, but sure to be handsome in a few years. The boys were new in school. They had arrived together a few days before, with their only supervision being a phone number written on a card. The principal, after a troubling phone conversation with their guardian, agreed to let the boys stay. At first, the teachers wanted to put Alex in special education class instead of the regular fifth grade, but Niel talked them out of it. He could be very… persuasive when he wanted to be.

Strange stares and whispers had followed them everywhere since they had come, and Niel knew that it would come to some sort of confrontation. There were four boys now, following them to the cafeteria. They took Alex's silence as confirmation of his 'retard' status and continued to taunt him. The ringleader of the group stepped uncomfortably close to the boys and opened his mouth.

"What's the matter with you? Did your mother drop you on your head? Oh wait, you don't even have a mother, do you?"

Niel just stood there, smirking a bit, relishing the moment. Those kids didn't know what Alex was capable of. If they made him angry enough, all hell would break loose…

Alex didn't move either. He was still staring off into space, completely unconcerned with what was being said.

The group of bullies were the ones getting angry now, and a different, pug-faced boy stepped up, leaning toward Niel this time. His voice was like oil, mocking and sickly-smooth.

"I know what's wrong with you two. You're gay, aren't you? Little fags too embarrassed to talk because then we'll know about you making out with each other."

The boy smiled nastily, and Niel returned the gesture. When their insults failed to cause a reaction, one of the bullies signaled to the other. The boy disappeared around a corner and came back with a lunch tray full of food. He glanced pointedly at Alex, and Niel knew what they were going to do.

He felt like he should at least warn them. "I don't. suggest. You mess with him," said Niel in a voice whose threatening tone was lost on the four pitiful specimens of humanity.

Instead of doing the reasonable thing and just walking away, the boy dumped the contents of his lunch tray onto Alex's shirt.

For a second, Alex just stood there with milk and pizza sauce dripping down his shirt. He blinked once, looking even more confused than usual. The bullies began to snicker. Then, his face twisting into a snarl, Alex grabbed a nearby chair and swung it at the bullies' faces. The next few moments were a blur of flailing limbs and screeches of pain as metal chair legs connected with flesh. The bullies found themselves unable to run away. Alex swung the chair back and forth with supernatural strength, growling like an animal in his blind rage.

He had hit two of the boys and knocked the other two unconscious when Niel decided to intervene. Even though he enjoyed watching people suffer, they mustn't attract too much suspicion. He ducked a flying chair and grabbed Alex by the shoulders, managing to restrain his arms.

"That's enough!" Niel barked in a voice that was unusually deep for his age. Alex ignored him and continued struggling until Niel muttered something into his ear. Alex relaxed and went limp, nearly falling sideways into Niel. Alex let himself be led away as frantic teachers descended upon the scene.

The idiot was smiling.