(A/N: I'm upset that my Greek symbol has been taken away from me. Anyway, this chapter kind of jumps around and the next couple probably will. And Kyle and Wendy (along with Cartman) will probably be appearing more with their Cthulhu curiousity as we're finally, finally starting to get close to like kicking off that arc. And a villain from the game makes a cameo. Sort of. As usual, apologies for typos. And tons of dialogue. And now, on with the story...)

"This is all so weird and fascinating at the same time." Wendy leaned even closer to the book she had in front of her on her bed. Kyle lounged on the floor of her room and Cartman sat her desk. Kyle was intently reading his book while Cartman flipped disinterestedly through his, rolling his eyes and sighing every now and then.

Kyle looked up at Wendy, nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, it is." They'd all gotten together as Wendy's parents were out again and this was one of the few opportunities they had to do this in private while talking openly about everything. "R'lyeh sounds intense."

"All of it sounds intense," Wendy amended for him. "All these cults in these stories are insane. The Brothers of the Yellow Sign, the Black Brotherhood, the Chorazos cult, cult of Starry Wisdom, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." She glanced over at Kyle. She knew they'd had this conversation before, but they had both agreed to talk out loud as much as possible with Cartman to see what he'd be willing to chip in as he usually didn't contribute much at all.

Kyle perked up, catching on and added, "Don't forget the cult of the Bloody Tongue, Esoteric Order of Dragon, and Chesuncook Witch Coven." Kyle trailed off as he and Wendy both took notice of Cartman visibly stiffening at the mention of the coven.

Wendy exchanged another glance with Kyle before looking back to Cartman. "That witch coven is also referred to as the Cult of the Skull." Cartman sucked in a quiet breath and carefully flipped a page in the book he had out before him, trying to put on an air of nonchalance and still appear detached from the conversation taking place.

Kyle raised his brows at Wendy. Cartman had never shown any signs of real interest other than making it known he was very perturbed by the pair's insistence on studying up on Cthulhu. It had been a long time since he'd had an outburst and Kyle could sense the beginnings of one. Wendy frowned slightly and nodded to Kyle, encouraging him to pick up where she left off. Kyle cleared his throat. "Apparently, this cult worships Shub-Niggurath."

Cartman sighed and turned from his book. "I think we've studied enough today." His voice sounded strained, not something Kyle or Wendy were used to hearing. "You guys are totally useless, anyway," he went on, voice taking on its normal tone. "You haven't even really studied the cult that was here. You know the South Park one that caused all this?"

Wendy's frown deepened, she pursed her lips, and cocked her head at Cartman clearly curious as to why he was trying to divert her and Kyle's attention from this cult. She couldn't remember right away which god Shub-Niggurath was. She was sure she and Kyle had gone over him before, but Cartman must not have been present.

Kyle gave Cartman a funny look, too. "You're transparent, Cartman. This is bothering you."

"No, it's not." Cartman crossed his arms and shook his head.

Kyle looked back at the book Wendy had loaned him. Like Wendy, he was having trouble remembering the exact nature of this mythological figure. "Shub-Niggurath, associated with the phrase, 'Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.'" Kyle's voice was dropping as he read and Wendy tore her eyes away from Cartman to pay attention to Kyle. "Also called 'Lord of the Wood.'"

Wendy was in deep in thought as if trying to remember something. "I feel like we did some research on this back when we were kids and playing superheroes."

Cartman was insulted. "I was never playing superheroes. I am one."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Cartman, tell us more about this thing."

Kyle wasn't listening to the conversation, lost in his own thoughts as he recalled what Cartman had said so many weeks ago. What Stan had said. Even what he had said:

Cartman put his hands out in a defeated manner. "Yes. Do you always have to think the worst of me? I think he was living in the woods. Before that, I'm not really sure."

"I know Cartman thinks he was just living in the woods but he had to be doing something in the woods right?"

"Or maybe Cartman's right and he was in the woods."

Dizzying thoughts were flying through Kyle's mind as he processed the information. Surely, this couldn't be. This couldn't be right.

"Kyle, what's wrong?" Wendy leaned over, eyeing with Kyle with concern. He'd turned much paler than usual. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

Kyle turned to Cartman slowly. "What-what was Kenny doing in the woods, Cartman? You said he'd been living in the woods before he came back to school."

Cartman was not impressed. "Yeah. He was."

"With this thing?" Kyle waved his hand at the book he held.

Cartman shrugged and said nothing more. He looked anything but happy, annoyance clear in his eyes.

Wendy allowed for a small smile. "I think that's a yes."

"Yeah," Kyle agreed with a nod of his head. Both he and Wendy stole another glance at Cartman before exchanging concerned looks with each other.

Cartman finally sighed. "It wasn't that thing." His eyes darted around as he carefully considered his next words. "It's just as ugly, yeah. It was the kid of that thing. Nug."

"Nug?" Both Wendy and Kyle repeated in unison.

Wendy looked down at the books around her. "I haven't really seen much about Nug." She tried to recall what she had read but before she could, Cartman spoke up again.

"Yeah, the parent of Cthulhu."

Kyle wasn't convinced. "I think I read somewhere that thing had never been on Earth."

Cartman shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I know. I stopped looking at all this other stuff a long time ago."

"Why?" Kyle asked with a tilt of his head. Wendy watched the exchange, curious as to what Cartman's answer would be. He suddenly seemed more open than usual but also as if the conversation was draining him of energy.

"Ugh," Cartman ran his hand through his hair. "You guys are giving me a headache," he complained. He stood up suddenly. "I'm leaving."

Wendy panicked. "Wait. Already? But we just started talking about this Nug. Like, why's he hanging out in the woods? Are he and Kenny getting on well? Do we need to be worried that it's in the woods nearby?"

Cartman stared at her surprised. "We can talk about Nug later, Wendy. And, no, we don't need to be worried about him. I don't think so, anyway." He sighed again and Kyle noticed he was considering his words again. It was so odd to see Cartman so carefully think about what he was going to say instead of just blurting it out. He looked like he was about to say something but decided against it. "I'm leaving."

"Cartman." It was Kyle's turn now. He also didn't want to lose out on this opportunity to glean as much information from his friend as possible. "Why don't you want to talk more about this? You're treating it like it's forbidden or something. And it's really weirding us out." The honesty wouldn't hurt. Wendy nodded, indicating her agreement.

Cartman wasn't persuaded and shook his head again. "Look, I'm out for today. I know the way out." Without another word, he left the room and then left Wendy's house without a glance backwards.

Wendy and Kyle stared awkwardly at each for a couple quiet minutes after Cartman left. "That was weird," Wendy finally said aloud.

"Yeah." Kyle was on an iPad, already searching for whatever tidbits he could find on this Nug character. He pursed his lips. "Did you believe him?"

Wendy shrugged. "I mean, I know it's Cartman, but what reason does he have to lie to us about this? Besides, he seems oddly protective when it comes to Kenny."

"Right. It's just- it's Cartman, so part of me is always on the defensive, I guess."

Wendy was quiet for a few moments and Kyle glanced over at her. It was unusual that she ignored him. She was absorbed in her own iPad, having abandoned her book from earlier. She must have felt him staring at her expectantly because her head snapped up after a minute and she met his eyes. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I just found something interesting."

"About Nug?"

"Yeah. This says Nug is a god among ghouls. He hangs out in graveyards and consumes human flesh." The words hung in the air and Kyle shuddered. To think that thing was in the woods wasn't comforting. He thought of Kenny and experienced a level of horror he wasn't really ready for as Wendy's last words really hit home.

"Are you okay, Kyle?"

Kyle had turned ghostly pale again and looked as though he might start vomiting any moment. He clutched at his stomach, fighting off the wave of nausea that suddenly washed over him. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I was just thinking of Kenny in the woods with that thing. It was probably consuming him."

"Oh." The realization struck Wendy and she made a disgusted face at the thought. "Well, that's disturbing."

"It is." Kyle was finally able to get his body back under control and didn't feel the need to puke any longer. "I don't know if I want to keep going over this today, either."

Wendy set down her iPad and nodded. "It has been awhile, anyway. We can always pick it up next time." She started to help him sort through the books so he could take some home, when a thought popped into her head. "Hey, I heard you've been getting on better with Kenny."

"What? From who?"

"The grapevine. Probably Clyde, but who knows for sure. I'm glad to hear it, though."

"It's not like I was being cruel or anything before!" Kyle protested, trying to keep the hurt out his voice but Wendy heard it anyway.

She waved her hand. "No one's saying that. You were just really tense and not a fan of him dating Stan. I'm glad you're getting along better now."

Kyle was silent for a minute. "Are you okay with him dating Stan?"

Wendy frowned and then laughed. "Yeah! I'm not dating him! We're friends, of course, and I'm grateful for what we once had, but it ran its course. Besides, we both know how much Stan enjoys being needed and I," she flipped her hair over her shoulder with flourish and flashed Kyle a dazzling grin, "need nothing!"

Kyle burst out into laughter at her antics. "You're stupid!" he got out in between giggles.

Wendy repeated her dramatic hair flip. "Whatever, Kyle. I know you're just jealous," she managed to get out before dissolving into giggles herself. After a minute, she got her wits back about her again. "I am fine with it, though. Really."

"That's good."

"Are you okay with it?"

Kyle's gaze dropped to the floor as he struggled to find a way to explain himself. "I am. I just wish all this other stuff didn't come along with Kenny." He scratched the back of his head. "I know he's a good person and I think he is doing good for Stan. I've just been scared of him dying again."

Wendy was sympathetic. "It's hard to go through it, I'm sure. I'm fortunate that my relatives aren't all that close. I'm sure it'd be a lot rougher if she was closer by and especially if she'd been dying on a near daily basis."

Kyle nodded. He crossed his arms loosely across the front of his body, squeezing one of his shoulders and let out a sigh. "I just don't know what's real or not anymore," he admitted. He no longer felt grounded in reality.

"You know I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."

A sad smile played on his lips and Kyle nodded with gratitude. "Thanks."

(Greek Symbol)

More time passed and Stan found himself staying a weekend night at Kenny's house. He had been able to frequent the place on the weekends and stay the night several other times. Kenny's nightmares were still bad, but Stan had been beyond thrilled when Kenny stopped reaching for needles, not that Stan would judge. Kenny always glowed at Stan's complimentary praise of his progress. Stan had also been happy to see his best friend and now boyfriend getting on well, something he knew would work out. He was just nervous about how long that would take, but it hadn't taken long at all.

Cartman was grinning at him, waving a controller around. "Hey, Stan, ready for me to beat your ass?" He'd been waiting for Stan down in the basement.

"Jesus, Cartman, you really gotta work on how you greet people."

"Fshaw, this seems to be working just fine."

Kenny smiled at Stan. "Eric does greet everyone like this. I can confirm."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Stan said as he plopped into the couch, comfortably close to Kenny. Cartman had gotten used to the two's public displays of affection but he still rolled his eyes.

"Took you long enough to get down here," Cartman complained. "I've been waiting like a whole hour."

It was Stan's turn to roll his eyes. "I was cooking. You know, because you never will?"

"Hey! You should just consider it payment for me letting you play games over here and spend the night and who knows what other stuff you two are doing at night." Cartman smirked at them from his safe perch on the other side of the sectional, feeling very accomplished as both his friends' faces heated up to bright red.

"Cartman!" Stan exclaimed, hoping his face hadn't turned too bright a shade of red but he suspected it had based on Cartman's hysterical laughter. They hadn't quite progressed to the level Cartman seemed to think. Maybe one day. However, he didn't appreciate the jabs from Cartman in the meantime. Kenny must have agreed as he flung something at their friend and he promptly shut up after yelling Kenny's name indignantly. It was a can of opened soda, Stan realized. Probably not the best choice as all three spent a considerable amount of time cleaning it up, but it was definitely worth it.

Later that night, Stan laid in the bed in Kenny's room, staring up at the ceiling while listening to Kenny's soft breathing. He listened for several mesmerizing minutes taking comfort in the sound before dozing off himself, feeling completely in sync with the world around him as if this was meant to be. A small contented smile on his lips as he fell into a deep slumber.

(Greek Symbol)

Irritation was obvious in both Shelly's eyes and tone as she threw some papers to the ground along with her book bag, the sound making a loud thud as it met with the tiled kitchen floor. "But, Mom!"

Stan winced as he listened to his sister, dread filling him up. He wasn't sure why, but his older sister had sent him a couple looks mixed with annoyance and pity and Stan really wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve any looks like that. It was the end of a school day and around mid-week. Shelly had been in the middle of telling their mother she was going to visit her boyfriend over the weekend and maybe stay over Friday night.

Sharon didn't look amused at her daughter's display of histrionics. "Shelly, you're not staying at your boyfriend's house Friday night or any night for that matter." She looked in the direction of the living room, annoyance flashing in her eyes. "Randy, tell your daughter she's not staying over at her boyfriend's."

"Hell, no, Shelly! Listen to your mom!" Randy yelled from the living room. A sound could be heard and Stan knew his dad had popped open a can of beer. He was about to go join his dad in the living room to watch what was likely a football game when Shelly's next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"But Stan gets to spend the night at his boyfriend's house! I should be able to spend the night at my boyfriend's house!"

Stan whipped his head around to stare at his sister, completely stunned. He'd never even told her. She shot him another one of those looks that mixed both pity and annoyance and maybe even seemed a bit apologetic.

"What are you talking about?" Sharon stopped what she was doing and stared at her daughter. She stole a quick glance at Stan. "Don't go anywhere," she warned him as he looked ready to run for the hills.

Shelly waved a hand at Stan. "He spends the night at Kenny's all the time!" When Sharon simply crossed her arms and raised her brows, Shelly expanded, "Kenny's his boyfriend! Everyone at school knows and he's always bringing him extra lunch and stuff. And getting to spend the night."

Stan felt the color draining from his face at every word Shelly said and he desperately wished she would have just talked to him first. This wasn't really how he wanted to talk to his parents about things, but he wasn't being given much of a choice at this point. He so wanted the floor to swallow him whole.

Sharon looked over at her son. There was no judgement or disappointment in her eyes much to Stan's relief. There was only concern and surprise. "Stanley? Is this true? Are you dating Kenny?"

Stan nodded, at a loss for words.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?"

Stan shifted from one foot to the other and shrugged. It was hard to find the words to explain. "I don't know. It just happened so fast. I didn't really…I don't know." He tripped over himself trying to appease his mother and offer a valid explanation at once.

"They've been dating for months!" Shelley cried and Stan supposed she wasn't entirely wrong. It was nearing the holiday season, winter break was on the horizon. He still shot her the dirtiest look he could manage. Their sibling rivalry was always strong no matter what. This was certainly going to add a whole new layer to it.

"Stan, is this true? You've been spending the night there a lot. I thought you were just playing video games." Sharon stared at her son as she thought about all the times she'd allowed him to spend the night at Kenny's. "You never even mentioned to us that you were into guys that way."

Stan bit his lip and shrugged again, still uncertain what to say. "I don't know. It just kinda happened." His voice and explanation sounded lame to his own ears, but he was being honest.

"Whoa." Randy appeared in the doorway. His voice was shocked but his expression was happy. He looked over to his wife and smiled widely. "We have gay kids, Sharon. Isn't that exciting and progressive of us?" He put a hand on Stan's shoulder and squeezed it. "I'm very proud of you, son, being all gay and progressive in this world. You're making me proud."

"Randy!" Sharon exclaimed, face heating up in anger, "He's been spending the night at his boyfriend's house."

Randy made a face and his smile dropped. "Oh. Oh. Son, do we need to have a talk? Have you been having sex with your boyfriend?"

"Dad!" Stan was absolutely mortified, his hands flying up to his face and his eyes wide as saucers. "I don't want to talk about this with you! But, no! No, I haven't!"

Shelly's eyes were wide, too as she stared at their father in horror. "I don't want to hear about my brother's sex life! I just want to spend the night at my boyfriend's house!"

Stan whirled around to face his sister. "I don't want to hear about your sex life, either, Shelly! And, thanks for just… doing this! You could have just talked to me about it first!" That he'd been outed to his parents simply because his sister wanted to stay over at her boyfriend's house was ridiculous. He burned with anger towards her over the situation. At least their parents were progressive and open to new experiences. He was sure Kyle's parents would flip their shit or something. Actually, maybe quite a few of his friends' and classmates' parents would even if they claimed otherwise.

Sharon sighed through a reluctant smile. "It's okay, Stan. You know we'd accept you no matter what. I just wish you would have felt comfortable enough to tell me."

Stan squirmed, feeling shame heat up his face for another reason. He'd hurt his mother's feelings. "I just didn't know what to say," he attempted to explain.

Randy patted Stan's shoulder again. "Oh, Sharon, our son is so sensitive." He looked over at their daughter. "Hey, Shelly, try to learn a thing or two from your gay, sensitive brother okay?"

Stan pushed his father's arm away. "Stop. I'm not. I just." He looked over at his mother again. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

"It's okay," Sharon assured him. "But you won't be spending the night over there anymore."

"What?!"

"Stan, it's only fair. I can't let you stay the night over there. You can still go over and see him, but you can't spend the night."

"That's not fair!"

"Yes, it is. We didn't let you stay the night at Wendy's when you were dating her."

Stan crossed his arms over his chest. "Mom! Does that mean I can't stay the night anywhere?!"

"Yeah. That's exactly what it means." Sharon was firm and she had an authoritative air about her. Stan shot his sister another dirty look, Shelly stuck her tongue out at him. Sharon went on, "Stan, is it safe to be dating Kenny?" She sounded doubtful and Stan was sure she was thinking back to the time he'd been ambushed when he went to find Kenny after school.

"Yes, it's safe!" Stan glared at his sister just daring her to say otherwise.

Sharon did look to Shelly and she nodded. "It's safe," she confirmed, though there wasn't too much conviction behind the words.

Sharon took her for her word regardless. "Just please be careful. Both of you. But neither of you are spending the night with any boyfriends or girlfriends."

Randy beamed at them both. "Oh, my lovely straight daughter and gay bisexual son. I'm so proud."

Stan shook his head. "That's not- that's not. No." He tried to explain that wasn't how it worked but saw no point since his father had already left, clearly not anywhere near as bothered about the situation as the rest of the family. He wasn't sure if his father would even begin to understand other terms like pansexual. It was a miracle his dad knew what he did know.

Shelly blew bangs out of her hair and watched as their mother left the kitchen. "Ugh, this is so stupid."

Stan frowned. "Really? Thanks a lot, Shelly. You know, you could have at least given me some kind of head's up! You don't just go around doing that to people!"

Shelly was nonplussed. "What? Outing you? I've been waiting forever. You've had plenty of time. Besides, it's only fair."

"No, it's not! I wanted to tell them on my own!"

Shelly's tough exterior crumbled slightly at her younger brother's outburst. "I didn't know it meant so much…"

"Well, it did!" Stan was surprised at how angry he was. It had slowly built up as he had conversed with his parents. He would have much rather have told them himself instead of having Shelly just randomly bring it up. He stewed for a minute. "I hate you."

"Whatever, turd. Not like I care." Shelly was a pro at keeping her hurt hidden, a skill she'd learned from when she'd had so much metal all over her face in middle school. She'd been teased mercilessly and learned to throw up walls. She felt pangs of guilt gnaw at her insides as she watched Stan stomp out of the kitchen, easily able to imagine steam coming out of his ears.

She hoped she could make it up to him one day.