Richard's Animorphs Forum

General Category => General Fan Fiction & Art => Topic started by: DinosaurNothlit on May 19, 2012, 08:28:39 PM

Title: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 19, 2012, 08:28:39 PM
A quick shout-out to Cloaky, for the inspiration that his own fic provided (although the plot is an idea that had been festering in my brain for a while now, your fic was what gave me the motivation to actually do something with it).  My muse thanks you.

EDIT: And a shout-out to Saffa, as well.  For A) writing the sequel-to-the-sequel to this fic, and B) for being awesome and compiling the whole thing into a PDF.  If you are a guest and you want to read the whole thing, well, now you can!  Just download the attachment at the bottom of the page.

ANOTHER EDIT: Click here to read the sequel. (http://animorphsforum.com/index.php?topic=9850.0)

Oh, and some notes for anybody reading this who might not be familiar with some of the RAFians involved.  Tony = Unknown User, Jess = Kit Cloudkicker, Parker = Darth Revan, Cody = Capt. Jack Harkness (or Broken), GazStalker = Giggle Tumor.  I'll edit this list to add more, as needed.

Chapter One

It all started on a Saturday, pretty much just like any other.  It was kind of a boring Saturday, even, if such a thing exists.

Dino had gotten up late, thankfully having gotten a day off, and was sleepily scrolling through Facebook before visiting RAF.  She yawned, unimpressed by most of the status updates, but then an interesting article someone had posted caught her attention.  Something about researchers in Switzerland making progress towards inventing an actual method of teleportation?  That was interesting.  Dino kept reading.

Supposedly their hypothesized technique would operate through the internet to transport people as files of data.  But, there was a catch, they were having a difficult time finding ways to safeguard that data from being altered by other data already stored within the internet.  And the article also mentioned several paranoid naysayers, who were adamant that the Swiss research was dangerously volatile and might trigger a global catastrophe at any moment.  These critics were trying to get the laboratory shut down, before the experiment affected the entire internet.

Dino raised an eyebrow, skeptical, and quickly decided that this had to be fake.  If it were real, the entire internet ought to be buzzing with the news, but all she saw was just that one post.  So she shrugged, and was about to log off of Facebook and onto RAF, when suddenly Tony showed up in Facebook chat and asked her how things were going.  She responded in kind, and quickly they had a good conversation going about the events of the day.

So it went, for about half an hour, just idle chit-chat.  But then, Dino began to feel somewhat strange.  She suddenly noticed that she could no longer feel her fingers touching the keys of her computer.  As she looked down, she froze in terror, because she saw that her fingers had simply absorbed into the keys, like she was a ghost phasing through the keyboard.

As she continued to watch in horror, her arms began to glow, and the glowing light spread up her shoulders and across her body, and suddenly she watched herself break into a thousand tiny pixels of light, which flowed into the computer's screen.

Somehow she stayed conscious, even though she no longer had a physical body, and even though she knew that was impossible.  And somehow she and Tony were still talking to one another throughout this transition, which had actually only taken a matter of seconds.  Their typed words flowed seamlessly into digital-sounding voices and then on into sounds more and more like speech, so that when she found herself in an entirely different place, Tony was just finishing speaking what he had previously been typing.

". . . and that's why zombies don't-" he had started, but cut himself off as he looked around at his strange surroundings.  He was in a sterile room, lined with pictures on the walls, and a whiteboard that various people had written on, and in the corner was a TV that was scrolling haphazardly through various unrelated news stories.  "Where are we?" he asked Dino, who was now standing next to him.

Dino was as perplexed as Tony was.  She was back in her physical human body, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  But she didn't recognize the room they were in, either.  She shrugged, glancing at Tony with a look of confusion.  Suddenly, her eyes widened as she focused on the pictures on the walls.  They were pictures of her!  She ran over for a closer look, and Tony followed.

"Why are there pictures of you all over the walls?" Tony asked.  "Is this your room?"

"No, I've never seen this place before," Dino answered dumbly.  "Wait . . . wait, I think I recognize these pictures though.  These are all the same pictures that I've posted to- to- Facebook."  She stuttered a bit as the implications of her realization suddenly hit her.  If these were all the pictures from Facebook, and she had just seen herself be absorbed into her own computer, then . . .

"Facebook?" Tony echoed back.  "We were just talking on Facebook when this happened.  Hey, Dino, did you see that same thing I did, with the glowing light?  It was like I was being broken down into pieces or pixels, and then . . . I know this sounds crazy, but I thought I was flowing into my computer.  Did that happen to you too?"

Dino nodded, speechless, and then stumbled numbly over to the whiteboard on the other wall.  Indeed, it was filled with commentary on the Avengers, which she had written about in her status updates on Facebook recently.  "This IS Facebook.  These are all the comments on my wall!  Somehow, I don't know how, but somehow we've gone into the internet.  Oh man, that article."

"What?" Tony asked.  "Oh!  About teleportation through the internet?  Yeah, somebody linked me to that article too.  Must've been a RAFian, since we both saw it."

"Yeah, that's the one.  Somehow, I guess something must've gone wrong to trigger it before they were done testing."

"Hmm, I suppose this is one of the things everybody was worrying about.  People getting stuck in the internet, right?"  Tony pinched himself.  "That's funny, though, I don't feel like a bunch of digital data."

Dino thought for a moment, and commented, "Well, it would make sense that our minds would project our physical forms here, and for that matter, a physical place around us, so that we have a familiar point of reference.  Sort of, I don't know, a mental safety mechanism to keep ourselves from going crazy, from being digitized and all."

Tony looked skeptical, but then shrugged and said, "Yeah, that makes about as much sense as any of this.  Which is approximately, absolutely none at all."

Dino pinched herself, even though she knew that wouldn't actually tell her anything.  She could still be dreaming, since she knew she'd slept through worse than a pinch.  In any case, she didn't wake up.

"RAF!" Tony suddenly exclaimed, and Dino took a moment or two for her frazzled and confused brain to realize what he was talking about.  "Oh my god, if the internet has become a real place, then what's happening in RAF?"

Dino looked around at the room that she now knew to be her Facebook profile page.  "How do we get there?" she asked.  "There's no way we can navigate Facebook to get to the edge of it.  There have to be thousands, maybe millions, of profile pages like this."

"Hmm," Tony hummed thoughtfully, looking around.  "Well, lets try that door," he said as he confidently strode towards the exit to the room.  He opened the door and peeked through, seeing a hallway lined with more doors.  Each door was labelled with a name, most of which he didn't recognize, but there were a few that he knew to be RAFians.

As Tony walked out into the hallway, Dino was a few seconds behind him.  As she looked around, she recognized almost all of the names, for the doors that were clustered around her own profile bore the names of her Facebook friends.  That made sense, that they would be connected by a hallway, representing their connection in the digital world.  "Hey, there's my profile!" Tony exclaimed, enthusiastically moving towards the door with his name on it.

Dino followed, noticing as she entered that there was another TV displaying more disjointed news.  Her attention snapped to the TV when she heard the newscaster recite, word for word, the article she had just read about digital teleportation.

"Huh, so that's the Facebook news feed," she said to herself.

Tony, meanwhile, was looking over his pictures and his comments, as though confirming to himself that they were really in his profile page.  Satisfied, he led the way back out into the hallway, and they strolled down the corridor, both of them recognizing fewer and fewer names the farther they went.

Many hours later, they were both hopelessly lost in the endless maze of profiles.  It just went on and on and on, an infinity of hallway.  And more and more people were filtering into the hallways, bustling with confused activity as they all tried to figure out what was going on and where they were.

"Let's go back," Dino said worriedly.  "We're not getting anywhere this way, and at least if we can find our own profiles again, we might meet some other RAFians, right?"

"No, no, let's keep going," Tony argued.  "It has to end somewhere.  We can't get to RAF by going back the way we came."

Suddenly, they heard urgent footsteps clapping down the hallway behind them, and they both turned to see someone pushing their way through the crowd.  "Dino!  Tony!" a voice called out.  "Oh, thank goodness I found you."

They turned to see Jess coming down the hallway towards them.  "We have, well, a bit of a situation on RAF.  We need every single RAFian we can find."

"What's going on?" Tony asked worriedly.

"It's Pootang."  Dino and Tony both gasped, instinctively tensing up.  A few Facebook bystanders, with no idea of the significance behind that name, burst into giggles at the ridiculousness of anyone so dramatically saying that word.  Jess furiously glared daggers at them, and they gulped and stayed silent after that.

She looked back at Tony and Dino, terror written plainly across her face.  "He's so much worse than any of us ever imagined."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 19, 2012, 08:52:45 PM
Facebook, eh?  So, I'm not there, then.  I don't have a Facebook profile.

Nice work, though, Dino!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 19, 2012, 10:23:27 PM
Thanks!

Just so you know, you probably won't show up until around the third or fourth chapter.  Turns out it's way harder than I thought, trying to write a story with this many potential characters.  :P  And in any case,

[spoiler=Slight Plot-spoiler]you're one of only about two or three RAFians anywhere near powerful enough to be trusted to guard Pootang, so that's where you need to be at the moment.  We'll see you when we get there.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 20, 2012, 08:58:05 AM
Understood.

[spoiler]And understood here.  I think I'm only second to Esty in terms of raw power -- although I hold back, as you probably already read ad nauseum in my fic.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 20, 2012, 09:36:49 AM
A quick guide to names, for any newbies reading this.  Tony = Unknown User, Parker = Darth Revan

. . . I think that's all the differing names/usernames that might appear in this fic so far, but I'll list more as they join the cast.

Chapter Two

Dino and Tony both pressured Jess for more information about what the deal was about Pootang, but she wouldn't speak more about the subject.  She seemed to think that whatever it was she had seen was beyond her ability to describe, and thus she said that it would be best if Dino and Tony saw the creature for themselves.  So, eventually they gave up and changed the topic.

"So, how do we get to RAF?" Tony inquired.

"Just close your eyes," Jess instructed.  Dino and Tony both obeyed, and were surprised to see a glowing white bar floating amid the blackness of their own eyelids, bearing the text 'www.facebook.com (http://www.facebook.com).'

"Whoa," Tony commented, surprised.  "How did neither of us notice that before?"

"Okay, now you just think the address you want to go to," Jess said.  "But, a word of warning.  We will become our RAFsonas as soon as we pass into the forum.  TT, what is your RAFsona, anyway?" Jess asked, using her nickname for Tony.

"A guy sitting on a question mark?" Tony said.  "I don't know, I never really put much serious thought into an actual species."

"Then you'll show up as a human," Jess said.  "Same thing happened to a few of the newbies.  They didn't put enough thought into what they were supposed to be, and they just defaulted to human."

"Darn," Tony sighed.

Dino, meanwhile, was grinning ear to ear in excitement.  "Come on, let's go!" she said enthusiastically, and immediately she thought the address 'www.animorphsforum.com (http://www.animorphsforum.com).'

In an instant, like someone changing the channel on a television, they were somewhere else.  Tony stayed his human self, while Jess had become a unicorn-like creature but with a melding of vaguely humanoid features, sporting a multicolored horn.  Dino could now feel the massive armored muscular body of her Ankylotyrannus form.  She flexed her three-toed feet, and almost daintily swished her clubbed tail, careful not to hit the others.  Tony couldn't help but to stare at both of them.

Dino turned her head, feeling the new weight of her massive skull as she did, and looked around at the forum.  They were outdoors, facing rows of long and narrow buildings decorated in RAF's familiar blue-and-white color scheme.  The buildings were labeled such things as 'Bored,' 'Media,' 'General,' 'Animorphs,' and 'Roleplaying.'  Above, the sun shone brightly, and for some reason Dino got the strange feeling that it was watching her.

"Whoa," Tony commented, looking up at Dino as she towered over him.  "Dino, may I touch you?" he asked.  "I've always thought it would be cool to touch a dinosaur."

<Sure,> Dino answered, surprised to hear her own thought-speak.  <Wow, hey, this is cool.  I can think at you and you can hear me!  Hello.  Hellooo,> she said, acting like Ax in human morph for the first time.

Tony brushed his hand against Dino's scaly skin, a little weirded out at the cobblestone texture under his fingers.  It was hard to imagine, that this giant lumbering creature had just moments ago been a human being, his friend Dino.

It was kind of weird for Dino, too, seeing that perplexed and astonished expression on Tony's face, like she was some kind of museum exhibit that he was studying.  It made it clear just how strange the whole situation really was.

But they were both snapped out of their respective reveries when Jess impatiently cleared her throat, and pointed her horn at the 'Roleplaying' building.  "The basement of RAF is over that way.  That's where the Yeerk pool, and Pootang's lair are.  They're easy enough to find, just press the 'RAFbasement' button.  So I'm going to head back to Facebook and see if I can track down any more RAFians.  See ya."

Jess headed out, blinking out of sight like she had never been there, leaving them both gaping slightly at the oddness of hearing such a strange unicorn-like creature speaking perfect English.  After taking a moment to once again grapple with the sheer weirdness of the entire situation, Dino and Tony turned and headed towards Roleplaying, and Tony opened the door.

They both gasped in awe at the incredible sight before them, as an entire galaxy seemed to stretch out before their eyes.  The building was bigger on the inside than it was outside!  There was an entire universe inside!

As they entered, Tony and Dino found themselves walking within an ornate glass chamber, a little like a glass elevator, but large enough to easily accommodate Dino, and much more futuristic, with organic edges and bubble-shaped chairs tucked away towards the sides.  All around was glass, and beyond the glass was the beautiful starry blackness of space.

In the 'bridge' of the glass ship, there was a panel of buttons.  Dino lumbered over to the panel, and read the names of the various roleplays, from the 'Galaxy's Edge Space Bar' to 'Introduction Randomness' to 'Superheroes' to 'Hogwarts.'  Towards the bottom, in smaller type and with miniscule buttons, were listed the older roleplays that had long-since become inactive.  There were a couple of other buttons off to the side of the panel, one marked 'Exit,' and another marked 'Create New Roleplay,' with a little microphone underneath the button.

<Wait a second,> Dino said, perplexed, as Tony joined her in looking at the buttons.  <Intro Rando?  That roleplay takes place in RAF, doesn't it?  So, that would have to mean that there is another RAF right here within this Roleplaying board, which is also within RAF itself.  So, what, is there an infinite loop of RAF within RAF within RAF?>

"Let's find out!" Tony suddenly declared, and decisively pressed the 'Introduction Randomness' button.

<Tony, NO!> Dino yelled, but it was too late.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 20, 2012, 11:03:09 AM
That's interesting.  You've cast Pootang as a primary antagonist in your fic, whereas it's pretty much like the Box Ghost (Danny Phantom reference) in mine.

Anyway, excellent chapter, Dino.  Now I realize you speak in thought-speak . . . which I should have realized earlier, I guess.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 20, 2012, 11:47:52 AM
Although, you'll soon find that my version of Pootang has a bit more in common with yours than you'd think . . . but I digress, that's for next chapter.

Thanks again.  As for the thought-speak, it probably would have been fine with me even if you'd forgotten.  I'm not a stickler for the 'thought-speak vs. quotation marks' thing.

This is probably going to be the last chapter until tomorrow.  Gotta keep you guys in suspense, I'm evil like that.  >:D

Chapter Three

The glass ship flew through space at a breakneck speed, stars flying past like a tape set on fast-forward.  But somehow there was no sensation of motion within the ship.  It was as though space itself was what was moving, reality itself warping at insane speed all around them.

The physics-defying ride slowed as they approached a planet that looked like earth, and from there they zoomed in on a place that was nearly a mirror image of the RAF they had just come from.  Except that this RAF seemed to have seen better days.  It was a worn and beaten wreck of a place.

Below, they saw Seal, Ghost, and Blaze, engaged in battle with some kind of stick-figure robotic creatures.  Dino had to supress an instinctual squee at seeing Seal as the absolutely adorable little white harp seal that she was.  Seal looked up and waved a flipper happily at the two newcomers.  A robot took the opportunity to shoot a laser at her while her back was turned.  She barely even flinched at the sting, and absentmidedly flung a hydrokinetic wave at him, the water rising up through the grass and sweeping him away while he smoked and fizzed with static.

"Dino!" Seal greeted enthusiastically as the glass ship touched down on the sparse grassy field.

Tony cleared his throat.  "What, no greeting for me, Sealykins?"  He mocked a sniffle.  "I'm so hurt!"

"Oh, it's Tony!" Seal exclaimed, surprised.  "I didn't recognize what you looked like!  I only know you by your voice!"  It was almost unspeakably strange, Dino thought to herself, to witness a seal's mouth moving and hear spoken English coming out, but Dino quickly reminded herself that it wasn't any weirder than anything else she'd already seen.

"So, are you guys here to help us fight?" Blaze asked, keeping his focus on his three opponents as their light-sabers clashed with his own sword, though he didn't seem to mind that he was outnumbered.

<No, actually, we're only here because someone pressed the wrong button,> Dino answered, with a pointed look at Tony.

"It had to be done," Tony retorted.  "Questions needed to be answered."

<Anyway, we were actually headed for the basement.  Apparently something about Pootang?>

Seal's smile suddenly fell, her expression becoming remarkably serious for a seal.  "Yeah, that, that thing has all of us worried."

"It didn't escape, did it?" Tony inquired.

"Oh no, no, of course not.  Trust me, if it did, we would not be here idly chatting," Seal said ominously.  "Anyway, I should probably come with you.  Blaze?  Ghost?  You good here?"

They both nodded, never even pausing in the fight with their metallic opponents.

"I want to stop by the GESB first.  I think that's where Bear and Terenia are," Seal explained, as she led the way back into the glass ship, bouncing somewhat comically as she moved across the grass.  Once they were all in the ship, she pressed the appropriate button with a surprisingly dextrous flipper.

The ship took off again, blazing through the stars like a Star Trek ship going through warp.  They arrived this time at a small planet, more of a moon than a planet, really.  The glass ship parked itself near an old wooden building marked by numerous scorch marks, sitting in a clearing among the surrounding woods, next to a lake.

Dino briefly wondered if she would be able to fit inside, but then she recalled that, as her RAFsona, she had the ability to change size.  She concentrated, and felt her body subtly shift as she 'fell' towards the ground, following the others towards the building as she shrank down to human size.

By the time they got there, Dino was no bigger than Tony, and able to easily walk in through the front door.

"Dino, I didn't know you could do that," Tony commented when he noticed her shrink.

<Yeah, it's sorta like a altered version of morphing.  I can absorb the genetic size of a creature, just not its form.>

Inside the bar, they saw a bear, lapping at a bowl of punch.  Towards the other side of the bar was an Andalite, who was engaged in conversation with an aluminum-plated android.  The Andalite turned a stalk eye towards the newcomers, but didn't show much interest beyond that.  The android, which Dino decided must be Lumy, turned and waved, while Bear loped towards both of the newcomers.

The bartender kept behind the bar, wordlessly polishing glasses.  Dino thought something looked a little odd about him, as though his body was just slightly blurred around the edges, but she decided that it was probably some general weirdness about the Bar, because it was a pretty strange place anyhow.

<Dino!> Bear exclaimed enthusiastically.  <How are you doing?>

"Oh, again with noticing Dino before me.  I see how it is," Tony grumped.

<Tony!> Bear added with a thought-speak laugh.  <Sorry, buddy, I didn't recognize you.  My bad.  How are both of you doing?>

<Bear, I- wait,> Dino interrupted herself, suddenly thinking of something.  <I didn't know your RAFsona could thought-speak?>

Bear looked down dejectedly, as though reminded of something he'd been trying to forget.  <I can't.>

Another voice piped up, oddly coming from the same direction as Bear.  <Hey, guys, Terenia here!> the voice introduced.  <Yeah, um, Bear can't actually speak at all.  That was me.  Sorry for that.>

<Whoa, what?> Dino commented, confused and taken aback.

<This is probably going to sound weird or crazy or both,> Terenia explained, <but I'm actually, well, inside his brain.  I'm translating his thoughts for him.  It's convenient for the both of us, this way.  I mimic his voice with my thought-speak, which, by the way, turns out to be easier than you might think, and then I say whatever he directs me to.  I only use his 'voice' to distinuish his words from mine, it's less confusing for everyone that way.  It's so I don't have to keep saying 'Bear says this' and 'Bear says that.'  And, in return, I get to use his eyes and ears, and I don't have to worry about people stepping on me.>

"Oh, that's right, you're a Yeerk, aren't you," Tony said.  "Ugh, that must be weird.  No offense."

<Tell me about it,> Terenia sighed in agreement.  <But at least I can thought-speak, so it didn't take long for people to find me.  I'm really worried about Myitt.  Nobody knows where she is.>

"I'm sure we'll find her," Seal reassurred.  "Don't we have some RAFians with psychic powers or something?"

<None that I can think of,> Terenia said.

"I'm sure she's fine," Seal repeated.  "There are plenty of people who just weren't logged in when all this happened, she's probably still in the real world."

The conversation stalled for a moment, as everyone worriedly considered the possibility that Myitt could be somewhere on RAF, possibly without a host, helpless, and unable to tell anybody where she was.

<Anyway,> 'Bear' interjected, making a throat-clearing noise.  <How are you guys?>

<Oh, right, we were on our way to the basement, something about Pootang,> Dino remembered.  <Apparently everybody is super freaked-out, and I for one want to know why.>

<No, you probably don't,> Terenia said coldly.  <There's a darn good reason we're all freaking out.  Bear and I, we'll come with you.>

<Moral support,> Bear added, as he padded out of the Bar and towards the glass ship.

"Hey, what happens if you need to go somewhere and this ship isn't there?" Tony wondered, as the ship once again sped seemingly motionlessly through the cosmos.

<That never happens,> Terenia answered.  <Somehow, I don't think it actually moves.  It's always in each place, simultaneously, and it only seems to move from one place to another from our perspective.  That's the theory, anyway.  I don't know what actually happens.  All we know, is that nobody has ever gotten stranded anywhere.>

A few seconds after Tony had pressed the 'RAFbasement' button, the glass ship arrived on earth once more, and slowly descended in front of a dingy-looking hole in the ground.  Another RAF forum was close by, but it looked newer than the Intro Rando one, and more like the real one.  For all they knew, it could have been the real one, since the laws of basic logic seemed to mean nothing in this place.

The five RAFians slowly crept down the dark stairway into the earth, nervous of what they might find.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 20, 2012, 12:05:01 PM
I find Terenia inside Bear's head creepy for some reason.

Anyway, nice chapter, Dino!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Unknown User on May 20, 2012, 12:38:40 PM
This is brilliant, Dino. I too find Bear being yeerked a little creepy, and I like the way you've described the internet. Have to say, I like this "Tony" character as well. :P I'll definitely keep reading.  Can't wait to see who else pops up.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 20, 2012, 04:39:03 PM
Awesome!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 20, 2012, 09:32:05 PM
Heh, I was kinda going for 'creepy.'  The way I like to write, if you don't have nightmares by the end of the story, I haven't done my job.

Oh, hey, speaking of which . . . here's the next chapter!

Chapter Four

After the five RAFians had gone down for a long time, probably at least a mile underground, the stairway branched off, and from one side it widened into an enormous cavern, from which they could hear human voices screaming.

<Don't worry about those screams,> Terenia assured the others.  <That's just a taped loop.  Ambiance, I guess.  Yeah, you guys have read the books, you know what that place is.>

The other branch of the stairway kept going down, and in that direction they could hear a very different sort of screaming.  It was far, far worse than the human screaming, a bloodcurdling sound, like a mixture of every sort of bestial anguish imaginable.  It sounded like dozens, perhaps hundreds, of different animal voices layered on top of one another, yet somehow all screaming as one creature.

The hair on the back of Tony's neck was standing up on end, even as he led the way down the stairs with false bravado.  Bear/Terenia and Seal followed, with Dino trailing nervously at the back of the group.

They descended another mile underground.  It was hard to judge distances, when all the stairs ran together in the monotony, but it felt like it had to be at least a mile.  They could feel the air slowly heating up with depth until it was stifling, when they finally emerged into a dank, torchlit cavern containing an enormous and thick-barred wrought-iron cage.  Phoenix was there, his body glowing with fire that wrapped around him as he idly toyed with his own powers, as were Parker in his Spartan armor, and a hooded figure that Dino decided must be Cloaky.  The trio looked to be formidable guards indeed, but they each visually paled in comparison to their terrible charge.

Inside the cage was something the likes of which neither Dino nor Tony had ever seen.  It was vaguely Pikachu-like in shape, but it appeared as an interlaced image of dozens of horrifying apparitions, each one subtly different from the others.  It was like watching an image reflected on glass behind which a different image lurked, only it was hundreds of such images, and yet somehow they all blended together into one creature, in utter defiance of any possible logic.

Almost all of the interlaced creatures had fangs, bloodshot eyes.  At least one had dozens of sharp teeth, like a shark.  Most of them had mangy grizzled fur, and there was a garish mixture of blurred and indistinct scars and injuries, some apparitions missing eyes or ears or other pieces of their face.  The various interlayered creatures were not all the same size, either.  One or two of them were hundreds of feet tall, but others seemed smaller, and there was at least one that looked almost nonthreatening.

But somehow they were all the same creature.  The interlaced phantoms moved as one being, and when the creature opened its mouth to roar, hundreds of different animal screams issued forth as one haunting, tortured voice.

"Why is it like that?" Tony asked, nervous.  "What the heck happened to it?"

<Well, we have a theory,> Terenia began.  <We think that, because Pootang is not a user on RAF, but rather an idea brought forth by many different people, the various and often conflicting versions of him that people have created over time were forced into one entity.  For example, see the really huge one?  Notice that he looks kind of pixellated?  We think that one is Blue's version of him from 'The Animated Series.'  And the smaller one, the one that generally looks a bit less intimidating, that one is probably Cloaky's version from 'Memoirs of a RAFian.'>

"Is Cloaky's version the one that keeps looking at me like I'm a steak?" Seal chittered nervously under her breath.

<So,> Terenia continued, <since Pootang isn't a user himself, he isn't capable of 'deciding' which version of himself is the correct one, so he was forced to become all possible interpretations at once.  You might have noticed some slight blurring around the bartender from the GESB, too, for the same reason.>

"What happens if that thing escapes?" Tony asked, a panicked edge creeping into his voice.

<That's what has everyone so worried,> Terenia said nervously.  <By most accounts, each version of him would have been plenty powerful enough on its own.  But, we're thinking that now it may not be enough to only defeat him once.  We're worried that each incarnation may need to be subdued separately, before he can be truly defeated.  And even worse, it's also possible that the cage containing him might be all that's keeping him bound into one form.  If he gets out, then we may be facing an entire army of Pootangs.>

<'Army,' and 'Pootangs,'> Dino muttered to herself, trying to make a joke to ease her own nervousness.  <There's two words you never want to hear in the same sentence.>

"We've noticed something else about him, though," Cloaky added, striding forward with feline grace, while Phoenix and Parker tightened their focus on the caged creature.  "I don't suppose any of you noticed something there that doesn't belong?"

Dino swallowed her fear and looked hard at the creature.  She saw something blurred and indistinct, but which didn't fit with the rest of the monsters.  It was hard to make out, a very faint apparition.  But it seemed to be a human infant.

<I see it,> she said.  <It's a baby.>

"Right," Cloaky said.  "That is the original son of Anna and Ken, or so we believe.  Long before Pootang became the monster that we know today.  So, if we can find Pootang's parents, they may be able to convince him that the baby is his true self.  We've sent Jess to scour Facebook to find Anna, but none of us know where Ken might be."  Cloaky glanced back at the caged creature, and added quietly, "They may be our best hope."

Pootang screamed again, throwing his dimensionally-fractured form at the bars of the cage.  The space between the bars flashed blue, a force field holding him back.

"That's just if he escapes, though, right?" Tony asked.  "As long as he's in there, we have nothing to worry about.  Right?"

"There is one thing that all iterations of Pootang have in common," Seal said darkly.  "And that is that they always escape.  Always.  And so it is not a question of 'if' he escapes.  Only 'when.'"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 20, 2012, 10:16:03 PM
This is awesome
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Sakki on May 21, 2012, 12:26:12 AM
An Army or Pootang. Enough to make any Roxean tense.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 21, 2012, 10:15:55 AM
Yay, I got a kind of cross-promotional plug for "Memoirs"!  Where Pootang escaping is just an exercise, and a bit of fun.  Dino, you actually made it (I was told that it didn't have a gender) actually sinister and threatening!!

I feel I must also note that the Pootang was before my time as a RAFian.  I don't know why, I just thought I should mention it.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: radgeek on May 21, 2012, 04:36:59 PM
Another fic getting updated often.  The Pootang move is brilliant.  Btw Bear was a host to a Goa'uld once and I think he would die before doing something like that again.  It also makes Teach a weird third wheel in the whole Bear and Dino relationship.  If there is one here...
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Noelle on May 21, 2012, 07:20:50 PM
This is awesome, I hope you keep writing. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 21, 2012, 11:26:28 PM
Thanks all, for the lovely comments!  You guys are awesome.

Cloaky: Pootang was actually before my time, as well.  Or, maybe he was born during one of my hiatuses, I can't quite recall, but in the end they both amount to the same thing.

Rad: Keep in mind that these characters are the actual human RAFians turned into their characters, not the characters themselves.  So, this Bear has never been infested by a Goa'uld (to the best of my knowledge).

P.S. I just realized that I forgot a name conversion: Jess = Kit Cloudkicker.  I'll probably add all of those to the first post anyhow.

P.S.S. It's occurring to me that this story is getting darker and darker as I write it, and I'm not even into the thick of the plot yet.  So, fair warning.  You want a happy story, probably better find a different fic.  You've been warned.

Onto the next chapter!

Chapter Five

Before they left the cavern, it suddenly occurred to Dino, with a bit of a nasty start, that she hadn't been keeping track of her two-hour limit.  She quickly demorphed back to her full size, and remorphed again to her smaller size.  Not that it would have been so terrible to be trapped as a human-sized dinosaur, but it was still scary to think that Dino could have so easily lost the powers that she had so recently gained.  Fortunately, Tony was wearing a watch, and made note of the time when Dino shrank again.

Cloaky stayed behind to guard Pootang, while the rest of them started climbing back up the massive flight of stairs to the surface.  It didn't take long for Seal to start complaining of the difficulty of clambering up stairs with her flippers, to which Tony quickly relented and picked her up.  Dino was slightly jealous that she didn't have hands with which to carry her, because the white fluffy Seal looked incredibly cuddly in Tony's arms, like a living stuffed toy.

<So, did anybody have any plans after this?> Bear inquired, idly making conversation.

"I'm probably going to head back to Intro Rando," Seal said.  "Blaze and Ghost probably still could use a hand keeping those robots away from RAF."

<Don't we have slightly more pressing concerns here, than wasting energy fighting a bunch of imaginary enemies?> Terenia asked impatiently.  <We could be doing something useful, like helping to look for Anna.  Something needs to be done about that thing down there, we can't just ignore it and hope it'll go away.>

Seal looked hurt.  ". . . I know.  It's just, it's so much easier to worry about imaginary threats, when there's nothing we can do about the real ones."

<Yanno, aren't they all imaginary threats?> Bear wondered.  <I mean, none of this could possibly be real, could it?>  Dino nodded in agreement, having been thinking the same thing.

"Hey, you're a hypocrite, Terenia," Tony shot back.  "When we found you, you and Bear were just hanging out at the GESB, drinking punch!"

<It's his body, not mine,> Terenia sniffed.  <I'm not the boss of him.  It's already plenty creepy enough just being in his head.  I'm not about to start acting like a Yeerk, too.>

<You know, guys,> Bear interjected quickly, changing the subject to try to keep the peace, but also because he didn't like being reminded of Terenia's role in his brain.  <It's probably a good thing for Seal to stay in Intro Rando.  That way she'll be honing her skill with her powers.  Just sayin'.>

"Yeah!" Seal agreed, grabbing onto the explanation that Bear had offered as she nodded enthusiastically.  "That's what I'm doing.  I'm honing my skills.  Not wasting time fighting imaginary threats.  Honing."

Terenia kept quiet after that, apparently satisfied with that answer.  But Dino was worried.  She didn't like it when her friends were on edge, even when they had good reason to be.  And although she knew it was only the stress of their situation that was making Terenia snap at Seal like that, it still made her nervous.

They climbed up the stairs in silence for a while, accompanied only by the sounds of their own labored breathing.  They were all thinking about what to do next, where to go from here.  The five RAFians' thoughts were quite remarkably similar, as they silently pressed onward.

It was an interesting conundrum.  On the one hand, what RAFian hasn't wished to be able to visit RAF?  A part of each of them wanted to celebrate.  They were actually on RAF!  As of today, they were true RAFians.  In at least some small part of each of their minds, they just wanted to visit every board, explore and play.

But another part felt guilty for that happiness, when dangers lurked under the surface.  Pootang may have been the most legendary of RAF's dark secrets, but he was not the only one.  What else might be hidden in some dark corner of the forum, waiting to be found?  And if this was all truly real, then the exact thing that everyone was so happy about, would be their undoing, too.  Because if it was real, then all of their lives, and the lives of the ones they cared about, could be at stake.

But then again, what were they even thinking, 'if it was real.'  It couldn't be.  It was ludicrous.  Completely and utterly impossible.  People did not just get sucked into computers like some kind of real-world Matrix.  It would require technology far beyond anything the world had ever seen.  It was simply so much more likely that it was all just a dream.  So why worry one way or the other?  Just wake up, and everything will be back to normal, for better or for worse.

After a while, without even realizing it, the five of them had reached the surface, where the glass elevator-ship still waited for them.  They climbed aboard, and Tony was about to press the button for Intro Rando when Seal finally broke the silence.

"Wait . . . I think maybe Terenia was right, maybe I better focus on other things," she said with a sigh.  "Besides, those robots were pushovers anyhow."

<Are you sure?> Terenia asked, a twinge of guilt in her thought-speak voice.  <Bear was right, it might be good for you to practice.>

"Nah, I'm sure," Seal said.  "Let's just go back to the main forum-place.  Home page.  You know what I mean."  Tony pressed the button for 'Exit,' and the stars zoomed past as they silently flew through space.

"I keep hoping that Richard will log on," Seal added wistfully.  "Seems like maybe he'd know what to do.  And, even if not, well, he's Richard.  Surely he can defeat Pootang, if anybody could."

There was a pause, and then Bear let loose a low but threatening growl, catching everyone by surprise.  <Okay, okay!  I'll tell them!> Terenia said defensively.  <I still don't think it's a good idea but->  Bear growled again.  <Fine.>

<First off, this stays between the five of us,> Bear began.  <Or if you tell anybody, make darn sure it's someone you absolutely trust not to spread it around.  If any of this gets out to the forum at large, there'll be mass panic.  The only thing that's keeping a lot of the newbies from completely losing it, is the hope that the big bad Richard's gonna come riding to the rescue.  So, therefore->

"Get on with it already!" Tony said tersely, unable to take the suspense.

<It's occurred to us, that, at least to the best of any of our knowledge, Richard has never actually claimed any sort of supernatural powers,> Bear said.  <Others have assumed it of him, because as the 'father of RAF' it would make sense, but he himself has never even implied that he was anything beyond an ordinary human.  What this means for us on the forum, I don't know, but->

"Wait, WHAT?!" Tony screeched.

"You mean to tell us that Richard could be- be- mortal?!" Seal exclaimed.

"And not only mortal but a completely average guy?!" Tony demanded.

<Not so loud,> Bear warned, because by now they were back at the door to the rest of the forum.  <But, yeah.  Richard could be a completely average guy.>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: radgeek on May 21, 2012, 11:58:14 PM
*had a lot she was going to type out.  Then she read the last part*

 :o
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 22, 2012, 12:06:25 AM
This could be similar to the ppotant situation, with multi version richard
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 22, 2012, 07:56:32 AM
Yes, it's true, we assume alot of Richard's powers and ability.

Oh, and having Tony hold Seal . . . it just puts me in mind of Misty and Togepi.  I'm sorry, but it does.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 22, 2012, 04:59:50 PM
Lol, that is exactly the reaction I was hoping for, Rad.  ;D

Blaze, the reason that happened to Pootang was because he isn't a user.  Richard is.

Huh, Cloaky, I hadn't thought about that, but you're right, it is a similar visual.

This is not directed at anybody in particular, but it has been worrying me crazy lately that somebody might accidentally guess some plot twist I have planned before I can write it.  I am deathly phobic of anything resembling spoilers, and the same goes for stories I'm writing where I don't want my readers to accidentally be informed of what might happen.  So if any of you ever happen to have speculations regarding where the story might be going?  Please, please PM them directly to me.  In exchange for keeping this in mind, you may be rewarded with previews of things to come (assuming you don't mind spoilers), or even a (larger) role in the story!

And, another random side-note, I'll be in New York for my sister's graduation for the next week or so.  I'll try to keep writing during that time so I'll have lots to post when I get back, but it's hard to know how busy I'll be.  So, fair warning, if you don't see another chapter by this time tomorrow, then I'm not going to have a new one up until next week.

Chapter Six

Still reeling from the mere suggestion of the possibility that Richard might be an ordinary mortal, the five RAFians left the glass ship and stood outside the buildings of RAF once more.  It was still an incredible sight, to see the so-familiar boards towering as gigantic structures above them, into the blue-grey sky above.  The sun, Dino noticed, was now nowhere to be seen.  Of course, she realized.  It hadn't been 'the sun' in the first place.  And Estelore couldn't really be expected to hang around in the same place in the sky all day.

The light that lit the main forum seemed to come from everywhere at once, but Dino could still feel that it was starting to get late.  She wasn't hungry, however, even though she knew she ought to be by now.  But then, maybe she really was just some digital file, stored somewhere within a computer's memory bank.  The mere thought of that made her a little uneasy.

There were several more RAFians milling about than there had been when Tony and Dino had passed this way before.  Most of them were human, presumably newbies and lurkers who had never registered their species.  They looked up at Dino and Bear with apprehension, nervously keeping their distance.

But then they noticed someone that seemed familiar.  She was apparently human, but clad in pirate attire, her skin a deathly pallor.  She turned, an odd, mechanical motion, and they could all see the vampiric fangs that protruded from her mouth.

"Gaz!" Seal shouted excitedly, bounding out of Tony's arms and towards the pirate.  "Did you just get here?  How are you?"

Gaz didn't move, didn't speak, just stood there, unresponsive.

"Gaz?  What's going on?" Tony asked urgently.

Seal poked her foot with a flipper, and still there was no reaction.  "Gaz?  Gaz!  What's the matter with you?"

After a moment, she responded in a robotic monotone.  "Why are you guys PMing me?"

Seal tilted her head in confusion.  "We're . . . not PMing you.  We're right here in front of you, talking to you.  What's wrong with you?"  Her voice had an edge of panic, worried that something truly terrible had happened to Gaz.  Seal couldn't even begin to think about something like that, not after everything she'd already been through today.

Again, there was a pause before Gaz spoke.  "Is this a game?" Gaz intoned mechanically.  "Is there some kind of event going on right now on RAF?  Why does nobody ever tell me these things?"  Then she made a sudden turn and rigidly walked off towards the General board, seeming to have forgotten that the other RAFians were standing right there.

The others chased after her, trying to figure out what was going on.  "Oh man, oh man, somebody brainwashed Gaz!" Seal cried.

<I don't think so.  It's like she's here, but at the same time she isn't here,> Bear commented as he loped along, easily keeping up with Gaz.  <Do you suppose . . . I dunno, but the way she's talking, it's like she's just logged into her computer, with no idea that the rest of us are actually inside the internet.>

Gaz marched mechanically towards the General board, and suddenly stopped as she arrived in front of the door.  She sharply turned back to face the others again, and, after a moment, asked, "Okay, I'll bite, what's going on?  Why are there so many posts today?"

"Gaz, listen carefully, because what I'm about to tell you is probably going to sound ridiculous," Seal began, giving the others a nervous look.  "We're all trapped inside the internet."

Another pause.  "What?" Gaz asked.  "Is this one of those roleplaying games?  I'm confused."

"No!" Seal shouted, impatient.  "This is real!  We're really here!"

". . . Okay, I think I get it," she said.  "Oh, it's a nice day on the forum, isn't it?"

"Rrrgh," Seal growled, quickly becoming frustrated that she couldn't make Gaz understand.  "This is not a roleplay.  We are in the internet.  RAF is a real place, and we are here.  Me and Dino and Tony and Terenia and Bear.  Tell her, guys!"

<Yep, pretty much what the seal said,> Bear agreed.

<Gaz, listen, it's true.  We're really here,> Terenia added.

". . . I'm sorry, you're just not making any sense.  You realize that isn't possible, right?" Gaz asked.

"We know it isn't possible, but it's happening anyway!" Tony put in.

". . . Look, guys, you're starting to scare me," Gaz said.

"GOOD!" Seal yelled at her, her voice breaking slightly with emotion.  "Because we're scared, too!"

Gaz paused again, her unblinking stare unnerving as they waited for her to respond.  "I don't know.  I just don't know.  I want to believe you guys, but this is an awful lot to take in.  This just seems like it has to be some kind of trick."

Seal massaged her forehead with her flipper, thinking hard for a way to prove that they were really there, but coming up with absolutely nothing.  If everything they did or said just showed up on Gaz's computer as nothing but a message, then how could they hope to prove their own predicament to her?

"Guys, don't freak out or anything, but I'm logging off.  It's late, and I need time to think," Gaz said.

"Gaz, wait, don't leave!" Seal implored, but it was too late, and Gaz had vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Seal talking to empty air.

<What was that all about?> Bear wondered.  <Why didn't Gaz get pulled into the internet the way the rest of us did?>

<You suppose maybe they finally got whatever Swiss thing that was malfunctioning fixed?> Dino considered.  <You know, that teleport thing that was sucking people into the internet in the first place?  If they got that fixed, then anybody who logged in afterwards wouldn't be affected, right?  So, they might be completely unaware of what was going on, like Gaz.>

"Swiss thing?" Seal asked.  "What Swiss thing?"

"There was an article about some researchers in Switzerland, who were working on a device to teleport people through the internet.  We figured, this has gotta be related to that," Tony explained.

<Yeah, I was the one who sent you two that article,> Bear noted.  <To be honest, I thought it was a prank at first.>

<Yeah, so did I,> Dino added.  <Heh, no wonder Gaz doesn't believe it either.>

"She'll come around," Seal assured herself.

Meanwhile, in her room, Gaz stared at her computer in puzzlement.  Although none of it made any sense, there had been a feeling of urgency to what her friends had told her.  While, yes, she knew that RAFians in general liked to joke around about things, and sometimes they all could act remarkably serious when they had a running gag going, somehow this was different.  It really seemed like they had been in distress.  And surely they wouldn't play a joke like this, when it would make her worry this much about them.

Gaz sighed, and turned off her computer, feeling a twinge of guilt as she did so.  But she had work to do in the morning, and it was already late.  So she just had to hope that it was some kind of game after all, and try her best not to worry about it until tomorrow.  She turned out the lights, and fitfully tossed and turned as she tried to sleep.  She promised herself that she would get to the bottom of this, as soon as she was able, and with that thought in mind she finally lost consciousness.

Back on RAF, Dino had separated from the others in the Social board.  From the inside, Social looked like an enormous dorm or hotel, with spacious hallways wide enough to easily accommodate Dino's full size.  The large, cozy common room displayed pictures of various RAFians and their pets, with maps tacked up with pictures from past real-world RAFtrips.  On a pedestal at the front, was a map engraved in black marble, showing the locations of the various members' profile threads.  Dino quickly found her own room on the display, and headed in that direction.  She padded down the wide hallway towards what looked like the opening of a cave, which she knew to be her lair.

Dino's lair was sparsely decorated, but well-lit by flickering warm lights that gave the cave a pleasant evening glow.  Her 'bed' was a resting couch of Dinotopian design, a long, hammock-shaped padded pedestal contoured to fit her stomach.  She settled into the velvet lining, and it snugly supported her as she curled up like a roosting bird, her legs hanging off the sides.  Apparently there was a pressure switch within the bed itself, because the lights dimmed as she settled into it.

She sighed heavily, thinking about everything that had happened that day.  Had it really only been just one day?  Being dragged into Facebook and RAF, meeting the other RAFians, seeing Pootang, and then Gaz, all of that didn't feel like it could have happened in only the span of twenty-four hours.

Dino thought about the encounter with Gaz, and sighed again to expel the tension she felt.  She didn't like being reminded that there might still be a real world out there, outside the internet.  Did her parents know where she was?  Did anybody?  How could Gaz not have known what was going on?  Surely this many disappearances would have made the news.  Or, was it somehow being kept a secret?  And how?

Dino's thoughts became more and more jumbled as she drifted off to sleep, eventually turning to nightmares of haunting fractured screams.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 22, 2012, 05:38:29 PM
This is pretty amazing writing.
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on May 22, 2012, 06:38:58 PM
Oh no! I've been brainwashed. That seems to happen to me a lot....not sure what to think about that. Lol.

Great story!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Horsefan1023 (Seal) on May 23, 2012, 04:48:16 PM
This=awesome.

That's all there is to say.  ^_^
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 29, 2012, 08:30:12 PM
Chapter Seven

The next morning, Dino slowly roused back to consciousness, her mind fuzzy from half-remembered dreams.  There were a lot of blurry recollections about RAF, and Pootang, and . . . come to think of it, had that all been a dream?  None of it was fading into her subconscious to be blearily forgotten, the way dreams normally did.  Instead, the events she recalled seemed to be growing stronger in her mind as she awoke, not weaker.

And, even weirder, Dino felt somehow . . . off.  As though she weren't completely . . . human.

With a sudden jolt of adrenaline, Dino was totally awake.  She looked around her cave, everything suddenly coming back to her like a tidal wave of information.

Hesitating, half-wanting to close her eyes as though that would block out the truth of what she was seeing, she looked down at her own body.

<Yeaaah!> she yelled out in shock as she jumped to her feet, her unfamiliar weight nearly throwing her off-balance as she did so.  <Oh god oh god,> she groaned, as she realized that whatever was going on, it had now gone on much too long to be a dream.  It was real.

She shook her head, not wanting to deal with any of it.  Pootang, and the imminent threat he posed to everyone.  Richard, who was perhaps nothing more than an ordinary human, who would need the protection of the rest of RAF rather than vice versa.  Her friends, the RAFians, whose lives could be at stake.  Her family, who might not even know where she was . . .

Dino pushed all that out of her mind as she stalked down the hallway.  The Bored Board.  That's where she was headed.  She knew that was the wrong thing to do, knew there was so much else that needed to be dealt with, but she just needed to believe some fleeting illusion that nothing was wrong.

She walked out of the Social Board, blinking as her eyes readjusted to the harsher light of the main forum, and headed for Bored.

As Dino's eyes adjusted again to the darkness inside the Bored building, she saw an arcade, filled with old-fashioned video game podiums.  The spacious area was darkened to lend more effect to the brightly colored flashing lights that lit the place.  Off to one side of the room was a vending machine, its coin slot large enough to easily accommodate a two-by-four, and surrounded by joints and gears which made it apparent that it could expand to fit other things.  Around the machine was a quite respectable pile of . . . well, everything.  Everything from rubber duckies to kitchen sinks, and everything in between.

Dino spotted movement closer to the door where she was, and saw two RAFians playing at one of the consoles.  She recognized Steph, but didn't know the other person who was playing the game, a man dressed in a dark-colored suit coat and a blue tie.  The object of the game seemed to be to shoot at numbers as they scrolled across the screen, the numbers increasing as the game went on.

"C'mon, Steph, keep up!" the man said in a musingly impatient British accent, as he yanked back and forth on the joystick.  "I know I have the advantage here, but I would have expected better from you."

He started slightly as he noticed Dino standing there, looming above him in the colorful darkness.  "Oh, hey Dino, it's you!" he sighed with relief as he realized who she was.  "You want to play?"

Steph, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice Dino at all.  Now that Dino was looking closer at her, she noticed that Steph's movements were oddly rigid, moving the joystick almost robotically as she seemed to automatically lock onto her on-screen targets.

"I'm really here, but Steph isn't," the man explained.  "It's Aquilai, by the way," he mentioned, introducing himself.

<Wait, do you honestly mean to tell me that she stayed off the internet all day yesterday?> Dino asked incredulously.

"Of course I've been online!" Steph said, speaking up, but keeping her eyes on the console screen.  "What, with everything that's been going on?  You honestly think I would miss this?"

"What do you mean, anyway?" Aquilai asked.  "What does her being or not being online have to do with her being an outerworlder?"

<Outerworlder?> Dino asked.

"People have been calling them innerworlders and outerworlders," Aquilai said.  "Inners and outers for short.  You and I are inners, as in, inside the internet.  Steph is an outer."

<Ah, okay,> Dino said, nodding.  <Well, Gaz is an outerworlder, too.  We all assumed that it was because she hadn't logged in while the Swiss teleportation program was malfunctioning, and then we thought they must have gotten it fixed.  But I guess not.>

"That could be true, actually," Steph mentioned, never looking away from the game.  "I haven't seen any new innerworlders today.  And it's pretty easy to spot the inners because you guys are the ones posting like crazy!"

<Besides you, you mean,> Dino said.

"I assumed that was implied," Steph replied.

<So, then, how did you end up an outer?> Dino wondered.

"Hmm," Aquilai hummed thoughtfully, taking a moment to think.  "I bet that teleportation program that the Swiss came up with must've taken a lot of memory space to run.  And, storing a human consciousness as data would require bloody ridiculous amounts of storage space, assuming it's even theoretically possible at all.  Of course, given our circumstances, it would seem that it is."

<Yeah,> Dino agreed.  <Oh, I think I see what you're getting at.>

"So, Steph," Aquilai began, "did you ever log into an actual computer yesterday, or did you only use your phone?"

There was a pause as she considered.  "Just my phone, why?"

"I doubt your phone would have enough space to run a teleportation program, or store your consciousness," Aquilai said matter-of-factly.  "That's what must have protected you."

"Protected?  My foot," Steph said.  "You say that like I wouldn't want to be actually on RAF."

Aquilai and Dino gave each other a knowing look.  They both were thinking how hard it must be to understand what it was like, from the perspective of one looking into this world from the outside.  It would be so easy to think that being actually inside the internet would be the most amazing thing ever.  And admittedly, in some ways it was pretty cool.  But people like Steph and Gaz seemed to be totally blind to the dangers lurking deeper beneath the surface.

Their thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an unfamiliar thought-speak voice.  <Hey.  Hey.  Is it working?> the voice asked.  <Can everybody hear me?  Okay then.  This is a modified mirror-wave call, targeted to RAFians.  So, everybody should be able to hear this.  Anyway, this is Estrid.  The staff want everybody in the Media Board in half an hour.  We're having a meeting, and all RAFians will be expected to attend.  Outerworlders too.  We have a lot of things that we need to discuss.  Media Board.  Half an hour.  Over and out.>

"Huh, that was different," Aquilai commented.  "I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?"

"I got a PM from Estrid," Steph said.  "Is that what you're talking about?"

<Yeah, I heard it,> Dino affirmed distantly.  She felt a strange swell of optimism at Estrid's message, a sudden sense of purpose, the promise of an official meeting already putting her mind at ease.   The message was a reminder that she wasn't alone in all this, that there was a whole forum of people all around her that she considered her friends.  And surely, one of them, would know what to do.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Sakki on May 29, 2012, 08:50:56 PM
*sits quietly and waits for an update* ?o?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 29, 2012, 10:28:40 PM
Man I love this. I've probably been fighting the robots for 15 hours straight
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 30, 2012, 04:55:10 PM
Chapter Eight

After playing a few rounds of counting games to kill some time, Dino followed Steph and Aquilai towards the Media Board, where groups of other members were already accumulating as they filtered into the building.

The three of them ventured curiously inside, to find a huge open space like a theatre or an amphitheatre, which was mirrored on all sides by dozens more such spaces, all interconnected to one another, like a rising and falling cratered landscape of ordered risers and chairs.  Each section was delineated from the others by the direction of the chairs, each swath of seats facing towards a central low spot.  Some areas faced towards podiums, others towards projection screens.  The whole place was generally well-lit, and had the feel of a gigantic lecture hall.

It was easy to spot the theatre area where everyone was gathering, the other spaces feeling oddly empty by contrast to that one crowded spot.  Dino began to morph to her smaller size as she approached, Aquilai agreeing to keep track of time.

It was almost like seeing a zoo up close, but without the cages and fences separating the visitors from the animals.  Humans milled about, the newbies and lurkers easily spotted by their obvious discomfort with the situation, while the more experienced human RAFians seemed almost comfortable as they made conversation even with some of the more unconventional species.  A brightly-colored macaw perched on the back of a chair, idly chatting with a Canadian goose.  Bear stood off to the side of the room, looking awkward and hesitant.  A red fox entered the room, gave Bear a friendly look, and trotted over towards him.

And even stranger, were the species that no human had ever seen before.  A Caterpie and a Mew were casually making conversation, Mewmorpher's gestures mildly amusing as she spoke.  A Pemalite laughed, hyena-like, at a joke that one of the humans had told.  Several Andalites were scattered at random throughout the room, engaged in conversation with various other RAFians.  Although Dino had already seen one Andalite at the GESB, it struck her how incredible it was to see actual Andalites brought to life, so graceful and alien, yet so familiar.

<Dino!> one of the Andalites called out, waving as she made her way towards Dino.  <It's Noelle!  How are you doing?>

<Oh, hey, Noelle!> Dino responded cheerfully.  <I'm doing pretty good, all things considered!  It's a relief to have some semblance of order around here, I'm glad they called this meeting.>

<I know,> Noelle agreed.  <I was starting to feel like nobody had any idea what was going on.>

<I know!> Dino echoed back.  <Well, technically we still don't know much about what's going on.  But at least now it feels like we're going in the right direction, you know?>

<Yeah,> Noelle agreed.

Their conversation was interrupted when Gaz suddenly appeared in an empty seat next to them.  "Sorry if I'm late," she said.  "I wasn't logged on when Estrid's PM went out."

<You aren't late.  The meeting hasn't started yet,> Dino said.  <So, you believe us now?>

Gaz paused for a moment, then replied, "Yeah.  Sorry it took me as long as it did."

<Don't worry about it,> Noelle said warmly.  <It all takes some getting used to.>

Another group of humans wandered into the building, and Dino recognized Tony.  Tony waved and came over, while the two girls he had been talking to followed.  One girl looked familiar, but it took Dino a moment to recognize her.

<Seal?> Dino wondered.  <Seal!  It is you!  Wow, I almost didn't recognize your human form!  Wait, that is really you, right?  You aren't DemonSeal or anything, are you?>

"No, thank goodness," Seal replied, making a face.  "So far, I've been able to keep her under control.  As for me, I have a device that can turn me human, remember?  I've used it in Intro Rando?  Being a seal was fun, but it's also good to be human again.  Sliding around everywhere on my stomach was getting old fast."  She made another face as she mentioned the last part.

"Hey Dino!" the other girl greeted as she approached.  "It's me, Rad."

<Oh, hey, Rad!> Dino answered, but then tilted her head wonderingly as a thought occurred to her.  <Hey, is Ma'at there, too?  How did the two of you, uh, turn out?>

"It's weird," Rad responded slowly.  "She's in my head right now, but . . . well, it's like we're the same person.  Only we're not.  We share memories, and I can see things from her perspective, and she from mine.  But I can think as her, and I feel like I'm a different person than when I think as myself.  It's . . . hard to explain."

Seal was nodding in agreement.  "Yeah, it's the same with me and DemonSeal.  She's me, but not me."

<Huh,> Dino commented, thinking out loud.  <I guess that makes some sense.  They're connected to your RAFsonas, but they're still characters.  So they come from your mind, but they're not quite you.  Interesting.>

It was apparently time for the meeting to start, because there was movement toward the front of the room, the staff members starting to gather into the central area.  A goomba led the way, shuffling almost comically on his too-short legs, while an Andalite that Dino guessed to be Estrid looked down awkwardly at him, as though slightly unsure whether it would be more polite to pick him up, or let him walk on his own.

Phoenix approached from the other side of the room, and now that Dino saw him in the light, his birdlike features were more apparent, reddish-orange phoenix feathers trailing from his arms.

A girl that Dino didn't recognize stepped forward to join the rest of them, shifting her weight somewhat awkwardly, as though uncomfortable in her own body.  Terenia, but in a different host, perhaps?  It had to be Terenia, she was the only staff member not already accounted for besides Richard.  And then that would explain why Bear had been acting so shy, given that he couldn't talk on his own.

"Yeerk!" somebody hissed at Terenia from the crowd, having realized the same thing that Dino had been able to guess.  "That body isn't yours!"

Terenia flinched, and then glared at the person who'd spoken, clearing her throat.  "This is Ash's body," she clarified, raising her voice to be heard over the dull noise of the crowd.  "And she's an outerworlder.  This isn't her real body, only her account."

That explanation seemed to have shamed the dissenting voice, because there was no reply after that.  The room fell silent again.

As the minutes ticked by, the murmur of the crowd slowly crept up in volume, as it became apparent that the staff were waiting for something.  The staff members each kept glancing towards the center of their group, as though expecting someone or something to appear.

Suddenly, in the space between Phoenix and Estrid, a tall man of apparently Caribbean descent popped into existence.  The effect on the crowd was almost immediate, all the conversations suddenly hushed.

"Is that . . . ?" a whisper went up nearby.

"Richard," another voice murmured.

Dino payed close attention to the man, looking for a sign that would tell her whether Richard was an innerworlder or an outerworlder.  Her heart sank, as she realized that he was barely moving as he stood there, his unblinking gaze focused emotionlessly on the crowd.  Richard was an outerworlder.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 30, 2012, 06:19:36 PM
Aw great.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Noelle on May 30, 2012, 07:49:32 PM
*Anxiously waits for more*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 30, 2012, 07:51:25 PM
Excellent, Dino.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on May 31, 2012, 05:34:25 AM
We're really enjoying reading this. ^_^
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on May 31, 2012, 10:47:13 AM
Thanks, everybody!  :D

Chapter Nine

"First item of business," Terenia began, breaking the tension that surrounded Richard's appearance.  Richard himself stayed mysteriously silent, apparently content to just watch the proceedings.

"We need to discuss what to do about Pootang," Terenia went on.  Muffled gasps went up through the crowd at the name, although some of the newer members just giggled.  "We've managed to track down Anna, and she is currently down in the basement, but thus far she's had little to no luck getting through to him.  So we need a contingency plan, in the event that that approach fails altogether."

"I volunteer my TARDIS," Aquilai spoke up from the crowd.  "If it escapes, I might be able to go back in time and reverse whatever happened that set it loose in the first place."

"I wouldn't count on that," Cloaky countered, as he strode into the meeting from somewhere outside the Media Board.  "I've sensed that Pootang seems to exist in multiple realms at once.  Or, whatever forms of reality would be the equivalent of 'realms' within RAF, I suppose.  Not websites, but data files perhaps?  I don't know how that's even possible, but if I'm right, its timeline may well be impervious to any alterations.  You would need to alter the timeline of each version separately but at the same instant in time.  Which is not only impossible, it's a contradiction."

"But we still need to come up with some kind of defensive plan," Goom spoke up.  "Tyler, Blue, and Russell are still guarding Pootang at the moment, but we need to come up with an official rotation of guards."

"Nobody wants to stay down there, with that, for long," Phoenix commented offhandedly.  "Trust me, you'd go insane just looking at it."

"We'll want at least one Andalite down there at all times, to make a mirror-wave call to the rest of RAF in the event of an escape," Goom went on.  "Estrid can teach the rest of you how to do it.  And, we should have at least one of our more powerful members down there at all times, too.  Phoenix, Cloaky, Tyler, Parker, and Estelore are some of the most formidable RAFians we have.  An outerworlder would be handy, too, so that if all else fails and the other two don't make it out, the outerworlder could still get out and warn other RAFians."

As he spoke, Estrid looked concerned as she scanned the crowd with her stalk eyes.  <Um, speaking of powerful RAFians, has anyone actually seen Estelore?> she asked nervously.  <They aren't here.  Why wouldn't they be here?  They aren't down guarding Pootang, are they?>

A nervous murmuring went up through the crowd as various RAFians confirmed amongst themselves that Estrid was right.  Estelore was not present.

Cloaky shook his head.  "No, I just came from the basement, and she isn't there."

<I briefly met them yesterday, so I know they're an innerworlder,> Estrid commented, puzzled.

<I saw Estelore,> Dino put forth.  <At least I assumed it was them.  I'd thought I was seeing the sun, but then later on it, well, they, were gone.  But I just assumed that they had somewhere else to be?>  Various other voices in the crowd confirmed that they'd all seen the same thing.

<I'll try another mirror-wave call,> Estrid said.  <ESTELORE!> she yelled out, her powerfully projected thought-speak mentally deafening at such a close range.  <THE MEETING IS MANDATORY.  WHERE ARE YOU?>

There was a tense moment as everyone waited for Estelore's human avatar to appear.  But, the seconds ticked slowly by, and still nothing happened.

<Surely, they just had somewhere else to be,> Dino told herself, although she didn't sound terribly certain.  <Nothing could just . . . vanish a star.  . . . Right?  Does their star stay in the sky when they appear as a human?>

<Yes, actually.  The star was still there when I talked to them,> Estrid confirmed.  <They said that they only use a fraction of the star's mass to create their human form.  So, it couldn't be just a question of having somewhere else on RAF to be, that wouldn't make their star vanish like that.  Unless they went off to a different website.  But, then, why?  And why haven't they come back?  Are they hiding from something?>

"What would a star have to hide from?" Phoenix countered.  "Estelore is one of the most powerful RAFians, if not the most powerful."

<Have my mirror-wave calls reached other websites?> Estrid asked.  Several RAFians from the crowd affirmed that they did, one saying that he'd been on Youtube when he heard the summons, another on Facebook.  <So then there's no way they didn't hear,> Estrid muttered.  <What are they doing?>

The crowd began to hum nervously, as members anxiously chattered to one another, discussing the terrifying implications of Estelore going missing like this.  Were they hurt, somewhere?  Worse than hurt?  Had they been kidnapped?  And by what?  What in the kree could hurt, or kidnap, a star?

"Okay, we need to organize a search," Terenia said, getting down to business.  "You and you, get on Facebook, and you three search their blog," she said, her teacher experience taking over as she pointed out various RAFians and quickly assigned tasks.  "The group of you, the six of you there, find out what other sites they frequented.  I don't know, try Googling 'Estelore,' for starters.  Get back to the rest of us if you need additional manpower for searching whatever sites you come up with.  Everybody else, we'll split up and search all the boards on RAF as best we can.  Perhaps we might at least find some kind of clue about what happened."

<Wait,> Dino said, suddenly sensing that someone was missing who had been there before.  She hadn't noticed anyone leave, but then again she had been fairly distracted by the commotion surrounding Estelore's disappearance.  She looked around, trying to place the feeling, before it suddenly hit her.  <What happened to Noelle?>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on May 31, 2012, 01:01:57 PM
Noelle logged out?  Maybe?

Am I inworlder or outworlder, or just the obligatory mysterious man? ;)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on May 31, 2012, 01:07:20 PM
*claps hands delightedly* ^_^ We are a plot point! :D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on May 31, 2012, 05:37:50 PM
Just happy to PARTICIPATE!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: radgeek on May 31, 2012, 10:33:38 PM
The word "kree" was used.  :clap:

I have no idea way that made me happy.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 01, 2012, 10:06:19 PM
Am I inworlder or outworlder, or just the obligatory mysterious man? ;)

Perhaps all three.  That would be mysterious indeed.  ;)  J/k, you're actually an inner.

Just happy to PARTICIPATE!

Patience, patience.  You will have a chance to participate-in-all-capital-letters by the end of the story, I promise.  Provided you can show a little patience in the meantime.

Chapter Ten

Terenia rubbed her temples, trying to fight down her feelings of frustration.  Things had been only barely, finally, starting to get on track towards some form of order, but then, in the blink of an eye, everything had just as quickly fallen apart again.

"Okay, then, two groups," Terenia said, amending her earlier plan, raising her voice to be heard over the rising murmur of panic within the crowd now that a second RAFian had disappeared.  "One searches for Estelore, one for Noelle.  This side of the room, you'll search for Estelore.  That side searches for Noelle.  Except for Seal, Steph, and Tony.  And, find Blue once he's done with guard duty, he could help, too.  You four, I want you to work on a list of everyone who is currently active on RAF, and I mean everyone, and we'll see if there's anybody else missing."

"And I can see if I can still access RAF's activity logs, somehow," Goom added.  "Depending on exactly what happened, there may be a record of events on the site itself."

"I'm pretty good with computers," Aquilai added.  "I can help Goom."

"Okay, good," Terenia said.  "Richard, you should help with that, too."  Richard, who had been standing off to the side of the group of staff members, stoically followed Aquilai and Goom as the three of them walked out of the amphitheatre.

The crowd began to disband, beginning the search for the missing RAFians.  Some members blinked out as they crossed over to other websites, while others wandered out of the Media Board towards other areas of RAF.

But then somebody familiar pushed forward through the crowd, grinning as she moved towards Terenia.  Even with everything Terenia had to deal with in the past few hours, she couldn't help but smile back, as she practically ran towards Myitt.

"Tara!" Terenia called out excitedly, opening her arms for a hug, which Myitt eagerly returned.  "Oh my god, where have you been?  I've been so worried about you!"

Myitt paused, as though considering what to say next.  "Sorry, my internet was down all day yesterday," Myitt apologized.  "Some kind of maintenance, or something."

"Okay, so then . . . " Terenia began, but trailed off as another thought occurred to her.  "Hmm, hey, wait.  If that's true, then how are you here?  You are really here, right?"

There was another odd pause.  "It came back up," Myitt said, with an implied 'duh' in her voice.

"That's not what I mean," Terenia said questioningly, looking hard at Myitt, scrutinizing her for some sign of the flat emotionless indifference typical of the other outerworlders.  But she could see nothing of the sort.

After a moment, Myitt raised an eyebrow at Terenia.  "What?"

"I mean, how are you here here.  You are an innerworlder, right?"

". . . I'm a what now?" Myitt asked.

"Innerworlder," Terenia clarified.  "You know, inside the internet?"

There was a long pause.  "What?"

"So, okay," Terenia started, wrinkling her brow anxiously, not quite wanting to ask what she was about to ask.  "Answer me this.  What do you see, in front of your eyes, right now as we're talking?"

" . . . My computer screen?" Myitt answered.  "What are you getting at?"

Terenia stared at her incredulously.  "But, how?" she asked, thinking out loud.  "How is it that you seem perfectly normal?"

". . . I don't know what you're talking about," Myitt answered, confused.

"Look," Terenia said impatiently.  "We're kind of in the middle of a crisis, here, and, sorry, but I really do not have time to play the 'do you believe me' game.  We are inside the internet, we've been turned into our characters, and RAF is a real place and I'm in here, okay?  Now, tell me, what is it that's making you different?"

After another momentary pause, Myitt's eyes widened.  "Wow.  Um, okay, so, all your posts have been you, actually doing the stuff that's described?  That's . . . incredible."  She shrugged, but then looked thoughtful.  "Hey, wait, you mean, like that?  Did I shrug just now?  I just typed 'Myitt shrugged.'  And, well, I've just been describing what my character is doing.  You know, roleplaying."

"Ah, that's the difference!" Terenia said, snapping her fingers.  "You're a roleplayer!  You need to teach that to the other outerworlders.  But, now isn't the time.  Like I said, we're in the middle of a crisis.  Estelore and Noelle are missing."

"Has anybody checked users online?" Myitt asked, and then without warning she suddenly and stiffly walked away, while, in the real world, she changed the web page.

<Oh man.  Terenia?> Ash spoke up from within her own brain.  < . . . I think I have some really bad news.>

<Just what I need, more bad news,> Terenia sighed bitterly.  <Okay, tell me.>

<I had a different tab open, and I was using the member search function on RAF to try to find Estelore and Noelle, while you were talking to Myitt.  Here's the thing, when I type 'Estelore' or 'Noelle' into the search bar, it comes back with a message saying, "Sorry, no matches were found."  I . . . I think that their accounts no longer exist,> Ash said.

<What?  No, no, that's not possible,> Terenia insisted, but her blood was turning to ice.  <That's just not possible.  That would mean . . . No.  No no no oh god NO!>  She wobbled on her feet as she realized the implications of what Ash had said.  Here, within the internet, each innerworlder only existed within their own account.  If the account was gone . . . then where else could they possibly be?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 02, 2012, 08:22:03 AM
Nice, Dino.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: radgeek on June 02, 2012, 11:20:08 PM
Who is Teach using as a host now? She seems to not be using thought-speak the whole chapter.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Noelle on June 02, 2012, 11:44:35 PM
I stopped existing?  ;_;

*goes off looking for me*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 03, 2012, 08:36:28 AM
*goes off looking for me*

How . . . existential?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on June 03, 2012, 09:39:51 PM
*floating around like so much space dust*

...poof?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 03, 2012, 10:04:47 PM
In a roleplay, where my account was canceled after being killed, I ended up on my old Evony account. I say this is what has happened to our friends.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 03, 2012, 10:25:06 PM
Who is Teach using as a host now? She seems to not be using thought-speak the whole chapter.

Ash.  Since Ash is an outerworlder and thus has no reason to care about the use of her virtual body, Terenia decided to use spoken speech, mainly because that's what she's used to and more comfortable with.

Chapter Eleven

Dino's anxiety made the minutes drag on like hours, as she and Nate wandered deeper and deeper into the Animorphs Board, their assigned search area.  Teams of two had ended up being all that RAF could afford to spare for each search group, there was just far too much area to cover otherwise.

Inside the Animorphs building, it was a vista of patchwork terrains, strikingly reminiscent of the miniature universe from the Andalite Chronicles.  Except that it was much larger, seemingly infinite, and composed instead of scenes from the various books, plus a few other random non-canon hypothetical scenarios.

After having narrowly dodged a screeching truck driver that could only be Marco, the two RAFians now had a momentary respite as they walked through an 'Andalite' area, Dino marvelling up at the asparagus-like trees.  Despite herself, Dino let out a yawn, the relaxing atmosphere of the Andalite homeworld easing her ragged nerves for the time being.  It wasn't late yet, but it soon would be.

"You want to take a break?" Nate asked, giving Dino a sideways glance.  The Australian RAFian, being from a timezone ten hours earlier than Dino, had only gotten up less than an hour ago.  "I can find Pokey and we can take over."

<No, no, I'm good,> Dino said.  <I probably wouldn't be able to think about anything else, anyway.>

It still seemed weird, whenever Dino stopped to consider the fact that Nate wasn't actually there.  He was an outerworlder, so in reality he was sitting in front of his computer, several continents away from where Dino would have been.  He was merely clicking from topic to topic, looking for anything out of the ordinary, while she walked along beside his virtual avatar.  A weird feeling, to consider how different their perceptions of reality could be, when on the surface nothing seemed different between them.

After Myitt had been briefed on the whole internet teleportation situation, she had PMed the other outerworlders a few pointers on roleplaying.  Not that they really needed coaching, though.  All of them were good writers, Steph in particular had plenty of roleplaying experience already, and so all of them picked it up almost immediately, once they just figured out what it was they were supposed to do.  Which made interacting with the outerworlders at least a bit more comfortable, now that they didn't tend to act like zombies.

Dino blew out a loud exhale, frustrated by the utter vastness of the forum, as she crossed over from Andalite grass onto hard grey pavement, a sidewalk in front of a row of suburban houses.  She absently wondered which house might belong to one of the Animorphs, before she noticed the Dracon burned scar on one of them.  Jake's.

She and Nate quickened their pace, moving on eagerly towards the next area, even though it didn't look much better.  A curtain of darkness seemed to envelop the swath of terrain, but Dino sincerely hoped that it was just a nocturnal scene, and not a place underground.

The search for the missing RAFians was going nowhere.  Of course, Terenia had told everyone, via Estrid's mirror-wave call, about the fact that Noelle's and Estelore's accounts appeared to have been deleted.  She had seemed very reluctant to bear that kind of news, but there wasn't much way to keep it hidden, when any outerworlder could easily perform the same search that Ash had done.

But, even though it seemed hopeless, still the search went on, because what else could they do?  Nobody felt right with just giving up on their fellow RAFians.  Dino still stubbornly told herself that they couldn't just be gone.  Perhaps they had just been kicked out of the internet, and were back in the real world again.  That had to be it.

But, then, that didn't explain why neither Noelle or Estelore would answer their phones.  The RAFians had managed to track down both of their phone numbers, and each of the outerworlders had taken a turn trying to call them.  There was never an answer.

So, even if they were back in the real world, they must have been in bad shape, if they couldn't manage to answer back even one of the frantic and panicked messages the RAFians had left on their voice mail.  Maybe the transition back to the real world had gone wrong somehow, and they were lying unconscious somewhere.  But, well, if so, there wasn't very much any of the RAFians could do about it.  Nobody even knew their addresses, so how was anybody supposed to track them down?

The light around Dino and Nate suddenly dimmed, like someone turning off a light, as they crossed through the boundary into the darkened area.  To Dino's relief, it turned out to be a pasture, with cows sluggishly grazing or sleeping.  <Ah, probably book twenty-eight,> Dino commented to herself.  <Wonder if we'll see Ax doing his cow impression?>

Nate snickered under his breath.  "Yeah, well, we're actually in a thread talking about that exact thing.  Heh, we have necro'ed some old threads doing this search!"

<At least we aren't stuck searching Classic RAF,> Dino commented.  <I bet that place is like a ghost town.>

They wandered into a new area, the gleaming metal of the inside of a ship making a bright line against the dark pasture.  Dino's talons clanged obnoxiously against the metallic surface as she crossed over into the new terrain.

Suddenly, standing right in front of her, Dino saw an Andalite.  Obviously, her first assumption was that it was Ax, but it seemed to be female, and beyond that, something was very wrong with her.  The figure was hazy and indistinct, full of static, just a ghost of an image.  And entire square-shaped blocks were completely missing from her body, like a computer image that hadn't finished rendering.  A soft thought-speak mumble of jibberish, nothing more than white noise, accompanied the image, but Dino couldn't make out even a single word.

<Noelle?!> Dino called out, but already the Andalite was gone again, vanishing as quickly as she had materialized.  Dino ran forward, trying to see where she had gone, but she had merely disappeared, like a screen that had been shut off.

"Dino?" Nate asked.  "Did you see something?"

Dino stared hard at the empty air, trying to decide if what she had seen had been real at all.  It had been so brief, just a momentary image, nothing more than a few seconds.  Maybe she had just imagined it.  <I don't know,> she told Nate.  <I don't know.>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 04, 2012, 07:14:43 AM
So, you don't have tyrannosaur eyes. ;) I'm just kiddin'.  I know that the "Jurassic Park Theorum" for tyrannosaur vision is false.

Anyway, I think this could be the theme song for your fic -- it's the third one down. (http://animorphsforum.com/index.php?topic=3225.msg351580#msg351580)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 04, 2012, 11:33:19 PM
Heh, yeah, people tend to assume that just because we tend to lose interest in things that don't move, that means we can't see them.  ::)

Chapter Twelve

Goom furrowed his comically large eyebrows as he stared down at the book he was looking through.  The lines of code written on the pages seemed to blur together after having stared at them for so long.  Even though he himself was the one who had written it.

He, Aquilai, and Richard were in a small room, much smaller than any of the Boards, only about the size of a public restroom.  The sides of the room were lined with shelves upon shelves of books, encoding the raw data framework upon which the rest of RAF was built.  The sterile, concrete, storage-room space seemed hardly impressive, for a place so important.

Goom, his squat body lacking arms, turned the pages of the books using his unexpectedly dextrous feet.  He was looking for anything that could be a reference to Estelore and Noelle's disappearances.  Any segment of code that might delete a user's account, or mask it, or shuffle it somewhere else.

Aquilai contented himself with watching over the top of Goom's rounded triangular head, being unable to physically touch the books himself.  The binding simply phased right through his hands when he had tried to pick one up.

Goom reasoned that it had to be because Aquilai lacked the admin powers that Goom possessed.  Aquilai could see the code when Goom showed it to him, but had no power to look at it for himself or alter it.

Richard was holding up a different book, thumbing through the pages with silent interest.  He rarely spoke, but then, he had always had a tendency to keep to himself.

And already the two of them had been through dozens of books, but had come up with nothing out of the ordinary.

Eventually, Aquilai lost interest in the endless lines of code, and ambled back over to the pile of various mechanical objects that he had strewn across a corner of the room.  He picked up one that looked like a narrow, high-tech flashlight, and brandished it like a policeman.  He picked up another object that looked like a tiny radio, and pointed the first device at the second.  The blue light of the 'flashlight' buzzed as it shone on the other piece, subtly vibrating the internal gears and circuits into different orientations.

After a while of doing this, Aquilai seemed satisfied with his work.  He held the miniature radio up next to his head, and it crackled with static.  He shone the blue light on it some more, and tried again.

"Hello?" the device spoke.  "Testing, testing, tesuto, korera wa watashi no kangaedesu."

Aquilai brought down the device and stared at it in his hand.  "Is that Japanese?" he wondered, perplexed.  "How does it keep getting switched over to different languages?  I don't even speak Japanese!"

"Maybe we could hook Bear up to Babelfish whenever he uses it," Goom joked.

"That could not possibly end well," Aquilai shot back amiably.  "It must be something weird about the sonic screwdriver.  Come to think of it, that seems like that would be typical."  Sighing, he put down the tiny radio, and picked up another device that looked like a pair of night-vision goggles, crossed with a virtual-reality helmet made out of a mesh of wires and gears.

"Maybe this will work better," he muttered to himself as he began to work on the new device, the sonic screwdriver buzzing busily as he shone the blue light on the odd hat.  "I sure hope so.  Maybe we've got a shot at finding Noelle and Estelore, if I can get this to work."

"Is that the webcam-reader you've been working on?" Goom asked.  "It looks good so far."

"Yeah, well, there's a difference between looking good and working," Aquilai quipped.  "It's supposed to let us see through a webcam, provided whoever wears it has a way to access that webcam normally.  Once I get that part working, I'll work on hacks to let us access other webcams too.  But, even the simpler version, will have to be much more complicated than Bear's thought-amplifier is.  This has to interface with actual real-world technology, instead of solely existing within the internet.  So it has to be extremely sensitive to- aha!  Finally!" he interrupted himself as he heard something click into place within the device.  "I think I just made a breakthrough.  If I loop the virtual reality circuit, I think I can link it to real circuits, doubly-inverting reality.  And from there, of course, it's easy enough to connect it to the Control Panel in the Start Menu."

Goom had absolutely no idea what Aquilai had just said, and in fact had a strong feeling that he'd just made some of those terms up.  "So, does it work now?" Goom asked, eager to test the device for himself.

"Just a few more tweaks, and it should," Aquilai said, buzzing the blue light across the device a couple more times.  "Okay, there, try it now."

Aquilai put the helmet on Goom, the wire-mesh design making it elastic enough to fit the goomba's oddly-shaped head.  At first the view was black, but then it flickered to life as it accessed Goom's personal computer.

"It's working, it's working!  I can see my room!" Goom said enthusiastically.  "There's my desk!  Hey, there's my . . . "

He trailed off as he noticed his phone, still on, and lying open on his desk.  It was slanted away from the webcam, and the angle made it difficult to see, but there was a missed text message still displaying on the phone's open screen.  Goom concentrated hard on reading the nearly obscured text, and with a start, he saw that it was from Richard.

The message was short and simple, but shocking.

Richard:
They've hacked my account!

Goom's breath caught in his chest, as he read and re-read the text to make sure he was understanding it right.  Because it couldn't be.  But it was, and he had to fight down the overwhelming urge to panic as he realized exactly what it meant.  He didn't know who 'they' were, but the important detail was that whoever was in the room with Aquilai and Goom right now was not Richard.

His pulse quickened, as his panic instincts fought fiercely against reason, threatening to take over his body and send him running from the room.  But he desperately shoved that impulse down, telling himself that, no matter what, he could not let the imposter know what he had found.

Slowly, trying to make it look like nothing was wrong even while his mind was screaming, Goom cautiously shook the helmet off his head and looked around the room.  'Richard' was still buried in his book, no doubt eagerly absorbing all of RAF's deepest secrets.

The false Richard pretended not to notice, but Goom was certain he must have already known, that Aquilai was no longer there.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: radgeek on June 04, 2012, 11:54:49 PM
 :o

You're gonna make me over use this smilie.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 05, 2012, 12:03:09 AM
OH MY GOB, OH MY GOB, OH MY GOB, OH MY GOB!

..WHo's 'they?'
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on June 05, 2012, 07:26:44 AM
This is good! I'm enjoying reading this.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 05, 2012, 07:47:45 AM
'They'. . . . 'They' could be, what, the Banned?  Malice?  That TAS Virus?  A man named Bob?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 05, 2012, 11:05:03 AM
Thanks, all!  You guys are awesome.

And, just a friendly reminder, that I prefer any guesses to be sent via PM.  :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 05, 2012, 11:06:27 AM
Wait a second, what would RAF chat be like>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 07, 2012, 12:10:10 AM
Those of you who know me well, probably realize how very tempted I was to simply hold off on posting this chapter until I was completely finished with the next one.  I've gotten most of the next one done, but not quite entirely so, yet.

Oh, well, at least this way it serves as an incentive to hurry up my writing.  :P

Chapter Thirteen

"Goom, are you alright?" the Richard imposter asked, looking up from his book, and doing an impeccable impression of bewilderment.  "Hey, where's Aquilai?  Did he log out, or . . . ?"

Goom steadied his nerves, painfully aware than any particularly marked move he made would be recorded as a post for the false Richard to easily see.  If he even thought too hard about what was going through his mind right now, there was a chance that the imposter might be able to see those thoughts.

"Oh, god," Goom said, trying his best to act like the only thing he was shocked about was Aquilai's absence.  "Not another one!  Aquilai?  Aquilai!  Where are you!"

"Aquilai?" 'Richard' called out, sounding anxious.  "Aquilai!  Where on earth are you?  If this is some kind of joke . . . "

Goom was taken aback.  In some part of his mind, he had half-expected the imposter to start cackling madly, only to launch into a detailed explanation of his brilliant evil plan.  Strangely, the false Richard honestly seemed as distraught over Aquilai's disappearance as Goom was.  But, of course, since his actions were nothing more than posts typed up on his computer, it would have been easy enough for him to fake any emotion he chose.  Even so, the perfect realism of his actions was deeply unnerving.

He was like a controller, Goom realized.  Able to act perfectly like the person whose form he had stolen, but in actuality something completely different beneath the surface.  This must have been how Jake felt, having to act like nothing was different between him and Tom.

But, why would he even pretend?  Richard's status as the site's founder would surely have given him powers that no other RAFian possessed.  If he wanted to do anything to RAF, it had to be well within his power to do so.  Not to mention the fact that, as an outerworlder, he was beyond any RAFian's ability to harm.  All he had to do was log out and he would be safe.  What else could he possibly have wanted with RAF, that was still beyond his grasp?  Why the secrecy, when he had nothing to hide from?

Goom left the data room, under the pretense of looking for Aquilai.  Once outside, he allowed himself to breathe a small sigh of relief.  It was good to be away from . . . whatever that was.

So, then, the question became, who were 'they'?  'They've hacked my account!', the real Richard had said.  Goom guessed that Richard must have sent more than one text message, but only the latest one had been displayed.  The way he said it, it sounded like Richard had at least some idea who 'they' were, or else he would have just said 'someone has hacked my account.'

The other missed text messages probably would have explained more, and Goom regretted that he now had no way to access those messages in any way that the imposter couldn't trace.  Every move he made would automatically become a post, and so he would have to be meticulously careful about every thing he said or did, saving the element of surprise for when he really needed it.

Goom kept thinking about 'them,' curious about what Richard could possibly have meant.  Hmm.  Perhaps Richard had fended off 'their' earlier hacking attempts only to fall victim to a more concerted attack?  So, maybe he didn't know who 'they' were, either, merely that there was a 'they.'

Goom made his way to the Social Board, hoping to find something useful in Aquilai's quarters.  A hunch.  Goom knew that Aquilai had been busily inventing things for most of the day, so perhaps Aquilai would have something that he might have thought would prove useful, before his work was cut short.  Goom stood on his tiptoes to look up the Time Lord's lair on the display in the Social Board's lobby, and made his way down the hall.

Much like a TARDIS, Aquilai's room was set up to be bigger on the inside than the doorway, or the space between neighboring doorways, would have seemed to indicate.  Inside his chamber, there was a metallic mesh walkway raised up above a darkened floor below, encircling a strange pillar of high-tech gadgetry.  Towards the edges of the room the walkway spiralled off into other assorted areas.  One such area held a multi-tiered rack of gadgets that seemed to be at various stages of completion.  Another, a model of a galaxy that seemed to be floating as if by magic in the empty air.  And then there was a closet that looked out of place just for being such an ordinary piece of furniture.

Goom headed towards the work area with the various devices.  He spotted one that looked remarkably like a tracking device, complete with a little blinking red light.  As he approached, he noticed little descriptions under each device, and his heart leaped as he read more about the tracker-like object that had caught his interest.  It was indeed a tracking device.  And it had two parts, one to read its website location from anywhere on the internet, and the other that would function as a global position-finder if the device were to be brought out into the real world.

Finally, things were looking up.  This could be used to track down the missing RAFians!  If he could attach it to somebody who . . . oh, but that was the catch.  There was only one such device, and no way to predict who would vanish next.  No way to know who to attach it to.

Goom sighed, but then perked up, as the tracking device had given him a different idea.  Tracking.  That was the key.  Goom realized, with a start, that if the false Richard was indeed behind the disappearances, he would have had to be using RAF's own software to do it!

And that kind of activity could be traced.

Goom would wait until the imposter logged out, he reasoned.  The hacker had to log off sometime, he couldn't stay online forever.  Then he might be able to make a hacking attempt of his own, at least enough to see what the imposter was up to, and whether or not he was connected to the disappearances.

In the meantime, he somberly considered whether or not he was even up to the task.  Goom considered himself a fairly advanced hacker, but who knew what kind of security he might be dealing with?

When he finally realized the obvious answer, he would have facepalmed if he'd had hands.  He needed a hacker.  He was on an Animorphs forum.  There was only one person he needed to see.

Goom left the tracking device where it was in Aquilai's lair, figuring that picking it up would have triggered a post detailing what he had done.  Maybe later, when more people found out about Aquilai's disappearance and their curiosity brought them to his profile, and their posts would obscure his own, he would come back.

Goom walked to the Animorphs Board, and cautiously entered the building.  He knew that there was a chance that Richard might notice him here, but at least here there would be enough people still searching for Noelle and Estelore to quickly bury any posts Goom might create.  Or so he hoped, but it was a chance he would have to take.

Within the mismatched terrain, he quickly spotted a grassy meadow, and slowly shuffled his way towards it, doing his best to keep a low profile.  As he approached, an Andalite came into view, his form blurred just so slightly that you only noticed the blurring if you were looking for it.  His description in the books, after all, was detailed enough that there was little disagreement on what he looked like, although there was still some.  His tail, in particular, sported at least three distinct styles of blade that Goom could see, although there may have been more that were simply less visible.

Ax tensed his tail as he spotted the strange large-headed brown creature that was intruding in his meadow.  He immediately suspected that a new alien race must have come to earth, because it certainly did not look like any other earth species.  But, if it was alien, it was a race that he had never seen before.

<Who, and what, are you?> he asked, holding his tail forward threateningly, making it clear that he wasn't to be taken lightly.  <And what business do you have here, with this planet?>

Goom gulped.  "Uh, my name is Goom.  I'm a goomba.  Don't hurt me, I come in peace."  It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't really thought this through.  How was he supposed to convince Ax that they were on the same side?  And why should he have expected Ax to take his side at all?

"Look, I'm not a controller," he began, and flinched as Ax's tail shifted forward another couple inches at the mere mention of that word.  "I can prove it.  I know the Animorphs are human.  Their names are Jake and Rachel Berenson . . . Tobias, uh, Fangor?  And Cassie and Marco . . . hmm, nevermind.  The point is, if I were a controller, you guys would be screwed."

Ax thought about this for a moment, then relaxed his tail a couple inches.  But his suspicion was still plainly written in his eyes.  <Alright, you have my attention, goomba,> he said evenly.  <What do you want?>

"I want your help," Goom said earnestly.  "I may be being monitored, so-"

In a motion that was too fast to see, Ax pressed his multi-layered tail blade against Goom's throat, his face an expression of rage.  "But not by the Yeerks!" Goom quickly amended, his voice little more than a squeak.  "A friend of mine may have been taken by this . . . other enemy.  Please, you have to help me."

Ax withdrew his tail, contemplating.  <What is it you would have me do?>

"That's the thing.  I can't tell you everything.  But, I can tell you that I need your technological expertise.  And I need to know right now if you're in or out, because I cannot risk giving you more information unless you're in."

Ax kept his eyes and tail focused tightly on the the goomba, as he silently thought about what the strange being had said.  <If it's in the name of freedom, I will help,> Ax finally said, realizing he had little to lose, when the odd creature already knew all the information he would have needed to doom the Animorphs.  <What do you need of me?>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 07, 2012, 12:42:43 AM
Hanging out with Ax? *SQUEEEE*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on June 07, 2012, 02:21:24 AM
OHwow. Canon characters getting involved.

<3
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 07, 2012, 03:55:57 AM
This story is freaking epic!!! Awesome job so far Dino! I'm jealous of my fanfic self. :'( To actually become a SPARTAN-II would be awesome. I think the first thing I would do is check out the energy sword.  :drools:

I love how you have some people refer to Esty as "them" and some refer to Esty as "her".

Oo Oo Oo! *Story suggestion PM'd*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on June 07, 2012, 04:36:01 AM
Agreed. 'Them' is our preference, but it's a mark of the realism and faith to the RAFian characters that some don't use preferred pronouns.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 07, 2012, 04:48:27 AM
Oh you crazy ladies and gentlemen. ;D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on June 07, 2012, 05:03:21 AM
Yes, what?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Noelle on June 07, 2012, 05:44:19 AM
This story is so awesome!  I'll be waiting anxiously for the next installment.  :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 07, 2012, 06:45:11 AM
Ax knows what goombas are?

Nice chapter anyway, Dino.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Aquilai on June 07, 2012, 09:00:22 AM
Nice to know even when I'm not there, I can be of assistance! First time posting here but you're doing a really nice job developing "Enter RAF" Dino! It's very immersive! Not just for our characters it seems!

Cloak: Ax doesn't need to know what a Goomba is. As far as he's concerned Goom is just another alien species. It would be unusual to find another non-human on Earth but not mind-blowingly far-fetched considering the numerous species he has unexpectedly encountered here. (Ellimist, Helmacron, Chee etc) We are also following the point of view of Goom not Ax so any extra sense of curiosity would be less obvious to the reader. Andalites aren't known for their overly expressive facial features!

Along with the above alien encounters, I would say that Ax's personality would make him think more practically. Everything is already alien to Ax making him accept the situation easier. If Marco or Jake saw Goom then they'd be completely stunned because they would recognise Goom as something from a computer game. To Ax, Goom is just alien not something that has come to life from fiction.

In any case, due to the situation (Goom being intimately aware of the Animorphs vs Yeerks), I would imagine Ax would be open to helping to gather more intel and gauge the situation better. Just another day in the life of an Animorph!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 07, 2012, 02:25:42 PM
You guys are awesome.  These reviews fill me with glee.  :awesome:

Chapter Fourteen

Goom hastily explained the bare basics of the situation to Ax, whispering the information in hopes that his whisper might be translated into a PM instead of a post.  He felt a little silly, but it was a precaution he needed to take.

He carefully avoided mentioning Richard by name, phrasing everything as though it were only a theory that one of his friends had been taken, rather than the fact that he knew it to be.  He had to be careful.  It might be plausible that he had merely guessed whatever was taking the RAFians to be a hacked outerworlder, after all.  But if he proved himself to know exactly who it was, then the false Richard would know that the game was up.  And who knew what kind of destruction the imposter would reap with nothing left to lose?

Ax curiously followed Goom outside of the Animorphs Board, only to halt, utterly stunned by what he found there.  The Andalite marveled up at the rest of RAF, completely taken aback by the existence of an entire alternate world just outside of his own.  The Boards towered over the two of them as they made their way towards the edge of the forum.

<What is this place?> Ax wondered as they walked along.  <How can there be an entire universe coexisting so close to my own?>

"Uh, it's a long story.  And I have a feeling most of it would be pretty disheartening from your perspective," Goom said vaguely.  "Probably best if you don't know everything."

<I would rather know, than remain ignorant of a disheartening truth,> Ax replied staunchly.

But Goom shook his head silently, refusing to say more.  How was he supposed to tell Ax that he was nothing more than a character in a fictional book series?

<So, how is it that you speak English?> Ax wondered after a while, finally giving up and changing the subject.

"Another long story," Goom sighed.  "Technically, well, I'm actually from here."

<What?> Ax wondered.  <But you do not resemble any other earth species.  Your proportions are very different.  I have never seen another earth species with a head as relatively large as yours.>

"Hey," Goom said, mildly offended.  "My head isn't that large."

<I apologize if I have misspoken,> Ax said.  <But, where are you from?  How did your species remain hidden from humans?>

"Another long story," Goom said mysteriously.  "Suffice it to say, even for someone like you, it would be a pretty unbelievable tale."

Ax was quickly becoming frustrated by Goom's evasive answers, but he managed to keep his patience.  He knew that if he wanted his own secrets kept, he would need to respect those of the goomba.

The two of them had reached their destination.  As they passed from the bright light of the forum into the comparatively dreary concrete room, Goom sighed with relief when he saw that the false Richard was nowhere in sight.  He nodded towards a humble office computer sitting off to the side, where Ax quickly got to work.  To offset suspicion, Goom had told him to track the actions of dozens of users, refusing to give him any sign that one in particular was more important than the others.

Goom marveled appreciatively as Ax's many fingers expertly tapped the keys, effortlessly writing the programs he would need to penetrate any security he encountered, and others to hide his own presence on the system.  Ax quickly brought up several user's logs, and Goom quietly studied Richard's in particular.  As the Andalite kept working, more and more details popped up on each of the accounts.  The false Richard seemed to have made contact with some other website, but its address was still hidden.  Goom heard Ax grumble in thought-speak frustration as he collided with what seemed to be an impassable stumbling block.

<This 'Richard' figure, he seems to be accessing another site on a heavily encrypted connection,> Ax said to Goom in private thought-speak that Goom desperately hoped 'Richard' would not be able to access.  <He has to be the one you're looking for.  But, I cannot crack the connection.  All I can tell for certain is that he sent some kind of informational file, and during that transaction, the other site very briefly made contact with this 'RAF.'  A different transaction of some kind occurred during that contact, but it occurred during such a short, nearly instantaneous, interval that I cannot even tell what was sent or received.  And I cannot break into the other site.  I do not have any clue as to its identity.>  His thought-speak sounded frustrated, unused as he was to being foiled by earth-based security systems.

Goom nodded thoughtfully.  "Thank you, that should be enough," he said, choosing his words carefully, since he couldn't thought-speak privately like Ax could, and so feared that he might be 'overheard.'  "I am in your debt.  Seriously, if you ever need a favor in return, come find me."

They left the data room, and Goom led Ax back to his home within the Animorphs Board, where they silently parted ways.  Having just discovered that his entire world was only a smaller world inside of a mysterious larger one, Ax had a lot to think about.

And so did Goom.  So, whatever was going on, it was apparently much bigger than just Richard.  Whatever website he was interacting with, they had to be quite advanced if they could block Ax.  Who could have that kind of technology?  Granted, Goom realized, that Ax was only a fictional character here within RAF.  His technological prowess would of course be hampered by the fact that he was a mere creation of human minds.  Still, his abilities should have still been enough to get past at least most low-level security systems that would have guarded typical run-of-the-mill websites.  So, who would have been blocking him?

And, what information was being exchanged?  The informational file that 'Richard' had sent, which Ax had alluded to . . . was that some kind of data on user accounts, which would have allowed them to be stolen or deleted?  Or was the interaction between the two sites something deeper?  A completion of the teleport that had begun with the malfunction, perhaps?  Were Estelore, Noelle, and Aquilai back in the real world, after all?

Goom knew one thing, though.  He couldn't stand by and do nothing while the false Richard kidnapped the RAFians one by one.  An idea was forming in his head, an idea to track down the missing RAFians.  But it would take a whole lot of secrecy up until the last possible moment, and then it would require absolutely flawless split-second timing.  They would only get one shot.

Goom headed towards the Social Board.  It didn't take long for him to track down Estrid, who was pacing wearily in her profile.  She looked like she wanted very much to sleep, but there was just too much on her mind, and even though it was late, her jumpy Andalite instincts were still keeping her frustratingly alert.

She spotted Goom, and trotted forward to greet him.  She could easily tell that the goomba looked uneasy about something.

<What's wrong?> Estrid asked.

"Shh," Goom said, before he realized how paranoid that sounded.  "Um, I mean, I think we need to schedule a RAF meeting for tomorrow.  Aquilai is . . . gone."

<Aquilai's gone?> Estrid echoed anxiously, rubbing her head.  <Oh, man.  How many of us are going to disappear before this ends?>

"I don't know," Goom said.

<Wait, why do we need to have an entire meeting, though?> Estrid wondered.  <Couldn't I just announce that he disappeared?>

"No, it has to be a meeting.  There are other things I want to talk about," Goom said quickly.  "Things we didn't get a chance to get around to during today's meeting.  We were sort of interrupted in the middle of proceedings, after all."

Estrid nodded.  <Alright, fair enough.  When?>

"Oh, let's say around three in the afternoon, central time," Goom said.  "That's probably the best we can do in terms of not messing with the European and Australian sleep schedules too much.  They're all jet-lagged enough as it is."  And, Goom thought silently, that was the time of day that Richard would normally be online.  They would need him to be at the meeting, too.

<Okay, then,> Estrid agreed, as Goom walked out of her profile.

Now, Goom thought, he had to find somebody with the reflexes needed to pull off the next part of the plan.  But who?

By an incredibly fortunate stroke of luck, at that very moment, a shiny aluminum android caught Goom's eye as he walked past, on his way to his own profile thread down the hall.

"Lumy!" Goom greeted.  "How've you been?  By the way, I have a small favor to ask of you . . . "
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Estelore on June 07, 2012, 02:51:27 PM
*probably would have just told Ax, "We're a representative of the Ellimist, and we need your help, or EVERYBODY is gonna' die."*
XD
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 07, 2012, 03:17:56 PM
Help us Aximili, you're our only hope!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 07, 2012, 03:34:58 PM
Excellent chapter, Dino.

Help us Aximili, you're our only hope!

Of course -- the obligatory Princess Leia reference.  ;D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 07, 2012, 05:30:09 PM
Chapter Fifteen

Lumy had absolutely no idea what he was doing in Aquilai's profile thread.  Of course, he assumed it was for something vitally important, or else Goom wouldn't have been quite so secretive about it all.  Still, he kinda wished he knew what all the fuss was about.  But, to be honest, not by too much.  He was perfectly willing to do what he was told, regardless.  Why?  Because 'what he was told' sounded awesome.

Don't look at the description of the object, Goom had warned him.  Not even a glance.  Just take the thing with the blinking red light.  Don't even look at the object itself too hard, either, and do not try to figure out what it is, just take it.

It seemed kinda devious, to be stealing stuff from somebody else's profile thread, even somebody no longer there.  And especially when he would, by necessity, have no idea at all what it was that he was stealing.  But, it certainly seemed like not knowing what it was, was an important detail to . . . to whatever was going on.  As if the mere knowledge of what it was would . . . do something bad?  He wasn't sure quite why.  Goom had been mum on that point, too.  Maybe there was somebody else who wasn't supposed to know what it was and maybe that person could glean the knowledge right from Lumy's brain!  Yes, yes, that would make sense.

Well, it made RAFsense, anyway.

So Lumy walked along the metallic mesh walkway in Aquilai's room, looking for things with blinking red lights.  There it was!  That thing!

Quickly and furtively, Lumy grabbed the whatchamacallit and dashed for the door.  Re-entering the hallway, he immediately resumed a calm and cool demeanor, acting perfectly casual.  What whatchamacallit?  He hadn't stolen any whatchamacallit.  That would be ridiculous.  Of course he would never do such a thing.  What, just because he's part ninja, that automatically makes him a thief?  How racist.

He managed to resist the temptation to whistle as he walked down the hall, concealing the small object in the palm of his hand, just enough behind his back to keep it hidden without making it obvious he was hiding something.  He was pretty proud of himself, actually, as he casually ambled along.  He was certain that nobody looking at him would have suspected he was holding anything at all.

It was getting close to time for the meeting.  Lumy had very patiently waited until just beforehand to go to Aquilai's room, because Goom had warned him that he couldn't afford to hold onto the whatchamacallit for very long.  And Goom had stressed to him that he needed to be sure to attend the meeting.  That's where the main event would go down.  Lumy was supposed to- oh, but he probably wasn't supposed to think about that too much, either.  The whoever-it-was who could read minds and who wasn't supposed to know Lumy was stealing whatchamacallits, certainly couldn't be allowed to know what he planned to do with the whatchamacallit that he hadn't stolen.

It was a crazy world.  But then, that tended to be exactly how Lumy liked it.

Lumy looked at his watch, eager for the festivities to begin.  It was very tiring, trying not to think about all the things he wasn't supposed to think about.  But, it was time now to head to the Media Board.  The meeting was about to start.

Lumy teleported to the Media Board, where he took a central position towards the front of the amphitheatre to watch the now-familiar crowd gather.  The RAFians looked much more tired than last time.  The hopeless search for Noelle and Estelore had run nearly everyone ragged.

And, once again, the staff gathered at the front of the room.  After a slight pause, Richard appeared in their midst.  But it was Goom who began the meeting.

"First item of business," he said slowly.  "We've had another disappearance.  Aquilai disappeared some time last night."

Gasps of surprise swept through the crowd, followed at length by at least a few troubled sighs of resignation.  Another RAFian had disappeared?  And a Time Lord, no less.  If a Time Lord, an Andalite, and a star could vanish, then who was safe?  A silent panic crept up through the air, as each RAFian wondered whether they would be next.

"I know these disappearances have everybody on edge," Goom started.  Lumy knew that he was stalling for time.  "But there are other things we still can't afford to ignore.  Our last meeting was interrupted before we could lay out a more detailed plan regarding Pootang."

The crowd muttered anxiously at the name, now that every RAFian had become familiar with the creature in RAF's basement.  The audience itself seemed to seethe as various RAFians shifted uncomfortably in their seats, the general atmosphere of panic rising.

"We, the staff, had previously discussed the need to begin a training regimen," Goom went on.  "Intro Rando seems like a good place to gain some basic combat experience.  And, while we don't have a definite roster planned out just yet, we were thinking that we should pair off the older and more experienced RAFians with newer members.  To give newer members a feel for the forum, a one-on-one combat trainer, and a general place to go for advice.  Motion to move to a vote?"

"I second the motion," somebody called out from the audience.

"All in favor?" Goom asked.  Hands shot up all across the audience.  "Opposed?"  Only a few hands were raised this time.  "Okay, looks like the motion carries.  Now, for another item of business-"

He was suddenly interrupted by an urgent thought-speak voice.

<Unknown User!> the voice said.  <It's Unknown User!>

That was the signal from Ax.  "TONY!" Lumy said quickly, forcefully pitching the whatchamacallit towards him.  "CATCH!"

Tony looked up, startled at the abrupt mention of his name, and almost didn't see the device with the blinking red light that was suddenly flying towards his face.

"AAHH!" he yelled as he threw up his hands to defend himself.  He closed his fist reflexively around the object as it struck directly in the middle of his palm.

No sooner than he'd caught the thing, he was gone.  Vanished without a trace.

Tracking device and all.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 07, 2012, 06:04:48 PM
And then tony threw the device to the ground, smashing it to bits, and screamed "TOUCHDOWN!"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 07, 2012, 08:01:50 PM
Tony why?!?

For all those wanting some real training, I'll be setting up groups to enter my HALO RP thread. If you can survive waves of Covenant, you can survive one Pootang with multiple forms. :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 07, 2012, 08:40:46 PM
The danger room in super hero RP could be used as an all purpose training room for overflow. We should also probably work on giving people actual personas, so that we don't have an army of meatbags fighting pootang.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 07, 2012, 10:04:09 PM
Lol, Blaze.  :XD:

*points politely at PM box* that, is really the best way to have a chance at persuading me to actually use your ideas.  Spoilers and all, remember?  Just saying.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 08, 2012, 07:28:31 AM
I just know that I would be standing at this . . . whenever I get edgy I must stand and pace (this is true IRL too).  I do not know why.

But excellent chapter, Dino.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 08, 2012, 09:14:15 AM
Chapter Sixteen

Tony blinked as he looked around, wondering where he was.  Everything around him was bright white, like he was trapped inside a sheet of paper.  There were no visible corners between the floor and the walls and the ceiling, no texture or delineations at all, simply endless white.  The only difference he could see, was some sort of . . . something . . . in the sky above him.  But it looked like nothing more than a small circular patch of brighter, glowing white within the endless expanse of whiteness.

Tony closed his eyes, suddenly feeling disoriented by the empty blank sameness all around him.  The seamless white endlessness was already playing tricks on his mind.  He considered sitting down until the dizziness passed, but decided that he had better stay standing.  He didn't want to be caught off-guard by whatever might reside in this strange place.

Wherever he was.

He opened his eyes again, this time looking down at the odd device that was still in his hand.  Why did he have this?  He had no real idea.  Catching it was the last thing he remembered before he had ended up here.  And the way Lumy had so urgently caught his attention to throw it to him, the thing seemed important.  Was this strange device the thing that had done this to him?

"Hey, we've got another one!" a voice called out, and Tony looked behind him to see a man dressed in a dark suit coat and blue tie.  "It's Aquilai," he introduced himself.  "I don't think we've met?"

"Tony, er, Unknown User," Tony said, specifying his username when he realized Aquilai might not have known his real name.  "Wait, is this where all the missing RAFians ended up?"

As if on cue, Tony spotted an Andalite, and another human, drawing near.  They both waved, and Tony waved back, as Aquilai curiously inspected the device in Tony's hand.

"Is that what I think it is?" Aquilai said hopefully.  "It is!  You brought the tracking device!  They'll be able to find us now!"  Tony handed over the device, which Aquilai happily took.

"So, where are we, anyway?" Tony asked.

"I'm hoping that this will be able to tell us that," Aquilai said, but then he furrowed his brow in consternation.  "Hmm.  That's . . . unexpected."

"What, what?" Tony asked impatiently.  "What is it?"

"Well, this red light would be signalling our location within the internet.  But it's off.  And this green light?  It should be connected to real-world GPS signals, it should tell where we are if we're in the real world.  And it's off, too!" Aquilai said, wrinkling his eyebrows in frustration.

<So, wait . . . we're neither in the internet, nor in reality?> Noelle asked as she neared the other two.  <How is that possible?  I was able to briefly access RAF, before.  Right at the same time Aquilai disappeared.>

"Perhaps this is limbo," Estelore commented.

"No, I doubt we're stuck between heaven and earth," Tony said.  "Although, if all of us were dead, that might explain some things."

Aquilai had brought out a device that looked like a high-tech flashlight, which buzzed with blue light as he shone it on the tracking device.  "It's working, though.  Everything in it is working perfectly.  It just isn't receiving signals from anywhere, neither the real world, or the internet.  Where could we be, that wouldn't be . . . oh, man."

"What now?" Tony asked.

Aquilai sighed, supporting his forehead with his hand.  "I think I know where we are.  It's something that's occurred to me before, but I didn't want to acknowledge it as a legitimate possibility.  But, it would explain everything that's happened.  The reason people are disappearing from RAF and then reappearing here, why we can't access the internet most of the time, and it would even explain why Noelle was able to access the internet but only at the moment that I vanished.  You guys really aren't going to like it, though."

"Stop stalling, tell us," Estelore said impatiently.  "This is what we've been trying to figure out ever since we got here."

". . . I think we've been downloaded," Aquilai said grimly.  "I think we're on a blank data drive somewhere.  A flash drive.  Or, well, the more advanced equivalent, since a regular flash drive would never be able to store a human consciousness.  They probably only plug us into a computer when they're downloading somebody else."

"What?!" Tony raged.  "So, somebody out there is downloading RAFians?!  I am not a file, I am a human being!"

<Oh man,> Noelle said anxiously, obviously not liking the situation.  <We've got to find a way out of here.  There has to be a way to contact the rest of RAF, tell them where we are.>

Aquilai was still scanning the tracking device.  "Maybe I can still use this.  It should have RAF's location stored within it, and as soon as it comes online its signal would connect through.  If I can boost that signal, I may be able to forge a stronger connection to RAF than what Noelle was able to achieve.  We may be able to get a message through.  Of course, that only works if we can time it just right, when they're downloading somebody else."

"What message, though?" Tony wondered.  "We still don't know where we are."

"Well, I do have a theory about that part," Aquilai said hesitantly.  "I think I probably already know who is behind all of this.  There's only one entity I can think of, who would have the technology to even attempt a feat this technologically complex.  I mean, downloading a human consciousness, that's bordering on the impossible.  The only people in the real world that could be that advanced, are the same people who invented the internet teleportation technology in the first place.  It has to be."

It took Tony a couple seconds to put it all together.  But then it clicked in his mind, and he groaned in frustration.

"You honestly mean to tell me that we're in a flash drive," he began.  "Sitting on some mad scientist's desk.  In ever-loving Switzerland?!"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Cloak on June 08, 2012, 09:59:56 AM
Bom bom BOOOOM!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 08, 2012, 10:04:23 AM
This is going to be horrible for the swisses reputation for staying neutral...
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 08, 2012, 07:41:25 PM
I'd respond; but it may turn into a spoiler. PM'd.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 12, 2012, 10:12:40 PM
Heh, sorry if it's been a bit.  My muse has lately been getting ahead of herself.  I keep suddenly having inspiration to write stuff that isn't happening yet.  Which, hey, means that some of the later chapters should happen more quickly, but it doesn't bode well for the ones I'm writing now.  :P

Chapter Seventeen

<What the heck just happened?> Dino wondered out loud.  And she wasn't the only RAFian wondering.  Everybody had just seen Lumy throw . . . something . . . to Tony, who then abruptly disappeared.  And nobody knew why.

Lumy did a little victory fist-pump, while Goom just glared worriedly at Richard.  It was almost as though Goom were expecting Richard to violently react to . . . whatever had just happened.

He didn't, though.  Richard merely stood there, stock still, expression vacant.  Then, after a moment or two, he vanished.  He had to have logged off, Dino presumed, since he was an outerworlder.  But, why?  Why would he suddenly log off like that?

Goom looked surprised, too.  Although he seemed to have been expecting Richard to react somehow, he certainly wasn't expecting that particular reaction.  He looked anxious, as though now worrying whether Richard might suddenly log on again.

"What's going on?" somebody shouted from the audience.  Others nodded in agreement, to the question that was on everyone's minds.

Goom sighed, and resigned himself to speaking, even though he didn't look enthusiastic at all about the prospect.  He looked like he would much rather stay silent and alert for whatever Richard might do next.

"Richard was . . . hacked," Goom began cautiously.

The crowd gasped, a few rising gasps trailing behind the others as each of them realized the terrifying implications of what Goom had said.  If Richard's account had been hacked . . . then who was that who had just vanished?  And how vulnerable were the RAFians, when RAF's own creator was the enemy?

"Furthermore, that was a tracking device that Lumy just threw to Tony-" Goom started.

"Oh, so that's what it was!" Lumy said loudly to himself from the audience.

"Yep," Goom affirmed hastily.  "Invented by Aquilai before he vanished.  See, I found Ax.  You know, the Animorph?"  There were a couple noises of glee from within the audience at this statement.  "Ax was able to pinpoint the signal from Richard's account.  But, he would only be able to tell who the hacker was targeting, in the very brief seconds before they vanished.  Which is why I had Lumy, with his ninja reflexes, throw the tracker to whoever Ax called out."

"So, why didn't you tell anyone about this before?" somebody in the audience sharply accused.

"Richard is an outerworlder," Goom explained.  "He can see our posts.  Anything we said, he could potentially have seen.  Which is why I saved the element of surprise until this moment."  Goom was fidgeting more and more nervously as he went on.  "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to get to Aquilai's profile," he finally said.  "That's where the other half of the tracking device is, and that will tell us where Tony went to."

He turned to leave, and suddenly the entire crowd got up from their seats to follow.  Goom was not, after all, the only person who desperately wanted to know where the missing RAFians had vanished to.  The goomba heard the multitude of footsteps behind him, and turned around to give the crowd of RAFians a quizzical look, but then he seemed to decide that they might as well come along.

The entire population of RAF squeezed itself through the Social Board and crowded around Aquilai's profile, as they eagerly waited for a verdict.  A few of them had pushed their way into the room, but most of them were forced to wait in the hallway.

Goom held his breath as he fired up the instrument, Blue and Blaze watching the goomba impatiently from uncomfortably close behind him.  It was pretty easy to operate the device, Goom simply flipped the switch to 'on' and watched the map-like readout.  Aquilai had done a good job making his inventions user-friendly, it seemed.  Goom waited anxiously for a signal, as the device warmed up.

But, as it slowly came to full power, he soon realized something was wrong.  Where there should have been an indicator light, there was instead an error message.

"Locator not found?" Goom whispered aloud, reading the text that was displayed.  "What's that supposed to mean?  What's taking it so long?"

The RAFians began to murmur anxiously, the bleak news quickly rippling backwards to the edges of the crowd waiting outside the room.  In the course of the past few days, it had become a matter of dire importance, to everyone, to know where the missing RAFians had gone.  Not only because they missed their friends, but also because they knew all too well that they were all in danger.  Whatever had taken their friends, could take any one of them next.

The anxious murmur began to rise again to panic as various RAFians began to speculate, as many of them had already believed, that maybe the missing RAFians had been deleted completely.  Where they really just . . . gone?  Could that be why the tracking device had vanished?

"Calm down, calm down," Goom called out, determined to reign in the nervous crowd before a full-scale panic broke out.  "I'm sure it's just a glitch."

"Listen, people," Phoenix shouted out over the crowd, and the RAFians quieted somewhat to hear what he had to say.  "Goom and I will stay here and keep an eye on the readout, but for the rest of you, this meeting is adjourned.  Feel free to go ahead and start pairing yourselves up with newbies, older RAFians, as we planned earlier.  Introduce yourselves, and keep an eye on one another.  That's the best we can do, right now.  We'll let you all know if there are any new developments.  Go, and be sure to get some rest tonight.  Combat training officially begins tomorrow."

Goom didn't look quite so sure about adjourning the meeting, still not knowing what Richard might be up to.  But he saw that this was the best way to keep the crowd under control.  If they were forced to stay here any longer, the ambient tension of the situation at hand would only keep building up until someone finally gave way.  So he nodded his agreement, and the crowd slowly and almost reluctantly began to disperse.

Dino sighed, crestfallen by this latest turn of events.  She, like everyone else, had already been so worried for the missing RAFians, and the latest development did not do anything to ease those fears.

Dino was beginning to feel crushed under the overwhelming weight of everything that had happened.  There was so much to be worried about, she didn't even know where to start anymore.  Pootang had been an intimidating threat all by himself.  And then the missing RAFians, which included at least two of the more powerful members of the forum, had disappeared with no trace.  And now Richard, he was a bad guy somehow.  And where was the real Richard?  Was he in trouble, too?

It was too much.  Several levels past 'too much.'  Dino couldn't deal with it.  She stalked off, alone, towards her own profile thread.  She spotted several other members doing the same.  There was an atmosphere of unease as the crowd dissolved, a barely masked panic churning away beneath the surface.

Threatening to tear RAF apart.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 13, 2012, 08:34:12 AM
Oh ****, the beans have been spilled!!!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Noelle on June 13, 2012, 04:15:26 PM
*Feed's Dino's Muse*

Heh, I do that all the time too, skip ahead to write other chapters and never no where to go with the 'inbetween' ones.   :XD:
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 13, 2012, 05:18:31 PM
My problem is two-fold.

1st, I'm not sure which direction to take my characters, either pick up the rest of the team, or have a fight scene before they reach them.

2nd, I don't think many people were reading the fic, so the inspiration to continue wasn't really there.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 16, 2012, 02:43:57 PM
Chapter Eighteen

The rest of that day was almost alarmingly uneventful.  The search for the missing RAFians had been all but called off, even the most stubborn RAFians being forced to concede that it was a hopeless effort at this point.  But nobody really wanted to start training yet, for some looming future battle against their other pressing concerns.  Pootang and Richard.

Well, that wasn't quite true.  A few RAFians were happy to practice with their newfound abilities, with Parker eagerly making the most of the dangers to be found within his HALO thread, and Cloaky quietly practicing his powers within the confines of his profile.

Richard never logged back on.  The tension across the forum was palpable, now that everyone knew what he was.  But nobody had any idea what he was doing now.  Was he planning something?  Or had knowing his secret somehow foiled his plans, leaving him to retreat from the forum, defeated?  Everyone hoped for the latter, but the uncertainty was far worse than anything else he could have done.  And there was a general consensus that it couldn't possibly be that easy.  A sense of foreboding, a vague notion that a confrontation was looming.

After spending a few brooding hours in her profile that afternoon, Dino eventually decided to 'surf, which was the term that a few RAFians had come up with for traveling between websites.

RAF was just not the place that Dino wanted to be right now.

She closed her eyes and focused, thinking the address for Youtube.  She opened her eyes in a gaudy red-trimmed cineplex, a ludicrously large poster in front of her displaying the names of the thousands of movies playing.  The numbered theatres that were listed, went up into the millions.  As she looked at certain parts of the poster, the image itself seemed to change, as it zoomed in on wherever she had looked.

Dino quickly realized that she felt different, and she looked down.  She was almost surprised to see her human body again.  That's right, she remembered.  Her RAFsona only existed within RAF itself.  Here, she would appear as human.

"Hey, Dino!" a familiar voice called out from nearby.  Dino quickly recognized Bear's human form, standing next to Rad and Blue, and smiled a greeting to the three of them.  She hadn't been expecting to see other RAFians here, away from the forum, but it then occurred to her that she had been too quick to assume that she would be the only one feeling that uneasiness that seemed to pervade the forum.  That strain of the fight-or-flight instinct, but with no visible threat that could be fought.

Rad and Blue waved as they spotted Dino.  Blue was munching handfuls out of a box of popcorn, which he offered to Dino.

"Where'd you get the popcorn?" Dino wondered, confused.  "I haven't needed to eat anything since we got here."

"Just because you don't need to eat, doesn't mean you can't," Blue responded dryly.  "I found it on a cooking website.  It's some kind of white cheddar thing.  Try some, it's good."

Dino grabbed a handful and tried it.  He was right, it was good.  "So what are we gonna see?" Dino wondered as she grabbed another bite.  "Looks like we've got lots of options," she added, gesturing at the enormous billboard of titles.

"Most of that is trash," Rad commented.  "You know, random Youtube clips, idiots doing dumb stuff."

"We could always watch something from Comedy Central," Bear said with a shrug.

"I've got some good anime I know of," Blue added.

"I wonder if there's any Stargate on Youtube," Rad thought out loud.

They argued back and forth for a while about what to watch, but eventually decided to watch one of Blue's anime shows first, and maybe some Stargate afterward.  Bear conceded that he wasn't all that set on watching Comedy Central.

There was a moving sidewalk leading from the front lobby to the theatres themselves.  The four RAFians stepped onto the conveyor belt and were swept along at a rapid clip, even though they felt none of the inertia that should have gone along with their speed.

As they entered the main part of the cineplex itself, they couldn't help but stare in awe at the vast space within.  The entrances to the various theatres were stacked up above one another in rows and rows of balconies, spiralling upwards as far as the eye could see.  Escalators connected the sidewalks on the various levels, escorting visitors efficiently to their destinations.  The moving pathways and escalators were surrounded by lit billboards for other movies, apparently based on whichever feature a particular path was headed for.

The whole place seemed oddly empty, though.  Perhaps it was the fact that the space was so vast that it dwarfed the people within it, but there were none of the crowds that Dino had been expecting to see.

This was the internet, after all.  Surely it should be packed.  Facebook had been.

But, actually . . . now that Dino thought about it, she realized that Facebook hadn't been as crowded as it should have been, either.  During her wanderings with Tony, she had encountered crowds, but they had seemed to be centralized within a certain area.  At the time, she had written it off as some kind of central hub of activity within Facebook, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that there shouldn't have been any one area of the site that should have been more crowded than any other.  The people on Facebook should have just tended to hang out with their own friends, but why would there be more of those friends in some areas than others?

And here, too, Dino noticed certain theatres that were more crowded than others.  But here it made sense.  Some videos were bound to be more popular than others.

But still, something didn't seem quite right about it all.  Even the people Dino did see, nearly all of them seemed dull and listless.  Outerworlders?  But then, why were there so many of them?  Where were all the innerworlders?

Dino wrote off those daydreaming concerns, as they finally arrived at theatre number four-thousand nine-hundred and fifty-one.  The four RAFians filed inside, into the dimly lit rows of seats within.

They had the entire theatre to themselves, so they quickly selected the ideal spots.  Close enough to the front to get a good view, without being so close as to get neck cramps.  The seats were comfortable red plush, and the floor had none of the stickiness and trash of a real-world theatre.

The show quickly started, as if the theatre itself had sensed their presence.  It was just like being at a real movie, the wide-screen scenes quickly immersing the RAFians within the plot and the action.  For the next half-hour, they were able to forget their troubles.  They laughed and talked during the show, happily unconcerned about other moviegoers, who weren't there.  Every now and then the screen would suddenly freeze, and there was a jarring moment as they were pulled out of the action to realize that Youtube needed to buffer, but they just laughed it off and commented about the 'curse of Youtube.'

Even so, the film was over much too quickly.  They all wished that they had opted for a full-length movie instead of a show, as they quickly filed out of the theatre and off to the next.

And so went the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.  Movie to movie, show to show, they talked and joked.  It was nice.  It was one of those simple but priceless joys of life.

As the night wore on, they each slowly realized they would have to return to RAF eventually.  But somehow, they felt a lot less disheartened by the dismal RAF situation, now.

Being among friends, had reminded each of them, that some things were worth it to be afraid for.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 16, 2012, 05:36:52 PM
Aw... very cute chapter.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 16, 2012, 07:20:48 PM
Inworld youtube sounds fun.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Horsefan1023 (Seal) on June 17, 2012, 05:54:48 PM
 Y'know what?  I'm gonna do a long post about this and NOTHING IS GONNA STOP ME.  In spoilerz for lengths

[spoiler]First off, I love the concept.  Getting stuck in the Internet is an idea that's been used quite a few times, but you added this horror spin--Pootang, Richard, limbo, being downloaded.  You turned what would either be really awesome in the first place (being able to enter the Internet) or something quite mundane (downloading stuff) and made it scary.  So props for that right off the bat.

I also love how you have so many people.  In my fanfics, I always felt bad when I gave certain characters more focus than others, because they were based off of real-life people and everyone wants their screen time.  But you weren't afraid to establish yourself as the main character--which is good.  Write what/who you know.  And it keeps you from trying to give everyone a ton of "screentime" and please everyone, which can't be done.  Having too many main characters just drives you mad.  I've done that too.  :P  But everyone does have their moments of awesome, and it's balanced pretty well.  That gives those people something to enjoy a little extra, while keeping the story moving.

Ax.  Yes.  Good.  XP

I also like how the latest chapter helps to balance out the overall darker tone of the story, though it did keep the despair present, which is...good?  :P  Tone is really important, and you kept it going even with a much fluffier chapter.  So well done to that.

Overall, this is excellent.  It's hooked me right in, took a direction that I didn't expect, continued to surprise me, and I can honestly say I have no idea what's gonna happen next--which I love.  :D  Keep it up![/spoiler]

Yeah, um....no idea where that came from.  I guess I wanted to review something?  o_O
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 17, 2012, 11:14:09 PM
Wow, thanks for the review!  Hearing in-depth about what my story has (apparently) done right has filled me with warm fuzzies.  :D

Chapter Nineteen

"It's getting late," Dino finally voiced aloud.  "We all need the sleep.  As much as I'm not looking forward to another night," she added with a grumble.

"What's wrong?" Bear wondered.  "Trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah," Dino admitted.  "My profile thread feels so, I dunno, lonely."  And too many demons in there, she thought silently to herself.  Left over from all the nightmares of the past two nights.

"You know, a lot of us have been bunking in the armory," Bear pointed out.  "Thick walls, lots of weapons, easily defensible.  And having other RAFians there to look out for each other, it helps."

"What, really?" Blue asked, raising an eyebrow.  "Come on, guys.  Are you really that scared of the big bad Richard?"  He crossed his arms, a show of false bravado.  "You think you all need to sleep in some kind of fortress?  And it's not like it would even help, anyway.  He has access to everywhere that we do."

"It helps," Bear insisted.  "It's a lot better than nothing."

The four of them logged back onto RAF, returning to their RAFselves.  Rad decided to come along with Bear and Dino to the armory, while Blue disdainfully stayed behind, to go back to his profile thread.

The three RAFians headed for the Roleplaying Board, where Rad pressed the button for 'RAFarmory,' and the glass ship blazed easily through space.

The ship arrived at a squat but sprawling building nestled within the other buildings of yet another possibly-alternate version of RAF, and the three RAFians went inside.  Racks of guns and munitions of all kinds, from all different universes, were mounted along matte white walls.  There were dracons and shredders and zat guns, plus a few that Dino recognized from Men in Black, and many many others that she had no clue about.

Being in a room with so many forms of destruction made Dino a little uneasy, but then, she trusted most of her fellow RAFians not to suddenly turn gun-crazy.

And the three RAFians weren't alone.  Several other RAFians were already in the armory.  Parker was standing casually, chatting with Tyler and Demos.  A few other human-looking RAFians stood apart, trying, but mostly failing, not to stare at Demos's horns and tail.

The RAFians knew, of course, that the added security of the armory wouldn't do much against Richard, who would have access to any area that the RAFians did, but at least did something towards eliminating Pootang from their worries.  The foot-thick steel walls wouldn't hold such a monster at bay indefinitely, but they would at least certainly slow him down.

And there was a certain comfort in knowing that their friends were close, knowing that they were all in this together.  It was a kind of comfort that was, in some ways, better than the soft beds and blankets of their own profile threads.

Bear led the way through the various wings of the complex, passing by room after room filled with weaponry, still more rooms with armor and other equipment, and even something that looked a bit like an aircraft hangar, before finally reaching the girl's bunker.  He waved goodnight with a paw as he padded off to the area where the boys were staying.

The bunkers looked like standard military-grade quarters, with bunked beds that would accommodate most of the more human-like RAFians.  Several RAFians seemed already to be asleep.  Seal, and a few others that Dino didn't recognize, were standing on watch, armed with dracon beams and shredders slung onto holsters around their hips.

Dino was disappointed to see that there wasn't much in the way of sleeping accommodations for an Ankylotyrannus, but Rad and Seal seemed to notice her dilemma and quickly got to work laying out some blankets on the floor for her to lay down in.

<Thanks,> she said as she curled up on the layers of padding.

She almost didn't see Tocade come in, until the smurfette wandered over towards where Dino had laid down.  The blue-skinned RAFian was only about a foot tall, yet she had an even smaller RAFian, AmberKatira, a helmacron, perched on her shoulder.  Nevertheless, Tocade fearlessly approached Dino, and leaned a hand against the wall of bony armor that was her back.  "Hey," she said in a terse French accent.  "You know, you laid down right on top of my bed."

<Oh, man, I'm sorry,> Dino winced.  <Er, I didn't see it.  I'm really sorry.>

Tocade sighed and shrugged.  "I suppose it's no big deal.  It wasn't much, just a few blankets folded up, probably hard to notice.  I can't really use a normal-sized bed, you know."

Dino nodded in agreement.  <Yeah.  I hear ya, there.>  She moved over a few feet, making room for Tocade.  <There's plenty of floor, and I've got more blankets than I need.  You're welcome to share?>

"Thanks," Tocade said, and Dino wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or sincere.  Tocade set Amber down as they all prepared to go to sleep.

It seemed like only a few minutes later, that Dino was awakened again by something poking her side.  She breathed a low growl as she was rudely wrested from unconsciousness.

"Hey, you know you snore, right?" Tocade was saying grumpily.  "You woke me up."

<Sorry,> Dino replied.  <Well, I am a dinosaur.>

Dino was only just drifting back to sleep again when she heard a distant fractured animal sound penetrate faintly through the silence.  It was coming from down below, and the only reason she could hear it at all was because her head was resting against the ground.

She shivered, knowing what it was.  Surprised that she could hear the creature from this far away.  And she hoped that the forces they had amassed here would be enough to face that inevitable threat.

But she reminded herself that training would officially begin tomorrow morning.  Then, they would all see what RAF really had to offer.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 17, 2012, 11:32:11 PM
Another great chapter. I do have one question though.  Where is this armory on RAF?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blocky97 on June 18, 2012, 03:50:50 PM
Read it.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

And I have suggestions. PM time.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 18, 2012, 09:00:35 PM
Another great chapter. I do have one question though.  Where is this armory on RAF?

Well, technically, the RAFarmory doesn't exist as its own thread.  But then, neither does the RAFbasement which houses Pootang and the Yeerk Pool.  However, I figured that these places are assumed to exist, since they've been referenced elsewhere (the basement in RAFTAS, the armory in Intro Rando).  It's kinda like how Pootang and Ax are assumed to exist even though they aren't users, because descriptions of them do exist.

P.S.  All translations, both previous and future, are very approximate.  I have a feeling I'm going to offend speakers of many languages before this story is done.

Chapter Twenty

It was the next morning, and most of RAF was gathered in an open grassy field, surrounded by trees.  Everyone looked antsy for things to get started.

Earlier that morning, Dino had 'adopted' a pair of newbies, Roger and Kristin, as had been suggested at the previous RAFmeeting.  They were too new to be attached to their as-yet-unfamiliar usernames, so they opted to be simply called by their real names instead.  For some reason, that particular touch of normalcy seemed almost absurd to Dino.  They were so . . . so human.  Not just the names, either.  They both were so hopelessly confused and bewildered by everything that was going on around them, as though observing all of it from a distance.  A world apart from the RAFians.

The staff, meanwhile, had decided to begin the official regimen of combat training in a brand-new thread, a roleplay that the staff had created and titled 'Training Grounds.'  A few RAFians had tried to practice within Intro Rando for a while, but in the end it had turned out to be too, well, random, to really get any serious training from it.

'Training Grounds' was a fairly bland field, like an outdoor sports area, outfitted with different pieces of training equipment.  There were targets, obstacle courses, and sparring arenas where robotic opponents of various apparent strengths stood in wait for a challenger.

"Welcome to combat training," Terenia began.  She was still inhabiting Ash's body.  She had decided that she much preferred outerworlders as hosts, where she didn't have to listen to the internal dialogue of a sentient mind under her control.  That was just too creepy.  Ash was technically away from her computer, but she had left her RAF window up and logged on so that her avatar would stay present.

Terenia went on.  "Donut, as the only member with real military experience, should probably help to direct these drills.  Now-"

Bear raised his paw.

"The only member who can speak," Terenia winced.  "Sorry, Bear."

"Actually . . . " Bear began, surprising everyone as a voice crackled from a radio-like device mounted on his neck.  "Goom found me this morning, to give me this translator thing.  He said Aquilai made it, before he disappeared.  He said he meant to give it to me sooner, but kun cxio tiu okazis, li forgesis."

"Hey, is that Esperanto?" Weathel wondered from the crowd.  "Bear, I had no idea you could speak Esperanto!"

Bear growled in his kodiak voice, frustrated.  Goom ambled over towards him, holding what looked like a flashlight in his mouth, which the goomba waved over Bear's neck.

"Hello?  Oh, that's better," Bear said gratefully.  "It keeps switching languages.  Anyway, go on, Terenia."

"Well, then, in that case, I propose that both Bear and Donut be promoted to honorary staff, to give them authority to lead these drills and help get everyone combat-ready," Terenia said.  "I move to vote."

"Seconded!" somebody shouted from the crowd.

"All in favor?"

Hands were raised across the audience.

"Opposed?"

A few hands were raised, but not nearly as many as before.

"Bear and Donut are hereby instated as officers.  As such, they are both to be obeyed during these drills, without question.  As are myself, Estrid, Phoenix, and Goom, as staff."

There were a few groans within the crowd, but most RAFians seemed to be nodding in agreement with Terenia's judgment.

Under the tutelage of the staff and military officers, training quickly got underway.  Standard-issue shredders and dracons were passed out among those RAFians without their own natural weaponry, and soon the air was filled with the 'TSEEW' and heat of the firing lasers as the RAFians tried to hit the targets downrange.

The Andalites selected a clear area off to the side, to practice tail-fighting against one another.  The intricate darting dance of their clashing tail blades was beautiful to see.

Some newbies and RAFians seemed to quickly get the hang of their strange new firearms, hitting their targets again and again.  A few RAFians took to providing distractions for the more experienced sharpshooters, intent on giving them a better challenge.  Seal, in particular, seemed to take great joy in sneaking up and poking people just as they were trying to make a shot.

Other newbies, however, were not quite so innately talented, their shots going wild and often missing the targets completely.

<Shoulders straight,> Donut instructed the newbie Roger, as the brightly colored macaw flew overhead.  <Remember to sight along the weapon.>

"Sure thing," Roger grumbled.

<'Sure thing,' sir,> Donut corrected.  He came in for a landing on Dino's back, looking down at the newbie.  <I am your military superior.  You're to treat me with some respect.>

Roger had to fight the impulse to burst out laughing.  "No offense, sir, but it feels a bit humiliating to have to refer to a parrot as 'sir.'"

<And why is that?> he asked.  His thought-speak was public, directed at everyone within range.  He only wanted to have to say this once.

"Because you aren't exactly intimidating," Roger replied.  Then, he sarcastically added after a moment's thought, "Sir."

<I see,> Donut said calmly.  <And do you think you are intimidating to, say, a dinosaur?>

<Er, leave me out of this,> Dino said in private thought-speak.

<Or, even, how about that kid?  You think you'd scare him?> Donut quickly added, pointing his wing at Blaze.  Blaze, who had been polishing his sword behind the firing line, looked up and grinned, flaring his fiery wings threateningly, daring the newbie to challenge him.  <Calm down, Blaze,> Donut admonished.

"He looks like he's ten!" Roger said incredulously.

"Hey!" Blaze protested.  "I could kick your butt, newbie."  Looking nervously at Blaze's wings, Roger decided he didn't doubt that.

<Point is,> Donut went on.  <If you should ever outrank him, not that you will, but should that ever happen, you would want him to refer to you with the proper respect, wouldn't you?>

"Yes, sir," Roger said, slowly coming to see Donut's point.

<Why?> Donut asked simply.  <Why should he?>

"Because I would want him to respect me for my abilities and wisdom, and not my physical form, sir," Roger said thoughtfully.

<You're smarter than you act, newbie,> Donut said.

"Thank you," Roger said uncertainly.

Blaze kept his eye on the newbie as Donut left, the macaw flying off to give instructions to the others down the line.  Roger fidgeted under the angelic djinn's glare, but Dino growled gently at Blaze, reminding him that Roger was her charge, and as such he was not to be messed with.  Blaze decided that the newbie wasn't that interesting anyway, but Roger just looked even more uncomfortable, realizing that he was essentially at the mercy of the more powerful RAFians.

He tried to shrug off the worry, as he aimed and fired his dracon, trying to remember what Donut had told him about keeping his shoulders straight.  But he was one of the worse shots, even among the newbies.  Even firing a gun with no recoil, he just couldn't seem to get the target lined up right.

<It's alright, Roger,> Dino said quietly.  <You've only been here for a few days, not even a week.  You'll fit in here eventually.  Almost everyone does.>

"I'm not so sure," Roger replied.  "Most of you guys aren't even human.  How can anyone fit in?"

<I don't know,> Dino said musingly.  <But, somehow, we do.>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 18, 2012, 10:31:52 PM
I'm not 12. But a good chapter.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 18, 2012, 10:58:52 PM
Oops, I could've sworn you were.  Sorry.  I must've gotten you mixed up with another member.

EDIT: Fixed.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 18, 2012, 11:25:16 PM
Thank you. I'm assuming hundreds of hours of video games have made me a master marksman. Or can at least hit the bullseye.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 19, 2012, 09:55:41 AM
Chapter Twenty-one

Russell and Faerie had been assigned to patrol within the main forum, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary, while most of the RAFians trained in 'Training Grounds.'

The two of them were chatting, glad to be able to catch up with one another, when it had been so long since Faerie had really been an active member of the forum.  It kind of surprised Russell that Faerie had become an innerworlder, but then, so were several other less-active members who were innerworlders too, so perhaps it wasn't that odd.

They were both laughing at a joke Faerie had told, when a familiar RAFian suddenly appeared before them, and their mirth suddenly died in the air.  What in the kree was he doing here?  Russell's nostrils flared and he suddenly galloped forward, while Faerie flew along above him.

<Explain yourself,> Russell demanded with an angry glare as he approached the figure, immediately holding his tail blade to the Caribbean man's throat.  <What are you doing here?>

There was a moment's pause before Richard could respond.  But he showed no apparent fear, even with a blade at his throat.  "Guys, it's me.  I'm Richard," he said seriously.  "The people who hacked me, they gave my account back."

"Heh, yeah right," Faerie scoffed as she leveled her bow at Richard.  "What kind of idiots do you take us for?"

"It's true, I swear it," Richard said flatly.  "I don't know why, either.  But it was like there wasn't even any security in place.  I was able to get back in, easily.  The only reason I didn't log in sooner was because I just assumed my account would still be locked off from me.  Come on, guys, it's me.  Please believe me."

<This just doesn't make sense,> Russell said suspiciously.  <We're really supposed to believe that they just gave your account back without any trouble at all?  Right after we sent a tracking device after the missing RAFians?  So they'd have to know that we know about them.  Why would they just back off without a fight?  What the heck are they playing at?>  He pressed his tail forward slightly, digging into the skin of Richard's throat and drawing a slight trickle of blood.  <What are you playing at?>

"I don't know, I don't have the answers either," Richard said, not even flinching at the injury.  Of course he wouldn't, since he couldn't actually feel it.  "I don't know any more about whoever hacked me than you do.  But it is me.  I swear.  Why would the hackers come back like this, when they would know everyone would be against them?"

"Oh, you mean, why would anyone pretend to be you?" Faerie asked sarcastically.  "And get us to trust you?  And then kidnap a bunch of RAFians off to who-knows-where?  I dunno, why would you do something like that?"

"Whatever happened, none of that was me," Richard argued back.  "And, by the way, I am well aware that you will all be watching my every move, waiting for me to make the slightest mistake.  To me, it's worth that risk to be here.  What more do you need?  So, fine.  Yes.  Be suspicious of me.  You have every right.  But allow me to be here, in my own forum.  You guys are my friends, and I want to be here to help in whatever way I can."

Russell lowered his tail blade.  In part because Richard's words were starting to penetrate his skepticism, but also in part because he'd realized that slicing the outerworlder's head off wouldn't do much anyway.  At the worst it would just get Richard's account banned, but more likely it would just be treated as a roleplayed death and he'd be able to come right back.

<Alright, you can stay,> he allowed.

"What, are you serious?  You're falling for this?" Faerie asked quizzically.  "Please tell me you aren't."

<We don't have much choice,> Russell shot back in private thought-speak.  <Not a lot we can do to keep him off the forum, is there?  He's an outerworlder.>

"Hmph," Faerie snorted, but saw his point.  She reluctantly lowered her bow, realizing it wouldn't do any more good than Russell's tail.

"Perhaps the hackers decided they no longer needed me?" Richard offered.  "What were they using my account for, anyway?"

<What, you mean you don't know?> Russell asked incredulously.  <They were kidnapping RAFians.  It sure looks like they were . . . deleted,> he sighed reluctantly.  <I don't suppose you know anything about where they might be?  A hunch, anything?>

"No.  I never found out who the hackers were, let alone what they might want," Richard said.  "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything."

<Well, we need to tell the rest of the forum that you're here,> Russell said at length.  <If you pose a threat, then everyone needs to know the danger they might be in.  Come on, we're going to the Roleplaying Board.  You can come willingly, or otherwise.  'Richard.'>

Richard nodded, and followed the other two RAFians.  The three of them boarded the glass ship, and Russell pressed the button for 'Training Grounds.'  The ship zoomed through space, but Richard looked blankly at the walls, unable to see the stars rushing past.

They arrived in the grassy field where the rest of RAF was still training.  A pall of silence fell over the field as the RAFians recognized the person standing behind Russell and Faerie.  Dracons and shredders ceased firing.  The Andalites paused mid-strike to watch.

The four other staff members strode forward from their various locations within the training grounds, a mixture of fury and confusion on their faces at the sight of Richard.

"What's going on?" Phoenix demanded as he approached.

<No idea,> Russell said.  <But he claims he's not hacked anymore.>

"Bull," Goom scoffed.  "You really think they would just leave him alone after we found them out?"

"That's what we said, too," Faerie agreed.

"Guys, it's really me," Richard said again.  "I don't know why they left me alone, either, but . . . look, I can prove it's really me."  He moved towards Goom, and the goomba backed away nervously, but Richard leaned down to whisper something to him.

Goom's eyes widened as he heard what Richard had to say.  "Guys . . . I think it's really him," he said incredulously.  "Richard is the only person who knows about that.  And it happened in a text chat.  I don't think the hackers could possibly access that.  So, it's gotta be him."

"How do we know you weren't hacked too, Goom?" Faerie asked, fingering her bow.

"Uh, I'm an innerworlder?" Goom said.  "Pretty sure we can't be hacked."

"Ahem," Terenia said with a slightly sheepish grin.  "I've hacked an innerworlder."

"You're a Yeerk, that's a bit different," Goom pointed out.  He turned to Richard.  "So, it's really you?  Whatever they needed you for, they must not anymore.  That's the only possible explanation.  There's nothing we could have done about you being hacked, from our end, and in any case the hackers wouldn't have had much to fear from us even if we could do anything."

"That's what I thought," Richard agreed.  "So, whatever they're doing, they've either gotten all they need, or figured out a way to do it without me."

"Given that what they were doing was kidnapping members, it could be either one," Goom pondered.  "We don't know why they were taking RAFians in the first place, so we have no idea how many of us they even wanted.  On the other hand, it would probably be theoretically possible, although difficult, for them to gain the information needed to take accounts without an inside-"

Terenia made a motion with her hand, cutting Goom off and simultaneously pointing out the RAFians who had crowded around the scene.  Goom got the point.  The last thing he needed to do was tarnish this good news with his own doubts.

And it was the first good news that the RAFians had gotten in a long time.  The crowd looked hesitantly hopeful, as they waited to hear what the staff had to say.

Goom cleared his throat, addressing the crowd.  He spoke with an intentional dramatic flourish, knowing that news like this couldn't possibly be delivered any other way.

"The father of RAF," he began.  "Has returned."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 19, 2012, 12:43:58 PM
*Uproar of applause and cheer!*

Great chapter Dino! Yay for reunions!

Also, I think you've inspired the name of what I may call my personal thread (should I ever make one): The RAFarmory. Definitely my kinda place. ;D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Horsefan1023 (Seal) on June 19, 2012, 01:33:34 PM
Goom is the Doctor.  Richard whispered his true name in his ear to get him to trust him.

Headcanon accepted.

*shot*

XP
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 19, 2012, 01:56:05 PM
Yeah, that makes sense.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 19, 2012, 05:08:47 PM
Psst, your mother has a third big toe. :o  "Okay, it's him."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 19, 2012, 06:41:54 PM
Seal: Hmm, well, that would explain how Goom was able to use that sonic screwdriver . . .

Parker: Hey, there was a reason I didn't provide any details about what Richard said!  Now everybody on the forum will know Goom's mom's horrible secret!  Way to go, man.  :P

Chapter Twenty-two

Aquilai seemed to be the only one not going crazy from the boredom of that blank white emptiness, while they all waited and waited for another RAFian to appear.  It had been a while since Tony had showed up, and they were all beginning to wonder whether or not any more were coming at all.

The Time Lord was passing the time, using his sonic screwdriver to probe the depths of whatever flash drive or storage area where they were being held.  He'd found that he could recover bits of what was last saved on the disk before the RAFians themselves, which, by a happy circumstance, appeared to include a few security codes to the Swiss laboratory where they were being held.  They would be outdated by now, of course.  But they might still be useful to get past the lowest levels of security.

The sonic screwdriver buzzed as Aquilai shone it at the empty air, blue glowing numbers appearing where the light hit, like those invisible black-light stamps you get at clubs and amusement parks.  For each one he found, he used his sonic to copy down the numbers into the tracking device that Tony had brought through.

He figured, if he could just time it right, he might be able to send a small object through to the other side when the next RAFian disappeared.  And the tracking device, having originated from RAF, might have a stronger connection to the site.  At least, that was the hope.

Finally having finished downloading all the codes he could find, all Aquilai could do now was wait . . .

After a while, once the excitement around Richard's return had died down, training could resume on the forum.  Everyone seemed somehow revitalized, a sense of hope pervading the air, as Richard watched stoically over the practicing RAFians.  He didn't show emotion, which was understandable since he was still unfamiliar with the finer points of roleplaying a believable character as an outerworlder.  But, nevertheless, his pride seemed almost palpable as he looked out over the forum.  His forum.

Terenia was taking a brief respite from instructing the RAFians' training, letting the other staff members take over for a while.  She scratched idly behind the ears of the red fox that was sitting next to her, as she watched the RAFians honing their skills on the practice field.  The two- well, three, counting Ash- of them were sitting under the shade of a tree within view of the training RAFians.

Marie had at first, admittedly, been a bit weirded out by people wanting to pet her, like she was a dog or something.  But she'd gotten used to it at this point, and she figured that it didn't do any good to make a fuss about it.  The RAFians certainly seemed to like petting her, and if it made them happy, she was fine with it.  To some extent, it was even kind of nice, particularly when she had an itch on her head that she couldn't reach herself.

And Marie was pretty sure that it was the case that Terenia missed her own dogs.  Which was understandable.  Marie missed Gabby, too.  So she was happy to let herself be petted.

She and Terenia had been talking about Richard's return.  Terenia was still just slightly skeptical that it was really him, of course.  Sure, Goom had said that whatever Richard knew, he could only have known if it were really him.  But he'd also mentioned that, whatever it was, had occurred via phone, and why couldn't the hackers access phone records?  So Terenia wasn't ready to rule out that possibility completely.

Marie, on the other hand, was pretty sure he was the real deal.  After all, what did he have to gain by coming back, otherwise?  The hackers had lost their element of surprise.  And with the entire forum united against them, surely the RAFians would find a way to foil whatever it was they were planning.  Surely nobody would underestimate the RAFians that poorly, Marie had thought, as she'd watched them train for battle.  The newbies were already beginning to improve, with fewer and fewer of them missing their targets.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Marie was assailed by a high-pitched noise, like one of those sounds only dogs could hear.  But this 'sound' felt like she could hear it in every cell of her body.  Not that it was that loud, because it wasn't, but rather it seemed to resonate within her entire being.  As though whatever were making the terrible sound was inside her.  She yelped in pain, covering her head in her paws.

"What's wrong?!" Terenia asked in alarm, terrified, as she helplessly watched Marie squirm in pain.

"I don't know!" Marie yelled over the noiseless sound, which was building in intensity moment by moment.  Her own voice sounded metallic, almost electronic, as she spoke.  As she watched, she could see the grass and trees around her fading, slowly being replaced by stark and featureless white.

"Marie!" Terenia shrieked, as her friend began to fade before her very eyes.  She could see right through her, like a ghost.

She knew what was happening, of course.  Marie was being taken.  For some reason it was happening more slowly than before, as though there were some kind of resistance to whatever force was taking the RAFians.  Was it because Richard was no longer hacked?  In any case, however, she was vanishing all the same.

"No, no, no!" she yelled, grabbing roughly for Marie's fur, trying to hold onto her within this reality.  But it was no use, Marie's body was already nothing more than a static field, barely offering any resistance to Terenia's hands as they passed through her.  Marie whimpered, as she, too, realized what was happening.

Several other RAFians had heard the commotion, and were running towards the scene.  Others were running away, towards the other staff members, to get their attention and make sure they knew what was going on.

Another figure was beginning to appear, fading into existence right as Marie was fading out.  The man, a flickering and unstable hologram with blocky pieces missing from the image, was dressed in a dark suit coat and a blue tie, and he seemed to be holding something that looked like a flashlight, waving it outwards around himself as it buzzed with blue light.

"Aquilai!" Goom shouted as he rushed towards the scene.  "How'd you-"

"Shut -- I don't have --- time," Aquilai said tersely, his voice fading in and out with static.  "We think -- --- ------zerland.  Do you ---?  We're -- Switzerland.  ----- --ash drive.  ---- --- the tracking ---, I --- downloaded ----curity codes, should ---- you get past ---."

Within a few seconds, he had vanished again.  Marie was totally gone now, too.  But something had been left behind where Aquilai had been.  It was the tracking device that Lumy had sent through when Tony had vanished.  It looked different, though, with numbers scrolling past where the readout should have been.

"So, uh," Goom said anxiously, glancing around the crowd, looking for the outerworlders.  "Who wants to go to Switzerland?"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 19, 2012, 08:13:21 PM
The only way to get there is to ski obviously
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 19, 2012, 09:59:42 PM
We can always take snowmobiles. ;D Yay Switzerland! Where everyone has a gun! No seriously, my teacher went there for a shooting competition; and he saw that in cafes, they have coat hangers built especially for guns. :o
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 19, 2012, 10:18:34 PM
"You act as if this is outside the norm *innocent whistling*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 20, 2012, 09:15:18 PM
Punctuational note.  Blue text means posted text.  "Quoted" text means what appears within quotation marks within said post.  The two things do not always coordinate, and so I've tried to mark this difference as unconfusedly as I can.  Color-coding is yay!

Chapter Twenty-three

Cody was only halfway paying attention to the news as he ate his dinner, and halfway thinking about other things.  But he wasn't really watching the television, until he happened to glance at an odd title at the bottom of the screen.  "Trapped Inside the Internet?" the text said.

Cody quickly turned up the volume, suddenly listening closely to what the newscaster was saying.  The story was about a new supposed meme on the internet, known as 'netting,' wherein people would pretend to be trapped within a website.  The report was a fluff story, basically.  The newscaster who was reporting the story called the trend "an entirely new level of trolling."  She mentioned that this 'netting' might be linked with the recent rise in runaways, as people pretended to vanish so as to better fool their friends and families.  She then concluded the report by imploring any runaway netters to return to their families.

Cody turned the volume back down as he clutched the remote angrily, furious that a real and serious situation could have been relegated in the news to nothing more than a meme and a practical joke.  How?  How had they convinced anybody that it wasn't actually real?  Didn't people know better?  Wasn't the whole world affected by this?  Could anybody really be falling for this bull?

But, then again, the more he thought about it . . . he slowly realized that there really couldn't have been some wide, sweeping occurrence of the teleportation effect, as most RAFians had previously assumed.  Not if the news could so easily discount this entire phenomenon as merely the antics of a bunch of online loonies.

The idea of a limited effect of the mass teleport, that would at least explain why no disappearances had been in the news before now, and why none of the outerworlders' friends and family had gone missing.  That was something most of them had been wondering.  If the effect was so limited, then maybe the disappearances really could be explained away as merely a 'rise in runaways.'

It was still bull, of course, but at least it was believable bull.

The so-called 'netters' seemed not to be entirely limited to RAF, of course.  The news piece had noted World of Warcraft, as well as limited pockets within Facebook and Myspace.

And with the membership of each of those sites being what it was, if any significant percentage had been affected, half the population of the world would be gone.  Then, there would be no way that all this wouldn't have been a massive worldwide emergency situation.

But, if these speculations were true . . . why, then, was he only able to count the number of RAFian outerworlders on one hand?  Let's see, it was himself, Richard, Steph, Ash, Gaz, Nate, Myitt, Goose, okay, perhaps one and a half hands.  Yet, RAF had clearly been affected by the teleport far and away more than any other site.  Why?

What was it, that missing factor, that allowed some people to be taken into the internet, and others to be immune?  It couldn't be explained simply by the incidence of people not logging into the internet, which was the only thing that had even 'saved' the RAFian outerworlders.  No, the rest of the world depended on the internet, too.  There was absolutely no way that so many people had simply never logged on.

What, then?  What was it that was different, about RAF, and parts of Facebook, and bits of World of Warcraft?

Was it random chance?  No.  That would have been far too great a coincidence, for the entire population of a site to be affected just by the luck of the draw, when the probability of any one person being affected appeared to be so low.

Cody decided to log onto RAF, wanting something to take his mind off of the news story and the new set of questions that it posed.  He was due to log in anyway, to see how the new training regimen was going, and check for any new developments.

Whoa.  Apparently Richard was back online.  That was big news, considering that the founder had mysteriously vanished as soon as the other RAFians had found out he was hacked.

Cody looked up to the top of the screen, and saw that he had a new private message.  It was from Phoenix.

"Cody!  There you are!  Hey, we just found out where the missing RAFians are!" Phoenix said excitedly.  "Turns out they're in Switzerland.  In retrospect, we probably should have figured that out sooner, given that Switzerland was the place where all of this started," he commented, gesturing with a slight shrug.  "The point is, we need somebody to actually go there and see what's going on, and since most of us are stuck in the computer, it has to be you and the other outerworlders."

Cody immediately started typing, knowing that Phoenix was there and would be waiting for his avatar to reply.

"Where are we gonna get the money?" he typed.  "I could only just barely afford something like that, and I don't know about the others."

"Goom and Ax are working on that bit," Phoenix said uncomfortably.  "They've been trying to hack into some airline websites and see if they can get the tickets for free.  We figure, well . . . that's a pretty bad moral grey area in most cases, but we've got a pretty dire situation, and we'll do our best to pay them back when we can," Phoenix sighed, visibly not liking the idea.  "In the meantime, you guys are going to need to get your passports updated.  That's something you'll have to pay for, yourselves.  There's no way Goom and Ax can hack the government and get those."

Cody nodded, he typed, knowing that Phoenix wouldn't see the gesture otherwise.  "Have you talked to the other outerworlders yet?"

"Richard knows about all this," Phoenix posted.  "He was online when this was happening, and he's already said that he'll go.  Assuming he actually isn't still hacked, of course, which still remains to be seen.  We got ahold of Ash, Gaz, and Steph, too, and they all say they're in.  Although Gaz said she might need some help paying for the passport."

"I'd be glad to chip in some money," Cody typed.  "So, that leaves Myitt, Nate, and Goose still unaccounted for?"

"Oh, hey, here's Myitt," Phoenix said distractedly.  "She just logged on.  Let me talk to her for a sec."  He left to go talk to the brunette girl who had just appeared.

Cody waited, flexing his fingers.  He, like all the outerworlders, had learned that he had to type much faster than what he was used to, just to keep up with the inners.  The innerworlders needed only to speak, whereas the outerworlders had to type, and not only type the words they were speaking, but also the gestures and facial expressions that helped them to seem more human to the innerworlders.  It could often be exhausting, to keep up with all the things that the innerworlders just took for granted.

Even at times when, as now, he was only typing the bare minimum needed to get his point across without all the extra roleplaying text, he could still only barely keep pace with Phoenix without having to make the innerworlder impatient.

Sometimes it was hard not to be jealous, even knowing all the dangers the innerworlders faced.  It was hard not to want that easy, effortless interaction with the other members.  And to be actually living all the things Cody could only read about?  All of it sounded pretty awesome, all told.

On the other hand, from the sound of things, he was going to get his chance to play a part in the grand adventure, after all!  Cody had just been asked to go on an epic rescue mission.  To find and recover the RAFians who had been kidnapped.

It sounded almost like a mission straight from Animorphs.  Cody laughed a bit at the thought.  He could just picture Jake and the team rushing off to Switzerland on some half-planned mission to rescue a team member or ally.  Marco making all the obvious jokes about skiing and neutrality, the entire time.

The fact that he would be going all the way to Switzerland hadn't really even sunk in to Cody's mind.  Every time he tried to think about it, it just seemed too much to process.  It was a whole other country.  On the other side of the world.  And he was supposed to just pack up a few things and go?  It was easy enough to think about the idea in jest, but much harder to focus on it as a possible reality.

He would go, of course, when the time came.  But in the meantime, it was a lot to wrap his head around.

"Hey, it's me again," Phoenix said, striding up to talk to Cody again.  "Myitt says yes.  And Hunter just found me, and told me he was able to get ahold of Nate, and he said yes, too.  Which just leaves Goose.  I'm sensing a pattern, though, so I'd have to say-"  He was interrupted by a Canadian goose that had suddenly appeared and whispered something to him.

Cody knew that that was Goose, leaving Phoenix a private message of his own.  He drummed his fingers as he waited for Phoenix to tell him what had been said.

"It's unanimous," Phoenix beamed at Cody.  "You guys are going to Switzerland."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 20, 2012, 09:46:43 PM
Whee, double-post!

Chapter Twenty-four

"Aw, come on," Blaze implored.  He and Yunyun were purposefully moving through the main forum, Blaze impatiently leading the way while Yunyun reluctantly followed.  "You're not scared, are you?"

Yunyun rustled her wings nervously.  "N- no," she stammered.  "It's just that, you know, none of the other RAFians have even been there yet.  And, um, it occurs to me, if they have reason to be scared, maybe we should be, too."

"So you are scared!" Blaze teased.  "Come on, we don't have to stay long.  Just a peek.  Just to see what all the fuss is."

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Yunyun argued, but still she grudgingly followed Blaze into the Roleplaying Board's glass transport.

"It's just the Bannedlands.  What's the harm?" Blaze asked with an overly casual shrug, masking the nervousness that he actually felt.  "And we won't stay there long enough to get into trouble with the Banned, I promise.  If they're even there.  Which they wouldn't be.  I mean, they aren't on RAF anymore.  That's the definition of banned."  He looked at her with a 'duh' expression on his face.

With that, he slowly and dramatically pressed the button for 'Bannedlands.'  The space outside the transport flashed by.  Maybe it was only their anticipation, but it seemed that the ride took longer than it usually did.

Blaze had, over the previous few hours, gotten extremely bored with those infernal practice sessions that the RAFians were all being made to attend in the training grounds.  Maybe it was his video game experience, but he had been one of the quicker RAFians to get the hang of the dracon beam target practice.  And he was pretty decent in a sword fight, too, thanks to getting a head start on most of the other RAFians by practicing in Intro Rando.

But the endless and repetitive drilling was just mind-numbing.  And, frankly, stupid.  He'd absolutely had to get away for a while.  Fortunately, the staff weren't being terribly draconian about attendance, so he'd been able to sneak away fairly easily.

Still, he needed something to do.  Thus, he had decided that he would go on an adventure.  And then, after he set off in search of something to do, it wasn't long before he'd run into Yunyun.  She'd looked similarly bored, so he'd taken it upon himself to find a bit of excitement for her as well.  Whether she wanted it or not.

After several long moments, their glass transport arrived in the Bannedlands, at the edge of the forum, another seemingly alternate version of RAF behind them, looking into the darkened and desolate wasteland beyond.

Clouds gathered overhead, above a jagged and sinister cityscape that towered in the distance.  Cliffs and valleys formed an eerie maze across the vista, in sharpened blocky patterns like a scene from a glitched computer game.  The dead trees, scattered across the dark dreary grey rocks, were each just the right size for a person to be hidden behind.  Each crooked and blackened tree seemed to conceal something sinister, hidden just barely out of view.  But if Blaze looked closer, there was nothing there.

Despite himself, Blaze shivered slightly.  In the distance, a wolf howled.  At least, he hoped it was only a wolf.  Who knew what other sort of strange creature it could be?

Blaze slowly crept out of the glass ship, his nerves set to a hair trigger as he ventured into the unknown territory.  Every whisper of the wind seemed to speak of evil deeds.  But still he kept up his brave stance as he pressed on, slowly gaining more and more confidence and speed the deeper he went into the strange land.

As he pressed forward, he could see around a corner of the cliffs that had blocked his view before.  Suddenly coming into his view like a dark surprise, the stark black maw of a cave appeared before him, and seemed to beckon him forward, into the unknown depths, as a long rasping sound like a growling breath issued forth from the darkness.

He lost his nerve at the sight and backtracked a few steps, running into Yunyun behind him.  They both jumped at each other's unexpected touch, but neither of them said a word to one another, silently fearing what unseen creatures might overhear even their slightest whisper.

It was an unspoken but mutual decision to make their way back to the ship.  It was hard to fight the impulse to run towards that tantalizing promise of safety, but neither of them wanted to look like a coward in front of the other.  They speedwalked back, struck and impressed by the distance that they had covered without even realizing it.

Finally they reached the ship, and gratefully pressed the 'Exit' button.  Space warped around them, the trip back seeming much shorter than the trip here had been.

But . . . Blaze could have sworn he heard something, or someone, besides the two RAFians, in the ship.  Footsteps.  There were footsteps behind him!  Still pumping with adrenaline, he whipped around, ready to attack, but there was nothing there.

"What is it?" Yunyun asked nervously.

Blaze looked around, still trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, but seeing nothing.  "Nothing.  I'm just antsy, that's all."

They reached the forum, and the doors to the ship opened themselves automatically.

Blaze was quite certain that it was just his imagination, and that he had not seen a shadowy movement dart from the ship and out of sight through the buildings of the forum.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 20, 2012, 11:07:06 PM
Oh great, we're the stupid teenage couple.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 21, 2012, 01:44:42 AM
Haha, awesome work in with the Marco jokes Dino!

Yes Blaze, if anyone were going to unknowingly unleash a darkness from the Banned, it would be you. :P Though, the question becomes,[spoiler] is it an actual Banned user, or the idea of the character from a Fanfic made manifest by the site conversion? [/spoiler]
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 21, 2012, 10:20:13 AM
Likely a manifestation. If a banned user were to become an inworlder, they'd likely have better things to do than to hang out in the banned lands.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 21, 2012, 05:15:09 PM
Gah, I hate to sound like a broken record, here, but potential spoilers are just one of those weird little neuroses/phobias of mine that I really have a lot of trouble letting go of.  So, could you guys please not openly speculate on plot developments?  Even little ones?  I don't intend that to sound mean, because I'm not angry or anything, and also because I do appreciate the reviews (and, in a way, the fact that you're wondering about this stuff is kind of a compliment, since it means you're thinking about the story, so thank you).

But, I also get that it's probably pretty inconvenient to PM me every little thing you think of.  So, would it be possible to ask to put any guesses in spoilers?  So that people who don't wish to read said guesses don't have to?  I would appreciate it.

Again, not angry.  Just paranoid.  :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 27, 2012, 11:29:16 PM
I've been a little busy-ish lately, sorry for the scarce updates.  Next week should be better.

Chapter Twenty-five

Goom, in his human form, was standing next to Ax, still an Andalite.  The two of them weren't on RAF, but some new website, a mechanical-looking facility surrounded by thick leaden walls and blocked off by an imposing sturdy black door.

Goom looked at Ax, somewhat surprised that the Andalite had been so easily able to cross over to another website.  And a little worried by that fact, too.  Goom had expected to have to analyze Ax's code, find some hidden back-door programming, that would allow him to make the transition from RAF to a foreign address.

In actuality, it had been so much simpler than that.  After finding and hacking into a couple of blank-slate user accounts that weren't currently being used on the new site, he'd only needed to instruct the Andalite as to the simple procedure that everyone knew by now.  It was only made slightly more complex by the fact that Ax couldn't initially see the search bar that appeared when users closed their eyes.  But, as soon as Goom had told him what to look for, it had then appeared to him, and the Andalite was easily able to 'surf.

All of this had Goom worried.  Because, whatever nature of virtual being Ax was, then Pootang, being another fictional character brought to life by the collective thoughts of RAFians, would have to fall into the same catagory.

So, if Ax could cross over to the rest of the internet . . .

Goom shoved those thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand.  In his hand, his wonderful human hand, with its fingers and opposable thumbs, oh how much he had missed that, he held Aquilai's tracking device, with its information on the site before them.  In his other hand, just in case they might encounter anything unexpected there, he held a dracon beam.

The 'site' wasn't really a website, of course.  It wasn't as if the facility in Switzerland was going to store their top-secret data on the internet for anybody to potentially access, after all.  No, this 'facility' was actually just a firewall, the security around their company network, made visible to Goom and Ax by whatever had rendered the internet into a physical place in the first place.

Ax moved forward, toward the imposing black door.  A keypad was set into the wall next to the door, numbers and letters on glowing green buttons.  Very spy-movie, Goom thought to himself.  Goom handed the tracking device to Ax, who began trying combinations of letters and numbers.  The keypad beeped irritatedly as it flashed red, signaling incorrect codes.  But no alarm was going off yet, so Ax slowed down and kept trying more methodically.

Finally, the keypad beeped in a higher key and the light changed back to green.  There was a deep whooshing noise as the door swung open.  Ax handed the tracking device back to Goom.

Goom hesitated, wondering what might lie on the other side of that door.  As a human, he knew he was nearly defenseless, but at least Ax was there, and the Andalite could handle most threats that might realistically be lying in wait on a research server.  Probably.

Who else could he get to help, though?  Any RAFian would be changed to their natural human form as they crossed the threshold to this site.  The only reason Ax wasn't human was because, as a non-user, he had no such 'default' form.  It was a bit like the Matrix, Goom reasoned.  The computer constructed your form based on your self-image, and in the absence of more data it would take your most intuitive form, the way you saw yourself when you weren't actively pretending to be something else.

The only options, then, were other characters that existed on RAF without being users.  Characters from other users' backstories, perhaps.  The other Animorphs.  Parker's Spartan team.  Cloaky's Realm Walker family, Shadow and Dagger and whoever else.

"Ax, wait," Goom said, stopping the Andalite as he started towards the open door.  "Don't go in there yet.  We might need backup."  Ax paused, letting the door close in front of him, looking mildly annoyed at the setback.

Goom closed his eyes and blinked back to RAF.  The dracon beam and tracking device clattered to the floor as Goom changed back into a goomba.  He cursed, making a mental note to pick them back up later.

He immediately headed for the Social Board, and from there quickly found Cloaky's profile.  The goomba knocked on the door with his foot, and, after a moment's pause, the Realm Walker appeared in the doorway.  Cloaky's room was sparse, lined only with the material used to make his cloak.

"Do you know where Shadow is?" Goom asked Cloaky, cutting straight to the point.

Cloaky, leaning against the frame of the door, tilted his head curiously, a catlike gesture.  "What do you need with my niece?"

"Ax and I are about to hack into the Swiss facility," Goom explained.  "Since it's off-site, any users who come along would appear as human.  And Shadow is the most powerful non-user I could think of.  Well, most powerful, who would be on our side," he amended.

Cloaky grinned, even though the expression was barely visible in the shadows beneath his hood.  It gave his feline features the impression of something ominous, although it was a perfectly innocent grin.  "Actually . . . I could come," he said.  "You forget, I'm a Realm Walker.  Websites are basically just like realms.  Which is how I can move from website to website without changing form."

"No way," Goom said slowly, incredulous, as he realized the implications of what Cloaky had said.  "That shouldn't be possible, even with your powers.  It's a catch-twenty-two.  Your powers might in theory allow you to leave RAF, except that your powers are sourced within RAF, so once you left RAF they should still be gone."

Cloaky shrugged.  "I don't know how it works.  It just does."

"Don't you get it?" Goom went on.  "This means that our forms, our powers, are not strictly limited to RAF!  We all just assumed they were!  Granted, you may be a special circumstance because of your particular powers, but if it's even possible, then there must be a way to duplicate it for the rest of us.  I dunno, think of it as a computer glitch.  You've basically glitched the game, because your powers allow you to do something that the . . . whoever designed this place . . . didn't expect.  But if what you do is even allowed within the mechanics of the 'game,' then that leaves the rest of us open to take advantage of the same glitch.  The rest of us might be able to use a TARDIS, or a Time Matrix.  We can go wherever we want!"  Goom felt relieved at this revelation.  Even if Pootang somehow escaped to the rest of the internet, so long as the RAFians could follow, he might still be stopped.

Cloaky nodded, not quite as excited by all this as Goom was, but still pleased with the fact that he was responsible for such an important discovery.  "I should be able to bring others along, too.  I can carry two people with me when I realm-walk, and I see no reason why they shouldn't be able to keep their RAFian forms as well."

"Excellent," Goom said approvingly.  "I don't need you to use it for me at the moment, though, seeing as I'm stronger as a human anyway.  Oh, but I need to get you set up with a neutral account on the new site first.  Hang on a moment."  Goom turned to leave, but Cloaky interrupted before he could get more than a few steps.

"No need," Cloaky said with a wave of his hand.  "I've realm-walked been to sites where I have no account."

"What?!" Goom cried, dumbfounded.  "Geez, you really did glitch!  That's not possible.  That can't be possible.  How can you interact with a site, unless you have some means by which to influence it?  Whenever anybody has gone to a site without an account, they always just show up as an incorporeal ghost, with no body," he explained.  "Able to hear and see, but not to touch, or be seen or heard."

Cloaky grinned again, and shrugged.  "I don't make the rules.  I just break them."  He laughed quietly at his own wit.

Goom shook his head, tired of trying to figure it out.  "Well, let's not keep Ax waiting.  I'll 'surf, and you do whatever it is you do, and we'll meet there."  Goom gave Cloaky the address, and then went to retrieve his dracon and tracking device.

Within minutes, the Realm Walker was standing next to Ax and a human Goom in front of the Swiss firewall.  Rad was there with Cloaky, having caught bits and pieces of Cloaky and Goom's earlier conversation from her own profile across the hall.  She'd been curious, and so when Cloaky had explained the situation, she'd insisted on coming along.

Ax looked skeptically at Cloaky, wondering why Goom had made such a big fuss about bringing along a humanoid that looked as unremarkable as the cloaked figure.  But the Andalite decided not to question it, as he quickly turned and re-entered the code, and the doorway opened once more.

Cloaky led the way as the four of them slipped through, anxiously anticipating what they would find on the other side.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on June 28, 2012, 09:53:53 PM
Chapter Twenty-six

The inside of the Swiss database looked like an office, crossed with a factory.  It was a maze of hallways, leading into dead-end cubicles, but the whole place had a very mechanical, industrial feel.  There were sharp-cornered recesses in the walls, where whirring gears and exposed circuitry could be seen, spitting out sheets of paper covered with numbers, which fed into other slots in the walls.  Outstretched needles traced glowing lines in midair, like a seismograph in three dimensions.

In one of the cubicles, mostly hidden behind a corner, Goom could see a scientist in a white labcoat, writing furiously on his clipboard as he watched five figures moving about on a screen.  It was hard to get a good view, but Goom was pretty sure that one of the figures was an Andalite.

The four RAFians had to duck against a wall as a spidery robot suddenly appeared around a corner, scanning back and forth with its single red eye.  It was a security protocol, Goom quickly realized.  A program written to scan for anything that didn't belong in this network.

In a sudden darting motion, it locked its eye onto the RAFians.

Cloaky, fortunately, didn't hesitate.  He raised his hand and fired a bolt of golden-scarlet light, the energy attack frying the robot's circuits, leaving it crackling and hissing as it slumped, lifeless.

At first, the scientist in his cubicle didn't seem to have noticed the noise.  But, after a moment's hesitation, he set down his clipboard and looked around.  He didn't seem to be able to see the RAFians, but he had definitely noticed the ruined security program, as he quickly came over and began to inspect the wreckage.

"Move," Cloaky hissed, and they all took off at a rapid pace through the halls.  They moved quickly but quietly, as they wove their way through the twisting maze.

<What are we searching for?> Ax wondered, directing the question at Goom.

"Something that will help the outerworlders override the facility's security," Goom whispered back.  "It will probably look like a key, or a passcard.  Something like that."

Up ahead was a wall, dividing the hallway into two paths, one left and one right.  A series of blinking lights, running along a cable, flashed from left to right, so the RAFians quickly decided to take the path to the right.

Three more robots lay in wait, but these looked slightly sturdier, more like turrets than spiders.  Their green eyes scanned back and forth from their parapets as they monitored the hallway.

Goom aimed his dracon, Cloaky raised his hands, and Rad hefted the zat gun that she'd brought, preparing to fire off a three-shot burst.  "On three," Goom whispered.  "One, two, three!"  The three of them shot the three robots simultaneously, but one of the robots survived and instantly registered the attack.  Its green eye changed to red, and an alarm began to blare from the entire building.

"GO!" Goom yelled as the four of them charged forward.  "It's all or nothing!"

As they turned a corner, they spotted a long corridor, which looked out of place because it was so plain compared to the rest of their surroundings.  It was nothing but featureless dark grey walls, with no machinery at all.  At the end of the hallway, was a glass case.  The RAFians were too far away to see what was underneath the glass.

Cloaky began to move cautiously down the corridor, but Goom had a bad feeling about it.  There was no way that anything good could be at the end of that hallway, he thought.  It was too obvious.  A password would need to be stored somewhere hidden and out of the way, deep within the computer's memory system, where nobody could access it.  Not on display.

"It's a trap!" Goom said, pulling Cloaky back from the corridor.  "It's a decoy file, set there to trick viruses.  We need to go back.  This way."

The alarm, meanwhile, had mysteriously gone silent.  As the four RAFians made their way back through the hallway where they had come, they overheard two voices talking to one another.  There was a slightly static quality to both the voices, like they were being heard over a phone.  The RAFians pressed themselves against the wall and listened.

"Another false alarm?" one of the speakers was saying.  "The system has been so temperamental, ever since we started this whole project.  It keeps going off over nothing."

"Yeah, tell me about it," the other said, his voice laced with exasperation.  "Too many variables to keep track of.  The programming we have in place can't handle it all."

"I'm going to double-check the data," the first voice said.  "Make sure it really was a false alarm.  But, I swear, some of our abandoned accounts have developed sentience.  They keep popping up in random places."

The second voice laughed at the joke, as the first one moved off down the hallway.  The RAFians could make out a plastic swooshing sound, followed by a beep, and the sound of a door opening.

Of course!  It was the scientists, Goom realized.  They were the key.  Or, at least, their accounts were.  The scientists had the passcards with them.  In other words, their identifying information, their security data, was attached to their online identities.

Goom grabbed Rad by the shoulder and moved quickly down the hallway, chasing after the first scientist, the one who had said he was going to check the data.  Ax followed, careful not to let his hooves be heard clattering against the floor, and Cloaky snuck along next to him.

The RAFians knew they had to get to that data before the scientist did, and destroy the records.  If they left behind any suspicion that the network had been infiltrated, the scientists would reset all the security systems, and anything the RAFians managed to steal would be useless.

Rad suddenly had an idea, and she decisively pulled ahead of the other RAFians.  As she took the lead, the four of them slipped quickly through the doorway that the scientist had used moments ago, right before it swung shut.

Goom nodded at Rad, quickly realizing the same thing that had occurred to her.

Ma'at, who instinctively knew everything Rad did thanks to their linked thoughts, began to disengage from Rad's brain stem.  The Tok'ra slithered out through Rad's mouth, and Rad instinctively gagged even as she held out her hands to hold her parasitic snake-like counterpart.  She was dazed for a moment by the sudden disorienting and bizarre sensation of having her consciousness split in half, because she could now simultaneously see from both perspectives at once.

Ax's eyes widened at the sight, horrified.  He brought his tail forward threateningly, but Goom and Cloaky both spotted his motion and held their hands up, silently signaling to him that Ma'at was a friend.  Ax calmed slightly, but he kept his suspicious gaze on the pincer-mouthed alien snake.

With Ma'at in hand, Rad ran forward, until she caught a glimpse of white.  It was the scientist.  The Tok'ra launched herself into the air at the same instant that Rad swung her arm forward, their combined momentum flinging Ma'at in a wild arc down the corridor.

Their aim was true, and Ma'at landed on the scientist's shoulder.  He didn't even seem to notice the touch.  Which of course would make sense, if he was an outerworlder.  Within a database like this, he would be denied even the luxury of roleplayed text descriptions to tell him what was going on.

Ma'at reminded herself that he was not a real person, merely an avatar representing an online account.  Thus there was nothing even at all amoral about taking him as a host.  The Tok'ra quickly plunged herself into the back of his neck, and wrapped around his spinal chord.  His eyes flashed yellow as Ma'at took control.

Ma'at continued along the scientist's previous path, barely stumbling as she took over the task of moving his body.  She had to keep up the illusion, make it seem as though he was still in control.  Sitting at his computer somewhere in the real world, he would have noticed nothing amiss.

She began to look through his memories, curious as to what she might glean from an outerworlder host.  It wasn't at all like looking at a human brain.  There was nothing there except a name, and a bunch of utterly raw data.  Streams of numbers, activity logs, graphs and charts, passwords.  No emotion.  No memories, except what the account itself had registered as having done.

Rad tapped Goom on the shoulder, as the four RAFians trailed along behind Ma'at and the scientist.  "Ma'at can get you the passcard," Rad whispered to Goom.  She could read Ma'at's thoughts as though they were her own.  Because, of course, they were.  "But you'll have to make a copy somehow.  If I, I mean, if she gives you the original, then the scientist will know something is wrong when it's gone."

"No problem," Goom whispered back, holding up the tracking device that he was still holding.  "I can save the file to this."

Rad nodded towards the scientist, signaling Goom to move.  Ma'at subtly and slowly reached the scientist's hand into his pocket, and produced a black card, the size of a credit card, attached to a chain.  Goom ducked, staying out of view, and scanned the card with the tracking device as he walked along next to the scientist.  He turned around and gave Rad a thumbs up as he fell back.

Ma'at kept moving, knowing as well as the scientist did where he was going.  She soon arrived at the data station, and quickly deleted the records of suspicious activity before the scientist would even see them.  He would be none the wiser.

Her mission accomplished, she detached herself from the man's brain stem and slithered back to Rad, who gratefully picked her up and allowed herself to be reinfested.

"We got what we came for," Goom whispered to the others.  "Let's get out of here."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Aquilai on June 29, 2012, 07:05:22 AM
Not a spoiler or review just a "Hey-DN!-We're-still-reading-and-waiting-in-excitement!" reminder to fuel the typing fingers ^^

Two completely inconsequential thoughts came to mind...

1) Rad just installed a worm! :P

II) Goom:
(http://www.devinrose.heroicvirtuecreations.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ackb1.gif)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on June 29, 2012, 04:09:05 PM
Glad to come home and have two new chapters waiting for me. Great work as always.
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on June 29, 2012, 04:38:33 PM
Love this story. Keep up the great work.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on June 29, 2012, 10:16:04 PM

1) Rad just installed a worm! :P  +1

II) Goom:
(http://www.devinrose.heroicvirtuecreations.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ackb1.gif) :rofl: +1


Those were priceless!



Great job Dino! This story is awesome. I love the Realm walker bypass idea.

Also, it'd be sick if I could actually hang out with the Yankee Squad!!!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 04, 2012, 12:33:29 PM
Gah, it seems I lied about this week being better than last.  It seems my muse's creative energy is fueled by being too busy to write.  Whenever I have free time, my inspiration leaves.  :P

Chapter Twenty-seven

It all still felt so unreal to Goose, even as he layered his shirts one by one into his suitcase.  In his pocket was a plane ticket, and on the floor in front of him was his passport.  Late the previous night, Goom had managed to forge a few emails to make it look like the police were ordering the eight passports at top priority.  So the eight outerworlders had each been able to get their passports overnight, when it should have taken weeks.

The airline ticket, also forged, was for a flight later that day.  They did not have the time to waste.  But it felt like it was all happening too fast.  Impossible to really think about what it was they were doing.

Still up on Goose's computer, was the article he had been looking at, about the facility that the RAFian outerworlders were ultimately planning to break into.  Goom had said that he and a few other RAFians had already taken care of security concerns.  He hadn't gone into much detail, except to note that time was of the essence, if they wanted the information that they had to still be current when they got there.

It turned out, according to the article Goose had found, that the place itself was in Geneva, only a mile or two from where CERN was.  Almost an extension of CERN, it seemed.

Goose got up and went to the computer, clicking 'print' on the article he had been looking at.  He was running out of time to read it, and so he would just have to read it on the plane on the way there.  While he was at the computer, he brought up the wikipedia article on CERN and printed it too.  Why not?

Goose glanced at the clock, realizing that he needed to get to the airport soon.  It still didn't seem like he could really be going to another country in just a few hours.  He shoved the last few things into his suitcase, and hastily zipped it up.  He quickly ran through his mental checklist, making sure he had remembered everything.  Clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, his passport, ticket . . .

He got into the car and drove to the airport, still fretting, the entire way, about anything he might have forgotten.  It just didn't seem like it could possibly be this easy.  Could he really just pack his things and fly off to another country?

Well, apparently, he could.

Several minutes later, he could see the airport, a sprawling series of blue and grey buildings that seemed out of place against the bright vista of green grass around it.  He drove through the hustle and bustle of traffic towards the parking lot, where he parked his car and walked, stiff-legged, across the asphalt towards the complex.  He stepped inside, and made his way towards the registration area.

Goose's mind was already racing ahead of him, as he absentmindedly checked his bags with the attendant at the desk.  He barely even registered her presence as she talked to him.  He was much more focused on wondering what Switzerland was going to be like, and what they would find once they got there.  He knew, at least, that they spoke French in the region they would be visiting.  Which was lucky, since Tocade and Dameg could both translate.  But other than that, he really hadn't had much time for research.  What kind of foods did they eat there?  What were the local laws and customs?  He had no idea.

A security check later, Goose was sitting in one of those plush grey seats near the gate, fidgeting apprehensively as he waited for the plane to board.  Waiting, with nothing to do at that moment, but far too much to do within a few short hours, was agonizing.  He noticed another kid reading a book, and suddenly remembered the articles he had printed.  He pulled out the article on the facility, and started to read.

Almost as soon as he'd started reading, however, the intercom finally called out Goose's ticket number, and he picked up his two carry-on suitcases and joined in with the throng of people bustling eagerly towards the gateway to the plane.

Goose's ticket was for a seat next to the window, which he liked.  Staring out a window often helped to take his mind off of other concerns, as he would watch the clouds drift lazily past.  And it gave him an excuse to ignore the other people on the plane.  He was normally fairly withdrawn anyway, and at that moment the last thing he wanted to deal with was anybody not from RAF.

Goose shoved his bags into the overhead compartment and sat down, drumming his fingers as he waited for the plane to take off.  A young child, not much older than five or six, sat in the seat next to him, accompanied by her father in the next seat over.  The child babbled in shrill French, grating Goose's nerves.

It seemed to take forever, as the plane slowly taxied to the runway.  But at last the plane began to accelerate, rolling down the runway with a growing rumble as it gained speed.

At last, with a thundering roar, the entire vehicle eased itself upward into the air.  The roar immediately quieted as the plane lifted, and Goose watched with interest as the cars and roads seemed to shrink away to nothing.

It was going to be a long flight, Goose thought with a sigh.  He pulled back out the articles he'd been reading when he was interrupted by having to board the plane.  The article on the facility they were interested in was, unfortunately, very short, and pretty vague.  It mentioned the teleportation research, but there was not much there that Goose didn't already know.  As far as he could tell, the place didn't even have a name.  Or if it did, the name was a secret.

So Goose pulled out the article he'd printed on CERN, and started skimming through the list of CERN's accomplishments, which was a good deal longer than what the much newer unnamed facility had done.  He didn't really expect to find anything useful.  But it was worth a look, since he'd printed out the article anyhow.

Suddenly, he did a double-take, re-reading the words his eyes had just skimmed over.  Wait, had he read that right?

Goose gasped, stunned at what he was reading.  The CERN laboratory was, it turned out, precisely where the very idea of the 'world-wide web' had first been conceptualized, back in 1989.

So CERN had been the place where the internet itself was born.  And, just adjacent to its birthplace, was where the next great leap in internet technology would be taken.  Transforming the internet into a real, physical place.

That could not be coincidence, Goose thought.

But, what then?  Did the scientists at the other facility simply use their proximity to copy CERN's secrets?

Or was there something else, some hidden secret that both places could use to develop technology surpassing what the rest of the world at the time could ever know?

Goose laughed quietly, realizing that what he was thinking of sounded a lot like a conspiracy theory.  Yeah, right, aliens did it.  Of course.  What else?

Well, that wasn't actually all that much stranger than anything that was already happening.  People were getting pulled into the internet.  It didn't really get much crazier than that.

Goose sighed, realizing that there was really only one way to find out for sure whether or not any of his suspicions were true.  And that was to wait until the plane arrived in Switzerland, and then to find out firsthand.  He looked at his watch, and sighed again.  It had only been a half an hour, and this would be an eight hour flight.

It would be a very long flight.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on July 04, 2012, 03:12:42 PM
Ooo... I wonder what the in-flight movie is. :D

Good chapter Dino. Now I'm really psyched to see what's going on here.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 04, 2012, 05:28:59 PM
I'd say Peter Jackson's King Kong.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 07, 2012, 09:09:11 PM
Oops.  I had to go and ret-con a few chapters just now, because I had totally forgotten that I'd made Ash an outerworlder.  :facepalm:

. . . I mean, I was testing you guys.  Er, yeah, that's it.  To see if any of you would notice that I'd mis-counted the outerworlders.  You all fail.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Goose was the first RAFian to arrive in the airport in Geneva.  He looked around nervously as he waited for his suitcases to crawl up the conveyor belt that would bring them up from the plane.

He knew generally what the other RAFians looked like, but he had never actually met any of them.  There was a difference between seeing a picture of someone, and meeting them in person.

Goose's suitcases finally appeared on the conveyor, and he hastily grabbed them and headed for the area where the other gates would disembark.  There was a long row of suitcase conveyors and carousels leading from various planes, and he wasn't really sure which one the other RAFians would be coming from.

Then he spotted someone who looked a bit like Steph, but it was hard to be sure from the angle and the distance.  He felt awkward staring at her, as he tried to figure out whether or not the lady was a stranger or a friend.  But, fortunately, she soon caught his glance and seemed to recognize him, too.

"Goose?" she asked as she approached him.  "Goose!  It is you!"  She extended her arms for a hug, which he returned.

He sighed with relief, happy to know that he hadn't been staring holes in a total stranger after all.  "Yeah, it's me," he answered.  "Have you seen any of the others yet?"

"No, I just got here.  But they should all be getting here pretty soon."

After Steph's bags arrived, the two of them wandered up and down the gates for a while, waiting for the next RAFian to arrive.  They chatted about nothing in particular.  Avoiding the obvious subjects, like what it was they were doing, and where to go from here.  Instead talking about jobs and family and friends.  Stupid stuff.  But it was nice to get their minds off of the more pressing matter of the impossible mission ahead.  At least for a while.

Gaz joined them next, then Cody, then Myitt.  They each exchanged hugs, and the others quickly brought one another up to speed on the current conversation, as each new RAFian was added to the group.  Gaz, Myitt, and Steph had all previously met one another, yet somehow Goose and Cody didn't feel like outsiders.  They were all RAFians, and that was the only thing that seemed to matter.

It took them a while longer to find Nate and Ash, since they were both in slightly different areas of the airport, having flown in from Australia and Dubai, respectively, rather than the US or Canada.  Fortunately the Geneva airport was fairly small, so it didn't take long to get it sorted out.

The tension of meeting new people was loosening with each encounter, as the RAFians continued to chatter amongst themselves.  It was an odd phenomenon, Goose noted.  Although he had never officially met any of these people, it was hard not to feel like they had been friends all their lives.  They already knew each other's deepest secrets, after all.

Richard was the only one still missing from the group.  "I bet Goom planned it that way," Steph commented in a stage whisper.  "More dramatic to have the 'father of RAF' show up last."

"I almost feel like there should be dimming lights and dramatic music right when he shows up," Nate joked.  He sang a few exaggerated notes to illustrate his point.

"Hey, do you think we could ask the airport to do something like that?" Myitt wondered.  "Doesn't seem like it should be too hard to arrange."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure," Steph said, nodding seriously.  "They probably get requests like that all the time.  All the prime ministers and presidents that come through here.  Important people like that, would naturally get their own musical scores when they arrive.  That's just common sense."

"And, presenting, the Prime Minister of RAF!" Cody said with a flourish.  Of course, he was only saying it in jest.  He had not expected Richard to show up right at that very moment.

"Uh, what's all this about musical scores?" a Caribbean-accented voice asked from behind the group of RAFians, and Goose turned to see a man standing there with a raised eyebrow.  "Are you guys planning a song for me?"

"Richard!" Gaz said excitedly, looking him up and down.  "Oh, wow, it's really you!"  The other RAFians gasped and chattered their own excited commentary.  It was hard to believe that they were actually meeting the founder of the site.  The one who had started it all.  Richard.

"No, no, no no no," Steph said, shaking her head disappointedly at him.  "Get back on the plane, and then come out again.  We gotta do this right.  You were not nearly dramatic enough."  Goose looked at her, almost surprised that she would have the audacity to speak in such a casual way to their founder.

"Sorry.  But I am not getting back on that plane," Richard said, making an annoyed face.  That too, seemed odd, Goose thought.  The way that Richard had always possessed some mysterious air of someone larger than life.  Yet here he was, just being a person like the rest of them.  "I was already delayed long enough as it is.  Hey, speaking of which, I'm starving.  Anybody know a good place around here to eat?"

Outside, the sky was already beginning to darken into evening.  To Goose it still only felt like mid-afternoon.  Jet lag, Goose reminded himself.  Nevertheless, all the RAFians were getting hungry.  It had been a long flight for most of them, and although in-flight food was provided, they had been meager meals.

The eight of them wandered up and down the airport, looking for a place to eat.  The restaurants seemed to be scattered at random across the airport, but the RAFians quickly decided on a cozy-looking alpine-themed place with cushy red lounge chairs, not far from where they had arrived from the gates.

"Good choice," Gaz commented as she settled comfortably into one of the chairs.  She then grumbled as she realized she had to get up again to order.

The RAFians each ordered, and sat back down with their food.  There were enough chairs for all of them, and they comfortably reclined as they ate.  The restaurant felt more like a lounge than anything.  A place to relax.

But, with Richard there, the casual atmosphere that the RAFians had shared earlier, had died off somewhat.  It seemed wrong somehow, to just shoot the breeze and talk about nothing, while he was sitting there.  When they all knew the real reasons why they were there.  It was a guilty feeling, almost.  Like talking about video games in front of your parents, when they knew your homework wasn't done.

Richard seemed uncomfortable, like he wanted to talk about other things, too.  But he also knew that he needed to get down to business.  Like it or not, the other RAFians looked up to him as their leader, so he had to act like one.

"So, Steph," he said, cautiously breaking the silence.  "Have there been any updates?  Any new word from Goom?"

"Oh, right, I was going to let him know we were all here," she said between bites of her sandwich.  She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen.  "Okay, now he knows we're here," she said after a minute of typing.  "Oh, hey, good news.  He says he's been able to get some blueprints for the facility, and he'll go over them with us later tonight after we get to the hotel.  He doesn't know where the others are being held, but at least knowing what the place looks like, should be helpful."

"Good," Richard said approvingly.  "Everybody eat up.  We'll need the energy.  Because tomorrow's going to be a big day."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 07, 2012, 11:11:43 PM
Internet life, or adventures with real RAFians? Difficult decision.
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on July 08, 2012, 12:20:07 PM
Good chapter!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: warren_bearclaw on July 08, 2012, 01:20:21 PM
Quote
Terenia went on.  "Donut, as the only member with real military experience, should probably help to direct these drills.  Now-"

Bear raised his paw.

"The only member who can speak," Terenia winced.  "Sorry, Bear."

:awesome:

I'm really diggin' this. Keep it up, Dino!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 10, 2012, 12:36:58 PM
Chapter Twenty-nine

Terenia flexed her fingers, staring down at her hands.  Words could not describe her elation, and relief, to have her old human body back.  She looked around at RAF with her own eyes.  Smiling her own smile.

Once the RAFians had figured out how to leave RAF without changing form, a process that several RAFians had now termed 'glitching, it was simple enough to then reverse the process.  To take forms from other websites on RAF.  Terenia had simply 'surfed to Facebook, and then 'glitched back to RAF.

And now, in addition to Cloaky's realm-walk 'glitch, Rad had been able to set up a working Stargate within one of RAF's roleplay threads.  Not all other websites had their own traversable Stargates, of course, but they'd been able to find places to put them in at least a fair number of sites.  Facebook now had one, thanks to one of its apps, as did Youtube, and DeviantArt.  RAFians could now travel to any of those sites whenever they wanted, without losing their forms.

As she walked along, Terenia instinctively ducked, as an Andalite fighter and Bug fighter roared past overhead.  They were flying low, only a few tens of meters above the ground.  Shockingly close to the ground, for spacecraft.

It had been a while since several RAFians had begun to discover the hangar in the armory.  And, more importantly, discovered the fact that that was where a lot of the vehicles associated with various RAFians and their RAFsonas were kept.

There were fighters, skimmers, Russell's Blade ship, Shorty's old Halberd, Yarin's Nyac ship, and some of Rukh's ships of his own design.  And then there was Ossanlin's Dome ship, the Tyrennian, which by itself was a staggering sight to behold.

In fact, part of the reason it had taken this long to find any of these ships, was simply because the armory's hangar had been such an absurdly vast space.  Which of course it needed to be, to accommodate something as huge as a Dome ship.  But that had also meant that, upon first glance, the vast steel plain of the hangar had looked completely empty.  It wasn't until you walked a good distance inside, and then craned your neck upward, that you could actually see any of the spacecraft.

The pilots of the two fighters above her had clearly been practicing, Terenia noted, as she watched them maneuver around the buildings of the forum.  They weren't flawless, of course.  Their ships wobbled back and forth as they tried to steer in three dimensions, and on the turns the ships seemed almost to 'skid' erratically sideways through the air.  But they seemed to be doing a lot better than almost anybody had done before this point.

When the first of the ships had been discovered, it had quickly become painfully obvious that most RAFians had no idea how to fly one.  There had been crashes.  And a few RAFians had even been pretty badly wounded.

But fortunately, they had discovered, RAF had some of the best healing facilities around.  There weren't many injuries that a Tok'ra, a half-phoenix, a sonic screwdriver, some magic and a blue box couldn't heal.  Even the damage to the ships had been easy enough to repair, using the wide array of tools in the armory.

Activity on the site had been steadily increasing over the past few days.  For one thing, more and more users had been finding out that, contrary to what everyone had initially thought, none of the innerworlders actually needed to sleep.  They still got tired at night according to their circadian rhythm, of course, but the desire for sleep seemed to be nothing more than an artifact of the human mind.

Some users had been awake now for more than one night, with seemingly no ill effects at all.  It was a freeing revelation to some, as they now had seemingly boundless time on their hands.  As much time as they could possibly want, to explore or to train or just to play.  Of course, Terenia wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  Some RAFians could do with a little less free time.

But it was hard to feel depressed anymore, Terenia thought, as she watched the two fighters wheel overhead, circling one another in a stomach-turningly erratic, almost reckless, aerial display.  Surely, it seemed, whatever the internet could dish out, the RAFians could take it, and dish it right back.  Even the monster in RAF's dark dungeon seemed almost a manageable threat.

And training had been steadily improving, as more and more RAFians began to fully unlock their skills in combat.  The general morale had been increasing, too, as the RAFians each watched their fellows improve.

And, best of all, at least one of the major worries on everyone's mind, the missing RAFians, was being dealt with at that very moment.  It seemed like it would be only a matter of time before the outerworlders in Switzerland would return with their missing friends.

For that matter, hey, while the outerworlders were there, perhaps they could find a way to just fix everything.  All of it.  Switzerland was where this had all started, after all.  Why couldn't they reverse everything that had happened?  Reverse, well, whatever process it was, that had taken them into the internet in the first place?  Bring life back to normal?

Yet . . . as Terenia thought some more about that particular possibility, she realized something that gave her a rather unsettling shock.  And that was that she didn't quite want it all to end.  This bizarre adventure, she had thought it had been a nightmare, at first.  But suddenly she wasn't so certain.

A normal life, with normal worries.  Free of terrible dangers and impossible horrors.  Back with her friends, and her family.  Back in the real world.  A world where she could feel safe and secure, without having to worry about the next catastrophe looming on the horizon.  She should want all of that.

But, she didn't.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 10, 2012, 06:51:07 PM
Chapter Thirty

The Swiss facility didn't look like much, Gaz thought, as the eight of them got off the bus that had taken them there that morning.  Other than a particularly tall and imposing fence around the property, it could have been any other office complex.  But there were a number of different buildings within confines of the fence, forming a blocky maze of drab grey.  In some ways, it looked almost a bit like a military base.

The eight RAFians walked cautiously up to the gate that blocked the road into the facility.  This was it.  No turning back now.  Goose gulped as he looked up nervously at the cameras that were staring down at the eight of them.  But Goom had promised that the video feed had been looped.  They should be invisible to those cameras.  They hoped.

Steph stepped forward.  She held up her smartphone up to the little box next to the gate, the place where a key card would normally be swiped.  After a moment, the box beeped, and the indicator light changed from red to green.  "Cool," Steph commented, looking appreciatively at her phone.  "It works."

"What is that?" Goose wondered as they all followed Steph through the unlocked gate.

"It's my phone," Steph replied.  "Goom uploaded some kind of passkey to it, so I can use it to bypass security."

"Neat," Nate commented, as he followed Steph across the asphalt lot towards the complex itself.  "This is so cool.  I feel like a spy."  He held his arms out like blades, as though preparing to karate chop an unseen opponent, and grinned.

"Someone's enjoying themselves," Gaz commented under her breath, talking to herself to try to ease the tension she felt.

They snuck around the building, avoiding the areas where Goom had mentioned that there were cameras.  Just in case something went wrong with the tape loop.  They found the back entrance, and Steph scanned them in with her phone.  The door beeped, and they all slipped inside.

The corridor was poorly lit and somewhat dingy, obviously a back passageway.  Nevertheless, Gaz snuck nervously along the wall, her heart thudding in her chest as she thought about the risk of being caught.  What would they do to intruders in a place like this?  She didn't want to think about that.

At a bend in the corridor, they came across a pair of locker rooms.  One room was for men, and the other was for women.  They split up, and each group quickly located several long white coats in a hamper in each room.  Within minutes, they were all dressed like they belonged there.

"Seriously, you guys, this is just like a plot straight from a movie," Nate commented quietly as he put on his lab coat.  "We're infiltrating the enemy's lab, and so we're dressing like a bunch of scientists?  There is no way this kind of thing ever happens in real life."  But still he was grinning, obviously enjoying the fact that he'd been suddenly cast into a stereotypical movie plot.

"Okay, guys, these outfits will let us pass mostly unnoticed, but if anybody asks for ID then we're screwed," Richard pointed out.  "So don't anybody do anything to attract any more attention than we need to."  The others nodded, and they all set out down the hall into the rest of the complex.

"Shouldn't we split up?" Gaz wondered.  "I mean, none of us knows where-"

"No!" Nate whispered sharply.  "Have you never seen a movie before?  You never split up.  Ever.  That's how people die."

"Well it's a good thing this isn't a movie, then," Gaz shot back.  "We'll be fine."

"To be honest, I think Gaz is probably right," Richard agreed.  "If we split into two groups, that's four people each.  We'll be fine."

"Just make sure we get at least one 'main character' in each group," Ash said.  "Oh, wait.  I guess we're all main characters, aren't we?  So yeah, we'll be okay."

"I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' if I die," Nate maintained.

"Look, Nate, dude, you're going about this all wrong," Cody commented offhandedly.  "The surest way to die is to comment that you think you're going to die.  See, because then it becomes ironic and comedic if you do.  If you'd have just kept quiet, you'da been fine."

"Let's see, the first group can be me, Gaz, Ash, and Goose," Richard said, ignoring the banter and getting straight to the point.  "The other would then be Steph, Nate, Myitt, and Cody.  That alright with everyone?"  The RAFians nodded, Nate sighed, and the two groups went their separate ways.

"Wait," Steph said to the first group as they drew apart.  "What are you guys going to do about locked doors?  Does anybody else get internet on their phone?"

"I do," Ash spoke up.  "Here, send me the whatever-it-is."  Steph pressed a few buttons on her phone's screen, and within moments, Ash's phone told her that she'd received an email.  She quickly opened the attached file and downloaded Goom's program.

Gaz walked along behind Richard, Ash, and Goose as they went back outside the first building.  They had seen from Goom's blueprints, the previous night, that the first building was just laundry and maintenance.  Nothing of importance there.  Once outside, the two groups headed for different buildings, deeper into the complex.

The second group, Steph, Nate, Myitt, and Cody, went around and behind a wall, and disappeared out of sight of the first group.  And, even though it had been her idea in the first place, it still made Gaz a little uneasy, not being able to see the other RAFians.  She assured herself that they'd be fine.  They could handle themselves.

Ash scanned her phone on a keypad to a nearby building, and the door beeped as it allowed them inside.  This hallway was nicer than the first building had been.  Gaz couldn't remember exactly what this building was, but this wing at least was obviously being used for something more important than laundry.

"Don't look like you're sneaking," Ash reminded, as she noticed that Goose kept walking along the walls, like he was trying not to be seen.  "Act like you belong here.  Nothing will make people think we're up to something more than sneaking around."  Goose nodded, and quickly straightened up and walked more confidently.

Up ahead, the hallway branched into several different rooms, like office cubicles or computer labs.  Richard led the way inside, deciding that would be as good a place as any to start.  He remembered Goom telling him to look for anything resembling a hard drive or storage device, but, well, who was to say that the missing RAFians might not be on a computer's memory?  It was worth a look.

They went inside one of the bigger rooms, where they found a bank of computers lined up on a long desk along the wall.  The room was mostly empty except for one lone scientist.  He was thoroughly engrossed in whatever he was doing, and paid the RAFians no mind.

Richard moved the mouse of the nearest computer, warming up the screen, as he sat down in the swivel chair.  Gaz sat down in the next chair over, while Ash and Goose stood behind the chairs, watching Richard's screen.

A login screen came up, and Richard froze, not knowing any usernames or passwords.  But he relaxed slightly when he noticed a slot that looked like it might be for a key card.  He pointed it out to Ash, who responded by waving her phone over the slot.  It worked, and the computer clicked as it logged on to the company server.  Richard breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He scanned for anything that mentioned the names Noelle, Estelore, Aquilai, Marie, or Tony, but it seemed there was nothing about the missing RAFians.  He clicked on one file after another, but still couldn't find anything that mentioned them by name.

After several minutes of searching, however, a familiar word jumped out at him from one of the files.  Out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted the name "RAF."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 10, 2012, 07:03:47 PM
Sweet. Aircraft hanger baby!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 11, 2012, 03:25:42 PM
Chapter Thirty-one

Richard opened the file and started reading, as the other RAFians read over his shoulder.  It didn't read like a scientific report, even though the language was still very technical.  It was more like a journal.  Perhaps even a memoir.  The scientist must have been a writer, Richard supposed.  This must be the writing style he was comfortable with.  Maybe he intended to edit it into an official report later.  Or maybe he just never intended to publish it at all.

It was all in English, which Richard thought seemed a little odd given where they were.  But as he thought about it, it made sense that there would be many different nationalities of scientists working at a place as extensive as CERN, and at least some of them would probably speak English as a first language.

Of course, as he read on, he realized that this particular scientist would have to have been an English speaker, after all.

"The RAF Anomaly"

by Frederick Regis

When we first began testing the teleportation technology, near the beginning of the malfunction that we observed (the malfunction which caused the half-finished teleportation sequence to cascade out of control), we were able to observe an anomaly, which seems to be entirely unique.

Across the majority of any given typical online population, results were scattered, with only certain individuals being affected by the teleport.  We've only been able to detect hints of patterns, certain sites more strongly affected than others.  Without going into detail (seeing as there are already other reports being written by other scientists on the subject of statistical variance of various websites), I will note that the baseline rate of effect is only about two percent.

However, the members of one very particular domain, a site known as "Richard's Animorphs Forum," or "RAF" (pronounced as one syllable, "raf," rather than spelled out like the Royal Air Force) to its inhabitants ("RAFians," as they call themselves), was almost unanimously affected by the malfunction.

I conducted a lengthy study, during which time I posed as their administrator (I was forced to alter my sleep schedule to accommodate the deception that I was living in the United States) and downloaded several affected accounts.

However, my presence was discovered during the course of my investigation, forcing me to abandon the account, so that my research could remain objective.  We have only been able to download one more account since then, and even that was only accomplished with painstaking effort, and with considerable distress to the affected user.  In the interest of causing as little damage to our subjects as possible, we will not be attempting another download until we can fine-tune our methodology.

Obviously, it is very unlikely that any virtual entity would have been able to retain self-awareness during the rendering process within a non-sentient computer matrix.  As such, we do not truly believe our subjects to possess true consciousness.  But some things are not worth that risk, and so we must still treat these virtual entities with at least some amount of care.

It should be noted, that several other sites were studied, by similar methods to that used on RAF, as control groups.  In only one of these control groups was the spy similarly detected.  And even on that site (the "Animorphs Fan Forum," which we chose specifically for its superficial similarity to RAF), the resistance opposed to the spy was almost negligible.  There was no coherent plan to track the downloaded users, and there was no elaborate subterfuge, as what was witnessed on RAF.

On RAF, a user known as Goom detected my presence during a test of another user's webcam invention, and managed to keep his knowledge secret from me, even despite my having easy access to detailed descriptions of any user's actions.  Then, with the help of an artificial intelligence called Ax, Goom constructed an elaborate plot to attach a tracking device to the next user to disappear.

Although I have since lost direct contact with the forum, I am certain that this last development would have necessitated the end of Goom's plan.  The tracking device would not have been able to receive a signal when disconnected from the internet.  There is no way that the RAFians could have made any kind of contact with their missing members.  Our research remains secure.

This intricacy of cooperation, unlike what we saw in any other forums, leads me to a possible hypothesis about the phenomenon that we have been calling the 'RAF anomaly.'  But before discussing any hypotheses, I must note one other very relevant piece of data.  We observed that, perhaps counterintuitively, RAFians were affected regardless of whether or not they were actually on the RAF website at the time that the malfunction struck.  Several RAFians were on Facebook, or Youtube, or other forums, and all these RAFians were still affected unanimously, just as the ones on RAF itself.  In fact, the only ones left unaffected were those that were not online at all, or who were only online via low-memory devices through which the teleport could not work.

It would seem that there is a factor within the character of a RAFian, and not within the site itself, that allows these people to be affected.  This would then also explain how they were able to work together, and empathize with their absent administrator, to such a high degree.

It is not implausible to believe that like-minded individuals may have sought one another out across the internet, and gathered conveniently together within this one site.  Whatever factor allows them to be so strongly affected by the teleport, it must be a personality trait of some kind, that has somehow drawn each of them to the same place.

In the interest of fairness, of course, there is an alternate possible hypothesis.  Other researchers have postulated that their high degree of interconnectedness, thanks to pre-existing similarities in character, may have allowed one user to affect the status of others, resulting in a sort of cascading effect from one to the next.  However, when the presence of RAFians who weren't on RAF at the time is considered, then this hypothesis leads to unsettling implications of psychic phenomena, which I generally prefer to avoid.

More to the point, both of the aforementioned possible hypotheses lead inevitably to the conclusion that a RAFian is somehow different from a typical user on the internet.  Or, at the very least, they must be very strong outliers on the normal bell curve.  And the difference must be some trait of the mind, for that difference to affect them regardless of where they are.  Perhaps they truly are connected in some way that we cannot even fathom.

So, then, the question remains.  What is the missing factor?  Creativity?  Camaraderie?  Compassion?  At this point in time, it remains impossible to say for certain.  More research will be required.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 11, 2012, 03:57:04 PM
The secret is that we're completely off the rocker insane.
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on July 11, 2012, 06:57:28 PM
Love the new chapters. This story is really fun to read.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 12, 2012, 01:05:11 PM
Chapter Thirty-two

Meanwhile, as the first group of RAFians read about the scientist's research, the second group, Steph, Nate, Cody and Myitt, had discovered a basement which they were pretty sure wasn't in the blueprints that Goom had found.  Steph pulled out her phone to talk to him, and he replied that nothing in any of his schematics said anything about a basement.

Which had to mean that they were on the right track.  Right?

The RAFians crept down a darkened corridor, moving cautiously as they wondered what they would encounter.  They couldn't help but feel they really shouldn't be there.  The hallway had the feel of a sinister place.  A place with terrible secrets.  What little light there was, glinted in vertical lines off of some kind of metallic structures that laced either side of the corridor.

Metal bars, Nate realized.  They were steel bars.  Like jail cells.  And within each cell, Nate was pretty sure he could hear breathing.  Most of it was soft, human breathing, but from one cell came a sound distinctly heavier, like some kind of a large animal.

"Hey," Cody whispered to one of the cells.  "Is somebody in there?"

"What do you want?" a hardened voice answered back, angrily, making the RAFians jump.  "Haven't you people already done enough?"

"Whoa, hey, we aren't scientists or anything," Nate said gently, taken aback by the harsh response.  "We're here to help."

"Yeah right," another voice answered, from the other side of the hallway.  "This is another test, isn't it?  You're gauging our reaction to positive stimuli, or some such pseudo-scientific bull.  Well I ain't playing!"

"No, no, this is for real," Steph whispered.  "Keep it down, okay?"  She held up her phone to one of the cells, waiting for it to open, but nothing happened.  She looked closer, and to her dismay she saw a keyhole in the cell door.  She needed a physical key, not a code.  "Where do they keep the keys?"

From the cell where Nate had previously heard animal-like breathing, he now heard heavy footsteps, as whatever was in that cage stepped forward, towards its cell door.  As the creature came into view in the dim light, the RAFians couldn't help but to gasp in horror.

The creature was almost human, yet not.  His face was distorted, almost apelike.  His nose was small, squashed into his face.  His jaws were heavy-set, to accommodate his dagger-like lower canine teeth, which jutted upward alongside his cheekbones.  His shoulders were massive, supporting his thick brutish arms.  The ambient light was dim enough that it was hard to judge color, but Nate could swear that his skin was green.

Yet, despite everything, when he spoke, it was with the well-spoken words of a native English speaker, impeded only by his long teeth.  The dissonance between his appearance and his demeanor was jarring.

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, or anything," the brutish creature said, almost apologetically.  "But why do you want to help us?"

The RAFians took a moment to answer, still in shock at the sudden appearance of such a strange being.  What the heck was he?  What kind of terrible, nightmarish experiments were they doing here?

"Er, we, um, well," Cody stuttered, trying to find words.  "We're here to find our friends.  They were kidnapped.  They're innerworlders.  Would you know where they'd keep people like that?"

"Oh . . . you must be those RAFians," the creature said, a note of awe creeping into his voice.  "Whoa.  You guys came all this way for your friends?"

"Wait, how'd you know we were RAFians?" Nate asked, surprised.

"They said they were downloading some RAFisians or whatever," another voice answered.  Nate flinched slightly at the carelessly butchered pronunciation of 'RAFians.'  "Well, they were downloading users from other sites too.  But apparently these RAFeens, whatever you are, were particularly important.  Something about an anomaly, some weird thing about that RAF site.  That's all I know."

Myitt, meanwhile, tilted her head at the caged creature, obviously thinking.  "You were an innerworlder, too, weren't you?" she wondered.  "They found a way to reverse the teleport.  They got you out of the internet.  But how?"

"I don't know," the creature said, shrugging.  "All I know is, one moment I'm playing World of Warcraft, the next I'm back in reality.  Yet, I'm still an orc.  They never told me how that's possible."  He inclined his head sideways, indicating a cage at the end of the hallway.  "Heh, if you think I'm strange, you ain't seen nothing."

Curious, Nate wandered towards the cage in question.  It was still too dark to see inside, but as he listened, he could hear an odd quality to the sound of whoever was breathing in there.  It almost sounded like they had too many lungs.

"Hey, who's in there?" Nate wondered.  "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"Let me out of here," a female voice pleaded.  But it wasn't one coherent voice.  It sounded like dozens of voices blended together, some of them sounding sad and pathetic, but others seething with impotent rage.  The figure in the cage moved, and Nate could see some blurring around the edges of the shape, like a shadow cast by dozens of different light sources.

"Whoa," Nate commented as he instinctively backed away.  "It's like, I don't know, like she's a broken image.  Dozens of different people layered over one another.  What are you?" he asked the figure.

"She's a construct," Steph said grimly, as she suddenly understood what this meant.  "Goom described Pootang to me, and that's exactly what he looked like.  An interlayered mixture of images.  See, she's a user-created program, basically.  A fictional character."

"So, if these scientists can bring these programs, these constructs, into the real world . . . " Myitt said slowly, not really wanting to put the pieces together.

"Exactly," Steph said, clearly not happy about the fact.  "We've got way bigger problems than just saving our friends."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 12, 2012, 01:15:52 PM
Chapter Thirty-three

The orc pointed the way to where the keys were kept, and the RAFians quickly released the prisoners.  There were five prisoners in total, three humans, the orc, and the construct.

But they all agreed that they would leave the broken program in her cage.  Nobody knew what she would do if they released her.  And nobody really felt any qualms about leaving someone's fictional character behind.

The other four led the way, knowing their way around the complex much better than the RAFians did.  As they entered well-lit areas of the facility, they began to look more and more nervous, particularly the orc.

"Er, I've got an idea," one of the humans, a dark-haired boy who was dressed in a flowing black robe, commented.  "Be right back."  He quickly ran back the way they had come, disappearing around a bend in the hallway.

After a few moments, he returned, carrying four rings about the size and shape of dog collars.  Each collar was angular and metallic, covered in wires, and had two blunt prongs sticking out of the inside of the rim.  One of the collars, obviously meant for the orc, was much larger and more sturdily built than the others.

"If you're serious about getting us out of here, put these on us," the boy said to the RAFians.  "They're, well, the scientists use them to keep us under control when they're running tests.  You can say that you're just taking us out for testing.  They aren't going to let us get by, otherwise."

"How can they do stuff like this to people?" Cody demanded, shocked and angry.  "Abduct you like this?  Hold you captive?  There's no way anybody can be that heartless."

The freed prisoners stayed silent, and one shuddered, as if at a bad memory.  Finally, the orc spoke up.  "They don't seem to really believe that we're sentient," he said sadly.  "They think that, because we were stored in a computer's database, our intelligence must have had to be compressed somehow.  They still think we can act smart, you know, act human, but they're convinced that it's only how we're, uh, programmed.  And, well, they seem to believe that they've been trying to find a way to decompress the information.  That's part of what the tests are for."

Myitt frowned, but nodded.  "It makes some sense.  Actually, how can something stored in a computer be sentient?  Computers aren't sentient, right?  So how could something that isn't self-aware, even store enough information to make self-awareness possible?"

The orc shrugged.  "I don't know.  You believe that we are, though, don't you?" he asked cautiously.  "You seem to think we aren't just artificial intelligences."

"I think we're pretty sure," Steph said, nodding.  "Most of our friends are innerworlders.  I think we'd know if they had been reduced to mindless programs."

"Innerworlders," one of the humans said, trying out the term.  "I like that word.  It's a good description."

Nate sighed, grabbed one of the collars, and began fastening it on one of the freed prisoners.  The other RAFians each took one of the other three and did the same.  "Let's hope that these don't get activated somehow," Cody muttered as he reluctantly strapped the thick collar around the orc's neck.

"Oh, hey, we've been rude, haven't we?" Nate suddenly said.  "We haven't been introduced.  I'm Nate."

"Myitt, er, Tara," Myitt said.  "Whichever you prefer."

"Steph," Steph said.

"Broken or Cody," Cody said.  "Take your pick."

"Call me Bloodbane," the orc said with a half-smile.  "I prefer to use my Warcraft username, these days.  Seems to fit better than 'Ralph' does."  Myitt was nodding, understanding the sentiment.  Steph tried to hide an amused smile at the thought of an orc named Ralph.

"Shade," one of the humans, the boy in the dark robe, said.  He had been the one who had found the collars.  "Call me Shade."

"Becky," a young and cheery blonde girl, and the only one in the group wearing modern-styled clothes, said.  She was the one who had said she liked the word innerworlder.  "I'm weird, I go by my real name."

"Kyris," the last one, a tomboyish and withdrawn brown-haired girl said.  She wore a medieval-styled leather vest fitted with brass rivets and seams.  She flicked a strand of hair from her face, seeming somehow bored.

"Nice to meet you all now can we please get moving?" Shade wondered.  "Even with the collars, they might realize that we're not supposed to be out and about.  Especially once they talk to that program we left behind."

"Good point," Bloodbane said.  "Come on, this way to the transference room.  Your friends might be there."

They followed the freed prisoners, while at the same time trying to look like they knew where they were going and were leading the way.  Couldn't make it look like the prisoners were calling the shots, after all.

"What else do you guys know about RAF?" Steph wondered, talking to fill the void while they walked, but also curious about what this lab wanted with the RAFians in the first place.

"Just what we've overheard," Shade said.  "Which isn't much."

"What about that first test of the teleport reversal?" Becky said.  "That had to do with RAF, didn't it?"

She turned towards the RAFians, and explained, "See, the scientists tried to bring an object from RAF the first time they tested the teleport reversal process that later brought the four of us out of the internet.  They didn't want to bring a user from RAF, or even a program or construct or whatever you call it, because they feared some kind of reversal of some cascading effect.  Er, something to do with that anomaly Shade mentioned.  I don't know much about that.  But I do know that that first test was supposedly a failure.  Supposedly."

She paused in the middle of her story as a group of scientists passed them in the hallway.  But the three scientists did nothing more than glance at the prisoners to check that they were wearing the collars.  Satisfied, they continued along their way.

"The funny thing was, though, all the data apparently indicated that something came through," Becky continued in a whisper, after the scientists were past.  She held up a finger, pointing at the RAFians for emphasis, as she went on.  "Nobody knows what it was, since the instruments weren't that finely tuned yet.  They knew it wasn't sentient or alive, because the coding was static, but they didn't have much idea what, exactly, it looked like.  Of course, they looked for anything that didn't belong in the lab.  But they never found any such thing."

"Good ghost story," Steph commented.  She pantomimed holding up a flashlight.  "And then, when they finally found it, it was a severed hand.  OooOOOoo."

"Fine, don't take it seriously," Kyris said derisively.  "Doesn't matter to me if you guys believe it or not."

"Never said I didn't believe you," Steph defended herself.

"Don't mind her.  She just likes to be sarcastic," Myitt explained.

"Nooo," Steph said sarcastically.  "Me?  Sarcastic?  Never!"

Eventually, the eight of them arrived at an open space, an octagonal room about two stories high and almost as wide, with doors in four of the sides, including the one they had just come through.  Other than a few sensors and readout displays, and some scaffolding and a few suspended tarps that gave the impression that the area was still a work in progress, the room was mostly empty.  Except for one thing.

At the center of the room was an ornate contraption built of dark silver buttresses and scafolds, with wires connecting the separated layers of metal.  It was about twice the height of a person, with wires dangling from it on all sides.  In front of the structure, was a long tube, like a telescope, but with the narrow end pointing outward from the center.

But what was really noticeable, was the object at the center of all that metal.  It was clearly visible in the gaps and voids in the structure, and its simplicity stood starkly out of place amidst the complexity of the machine that surrounded it.  Like a six-foot egg, nestled within a grid-matrix bed of metal straw.

It was perfectly smooth.  Spherical.  Off-white.

"No way," Myitt commented.  "That cannot be what I think it is."

It took the other RAFians a few more seconds for it to click, and they each gasped in sudden recognition.  An off-white sphere . . . but how was that possible?

"The Time Matrix," Myitt whispered reverently.  "But, I thought you guys said they never found the thing they brought from RAF?"

Becky looked confused.  "They didn't.  And that thing can't be from RAF.  That's the thing they've been using to reverse the teleport."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 12, 2012, 03:10:41 PM
They probably used a stargate to get it...Those Swedish are crafty.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 13, 2012, 10:54:44 PM
Chapter Thirty-four

"Hmm, no," Myitt said after a moment of thought.  Then she snapped her fingers and pointed at Becky.  "No, this makes sense!  I mean, think about it.  It's the Time Matrix.  Why couldn't it have come through, during that false positive, went back in time somehow, and ended up being found and then used to power the whole process?  Becky, do you remember anyone talking about where, or when, that white sphere was found?"

"I think I overheard somebody talking about it, a while back," Becky said, furrowing her brow in thought.  "They said they found it in Egypt someplace.  They brought it here in 1988, I think."

"That's only a year before Goose said that they invented the internet at CERN," Steph commented.  "So, then, they used it to bring itself into reality?  Paradoxes.  Oy."

"If it's the Time Matrix, it's only natural that it would try to materialize in Egypt, and in the past," Myitt thought out loud.  "That's where it was, until the Skrit Na found it, in the series.  So it appeared where and when it had first been hidden.  Interesting.  You know, maybe it actually did that to avoid a paradox.  So that it wouldn't exist in two places at the same time.  Two Time Matrixes.  That probably would have ripped a hole in the universe or something.  I wonder-"

Suddenly, the RAFians heard a loud noise that made them all jump.  Red lights began to flash all around them, accompanied by the blaring 'whoOOP whoOOP' of an alarm.

"They must have talked to the program!" Bloodbane shouted over the noise.  "We've been made!"

"But why trigger such a loud alarm?" Cody wondered out loud as he started to nervously edge towards the exit.  "If you've got intruders, the last thing you want to do is let them know you know about them!"

"Maybe there's somebody else on our side!" Steph yelled back as she quickly followed Cody's lead.  "Maybe they were trying to warn us!"

Bloodbane, meanwhile, wasted no time.  As soon as he'd heard the alarm, he aimed his fist at his own neck.  He braced himself, and then he slammed his knuckles down with a staggering impact on his collar.  He grunted from the pain and gasped for breath, while the collar crackled with static.  The collar was bent inward on itself, its battery crumpled.  Slowly the indicator lights drained away, as the power faded.

And it was just in the nick of time, too.  The other three collars hissed fiercely, as their tazing static charge swiftly and efficiently knocked the other freed prisoners unconscious.  The three of them crumpled to the ground.  Bloodbane picked them up, slinging the three of them easily over his wide shoulders.

There was a flurry of footsteps, as the scientists rushed towards the room, blocking the RAFians' escape.  From four different entrances, people in white coats appeared in the doorway, but most of them stopped at the threshold to the chamber.  Only the most zealous among them went rushing inside.  A few of them were holding what looked like remote controls, and it was these scientists who seemed the most alarmed to see Bloodbane still conscious.

Bloodbane roared, and charged towards them, fists out at his sides.  His display was more about bark than bite, though, as he was out of breath and dizzy from the self-inflicted blow that he could still feel, pounding forcefully against his throat.  The crumpled collar was pressed against his windpipe, forcing him to gasp for air as he ran.

Of course, the scientists didn't know that.  Those who had rushed into the chamber now just as quickly scampered out of the orc's way, jostling past the RAFians as they went.

But one of the scientists, a particularly burly man, hesitated.  He looked down at the RAFians' coats, focusing his eyes on the spot where all the other scientists had their ID badges.

The RAFians' coats had no such ID.

"I found them!" he called out triumphantly.  He grabbed Myitt by the collar, holding up her coat.  "These are the ones who freed the prisoners!"

Myitt struggled against the man's grip.  But, as soon as he had pointed out the RAFians, and had made sure the other scientists could see who they were, he threw Myitt disdainfully back towards the center of the room, letting her go.  The other three RAFians ran to her to make sure she was okay.

The scientists vacated the room as quickly as they had arrived.  Nate caught a retreating glimpse of Bloodbane, still carrying the three humans draped over his shoulders, just as he disappeared around the corner.  The scientists dodged him as the orc barreled past.

The RAFians were alone in the room.  Before they could even collect their thoughts, the exits suddenly snapped shut, sealing them in.

"Oh, no, this can't be good," Nate moaned, quickly and anxiously glancing back and forth for a way out.  "Guys . . . whenever the bad guys lock the good guys in a room, that's when the nerve gases start."

They listened in silence, but heard nothing.  In fact, the whole room had gone eerily quiet.  The RAFians waited, on edge, for something to happen, their adrenaline still pumping through their veins.

The unsettling pause seemed to stretch on and on.  Still, nothing.  Nate was taking deep, halting breaths of air, as though preparing to hold his breath if need be.  Cody got up and started pounding on one of the doors, looking desperately for a way to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

The waiting was quickly fraying their nerves, the seconds ticking by like hours, as they powerlessly tried to anticipate the enemy's next move.

The RAFians jumped as they suddenly noticed movement behind them.  But before any of them could pinpoint what it was that was moving, there was a bright flash of light that seemed to fill the room.  Before their eyes could clear, there was another blinding flash.  And a third.

Myitt looked around, startled.  Without warning, she was now the only person in the room.  The other RAFians were nowhere in sight.

"Steph?  Nate?  Cody?" Myitt called out, feeling frantic.  Where could they have gone?  They had been right there, mere moments ago!

There was one last bright flash, which seemed to come from everywhere.  This one lasted longer, and was even brighter than the others had been.  She covered her eyes and looked away, but it was as if the light was shining right through her eyelids, through her hands, and nothing she could do would block it out.

Or was it her own body that was glowing?  Was all that light shining from her own skin?

She felt strange, as though she was no longer all there.  Like her body was fading, becoming incorporeal.  And then, after a few more moments, she felt herself breaking apart, into hundreds of tiny fragments of light.

She tried to scream, but at that point, she no longer had a voice.

When her senses finally cleared, she was surrounded on all sides by a blank canvas of white.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 14, 2012, 12:40:16 AM
My brain is already exploding from lack of logic.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 14, 2012, 02:07:06 PM
If you wanted logic, you are reading the wrong story by the entirely wrong author.  :P

Chapter Thirty-five

Richard sat back in his chair, staggered at what he was reading on the computer screen.  But also a little bit proud.

Yes, RAFians were connected in a way that no scientist could fathom.  Richard knew that already, of course.  It was the reason why they were here in Switzerland in the first place.  But it was nice to have somebody else glimpse, what he already so innately understood.

"I wonder if they'll ever figure it out?" Gaz questioned.  She looked around at Goose, Ash, and Richard, their knowing glances saying to one another that they all knew the answer to the big mystery.  "The RAF Anomaly.  I like that."

"Well, I think we've gotten all we can from this computer," Richard said, sighing as he got up from his chair.  "We should probably-"

He was interrupted by a loud 'whoOOP whoOOP' and bright flashing red lights, making all the RAFians jump.

"The other group must've gotten caught!" Ash cried.  "Come on, we have to move!"

The four of them jumped up from the computer, and headed swiftly out into the hall.  Already there was movement in the halls as scientists headed towards the disturbance.  The RAFians filed in with the scientists, moving with the flow.  Wherever they were going, the RAFians figured, was probably where they wanted to be.

The scientists ran outside, and the RAFians followed them into a different building.  The same building that the second group of RAFians had taken to explore, Richard noted.  The hallways in this building were darkened, as though they were keeping something here that they didn't want anyone to see.

Far away, and out of the corner of his eye, Richard thought he saw a creature that looked an awful lot like the Hulk.  At least, it was big and muscular and green.  But, by the time he focused his gaze on the figure, it was gone.  He shook his head, certain he must be seeing things.

They finally emerged into a small control room, where several scientists had already gathered around a viewscreen.  The viewscreen showed a large room.  In the center of the room was a metallic contraption of sorts, and nestled in the center of that structure was an off-white sphere.

They gasped in shock as they spotted the other RAFians in the room on the viewscreen.  Cody was banging on the doors of the room, Nate was breathing heavily like he was about to faint, and Myitt and Steph were both looking around anxiously for a way out.  Myitt was rubbing her neck, like she'd been hurt.

Most of the scientists seemed focused on the knobs and buttons below the viewscreens, as they adjusted the dials, carefully calibrating the equipment.  There was a progress bar on one of the screens, which was labeled 'Percentage power to reality converter.'  It was nearly full.

But one man had heard the RAFians' gasp of shock at the sight of their friends.  Slowly, he turned, to face the RAFians behind him.  The RAFians could almost see the wheels in his head turning, as he looked down at the place on their coats where an ID badge should have been.

"Voici les intrus!" he yelled, pointing accusingly at the RAFians.

The RAFians took off running down the hall.  They ran and ran, not daring to look behind them.  Fortunately, most of the scientists seemed occupied, and the hallways were empty.  For a while, at least.  But this was a big building, and they saw no sign of the way they had come.

The RAFians skidded nearly to a halt as they suddenly saw three scientists in the hallway in front of them, blocking their way forward.  The RAFians swiftly turned, their momentum carrying them forward, and continued to run down a side corridor.

As they continued to run for their lives, hunting for a way out, their path was blocked again and again, by scientists lying in wait to snatch the RAFians.  They always managed to dodge them, but every time, the RAFians were forced to follow a new path.

Each time this happened, one path would remain suspiciously clear.  If the scientists were trying to surround the RAFians, they were doing an incredibly poor job of it.

Richard dubiously chalked it up to good luck at first, but as they ran it became harder and harder to ignore the fact that they were being shepherded along a very specific route.

The others noticed it too.  Their strides became more and more uncertain, as they could all feel the fact that they were going exactly where the scientists wanted them to.

But, what else could they do?  They knew they weren't strong enough to overpower the people forming the blockades.  And there were no other openings in the hallways, no hidden side routes that they could take.  So they just kept running.

Suddenly they emerged into an open space.  It was the same room they had seen on the monitor.

"NO!" Gaz yelled, trying to turn back.  But she had been moving too fast, and before she could stop herself she rushed headlong into the room with far too much momentum.  She tripped sideways as she suddenly tried to turn.  Ash and Goose, inches behind her, plowed into her as she tripped, and they fell on top of her, adding their momentum to hers.  The three of them skidded almost to the center of the room, where they knew they would be too late to reach the now rapidly closing door.

Strong hands grabbed Richard by the collar, an instant before he could have similarly plowed into the others, and pulled him from the room.  He found himself in the adjacent hallway as the doors snapped shut.

"I mean you no harm," a deep voice quickly assured him.  "I want to help you.  And to atone for what I've done to you.  My name is Frederick Regis."

"You!" Richard sharply accused.  "You're the one who hacked my account!  You're the one who kidnapped my friends.  Let me go!"

"As I said, I mean you no harm," Frederick apologized.  "I only want to make it right.  I've seen your world, through your eyes, and I've finally come to realize that I was wrong about you.  All of you.  The RAFians.  We were all wrong about you, but the others haven't seen that yet."

"What are you talking about?" Richard asked, bewildered.

"I don't really have time to explain," Frederick whispered hastily.  "Take this."  He handed Richard an identification badge like the ones the other scientists wore, complete with a picture of Richard on it.  "Go.  Save your friends.  Your friends are the secret to one of the most powerful forces the world has ever known.  We tried to harness that force, without understanding it.  We underestimated you.  Because we didn't know.  We didn't know that the secret was you."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 16, 2012, 01:13:26 PM
Chapter Thirty-six

"Myitt!" Steph called out, relieved.  She, Cody, and Nate approached one another, walking towards Myitt across the featureless plain of white.  "There you are.  Okay, then, that's all of us."

"Whoa," Myitt commented.  She was staring at something behind the others.  They all turned to look, and then they gasped too.

Galloping to a stop close to the four of them, was a female Andalite.  An actual Andalite.  An alien being, just like they were described in the books.  Except living and breathing.

They knew what was going on, of course.  Somehow, although they weren't sure how, they were seeing an innerworlder RAFian for the first time.  But even knowing what she was, did very little to lessen the shock at the sight of a creature that they had only read about.

<Hey,> Noelle said casually, sounding almost bored.  But then she tilted her head curiously.  <Huh.  They've never taken four people at once before.  That's . . . odd.  Hey Aquilai!> she called out, as a man in a suit coat and blue tie approached the scene.  <What do you make of it?>

"Whoa," Myitt commented to herself.  "So that's what thought-speak sounds like.  Cool!"

"Tara!" a familiar voice greeted, and Myitt smiled in recognition as she looked around for Marie.  But, she didn't see anyone in the direction the voice had come from.

"Ahem, down here," Marie said gently, and Myitt looked down to see a fox.  A talking fox.  And, once again, the shock of it was lessened only slightly by the fact that she already knew what was going on.  This was still a talking fox.

Marie grinned at Myitt's confusion.  An oddly human expression, on such a canine face.  "Hey there, welcome to RAF!  Well, technically not RAF, but you know what I mean."

"Hey, wait, aren't you . . . ?" Aquilai wondered, pointing a confused finger in Steph's direction.  "I recognize you.  You're Steph.  But, you're an outerworlder!  How did you get here?"

Steph shrugged.  "No idea.  There was a room, with a big fancy Time Matrix contraption, and a big flash of light, and poof here we are!"

"What was that about the Time Matrix?" Aquilai pressed.

Steph quickly explained what they knew.  Aquilai nodded as Steph spoke, as though he actually understood any of it.

"Well, actually, it kind of makes sense that they might use the Time Matrix to create this new reality that we seem to have found ourselves in," he pointed out.  "Keep in mind, that was one of its purposes.  Well, maybe not its intended purpose, but we all know that it can be used to create alternate universes."

Aquilai gasped, as something else occurred to him.  "To think!  All this time, the internet must have actually been its own universe.  All this time!  It's just that, until now, we had only been able to see just the very surface of it.  We've only been looking at the reflections of an inner world that's already been here for decades!"

"That would explain the link between CERN, the Time Matrix, and the teleport," Myitt agreed.  "CERN found the Time Matrix in 1988.  Just a year before they invented the internet.  Then, this other group, the teleport researchers, must have gotten more ambitious once they found out what the internet really was."

"That's all very nice, but what exactly does it all mean?" Cody demanded impatiently.  "What happened to us?  One minute we're in Switzerland, and the next we're here?"  He looked around at the featureless whiteness.  "Where is 'here,' anyway?"

"Oh, man, so you guys were in Switzerland?" Tony groaned in dismay as he walked up to the rest of the group.  He threw up his hands in exasperation.  "Our rescue party.  You were our rescue party.  Well, it's official, we're screwed."

As if to confirm Tony's pronouncement, three more people suddenly poofed into existence.  "Hey, that's Goose!" Tony exclaimed, waving to his shorm.  "It's good to see you!"

"Where are we?" Goose asked, bewildered.

The three new arrivals looked around.  Just like the first group, their eyes widened as they saw Noelle.  She held up her hands, a gesture of peace.  <Calm down, it's me.  It's Noelle.>

"An Andalite?" Ash wondered nervously.  "What's going on?  Who are you people?"

"What, don't you recognize RAFians when you see them?" Tony asked.  "Who else do you think an Andalite, a talking fox, a star and a Time Lord would be?"

"To be fair, of course," Estelore pointed out, gesturing to themselves and Aquilai.  "We look about as human as anybody."

"Wait a minute," Gaz wondered out loud.  "What happened to Richard?"

"Yeah, he was with us when we poofed, wasn't he?  Or whatever it was that happened," Ash agreed.  "Why isn't he here yet?"

"Maybe he got away," Gaz said hopefully.

"Come on, Richard, we're all counting on you, man," Cody said as he looked up into the sky.  There was no answer, of course.

But, perhaps that was fortunate.  An answer would have meant that Richard had failed.

The RAFians, innerworlders and former outerworlders, simply stood there for a few minutes in awkward silence.  The former outers trying to take in the shock of it all.  It was one thing to talk about and read about a world inside the internet, a world where Andalites and talking foxes and sentient stars and Time Lords were real living breathing people.  But it was an entirely different matter to actually meet those people.

Ash was looking back and forth between Estelore's human form, and the bright patch in the sky that she guessed was their star.  Wanting to ask questions about how that could work, but not quite knowing what questions to ask.

Myitt was cautiously lowering her hand towards Marie, wanting to touch her, but not quite sure if that would be an acceptable thing to do.  Marie nodded, and Myitt began to pet the fox's head, still feeling utterly incredulous.

Gaz was trying not to stare at Noelle's stalk eyes as she wondered what it would be like to try to process so much visual information all at once.  What must it be like, to see in all directions?

Nate was looking at Goose, wondering why he was still human.  They were supposed to turn into their RAFselves, right?  So why wasn't Goose a goose?  But, after thinking about it some more, he decided that it must be because none of them had actually set foot on RAF yet.

"So, what's there to do here?" Gaz wondered out loud, looking away from Noelle as the Andalite began to shift uncomfortably.  "Does this place just go on and on forever?"

"Well, yes and no," Estelore noted, showing a vague smile in response to Ash's curious glances.  "We've been able to find no boundary to this place, other than the floor."  They pointed up, towards their star.  "See us there?  We're actually several million miles away right now.  Perhaps billion.  We're not entirely certain exactly how far.  But, we're about as far from us as the earth from the sun."

"And when anybody tries to find the edges of the map, they always end up in the same place again eventually," Aquilai noted.  "Like a loop.  It's a big loop, several miles at least, but it's a loop.  There are no walls, it just repeats."

The former outerworlders wore strained expressions, trying to figure out the bizarre logic.  "So, it's upwardly infinite," Ash said.  "But, sideways, it's only a few miles?  How can an entire star fit within the space of a few miles, anyway?"

"No idea," Estelore admitted.  "We've all been puzzled by that one."

"More importantly," Goose said anxiously.  "How do we get out?"

"It would seem that's all up to Richard, now," Marie said solemnly.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 16, 2012, 08:50:19 PM
Chapter Thirty-seven

Richard was still in a bit of shock at everything that was going on.  And he wasn't quite ready to trust someone like Frederick.  But it would seem that he had little choice.

"The storage device," Frederick told him.  "It's in the reception room, the third door on your right.  It's plugged in to a tripod, and it will look like a grey block the size of a gameboy.  That's where they'll have downloaded the others, too.  The ones who were here with you.  Take it, and escape.  I'll do what I can to cover for you."  With that, Frederick jogged down the hall in the other direction, quickly vanishing around a corner and leaving Richard in stunned silence.

Richard quickly shook himself from his reverie, and ran down the hall to the room the scientist had said.  The halls were oddly empty, the scientists having gathered to watch the spectacle of the captured intruders.  Would they notice that Richard was missing from the room where the other RAFians were?  Or would Frederick hold true to his word, and ensure that they didn't notice?

Richard couldn't take the chance.  He had to move quickly.  He just hoped that Frederick was telling the truth about where the storage device was, and he wasn't heading into some kind of trap.

Richard arrived at the room the scientist had described.  It was a plain, carpeted space, like an office or a computer lab.  Not much different from the room where he had read the report about the RAF Anomaly.  But, in the corner, was a tripod, just like Frederick had said.

Richard eyed the device, a grey thing that looked a bit like a flash drive, except that it was the size of small brick.  Yet the plug where it hooked into the tripod looked no different from a regular USB.  Next to the device was a display screen.  The screen was tiny, black-and-white, and with a low resolution.  Richard looked closely, studying the small pixelated readout.  It seemed to show the outlines of several humans, and the blurred but unmistakable shape of an Andalite.  That was what he was looking for, alright.

He could hear the object humming, like the noise a computer makes when it's loading something.  He waited for it to quiet down, before he slowly and carefully, almost reverently, unplugged it from its stand.  The device was warm, almost hot, to the touch.

Strange, that such a small thing, could hold so much.  Estelore, Noelle, Tony, Aquilai, Marie, Myitt, Steph, Cody, Nate, Goose, Gaz, and Ash.  All of them, all those people that he cared about.  And somehow the whole group of them could fit in the palm of his hand.

Cradling the device like a living thing, Richard quickly but carefully left the room.  So far, Frederick seemed to be holding true to his word, keeping the other scientists busy, because the hallways were still clear.

Richard quite easily found the way out, and stepped gratefully back into the sunlight.  It was only mid-afternoon.  Had all of this, everything that had happened, only taken place in a few hours?  It seemed impossible to believe that so much could have happened so fast.

Richard opened the chain-link gate that would lead back into the outside world, and stepped through, grateful to be away from that facility.  He headed back toward the bus stop, where they had first arrived.

He nearly laughed out loud as it occurred to him that he would have to wait for a bus back to the airport.  Waiting for a bus seemed so mundane.  Compared to everything else that had happened, something so ordinary just seemed silly and absurd.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for a bus to show up.  Richard paid the driver, and went to find a place to sit, trying to hold the storage device in a way that didn't attract too much attention.  He felt an uncomfortable twinge as the horrible thought occurred to him, that the device could, in theory, be stolen.  But he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind.  That was too awful to think about.  And, besides, he was more than ready to defend the precious object with his life.

After a trip that seemed to last much too long, the bus arrived at the airport.  It seemed odd to be back here all alone, he thought, as he stepped back into the building that he had emerged through with the other RAFians only the previous day.

Of course, he thought as he looked down at the grey device in his hands, he wasn't really all that alone.

Richard went through the check-in procedure on auto-pilot, thinking only of getting back home, where he could safely upload his fellow RAFians back to the site.  Goom had specifically warned him against using any kind of public computer for something so important as this.  Which was a shame, because Richard sorely wanted to get it over with, and make sure everyone was alright.

Richard was broken from his thoughts by the loud alarm of the metal detector he had just walked through.  "I'm sorry, you're going to have to put that through the scanner," an attendant told him, indicating the object that he was still carrying.  He had to fight the impulse to try to hide it from the woman, knowing that anything he did to conceal it would only make him look guilty.

"What is it?" a second attendant, a man, demanded, narrowing his eyes at the unfamiliar device

"It's my friends . . . uh, game," Richard stammered.  "My friend's game.  He's a programmer.  He designs video games.  That's why it looks so unusual.  It's a prototype."

"Uh huh," the first attendant said, still skeptical.  "What kind of game?"

"Sci-fi," Richard said, thinking quickly.  "It's about, uh, a research facility.  You have to break into this lab, you see, because the scientists kidnapped your friends.  Actually, they downloaded your friends onto this computer disk.  Sort of a Matrix-type deal," he went on, speaking more easily now that he'd thought of a story to use.  "And you have to hack their security online.  And then, after you get in, you have to find the disk, and get back out, before they can download you too.  It's a lot of fun."

"I dunno, it all sounds kind of unrealistic.  Don't you think?" the woman pointed out.  "I mean, getting downloaded onto a computer disk?  What's that all about?"

Richard had to hide a smile.  "Yeah, it's pretty out there.  Totally unrealistic.  That's why they call it sci-fi."

Satisfied that the grey block was not actually a cleverly hidden bomb, the two security officers finally let him through.  As soon as he was out of hearing range, he breathed a sigh of relief, and nervously prayed that the x-rays from the scanner hadn't done anything to the RAFians inside the device.

At last, it was time to board.  Richard picked up his carry-on luggage, and eagerly crossed the tunnel to the plane.

Even though he knew it would be a long flight, it was good to be heading home.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 16, 2012, 09:01:17 PM
Hey, it's a quadruple-post!  New record!

Chapter Thirty-eight

Meanwhile, back on RAF, Parker was stationed with Phoenix, Seal, Blue, and Russell on guard duty.  During the absence of the outerworlders, the rest of the RAFians had needed to increase Pootang's guard.  The rationale was that it was even more critical than ever to keep him contained.  Now that the only eight RAFians who were completely invulnerable from dying, were gone.

Pootang was being quieter than usual.  It had drifted off into a fitful trance which seemed to be what passed for sleep for such a creature.  The relative silence, while much better than listening its feral screams, felt flat and hollow in the huge underground space.

The RAFians had recently noticed something worrying about Pootang.  And that was that it seemed to be growing.  Where, before, it had only been dozens or perhaps hundreds of versions of itself, it now seemed like thousands.  All the different versions of itself were so varied that it looked like a fractured yellow shimmer, a wildly flickering hologram, impossible to focus your eyes on.  You could only see the individual creatures out of the corner of your eye, like an afterimage, a split second after you looked away.

Just to look at the creature for too long would cause a splitting headache, while the mind tried to make sense of something that was simply beyond comprehension.  All told, it was a worrying new development.

The RAFians wondered if maybe the newbies and lurkers were the cause.  As each new person looked at Pootang for the first time, their fear might add to his power, as they unintentionally visualized the monster that he must be.  Their own thoughts spawning more and more fearsome versons of him.  Until, inevitably, he would become invincible.

"You know what?" Parker asked Phoenix, bored and trying to start a conversation.  "We really ought to let him out and kill him before he becomes any more powerful.  As soon as the missing RAFians get back."

"Absolutely not," Phoenix replied.  "It's way too risky.  Haven't you even heard accounts of Pootang's rampage in Classic RAF?  Or Blue's Animated Series?  Both versions took all of RAF to even fight them to a standstill.  And that's just two of them.  Against hundreds, we won't have a prayer.  No, we just need to find a way to keep him contained indefinitely."

"We don't know that that's how it works," Parker answered back, starting to get defensive.  "We're all just assuming that we have to defeat each version separately.  What if they're all just rolled into one, and that one still has all the weaknesses of its parts?  We could be all scared over nothing."

"Or what if it's the opposite," Phoenix countered.  "What if they have the strengths of all, and the weaknesses of none?  Think of that for a moment.  Imagine a being that can wreak the destruction of a creature hundreds of feet tall, but provides a target only the size of an infant?  How would we hope to defeat such a thing?"

"Pfft," Parker scoffed.  "Give me a little credit.  I can hit an infant, easy."

Phoenix gave Parker a concerned look.  The mod really hoped that the Spartan was only joking.

"Not that I would have a point of reference," Parker quickly added, laughing as he realized how bad that sentence sounded.  "I've never shot at an infant before.  I just meant a target the size of an infant.  Easy shot."

But Phoenix was still a bit nervous.  "Just promise you won't try anything, okay?"  He was pretty sure Parker was joking about the whole thing, but Phoenix didn't really know Parker all that well, so it was hard to be certain.  And the mod wasn't willing to take that risk, when all of RAF could be at stake.

The truth was, Parker had been mostly joking, but not quite completely.  He was bored of being on guard duty, and training.  He was quickly getting tired of being constantly on the defensive.  And if it was inevitable that Pootang would escape eventually anyway, why not get the incident over with, right when the RAFians could plan for it and would be ready for him?  It was what made sense.  Go on the offensive, and they could take control of the situation, rather than being surprised and caught off-guard when the inevitable escape occurred anyhow.

Parker was pulled out of his thoughts, when Demos appeared at the base of the stairs that led down to Pootang's lair.  That was his signal that his shift was over, and he gratefully waved goodbye to Phoenix and the others.

Parker sighed as he tried to think about what he should do next.  Fighting the Covenant had been interesting for a while.  But now he needed a new challenge.

So he would go and find one, he thought.  He grinned, an expression which went unseen beneath his helmet, as he suddenly had an idea.  Hey, the RAFians owed the Animorphs a huge favor, after all, didn't they?  Given what Ax had done for Goom to help locate the missing RAFians, they owed the Animorphs a lot.

So, naturally, it was only fair if a RAFian were to, say, take out the Animorphs' biggest foe.

After hours of searching, Parker finally managed to track down Visser Three's feeding grounds within the Animorphs Board.  He smiled as he watched the muscular Andalite run across the grass, wondering which monster he would morph when confronted with Parker in his full Spartan regalia.

Parker stepped from the shadows of the trees surrounding the meadow, clad in his trusted armor and sporting several different guns in his pack.  Visser Three quickly spotted him, slowing his run as he evaluated the new threat.  Several Hork-Bajir drew closer to the Visser that they were charged to protect.  Parker figured that the Hork-Bajir would be easy targets, of course.  Not even worth worrying about.

<Who are you?> the Visser demanded.  <Explain yourself.>

Parker stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the adrenaline rush of fear that he shared with his opponent.  This would not be an easy fight for either of them.  "I'm here to destroy you," he finally said, pulling out his battle rifle.  He cradled the gun in his arms, not pointing it at the Visser just yet, but making sure that the Yeerk could see the intended threat.

Visser Three's eyes widened with fear and anger, and he quickly began to morph.  Parker let him continue, of course.  He wanted a fair fight.

At first, Visser Three's morph looked like a flower opening its petals.  His Andalite form was the bud from which thousands of petals were slowly spreading.  Except that each 'petal' was a limb.  An arm, a leg, a head.  In all shapes and colors imaginable.  Parker had no idea what the Visser was becoming, but he took a step back, staggered and confused by the wild array of shapes.

After a while, the 'flower' effect began to look more like one of those tests they give you at the eye doctor, the one where you unfocus your eyes and one image slowly splits into two.  Only, instead of the same image repeated but separate, Visser Three was slowly splitting into many different images interlayered over one another.  Parker recognized the familiar monster with eight fiery heads, but he could swear he also saw also the purple monster with traffic cone hands, and the sea-horse alien with acidic spit.  And there were others he had never seen before.  Many, many others.

It was then that Parker realized what was happening.  Visser Three was not morphing any one monster.  He was morphing all of them.

At once.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 18, 2012, 04:00:07 PM
Chapter Thirty-nine

Parker wasted no time punching up his communicator.  As soon as he realized what the Visser was morphing, he knew he had underestimated his opponent.  Although he had thought he might be able to take one monstrous morph, there was no way he could handle them all, on his own.

"Yankee Squad, come in Yankee Squad.  This is Parker, requesting backup.  Shaft, Sith, Gary, Sally, Cassie!  Get your butts to the Animorphs board!"

"Roger," a chorus of voices crackled on Parker's communicator.  "We've got your location."

<Not so brave now, are you, little armored human?> the Visser taunted, and began to approach Parker at a gallop across the wide meadow, his numerous limbs making a heavy buzzing sound against the ground as he moved.  He loosed a glob of firey green liquid in Parker's direction, which the Spartan narrowly dodged.  The burning acid hissed as it ate away a smoking hole in a nearby tree.

Parker pulled out his assault rifle and swung it horizontally, shooting off a rapid volley of three bullets.  He watched curiously for Visser Three's reaction to the hit.

There was none.  No reaction at all.  The shots had connected, Parker was sure of it.  But Visser Three didn't even slow down.  It was like he hadn't even felt the hits.

Parker quickly checked his heads-up display, and groaned inwardly as the damage readout displayed that the damage done by his bullets had been divided up between each of the Visser's morphs.  The bullets had connected.  It was simply that each individual version of him had only taken an almost negligible amount of damage.  Pinpricks.  His bullets were nothing more than pinpricks.

"Well then," he said, as he reached for his energy sword, and activated it.  The Visser was closing fast, surprisingly fast for such a large creature.  Parker slashed his sword at the Visser as soon as he was within range, but the holographic variety of forms threw off his aim, as he couldn't see which one he needed to hit.  Visser Three skirted the sword blow, and viciously set upon Parker, digging a massive variety of claws and teeth into his armor.  His armor hissed and creaked, but managed to hold.  It was Spartan armor, after all.

Parker rolled to the side as the Visser lowered a massive clawed tentacle-hand, obviously intending to pick him up, and as he sprung back to his feet he scored a hit with his sword.  The Visser roared in dozens of alien voices, a thin charred scar quickly appearing on his skin.

Angered at the nuisance, he loosed a rain of what looked like flaming needles at Parker.  They were too closely spaced to dodge, so he threw his bubble shield around himself.  The needles were harmlessly vaporized as they passed through the force field.

Baffled, the Visser reached a tentative limb towards the shield, and grinned a savage monstrous grin as he realized that it only deflected projectiles.  It provided no barrier to his claws and teeth.

But Parker was ready for him.  The Spartan slashed again with his sword as the Visser drew close to the shield to investigate.  This time, he managed to hit higher up on the arm-tentacle-leg-whatever, and did a bit more damage.  The Visser instinctively recoiled from the pain, and Parker used the distraction to dart out of his shield and throw a fragmentation grenade.  As soon as he had thrown it, he executed a sideways roll back into the safety of his shield.

The Visser quickly stepped back from the grenade, but not in time to protect himself from the shrapnel.   The grenade exploded, almost directly in Visser Three's face, but most of the shrapnel just bounced harmlessly off of the Visser's seemingly impenetrable armor.

Suddenly, from behind him, a rocket flew towards the Visser's fractured alien morph.  As it exploded in a fireball against his fortified mass, he gave a sharp screech of surprise, and turned one of his many heads to evaluate the new threat.  There were more of these irritating creatures?

"You looked like you could use a hand, sir," Gary called out to Parker as he aimed his rocket launcher for another shot.  The rest of the Yankee Squad quickly fanned out around the Visser, staying far enough back that he couldn't reach them with his claws, but they could still easily hit him with their guns.  They each positioned themselves near a tree to duck behind for cover, they pulled out their favored weapons, and started shooting.

The Visser, of course, had projectiles of his own.  He began throwing fire, acid, needles, and hybridized combinations thereof, in all directions, towards each of the Spartans.  They dodged most of the hits, but every now and then Parker could hear the sound of sizzling armor and could smell the hint of burning metal as one of the Visser's attacks connected.

An acidic blob grazed past Parker's helmet, sizzling an oblong hole across the visor over his right eye.  Panicking, he yanked off his helmet.  Suddenly feeling vulnerable, he ducked behind a tree and anxiously waited for the sizzling to stop, and as soon as he could he quickly put his damaged helmet back on.  The heads-up display was gone, but he could still see through the hole in the side of the helmet.

The Hork-Bajir guards, which had stayed out of the way during most of the battle, were now circling through the forest, hoping to surprise the Spartans.  But there was nowhere the Hork-Bajir could hide so as to be out of sight of all six Spartans, and so Sally quickly spotted them.  She radioed the rest of his team, "Look sharp, Hork-Bajir on your back."

The bladed aliens attacked, forcing the Spartans to defend themselves.  Each battle was brief, only a few shots to the head and the Hork-Bajir went down.  Parker felt a pang of guilt as he remembered the naive innocence of the Hork-Bajir from the series, but then he reminded himself that these were only programs on a computer.

Visser Three took advantage of the brief distraction his guards had provided.  He shot two huge missiles, sharp and orange and the size of traffic cones.  Parker narrowly dodged the one that had been intended for him, feeling the wind from it as it passed by.  But he heard Shaft cry out in pain.

Parker looked in Shaft's direction, and to his horror he saw the gigantic spike lodged into his second-in-command's torso, the wound smoking slightly as acidic green liquid oozed from the object.

The Visser crowed in triumph, while Parker rushed to Shaft's side.  He knew Shaft was a program, but he was more than just a program.  Shaft mattered, to Parker.  They had fought side by side in countless battles against the Covenant.  They had shared stories of Reach, and of earth.  Shaft was a fellow Spartan.  He was a friend.

The other Spartans, trained to stay focused no matter what, kept their weapons trained on the Visser while Parker tended to Shaft.  Not that any of them could have done much if he had decided to attack Parker anyway, but the Visser seemed to be letting the two Spartans have their moment.  The abomination even laughed at the scene, obviously enjoying seeing an enemy die.  Sith growled, and shot off a few rounds of his shotgun, just out of spite.  The Visser didn't even seem to notice.

"Don't die, don't die," Parker pleaded with Shaft.  "You can't die.  Just hold on until we can get you to the rest of RAF.  They can fix this."  But he looked at the wound, and knew that nothing was going to save Shaft.

Shaft coughed weakly, but managed to bring his hand up in a salute, which Parker quickly returned.  "It was an honor to serve by your side, Parker," Shaft said, his voice rasping.  "Do not mourn me.  I owe the very fact of my existence to you.  You created me.  So, when all is said and done, I must still exist, somewhere within you."

With that, his body fell limp.  After a few seconds, he began to fade, like a ghost.  Within a matter of moments, he had simply vanished, like he had never been there in the first place.  The massive spike that had killed him, clattered uselessly to the ground.  Parker put a hand over his own heart, and closed his eyes for a few seconds.  Shaft would not be forgotten.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 18, 2012, 04:10:38 PM
Hextuple post?  This is just getting ridiculous now.  :P

Chapter Forty

The Visser, meanwhile, was finished with being nice.  Parker came back to his senses just in time to dodge a fireball, its heat searing his face through the hole in his visor.

Seething with fury, Parker threw a plasma grenade, and then another and another.  The Visser shook off the three blasts, like a dog shaking off insects.

But the constant barrage of the Spartans' firepower was finally beginning to take its toll on the Visser.  His movements were halting now, his mounting pain visibly forcing him to move more and more tenderly.  He roared in frustration, as the Spartans continued to nimbly dodge his own attacks.

Seeing his weakness, the Spartans doubled their efforts, firing volley after volley at the monster.  But Parker noticed something shift within the distorted jumble of forms.  Something was shrinking, and shifting in color to blue.

"What the . . . " Sally said over her comm, confused at what she was seeing on her heads-up display.  "He's healing!  How is he healing?"

Parker smiled, feeling triumphant.  "He's demorphing!"

He watched, hoping for the Visser to make himself vulnerable, but soon he realized that they would have no such luck.  "Wait, no, only one of his forms is demorphing.  He's healing himself, without becoming vulnerable!"

Within a few minutes, the Visser had partially demorphed and remorphed, repairing a good percentage of the damage that the Spartans had managed to inflict.  The current strategy wasn't going to work, Parker realized, when he could easily heal faster than the Spartans could hurt him.  Parker cursed, and looked around the meadow as he tried to figure out a new plan.

Suddenly, he saw it.  Of course!

"The Blade ship!" Parker called, pointing to the Visser's craft, abandoned in the heat of the battle.  The other Spartans immediately halted their barrage against the Visser, and they all sprinted towards the ship.  It was then that the Visser realized his fatal mistake.

<Fools!> the Visser shouted to his crew inside the ship.  <Take off, take off!>

The engines made a humming sound as they slowly warmed up, but the ship didn't have time to take off before the Spartans could get there.  The hatch was closed, but a blast from Gary's rocket launcher quickly took care of that, and the five Spartans quickly piled through the new opening.

The Visser's monstrous morph quickly proved to be a disadvantage, as he found he was too large to follow the Spartans through the hole.  <Open the hatch!> he roared.  <Let me in!>

Cassie, no relation to the Animorph, shot the control panel next to the hatch, making sure the Visser couldn't follow, and she turned her attention to the Taxxon crew.  Or what was left of the Taxxon crew, after only a few shots from Sith and Parker.  It was almost laughable how easy they were to kill.  As the Spartans watched, the Taxxon bodies became ghosts and disappeared.

Having been trained on Bug fighters, the controls of the Blade ship weren't too difficult to figure out, as the Spartans swiftly manned the now-empty stations.  Parker took weapons, while Gary took the helm.  The engines continued to hum louder and louder, as the Visser powerlessly watched from outside.

"Look out!" Cassie called, as a fireball flew across the interior of the ship.  The Spartans dodged, and the flames harmlessly blew past, leaving a black mark against a wall.  Sith set up a bubble shield directly in front of the opening into the ship, blocking Visser Three's attacks.

<You will pay for this!> the Visser raged.  <You filthy, lesser species!  You dare to steal my ship?  MY ship?!>

"Yeah, we dare," Sith sneered at him.  "Who's the lesser species, huh?"

The ship was at full power now, and Gary skillfully eased it into the air, while the Visser struggled to cling to the outside.  He eventually lost his purchase, and fell back to the ground with a thunderous boom.

Parker slowly, and with calculated coldness, aimed the ship's dracon cannon at the Visser, now a helpless target.  Feeling completely numb inside, no rage, no sadness, nothing, he squeezed the trigger, watching the red beam lance towards the monster.  He held it, letting the beam burn and burn.

Even the Visser, for all his power, could not tolerate a sustained barrage of the Blade ship's magnitude.  The dracon's searing heat began to eat through his multitude of morphs, as he screamed in thought-speak anguish.

After a few minutes, there was nothing left but a charred crater where the Visser had been.  It was over.

Parker's hands were shaking.  He couldn't believe what he'd just done.  He ought to feel victorious, triumphant.  But he didn't.  He just felt hollow.

"No mercy for murderers," he said to the blackened crater that was all that was left of Visser Three.  But even that reassurance didn't make him feel any better about what he had done.

Was this really what war felt like?  Jake had been right.  War wasn't about glory, after all.  War was just slaughter.

But, as bad as Parker felt right now, the worst part was that he knew there was even worse yet to come.  Phoenix had been right.  If Visser Three had been this powerful, then the monstrous Pootang, with all his forms and all his legends, would be so much stronger.

If Visser Three, with only a few dozen monstrous morphs, could overpower six Spartans . . . and, Parker had to face it, the Visser would have defeated them if not for the edge provided by his own Blade ship . . . then what could a monster of thousands of forms, famed across the forum for his violent tenacity for destruction and carnage, be capable of?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2012, 06:51:38 PM
Chapter Forty-one

Goom was sitting alone in RAF's control room, a pencil in one hand, and one of the books of RAF's code in the other.  It was certainly nice, to actually be able to pick up the books in his hands.  Not having to use his feet as he'd done before.  Cloaky's glitch, which was what allowed Goom to be in his human form at that moment, was an amazing discovery.  One that he wished he'd thought of sooner.

As he twiddled the pencil in his fingers, he stared at the existing code of RAF, trying to think of what he could add to it.  The particular book he was looking at contained RAF's firewall, the forum's security system, encoded in words on the paper.

It was something that, once again, he was truly sorry he hadn't thought of sooner.  If he had only realized in time, that RAF had been so poorly defended against hacking attempts from the outside, maybe he could have protected Richard.  Maybe he could have saved Estelore and Noelle and Aquilai and Tony and Marie.

Well, it was too late for any of that now.  Now his task was to make sure nobody else got hacked or downloaded, ever again.  To keep all the RAFians safe inside the forum.  The Swiss research facility was still out there, and what was to stop them from doing the same thing again?

But how to do it?  How to make sure RAF was safe?  That was the question.

Goom knew he had the option of cutting RAF off from the rest of internet entirely, and simply uploading the entire forum to a hidden private server.  That would certainly protect everyone.  It would protect the RAFians from nearly anything that could possibly happen.

And, perhaps even better, it would be a way to keep Pootang semi-contained, in the event of his escape.  That way, they could at least restrict the monster to RAF, as opposed to potentially letting him rampage unchecked throughout the entirety of the internet.

But, if Goom resorted to those measures, then the RAFians would be totally cut-off, unable to 'surf or even 'glitch.  They would be trapped within RAF's borders.  Of course, there were plenty of worse places to be trapped.  But still, best to avoid that restriction so long as there was still a choice.

Nevertheless, Goom glanced ponderingly at a separate stack of papers, the papers which he'd used to work out the lengthy blocks of code that it would take to totally remove RAF from the internet, with a few extra measures added to make sure nothing could possibly go wrong.  No, he reminded himself, looking away from the papers and back towards his book.  That could only be used as a last resort.  It would still be a few hours before Richard got back with the other innerworlders.  Goom still had time to think of a better solution.

But he wasn't making any headway just staring at the book.  He'd run up against a wall, unable to think of any good way to improve RAF's security without taking unacceptable risks, without impeding or endangering RAFians.  He had to be extremely careful, he knew, because a coding mistake might not just cause some harmless glitch.  To an innerworlder, a serious glitch could be dangerous, even deadly.  He had to know exactly what he was doing.  It was a lot of pressure, to say the least.

He decided to take a walk, refresh his mind by taking his thoughts off of the problem for a while.  Besides, he knew he shouldn't lock himself off from the rest of the forum for too long.  As a staff member, he had to make sure he stayed available if problems arose.

Even away from the data room, it was difficult to get his mind cleared.  There was just too much to think about.  If-then statements and do-while loops were spinning around his brain, as he continued to try to find something he had missed, some critical element that could protect RAF from the outside world, without limiting RAFians' freedom.

Goom was broken from his thoughts, as he noticed a pair of female Andalites striding purposefully toward him, each of them looking angry at the other.  Yep, he was right, he thought, as he readied himself to hear their complaint.  RAF was in constant need of its staff members.

Something was odd, though.  Goom knew, of course, that sometimes it could be hard to tell individuals of some of the alien species apart, and one Andalite could look very much like another.  But he had thought he was getting pretty good at identifying each RAFian.  Yet, these two Andalites seemed to be perfectly identical.  And he couldn't think of any RAFian who had a twin.

"Alic?" he asked, recognizing her, but his gaze flicking between one and the other, unsure who to make eye-contact with.  "What's going on?"

The two Alics stalked up to Goom, their arms crossed, each of them just barely able to contain their hostility towards the other.

<This, this impostor-> one of them fumed.

<She's the impostor!> the other interrupted.  <I'm Alic!>

<I'm Alic!> the first one exclaimed.  <Don't listen to her!>

Goom held up his hands, trying to silence them both.  "Can one of you just rationally . . . "  He blinked, his sentence trailing off when he noticed that there was now only one of them.  The other had vanished without a trace.

"Huh?  Okay, that was weird," Goom noted.  "What was that?"

The remaining Alic looked just as confused as Goom was.  <I have no idea.  She just, showed up, out of nowhere.  I ran into her just a few minutes ago.  She really thought she was me, too.>  She narrowed her eyes, scowling as she recalled why she was angry.  <She knew about Jack.  She knew everything about him.  She knew things that only I know.  How is that possible?>

"Oh!" Goom said, laughing as he figured it out.  "I think I know what happened.  You know how, sometimes, when you look at the bottom of the RAF main page, and it lists the users logged in, and every now and then it lists a user twice?  That must be what happened.  You just got listed twice.  And then the page must've gotten refreshed and that cleared up the duplicate."

< . . . Oh,> Alic said simply.  <That would explain it, wouldn't it?  Still, that was weird.  I hope it doesn't happen again.>

"Me too," Goom noted, as he immediately began to ponder what effect this new phenomenon would have on RAF's firewall.  At least it had to be a rare occurrence, if nobody had noticed duplicated users before now.  So that was probably good news, at least.

But, on the other hand, maybe it only seemed rare because the duplicates had always missed seeing one another.  RAF was a big place, after all.  How would they ever know, if somebody suddenly had a short-lived doppleganger, so long as they never ran into one another?

Alic and Goom went their separate ways again, Goom heading back to the data room, and Alic going back towards the General Board.  The clock was swiftly ticking until Richard's return, and now Goom now had yet another variable to deal with.  This probably wouldn't affect the site's security, but with the way everything was linked to everything else, it was hard to be sure.

He hated to just give up and fall back on his backup plan, but at this point he really didn't see much other choice.  He had already been beating his head against a wall, metaphorically speaking, for several hours, without being any closer to an answer.  There simply wasn't much room to improve RAF's security, without changing the site's parameters so drastically as to make it impossible to predict its effects on the RAFians.  No, it was safer to just break the connection.  That way, the fundamental character of RAF could be preserved.

And, once the most immediate danger had passed, they could continue to look for a more permanent solution.  It wasn't like they would have to stay cut-off from the internet forever, after all.

Goom got to the data room, and once again picked up the stack of paper with the code that would sever RAF's connection to the internet.  It was tempting to just do it right now.  Just write in the code, make the changes, and breathe a sigh of relief.  But he needed to wait.  He had to, at the very least, wait until the moment that the missing RAFians arrived.

In the meantime, he realized, he would probably need to warn the RAFians of what he was planning to do.  Give everyone a chance to 'glitch into their favored form, and get whatever they needed from the rest of the internet.

He sighed, and headed off to Estrid's profile thread.  He had a mirror-wave call to make.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 19, 2012, 08:06:18 PM
Finally caught up. Holly insane plot twist dino.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 20, 2012, 11:06:48 PM
Thanks, Blaze.  Oh, but just wait.

Chapter Forty-two

"Huh.  So it is true," Gaz commented, as she squinted her eyes to see Aquilai waving at her.  He was one of several specks against the blank canvas of white, barely visible, several miles away.  She turned to look over her shoulder, and she could see exactly the same arrangement of specks in the direction she had come from.

As it turned out, there wasn't really much of anything to do in that blank empty whiteness of the storage disk.  So Gaz had struck out to test what Aquilai had said, about the space being an endless loop.  And it would appear that it was.  Hooray.

Gaz was regretting her decision, as she continued to walk across the blank plain.  The utterly blank empty space, with nothing to look at for a point of reference, had been nauseatingly disconcerting at first, but she was slowly adjusting to the total lack of a horizon.  Still, every now and then, she had to close her eyes and shake her head, fighting the feeling of faintness that would overwhelm her if she stared at her blank white surroundings for too long.  It was like having white painted right onto your eyeballs.

It had taken surprisingly little time for the former outerworlders to adjust to the weirdness of the other RAFians, though.  Even with an Andalite and a talking fox in the group, they all still just seemed like . . . RAFians.  That was really all they were, human or Andalite or Time Lord or whatever.

Of course, it had helped that Gaz had had some time to get used to the idea, as an outerworlder.  But, then again, she had been getting used to weirdness a long time before that.  She was a RAFian, too, after all.

She wondered how much longer it would be until something happened.  She still didn't know what was happening with Richard.  But he hadn't appeared here, so that was a good sign.  It meant he must still be out there somewhere.  By now, surely, he would have found the storage device and escaped the facility with it.  Either that, or . . . Gaz didn't want to think about the alternative.

So he must have escaped.  Perhaps he was in an airplane on his way home right now, the device in hand, flying back into the states, where he would deliver the missing RAFians and the captured outerworlders back to the forum.

Back to the forum, Gaz thought, briefly wondering why she had chosen that phrase in her mind.  Back to a place she had never been?  So, why did it feel so much like coming home?

She wondered what RAF would look like, as a real place.  She tried to imagine the forums as buildings, and wondered what would be inside each one.  Perhaps she could ask one of the innerworlders, they would know what RAF looked like.  Yes, she would do that as soon as she got back.

Gaz was, finally, getting close to the others again.  They saw her, and apparently decided to make her job a little easier by walking towards her while she walked towards them.

"How was it?" Aquilai said with a slight grin, already knowing the answer from Gaz's tired expression.  "Do you believe me now?"

"I didn't not believe you, I was just bored," Gaz replied.  "Hey, while I was walking, I got to thinking.  What does RAF actually look like?"

<Well, picture the forums, except that they're actually buildings,> Noelle started to explain.  <Long and narrow and tall, about the same shape as what the boards look like on the website, but bigger.>

"And inside each one, is something that represents that board," Marie continued where Noelle left off.  "Let's see.  The Roleplaying Board is a seemingly infinite space filled with planets and galaxies, with a glass ship that will take you wherever you choose.  The Fanfiction Board, then, is pretty much just like the Roleplaying Board, with the only difference being that the glass ship there doesn't have a door, and so the worlds are sealed off and you can't actually interact with them, you just watch the stories play out.  The Animorphs Board is pretty much a random collection of scenes from the books, all run together.  You can sometimes find the characters from the books, too, which is cool."

"The Bored Board is an arcade," Aquilai said, continuing Marie's train of thought.  "The Projects Board is a construction area, it's all indoors, but there's plastic tarps and wet paint and scaffolding everywhere.  The Social Board is a dorm or a hotel.  The Media Board is like a bunch of auditoriums, run together.  The General Board, well, the General Board has a lot of different things, so there's places there that look like just about anywhere."

Marie looked up, pondering if either of them had missed any boards.  "Oh, and don't ask what's in the D-Lounge.  You probably don't want to know."  The RAFians all laughed at that.

But suddenly, their laughter was cut off by a loud humming noise that filled the entire whiteness around them.  The space itself seemed to vibrate before their eyes, even though it was impossible to say what was vibrating within the perfectly uniform white of the space around them.

"What's going on?" Estelore wondered.

The RAFians looked around, and to their surprise they could see the whiteness of their prison breaking down, like the static of a television behind which something else was slowly becoming visible.  At first, they didn't know whether to be excited or terrified.  But then, they all recognized those familiar buildings, the forums of RAF.

"We're home!" Tony exclaimed.  "Oh, man, it is so good to see something that isn't white!"

As RAF became clearer and clearer against the whiteness, Gaz could see the crowd that had gathered in front of the buildings, as though they were all waiting for something.

And of course they were waiting.  The RAFians were almost as excited to see their missing friends as their friends were to see them.  Steph bounced happily in excitement.

Finally, the forum snapped fully into reality.  The blank white canvas of the storage unit was now completely gone.

Maybe it had just been their imaginations, but the RAFians could swear that they briefly saw that same strange vibration that they had seen moments before.  The entire forum seemed to shiver, ever so slightly, in an expanding wave that pulsed outward from the epicenter of the missing RAFians.

Whatever it had been, though, they almost immediately forgot about it.  The crowd around the newly returned RAFians was surging forward, everybody wanting to hug their missing friends at once.

One of the RAFians at the front of the crowd was a familiar face to Gaz, and even her feline features couldn't keep Gaz from recognizing her.  "Jamie!" Gaz exclaimed, as Stalker ran forward.  They collided in a hug.

"It is so good to see you!" Gaz said enthusiastically.  But Gaz noticed something was odd as she talked.  She ran her tongue over her teeth, to find that they had become fangs.

Stalker laughed.  "Hey, you're a RAFian, now.  Welcome to the forum!"

Gaz looked around, still taking in the incredible sight of the forum around her.  A Canadian goose was standing next to her, looking as perplexed at his wings as she had been at her own fangs.  Myitt looked perplexed, staring up into the air, like she was thinking about something she had never thought of before.  Or, perhaps, like she had suddenly become a Yeerk inside her own brain.

Suddenly, Richard appeared in the midst of the crowd.  He simply appeared, one second nothing, and then the next second, there he was.

"Did it work?" he asked, his voice a weird monotone, like he wasn't speaking to anybody in particular, but rather addressing the entire crowd.

Somebody that Gaz recognized as Goom from the pictures she'd seen of him, gave Richard a thumbs-up.  "You did it.  The download worked.  They're here!"  He held up a book labeled 'Firewall' and added, "And the new security measures just went online, too.  As of right now, we are cut off from the rest of the internet."

The former outerworlders were hugged again and again, by RAFians that had missed them and by RAFians that they had never met.  They talked and laughed, glad to be among so many friends.

But then, suddenly, without warning, the sounds of elation and merriment at the back of the crowd began turning to shouts of terror.  A familiar hooded figure was purposefully making his way through the hustle and bustle, the Realm Walker's own shouting lost amidst the building screams of the other RAFians, as one by one each of them heard what he was saying, and began to panic.

As Cloak worked his way closer to the newly returned RAFians and Richard, the other RAFians quickly began to disperse in all directions.  They were all running in panic from the moment each of them had heard his dire message.

He finally reached Richard, and said the four simple words that had instilled so much fear in all the RAFians.  Then he swirled his cloak and vanished.

"Pootang's cage is empty."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 20, 2012, 11:24:14 PM
How do you tell whether a goose is Canadian or not?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 21, 2012, 12:05:47 PM
Canadian geese look like this, that's how. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Canada_goose.jpg/220px-Canada_goose.jpg)

Chapter Forty-three

"What?!" Tony shouted.  "He's gone?  How?  Where?"  But Cloaky wasn't there, and Tony was speaking to empty space.

"That shimmer we saw before, what was that?" Aquilai wondered.  He looked around at the other RAFians, as if to confirm that he really had seen it and he wasn't just going crazy.  "Did that have something to do with this?"

"Oh god," Goom said, suddenly going pale.  "I didn't take into account what else might have been on that storage disk!  Something on there must have interfered with the new security.  If there was extra code that I didn't account for . . . oh god."  He went silent for a moment, his mind spinning with the implications.

"If there was extra code on that disk, then the moment that RAF went offline, other things could have gone offline too," Goom went on.  "Programs could have vanished and then reappeared somewhere else.  I thought I'd protected against any chance of that happening.  But I didn't, I couldn't account for everything.  And now . . . this is all my fault."

The RAFians, all the ones that were left, the ones that hadn't panicked and run, all turned around sharply as they heard a familiar fractured scream.

It was him.  Nothing else sounded like that.

They took off running, against every instinct, towards the sound.  It wasn't hard to find where Pootang had gone.  There was already a trail of destruction through RAF, parts of buildings reduced to debris, scattered piles of those broken-link red 'x' symbols left in the monster's wake.  The Roleplaying Board had holes through its walls, through which the star-strewn blackness inside was visible.

Newbies and lurkers hid in the x-cube-strewn rubble wherever they could, much too frightened to think of going to the armory.  The more experienced RAFians, meanwhile, were slowly regrouping, gathering, following the trail of rampage, towards the monster.  They each knew what they had to do, and they steeled themselves, ready to do their duty.  As ready as they could be.

Pootang towered over the RAFians, an enormous multi-layered yellow behemoth, easily several hundred feet tall.  He seemed to have grown even larger now that he was out of his cage, but it was hard to say whether that was because he was actually bigger than he had been before, or because it was just easier to see his true size against the backdrop of the buildings that only barely matched him in height.

Either way, though, he was a terrifying sight.  The RAFians hid in the shadows, afraid to even look at the beast.  His fractured form seemed to hurt to look at, as the mind struggled to come to grips with the impossible reality of his very existence.

Pootang roared in anger, but with nothing in sight to be angry at.  So he simply howled his fury at the sky, as he dug his claws into the General Board.  Blocks of polished sky blue stone fell to the ground, making sounds like thunder as they impacted the floor below.

It was plain to see that something had to be done, before the monstrous creature could destroy all of RAF.  But, now that the time was upon them, none of the RAFians seemed to know what to do.  They knew that they had trained and trained for this very moment.  Yet, all of a sudden, that training seemed useless.

Had they really thought that any of them stood a chance against this monstrosity?  What were they supposed to do?  What could they do, what could they possibly do, that wouldn't merely get themselves killed?

And the seven former outerworlders had even more reason to fear.  They had only just, moments ago, become their RAFsonas.  They had never even practiced with their own powers, much less trained for combat.  What could they do?

Richard stepped forward, registering no sign that he was afraid.  Of course, what did he have to fear, when he was sitting safely at his computer?

In the real world, Richard began to type, while his character would act out the words he had written on his screen.  It was fortunate that he had never roleplayed before, because it meant that his character was a blank slate, free to be given whatever powers he chose.

On the forum, his avatar raised his hands, channeling energy towards his palms, like he was extracting light from the air around him.  The two orbs of energy seemed to grow and grow, until they merged into one and doubled in size.  Finally, when it was nearly as big as Richard himself was tall, he released it, sending it flying across the distance toward Pootang.

The bright ball of light seemed to shrink away to nothing in the distance, dwarfed by the size of the creature.  A puff of smoke could just barely be seen, trailing upward from Pootang's shoulder.  He flicked his ears, and turned towards Richard's direction, but he seemed more perplexed by the attack than anything else.  He scanned the area around him, but he didn't look down, and he missed seeing any of the RAFians.  Confused, he quickly lost interest, and licked his fur where the orb had hit.

"Can't you just type something like, 'And then Pootang died'?" Tony asked, disappointed by the anticlimactic display.  "At least try it."

"I did.  Just now," Richard said.  "It didn't work, nothing happened."

They were interrupted by the abrupt sound of gunfire, as Parker and his Spartans arrived on the scene.  Those that had snipers, trained them on the target, and began to shoot.  Gary used his rocket launcher, firing missile after missile towards Pootang.  If any of them were afraid at all, then that fear was hidden beneath their helmets.

The arrival of the Spartans seemed to embolden some of the other RAFians.  Goom looked like he had suddenly remembered something, and then he fired off his dracon beam in Pootang's direction.  The sound of his beam was answered by a chorus of other dracons and shredders as their firepower joined his.

Pootang growled, but it was a sound of annoyance, not anger or pain.  He looked down, and for the first time he noticed the RAFians.  He roared down at them, finally finding a target for his rage.

The RAFians scurried out of his way as he thundered towards them, running for their lives.  But Pootang was surprisingly fast for such a colossal creature, and within a few strides he was upon them.

He picked someone up, someone that none of the RAFians recognized, a newbie.  The newbie screamed, but he had to have known that nobody could save him.  Pootang seemed to grin, a rabid, feral expression, and took the newbie between his teeth.  He shook his head, and with a sickening snap the screaming stopped.

Pootang, seeming almost bored, let the mangled body fall to the ground.  The newbie's body lay there, bloody.  He began to fade away to nothing, and within moments, he was gone.

Some of the RAFians waited, as though they expected him to reappear at any moment, just respawn and be as good as new.  Nobody had, thus far, known how death worked for innerworlders.  Could those inside the internet be killed?  Would they really be permanently destroyed?

As they waited, with no sign that the newbie was coming back, the answer to that became all too clear.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 21, 2012, 12:24:59 PM
Chapter Forty-four

Dino roared, trying to sound braver than she felt.  She had never been a fighter.  She had never been good at anything violent, other than video games where she knew the hurt wasn't real.  This was different.  This was real.  And, despite all the training and drills, she didn't feel at all ready for this.

Dino stood, frozen in place, as she stared up in terror at the creature.  It was easily as tall as a skyscraper, towering over RAF.  It was a fractured menagerie of forms, a thousand beings all moving as one.  A kaleidoscope of impossible holograms, something that had no place in reality.  But, as it swung a claw at a tiny figure flying by, it was plain to see that the monster was solid.  The figure crumpled to the ground, and Dino's breath caught in her chest, hoping whoever that had been was still alive.

A green bar floated in the air above the creature, and Dino almost laughed at the ridiculousness as she realized what it was.  A health bar.  Like you might see in a video game.  Dino's amusement quickly died, however, when she realized that the bar was still completely green.  She squinted, looking for even a trace of red, but there was none to be seen.  All of the RAFians fighting Pootang had, thus far, done no damage to the creature at all.

A Dome ship hovered over the scene, firing low-level shots at Pootang.  Dino knew that Dome ships had the power to destroy planets, but clearly whoever was up there was worried about hitting RAFians in the melee.  Bug fighters, Andalite fighters, and a pair of Blade ships buzzed about in the wake of the Dome ship, adding their firepower to the fight.  But Pootang seemed only mildly irritated by all the laser beams.  He was twitching his pointed ears like he had an itch, as he growled in his fractured voice at the pests.

As Dino came closer to the battle, she could see gouts of flame shooting up towards the creature, from three different directions.  Some of the flames were bright red fireballs, lighting up the sky like fireworks.  Adjacent to the crimson display were fires that looked dark and hellish, the flames themselves almost blending into their own black smoke.  From still another direction came blazing beams of white, like bright sunlight.  Phoenix, Demos, and Estelore, respectively, Dino realized.

Less visible against the bright spectacle of the fires, there were other projectiles.  There were the narrower beams of handheld shredders and dracons, making their laser noises as they fired continuously, stopping only when one ran out of its charge, its owner darting away from the battle to recharge the firearm.

A silvery beam of ice blasted like a firehose against the wall of yellow, Blue's sustained blast failing to freeze anything more than the tips of the creature's fur.  A machine-gun barrage of sharp icicles bounced off of the monster, and piled up at its feet.  Seal, back in her seal body, stayed vigilantly at a careful distance, avoiding being seen.  A column of earth and stone fired forth like a sand-blasting stream, except that each grain of 'sand' was actually a boulder.  Deep craters were quickly forming near wherever Cloaky stood, as he pulled up the ground beneath the forum to use as weapons.

Pootang's skin twitched, like a horse annoyed by biting flies, and he roared menacingly at the RAFians.  He stepped forward, and several of the dracons and shredders stopped for a moment as the RAFians scurried out of his way, retreated to a safer distance, and resumed fire.

Parker, or at least one of the Spartans, since Dino had a hard time telling them apart, seemed to have thought of a new strategy.  He was riding atop one of the Bug fighters, the ship carefully holding almost stationary in the air, while the Spartan fired his gun at Pootang.  Dino noted that he was the only one who could keep firing whenever Pootang moved, since the Bug fighter could simply move under him.

The other RAFians saw him, and seemed to think this was a good idea.  Several Bug fighters and Andalite fighters landed, and the RAFians on the ground quickly climbed aboard, some of them looking nervous as they balanced on the outside of the craft.

Fortunately, at least, almost every RAFian who owned a ship had now trained enough to be competent at flying it.  Nevertheless, Dino was nervous as she watched the RAFians ascend precariously into the air atop those metal platforms, held up by nothing other than their own feet.

Within moments, the RAFians were all in place on top of various ships, and the barrage resumed.  Fire and ice and earth blasted at the creature, accompanying the laser fire of the ships beneath their feet.  Pootang, beginning to get more and more frustrated, chased after the fighters.  The craft were limited in their movements, forced to go slower than normal, so as not to throw off their precariously balanced riders.  Some of them only dodged Pootang's claws by a stomach-wrenchingly narrow margin.

A Blade ship, one of the few ships big enough to support Dino, suddenly surprised her by landing nearby.  <Hey!> Russell shouted to her.  <Climb on.  I think I've got an idea.  You look ready to join the fight, so do you want to?>

Dino hesitated, anxious.  The truth was, she was torn.  She wanted to help RAF, and yes, she had been feeling guilty that there wasn't much she could do to Pootang from the ground.  That guilt had probably been what Russell had been picking up on.

<How?> she asked, as she unsteadily clambered on top of the narrow Blade ship.  <I don't have any long-range attacks, and he's too dangerous to attack at close range.>

<Not necessarily,> Russell noted, as the ship's engines warmed up for takeoff.  <You just have to do the right sort of close range attack.>

It was then that Dino noticed Bear standing on top of another ship, an Andalite fighter that was approaching Pootang from behind.  Wait, what?  What was Bear doing, riding on a ship?  Surely he had to know that his lighting wouldn't have much effect on a Pikachu.  And, even if his powers would have done anything, it wasn't like he even had that much control over the lightning in the first place.

As Dino watched, the ship underneath Bear began to accelerate, faster and faster towards the monster.  Bear hunkered down against the metal plating, struggling to hold on.  The ship was mere yards away from a break-neck collision, when it suddenly stopped in midair.  But Bear didn't.

"YEAAAH!" Dino could hear Bear yell through his translator, loud even at this distance, as he flew recklessly through the air.  Dino's breath caught in her chest, as she watched the Kodiak bear arc through the sky.  The sight probably would have been hilarious.  If it hadn't been so insanely dangerous.

If Bear missed . . .

With a somewhat rubbery thud, Bear collided with Pootang.  He immediately dug his claws and teeth into the creature's back, holding on while he bit and scratched, gouging the impenetrable flesh as best he could.  Pootang screeched, and tried to throw off the bear, but Bear was holding tightly, and Pootang couldn't reach his own back with his short claws.

<So, uh, you've heard of the 'fastball special,' right?> Russell said to Dino.  She had been so distracted by worrying for Bear that she hadn't even noticed that the Blade ship she'd been standing on had now lifted off into the air.  The craft was creaking slightly under her massive weight, as it hovered upward.

<No,> Dino said flatly, suddenly realizing what it was that Russell had in mind.  <No no no nonono.  No way.  There is no way!  Holycrap, you may not have noticed this but I am a dinosaur.  I am a freaking Ankylotyrannus, and those do not fly.>

<Neither do bears,> Russell said with a morbid laugh as he guided his Blade ship to circle around Pootang, getting a good distance away as he approached from behind.  <Come on, with all that armor, you'll be alright.  Probably.  And besides, these are desperate times.  You know, desperate measures, and all that.  For RAF?>

<For RAF,> Dino reluctantly agreed, realizing Russell was right.  <For RAF!> she repeated, this time with a bit more conviction in her thought-speak voice.  Then, trying to summon some of Rachel's courage, she added, <Let's do it.>
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 21, 2012, 12:43:26 PM
Rather than helping the other fire makers, I am likely stabbing in the ankle.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 23, 2012, 12:42:04 AM
Chapter Forty-five

The Blade ship accelerated, picking up speed, faster and faster.  Dino did her best to hold onto the rivets with her stubby arms, ducking her body as low as she could, using the friction of her own body against the metal to hold herself steady, as the ship beneath her rushed recklessly forward.

She was making little squeaking noises that she hadn't known that her dinosaur voice could make.  She was terrified out of her mind.  Why had she ever agreed to this?

But it was much too late to back out.  Pootang was zooming larger and larger in front of Dino's eyes, and just before the ship seemed about to crash, Dino felt it suddenly jerk out from under her.

<AAAAAAH!> she screamed as she suddenly took off from the ship, flying uncontrollably through the air.  She could feel her immense momentum flinging her forward, the mass of her body making her nearly unstoppable, like she was steamrolling through the air.

She braced herself for impact.  This was going to hurt.

WHAM.  She roared in pain and dug her talons into the steeply tilted wall of fur, desperate not to bounce off as her momentum reversed direction.  Then it became a struggle not to fall, as gravity once again made its influence known.

Dino opened her jaws wide and bit down on the creature that was now under her feet, holding on for dear life.  Pootang's skin was tough, but Dino could feel her teeth penetrating deeper and deeper within the strange layers of flesh as she stumbled for balance.  She swished her tail back and forth as she fought to find stability.

Pootang roared, and this time Dino was sure she could detect a note of actual pain in his fractured voice.  She was hurting him!  Perhaps not by much, and it certainly wouldn't be enough, but at least it was something.

As Dino bit down harder and harder through the layers upon layers of Pootang's skin, she began to taste blood.  So, the monster could bleed.  That was a start.

But then she realized that the blood was burning hot, like biting into magma, boiling on her tongue.  She tried to spit it out, but it was like she had bitten into a can of pepper spray.  She roared in pain, and let go, shaking her head furiously back and forth as she tried to clear the horrible burn from her mouth.

Her wild movement had unbalanced her, and she began to fall backward, clutching with her talons in a desperate attempt to hold on.

But it was too late.  There was a sudden movement, a shift of the 'ground,' as Pootang swiftly turned around trying once again to reach his back.  It was enough to dislodge her completely, and she plummeted to the ground.

"DINO!" Bear cried out, still holding on higher up on Pootang's back.  "NO!"

Dino fell, and then her world went black.

The next thing Dino could remember, was waking up on the floor of a sterile-looking white-walled room.  She could hear sounds of pain from all around her, and as she looked around she could see mangled bodies lying in hospital cots.

<Where am I?> she managed to mumble to Jess, who was standing over her with her horn glowing as she gently pressed it against Dino's armor.

"You were hurt," Jess said.  "It's a miracle you didn't get killed.  You have Cloaky to thank for that.  And another miracle that the Blade ship's tractor beam was strong enough to get you here to the infirmary.  Dino, dear, what were you thinking?"

<Russell's idea,> Dino said weakly.

"What happened to your mouth?" Jess asked her.  "Your tongue had burn marks on it.  How did that happen?"

<What?> Dino asked, running her tongue over her teeth, trying to feel for damage, confused when she realized her tongue felt fine.  Jess must have already healed it.  Suddenly, in a flash of memory, she recalled what had happened.  <Well, good news is, Pootang can bleed.  Bad news, his blood is acid or something.>

Feeling somewhat better now than she had only moments before, Dino tried to get up.  She suddenly felt dizzy, and realized she wasn't quite well enough to stand just yet, so she settled back down.

"You can just take it easy for a while," Jess reassured her.  "You've done plenty."

Jess moved off to tend to the next patient, leaving Dino to get a better look at her surroundings.  Bear was there, unconscious, but Dino was relieved to see that he was breathing.  She felt a pang of guilt, realizing that it was probably her fault that he was there.  She would bet that her own fall had distracted him, caused him to lose his focus, and that distraction had obviously cost him.  Of course, she knew that it was irrational to blame herself for that.  But she felt badly all the same.

Dino spotted movement in her field of vision, and noticed Blaze.  She suddenly realized that he must have been the flying figure she had seen before, who had been swatted out of the air by Pootang.  Fortunately, he was nearly recovered by now, enough to be fidgeting unwillingly under Rad's care.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Dino heard Blaze say.  "Get this thing out of my head, I don't need any more healing!"

"Hold still, Ma'at is not going to hurt you," Rad was reassuring him.  "She just wants to make sure."  Blaze began to scratch angrily at the back of his neck, like he was trying to dig Ma'at out.  Rad sighed, and amended, "Okay, okay, calm down, she's coming out."  She held out a hand to retrieve her counterpart, and, holding the Tok'ra, she moved off to the next patient, while Blaze got up and strode out of the room.

Suddenly, Richard's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.  Like the voice of god, a voice with no source.  A mass-PM?  Or a bit of clever roleplaying?

"I want everyone who is able, to meet in the armory in five minutes," he said, with emphasis.  "I have a plan."

Dino tried again to stand up, and this time found that she could.  Those four words, the knowledge that Richard had a plan, were all she had needed to find her strength again.  Somehow, that one simple fact made it all worth it.  There was still hope.  RAF wasn't done yet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Dino noticed Steph and Cody, both of them using their powers to tend to RAF's injured.  Steph stepped over next to Cody.  "See?" she commented to him.  "I told you he would learn to be properly dramatic."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 23, 2012, 11:55:22 AM
Keep an eye out for the link in this chapter!  ;)

Chapter Forty-six

Richard stood at the front of the room, looking back and forth across the crowd of RAFians before him.  The RAFians were all sitting or lying on the metal floor of the armory.  Rather than looking uncomfortable, though, they seemed to be relieved to be resting at all.  The crowd looked back at Richard, the hopeless despair of endless battle already clouding their weary expressions.  But, in Richard's eyes, even though everyone knew his face was only a projected avatar, his pride in his forum seemed somehow to shine through.

"We tried to call out to RAF for warriors," he began, his voice booming out across the assembly.  "A call to arms, a call to fight.  But we were wrong."  He paused for a moment for effect, while the crowd waited patiently in rapt silence.

"We are warriors, true enough," he went on.  "It's a title that we have earned.  Each and every one of us has paid for it in sweat and blood.  But we're more than that.  We are something better than soldiers.  We are RAFians."  There was another pause, this time as he took a deep breath in preparation to continue.

"We are geeks," he stated simply.  RAFians in the crowd looked at one another with raised eyebrows, confused.  "We are nerds.  We are writers.  We are artists," he continued, his voice slowly building in power as he went on.  "We are poets.  We are musicians.   We are explorers, we are storytellers.  We are adventurers, we are visionaries.  We are newbies, and lurkers, and trolls.  We are actors, and directors, and producers."  A few audience members looked around, and noted Mr. Guy nodding in approval at this last part.

"We are kids, we are parents," Richard went on.  "We are teachers, and we are students.  We are the ones at the back of the class, hiding from the world while we create our own.  And we are the ones at the front of the class, waiting for our chance to change history."  The crowd was nodding their heads in agreement, satified smiles flickering on faces as each RAFian registered the truth of Richard's words.

"We are the dreamers.  We are the creators.  We are the architects.  We are the achievers," Richard stated triumphantly.  "We are the authors of our own destiny!  We have each paid that meager fee of our own sanity, and so, like a pact sealed in the blood of spirit, we are RAFians.  We are friends, and we are family."

He cleared his throat, and then spread his hands plaintively.  "Can anyone answer me one simple question.  Who among you is the strongest RAFian?"

"Estelore?" a tentative voice piped up.

<Cloak?> another wondered.

<Blue?>

"Parker?"

"You?"

"No.  Wrong," Richard answered flatly.  "So, answer me this one instead.  Who created Pootang?  Surely, anyone who could create such an unstoppable monster, must be more powerful than the monster itself.  More powerful than anyone could imagine."

"Anna and Ken?" a chorus of skeptical voices wondered.

"Wrong again," Richard corrected.  "Anna and Ken only gave Pootang its very first breath of life.  We all created the fractured being that it is now.  Our words and our thoughts each added to the seed that Ken and Anna had formed.  Ken and Anna gave it spark.  Blue gave it power.  Cloak gave it familiarity.  But we all, each and every one of us, gave it everything that it is.  RAF itself, created Pootang."  The crowd seemed stunned as they slowly realized the deep truth of his words.

"For, you see, there is no strongest RAFian," he went on.  "The sum of us, is stronger than any one of us.  Each and every one of us is powerful, yes.  But, taken together, we are unstoppable.  And here, in this universe of our own creation, there is nothing that we cannot do!"  The whole audience seemed to swell up with pride, hanging onto his every word.

"We, the writers, the creators, the thinkers, we must now create a new child of RAF," Richard finally explained.  "A true child of RAF.  A being born of each of us, to fight for us, by our side.  A champion, to defend our forum.  We must repeat what we did to create the monster that we made.  Not over the course of years, but now within mere hours."  Murmurs went up through the crowd at the plan, RAFians wondering amongst themselves whether this could be done.

"Estelore, Cloaky, Seal, Parker, Phoenix, Demos, Blue, and whoever else wishes to lend their aid, will keep Pootang at bay for as long as they can."  Richard inclined his head at each of those that he had mentioned, as though asking each RAFian's permission, and they each nodded in turn, signaling their willingness to fight.

"The rest of us?  We will write, and draw, and think, and create.  We will fight this war as only RAFians can.  With our hearts and with our minds.  The blank page is our battleground, and the imagery of our imagination is our weapon.  We are RAFians, and we are RAF.  We are many, and yet we are one.  Each of us individually has limits, but our collective imagination does not.  Yet, this undertaking will require every last RAFian if it is to succeed.  Because the more we write and draw and create, the more powerful this champion, our greatest ally, will become. (http://animorphsforum.com/index.php?topic=9356.0)"  He looked out over the RAFians, his forum, and he could plainly see in each of their eyes their willingness, their courage.

"Because only a RAFian born of all RAFians can truly be stronger than any one of us," he concluded.  "That single fact is why Pootang has stymied each of our efforts thus far.  But that is also why, in the end, we will win."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on July 23, 2012, 05:26:27 PM
Holy crap. It is the anti pootang. It is...a rock type pokemon.
Title: Enter RAF
Post by: Gaz on July 23, 2012, 05:40:38 PM
Have I mentioned how much I enjoy this?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on July 29, 2012, 04:24:37 AM
This is awesomesauce. Pure 150 proof awesomeness.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Horsefan1023 (Seal) on July 29, 2012, 06:37:30 PM
I've spent all day reading this and holy crap this is AWESOME.  This...this is amazing, Dino.  Truly, truly amazing. 
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 29, 2012, 08:14:04 PM
Thanks, you guys.  :-]  Eee, I'm so happy right now!

By the way, I think I may have mentioned this in the other thread, but I should make note of it here, too, and that's the fact that this story will be going on hiatus for the next three weeks or so.  This is going to be a busy week getting ready for RAFtrip, and then the two weeks after that are OMG RAFtrip!

I would tell you to use the time well, but, looking at the other thread, I can see that you guys already are.  ;)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Darth Revan on September 06, 2012, 12:30:43 AM
You're back right? You can resume the story? Right? ... right? :pwease:
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on September 07, 2012, 05:36:27 PM
Yes, I do intend to eventually finish this story (and then write another one shortly thereafter).  Oy, I've just been kept busy by one thing followed by another for a while now, and then add that to the fact that my artistic muse has been running wild lately, and that tends to make my literary muse run off and hide.  :P

Anyway, what all of that means is that I honestly don't know when the next chapter is going to surface from my brain.  Sorry.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 21, 2012, 12:35:46 PM
I'm finally back!  :D

Chapter Forty-seven

Richard, Demos, Cloaky, Estelore, Seal, Parker and his Spartans, Phoenix, and Blue waved goodbye to the rest of RAF.  The eight RAFians climbed aboard Ossanlin's Dome ship, leaving the others behind in the relative safety of the armory, so that the creative minds of RAF could write their tales of victory that would soon unfold.

In the meantime, of course, Pootang still had to be kept at bay, and that would require the strongest powers of RAF.  But they all knew it would only be a holding action, nothing more.  A hopeless fight with no chance of victory.

Seal, watching through the glass of the dome as the ship slowly accelerated, winced slightly as Pootang's screams seemed to echo across the vast space of the armory's hangar.  Another sound, a deep ominous cracking sound, like an earthquake, or like continents rifting apart, seemed to be growing louder and louder.  The second sound, much like the far-too-familiar fractured scream, seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

After a tense ride through the starry cosmos of the Roleplaying board, which was, oddly, punctuated with slightly brighter grey patches that Seal was fairly certain had not been there before, the Dome ship burst forth into the main forum.  Parker, who along with his Spartans was flying the Dome ship, immediately veered to put distance between the craft and the monstrous fractured form that had appeared from behind a building much too close for comfort.  Even as grand a sight as the great Dome ship was, it only barely matched the size of Pootang's largest forms.

Fortunately, however, the creature didn't seem to consider the ship a threat.  And it was, incidentally, probably right.  Although the Dome ship had shredder-cannons capable of wiping out a planet, the RAFians were not willing to risk inflicting that kind of massive damage upon their own forum except as a last resort of absolute desperation.

The eight RAFians wasted no time disembarking from the Dome ship, as soon as they had put a safe distance between themselves and the monster.  They fanned out as they surveyed the situation.

Cloaky, standing alongside the others who had volunteered to fight, looked out across the devastation of RAF, heartbroken to see the forum in such a state.  In the short time they'd all been gone, listening to Richard's speech, Pootang had ravaged the forum.  The Roleplaying Board was only barely still standing.  The darkness of endless cosmos inside its walls was now slowly dissipating from the rubble.

With a sudden shock of terror, Cloaky realized that RAF's armory was somewhere within Roleplaying.  That's where the rest of the RAFians were!  It was as though Pootang could smell them.  Like he was trying to reach them through the walls.

"Hey, lightning-rat!" Cloaky yelled, trying to get Pootang's attention, before he could think better of the idea.  He fired a massive boulder at the monster.  "Over here!"

Seal, coming up from behind Cloaky, quickly realized the same horrifying truth that the Realm Walker had.  "Hey you!" she called out, her bravery not quite masking the tremor in her voice.  "Yeah, you!  Come on, you monster!"

Pootang didn't even seem to register Cloaky's attack, but his long ears twitched at the sound of Seal's small voice.  The monster turned around to look for the source.

Thinking quickly, Parker ran headlong towards Pootang, strafing to the side as he ran to try to distract the creature from Seal, firing volleys from his assault rifle as he went.  The other Spartans followed his lead, each firing their own weapons.  Gary scored a lucky hit with his rocket launcher, and Pootang screamed in fury and pain as the rocket exploded directly in his eye.

Once again emboldened by the bravery of the Spartans, the other RAFians took advantage of Pootang's momentary disorientation, and loosed a barrage of their various personal attacks at him.  Stones and ice and fire flew at the creature, but the onslaught only seemed to anger him.  He howled a scream of frustration, and stomped towards his attackers.  The RAFians nimbly dodged out of his way, but it was disheartening to see just how little effect their efforts were having.  In fact, Cloaky realized, Pootang even still seemed able to see out of both of his eyes.  Had he already healed the damage somehow?  Or was he simply so impervious that even a direct hit at his weakest point did nothing at all?

Cloaky yelled out in frustration, maddened by seeing his attack after attack impact uselessly against the seeming wall of yellow fur.  It didn't make sense.  He knew he was more powerful than this!  How was he having so little effect?  He alternated between throwing stony hordes of earth, his primary element, and blasts of pure energy.  Nothing.

Estelore was more patient, pumping roaring flame after flame at their target.  Their human avatar began to sweat, even though the body was built to cope with extreme heat.  They were weakening.  They couldn't keep up this barrage.  But what good was it doing?  Pootang didn't even seem to notice the nuisance.

"Hey, guys!" Seal yelled over the sound of crashing water that she was generating.  "I've got a plan!"  She bounded back over to where Cloaky was, and waved a flipper at Estelore, who followed, curious to see what Seal had in mind.

"Together, on my mark!  Okay, let's do it!" Seal yelled.  At that moment, she summoned forth a gushing spout of water, like a sideways geyser, spewing relentlessly towards its target.  At the same time, Cloaky picked up boulders of earth and stone, as much of it as his powers could carry, directing the immense column of debris towards the same point that Seal had aimed at.  And at that same instant as the first two, Estelore shot forth a beam of flame, the glowing heat searing even from a distance, as the white-hot light seemed to burn the eyes of all those who watched the display.

The three elemental streams connected in midair.  Cloaky's earth was liquified into magma by Estelore's fire, while Seal's water collided with an eruption of exploding steam which sent bits of rock and lava flying like bullets of shrapnel towards the target.  The hissing steam engine of elemental forces rammed its way through the air towards Pootang.

"RAFians used Tri-Attack!" Seal proclaimed triumphantly as the forces of water, earth, and fire roared together as one.

With an earth-shaking shudder, the attack connected.  Pootang roared in pain, and glared with fury at those who had dared to injure him.  But the attack had been a mere scratch.  Painful, but not debilitating.  He didn't so much as waver.

"It's not very effective . . . " Cloaky said, disheartened.

But then Pootang looked down at Seal, and it was like he was noticing her for the first time.  He licked his lips hungrily, and padded toward her like an irresistible lure.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on December 21, 2012, 02:39:28 PM
What is super effective against electric?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 22, 2012, 12:29:32 AM
That would be ground.  Which Cloaky already tried.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 25, 2012, 12:03:21 AM
Chapter Forty-eight

Seal frantically backed up, as Pootang lumbered toward her.  Pinnipeds were never meant to move in reverse, of course, but Seal could actually move surprisingly fast backward.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled defiantly at Pootang, doing her best to hide her terror behind a mask of bravado.  She fired spears of ice, the biggest and the sharpest she could manage, as the enormous creature strode ominously towards her.

Cloaky and Estelore moved quickly to try to block Pootang's path, but the giant monster simply kicked them out of its way.  They both got back up almost immediately, unharmed, but by then Pootang was already past them, effectively blocking off any further attempts.

Then a flash of blue suddenly shot across the vertical wall of yellow, as Blue slashed down from a nearby building, holding out his sword as he passed across Pootang.  A hair-thin line of red appeared, but almost immediately the injury was hidden under the monster's fur.

"Hang on, Seal!" Blue called as he landed in a graceful crouch right next to Seal, spreading his Ketran wings as he kicked off from the ground again.  "Nobody messes with my Wondertwin!" he cried defiantly as he powered towards Pootang for another strike.  The monster growled at the annoyance, but still he stayed focused on his true target.

Seal continued to throw her frozen javelins, as the creature loomed closer and closer.  She jumped back, as a few drops of blood spattered out of Pootang's wounds.  Most of the droplets were red, but a few were a yellowish green color, and these hissed and steamed as they hit the ground, dissolving coin-sized divots into the ground.

"Acid blood?" Seal wondered sharply.  "Acid blood?  Whose bright idea was it to give this thing acid blood?!  As if we didn't already have enough problems!"

"Come on, we have to set a trap!" Parker yelled to the other RAFians, having a sudden insight.  "Seal can lead it wherever we need it to go, which means we can trap it!  Quickly!"

Cloaky nodded, and he immediately jumped on an energy disk that he had summoned, scanning urgently for an empty space big enough for what he was planning.  Without pausing to explain what he was doing, he quickly began to move giant chunks of ground in massive columns, tossing aside the debris as his hole in the earth became deeper and deeper.

"This way!" he cried as soon as the hole was big enough and deep enough for something of Pootang's size.  "Lead it this way!"

Phoenix, hovering above most of the other RAFians, paused the fireball barrage that he had been flinging at Pootang, and winged his way towards Seal.  He dove, and skimmed along the ground in preparation to grab her.  If he could just carry her across Cloaky's trap, he realized, then that would accomplish what they needed, and Seal would be safe.  But she was too far away, and Pootang was so close to her.  Could he reach her in time?

Phoenix looked across the battlefield for Blue, and saw to his dismay that the Ketran had been knocked far from the battle.  He seemed unharmed, but he was now too far away to ever reach Seal before it was too late.

It was all up to Phoenix.  He sheathed himself in flame as he flew, using the fire to propel himself as fast as he knew how to go.

Out of the corner of her eye, Seal spotted a comet-like flame streaking toward her.  In the spur of the moment she mistook Phoenix for an errant fireball, and fearfully dodged out of his way before he could grab her.  As the fire bird circled around for another pass, Seal realized her mistake, and abashedly raised a flipper in preparation to help him grab onto her.

But the mistake had cost precious seconds, time that they didn't have.  Phoenix had been going much too fast, and had overshot his target by many yards.  And now he had to build up speed in the opposite direction before he could reach Seal again.

Pootang licked his lips as he continued to stare creepily down at Seal.  Seal backed away faster now, and continued to launch burst after burst of ice shards up at the creature.  But it didn't deter him.  Even though blood was now forming thin streaks across his fur, he didn't even seem to notice the wounds as he continued to stalk his prey.

As Seal watched, Pootang's injuries were flowing together and sealing themselves, like his skin was made of liquid.  Parker, watching from behind a nearby pile of rubble, cursed, and tried to line up a shot before the monstrosity could heal completely, but now Pootang was too close to Seal, and he couldn't risk hitting her.

Seal finally lost her nerve.  She spun herself around to run all-out, but by then it was already too late.  Pootang grabbed onto her midsection with one of his misshapen stumpy claws, and lifted her helplessly into the air.  She struggled, but she was facing away from him, and her cryokinetic attacks were firing wild, missing the monster completely.

Phoenix pulled up, extinguishing his flame, as he stared up at the scene in shock and horror, not knowing what to do.

Disbelief gripped the RAFians across the battle field, unable to believe what was unfolding before their eyes.

Pootang grinned a hundred savage grins, as he opened his mouth wide, and dropped Seal down his throat.

Everything went strangely silent at that moment.  It was as if the entire battle had just stopped.  Nobody could believe what they had just seen.  It wasn't possible.

"Oh God, no," Blue muttered to himself in horror.  "No, no, it's not possible.  NO!"

"She . . . she's died before, though, right?" Phoenix whispered, panting and winded from adrenaline and exertion.  "She's died before and she always comes back.  Please Seal, please, don't be . . ."

The RAFians were each telling themselves similar reassurances.  That she'd been through worse, and survived.  How many times had she been eaten in various RAFfics, after all?

But, this wasn't just a story anymore.  This was a real battle, with real consequences.  The unfortunate newbie who had died and vanished proved as much.

And Seal had just gone inside a creature with acidic blood.  The RAFians had to be realistic.  In all likelihood, Seal could not have survived.

Still they waited, and hoped.  As though Seal would come triumphantly bursting forth from inside the monster.  But the minutes ticked by, like a silent eternity.  And still, nothing.  Nothing except Pootang, calmed now, and looking around with a curious sense of confusion, like he had expected something different.

Estelore stepped forward then.  All traces of fear gone, they stepped towards the fractured monstrosity.  Their eyes glowed with barely contained fury, while brilliant white flames licked their clenched fists, climbing up their arms.  The flames swiftly encircled their body, blindingly bright white.

"Stand back," Estelore said, and their voice was strangely calm, yet they spoke with such a powerful force that their words were impossible to ignore.  "Stand back.  Or we will not be held responsible for those who do not."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on December 25, 2012, 12:38:37 AM
Although I'm only reading this so often because Cloaky isn't present right now, this is really good. I usually see Pootang as a smaller threat though.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on December 25, 2012, 08:36:05 AM
This. Is. So. Freaking. AMAZING! Keep writing, Dino!! :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 25, 2012, 03:24:48 PM
Thanks guys!  :-]

True, in Cloaky's story, Pootang is a good deal tamer (and cuter, at times :kitty:), but a lot of interpretations have also shown him as being pretty uber.  Since my version is a combination of sorts, he incorporates ideas from all possible versions.

Note: As before, Blue text denotes posted text.

Chapter Forty-nine

Richard logged off.

He couldn't do this.  He couldn't.  He couldn't simply sit there typing at his computer while others fought and died.  Seal . . .

No, no, it wasn't possible.  She was so young.  She was only a kid, for god's sake!  She just couldn't be . . . Richard found himself unable to even finish that thought.

Standing up from his desk, he loosed a mournful howl of frustration.  Why was he here, safe, in the real world, while the others were in danger?  It wasn't fair.  They needed him, and all he could do was type stupid meaningless words that weren't enough to save anybody.  He didn't know how to fight.  He didn't even know how to write about fighting.

He cradled his head in his hands for a while.  Every now and then a sob escaped, unbidden, from his throat.  He knew that the battle was still ongoing, but he couldn't bring himself to face reality.  The horrid reality of Seal's deleted account, and what that empty username would mean.

When the newbie had died, Richard had seen the account disappear.  He did everything in his power to reactivate it, thinking that maybe, he could reverse that one pointless death.  But it had been no use.  His admin powers could do nothing to bring him back.

He didn't want to face that same helplessness again.  Never again.  Seal . . . no.  No!  It couldn't be, it wasn't possible.  She would come back.  Somehow, some way, she had to be okay.

He sat there, unmoving, with his head in his hands, for a long time.  Just repeating it over and over in his head.  That moment when Seal had fallen into Pootang's jaws.  It had been over much too fast for him to react.  Typing the words on a keyboard as he was, he had no hope at all to have reacted in time.

If only he had been there, really been there, maybe he could have done something.  It wasn't fair!  His forum needed him now more than ever, and he was helpless!

Richard sighed, and decided at last to go back to RAF.  But not back to the battle.  To the armory.  The others, the ones not fighting, would need to know what had happened.  They needed to know just how much they were needed now, how much was riding on their efforts.  How much the remaining warriors needed the writers, before another RAFian fell.

At least that was the excuse that Richard made for himself.  What he didn't admit was that, as long as he didn't look at Seal's account, there might still be some chance that she might have survived.  But as soon as he would see those empty posts, with that awful title, 'guest,' then it would be a sure thing.  And Richard just couldn't bring himself to erase that tiny flicker of hope.

So he went straight to the armory, not pausing to see what was going on with the battle.  At least the armory was still there.  Pootang had not destroyed it yet.  So at least RAF still had that much going for them.

Richard scrolled through the posts in the armory, quickly getting caught up with what was going on.

"Well, he's an electric type, right?" Blaze had posted.  "So how about a ground-type Pokemon of some sort, to battle him?" Blaze wondered aloud, as he twiddled a pencil in his fingers, idly tapping it against his notebook.

"Yeah," Underseen agreed.  "Something earth-based, then."

Meanwhile, Bear had posted, Bear wandered over towards Rad and Aquilai, joining their conversation.

"Let's look at the common factors concerning all RAFians," Aquilai put forth.  "Most of them are humanoid, or at least have some human-like characteristics.  So, a 'champion' of RAF should be something similar to a human, to better represent all of us."

"Chuck Norris," Bear posted.  "Nothin' beats Chuck Norris."

"According to Dino, Pootang's blood is acid, right?" Rad thought out loud.  "Maybe a giant stomach?  Or, like, somebody with an acidic diet?"

"Hmm.  Maybe if-" Aquilai started, but cut himself off when he sensed someone enter the room nearby.  He turned around to see the newcomer.

"Richard!" Bear exclaimed.  "What are you doing here?"

Richard couldn't help but jump slightly when he read Bear's post, having briefly forgotten that his avatar would appear to the other RAFians as soon as he entered the thread.  It was something very hard to get used to, to have his presence acknowledged even when he hadn't posted anything.

Scrolling down through a few more posts, he realized that the other RAFians had stopped talking when they had seen him appear, and they were now waiting him to say something.  The few posts that were still appearing, were mostly descriptions of RAFians' reactions to his sudden appearance.  Some were confused or curious, but most had a sinking feeling, as they each fearfully wondered what could have driven Richard to abandon the battle.

"Richard?" Anidragon asked gently.  "What's happening?"

Richard swallowed the lump in his throat, and started to type.

Richard looked down, his expression grave.  "It's Seal."

"Seal?" Jess asked, stunned and breathless at what Richard seemed to be implying.  "You can't possibly mean . . . "

Richard shook his head and steeled himself.  Though he wasn't speaking the words out loud, even merely typing them was hard.  "Yes.  I'm so sorry.  She's gone."

The outcry was immediate.  The thread erupted in denials, everyone asking if Richard was sure, had he actually seen it?  Because he had to be wrong somehow.  There was no way, absolutely no way at all, that Seal could be gone.

"We have to stay strong," Richard typed, although his fingers felt as heavy as lead.  But he had to say something.  It was the one thing he had, the one thing that he could do.  He could inspire.  "Now more than ever, we cannot give up.  All of RAF needs us.  Everything is riding on this one last chance.  We can do this.  I know that we can.  If we write what's in our hearts, where the bond between us is deepest, then not a single one of us can ever truly die."

But with those words, Richard had used up the very last of his resolve.  He didn't even have enough strength for himself, and here he was trying to share what little he had with the others.  Wearily, he clicked out of the armory, and hugged his knees to his chest.  He let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a sigh.  Hoping, not for the first time, that he might simply wake up, and none of this would have been real.

Then, just out of the corner of his eye, Richard saw something that made his heart stop.  He clicked the link to double-check, unable to believe his eyes.  It was a new post.  But that wasn't possible.  Unless . . .

Seal was alive!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Blazing Angel on December 25, 2012, 03:59:36 PM
Seal never legit dies in pootangs stomach, she is just forcefully removed! YAY! AND EW!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on December 25, 2012, 07:26:15 PM
Acid stomach juices can't stop Seal.. She's just too badass for that.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 27, 2012, 04:15:59 PM
Chapter Fifty

While the battle had stood in that frozen moment, the RAFians not knowing what to do to save her, Seal had whimpered in abject terror as her life flashed before her eyes, falling down towards Pootang's waiting mouth.  Oh god, oh god, she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do.  As powerful as she could be, even with her hydrokinesis and cryokinesis, she knew she couldn't fight her way out of this.  Pootang was too powerful, and she would be dead before she could get out.

She told herself that her RAFsona had been eaten before, had died before, countless times.  But this wasn't just a story anymore.  She was about to be swallowed by a creature with acid blood.  There was no way anything could survive that.

Then, in a sudden flash of insight, brought on by pure adrenaline, she realized there was even now something she could do.  One last, narrow chance.  Not to fight, of course, but to escape.  It would take timing, and courage, and oh dear lord it was going to be gross.  Not as gross, of course, as being actually eaten by Pootang.  But pretty close to it.

As she fell, almost in slow motion, she turned her head to look down into Pootang's open mouth.  She could see a gossamer thread of drool hanging down from one of his razor-sharp fangs.  He was salivating, anticipating the delicious seal-meat.

Of course, as it turned out . . . drool was mostly water.  Even monstrous rabid Pikachu drool.  And that was all Seal needed.

She held out her flippers like wings, slightly guiding her path even as she careened downward through the air.  She dived, aiming toward a small pool of saliva cupped in Pootang's enormous tongue.

It was nearly impossible to aim towards anything, surrounded by hundreds of different hallucinogenic images of the insides of mouths, layered over one another, all around her.  But she desperately shut all that out of her mind and focused with all of her will on this one thing.

She wrinkled her nose as she braced for impact, readying herself for the moment she would hit the liquid's surface.  Wait for it, she thought.  NOW!

Seal surfaced, moments later, in a lake.  She gagged, still coated with spit, although the clean water was already beginning to dissolve some of the slime.  She frantically rubbed herself with her flippers, trying to work the nasty stuff out of her fur.  As she did so, she looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

Nearby, Seal recognized the Galaxy Edge Space Bar.  Wow, she'd gone a lot farther than she'd meant to.  How had she teleported so far?  She'd just aimed for the nearest water, she thought.  Was the GESB's lake really the only source of water on RAF?

She swam to the shore, where she fitfully shook herself dry, and looked around for the glass ship that would carry her back to the rest of RAF.  She spotted it, and hurriedly bounded inside.  She pressed the exit button, and willed it to go as fast as it could.

The other RAFians would, no doubt, be worried absolutely sick.  They had seen her fall into Pootang's mouth, with no indication at all of what had happened after that.  Surely, they would all assume the worst.

The glass ship stopped at the main forum, and Seal immediately got out, moving as fast as she could.  She looked around sadly at the sight of the ruined buildings, a ghost town of the place that RAF had once been.  But she didn't slow down.  She followed the destruction towards the place she knew Pootang would be.

Her mouth dropped open in awe, as she approached the scene from a distance.  Only two RAFians seemed to be fighting Pootang.  The others were nowhere to be seen.  And yet, what Seal saw was a battle of titans.

Estelore was much too distant to be recognizable as such, but Seal knew it was them by the harsh glare of sunlight that now shone from their body.  Their human avatar had taken off into the air, blasting fire downward like a rocket in order to stay aloft.  They were only the size of an insect next to the enormous Pootang, but from that diminutive human form, came blast after blast of white-hot fire in all directions, like a continuous supernova.  Even from this distance, Seal was in discomfort from the heat hitting her face.

The other RAFian, on the opposite side of Pootang from Estelore, was one that Seal didn't even recognize at all.  Part of that was because Seal found it difficult to even look in his direction, amidst the golden-scarlet shock waves of raw energy that seemed to be emanating constantly from his form.  But when Seal was able to briefly glance at him, she saw a shape of orange and black, amidst a wake of burning rubble.  His movements so effortlessly graceful that he could only be feline.

A tiger?  Who on RAF was . . .

"Cloaky?" Seal whispered to herself, awed, in utter disbelief.  She had, of course, never seen him without his cloak before.  And, upon seeing the crater of destruction that was rapidly forming in his path, she could very easily see why.

A sudden pang of worry struck Seal, to see Cloak like this.  She knew it was one of his deepest fears, to lose control of himself.  And to see him unleashing this much power . . . she only hoped he would still be alright after it was all over.

But, almost as unbelievable as seeing Cloaky without his cloak, was to see Pootang's reaction to the onslaught.  The unstoppable monster was cowering.  The great beast was actually whimpering in pain.  And he was trapped.  Estelore's inferno on one side of him, and Cloaky's maelstrom on the other.

Pootang, the monster that they all thought invincible, was cringing in fear, unable to approach either of the two.  Seal could already see where his fur was crisping and turning black.  New injuries now overlaid the scars many of his aspects had already possessed.

Seal looked away, unable to believe what she was seeing.  This was all because of her, she realized with a sudden start.  It had to be.  Even from this distance, she could almost feel the anger in the way Cloaky and Estelore were fighting.  It was a palpable energy that infused the air.  Cloaky's hurt fury, and Estelore's protective wrath.  It was certainly a far cry from the rational, almost cautious way that any of the RAFians had tested their powers previously.

Demos, who had been crouching behind a collapsed wall far away from the battle, turned his head away for a moment, to rest his eyes.  The multi-form Pootang by itself already hurt badly enough to look at, but throw a supernova and a cloak-less Realm Walker into the mix, and it felt like his eyes were actually going to catch fire.

As he looked to the side, he could swear he saw a fuzzy shape of white.  No.  It couldn't be.  It couldn't possibly be her.  Could it?

But Demos didn't hesitate wondering why or how.  He got up and ran headlong towards her.  It was Seal!  It really was her!

Seal must've spotted the motion out of the corner of her eye, because she turned her head toward Demos and grinned.  She bounded forward, excited to be able to tell another RAFian that she was okay.

"How?" Demos asked, as he knelt down for a hug, which Seal gladly obliged.

"You all forgot I could teleport, didn't you?" Seal said smugly.  "There was enough water, or, whatever, in there, that it worked.  It wasn't pretty, but it worked."

Demos ruffled the fur on top of Seal's head, giving her a sly smile.  "Nice trick.  Don't ever scare us like that again."

"Yes, because I totally intended to do that!" Seal protested shrilly, making a face.  "I got almost eaten, just so that I could mess with everyone."

They both heard Pootang's fractured voice cry out in pain, and glanced back towards the battle scene.  A sharp wedge of rock, bigger than a person but still dwarfed by the monster's enormous size, was now lodged in Pootang's side, blood slowly trickling from the wound.  Seal glanced over at Cloaky, her expression etched with concern.  "We should probably tell the others I'm okay."

Demos laughed at that, as he shielded his eyes and looked towards Estelore, who was furiously throwing jets of brilliant white flame.  "Actually, I'm thinking maybe we should wait just a little bit longer."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on December 27, 2012, 06:07:35 PM
Of course Seal is still amazing.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on December 28, 2012, 10:07:14 AM
And so is this story.
Wow, all you guys are inspiring me to (give a second, hopefully less lame) attempt at writing fanfiction of my own!
Of course, this will definitely have to be after I'm done with all my college entrance exams... but I'll hoard ideas till then! :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on December 29, 2012, 01:10:48 AM
You're not the only one here. Once I get free time I will write a RAFfic.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on December 29, 2012, 03:25:56 AM
In the words of an author we all know and love:

"I'm so sorry for getting you into writing.  What a horrible thing to inflict on you.  I should have just sold you crack." -K.A. Applegate

Lol.  But, on a more serious note, I'm honestly kinda touched that my RAFfic might inspire others.  Considering that mine was itself inspired by another, it would kinda seem like passing the torch, you know?  I look forward to reading whatever you guys write.  :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on December 30, 2012, 07:46:41 AM
Yeah, well, I've already begun jotting down points, and the whole escaped-from-the-internet things plus Cloaky's glitch has given me a logical (so to speak :) ) background for my fic, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on January 03, 2013, 04:23:01 AM
I made the first chapter of the first story, but deleted it after I realized the plot was too close to Seal's story "Revenge of the banned." I might still post the story, but don't complain if it sounds at some points like it is unorginal.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on January 03, 2013, 08:16:43 AM
Gotten through 2 chapters. Hopefully it's original, coz it's my origins anyway. Will do background research!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on January 03, 2013, 01:50:55 PM
There is a chapter with you in it in mine Saffa.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on January 04, 2013, 09:33:39 AM
Of course, I have to spread my awesomeness around.  ;D I'm pretty sure I can get you a role too!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on January 10, 2013, 10:40:36 PM
Chapter Fifty-one

Unable to approach the battle even briefly enough to talk to Cloaky and Estelore, the other RAFians instead decided to hunt down Estrid.  It had been settled, despite some half-joking protests from Demos, that Estrid would make a mirror-wave call to inform the fighters that Seal was alright.

Seal had insisted that such important news not be kept from any RAFian, under any circumstances.  Even if it meant that the RAFians might lose the advantage that they'd briefly had against Pootang.

Estrid stood at the edge of the battlefield, readying her mind to project her thought-speak across the distance.  <GUYS!  SEAL IS ALIVE!> she called out to all of RAF at once.  A definite note of triumph could be heard in her voice, the joy of proclaiming good news in a time when there was so little to be had.

The reaction to the news, however, was immediate and shocking.  Estelore's fire suddenly went out, and they fell from the air, plunging towards the ground as if they'd taken a hit.

Although it hadn't been obvious while they were fighting, it was now suddenly very apparent that the effort had taken an extreme toll on their human avatar.  And so, as soon as they had lost the anger that had been keeping them going, they simply collapsed, spent.

"ESTELORE!" Seal yelled as she bounded forward, her heart pounding in her throat.  But she couldn't get close.  Cloaky's energy pulses were still emanating from that direction, holding back the RAFians like a blistering wind.   Phoenix glanced upward, checking to make sure Estelore's star was still in the sky, and breathed a sigh of relief.  The sun was there, burning as bright as ever.

"Estelore's okay, guys," Phoenix reassured the others.  He pointed up at them to illustrate, and as each of the others nervously looked up, they seemed to calm somewhat.

Pootang was still reeling from the assault he had just endured.  He was looking around in nervous confusion, wondering why his attackers had suddenly stopped.  Yet, for the moment at least, he was still leery enough of his surroundings that he seemed unwilling to approach any of the RAFians.  As though he now feared what they might do to him.  Parker and the other Spartans were keeping an eye on him anyway, their guns trained in his direction, knowing that the momentary peace would not last.

Cloaky, meanwhile, had stopped moving when he'd heard Estrid's call.  Simply stopped.  He stood like a statue, as if in shock, slowly and incredulously looking around at the devastation around him.  Like he was seeing it for the first time.  Like it had been someone else who had caused it.

After a long pause he shook himself back to reality, and grabbed his cloak which was laying on the ground nearby.  He loosed a snarl, but not at anything in particular.  It was like he was cursing himself.  He put his cloak back on, carefully adjusting it to cover every last inch of him.  Then, he swirled his cloak and vanished, wanting to distance himself from the destruction of his own making.

The Realm Walker hadn't gone far.  The other RAFians quickly spotted him again at the top of a nearby hill.  But it was obvious that he was keeping his distance from the other RAFians, his back turned to them.

Seal wasted no time, bounding toward Estelore as soon as Cloaky had replaced his cloak.  Logically she knew that they were okay, but it was still harrowing to see their human body fall like that.  She kept telling herself that they were fine, that the human form was really nothing more than a convenient method of interacting with other RAFians without setting them on fire.

But as the RAFians approached the human Estelore, it was difficult to believe that they would be alright.  They were barely conscious, and their body was an awful sight.  Estelore's human body was designed with extreme heat in mind, of course.  But nothing short of their actual star body could have taken those supernova temperatures and hoped to survive intact.  Their skin was crisped from their own fire, with burn scarring so severe that in places their flesh resembled melted wax.

Even though they knew that the human form was only a tiny fraction of Estelore's true form, it was hard to look at that crumpled human body and not think that they were grievously hurt.  It went against every instinct, to try to convince themselves that that human body, the 'person' that they had talked to every time they talked to Estelore, was just an expendable puppet of a much larger entity.

"We're fine," they reassured, their voice rasping but coherent, as they looked up at the worried faces of the other RAFians.  They smiled brightly at Seal, still giddy that she was not dead.  But then they sighed with resignation, as they quickly began to realize the full implications of their predicament.

"Well, this is inconvenient, isn't it?  We'll have to design a new body, it seems.  No idea how long that's going to take.  This one came pre-made."  They chuckled at the strangeness of that sentence, but went on.  "None of us has ever built a body before."

They sighed a second time, liking their situation less and less the more they thought about it.  'Inconvenient' had been an understatement.  "Needless to say, but we'll be on the bench until we can manage it.  We can't exactly fight as a star.  At least, not without destroying RAF.  Our apologies, but you'll have to find a way to maintain without us."

Estelore winced, not in pain, for they could easily choose to tune that out, but because they realized just how much their friends needed them right then.  But there was nothing they could do about it now.  Several of them mentally cursed their earlier haste, their determination to overexert themselves in their anger.  If they hadn't been so foolhardy, they wouldn't be in this situation.

The other RAFians shared looks of disappointment mixed with fear.  They hadn't even considered the possibility that Estelore would no longer be able to fight.  Estelore and Cloak's awesome powers had finally turned the battle in their favor, and now even they were out of commission?  What were any of them supposed to do now?

Seal tried, too late, to hide the disappointed look behind a mask of relief.  "I'm just glad you're okay.  We're all glad.  Right guys?"

But this was no time for anyone to hold a discussion of their thoughts.  Even as the RAFians spoke, Pootang seemed to be slowly coming around, returning to his former confidence.  The monstrous apparition was already looking down at Estelore's broken human body, vengeance blazing in his eyes.  Parker tensed as he realized that their brief window of calm was already closing.  "Guys?" he said, tightening his grip on his rifle, even though he knew full well how little use it would be.  "I think we should be somewhere else."

As Pootang continued to stare at Estelore, he opened his mouth as if to roar.  But he remained strangely silent.  Then, a slight reddish glow seemed to be building at the back of his throat.  At first it seemed like a trick of the light, as though it was just glinting off his tongue, but soon it was impossible to ignore the fact that the inside of his mouth was actually glowing redder and redder.

Blue realized instantly what was about to happen, flared his wings, and urgently shouted, "MOVE!"

The RAFians moved.  Blue picked up Seal as he flew, and the others hastily followed, scurrying quickly to a safe distance.  From there, they watched as the red glow from Pootang's mouth grew brighter and brighter.  The ominous red light seemed to shift inward on itself, like the monster was inhaling the glow from the air itself, as Pootang powered up what Blue had realized could only be the monster's massive laser.

But Estelore was not lying idle as they waited for the attack.  They summoned the very last ounce of their body's strength, and lit themselves aflame once more.  There was nothing left to lose, and they were not going to go down without a fight.  They rose slowly to their feet, trying their best to recall the raw emotion that had fueled them before.  It was wrenching, but as they thought of what could have happened, and how close Seal had come to . . . it wasn't hard to be angry at the monster that was responsible.

With that burst of rekindled strength, Estelore took flight.  At the same moment, Pootang unleashed the power of his laser, the enormous bright red beam making a horrifying discordant noise as it exploded the spot that Estelore had been moments before.  Nearby buildings cracked from the shock wave.

Estelore landed, unable to stay in the air for more than a few seconds in their weakened state.  Pootang recharged his laser, the red light building much faster the second time.  Estelore sent a burst of flame towards the monster, the unexpected attack interrupting his concentration and causing the stored red light to disperse.

Estelore fearlessly faced the towering threat, even as he refocused his wrath.  They pointed their palms upward towards the monster, channeling all of their strength into their fire, the spout of flame flowing forth like a blazing bright liquid stream.  Pootang grunted from the pain, but its fractured body glowed only slightly as it seemed to absorb the fire.  Estelore gritted their teeth as they focused more and more fire towards the monster, the roar of the flames becoming nearly deafening as billows of bright white fire poured from their outstretched hands, engulfing everything in their wake.  Pootang opened his mouth as he began to charge his laser once more, this time willfully ignoring the distraction of Estelore's attacks as he drew in red light.

Estelore felt no pain in their human avatar, but they could still sense that the fire they were channeling was quickly becoming far too much for their already-damaged body to survive.  Their hands were charred almost black, but still it was not enough power to truly damage Pootang.  Bright white fire shot forth from their hands, the thundering beam of flame now larger than their human form, blinding them as their eyes were filled with nothing but glaring white.  They could feel their human body disintegrating, torn apart by the violence of their own onslaught.

Pootang screamed in pain as he was engulfed in white fire, a hundred screams issuing forth from one mouth.  But still the monstrosity somehow remained on its feet, unbowed even by Estelore's fearsome might, as he continued to draw the red light into his mouth.  He opened his mouth wide and fired his laser once more, the thick red beam piercing effortlessly through the billowing clouds of bright flames.

It was over in a flash, no time for Estelore to move or even think about moving.  When the flash cleared, Estelore was gone, their body completely vaporized.  Only a darkened crater was left where they had been.

Pootang was hurt, too.  Estelore's final burst of flame had gone directly into his exposed mouth, and he choked and coughed for air as he inhaled superheated plasma.  He stumbled, disoriented both by pain and by lack of oxygen.  But as he drew a shaky breath, he seemed to recover his strength.  And now he was angry.  He roared, a sound that came out of his scorched throat like a savage hiss, and looked around for a target to take out his fury.

He saw the six remaining RAFians.  And now there was nothing, no force that they possessed, that could keep his rage at bay.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on January 12, 2013, 12:16:01 AM
Seems like a Godzilla  movie...
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on January 12, 2013, 08:53:20 AM
Finally, you've updated! Great thing to come back to.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on February 18, 2013, 04:53:42 AM
Will you continue this?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on February 23, 2013, 04:00:42 PM
Oh sorry for the late reply!  I just didn't see your post.  My muse has been absent so much lately that I never bother to check my own fic anymore.  :P

Anyway, the answer is yes.  I definitely have plans for this, and don't want it to sit unfinished forever.  The problem is that, while I know where it's eventually going to go, I haven't decided yet what's going to happen immediately next.  And, well, trying to write epic legendary battle scenes, puts a lot of pressure on a muse.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on February 23, 2013, 10:43:42 PM
I know that feels
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 04, 2013, 07:26:05 PM
Oooh, that is a bad feeling when you go to post in your own fic and you get the 'Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days,' message.  Ouch.  :-X

Anyway, I've done a lot of assuring (months ago, lol) that I would finish this thing.  It's time to finally put my money where my mouth is.  I've been all kinds of inspired for the second book I'm gonna write (thinking of titling it, "End of RAF"), so I need to finish this one so I can actually write that one.

Don't really expect there to be anybody still reading this, but whatever, it's just something I need to do.

Chapter Fifty-two

"RUN!" Phoenix screamed as Pootang roared vengeance at the RAFians.  Blue was still carrying Seal, and he flew as fast as his Ketran wings could carry him.  Phoenix quickly took his own advice and rose into the air alongside him.

From the ground, Parker called out, "Split up!  He can't get all of us!"

Phoenix nodded, and veered away from Blue.  With a fearful pang, he realized Seal would still be Pootang's main target.  But if they could keep Pootang distracted from her, they all might, just maybe, be able to make it.

With his heart in his throat, Phoenix turned to face Pootang, his momentum propelling him backward as he continued to fly, and unleashed a fireball.  Even though the flaming orb was only a pinprick of pain to the monster, Pootang still roared in sheer rabid fury at the insolent insect who would dare to hurt him when he was already in pain.  Phoenix's heart beat fast in his chest as he turned away from the raging beast and redoubled his speed.

Demos, who was running along in the same general direction as Phoenix, but getting farther and farther away to his left as he ran, immediately saw what Phoenix was getting at.  He slowed, turned, and unleashed a fireball of his own.  "HEY UGLY!" he yelled with far more confidence than he felt, making sure he got the monster's attention.  It worked.  Pootang sharply turned the full force of his rage towards the new target as he charged towards the RAFians, anger blazing in his eyes.

His anger was a weakness, Parker quickly realized.  He would focus his attention on whoever presented the most immediate target, too lost in his own rage to think clearly.  The RAFians could use that.

Parker had run in the other direction, and was now several football fields' distance away from the other RAFians.  He fired off a round.  Pootang loosed a frenzied scream and whipped around, turning towards the source of the new annoyance, bounding forward to make up the distance.  But his heated rage was now driving him away from the other RAFians.

Suddenly, Phoenix saw what Parker had already seen.  That the blindly furious Pootang seemed only capable of focusing on whoever had last attacked him.  "Hey, guys, anybody remember the first Megamorphs book?" Phoenix yelled out, the sound of his voice catching Pootang's attention, causing the monster to turn his head slightly away from Parker.  Phoenix rose higher into the air and lobbed another fireball at Pootang.  Not enough to truly hurt the monster, although it would certainly have hurt or killed any normal creature.  But it was enough to draw the creature's ire, and send it lumbering in Phoenix's direction.  "TAG!" Phoenix yelled in adrenaline-fueled glee before shooting away from the monster once more.

Blue was now nowhere to be seen.  Phoenix hoped he and Seal had found somewhere safe.

Cloak, from a safe distance away, was still anxiously watching the scene.  Wanting desperately to help, but afraid.  Not of Pootang.  Well, yes, that too.  But, mostly, he was afraid of himself.

He knew that it was only luck that had kept anyone from being hurt, or killed, when he had lost control of his emotions and removed his cloak.  He had no illusions about that fact.  It had been only pure dumb luck that the other RAFians had been able to get far enough from him in time.

He wouldn't have been able to live with himself, had that not been the case.  If a RAFian had died because he had lost control . . . no, no, he couldn't even think about that.

Of all the times to forget how very fragile a life could be!  He had just watched a fellow RAFian, one of his best friends, fall into the mouth of that giant beast.  Thinking that she had to be dead.  That awful pain of loss threatening to tear him apart.

And how had he reacted to that terrible thought?  By seeking vengeance.  Vengeance at any cost.  Recklessly bloodthirsty, heedless to the other lives around him.

This was one of Cloak's darker moments.  But this was not the time for self-reflection, and he knew it.

The other RAFians needed him, right now.  They could die if he did nothing, too.  They could die by his hand, or by his inaction, and it was his choice.  He knew he wasn't a coward.  But he couldn't bring himself to abide even the smallest chance that he could become a murderer, either.

He shivered slightly, feeling paralyzed by that heavy weight of deadly responsibility on his shoulders.  Knowing he needed to do something.  But his mind too weighed down by the dire importance of what he needed to do.

The sun, Estelore's star, loomed larger and larger in the sky above the Realm Walker and the other RAFians.  It seemed that Estelore wanted to be as close as they dared to their friends, even though they knew they could do nothing to help.  The bright sunlight permeated the forum, glinting off of the buildings, and infusing all of RAF with the comforting hopeful warmth of a summer's day.  The sunlight seemed to renew Cloaky's courage, as though Estelore was lending him their own resolve.

Pootang was growing frustrated by the other RAFians, a terrible bloodlust in his eyes.  The beast had been hurt, and he would not be calmed until he had returned that pain, tenfold, upon those who would dare to injure him.  As Cloak watched, his mouth began to glow that hideous red.  It was now or never, he knew.  His friends needed him.

Cloaky stood up tall, feeling the sunlight permeate his body even through his cloak.  He pulled his cloak tight around himself, and walked back into the battlefield.  His walk soon quickened into a run, as he felt the weight of inaction slipping from his shoulders.

As soon as he was within range, he pointed his palms up at the creature and focused his energy with all his might.  "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" he roared, a flare of golden-scarlet light flashing from his hands.

And, incredibly, Pootang actually did back off slightly.  It was obvious that the creature was still afraid of what the Realm Walker had done before.  The physical damage was mostly healed by Pootang's regenerative powers, but the memory of the onslaught was slower to mend.  Cloaky lowered his hands for a brief moment, and looked up at the beast with something like pity, or maybe guilt, in his eyes.

Fear.  The monster was afraid of him.  He knew he shouldn't care.  Pootang was a beast, a rabid animal.  It didn't matter that he feared the Realm Walker.

Cloaky shook off those thoughts.  He'd done too much thinking along those lines as it was.  No, the time for thought was over, now was the time for action.

Cloak barely dodged the laser that Pootang had been able to charge while he'd been distracted, his cloak fluttering in the heat and the shockwave from the blast as he nimbly rolled away.  The charred crater behind him smoldered with waves of heat.

With all the grace of the tiger he was, he began to dart back and forth, staying always out of Pootang's reach and aim.  With every movement, he drew away from the other RAFians, hoping to draw Pootang after him.  But he knew it was only a holding action, as much as he hated to admit it.  Even with Estelore and himself combined, it had only ever been a holding action.

Blue was back, no longer carrying Seal.  He fired a beam of ice at the monster, drawing his attention away from Cloak.  Pootang turned, his anger blinding him to the fact that he was wasting time by chasing after the flitting Ketran.

Holding action though it may be, Cloak mused to himself, he had to admit it was a pretty effective one.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 04, 2013, 07:39:38 PM
Gonna go ahead and post the next chapter since I have it ready.

Chapter Fifty-three

The RAFians, the ones who had stayed out of the battle, had moved from the central armory to the hangar, as the Champion of RAF began to take shape.  The entity they were creating was much too big to fit in the room they had been in before.  He, or it, or they, towered above the RAFians, larger than life.

Richard was diligently typing at his computer, writing as much and as fast as he knew how, as he entered in the descriptions that the other RAFians were constantly giving him.  He had each RAFian's account open in a separate window, for they had dutifully allowed him full access.  He was posting each of their entries under their name, writing each RAFian into the aspect of the Champion that they had created.  Or, perhaps, writing the Champion into each of them.

The being that stood before them was human, or at least humanoid.  Several different humans seem to have been overlain with one another, in much the same style as Pootang, but with none of the monster's grotesque horror.  The human aspects ranged from a noble paladin emblazoned with the insignia of RAF, to the familiar visage of Chuck Norris, to another familiar face, that of K.A. Applegate.

But it wasn't entirely human, either.  There were other species captured within the being, too.  All humanoid, but not all human.  An Andalite, but with fangs, and blades on his joints, and armor like a force field.  A cartoonish figure that looked like it was made of gravel and stone.  Another almost saurian form that was red with intricate black markings.  A gigantic robot made of iron and steel.

Still other aspects were the most familiar beings of all.  RAFians.  Blaze's fiery wings extended from the entity's back.  Cloaky and Parker and Estelore's human form were overlain with one another, cloak and armor and sundress all melding together.

The RAFians, even as they wrote, had begun to notice something strange about the Champion.  Well, it was a strange feeling to most of them, at least.  But it wasn't unfamiliar to Rad, who had already encountered the phenomenon, the ineffable link between her human self and Ma'at, like two halves of a whole.

The rest of them could now sense that same connection with the Champion.  Like they were each a part of this entity that they were creating.  Literally part of it.  As though each RAFian's consciousness were stretched across two bodies.  One half in their own body, their RAFsona, the other half in the Champion.  Yet, the half that was in the Champion, was not a confused hive mind composed of half of every RAFian's thoughts.  It was all one mind, yet that one mind was also a part of each and every RAFian.

It was an indescribable feeling, yet, on some level, it felt almost natural.  It felt right.

"Okay, now PUNCH!" someone called out.  The RAFians had all been taking turns to yell out such commands, training the Champion to fight, and themselves to fight through him.  After a fractional delay, the Champion swung his giant fist through the air, dealing a powerful blow to some imagined target.

It was still Richard who had to guide the Champion's movements with his keystrokes, although he had gotten more and more skilled at reacting quickly to what the RAFians told him to type.  Think and speak and type and react, until it really did feel like it was the RAFians themselves guiding the Champion.  A lagged connection, like an old video game that took a little longer than it should before responding to the player's moves.  But they were getting better, and faster.  And they would need that ease of practice before there was any hope of going into battle.

That delay between action and reaction, though, that would give Pootang an edge.  It was hoped, however, that the Champion could be made powerful enough to overcome that edge.

Those doubts were pushed out of most RAFians' minds by a slight commotion at the edge of the room.  Saffa had returned to the hangar.  She had been selected for a special task, because she was bold enough to do what was needed, yet at the same time, it was hoped, her natural red-tailed hawk form would be nonthreatening enough to allow for diplomacy.

Only one figure followed behind her, though, not the six that everyone had hoped for.  He was multi-form, like the Champion.  All his forms were teenaged, perhaps even a young teenager, but his eyes looked much older than the rest of his face.

"Your friend explained the situation to me," Jake said to the RAFians who were expectantly eyeing him, nodding to Saffa as he spoke.  "I'm here to make sure this isn't a trap.  I might not even have come at all, but, it seems, you guys were the ones to finally take down Visser Three.  We are grateful for that.  At the same time, the last thing any of us want to do is to underestimate you.  So, for the time being, it's just me."

There was some surprised murmuring at the mention of Visser Three's death.  Who had done that?  Nobody in the room seemed to have heard anything about it.  Whichever RAFian was responsible, then, had to be one of the eight currently fighting Pootang.  Cloaky?  No, probably not, that wasn't like him.  Demos?  Parker?  Maybe.

Jake brought up some sheets of paper that he had been clutching at his side.  "I did have the others jot down a few ideas for you before I came, though.  Not sure if that helps."

Richard stepped forward to accept the notes.  "It helps," he said, as he rifled through what the Animorphs had written.  Marco's account was rambling and repetitive, as he listed historical figures seemingly at random, throwing in a few standard-issue superpowers, but it was more like he was just babbling to fill space.  Rachel had written a much more knowledgeable piece, almost as if speaking from experience, listing such things as mechanical gears and claws, the ability to change size, morphing instantaneously, responding automatically to outside influences and threats, in essence, an effortless adaptive mechanism.  Tobias's version described basically a birdlike creature, able to move faster than a falcon, and with talons like scimitar blades.

Ax's report was precise and to the point, dry and tactical, noting the importance of speed and predictive ability, as well as stating, rather un-modestly, that an Andalite would be the obvious best choice of physical form.  Cassie's was about a more natural sort of warrior, a human but with a combination of senses and attributes from various animals, the eyes of a hawk, the reflexes of a cat, the stamina of a wolf, the stealth of an owl, yet unlike the others she made no mention of actual fighting ability or any sort of weapons.  Jake himself had written about a creature with a rotating waist that could never be thrown off-balance, and eyes that could see an enemy's weak points.

Richard looked through the various accounts, his face inscrutable, as the other RAFians all leaned in to peek over his shoulder.  There were a few confused frowns at the incoherent ramble that Marco had written, but overall the atmosphere was hopeful.  These aspects sounded excellent.  Especially Rachel's.  Of course, they should have guessed that she would bring Super Rachel into the mix.

Nobody knew if the Animorphs' help was even going to work, though.  Could beings who were, themselves, created, go on to create another entity?  Well, in any case, they needed all the help they could get, and they didn't have much to lose.

Richard, still sitting at his computer, used his admin powers to create six new accounts for the Animorphs.  He wasn't sure if even that would work, either.  It hadn't for Pootang.  But maybe, since the Animorphs had given their permission for this, it would be different.

Their original names were almost all taken, of course, but he was able to create variations that were close enough.  He wrote entries detailing who they were.  Those posts would be the link, he hoped, which would bind them as their RAFsonas.  He'd never really been much of a writer, but practicing with the Champion had honed his skills, and so he was able to summarize the Animorphs with relative ease.

Within RAF, a gasp went up through the crowd, as the RAFians saw the effect Richard's move had on Jake.  The overlayered images that comprised his form began to blur together, like someone adjusting the focus on a camera.  After a second or two, as Richard finished his description, the image resolved into one clear coherent face.

Jake was no longer just a program.  He was a RAFian.  He looked down at his body, clearly sensing that something was different, but he didn't seem quite sure what, exactly, it was.

One by one, the new forms that had been described by the Animorphs merged into the Champion, as each Animorph became a RAFian, and thus each was bound to the Champion of RAF.

The Champion was ready.  Win or lose, their chances were not going to get better than this.

Hesitating, knowing that his friends' lives were now more than ever in his hands, Richard began once more to write the Champion's actions.  As he typed, the Champion of RAF took slow but confident steps forward, out of the hangar, towards the battlefield.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 04, 2013, 09:42:12 PM
YAY! New chapters! (And I'm in one of them! :D ) I've said it before but I'll say it again, I'm so glad you're back to working on this, because I love this book :) :) Especially your battle scenes, you really feel like you're in there, yanno?

And you've given me something to do over the blank weekend (other than watching The Dark Knight Rises) - I've already made PDFs of every completed Memoirs book so far (for my reading convenience, but maybe I'll also present it to Cloaky as a birthday present ;) ), so I might as well start on this one too. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 05, 2013, 12:08:03 AM
Ooh! Another RAFfic for me to become addicted to. I will have to read all 13(?) pages of it now. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 05, 2013, 12:26:28 AM
I might PDF-ify how much is done, if you like. I have the whole afternoon and evening to do it :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 05, 2013, 12:47:43 AM
Dude, yeah, PDFs would be pretty awesome, Saffa.  They'd be mostly for other people's benefit, since I've got it all saved as word documents (I've always thought Cloaky was crazy for never saving his work on Memoirs, I always feel bad when he loses a chapter).  But still, I'm sure there'd be people who'd appreciate being able to download them!

. . . You've already done all the Memoirs books, too?  Daaaaaang.

It's always good to see a new reader, Abby!  :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 05, 2013, 01:52:03 AM
Yeah, I accomplished that feat in the limbo period between school and college, when all the exams were done and there was nothing to do... As such college is starting proper only on 11th, so till then I'm free to waste my time however I want.

Cloaky did mention that his computer doesn't have a sensible word processor, so he can't save his chapters. I don't think it's his computer, exactly. (This was a while back - I don't know what he uses now.)

:edit: DONE!!! :clap: Everybody come and collect your copy here! Of course, don't forget to give Dino her well-deserved feedback; heck, save this and read it first up fresh off RAF! :) ... Okay, I'm rambling. Good fic. It happens. :P

...
For those who've read First Flight, there's a PDF prepared - I just need to make a few edits and then I'll post it.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on July 05, 2013, 03:54:02 PM
The Champion is pretty creepy when you imagine its face
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 06, 2013, 10:00:56 PM
Not compared to Pootang, but yeah, that's probably still somewhat true, Underseen.

Chapter Fifty-four

The five battling RAFians paused in their efforts against Pootang, as they saw a new figure slowly emerging over the horizon.  Pootang, saw the figure, too.  He seemed to deflate slightly for a moment, some of his fury burning itself out, as he witnessed something that struck fear deep within his animal heart.  After that momentary pause, though, he seemed to swallow the fear, and angrily roared a challenge to the new intruder.

"They did it!" Phoenix shouted triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air, as he realized what the giant figure must be.  The Champion!  The one thing who could destroy Pootang.  RAF's last hope.

That last thought quelled Phoenix's enthusiasm somewhat, as he realized that this battle, win or lose, would determine the ultimate fate of RAF itself.

The RAFians used the distraction provided by the Champion to move quickly out of Pootang's range.  There, on the sidelines, some of the other RAFians who had stayed out of the battle to write the Champion, had already gathered.  Phoenix gave a sigh of relief when he spotted Seal bounding along towards the back of the crowd.

Blue, meanwhile, tilted his head incredulously at someone else in the group.  Was that Underseen, with a box of popcorn?  Blue shook his head and laughed, deciding that he wasn't really surprised.  He quickly flew over and said hello, hoping Underseen would share.

As the Champion and Pootang closed the distance between one another, a few RAFians thought they could hear a steady rhythmic background beat, like an electric guitar.  It was quiet, hardly there if you weren't paying attention to it, but, yes, now the first beat was joined by a second electric guitar, playing staccato chords over the first.

Bear laughed out loud as he realized what was going on.  "Is that Eye of the Tiger?" he said wonderingly.  "Richard, are you seriously playing Eye of the Tiger on your computer right now?"

Richard gave Bear a brief, coy smile, but didn't give any answer beyond that, all of his focus now on the Champion and the looming battle.

With a resounding roar, the two titans clashed.  Though the two combatants towered over the RAFians, something about the way they attacked one another didn't feel huge.  Huge things, creatures or objects or machines, were supposed to be ponderous and slow.  But these two beings, they moved the way something a hundredth their size should move.  Within a flash, a fraction of an instant, they were upon each other.

Pootang struck first, eagerly and frantically clawing and biting into the first prey that wasn't running away from him.  His anger, finally having a definite target, was breathtaking in its raw fury.  But where he bit and clawed, the Champion seemed to reflect the green color of Parker's armor, and he simply shrugged off the hits.

Then, in an action that was delayed but not slow, the Champion struck.  He punched Pootang, Chuck Norris's fist and Super Rachel's claws and the knight-like entity's blade seeming to merge into one, bludgeoning and slicing and stabbing all at once.  A spray of crimson and yellow-green erupted from the wound, like a mist, as Pootang screamed in pain and white-hot rage.  The wound was already sealing itself, almost as soon as it had formed.

The Champion had tried to back off, to try to shield himself, but Pootang's acid blood had left the Champion damaged, too.  Tiny holes had been eaten through the armor, which leaked blood.  But the armor soon began to repair itself, like a living thing.

Realizing the true strength of his foe, Pootang's mouth began to glow red, as the monster charged his most formidable weapon.  After a moment's hesitation, the Champion delivered a second punch, this one to Pootang's mouth.  The laser started to disperse, but not before Pootang bit down on the Champion's hand, burning quickly through the Spartan armor with the intensity of the laser concentrated within that enclosed space.  When the Champion withdrew, he no longer had a right hand at all.

The Champion raised his other hand, and from it issued a greenish glow.  The Champion's own laser, though weaker than Pootang's, didn't need to charge.  The smell of burning fur and flesh permeated the forum, the sizzling scar encircling Pootang's shoulder.

Promisingly, the health bar above Pootang's head was no longer all green.  It showed a blurred divide rather than a clear line between green and red, as though each of Pootang's forms now held onto a different level of health.  But the average seemed to be hovering at about three-quarters now.  The green was already rising again, as the burns seemed to shrink, leaving behind healthy fur where they receded.

The Champion couldn't afford to wait for Pootang to recover.  He spun, throwing all his weight into a powerful roundhouse kick, which seemed to create a shock-wave like an earthquake that knocked Pootang off-balance.  The beast roared in fury.  But, if you were looking carefully, which several RAFians were, you could see that one of his less-threatening forms had just blinked out of existence.

It was working!  The RAFians who had seen it, high-fived one another as they whooped with joy.  The creature, although powerful, was not unkillable.

All of the battle thus far had happened within the space of a few short seconds.  Richard couldn't even afford the time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.  He just kept typing, as droplets of perspiration dripped onto the keyboard.

He was reading and writing as fast as he knew how.  He had about five or six windows open, spaced out across the screen, so he could see Pootang's reactions as well as the RAFians' thoughts.  Punching the mouth, that had been Parker's idea, which Richard had quickly relayed to the Champion.  He had decided that typing was faster than copying and pasting if he could type fast enough.  The roundhouse kick, that was Bear.

Richard barely heard the individual strokes of keys as he tapped away at the keyboard, his movements blurring together into almost a continuous hum.  It was all he could do to keep up, when every stroke of his keyboard was effortlessly matched by Pootang.  It was an unmatched fight, in that sense.  Pootang had only to act out the same actions that Richard had to describe.

But Pootang was designed without a purpose.  No purpose except raw unbridled chaos and fear.  The Champion's purpose, on the other hand, had been carefully honed by every thought that went into him.  That was the edge.

Pootang swiped its razor-sharp claws at the Champion, who responded by striking with his Andalite blade.  But the Champion wasn't fast enough, and Pootang had already struck, the claws screeching across the metal like nails on a chalkboard, but leaving little more than superficial damage.  Pootang's momentum brought him out of the way of the blade, and the Champion missed.

Pootang took the opportunity to bite the Champion's right shoulder from behind.  His teeth found purchase within a tiny chink in the armor.  Although his fangs still didn't quite penetrate, he was able to grip, and didn't let go.  He ground his teeth against the armor, sawing back and forth like he was trying to gnaw through the shield, as the Champion helplessly fought against his bulldog grip.

There was a reddish glow as Pootang charged his laser, at point-blank range.  There was nothing the Champion could do to stop him.  He tried to reach behind himself, but Pootang was much too quick for that.

The explosion threw both of them backward, and the Champion's arm went flying, detached from the shoulder.  Pootang had also taken damage, the laser having reflected back at him and burned away the left half of his face, burns so bad you could see white bone through the charred-black skin.

One of the Champion's forms, the iron-forged robotic creature, flickered and went out.  But another of Pootang's forms had done the same.

At some point Richard had stopped seeing words on a screen, and began to see action and reaction as actual images in his mind.  Almost as though he was actually seeing the battle itself.  He knew that was impossible, but that was what it felt like.  Like the tenuous connection he held with his forum was strengthening, allowing him to transcend the mere written words.  Words that were windows into a whole new reality.

But would it be enough?  Was it enough to see a world with his mind, that he would never be able to see with his eyes?

Pootang, furious, as though the damage done by his own laser had somehow been the Champion's fault, suddenly ran at his opponent, like a charging rhinoceros.  There was no time to dodge out of the way.

With an impact that sent tremors through nearby buildings, the two titans collided.  The Champion was sent sprawling by the sheer reckless force of the collision.  He found himself on his back, looking up at a bright red light that seemed to fill his entire field of vision.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 06, 2013, 10:23:46 PM
This is really gripping stuff.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on July 06, 2013, 11:13:30 PM
Feels like Pacific Rim Evangelion.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 07, 2013, 08:00:45 AM
I caught up last night.

I agree with Twinny. It really is gripping.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 08, 2013, 11:21:58 PM
Thanks guys!  :D

Since I've never seen Pacific Rim nor Evangelion, I don't really know if that's a compliment, or not, Underseen?  Lol, I should probably take it as one, anyway.  :XD:

Anyway, new chapter.

Chapter Fifty-five

The Champion rolled out of the way mere milliseconds before he would have been obliterated.  But the laser still caught him in the back, generating a sharp metallic sizzle as it nearly melted through his armor.  Another form blinked out.  Tobias's birdlike creature was gone.

The Champion tried to get up, but Pootang stomped a foot on his remaining arm, pinning him down.  The Andalite form was slowly shifting, and the Champion's missing arm was slowly growing back as he morphed.  But not quickly enough, not enough to get his right-hand laser back.

Once again, Pootang's own laser began to charge.

<Put some TAIL into 'im!> Russell cried out, his post instantaneously appearing on Richard's screen.  Richard's fingers flew, and the Champion swung his still-demorphing Andalite tail.  It wasn't enough to seriously injure Pootang, but it was enough to disrupt his focus, dispersing the laser and giving the Champion time to throw Pootang off of himself so he could get back to his feet.

The Champion raised both hands, now that his right arm had almost completely healed, and fired his twin lasers.  But Pootang wasn't going to fall for that trick this time, and had already dodged out of the way, darting behind the Champion, as soon as he'd seen him aiming his hands.

The Champion tried to turn around, but once again, his speed was a disadvantage, and he was not fast enough to reach Pootang as the monster continued to duck behind him.  Instead, he raised his fist into the air and slammed it down, causing a seismic shockwave to ripple through the earth.

Pootang was thrown backward from the force of the blast, another of his forms flickering and disappearing.  But, he got up, and ran at the Champion once more.  The force of the enraged impact destroyed one of the Champion's forms, the red and black saurian creature, and with that, his power to create earthquakes was gone.

But the impact also momentarily dazed Pootang, and the Champion took the opportunity to strike with a powerful backhand, the knight's shield flashing corporeal for a moment as Pootang took the brunt of its impact to the side of his head.  The resounding clang of metal against bone rang through the forum.

Pootang hissed angrily, but wobbled, dizzy from the blow.  Nevertheless he began once more to charge his laser, to which the Champion responded with a sweep of the leg, hoping to topple the already wobbly Pootang.  Pootang danced out of the way, if only just, long enough to finish charging.  But his shot went wild, his vision still swimming, making it impossible to aim.

RAFians scattered in the wake of the laser as it sliced towards the watching crowd, interrupted in the midst of taking bets on the next Champion form to vanish.

The Champion took a defensive stance, hoping to present a smaller target to Pootang's laser.  But Pootang had recovered from his earlier disorientation, and bore down on the Champion with renewed fury.  He struck claws-first, using all the inertia his speed could afford him to drive the points into any weaknesses in the Champion's armor.

But Richard was getting wise to Pootang's running-charge tactic by now.  The Champion ducked underneath the onrushing Pootang, and the monster tripped, his own momentum flinging him bodily into the Media Board.

Pootang was slower to get up this time.  He had lost two forms in the impact, and his health bar was down by an average of nearly half.  The Champion had lost a form too, from the force of Pootang slamming into him from above.  And the chinks in his Spartan armor had begun to widen.

Pootang looked almost hungrily at the cracked armor, drawn in by the promise of weakness, like a shark to blood.  He stumbled wearily to his feet and ran at the Champion again, another reckless charge.  The Champion strengthened his stance and readied his fists and his claws, prepared to let Pootang smash himself against his weapons.

But, at the last moment, Pootang feinted to the left.  In a fraction of a second, he had blazed around the Champion to attack from the side.

Richard was not the only one who was learning from this battle.

The Champion was caught completely off guard as Pootang ripped into his side.  All that saved him was the armor-like force field of his more humanoid Andalite form, but the impact still threw him off-balance, and he landed heavily on his side.

He rolled, and just barely missed being gored by Pootang's scythe-clawed rabbit-like feet.  Once he was behind Pootang, he sprang back into a standing position.

He no longer had the hand-laser.  That had been a part of his most recent form to be lost.  So he now channeled Estelore's fire instead, a column of superheated plasma that seemed to instantly raise the temperature of the entire forum.  The RAFians looking on from the crowd subconsciously took a step back from the heat.

Pootang screamed in pain and renewed fury.  He remembered Estelore's fire.  The familiar white-hot burn of it against his skin.  He hissed with anger at the Champion's insolence, daring to remind him of the insect that had hurt him.

Pootang ducked out of the way before he could lose another aspect of himself.  But then he seemed to notice the smaller RAFians, as though for the first time.  He smiled a savage, twisted grin.  He was tired of fighting an opponent that was as invulnerable as he was.  He wanted something he could hurt.  He wanted revenge for every injury he had suffered.

His mouth began to glow red, but he was no longer aiming at the Champion.  The RAFians screamed, and scrambled to get out of the way.

But the Champion was not about to let that happen.  He wrapped an arm around Pootang's neck from behind, forcing his attention back to his fight.  The laser fired upward, as Pootang's head was bent back by the Champion's headlock, harmlessly discharging away into the sky.

"Your fight is with me," Richard typed, his voice booming through the forum from the Champion's mouth.  The Champion strained, bringing all his formidable strength to bear, lifting Pootang into the air by his neck.  But before Pootang could strike back, he threw the monster to the ground with a resounding crash.

Another few forms flickered out.  Pootang roared, furious that he had been deprived of his rightful prey.  His eyes glowed, actually glowed, a brilliant and vivid red, as he bit and clawed and screamed and raged at the Champion.

The Champion recoiled, raising his arms defensively to shield himself from the sudden ferocious onslaught.  Pootang gave him no opening, no way to strike back.  And the enraged beast wasn't letting up.

The Champion's visage almost immediately lost K.A. Applegate's gentle features.  Blaze's wings vanished soon after.  And then, the stony creature made of gravel was gone.

Richard couldn't let this go on.  Within seconds the battle would be lost.  He wracked his brain for something, anything, that would let him take back the advantage.

Suddenly, the Champion raised his arms in a dramatic gesture.  The stone under Pootang began to rise, lifted by Cloak's power of earth.  But Pootang used the opportunity to drop down onto the Champion from above, continuing his frantic attack unabated.

The Champion was ready for that.  He rolled to the side, leapt back to his feet, and the rock, still suspended in the air, suddenly lurched sideways, bashing with a sickening crunch into Pootang's skull.

The monster fell.  Two or three more forms vanished.  But, though weak, the monster was still driven onward by an undying fury.  That adrenaline, born of rage, propelled him back to his feet.

Some of the RAFians had begun to notice something strange, as Pootang weakened.  As the forms were being peeled away one by one, the tiny infant, the child that was the original baby of Anna and Ken, was slowly becoming more and more visible.

The RAFians weren't quite sure if that was a hopeful development, or a terrible one.  What would they do, if the baby was killed?

What would they do, if it wasn't?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 08, 2013, 11:27:38 PM
Listening to "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons as I read this. Awesomeness all around. :D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 08, 2013, 11:39:46 PM
Oooh, good song!  I looked it up after you posted it, and it turns out it was one I'd been looking for, after hearing it somewhere.  But I just couldn't find it because I didn't know it was saying "radioactive," I thought it was "ready to rock you."

So, thanks!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 09, 2013, 12:59:47 AM
Ooh!! Awesome chapter. Honestly, I think that action scenes are the hardest.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 10, 2013, 10:51:30 PM
No kidding, Abby.  Pretty sure this is the longest action scene I've ever written, too.

And I've been listening to Radioactive pretty much non-stop since I read your post, Saffa, lol.  I think it gave me an idea I might use in the next book, too . . .

Chapter Fifty-six

The song Richard had opened in his music player had ended by now, even though the battle had not.  The quiet around him now seemed almost eerie, although the constant hum of the computer keys helped to fill the silence.  But, of course, Richard no longer had the luxury of free time, to click open a new song.

The whirring clack of the keys seemed almost deafening, in that silence.  Yet, somehow, it was a good sound.  A comforting sound.  The heartbeat of RAF beat through Richard's fingertips.

Inside the forum, both combatants were scarred from the fight.  The Champion's armor was too damaged now even to heal, and Pootang had too many injuries for his own healing ability to keep up with.  Both were weak from blood loss.  But neither could stop, neither could let up, even for a fraction of a second.  Or else the other would take advantage of the opening, and the fight could be over in that single instant of weakness.

And both had lost several of the multi-faceted forms that had made them as strong as they once had been.  The question now burning in everyone's mind was, which would be finished first?  Whichever way the battle went, it wouldn't be much longer now.  They were both too weak to go on.

The Champion now brought his Andalite blades and Super Rachel's claws to bear, no longer needing to fear the flesh-eating acid that had once been part of Pootang's blood.  Pootang had lost the form that had given him that strange, alien trait.

But, however weak he was, the ferocious Pootang was still driven onward by his own animalistic rage.  He wanted, with every fiber of his being, to see the Champion defeated.  And he would not stop until either he was dead or the Champion was.

Pootang raced around the Champion, dodging his blades and claws, his quick darting movements allowing him to stay behind the back of his slower foe.  In the space of a blink of the eye, Pootang suddenly grabbed the Champion by the neck, the same move that the Champion had used on Pootang, mere moments before.  Pootang gripped the joints in the Champion's Spartan armor with his stubby arms and sharp claws, clinging tightly enough that the Champion could not move.

With the Champion held helpless, Pootang began to bite, chewing and gnawing on the Spartan armor.  The armor was resilient, but it had already taken a beating.  And Pootang had a great many sets of powerful sharp teeth.  He would get through, and it wouldn't be long before he did.

Worse, the monster was chewing on closest thing he could reach, which happened to be the Champion's neck.  If he got through, he would surely manage to hit an artery.  And after that, it was over.

Both of the Champion's Andalite forms were next to go.  First Ax's more standard Andalite, and then the other one, the Andalite with extra blades and force-field armor.

The Champion reached over his shoulder, pointing both hands at Pootang.  Point-blank, at the beast's face, he summoned Estelore's fire.  The column of flame, so close to the Champion's own face, melted through the visor of his own Spartan helmet.  Pootang howled, and clutched at his face.  There was almost nothing left of his features, only bare bone.

The most formidable of Pootang's forms finally, almost reluctantly, seemed to flicker and die.  The giant pixellated monstrosity that Blue had created, the owner of the red laser, was gone at last.

The Champion could actually feel Pootang's sudden decrease in strength when it happened.  The monster was still powerful, he was still strong, by any measure.  But nothing compared to what he had been.

With that final tip of the scales, the Champion was able to pull Pootang off of himself, dragging the beast by the arms until he came unlatched from his neck.  Still holding on, the Champion swung the creature around, hurling him forcefully into the Bored Board.

Several more forms disappeared.  Pootang's health was almost completely red, now.  The health bar itself seemed to be making an incessant dinging noise, but even that sound was difficult to hear over the other sounds of the battle.

It was obvious that Pootang no longer possessed the ability to heal.  His skeletal face was still the same, his skin no longer growing back where it had been burned away.  His features were a hideous mess, a bony joker's grin frozen on his face, which was slicked with blood.  There seemed to be blood coming from everywhere.

It was a wonder he was still able to stand, although it was obvious that even that small effort was a strain on his weakened body.  He wobbled weakly as he lurched forward.  Still determined, but that determination was mostly born of desperation now.

Richard took a deep breath, feeling almost reluctant to end it.  Up until now, the Champion had been fighting as much in self-defense as anything.  But now, he would be fighting to kill.  And, even for a creature as terrible as Pootang, that thought left an awful taste in Richard's mouth.

The Champion wearily approached the hideous monstrosity.  He raised a hand, and fire flashed from his palm in a blast of bright white light.  It was over in seconds.  Only a few RAFians could actually see Pootang through the glare, but for those who could, Pootang flashed like a slideshow on fast forward, as his remaining forms rapidly disappeared in the fire.

When the glare cleared, the infant could be seen, where Pootang had been.  Somehow, the baby had been the last form to die.  Perhaps it had been protected by its own small size, within a protective cocoon of the larger apparitions.  Like a russian nesting doll, where the smallest doll was the last to be revealed.

Whatever the case may be, it would seem that the monster, the terrifying creature that had caused so much destruction, was gone.

But . . . was it?

The baby saw the Champion, and started to cry.  It seemed to be trying to back away, to recoil from the enormous and terrifying apparition towering above it.  But it was still too small, too undeveloped, to move.

The Champion lowered his hand, dropping it to his side.  No.  Richard would not, could not, kill a child.  Not even a child, who might also contain some remnant of a bloodthirsty monster.

The battle was over.  Richard seemed to slowly come back to his own body.  At least, that's how it felt.  As though he had actually been physically somewhere else.

But, no more.  He was back, in his room, looking at words on a computer screen.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 10, 2013, 11:09:43 PM
Another case of 'oh by the way I already had the next chapter ready so I'mma go ahead and post it.'

By the way, you guys probably think the book is almost over?  It isn't.  There's still a big honkin' loose end to tie up.  See if anybody can spot it before I post chapter fifty-eight.  Spoilers, though, please.

Chapter Fifty-seven

As the RAFians slowly began to approach the infant, the few forms that were left of the Champion began to shimmer, like a mirage.  After a few moments, there was nothing less than vapors, which blew away on the breeze.

The Champion would only appear when the RAFians had great and urgent need of him.  When the danger would pass, he would return to whence he came.  As had been written.  A safeguard, should the Champion ever decide to go rogue, as Pootang had done long before him.

The RAFians had learned their lesson.  Never again would they create such a monster as Pootang.

But now, all that was left of the once-mighty threat, was a crying infant.  Anna stepped carefully through the debris, feeling some ineffable force pulling her towards the child, while the other RAFians nervously held back.

Despite everything, despite all the pain he had caused, Anna knew this was her son.  It didn't make any sense, she knew it wasn't a logical emotion, because she knew she had no biological connection to the infant.  But somehow it was her child, all the same.

She bent down to pick up her son, running her hand along his arm, feeling his wispy downy yellow fur.  He was mostly human.  The only indication that he was anything else, was this yellow peachfuzz, really only a few highlights of fur along his arms and chest and cheekbones, and those black tips at the ends of his slightly-pointed ears.

Slowly, Anna brought the baby Pootang back towards the other RAFians.  A few of them recoiled, the destruction he had wrought far too fresh in their memories.

But other RAFians cautiously approached the child.  Seal looked down at the creature that had come so close to killing her, now only a harmless baby.  Despite everything, she couldn't help but to smile, as she stroked his velvety fur.  "He's kinda cute," she commented.  She smiled at the baby.  "Yes, you are.  Oh, look at those ears.  Those pointy little ears.  You look like Spock."

"Mm, bock," the baby replied, like it was mimicking the sound.  Seal laughed, and wiggled her fingers at the child.  The baby grabbed her finger and sucked on it, which at first amused Seal.  But, after a moment, she looked a little uneasy.

She pulled her hand back, causing the baby to make unhappy noises.  "He likes the way I taste," she said to herself, a note of worry in her voice.

Parker, his helmet off now that the battle was over, looked troubled.  "What do we do now?" he wondered.  "We can't let it live, can we?  What if it changes back?  Into what it was before?"

"We can't kill him," Anna said defensively.  "He's a helpless baby."

"Anna's right," Cloaky quickly agreed, positioning himself between Parker and the baby.  "I will not allow anyone to harm an innocent child."

"Innocent?" Myitt said skeptically.  "Helpless, yes, I'll grant that one.  But innocent, no.  He's not.  We all know what he is."

"Besides, we need to think about the big picture," Terenia pointed out.  "There were people killed."  A few people looked around nervously, looking for any RAFians who might be missing, so Terenia clarified.  "Newbies were killed.  Not anyone we really knew.  But they were still people, they are still dead, and it's because of him.  We were fortunate not to lose anyone closer to us than that.  Next time, we won't be that lucky.  So you have to weigh the options.  One life, versus many.  Can we really take this risk?"

"We don't know for certain that he'd ever go back to what he was," Seal cautiously put forth.  Several RAFians seemed surprised at that.  Seal, of all people, should have more reason than anyone to want Pootang gone forever.  "The whole reason he became what he was, at least according to the stories, was because he was angry and bitter at his parents for abandoning him.  We have Anna, now.  And she doesn't look to me like she's planning to abandon him a second time.  He'll be alright."

<You had better take good care of him,> Russell said to Anna.  <All of RAF is counting on you and your mothering skills.>

Anna looked uneasy at that, as she seemed to be pondering whether she could handle that much responsibility.  She looked fearfully at the child in her arms, and he looked back at her in wide-eyed innocent wonder.  She closed her eyes and nodded, knowing somewhere deep in her soul that this was right.

"I will," she declared.  "He is my son, after all.  I will never leave him again."

"What should we call him?" Blaze wondered.  "We can't really keep calling him Pootang."

Other RAFians nodded their agreement, and a few shuddered at the mere mention of the name.

"Well, how about something shorter," Anna said, thinking.  "Like, Po."  The baby seemed to brighten, smiling, as if he had recognized his name.  "You like that?" Anna said to him.  "Okay, you can be Po."

"Like the panda from Kung Fu Panda," Blaze commented, then made a ninja noise.  "I shall instruct him in the art of kung fu."

"You will do no such thing," Anna said, moving the baby away from Blaze.  Several other RAFians laughed.  "He's going to be enough of a handful as it is."

"Bo," the baby said, and laughed.  But it was hard for the RAFians not to focus on the teeth beneath his tiny, innocent smile.  Two of them were sharp.  Not so much like fangs, although they were where his canine teeth should be, but they actually looked more like two little shark teeth.

Anna noticed the other RAFians that were looking at Po's mouth, and drew the baby away from the crowd.

She knew she was doing the right thing.  Arguing for Po's life, taking him in, taking care of him.  It felt right, on some deep instinctual level.  This was her son.

So, why did she have to fight back that terrible sense of foreboding fear that was like a lump in her throat?  Why did she have to close her eyes, to hold back the tears?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on July 10, 2013, 11:11:31 PM
Those "evil monster is actually a cute baby all along" feels.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 10, 2013, 11:24:37 PM
Oh, no - them feels! They're everywhere! :D :P
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 11, 2013, 01:24:30 AM
Well, I figure at this point I might as well keep going.  I had this chapter already written, too.  Apologies to anybody who wanted to guess the loose end, too late, I'm gonna reveal it.

Chapter Fifty-eight

It was the next day.  Most of the RAFians had enough time to recover from the battle.  At least physically.  Mentally, all those memories were still far too fresh.

Richard had restored RAF from a backup file, which had deleted a good deal of posts, but that was okay, because nobody really cared about saving their posts anymore.  More to the point, of course, the move had undone the entirety of the damage that Pootang had caused.  Restoring the forum instantaneously, and almost effortlessly, to all of its former glory.

It had been quite a sight to see.  One moment, RAF had been a sad sight, collapsed and ruined shambles of the familiar Boards.  The aftermath of a disaster.  But the next moment, like somebody had changed the channel on a television, everything was suddenly bright and clean and new again.  As if nothing at all had ever happened.

But the restoration had not brought back the dead.  Although Terenia had commented that none of the RAFians had really known any of the newbies that had perished, they all still felt like they should honor the deceased somehow.  And so, a service was held the morning after, and the RAFians remembered and spoke about what little they knew of the five who had been killed by Pootang.

One of the newbies killed had been a girl named Kristin.  Back when the RAFians had still been training for the oncoming battle, Dino had adopted her as a sort of protege.  Her, and a boy named Roger.  Roger had survived, Kristin had not.

Dino and Roger didn't have much to say about her, though.  Kristin had always been a shy and withdrawn kind of person.  She had seemed nice enough.  But it had been easy to see that she didn't really fit in.  Of course, Roger didn't really click with most RAFians, either.  But where Roger got brash and defensive about the fact, Kristin would withdraw from the others, seeming to retreat into her own private world.

Nevertheless, close friend or not, Dino hated the thought of someone she knew, someone she had talked to, suddenly being gone.  It was a twisting feeling in the pit of her stomach, knowing that that person would never come back.

After everyone felt the proper respect had been paid, the service silently dispersed.  Most RAFians subsequently spent the majority of the day killing time in the Bored Board, or simply resting in their quarters in the Social Board.

Later that afternoon, though, a meeting of all RAFians was called to order.  Most of the forum was surprised by that.  The battle was over.  The day was saved.  Well, wasn't it?  What more could possibly need to be done?  What was there, that still needed to be discussed?

Richard cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.  He began, this time, much less dramatically than the last time he had spoken to this many people.

"Everyone, listen.  There's something that needs to be brought up," he said simply.  "It's something that none of the staff quite knows what to do about.  So, I'm just going to say it.  We have to do something about the reverse teleport that they used back at the Switzerland facility.  Pootang may have been defeated, but RAF has other threats that cannot, absolutely cannot, be allowed to escape into the outside world."

"We don't even know whether or not Pootang can't somehow revert back to what he was!" someone shouted from the crowd.  Anna instinctively clutched her baby tighter, feeling like she needed to defend him from the accusation.

But Richard slowly nodded.  "Exactly.  And, if he ever got out into the outside world, no Champion could be counted on to stop him.  So, we have to ensure that nothing evil can ever escape from RAF."

A beat of silence met his words, as the RAFians considered what he was saying.  Wait, but how were they supposed to be one hundred percent certain that nothing bad could ever get out?  Unless . . .

"You mean, destroy the Switzerland facility," someone said, putting the pieces together.

Alarmed voices rose, horrified that Richard and the other staff would ever even consider that possibility.  The RAFians would be trapped, forever locked away from the rest of the world.  It was one thing to agree to stay within RAF until such time as they could find a way out.  It almost felt like it was still their own choice, that way.  They each knew that, while a way out might not be available at this very moment, it would eventually be possible to return to their loved ones outside.

But, to be trapped within the forum forever, with no way out, not even a theoretical one?  That was another matter entirely.

"Calm down, calm down," Richard implored.  "We would not do this until we've found a way for everyone to leave who wants to.  And, we aren't even ready.  We would need security codes for the facility, codes that not even Goom and Ax would be able to access."

"Why are we discussing this, then, if we can't even pull it off?" another RAFian in the crowd wondered.

"Never said we can't pull it off," Richard said with a sly grin.  "We're the ones who defeated Pootang, aren't we?  You saying there's anything we can't do?"

A few RAFians shouted back affirmations like "Yeah buddy!" and "Darn right!"

"Anyway," Richard went on after the triumphant cheers had died down.  "We figure that the escaped captives who were being held at the facility, well, they may know something we don't.  We don't know much about them, but we know that one of them was an orc from World of Warcraft.  We can start there."

"You really think someone who's now an orc in the real world, is still going to be spending time playing World of Warcraft?" someone in the crowd asked incredulously.

Richard shrugged helplessly.  "It's the best we've got to go on, right now.  I don't know anything else about him, so the only other thing we could do, would be for me to go back to Switzerland and start looking.  For a bunch of people who are all probably trying very hard not to be found."

"Good point," the person who had spoken earlier admitted sheepishly.

Richard looked at Cloaky with an imploring expression, as though asking his permission for what he was going to say next.  Cloaky nodded, already guessing what Richard wanted.  "Cloak, you'd probably be best for this mission.  You're powerful enough to handle, well, I dunno what exactly, I've never played World of Warcraft before.  But you can probably handle whatever there is in there.  And you can always do your Realm Walker thing if, for whatever reason, you meet something you can't deal with."

Cloaky nodded.  "I'd be glad to go."

"Remember," Goom began.  "RAF is currently cut off from the rest of the internet.  Even your abilities, Cloaky, won't work to cross over, unless I lower the barrier at our end.  But we can't really afford to keep our defenses down, long-term.  It's still too dangerous, with the Swiss facility still out there, waiting for us to be vulnerable.  What we can do is to open the 'door' for fifteen minutes every day, at noon.  Starting at twelve, ending at twelve-fifteen.  We'll give you, say, three days.  And then we'll send someone after you.  Sound good?"

Cloaky considered all this for a moment.  He felt a little uncomfortable about the idea that someone might need to come to his rescue, but then, he doubted it would ever come to that.  So he nodded again, and said, "Sounds good."

"It's settled, then?  Okay."  Richard rubbed his hands, a nervous gesture.  Why an outerworlder would need to type out nervous gestures was anyone's guess.  But at this point maybe Richard had just gotten so used to typing everything out, that he no longer even thought about it.  "So Cloaky finds out what this orc knows about the facility.  Maybe finds a way to hijack the software and get some of us back to the real world."

Richard took a nervous breath.  "And then, a way to destroy the gateway."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 11, 2013, 02:23:09 AM
The three things that went through my mind while reading this during a particularly painful Maths class:

1. Ah, Roger and Kristin. Yeah, I remember them. :)

2. ...oh, the feels! They're attacking me again! ;D

3. As the writer of the sequel-to-the-sequel, like you mentioned, I knew the loose end even before the chapter was written, heh :D I'm glad to have been of help by providing some substance to go on that lead. :)

Definitely better than doing math. ;)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 11, 2013, 10:03:40 AM
Isn't anything better then doing math??

Anyways. I knew what it was, I just wasn't awake to post it. :) but, yet again, more great chapters. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 11, 2013, 04:50:48 PM
Uh-huh, yeah, right, suuure you guys were both able to guess the loose end.  Which you both conveniently forgot to mention until after the fact.  *nodnod*  ;)

P.S. Funny side story, these next couple of upcoming chapters are actually the sole reason I ever started playing World of Warcraft.  I like to write accurately, so I wanted to study the subject material for a while first, right?  Well, they weren't kidding about the addictiveness of that game.  Which is, more or less, what happened to my muse, when I was writing this story before and dropped it for the past six months or so.  ::)

Moral of the story?  Don't ever write about World of Warcraft, guys.

Chapter Fifty-nine

Cloaky looked around, taking in his new surroundings.  He'd never been to the World of Warcraft before, so he'd had no way to know where he would end up.  He hadn't even really known what to aim for.

In any case, he seemed now to be in a tranquil twilight forest, surrounded on all sides by a deeply soothing shade of evergreen.  The pervading peace of the place seemed even to swallow up the smoke billowing from some nearby ruins, some alien-looking structure of white and purple.

All around the ruins, there were strange beings milling about, walking along at a casual pace or simply standing still.  A humanoid but slightly alien species with muscular builds, sky blue skin, and glowing eyes.  They had what looked almost like tendrils, growing like facial hair, out of their otherwise human faces, and bony crests of different shapes upon their heads.

One by one, several of them turned to face the newcomer.  When they spoke, it was not with the subtle hesitation that outerworlders normally demonstrated.  Players here must be practiced typists, Cloaky guessed.

"What are you doing here?" one of them demanded.  "What are you?"

Cloak hesitated, unsure whether talking to these players would help him or hinder him.  But he needed information.  He had no idea where he was or where he needed to be.

"I'm looking for an orc," he cautiously began.  "Name of Bloodbane.  Anybody know him?"

One by one, the other users answered in the negative.  Cloaky should have expected as much.  As big as the World of Warcraft was, he should have known that it would be hard to find two users who knew one another.

"Horde," one of the beings spat, uttering the word with a distain that took Cloak by surprise.  "You won't find any of their kind here.  This is Alliance territory."

"Oh," Cloak answered slowly, wondering if he had accidentally offended them somehow.  "Do you know where I might, uh, find, such a one?"

Another of the beings, a female, tilted her head curiously at Cloak.  "What are you?  I can't see under the cloak, and your title isn't showing up.  New species?  Something in beta?"

"Never mind that," Cloak said quickly, not wanting to take the time to explain the whole story.  "Just, where am I most likely to find an orc?"

"Well, that depends very much on whether you are Alliance or Horde," another of the creatures, a big brutish-looking male, said.  "You're showing up as neither.  You might want to send an error report about that."

"Let's say, I'm neutral," Cloak said evenly, already beginning to lose his patience with this stupid back-and-forth.  Outerworlders, they just didn't get it.  He just wanted to know the answer to the question he'd asked three times already.

"Orgrimmar," a fourth creature answered, seeming to sense Cloak's impatience.  "The city of Orgrimmar's probably the best place to look for an orc.  It's on the mainland, towards the west.  North end of the region of Durotar.  But we must warn you, because if you're Alliance, then you will be dead long before you can find your friend."

"And if you aren't Alliance," the first being who had spoken growled, "then I must insist you leave this place."

Cloak didn't need to be told twice.  He hastily left the strange beings who had grouped around him, glad for the excuse to be gone.

The one creature had commented that the city he was looking for was on the 'mainland,' implying that the place he was now, must be an island.  And, indeed, as he followed the path that cut through the tranquil forest, he very soon came upon the ocean.

He was pretty sure, judging from the direction of the afternoon sun, that he was headed west.  Although, come to think of it, he wasn't sure if the being he had spoken to, meant that the mainland was towards the west?  Or if the city itself was towards the west of the mainland?

Cloaky sighed, really not wanting to have to talk to any more players here.  It would just make this take even longer, as they asked inane questions about his species and whether he was Alliance or Horde or whatever.  So, he decided to go with his best guess.  He jumped into the air and quickly summoned an energy disc which would carry him across the water.

It was a long ride.  The sea seemed to stretch on and on forever.  But, eventually, he spotted a shore.  He sighed with relief.  He had gone the right way, after all.

Cloak's energy disk dissipated and he touched down on sand.  Trees made up a dingy-looking pine forest a short way inland, in dull earthy hues, dark greens and muted autumn colors.  The mainland, this part of it at least, looked wilder than the island, more rugged somehow.  Something about the stormy-grey sky, or the way the rivers feeding the ocean chopped the land into a series of jagged cliffs.  It was almost a gloomy place, but not in an evil-seeming way, just worn-down and broken.

As Cloaky walked across the beach towards the forest, he quickly spotted a path that ran parallel to the shore, north and south.  Other creatures, players no doubt, could be seen occasionally, trotting up and down the road.  They were a much more varied assortment than what he had seen on the island.  Some of those same alien-like creatures were here, too, of course.  But there were also humans, as well as beings that looked like humanoid wolves, and bluish-skinned elvish creatures with ears so long they almost looked comical.

Cloak decided to try talking to one of the elves.  "Excuse me, which way to Orgrimmar?"

The elf gave him a hostile look at the mention of the name.  Cloak sighed.  "Yeah, yeah, Horde, I know," he said quickly.  "I'm just looking for a friend."

"Go that way," the elf said reluctantly, pointing south.  "That'll get you to Ashenvale.  Turn west, cross the Northern Barrens, and on the other side of that is Durotar.  North end of Durotar is Orgrimmar."

"Thanks," Cloak said, but the elf had already impatiently hurried away.  The Realm Walker shook his head as he began the trek south, wondering idly as he went how he would know when he got to Ashenvale.  He glanced around for anything that might be a landmark, but he realized he didn't even know what to look for.  Behind him he saw a dusty tornado that swirled in one place, never moving, and to his right was an ugly scar of scorched earth, remnants of trees still burning.  But the forest around him stayed more or less the same, and it continued on the other side of the burned area, just as before.

He continued to pass other users, some of which brushed impatiently past him, but there were others who stopped and stared and wondered what he was and how he was neither Alliance nor Horde.  Some threatened to report the glitch, claiming that he was abusing it somehow.  Cloak ignored them, and after a while even the most bothersome players would leave him alone.

But soon, Cloak no longer had to wonder how he would know when he got to Ashenvale.  He could see it now.  And it was beautiful.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 11, 2013, 05:08:35 PM
I would be just as confused as Cloaky.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 11, 2013, 08:25:07 PM
Even in my mind-numbed half sleepy state the World of Warcraft universe sounds amazing.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 11, 2013, 10:57:25 PM
Yeah, the world is pretty breathtaking.  After I got started, I mostly kept playing for the settings rather than the actual gameplay, lol.

Chapter Sixty

The difference between Ashenvale, and the region where he was now, was the difference between night and day.  Darkshore, that was that first region's name.  Or at least that was the name it was called by one of the users he'd passed by earlier.

Where Darkshore was a sparse forest overcast by stormy skies and darkened by somber hues of green, Ashenvale was a thick and secretive grove that seemed to reveal every hue of the rainbow within its deep blues and purples and greens.  But even though the colors were so vibrant, the place felt ancient.  As though the towering trees had spent long lives taking in the magic of the world around them, to eventually become the magnificent pillars that supported the thick turquoise canopy that hid this place from the world.

Cloak had to pause for a moment, and just look around in awe at the place.  It reminded him of the island, at least a little.  It was that same feeling of solemn tranquility.  But oh, so much more so.

It was harder to see the sun here, making it harder to know which direction he was going.  But he still had a good feeling which way was west, and so when the path branched, he took the path that led to his left.

There seemed to be fewer players here, although there was still a good variety of species.  But, among the players he did see, the elves now seemed to overwhelm the numbers of the humans, wolves, and alien creatures.  Which made sense to Cloak, once he thought about it.  This forest, somehow it just felt, elven.

As Cloaky walked, he still kept getting the imploring inquiries from the players, asking how he had managed to gain access to such a strange new species.  But, though still annoying, he was getting better and better at tuning them out.  Just a minor irritation, at this point.  Well, other than the particularly stubborn players that would actually turn and follow him down the path until they finally got bored of his silence and went their own way.

There were fewer landmarks to see in Ashenvale.  Or perhaps it was just that it was harder to see anything through the trees.  The path took Cloaky through the middle of the first town he'd seen since arriving here in the World of Warcraft, but it was an abandoned place, ornate wooden buildings home only to the few shopkeepers that were stationed there.  And as he passed through, he began to feel tremors under his feet, and quickly decided he didn't really want to stay long enough to find out why the town had been abandoned in the first place.

The only other thing of note he passed by, was a stand of trees to the left of the path, that seemed to be eternally burning.  But the fire never grew nor burned itself out.  Not unlike the burning stand of trees he'd seen in Darkshore, but so out of place in this lush forest that Cloak almost didn't want to look at it.  Even with a steep valley separating the path from the fire, Cloak doubled his speed, quickly putting the unnatural sight behind him.

After Cloak felt like he'd walked about a couple miles or so through Ashenvale, the lush forest began to thin out into a much more arid region, where yellowish grassland filled the wide gaps between scattered pine trees.  There were guards stationed at the dividing line between the elven forest and the much sparser forest on the other side, and these guards, Cloak decided, must belong to the Horde.  They were uglier species than what he'd seen of the Alliance, green-skinned muscular brutes with long fangs pointing upward, alongside bull-like humanoid creatures that reminded Cloak of minotaurs.

The real tip-off to the guards' faction, though, had been the ongoing fight between these creatures and a group of the elves Cloak had seen before.  The way the two sides fought, neither gaining ground nor losing it, Cloak knew both sides had to be NPCs.  Neither paid Cloak any mind.

Nevertheless, Cloak skirted past them, careful not to attract their attention.  What had the elf called the place beyond Ashenvale?  The Northern Barrens?  Well, that was fitting, as the place seemed rather, indeed, barren.  In particularly stark contrast to the beautiful glade just on the other side of the border.

He soon left the last few meager trees of that arid battle-ridden woodland behind, and was walking through what could easily have been an African savannah, an endless expanse of golden grassland, punctuated only by the occasional tree or bush.  The scene was complete with lions, leopards, and . . . velociraptors?

He gave the dinosaurs a wide berth.  He doubted such creatures would be friendly, in a place like this.

He was quite certain he was in Horde territory now.  There were none of the wolves, aliens, or even humans here.  Instead, following the dusty dirt path that wound through the savannah, there were orcs and minotaurs like the ones he'd seen before, as well as gnarled but colorful tusked creatures who spoke, oddly enough, in Jamaican accents.  There were still elves, though, but it didn't take long for Cloak to notice that they were very different from the Alliance elves.  These elves had lighter skin, and facial features that made them seem harsh and arrogant.

Cloak rather quickly became bored of the yellow grassland, so ordinary after the ancient forest, and summoned an energy disc to speed his transit through this place.  Several nearby players turned to look, and several ran after him, desperate to know what 'spell' he was using, and what class he had taken that even had access to such a spell.  Fortunately, though, he easily outran them.

But then he suddenly remembered that he was actually looking for an orc player, and he slowed down a little, scanning the path for an orc that would fit the description of Bloodbane.  The orc he was looking for, had a braided warrior's ponytail running down his back, stoic eyes underneath neanderthal eyebrows, but no facial hair.  Those were the main things that the RAFians who had seen him remembered about him.  Well, the main things that would differentiate him from other orcs, anyway.  The green skin, medieval armor, and the upward-pointing canine teeth?  Not really helpful here.

Cloaky looked around, veering towards the small tribal-looking village where he could see several players congregating.  But he only saw one orc with a braided ponytail.  "Bloodbane?" he called out, but the orc didn't respond.

"You can only fight Orbaz Bloodbane if you play as a Death Knight, mon," a random player, one of the colorful Jamaican-sounding creatures, called out.  Cloak ignored him and quickly pressed on.

Still following the setting sun westward, as twilight colors began to play across the golden grass, Cloak eventually came upon a marsh-like area, which his hovering energy disk allowed him to easily cross.  On the other side of the delta, the grassland gave way to true desert, parched cracked earth and reddish rock.

Durotar, Cloak thought as he pressed forward, hoping to reach the city before night fell.  It wasn't far now.  He could see something that looked like a huge and imposing fortress, to the northwest.  That had to be it.

The energy disk threw a cloud of dust in its wake as Cloaky raced through the desert, but at least now the falling darkness helped to hide him from nosy players.  It seemed, whoever had told him that this was the place to find orcs, hadn't been kidding.  Orcs were the only race he saw now.  Every now and then he would spot one that looked like it might be Bloodbane.  But, it never was.

Cloak dispelled the energy field that had carried him, as he approached the massive gates of the city.  If 'city' was even the right word.  The place felt more like a war machine.

He passed the guards, who eyed him suspiciously as he walked by.  A few of the creatures he passed looked ready to attack, but it was like some force was holding them at bay.  Like the game itself wasn't allowing them to target Cloaky.  He stood at the ready, prepared to defend himself if need be, but it soon became apparent that there was no need, and he relaxed, as his would-be attackers eventually gave up and turned away.

As he entered the city, the feeling of being inside a giant war machine intensified.  Everything was black and red metal, adorned with spikes and sharp white bones like the ribs of a dragon.  The place felt tribal and savage.  A city built for war.  Cloak shivered with distaste.

Gathered within the walls of the city, crowding the pathways, were more users than Cloaky had yet seen in one place.  The air was filled with the rumble of the crowd, all those voices blurring together into a constant background noise.  All of them species of the Horde, minotaurs and orcs and those colorful tusked creatures and the fierce-looking elves and a few dingy little creatures that seemed to be some kind of goblins.  And, was that a panda?  Yes, that was definitely a humanoid panda that had just gone by.  Riding an oversized turtle.  Cloaky shook his head, incredulous.

Feeling a little foolish, Cloaky nevertheless pushed his way into the midst of the throng and called out, "Bloodbane!" as loudly as he could.  No response.  Again and again he called out, only to be shushed by players who seemed annoyed that he was yelling for no good reason.

"Bloodbane?" someone finally said, and Cloak turned to see one of the hobbit-sized goblin-like creatures.  "Orc, right?  I know the guy.  We used to go on raids together all the time.  You're just in time, too, I was messaging him a couple minutes ago.  He just got online"

"Excellent!" Cloaky said as he sighed with relief, grateful to have finally gotten a lucky break.  "Message him again.  Tell him that a RAFian is looking for him."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 11, 2013, 11:48:14 PM
Ya! Cloaky found him!
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 12, 2013, 06:55:17 AM
Sixty chapters already. Wonder if you'll hit eighty for the finish?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 13, 2013, 07:04:33 PM
Probably not, Saffa.  I don't forsee more than about five or six more chapters (then again, when I first started writing, I never thought I'd get past twenty . . . )

Chapter Sixty-one

Bloodbane had picked an out-of-the way spot on Durotar's western coast to arrange a meeting with Cloak.  Cloak was grateful to get out of the city, and the isolation from the throng of other players was a nice relief as well.  Night had fallen in earnest, and the moonlight glinted off the water of the nearby ocean as Cloak approached the rendezvous.

Three other figures were waiting there, in addition to the orc.  One was a haughty-looking elf, the second was one of the minotaur-like creatures, and the third was a panda.  They quickly introduced themselves as Shade, the elf, Kyris, the tauren, and Becky, the pandaren.  Unlike Bloodbane, the three of their true forms had not originally come from this site.  So they had simply picked new avatars for the meeting.

"We figured you might try to find me here," Bloodbane said.  His voice crackled slightly, like a recording.  "Sorry about the sound quality," he apologized.  "I'm using a microphone right now.  It's very difficult to type with these huge orc fingers."  He sounded frustrated, but then he took a breath and quickly calmed.  "I had to create a new account after my first one had been pulled into the real world, but I made sure the name and the way I looked were the same, so that I could be found by someone who knew where to look.  Tried to find you on your site, but we kept getting error messages that the site was down or something."

Shade suddenly spoke, interrupting just before Cloak had the chance to reply to Bloodbane.  "You need a way to destroy the facility in Switzerland, don't you?"

Cloak fell silent for a second, taken aback by the suddenness of the question.  "How did you know we were planning to do that?" he wondered sharply.

"We guessed," Shade commented with a satisfied nod.  "We knew that there are things on the internet that shouldn't escape.  It turned out some of the scientists knew it, too."

"Frederick?" Cloaky wondered, putting the pieces together.  "Richard said that he was the one scientist who didn't really believe in what they were doing."

Becky nodded.  "Right.  And so, he's been looking for a way to pull the plug on the whole project, too.  We've managed to keep in touch."

"He gave me this," Bloodbane added.

The orc pulled out of his pocket a device that clearly did not belong to his online persona.  It was almost funny, seeing an orc in medieval-looking clothing, holding that futuristic-looking trinket with its flashing red light.

"What is it?" Cloak asked.

"Codes to access the teleport device.  Turns out, that thing is so powerful, that if it's overloaded in just the right way, it'll take the whole facility down with it."

Well, there it was, handed to him on a silver platter, Cloak thought.  Both the things he was after, in the same neat little package.  A way to take control of the teleportation reversal machine, and a way to destroy the facility afterward.

Cloak looked suspiciously at the device.  It could not be that easy.

"There . . . is a catch," Bloodbane said hesitantly.  "If they see what's happening, they'll be able to shut it down from their end.  There's no way to make the process either secret or irreversible.  Security's gotten too tight, ever since you guys freed us.  Frederick tried to override the security protocols, but he didn't have any luck.  So, if they have warning of what's going to happen, there's a very good chance that it won't happen at all."

Cloak's features grew cold as he saw what Bloodbane was suggesting.  "But if there's no warning, then people will die in the explosion.  They won't have time to get out.  It will be a massacre."

Bloodbane's expression was as impassive as Cloaky's, although of course in his case that may have been because his face was only an avatar.  "I never said I liked it," he said, and then Cloaky could hear the note of sadness in his voice, through the static of his microphone.  "But think, on the other hand, the kind of destruction that will follow if anything from our world ever reaches theirs.  The death toll won't be just in the hundreds.  It'll be billions."

"No," Cloaky said in a harsh whisper.  "I won't do this."  He threw the self-destruct trigger to the ground, hard, hoping to break the thing so that this decision would no longer be his to make.  But it lay there undamaged, its insidious red light still flashing.

Kyris looked angry, and Shade seemed to echo her sentiment.  "It isn't just your decision, though, is it?" Kyris said harshly.  "Seems that this concerns all your buddies.  Or are you the president of that site of yours?"

Cloak bristled.  "No, I'm not Richard.  But this, this is monstrous.  No decent being, certainly no RAFian, would ever agree to do something like this."

Shade managed a crooked little half-smile.  "It would seem you've got nothing to lose, then.  If you're right and none of your friends would agree to this, then why not take them the codes?  Nothing at all will come of it, right?  If you're right.  And, well, if you're wrong, it's no longer on you, then, is it?  Not your fault you banked on your friends being decent and then it turned out they were ruthless."

Cloak narrowed his eyes.  He wasn't an idiot, he knew Shade was trying to trick him.  "But, if I'm right, I have nothing to lose from not taking the codes, either."

"Yes, you do have something to lose, actually," Becky said quietly.  "It can be used to free your friends from the internet, remember?  Don't you want that?  Wouldn't your friends want that?"

Cloak hesitated.  The device was still on the ground, where he had thrown it.  What would the RAFians do?  That was the real question.  Cloak knew that there were some RAFians who really could be that ruthless, ruthless enough to kill for the possibility to save.  But, would a majority of them be willing to kill, even with the best of intentions?  Would Richard?  That, Cloak didn't know.

Nevertheless, he picked up the device, and sighed.  "I don't have to decide right now," he said, feeling some, but not much, of the burden slip away, when he realized that he could postpone the decision.  "I can't return to RAF until tomorrow at noon.  I've got at least tonight to think about this."

Becky took a step closer, wanting to comfort him, but Cloak shrank away from her, and she withdrew slightly, giving him his space.  Still, she commented, "I know it isn't a good decision.  Both options are terrible.  I'm sorry this fell to you."

"It had to fall to someone, and so it might as well be me," Cloak said with a sad sort of smile.  He sighed.  "So.  Where's a good place to stay the night, around here?"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 13, 2013, 07:49:18 PM
Well, not being able to notify them to save lives without staying stuck in the internet, that's a bit of a problem...
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 13, 2013, 09:59:47 PM
Hmm, it seems I didn't explain the conundrum very well.  It's not that notifying the scientists will leave them stuck in the internet, it's just that it will make it impossible to destroy the facility.  Oh, well, that's gonna be irrelevant soon anyhow.

Cloaky must be smarter than me.  Even as a character in my story, he managed to think of something I'd missed.  :P

Chapter Sixty-two

The four outerworlders went with Cloak to the nearest inn, a modest little place in a small town in the desert.  Actually, technically, the nearest inn would have been in the city of Orgrimmar.  But Cloak had very quickly nixed that idea, not at all keen on going back into the city.

After they got to the inn, though, the five of them quickly forgot about any ideas of sleep.  They stayed up late that night, talking until the early hours, about nothing in particular.  None of them really wanted to talk about the biggest thing that was on their minds, of course.  But it was still nice to have company.  Just to talk, and to fill the air.

The four outerworlders hadn't really been able to talk to anybody else since their escape from the facility.  They'd been on the run, hiding wherever they could find a secluded place to crash.  Bloodbane was too distinctive, too conspicuous, to ever be able to go out in the open.  And the others hadn't wanted to abandon him, not even if it meant that the rest of them would be able to live normal lives.  No, they couldn't leave a friend behind.  Not after everything they'd been through together.

Cloak had to admit, he admired their solidarity.  It reminded him, at least a little, of RAF.  Like these four were some kind of mini-RAF, despite the fact that each of them had come from different websites.

Cloak already knew that Bloodbane was from World of Warcraft.  But, somewhere along the conversation, he wondered aloud where the others were from.

"Facebook," Becky answered simply, making a face.  "Pretty boring, I know."

"I'm a Death Eater," Shade said with a devious grin.  "Harry Potter roleplay site.  I'd show you my Dark Mark, but of course, this isn't my real body."

"I'm from a steampunk site," Kyris explained coolly.  "Ever heard of Forgotten Futures?  Okay, probably not.  In any case, I'm an airship technician."

"You guys already know where I'm from," Cloak commented.  "As for my species, I'm a Realm Walker.  A being from another dimension, who can travel between 'realms' at will."

"Sounds neat," Becky said.  She looked like she had another question on her mind, but she wasn't quite sure if it would be polite to ask.  Finally, she wondered, "What's with the cloak?"

"It shields, well, everyone else, from my natural energy," Cloak explained.  "Realm Walkers emit energy constantly.  If I took the cloak off . . . well let's just say there's a reason I almost never take the cloak off."

"Huh.  Didn't know the Animorphs books even had stuff like that," Shade said offhandedly.  "Realms or whatever."

"No, no," Cloak corrected.  "Realm Walkers aren't from Animorphs.  They're actually a race I created."

"But, hmm, I thought, your site . . . " Bloodbane began, sounding confused.  "Isn't it an Animorphs site?"

Cloak smiled.  "It is, but it's so much more than that.  Animorphs is what drew us together, that much is true.  But it isn't all that defines us.  Our RAFsonas, as we like to call them, are drawn from many sources.  We have Andalites and Yeerks, which are, indeed, from Animorphs.  But we also have seals and goombas and Time Lords and Goa'ulds.  You can be anything you want to be."

"Hmm," Kyris said, sounding mildly intrigued.  "Sounds kinda cool.  Random, but cool."

Cloaky laughed.  "Random but cool," he repeated.  "That pretty much sums up RAF in three words."

Bloodbane laughed, too, and soon the other three had joined in.  It was a knowing kind of laughter, like they were all laughing at an inside joke that nobody 'outside' could ever understand.

And, on some level, Cloak couldn't help but to marvel at how quickly these four seemed to understand what RAF was all about.  Yes, they could just as easily have been RAFians themselves, Cloak thought.

Well, but that made sense, didn't it?  They'd been pulled into the internet, too.  Same as the population of RAF had been.  Whatever mystical quality it was that made a RAFian a RAFian, they must have had some of that, too.

Bloodbane yawned.  Cloaky didn't need to sleep, but, as it turned out, apparently the other four did.  Cloak tilted his head to the side, and wondered why that was.

"Existing in the real world isn't the same as existing within the internet," Shade explained, even as he yawned.  "We're bound by real-world laws of physics and biology, out here.  I can still do some magic, but not quite like I was able to do as an innerworlder.  Only stuff that is at least theoretically possible.  Which is still, of course, quite a bit.  As they say, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  He added a flourish on the word 'magic' to emphasize his point.

"Hmm," Cloaky said, nodding.  He wondered if that information would come in handy, later, when RAFians began leaving the internet and returning to the real world.  Would morphing still work?  Maybe.  Come to think of it, probably so.  It was a good thing the books had explained the loophole around the law of conservation of mass, otherwise it would probably have ended up impossible.

"Anyway, we best be off," Becky said.  Moments later, her panda-like avatar vanished from sight.

"Durotar's a really low-level area," Bloodbane reassured Cloak, though Cloak didn't really find it necessary.  "Nothing that's gonna attack you in the night."  His character, too, blinked out.

The other two said goodnight and logged off as well, leaving Cloaky alone with his thoughts.

And his thoughts quickly turned back toward the device he now held.  No matter how hard he tried to turn his mind to other things, he kept circling back to that same unavoidable question.  What to do?

It would be risky to actually free anyone from the internet, even with access to the teleporter, he realized.  They would be sent directly to the facility in Switzerland, where they could easily be caught by the scientists.  Although, with enough people to send through, there was at least some chance they could overpower the . . .

Right then, it hit Cloaky like a bolt of lightning.  The answer.  Stunning and clear and beautiful.

They just had to send enough people through.  Perhaps they could send out a summons across the internet, and allow everyone to leave who wanted to leave.  Which, outside of RAF, would probably be nearly everyone affected by the teleport.

In the chaos, the massive throng of people would surely be able to force the scientists out of the facility.  The scientists wouldn't be able to deal with the sheer numbers.  Giving them no time or opportunity to deactivate the self-destruct.

Then it would just be a matter of giving everyone enough time to get clear of the blast.  Not too long, or the scientists could return, and shut off the countdown.  Too quick, and innocent people could be killed.

But there was a chance.  It could work.  Lives could be saved.  The threats of the internet could be locked away from the outside world forever.  And all without sacrificing anyone.

With that soothing thought filling his mind, Cloaky finally drifted off into an unnecessary, but still wonderful, sleep.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 13, 2013, 10:51:01 PM
*realizes how the loopholes at the beginning of First Flight are being filled, and grins like an idiot*

Thank you, Dino. I'm so glad I left that part to you. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 13, 2013, 11:07:48 PM
Hmm?  I don't even know which loopholes I'm filling at this point.  :XD:

But, just wait, Saffa.  Just wait.  ;)

So so tempted right now to go ahead and write the last chapter of the last book.

EDIT: Lol, the last chapter is now written, I couldn't stop myself.  ARGH I WISH I COULD POST IT.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Underseen on July 14, 2013, 02:54:36 AM
Something tells me you go on Forgotten Futures
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 15, 2013, 12:43:38 AM
Actually, no, Underseen, I don't.  I'd had it in my head for a while that Kyris was based on something steampunk (if you look at her description when she first appears, she's wearing leather with brass riveting), but then I needed something more concrete so she could give an answer to Cloaky about where she came from.  I thought "The Forgotten Future" might be a good name for a steampunk-ish site, googled it to see if it was taken, and found out about Forgotten Futures which actually is a steampunk game.  That was just too good to be true, so I took it.  :XD:

Of course, now I've got something else to potentially get hooked on the next time I'm doing character research . . . :P

Oh, and hey!  This chapter contains another opportunity for AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION!  :D  There's gonna be three choices that are offered, and I'm gonna go ahead and note that the first one isn't gonna happen (if it were to go that way, my next book can't happen, so boo to that), but you guys are more than welcome to let me know your opinion on choices two or three!  Which is it gonna be?  *plays Jeopardy music*

Chapter Sixty-three

The next morning passed without incident.  Cloak was able to easily make it back to RAF by noon.  He simply swirled his cloak, making use of the strange 'glitch' that he had discovered long before, and he was back within the forum.

Those RAFians who saw him immediately rushed towards him, eager to hear the news he would bring.  His early return must be a good sign, most of them assumed.  He had only been gone a day.  If he hadn't found the answers they wanted, he would surely have been gone longer.  Right?

Richard suddenly appeared in the midst of the small crowd, having seen the growing commotion by the posts that had appeared.  Cloak handed over Bloodbane's device, and told Richard what he knew.  About the codes to take control of the teleport sequence, and about the way to overload the facility and destroy it.  Cloaky had never been much of a public speaker, of course.  But he was at least willing to share the news with the RAFians who had curiously gathered around him and Richard.

Cloak made sure to make mention of his own plan, as well.  Freeing as many people from the internet as possible, in hopes to distract the scientists long enough to get everyone out before the self-destruct.  A risky plan, as Goom quickly pointed out.  "We stand to lose many more lives if anything goes wrong," he said reasonably.  "Not to mention, far more and a greater percentage of innocent lives.  Seeing as most of the scientists are, well . . . less than so."

Cody nodded, in somber agreement.  "I still can't stop thinking about those prisoners that they'd been keeping at the facility.  Surely, anyone who would do something like that to those people . . . I don't want to say that those scientists deserve to die.  But, at the same time, some of them are pretty far removed from 'innocent.'"  He looked distraught, torn between wanting to hate the scientists on one hand, but not wanting them to die on the other.

"Not to mention, the kidnappings before that," Goom added bitterly, nodding back towards Cody.  "The RAFians they downloaded, to study.  If we hadn't sent our outerworlders to Switzerland, they would have kept them as prisoners in that blank white space.  Forever."

But Cloak stood firm, steadfastly refusing to consider a willing sacrifice of that many lives, and Goom quickly let the subject drop.  Goom didn't really want to be a killer, either, of course.  Not any more than Cloak or Cody did.  But he had needed to make sure that Cloak really knew what he was doing.  And that meant, looking at all of the possible consequences.  No matter how grim.

The news of Bloodbane's device and Cloaky's plan spread like wildfire through the forum, and it wasn't long before all of RAF knew the full details of the situation.  Estrid's mirror-wave ability may have, of course, helped to speed the information along.

The mods didn't even really need to call a meeting this time.  RAFians were already beginning to gather in the Media Board, before Richard had even thought of it.  Estrid still sent out a mirror-wave call, nonetheless, but it only served to catch the last few stragglers.

"I think you all know why we're here today," Richard began, once everyone had assembled.  "We have a decision before us.  Probably the most important decision we, as a forum, have ever faced.  A decision that someone's lives will rest upon.  A few lives, or a hundred, or a billion.  That's up to us."

"We probably shouldn't decide right now," Richard continued.  "A decision like this, should not be made in haste.  But, for now, you need to know the options.  As far as I can see, we have three choices."

He took a deep breath before going on.  "The first choice.  Access the teleport for no other purpose but to free some of us from the internet.  Don't activate the self-destruct at all.  I won't lie, this option carries the biggest risk.  The facility is a loose end.  If that technology ever falls into the wrong hands, and the evil beings that exist within the internet ever escape . . . we're not just talking about a disaster.  We're talking about an apocalypse on our hands.  Of course, there is a chance that will never come to pass.  That we can stay vigilant, and keep it from happening.  But it is a huge risk, and I'm not too keen on it."  He sighed, wishing he could put this option off the table completely, and not even allow anyone to consider it.  The risk was just too much.  But, this was his forum, his trusted chosen RAFians, and he was not some dictator.  He would trust them to come to the right choice.

"The second choice," he went on.  "Access the self-destruct and detonate it immediately, without warning.  We might be able to free a few people from the internet beforehand, according to this plan, but it wouldn't be many, or else their presence would alert the scientists to what we were doing.  Keep in mind that we would have to give them time to get clear of the blast, so it would have to be a small enough number that they can sneak out through the facility unnoticed.  Of course, this plan works best if we don't free anybody from the internet at all."  He hesitated.  Something about this particular plan put knots in his stomach.  The thought of knowingly killing, even a few to save many, it was not something that could be lightly brushed aside.  He swallowed, trying to get a grip on his doubts.  "I am forced to admit, though, this plan is probably the least risky one.  It carries an almost guaranteed sacrifice of at least a hundred people, but anyone outside the facility will be almost certainly safe.  While I understand that the scientists at that facility do not all have the cleanest of hands, we should assume that there will be at least a few innocent people in there.  People who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, who will die, if we go through with this."  He added a pointed look in Goom's general direction.

"The third choice," Richard continued.  "Cloaky's plan.  Free a massive amount of people from the internet, from as many sites as we can.  Some of them will likely have powers of some kind, and even if that isn't many, the sheer numbers will help them overpower the scientists.  Overpower them long enough, at least, to clear the building and allow the self-destruct to go off before anyone can stop it.  But this plan carries a definite element of risk.  Not as much risk as doing nothing, but a whole lot more than detonating the facility without the extra people in the way.  We have to time the explosion just exactly right.  Give them too long, and the scientists can sort through the chaos and return to deactivate the self-destruct, putting us exactly where we would have been if we'd done nothing.  Which is, need I remind you, the very real possibility of an apocalypse," he emphasized.  "Or, if we destroy the facility too soon, not only will the scientists be caught in the blast, but there will be the people we freed from the internet, killed, too.  The same massive numbers we would have tried to use to our advantage, would then become our body count."

The crowd murmured, as various RAFians discussed the possibilities with one another.  "To be perfectly honest, I don't much like any of the three options.  So, if anybody can come up with something better, something foolproof, something where none of us have to get that blood on our hands . . . " he trailed off, but quickly found his thought again.  "We want to hear it.  The good thing is, at least there isn't any rush.  RAF's firewall will hold.  And, for now, we're reasonably sure that the teleport device isn't going anywhere.  It isn't completely safe in the Swiss facility, of course.  We should know."  There was a slight chuckle at that, as a few of the RAFians who had broken into the facility as outerworlders, laughingly attested to what Richard was saying.  "But it's about as safe as we can ask for.  In any case, it's good enough for now.  So, for the moment, think on it.  We will hold our vote tomorrow morning."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 15, 2013, 01:18:26 AM
Do we give our vote through PM or do we shout it out here?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 15, 2013, 01:41:56 AM
^ good question.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 15, 2013, 06:07:21 PM
Whichever you prefer.  Consider it like this, story-wise: some RAFians are gonna discuss their options with other RAFians before the actual vote occurs, and some are gonna keep their opinions to themselves until the voting.  If you consider yourself the first sort, then post in the thread.  If you're the second sort, PM.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 15, 2013, 06:34:45 PM
I'm gonna say option three. It's risky, but if it works, totally worth it.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 15, 2013, 09:28:09 PM
I was going to say the same thing, but I fell asleep. :P Ah well. You have my vote now.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2013, 02:19:50 PM
Okay, well, I think I've gotten enough votes at this point to sense a pattern, so I'm going with it.  Also I don't want to wait much longer because I'm scared of losing my muse again.

Chapter Sixty-four

The RAFians gathered in the Media Board again the next morning, in preparation to tally the final vote.  Most of them arrived a little early, eager to know the outcome of the question that had been burning in their minds through the previous night.

"Option one," Richard quickly began, addressing the assembled crowd.  Not wanting to waste anyone's time.  "Do nothing."

Not a single hand rose.  Not one RAFian.  Richard had been right, it seemed.  No RAFian was willing to risk the fate of the world, not when other options existed to save it.

"Option two," Richard continued.  "Detonate the facility without warning."

A few hands rose this time, but it was clear that it was not a majority.  Asmo, Russell, and Rad were among those who raised their hands, Rad's eyes glowing yellow to signal that this was actually Ma'at who was casting this vote.  A few others, almost reluctantly, half-raised their hands, a sick look on their faces, knowing what it meant.  Wanting to take the option of lesser risk.  But also knowing that in doing so they would become . . . murderers.  A hundred people, written off as mere casualties.

Not many RAFians were willing to kill when there was still another option, either.  Not much more than they had been willing to risk the end of the world.

"Option three," Richard went on.  "Save as many as we can."

The response was more enthusiastic this time.  Just over half the hands in the room rose, obvious at a glance that the last option was the winner.  Several RAFians must have abstained from voting, because the votes for the second and third options clearly did not add up to the population of the auditorium.  But in the end it didn't matter.  The winning choice was still clear.

"Option three it is," Richard said, smiling a warm smile.  He was glad, although not terribly surprised, that RAF would pick the most hopeful option.  Hadn't that been the message of the books, after all?  Take whatever chances you're given, and save as many lives as you can?

"We'll split into teams," he said, getting right to the plan.  "We're gonna need as many people as we can possibly find, for this to work.  And that means hitting the biggest websites we know of."  He pointed at a row of chairs, sweeping his finger across the row.  "You all take Facebook."  He pointed up to the next row.  "And you, Twitter."  The RAFians assigned to Twitter groaned, but Richard didn't seem to notice.  "Youtube for you all, be sure to check the most popular videos, get everyone out of those theatres."  He went across the rows, listing off famous websites.  DeviantArt, World of Warcraft, Omegle, Failblog, Memebase, Wikipedia, 4chan.

"Oh, man," Blaze groaned as he was selected for the last one.  But Underseen gave him a little nudge, and they looked at each other and shrugged, glad at least to be on the same team.  They'd picked a good day to sit next to each other.

Dino, having been standing towards the back, ended up in a group with Saffa, AniDragon, Goose, Cody, and probably about three people Dino didn't recognize.  They'd been assigned to search Wikipedia.

Goom threw the switch to take down the firewall that blocked RAF off from the rest of the internet.  One by one RAFians seemed to blink out, as each group entered in their respective web addresses in their minds.

Dino and the rest of their 'team' appeared in a library.  Except that this library was enormous, with a maze of pathways leading to and from each room.  It was easy to glimpse the extent of this place's enormity, since so much of it was open.  Each room was connected by dozens of paths to each other room, like being inside a honeycomb or an Escher painting.  Rooms stacked on top of other rooms, with staircases leading up and down, pathways crisscrossing every which way.  A crazy maze of interconnectedness, a maze that led everywhere.

Like any library, there were people there.  Most of the rooms were occupied, people with books out, reading.  Unlike most libraries, though, each reader was armed with a pencil, and several of them were erasing and rewriting the books even as they read.

Dino looked down at her arms, taking a moment to take in the transition from dinosaur to human.  It was easy to forget that would happen, and it seemed to get stranger every time.

Quickly remembering why they were there in the first place, Cody called out, "HEY!"

Several people wrinkled their foreheads, but didn't look up from their books.  They'd just seen the word "HEY" suddenly appear in the midst of their articles.  Odd, but probably just some idiot messing around, nothing to be concerned over.

One person, though, turned to look.  "Hey," he said, seeing the RAFians.  "You really here?"

"Yes, we're really here," Saffa said.  "We're innerworlders, like you."

"Come with us, though, and you can leave the internet," Goose offered.

The kid shook his head.  "I don't know, man.  Is any of this, is it even real?  Half the time I think I'm just crazy."

"Crazy's come and gone," Dino pointed out gently.  "A while ago.  We're offering you the chance to go home."

"Yeah, okay," he said, seeming to gather his senses a little.  "Yeah okay.  I'm in."

"This might take a while," Saffa sighed wearily, already impatient.  She turned on her heel and strode off down one of the many corridors.  The others split up soon thereafter, following Saffa's example.  They'd cover more ground if they all went separate ways.

The RAFians who had gone to Facebook were, fortunately, having somewhat better luck than the Wikipedia group.  Because of the social nature of the site, several innerworlders had naturally gravitated towards Facebook, to be amongst their friends who had suffered the same fate.  Jess, Seal, Lumy, Marie and Bear quickly shepherded together a mass of people as they continued down the blank white corridors, looking for more.

They were almost like Jehovah's Witnesses, Bear thought.  Knocking on the doors that were people's profiles, asking if they wanted to be saved.  He laughed to himself at the thought.

Meanwhile, Tony was covering his ears against the sheer cacophony of sound that was Twitter.  He was on the team with Myitt, Steph, Faerie, and Demos.

"HEY!!" Faerie yelled over the din, commanding all the power she could put behind that one word.

Three, maybe four people were close enough to hear, and looked over.  But then they shrugged and went back to inanely gabbing about what they had eaten that day.

"Argh this is POINTLESS!" Myitt yelled, having to raise her voice to be heard.  "There's no way any innerworlders would still be hanging around here!"

"You said you want a round of BEER?" Steph shouted back.  "This really isn't the time!"

"We need to go somewhere else!" Myitt cried.  "I'm thinking one of those cooking sites would be a better place to look!  Recipes.com!"

They quickly switched over to the much quieter food site, and breathed a sigh of relief before getting back to the search.

Meanwhile, Blue, Parker, Cloaky, Ouroboros and Gaz were in Youtube, going theatre to theatre, rounding up who they could find.  They were having better luck than most of the teams, although not quite as much as the Facebook group.  There were only a few innerworlders in any given theatre, so it was slow going, visiting one viewing room after another after another.  But, after a while, they had a fairly sizeable crowd following them.

"If I have to listen to one more 'goat that sounds like a human,'" Cloaky muttered to himself.  "I think I might go crazy."  Nonetheless, he quickly strode away to the next theatre.

"YAAH!" Estelore yelled as the room they were in suddenly started spinning again.  They were expecting the motion by now, of course, but it was still jarring as anything.

Omegle, as it turned out, was like some kind of ridiculous carnival ride, on an utterly massive scale.  Thousands upon thousands of closed rooms, connected to one another by a psychotic clockwork system of gears, able to rotate in any direction.  The whole place was set up so each room would face another room at any given time, allowing the two occupants to speak to one another.  But every time someone would pull the lever in their room, that room would rotate, spinning around to face a different room.

Estelore, Noelle, Azguard, Rad, and Aquilai had gotten stuck searching here.  Which basically consisted of asking, "Innerworlder?" to each and every room they spun to.  Most people had no idea what they were talking about, and when that happened the RAFian would immediately spin away again to the next room.  But there was at least a sizeable population of innerworlders here, it seemed.  This was a good place to meet other people, after all, and many innerworlders craved that human contact.

But the setup of the site didn't really allow them to shepherd groups of people, like most of the other teams were doing.  So the RAFians simply repeated RAF's address, over and over and over, to every innerworlder they met.  It was an annoying and arduous task.

After several more hours of searching, as the morning turned into afternoon, almost all of the teams had decided that they'd gathered enough people.  A couple of teams had even realized they might as well include a few outerworlders in their searches, as well.  After all, the outerworlders, with their empty avatars that would be brought into the real world, could stay behind while the facility detonated, with no risk to their own safety.  That ability could potentially come in handy.

They all assembled in RAF, groups of people appearing as each team decided they had searched enough.  Before long, the non-RAFians outnumbered the RAFians on the forum, by a factor of several dozen to one.  They milled about anxiously, waiting to find out how they were supposed to be able to go home.

Richard was waiting for the last couple of search teams to trickle in, before he began.

"Never, ever going back there again!" Underseen said, making a face, the moment he appeared.  He, Blaze, Squall and Ko Ko were leading a gaggle of jeering idiots who seemed to have no idea the seriousness of the situation.

And that was it, the last of the search teams.  Richard cleared his throat, but it didn't do much good.  Everybody kept right on talking.

"AHEM!" he tried again, and a few people quieted to listen.  Good enough.  "Listen up, people, because your adventure isn't quite over just yet."
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 19, 2013, 02:48:18 PM
I was forced to stay up for a chick flick sesh.

Then it finally ended and I found this waiting for me.

Thank you, Dino. You just saved my life.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 19, 2013, 04:44:44 PM
Wow. How many more chapters left??
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2013, 04:57:03 PM
Lol, you're welcome, Saffa.

Not many more, I think, Abby.  Probably two or three, maybe four.

Chapter Sixty-five

Once enough people had finally quieted enough to be able to hear him, Richard outlined the plan.

When he mentioned the fact that they could die, several of the crowd blinked out.  Running off back to their respective websites.  They had only kinda wanted to go home in the first place, and they certainly weren't willing to risk their lives for the chance.  Most of the others, seemed to only dully register what he had said.  As though they didn't quite believe it.  Or maybe they thought he was just exaggerating for effect.

If Richard noticed their seeming incomprehension of the situation, he didn't show it.  He had more important things to deal with.

He turned his attention to the RAFians.  "This will be the last chance," Richard said.  "Anyone who wishes to stay will be trapped forever.  And anyone who wishes to go back to the real world, can never again return to RAF."

The RAFians looked back and forth at their fellow denizens of RAF.  Each one tried to imagine a world without Andalites and Time Lords, talking seals and goombas, dinosaurs and sentient suns.  A world where the most important thing in their lives might be the next report card, or perhaps the next paycheck.  That world . . . now seemed foreign and strange.

With a slight jolt of surprise, each RAFian suddenly realized an odd truth.  They did not want to go back to that world.  Not really.  Within each one of them, there was nothing more than only the slightest, buried inkling of desire for a normal life.  And, although it seemed strange to realize it, there was no wistful longing that could ever be twisted into regret.  No, there would be no regret for that old life.

They stood resolute.  They knew, there was nothing about their old world that would be missed.

Their friends?  They had no friends closer than this.  Their families?  They were one another's family, now.

That was the difference, that was the reason why they were all here.  That was the "RAF Anomaly."

Richard nodded, as though he'd almost expected such a unanimous reaction.  He could hardly say he was surprised by it.

"Very well, then," he said, turning his attention back to the droves of non-RAFians.  "As for you, we are going to send you to Switzerland, where there exists a technology that can reverse the teleport that sent you into the internet in the first place.  You will need to get out as quickly as you can, because we will have to detonate the facility soon afterward."

A few more people blinked out.  But the crowd still easily numbered in the thousands.

"And, here's the fun part," Richard said, with a slight smile twisting his lips.  "We're going to need you all to cause as much chaos and confusion as you can on your way out.  The longer you can delay and distract the scientists who work at the place, the longer we can postpone the self-destruct.  Ultimately, our goal is to get everyone out alive.  You can help us do that.  Just remember.  Chaos and confusion, delay and distract."  Keep it simple, he thought to himself as he looked out across their unwitting expressions.  Give them four words to remember.  A simple message, for a simple crowd.

"Chaos, confusion, delay, distract," he repeated, and he could see that he was getting through to at least some of them.  Maybe even most of them.  They were smiling about something, anyway.

Richard nodded to Goom, who was holding a modified version of the red-lit device given to Cloaky by Bloodbane.  The device was encased now in a mesh of machinery that looked a little like a remote control, with two prominent buttons.  One green, and one red.

Goom pressed the green button.  The assembled crowd didn't blink out all at once.  Instead, the disappearances rippled through the massive throng, like a slow-motion wave, as they were each pulled from the internet and back into the real world.

Goom immediately ran over to a nearby readout, like a display of television sets, probably twenty or thirty different screens.  He had been handing out something like cameras among a few members of the assembled crowd, while Richard had been speaking.  So that he could now see a hodge-podge of haphazard videos of the inside of the facility.

The scene was complete and utter chaos, that much was clear.  The sudden mass of people were now pouring out through the teleporting chamber, darting every which way down the maze of corridors.  Nothing could be heard over the frantic din of yelling and screaming.  They were a panicked herd of lunatics, like a break-out from a mental ward.

Every now and then a glimpse of a white coat, a scientist, could be seen amongst the throng, swept along like a helpless leaf in a whitewater river.

Goom smiled, despite himself.  Several other RAFians, having wandered over to investigate the screens, were grinning, too.  Everything seemed to be going according to plan.  Nobody could have asked for anything better.

One of the cameras showed mostly feet, as viewed from the ground up.  The camera had obviously been dropped by whoever had been tasked with carrying it.  After a while, the upward-angled view of the stampede seemed to thin out, as most of the crowd passed over, beyond what the device could see.  Every now and then a small group of stragglers would run by, but before long, even those were out of the area, and the camera saw no movement at all.

But then, something appeared within that blank field of view, that made Goom's heart sink down into his stomach.  A single scientist, walking resolutely in precisely the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd.  He very obviously knew where he was going.  And it was all too easy to guess where that was.

He looked down, and the last thing the camera saw was a massive-looking foot coming down to crush it.  After that, nothing but static from that screen.

None of the escaped innerworlders were anywhere near him.  Certainly not close enough to stop him from shutting down the teleporter, which had to be his goal.  Everyone else had fled, more concerned about their own safety than the role they had been supposed to play.  Even the outerworlders had been caught up in the sheer exhilaration of the chase, pulled along with everyone else, as they had swarmed like idiots for the exits.

"No, NO!" Goom shouted, suddenly wishing that he'd been handing out communicators as well as cameras.  "Go back!  Somebody STOP HIM!"  His voice was almost a sob, as he realized what would happen.  What had to happen.  The only choice left.

"Trigger the self-destruct!" Asmo yelled suddenly, gripping Goom by the shoulder.  "DO IT NOW!"

"But-" Goom began, hesitating.

"We will never get another chance at this," Asmo snapped coldly.  "It's either this, or we risk the end of the world.  The end of the world, Goom.  Trigger.  The self-destruct."

Still Goom hesitated.  Not wanting to admit the fatal mistake they had committed.  The mistake of holding onto hope, instead of making the cold rational choice that needed to be made.

Asmo, his expression an unreadable mask, snatched the remote away from Goom, and pressed the red button.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 19, 2013, 09:08:46 PM
Dun dun DUN!

*imagines the whole scene playing out like a Joss Whedon movie*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2013, 09:18:15 PM
I just got compared to Joss Whedon?  SWEET!  ;D

And on that note, I'm sorry to inflict the next two chapters upon you.  This story is wrapping up, and the next one is gonna be . . . dark.

Chapter Sixty-six

Things had gone from good to bad, so fast.  Far too fast for anyone to be able to understand, too fast for their fear-frozen minds to process it.

Everything had been going according to plan.  And suddenly, in the space of a blink of an eye, everything had gone terribly wrong.

Only three cameras still showed anything other than static.  One was lying on the ground, showing an expanse of asphalt, a human hand just barely within the field of view.  The hand moved weakly at first, but then the grasping fingers went still.  Morbidly still.  A few moments later, a thin trail of blood could be seen weaving and creeping across the black pebbly street surface.

Both of the other two cameras were shaking, hard.  Held in unsteady, terrified hands.  One showed a grassy hill, almost peaceful, despite the trembling view.  But then the camera swiveled around to show a mushroom-like cloud, a grey smoky fireball, far off in the distance.

The other camera was giving glimpses of a more urban scene.  Streets and office-like buildings, smoke and debris swirling on the blast-furnace wind through the gaps between skyscrapers.  This was a scene that was closer to the terrible devastation.

Too close.  Much too close.

The second of the two still-moving viewpoints panned across a scene of utter destruction.  Flames consumed the wreckage and debris, black smoke hiding the scattered blocks of concrete that were all that was now left of the facility.

The RAFians gasped, as the camera focused in on a victim who had almost escaped.  The girl lay in the parking lot, her own fallen camera next to her.  A shard of concrete, like a spear, was wedged in her side.  She lay in a growing pool of blood.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," the voice on the other end, the voice of whoever was holding the camera, was saying.  "We did this.  We did this.  We did this."  Over and over, like a broken record.  A broken person.

The RAFians, one by one, turned numbly away from the screens.  They couldn't watch this.  No.  It was far too much, too awful.  A few RAFians started running in the other direction, wanting to put as much distance between them and these macabre images as they possibly could.

It was terrible disaster.  But so much worse than just a disaster.  This awful tragedy, this was a disaster of their own making.

How many had survived that horrible blast?  How many . . . hadn't?

Goom was glad, in some twisted way, that it had been Asmo, not him, who had pressed that button.  Who had taken that awful decision off his shoulders.  He could blame Asmo for it all.  He could curse his cold ruthlessness.

They all could.  The RAFians could each tell themselves, that they had done the right thing.  That it wasn't their fault, not their fault it had all gone terribly wrong.

Lies.  All of it, lies.

"This must be how Jake felt," Terenia whispered to herself.  But Myitt overheard, and nodded.  "Trying so hard to do the right thing, and it all just . . . falls apart."  She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears.

Several RAFians were hugging one another, trying helplessly to console their sobbing and weeping friends.  Others couldn't even find strength to cry, their expressions cold, their bodies numb.

They could all feel the distance growing between them, as they split off into their own little islands, desperate to hide their awful despair from one another.  Feeling shamefully weak, for even what little they showed of the overwhelming turmoil inside themselves.  And yet, feeling even weaker, for not being able to feel anything at all.

Why had they done this?  To save the world?  The world was not worth this much.  They should have just let it end.

More than one group of RAFians headed for the GESB.  If there was ever a time for drinking, this was it.  A few of them were underage, but nobody bothered to try and stop them.

Others, those who had managed to cling to some vestige of level-headedness, blinked out of RAF, in search of news websites.

Surely, the outside world would now know the truth.  The terrible truth of what was really happening inside the internet.  They had to.  There was no way to still turn a cold shoulder on this.  Not when so many had died because of it.

It took a while, before there was even anything at all.  Long minutes that ticked by like hours, before the news hit the first of the reporting websites.

It was impossible to know the death count, that was the first thing they said, as they showed footage of the blast zone from a helicopter.  The blast had been too total, and it had utterly obliterated any trace of life at its epicenter.

But there were survivors.  Almost a hundred so far, and more were being found minute to minute.  Footage of a young boy and a scientist in a tattered white coat, being pulled out of the wreckage at the very edge of the blast zone.

Then, the news shifted focus to the survivors themselves.  The reporter, almost casually, noted that several of the survivors were having the same 'delusion.'  A bizarre delusion, that they had been trapped within the internet.  "We don't want to make light of what they've been through," the reporter added.  "But delirium like this, is to be expected in the wake of such intense trauma."

Weathel slammed his fist down on the desk, the sudden sound echoing off the walls of the viewing area where the story was playing.  The room was itself designed like a news room, but surrounded with screens that played the reports.

"They cannot be serious!" he raged.  "They can't just, discount this, as some kind of idiotic mass delirium!  What do they think it is, coincidence?!"  He gasped for air, barely able to speak, incredulous that anyone would dare to make a mockery of the situation like this.  That anyone would dare, to discount the sacrifice those people had made, just to get home.

"They don't know," Aquilai replied sadly.  Not defending the newscaster, only stating what he simply knew to be true.  "How could they know?  Even now?  It's always so much easier just to believe in what is solid and factual and easy to explain.  Especially at a time like this.  People are scared.  The last thing they want is anything else, to be scared of."  He was silent for a moment, but he didn't like that empty void that his silence had left behind, so he went on.

"And then, when this is over, they'll sweep it under the rug and forget.  It'll be just another disaster, nothing to worry about, just a weird little piece of history.  Anybody who says otherwise, anybody who says anything about teleportation, will be treated like some conspiracy nut, some crazy person, with nothing but wild and ridiculous theories.  Stupid nonsensical theories about what ought to be a perfectly reasonable and explainable situation."  His voice was breaking towards the end of his rant, as he realized the truth to what he was saying.

Nobody would ever know the truth.  Nobody, except those poor survivors, who would be labeled as crazy, as having broken down from trauma, if they ever said out loud what they knew to be true.

Aquilai sighed, staring blankly down at the floor as he ran a hand through his hair.  It was probably easier just to be angry, like Weathel, than to try to make excuses for these people, to try to find reason where there was none.  But he felt emotionally exhausted.  His mental weariness was so intense that it manifested as a physical ache.  He couldn't even bring himself to be angry.  People were pathetic and stupid and that's the way it would always be and what was the point of fighting it?

Right when he thought he couldn't care about anything, Aquilai's waning interest briefly flickered back to life, caught by a British accent coming through the screens.  It sounded almost familiar.  Like somebody he might know.

"There was fire everywhere.  It was awful," the voice moaned.  Aquilai glanced up just in time to catch a glimpse of a blond and slightly nerdy-looking kid, and the name Lewis Miller at the bottom of the screen.  But by then the interviewer had already switched over to another survivor, and Aquilai looked away again.  The name and face hadn't meant anything, it was nobody he knew.

"I need a drink," Weathel said wearily.  Like Aquilai, he was tired, just utterly tired, of caring.  About any of it.  "You look like you could use one, too.  GESB?"

"Yeah, okay," Aquilai said slowly.  "I'll meet you there."

If this was what saving the day felt like, Aquilai thought . . . then maybe he didn't want to be there the next time it needed saving.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2013, 09:24:54 PM
And here it is, folks, the final chapter.  Which I've had, already mostly written, for, oh, about a year now?

EDIT: Click here to read the sequel. (http://animorphsforum.com/index.php?topic=9850.0)

Chapter Sixty-seven

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the unnamed laboratory near CERN lay in smoldering ruins.  Concrete blocks the size of cars were strewn about in an apocalyptic wasteland, punctuated by still-burning fires and mangled bits of steel.  Dark smoke swirled between the deserted, jagged ruins.

Blackened bones could be seen, strewn here and there amongst the debris.  Not much was left of the bodies, no trace of skin or muscle.  Only those smoking fragments of bone.  Everything else had been burned away to smoke and ashes.

Yet, impossibly, something was moving within that concrete graveyard.  An unconscious figure slowly stirred amidst the rubble, surrounded by bent and broken steel bars that jutted out of the ground like twisted fangs.  Her features were oddly distorted, like different images of her had been laid over one another, a multiply-exposed photograph of a face.  All were african-american, but the slight differences in tone created an eerie effect, almost like darkened iridescence.

Her right eye was gone, nothing left but a blackened and jagged eye socket.  Like a crater had been blown in her face.  Stretching all across the right side of her face and part of her left, radiating and crisscrossing all around the missing eye, was an almost delicate scar, a lace-like spiderweb pattern of cracks on her skin, where she had been burned by molten shrapnel from the explosion.  It was the only thing that all the images of her face had in common, which gave it the eerily curious effect of being the only solid thing about her.  It was like looking at a broken funhouse mirror, the cracks overlaying the twisted illusion beneath.

The woman opened her remaining eye and looked around, slowly remembering where she was.  Her many-layered identity was all that had saved her from being killed in the blast.  Each version of herself had only taken minimal damage.  But if she had taken all that damage herself, in only one form, she would have certainly died.

She could feel something, off.  Her vision seemed incomplete, somehow, as though something was blocking some part of her field of sight.  She looked around, trying to see what it was.  Realizing that there was nothing in front of her, she raised a hand to touch the right side of her face, where her eye should have been.

The woman gasped in horror.  The texture under her hand was something raspy and rough and brittle.  Like crumpled paper.  That wasn't skin.  No.  That could not be her skin.

She closed her one eye, bitterly remembering her previous life.  How she had been shunned by the site that had created her.  She had been banned from that corrupt forum, forced to live in exile at its borders.  The nerve of them!  So long, so very long, she had been trapped there, with nothing but a meager few of her faithful minions to keep her company.

She remembered that day, not so long ago, when she had finally gotten her lucky break.  A fool in search of adventure had traversed into her territory, and from there it had been child's play to follow him back to whence he had come.  There she had lain hidden, in wait for a chance to strike back.

She remembered how she had eventually learned the secret to 'surfing, how to cross over from one website to another.  With that knowledge, she had eagerly found her way into the rest of the internet.  She remembered trying to recruit followers.  But she had only met with failure, again and again.

Even outside of the forum that had banned her, users were fools.  They didn't understand her power.  They didn't understand, that there could be no other ruler, no other leader to sheep such as they.

But then, she remembered that moment, when she had been offered an even sweeter deal.  By a user with no idea who or what she really was.  He had offered her a chance at infinite power.  Power over those who had disgraced her.

But as soon as she had been freed from the internet and brought forth into this strange new world beyond, she was betrayed by those who had liberated her.  She had been held against her will, studied by scientists.  No matter how she screamed and protested and even begged, they held her captive, to be their lab rat.

Of course, that was alright, now.  They had been appropriately punished for their sins.  They were dead.  Maybe not all of them, but enough.  And she was free.

Amidst the rubble of the ruined complex of her captors, a single object stood out, barely visible in the distance, through the misty haze of smoke.  Drawn towards it, the woman stumbled forward on mangled legs.

It was a white sphere.  She could see it now, as she drew closer.  It was utterly untouched by the destruction around it.  The woman approached it, in awe at its sleek smooth perfection, and held out a hand to touch it.  There was not a scratch upon its pristine surface.

She happened to catch a glance at herself, in a reflection upon its featureless white glass.  She saw her own scar for the first time.  She winced, and tentatively touched a hand to her broken face.  Her features soon twisted into a scowl, furious that anyone or anything would dare to tarnish her magnificent beauty.

"I will find those responsible for this, and I will make them pay," she vowed in a harsh voice to the empty air.

She already knew who it had been.  Who had done this.  Who had to have done this.  The only infidels who would dare to insult her beauty like this, who would dare to scorch her lovely features.

Her features twisted still further into anger and rage.  She bared her teeth, some versions of which were sharpened, like vampiric fangs.

"I will make them pay!" she repeated, louder.  The sound of her own voice seemed to fuel her demented fury.

"Do you hear me, RAFians?" AlmightyQueen howled into the wind like a wild animal.  "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 19, 2013, 09:39:42 PM
*stands up and gives Dino a standing ovation*

Wow, wow, wow. It's ended, and it can only be described by one word - EPIC. And now I ltype the long speech to make the feels go away.

1. I REMEMBER THAT PART! When Blaze and Yunyun wandered off to the Bannedlands... and there was something moving behind them...

2.  If my guess is correct and Queen is the chief instigator of the Miller madness (oh look, there he is!) then I thank you very much for making it so. I was only probably, I dunno, a Sr. Member when I began First Flight (hence the often stated feeling in the book of unimportance as a relative newbie), so I hadn't known of her until I started reading Memoirs, which was much later. Thanks again for filling that up for me. :)

You do not know just how much I'm looking forward to the next book. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 19, 2013, 10:07:52 PM
Eee!  I cannot even tell you how much your praise means to me.  :D  There's something about having nice things said about your work by someone whose work you respect as much as I respect yours, that, it's just like, "Hey, I know you know what you're talking about!"  So, it means a LOT.  :-]

1.  Yep, that'd be her!  By the way, she also appears when the RAFians visit the facility in Switzerland for the first time, too.  ;)

2.  Hmm.  I actually hadn't even thought about Queen and Miller being potentially connected.  But it's certainly an interesting idea, one which I will have to keep in mind.  I can say this, though.  There will be another big tie-in to "First Flight" at the end of "End of RAF."

End of end of.  That was a weird phrase.  :P

Oh, and not to rush you or anything, but could you let me know whenever you get the PDF of this done?  I want to edit it into the first post so that guests can read it, and I'm also planning to send it to Rad since she's still on her hiatus from RAF.  Just, whenever you get the chance.
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on July 19, 2013, 10:26:21 PM
You're welcome! Funny how I gave the same reaction when you complimented my work. :)

Well, today is Saturday, so I can definitely finish the PDF today.

EDIT: How about right now?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: theyoungphoenix on July 20, 2013, 09:26:25 AM
Now I'm gonna download that PDF so I can read it whenever I want. ;D This was brilliant work! I think it's interesting that you brought Queen into this. *poders how Queen's appearance will affect the rest of the series* Yep, that is goin to be really interesting. :D I'm excited for it. :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on July 20, 2013, 06:28:01 PM
Thank you, both of you, so much!  ;D

I'm gonna see if I can't get at least the first chapter of "End of RAF" up sometime this weekend.  *fingers crossed*
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Aluminator (Kit) on August 14, 2013, 12:52:17 PM
Finally finished this, even through all my easily-distractableness. Dino... thank you. That was excellent. I'm looking forward to diving into End of RAF (and then actually keeping up with your amazing writing!)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on August 14, 2013, 01:07:33 PM
PDF by me up in the first post if you want to keep a souvenir! :)
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Aluminator (Kit) on August 14, 2013, 01:28:01 PM
I think I just may ^_^
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on August 14, 2013, 09:08:35 PM
I'm thrilled that you liked it so much, Lumy!  I need to read some of your work, if only to repay all the karma you gave me.  ;D
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: Aluminator (Kit) on August 19, 2013, 09:17:24 AM
So, just to be clear here, the overall science of Enter RAF is as follows:

[spoiler=Legit Science!]The internet has always been its own separate universe, and as computers have improved, so has our ability to look into and create things within that universe.

That separate universe was created by Time Matrix, which is a fictional device powerful enough to have manifested itself in reality.[/spoiler]

... Can we do this for real? Please?
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on August 19, 2013, 09:26:09 AM
I'm guessing that's what End of RAF is all about.

need to watch more Doctor Who need to watch more Doctor Who when will I get my dongle oh gaaaawdd
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: DinosaurNothlit on August 19, 2013, 07:13:41 PM
Yep, that's pretty much it, Lumy.  Right on the nose.

. . . I'm still working on the 'doing it for real' part.  I'll get back to you on that.

BTW, apologies on the lack of chapters for End of RAF.  My muse is getting super-distracted right now.

[spoiler=This conversation happened in my brain]Me: NO, muse, I am absolutely NOT writing a hypothetical sequel where Shade (Death Eater from Switzerland) goes evil and then steals the Time Matrix and attempts to make a horcrux out of it (which by the way would very possibly break reality in the process).  Seriously, I don't even care if we can put Emma Watson in it.  I'm not writing that crap.

Muse: I'm not LISTENING.  I'm too busy thinking of more ideas for you and that fic you don't want to write but totally will anyway because I SAID SO.  Nyeh.  :P

Me: Can you at least let me finish this story before-

Muse: NO.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Enter RAF
Post by: redtailedsaffa on August 19, 2013, 11:14:28 PM
Oh, don't worry, I know the feeling. My muse is currently fighting against coursework's constant desire to kill it.