One; Masquerade

Alan sat on top of a roof in Los Angeles, overlooking the neighborhood. One of his legs hung over the ledge while the other was upright so that he could rest an arm on his knee. It was a quiet night. Seemingly peaceful. Most people would enjoy a night like this. Not much violence, little traffic, and almost no crimes occurring. But to Alan it felt... empty. There was nothing for him to do. Brushing his long bangs out from in front of his mask, he let out a long sigh.
The cloak Alan had on twitched. It was no ordinary garment. The thick brown cape hung all the way down to his feet while he was standing upright. Right now, the ends of the cloak were bunched up around his waist. Instead of straps or strings to tie around his neck like most cloaks would have, this one had a pair of greenish-gray tentacles, wrapped around each other for security. And then there was the hood. At its top was a tuft of black hair, and beneath it were a pair of eyes, which had opened up at the sound of Alan's exhalation. The closed mouth, full of jutting fangs, which bordered the edge of the hood, parted briefly and let out a soft grumbling sound.
"It's quiet tonight," Alan said. He could understand what the cloak had said, even if had come out as a simple noise. "Nothing to do."
The cloak grumbled again, this time for a little longer than before.
Alan chuckled. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "I like that things are peaceful. No one getting hurt that I know of. I just wish peace didn't have to be boring."
The cloak grumbled again, and Alan stood.
"All right, Akro Tirio," Alan said. "What do you say we do some quick patrol before calling it a night?"
The cloak grumbled again, and Alan stepped off the edge of the building. As he dropped to the ground, the long cape of his cloak split apart, quickly changing its form until it was replaced by a pair of large, bat-like wings and four long tentacles, similar to the two smaller ones around Alan's neck. The wings stretched out, catching the air and slowing Alan's descent, until he landed safely on the ground. Then, in a mere moment, the wings and tentacles joined back together in the form of a cloak.
Alan turned on his heel and walked down an alleyway, glancing over his shoulder to be sure he wasn't being followed.
"Think we're safe," Alan said. "Let's split."
In response to his words, the two tentacles around his neck untangled themselves. The long cape split once more into the large wings and tentacles, all sprouting from a fur covered, tear-drop shaped body. The hood inflated itself and bones formed inside of it. It quickly restructured itself into the shape of a human head, with the long mouth contracting to a smaller size while the hair became thicker and bushier. A pair of large ears flapped open on either side of the tuft. What had appeared to be a piece of clothing a couple seconds before, now looked monstrous.
"Looking good, Akro," Alan said.
The creature let out a low growl in response.
"All right," Alan said. "Let's meet here in an hour. If I find anything before then, I'll let you know. Okay, Akro Tirio?"
The strange being, Akro Tirio, nodded once before flying off. Its movements were an odd cross between a bird flying and an octopus swimming. After Akro left, Alan double checked to be sure he was alone before unzipping the satchel at his side. He pulled out a blue hooded jacket and slipped it on.  He then removed the mask from his face.
The mask had originally been a masquerade ball mask, which Alan had modified. It was dark gray with black edges, and had been fitted with special lenses. The lenses were the same stuff that two way mirrors were made of, so that he could see through them while he wore the mask, but anyone trying to get a look at his eyes would only see their own reflection. The mask had no strap. Instead, the inside was coated with a special adhesive that secured it to his face, but could be easily peeled off when he didn't need it on.
Alan hung the mask on a hook on the inside of his coat, then preceded to remove the steel knuckles that he had on. He slipped them up his sleeves and hung them on the hooks inside. He them zipped up his satchel and exited the alleyway from the other side.
For the past four years, Alan had been living in LA, where he had taken to fighting criminals. Of course, what had originally been him trying to keep people safe had escalated out of control about a year and a half ago, when he got on the bad side of an ancient cult. He could recall every detail of the occurrence, even after all this time, but he didn't like to. It wasn't pretty.
It was the first time Alan had encountered magic. He had always thought of it as myth before, but after witnessing the things that cult did, he started to believe. And it was at that ceremony that he came into possession of Eston. At least, Eston was what he called it. It was a notebook. One of the small ones that could fit into a large enough pocket. The word "Eston" was written on the books cover in silver ink, so that was what he called it.
Eston was filled from front to back with information about the "Old Ones". Ancient deities so powerful that humans might as well be crickets in their presence. Eston had a ton of information on them, and Alan had read every word of it, over and over again. The text was imprinted in his head, along with the other secrets the book contained. Aside from the information on the Old Ones, Eston also contained instructions. Knowledge of how to cast a number of spells and rituals, by harnessing the raw power of the cosmos, or by receiving the blessing of the Old Ones.
Alan had used a few of them before. Well, more than a few. Out of all the spells and rituals Eston contained, Alan had used fourteen. The first time had just been an experiment, so he could prove to himself that magic really was possible, and that the cult incident hadn't just been a nightmare. And after using that one spell, his life had changed forever. The ritual was a simple temperature reduction spell, used to cool the surrounding area. The name of the spell was Itinius Maltiore, or Frozen Area, in the language Alan didn't fully understand, and it required the blessing of an Old One who had control over coldness.
In this case, Alan had chosen to pray to Ithaqua, the Wind Walker. He could still remember when the great deity had appeared before him from out of thin air. A huge man, with hooved feet and a broken mask covering most of his face. It hadn't been Ithaqua's true form, but it was terrifying none-the-less. And that first encounter with and Old One had lead to more. Alan had found himself dragged into a whole new world of supernatural power and cosmic horrors.
He was forced to use more and more of Eston's spells as the situations called for them. And strangely, the order he used them in was always the order they were written down in the book. He didn't do them in that order by choice. It just so happened that whenever a situation occurred that required him to perform a spell he'd never used before, the next spell in the book was always the most appropriate at the time.
As he continued dealing with the crazy cultists and eldritch monsters that had now become a part of his life, Alan realized he couldn't fight on his own. He needed help. He needed a friend. A partner. And so he created one. Using one of Eston's rituals, Alan was able to receive the blessing of the fertility goddess, Shub Niggurath. He was able to create his greatest ally. A man-made servant. A thoughtform.
A Shoggoth.
Akro Tirio had been created through that ritual ten months ago, and had since been assisting Alan with his crime fighting. The two made an impressive team. Akro Tirio was created to compliment Alan's strengths and cover his weaknesses. A perfect partner.
Alan stopped walking and leaned against a streetlamp. His balance was slipping and his vision began to blur. A vertigo attack. Alan had been suffering from them his entire life. They usually weren't that serious, but they did have a tenancy to interfere with his vigilante-ism. He slumped to the ground and tried to clear his head. It took a couple minutes, but his vision eventually returned to normal.
He remained sitting for a while, enjoying the crisp night air. The cool night was refreshing, and the wind blowing through his shoulder length hair felt nice. He felt as though he could just fall asleep right there.
Of course, his break was interrupted by a loud BOOM in the distance. He jumped to his feet and looked in the direction the noise had come from. He could see smoke over the rooftops. A fire!
"Akro Tirio!" Alan called, as he ran off toward the smoke. When he was almost halfway there, he heard the sound of wings flapping above him. He looked up to see Akro Tirio flying there.
The two of them rounded a corner together to see a three story boarding house up in flames. A group of people were standing at the street, panicking. They hadn't noticed Alan yet. He could hear sirens in the distance. The firemen were on their way, but it would take them some time. Time that Alan intended to buy for them.
Alan ducked behind a parked minivan and put his mask on, then shrugged off his coat, slipping his fingers into his steel knuckles as he did so. Akro Tirio let out a low, concerned growling noise.
"You know how I am about fires, Akro," Alan said, as he shoved his jacket into his bag. "I can't just stand there and let these people burn."
Akro Tirio grunted in acknowledgement, then flew up behind Alan. Akro Tirio's head flattened once more into a hood, covering up the top of Alan's head while his shorter tentacles wrapped themselves together to secure himself in place. Akro Tirio's wings flapped strongly, lifting Alan off the ground.
The two of them flew quickly toward a second floor window. Alan made a short attempt at opening it, then gave up and simply smashed through the glass with his knuckles. He dropped down inside the burning hallway, as Akro Tirio's tentacles and wings merged into a cape..
"Anyone in here!?" Allan called out.
"Over here!" came a response.
There was a young girl, about thirteen or fourteen, standing in one of the doorways. Beyond her was the staircase, one flight going up, another going down. Smoke was billowing upwards from bellow. The fire must have been worse on the bottom floor. Alan decided it would be safer to fly her down from the window as he approached her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I don't know," the girl said. "My mom's upstairs. I don't know if she's okay or not."
"Shit...," Alan muttered to himself, glancing at the stairway. "Akro, take her out the window and get her safely to the ground. I'm going after her mom."
Akro immediately shifted into its bat-like form, and the girl screamed.
"It's okay," Alan said reassuringly. "Akro here is a friend of mine. He's not a bad guy. He's gonna help."
"Are you sure?" the girl asked, gazing up in horror at the flying creature before her.
"You read Twilight?" Alan asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Well, stop that!" he said. "Those books are stupid! But if a hormonal teenager like Bella can love a vampire, then you can trust my creepy bat-squid-thing. Okay?"
"Okay," she said.
"Akro won't hurt you," Allan said. "Now go. You can trust him."
The young girl reluctantly went down the hallway and allowed Akro Tirio to carry her out the window. Alan got to his feet and ran toward the stairs. Before he could reach them, the floor in front of him exploded. He fell backwards and a creature rose from the gaping hole in the floor the explosion had left.
The creature was almost human, in shape anyway. It had glowing red skin, and spiky gray hair. It had three arms; two on its right side and one on its left, and its legs were reminiscent of a velociraptor. The monster stared down at Alan with its smoldering red eyes, and flames swirled around its body.
"STATE YOUR NAME, UGLY HUMAN!" it demanded.
"You think I'm ugly?" Alan asked.
"What is your name!?" the monster repeated loudly.
"My name is Alan Lance Peredur," Alan said. "And I take it your a C'hagian, right? I've read about you freaks."
"YOU ARE THE SORCERER ALAN PEREDUR?" the creature said, ignoring the rest of what Alan had said. "LORD C'THUGHA WILL REWARD ME GREATLY WHEN I DELIVER TO HIM YOUR HEAD!"
The creature raised a hand, and a large ball of fire appeared in its grip. Without a word, it tossed the flaming orb at Alan, you barely dodged it.
"C'thugha?" Alan asked. "You mean the flame deity? Why the fuck does he want me dead?"
"SILENCE!" the monster yelled, before inhaling.
Smoke began billowing from its mouth. Alan knew what came next. The creature was sucking up oxygen in order to breath fire. The beast tilted its head toward Alan and let the stream of flames pour out, engulfing Alan. Satisfied, the monster stopped spitting flames and waited for the smoke to clear so it could see its handiwork. But what it saw wasn't a charred corpse. Instead, he saw Alan standing there, wrapped up tightly in Akro Tiro's cloak form.
"Nice timing, as usual," Alan said. "Sorry flamey, but my friend here is fireproof!"
Alan tossed the cape behind him, and it shifted forms immediately into the wings and tentacles. Alan kicked off the floor and allowed Akro Tirio to carry him quickly to the creature. He pulled his fist back and then shot it forward so that his steel knuckles collided heavily with the monster's jaw. Alan immediately pulled his arm back and had Akro fly him back a few feet.
"Ow! Fuck!" Alan exclaimed, rubbing his hand. "Note to self; don't punch fire monsters!"
The creature outstretched its arms, and its fingernails grew into long claws.
"I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" it bellowed.
"I'd like to see you try!" Alan said.
The monster backed up a bit to get a running start, then charged at Alan. Alan grabbed one of Akro Tirio's tentacles, and the two small ones holding the shoggoth in place released themselves, and Alan swung the mass of wings and tentacles at the monster as it charged at him.
The two passed each other, so that they were back to back, and the monster fell to its knees, with one of its three hands clutching its chest. There was a new wound there, and from it was dripping magma-like blood. It looked over its shoulder to see Alan standing there, with a long, black bladed sword in his hand, with an intricate hand guard on it.
"WH- WHAT IS THIS!?" it demanded.
"Surprised?" Alan said. "This is Akro's special power. The ability to shape shift into weapons. Did you really think you could handle yourself against the most versatile Shoggoth in the world?"
"I'LL DESTROY YOU!" the monster yelled. It jumped back toward the window to put some space between them, and spread out its three arms. A ball of flames appeared in each hand, and it grinned cruelly at Alan, exposing its yellow, crystalline teeth. "PREPARE TO DIE!"
"Yeah, I don't think so," Alan said.
Akro Tirio's form changed once again, and the sword morphed into a long barreled handgun, which Alan aimed at the monster's chest. He pulled the trigger five times, each shot hitting the creature. It screamed in pain, and the fireballs it was preparing vanished. Before Alan could take another shot, the creature sprouted a pair of fiery wings and jumped out the window. Before Alan could follow after it, the ceiling between him and the window collapsed.
"Well, ain't that just my luck," Alan said.
There was a a scream above them, and Alan turned to the stairs. The fire was spreading, and there was still the hole in the floor there. And even if Alan did get across it, the stairs were now completely consumed by flames. He couldn't get to the third floor like this.
Without hesitating, Alan pulled a sharpie from his pocket and drew a strange symbol on the wall. The alien symbol of Shub Niggurath. Alan really didn't want to owe her any more favors, but he was in a tight spot and needed her help. He drew back his fist ad slammed his knuckles into the symbol while shouting the words "Aroitia Fermalus!"
Immediately, Alan felt a connection to the Great Old One.
"Ah, yes, Alan Peredur," said the voice of the Black Goat Of The Woods inside his head. "I've been expecting you to contact me again."
"Um, hey Shub Niggurath," Alan said. "I'm in a bit of a jam right now. Do you think you could-"
"Dispel the flames?" she finished for him. "Yes, I figured that's what you would want."
"And there's one more things," Alan said. "But first, the fire. I would really appreciate it if you-"
"Yes, yes, I'm on it," she replied.
In an instant the flames vanished. Alan breathed a sigh of relief, which was cut short as his vision blurred. Another vertigo attack. He lost his balance and fell backwards, breaking contact with the symbol. He hit the floor, and Akro Tirio shifted into its true form to try and help Alan back up.
As Alan's vision finally cleared, he became aware of a woman standing over him. He held his breath, and hoped it was just the girls mother from upstairs. But when he looked up, he saw that it wasn't.
The woman had long, pitch black hair, flowing down to her waist. Where her feet should have been were a pair of black goat hooves. Her skin was a light tan, and she was dressed up in tight brown pants and a shirt that exposed her  midriff, with a short yellow coat over it. A pair of short horns  grew from her forehead, and she lacked a mouth or nose. Her eyes were plain white, with no irises or pupils in them. But despite all the strange features, the part of her that truly caught Alan's eye was the symbol on her stomach. The same symbol he had drawn on the wall. The woman standing before him was Shub Niggurath herself.
Of course she had come, Alan realized. He had broken contact with the symbol, which severed their telepathic link. She'd have to show up to hear what else he needed to ask her for. Of course, she just HAD to show up in that weird almost human form. Alan had never seen her true form, and frankly, he didn't want to. She had the power to take any form she wanted. If she wanted to, she could look entirely human, but she chose not to, preferring this form. For some reason, the fact that she had the power to appear human, but never did, scared the crap out of Alan.
"So, what else do you need?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow.
"I need to find someone," he said. Then he added "A servant of C'thugha."
"Oh!" she said, seemingly delighted, although her blank eyes gave away no emotions. "I do believe I can help with that!"

***30 minutes later***

The C'hagian landed inside an old park, and sat down. Its blood was beginning to harden, sealing its wounds shut, but it needed more time to recover. As it waited patiently for its body to repair itself, its head jerked when the sound of one of the swing sets broke the silence. Alan was there, swinging back and forth casually.
"I've missed these things!" Alan said, jumping off and landing in the sand before the creature.
"HOW DID YOU CATCH UP TO ME!?" it demanded.
"I'm the best there is at what I do," Alan said. "Simple as that."
"AND WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO?" the beast asked.
"Um...," Alan said, scratching his head. "You know... I do... things... that involve... um... magic and shoggoths and... stuff..."
"YOU'RE AN IDIOT," the C'hagian said.
"And you're hot!" Alan barked back. "Literally!"
"YOU'RE NOT GOOD AT COMEBACKS, ARE YOU?" the creature asked.
"For the love of crap, would you stop shouting!?" Alan said.
"WHAT YOU MEAN SHOUTING?" the monster said. "THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE!"
"You're normal voice sucks!" Alan said.
"ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS!" the beast said. "LET'S END THIS! I'LL DESTROY YOU WITH MY MOST POWERFUL ATTACK!"
"Okay," Alan said. "I'll play your game. Your best attack versus mine. Last man standing wins."
"YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE?" the monster said.
"Sure do," Alan said.
Alan reached down to his belt, where he had five handgun bullets. He pulled one of them out and flipped it high into the air, like a coin. Akro quickly flew off his back and shifted into his gun form. Allan grabbed the handle and opened gun up to load it, like a rifle. He caught the bullet as it fell back down and slid it into the magazine before snapping the gun closed.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Alan said jokingly.
"I THOUGHT YOUR SHOGGOTH COULD PRODUCE ITS OWN AMMUNITION," the C'hagian said, as it raised all of its hands and began building up power for a massive fireball.
"These bullets are special," Alan said, as the gun was consumed in green flames. "You see, I go to the Dreamlands quite frequently. One time when I went there, I had a nasty encounter with Hagarg Ryonis. I managed to escape with both my life and a piece of one of his teeth that I chipped."
"SO WHAT DOS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?" the beast said, as its great ball of fire grew larger.
"Well, you see, I wasn't just gonna let that tooth fragment go to waste," Alan said. "I used a power transfer spell to drain the energy from that tooth and put it into these five bullets. Honestly, I've never used one before. Kinda looking forward to seeing what happens."
"IT WILL NOT HELP YOU," the monster said. "MY FLAMES WILL BURN YOU TO DEATH!"
"Yeah, whatever," Alan said.
"ARE YOU NOT AFRAID!?" the creature demanded. "ALL UGLY HUMANS FEAR FLAMES!"
Alan just laughed at that, then said "Pala Kierto."
Alan's appearance shifted drastically. His hair became much shorter, and turned a mahogany-red color. Viscous looking burns appeared all over his body, even his clothe. One had appeared right where his right ear should have been.
"WHAT IS THIS FORM YOU HAVE TAKEN?" the monster demanded, both fascinated and horrified.
"When people enter the dreamlands, they change their form to reflect how they truly want to be. The Subform spell allows one to take their Dreamland form for thirty seconds while in the real world. This is mine. This is how I want to be."
The monster's fireball had  reached its maximum size, but the beast did nothing, still transfixed by Alan's transformation.
"Tell me," Alan said, removing his mask to reveal his disfigured face, with his blue eyes which had previously been brown. "Do I look like a man who's afraid to get burned?"
Alan raised the barrel of his gun, and the monster remembered what was going on. Without a second thought, it hurled the giant ball of flame at Alan.
"I learned this trick from Devil May Cry 4!" Alan declared, firing the bullet straight into the ball of flames.
The bullet tore through the fireball, causing it to disperse into embers as the bullet continued flying, hitting the monster in the chest. The wound glowed green for a moment, before the monster fell to the ground, writhing in agony. The green light spread throughout its entire body. Its arms and legs began dissolving rapidly, and before the monster could utter its final words, it exploded in a blast of green and red light.
"Damn," Alan said, as his Subform spell wore off and he returned to his normal form. "That was intense."
Akro Tirio returned to his true form and hovered in front of Alan, watching him closely.
"I think I'll save the rest of those bullets for an emergency...," Alan said.
Without warning, Akro Tirio shoved one of his tentacles into Alan's mouth and down his throat. Alan gagged hard, and his vision started blurring again.
Damn it! Alan thought. This is not the time for the vertigo thing!
Akro Tirio yanked his tentacle out of Alan's mouth, and he could finally breath.
"Damn it, Akro!" Allan gasped. "This is not a hentai! You can't just shove those things down peoples-" but he stopped in mid sentence when he noticed the small glowing thing in Akro Tirio's tentacle. "Hello," Allan said, reaching for it. "What's this?"
He took the warm red object in his hand and rolled it around for a minute.
"That fucking flame thing shoved this in me back at the burning building...," Alan said. "It's like... a seed or something."
Akro growled in agreement.
"Okay, I guess you saved me," Alan said. "But next time, warn me."
Alan pondered for a little while longer while examining the seed.
"Hey Akro," he said. "Wanna see a power transfer spell?"

***end chapter 1***

Kzed report 24

I'm continuing my research into Shoggoths. My colleague, Hikomo, has succeeded in creating a rather interesting one.
Through watching them, I have learned some interesting things regarding the nature and inherent abilities of shoggoths.
For one, it seems that a shoggoth's sleeps patterns are synced to their creators. When a shoggoth's master goes to sleep, so does the shoggoth. This is mere speculation, as Hikomo and his shoggoth are the only research specimens I have right now. I'll have to broaden my horizons to see if this in true in the cases of all shoggoths.
Also, Hikomo informs me that his shoggoth enters the Dreamlands with him. I assume, for now, that this is because of the linked sleep patterns.
Another thing I've come to notice is that when Hikomo says his shoggoths name, it will arrive a short while later. I've done experiments regarding this, with Hikomo's assistance, of course. Hikomo will ask his shoggoth to wait somewhere, while I go with him to distant locations. He then calls his shoggoth, and it comes. I believe that a shoggoth may be able to hear its master's call from any distance. Theoretically, anyway. I've yet to explore the full nature of this. I know the distance is at least 108 miles. I'll carry on these experiments for as long as I can.
I also believe that a shoggoth can only be understood by its master. I often see Hikomo communicating with his shoggoth, but I only hear half of the conversation. Perhaps other shoggoths might be able to understand each other, but I'm not entirely sure. This warrants further research.