Memoirs of a RAFian

[redtailedsaffa]

Oooh. This should be good. The last Cataclysm book was chilling.

Oh right, PDF.

[Cloak]

Chilling? Oh, this will be a different kind of chilling, Saffa. . . . Maybe.

Anyway, more book ideas! All in the same arc, which won't end until Book CD. That's Book 400, and end of the fourth year, in-continuity, since Book I. Which will probably be another eight or so years from now. Don't get me wrong, I intend to write each and every one, unless I somehow cannot -- and I mean physically cannot.

• Book CCCXCII: "Black Gears of War" -- A man creates black gear implants that he hopes will get around the Mark.
• Book CCCXCIII: "Power of Personifications" -- Someone desires the power of the Personifications. (Yes, I realize that I'm basically giving you nothing here in terms of plot.)
• Book CCCXCIV: "Power Play" -- Young metahumans are being kidnapped by some unknown force which strips them of their powers.
• Book CCCXCV: "R-A-F, Ultimate Charge!" -- Out-of-continuity. The RAFians discover a hidden function of their Marks.

Don't think that I rehashed anything. If I did, I think that I can work around it.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THREE:
The Power of Corruption

Corruption strolled down the city boulevard, taking in the sights. He wasn't really very impressed with the constructions and machinations these beings of matter. He, like a lot of Realm Walkers nowadays, believed the Dwellers to be an inferior type of lifeform. But they might still prove fun.

Corruption eyed a vigilant, virtuous police officer by the name of Sergeant James Timothy Justice. He had earn numerous commendations while possessing an unshakable sense of right and wrong, intolerant of injustice, would never abuse his power of authority and wishes to make his city a safer place. This is why he sees the RAFians as a good thing, as he believes them to be better equipped to deal with things like aliens and supernatural stuff, because he know he most certainly is not.

He would be a fine test of Corruption's power, a fine first victim. Corruption waddled right up to the police sergeant, who paid him no mind, assuming that he was a child playing dress up. Corruption found this act of condescension rather irksome. But he would have his fun when all is said and done.

Corruption tapped Sergeant Justice's arm with one of his elongated middle fingers, and the change was rather dramatic and painful. Justice became a photo negative of himself, all colors inversed -- blue into orange, red into green, yellow into purple, white into black, orange into blue, green into red, purple into yellow, black into white -- you get the idea.

It wasn't just his color scheme that was reversed, becuase if that was so Corruption would not be as dangerous as he was. Justice's entire personality was reversed. He lost any sense of right and wrong. He not only tolerated injustice now, but reveled in it. He found himself no longer giving a rodent's posterior about the city, whether it was safe or not. He also jow abused his power of authority maliciously. Worst thing was that Justice wasn't aware of any change in his personality, and he didn't care if there was.

"Still got it," Corruption said. His voice sounded like Maurice from "The Penguins of Madagascar", only with a crack or two due to being ancient. The affliction did not spread like the Hate Plague. No, each individual required a touch by Corruption to feel the effects. No one known was immune, although this was Corruption's first time in an universe.

But Corruption's fun did not end there.

He turned a punk rocker, many have proclaimed as "cool", with a preference for the color red and spicy food into a classical musician with a predilection for the color green and bland-tasting food.

He turned notoriously xenophobic "Sir" Fred Knight, who was openly a Knight of Humanity and never hid his face when in armor, into a ridiculously xenophilic, tolerant man. Knight was by no means less annoying, but he went from deep-seated bigotry to deep-seated pan-species love.

He turned a self-proclaimed Southern belle (despite not being from or even having ever lived in the South) whose vanity was legendary and preference to blue things and dry-tasting food into a modest, humble woman with predilection for orange things and soggy food.

He turned a politician, Perry Richards, into a selfless, honest, and sincere person. Which pretty much would ruin his career in politics.* Especially when in a country that is easily swayed by hackneyed platitudes and redundant rhetoric, where the other politicians only care about being reelected and making campaign promises that they never intended to keep.** Amazing how a country continually seems to get off at being lied to, as proof that Fox News is still a thing.

He turned an excruciatingly cutesy, saccharine pop star with a fondness for pink and sweet things into a grungy, dirty heavy metalist with a fondness for brown things and . . . and inappropriate things to show on television.

He turned a Fox News reporter into someone with integrity, free of bias, and competent.*** She easily lost her job because of this sudden reversal of ethics, and because her employers refused to acknowledge that something was wrong with her since she was very clearly a photo negative of herself.

He turned a very well-respected scientist (who prefers green things and bitter-tasting food) who was well-known for excruciatingly-thorough fact-checking (usually citing no less than five credible sources), exceedingly rational thought, and being very soft-spoken and gentle into someone who easily jumps to conclusions, has exceedingly emotional rants, and being very lough and rough that prefers red things.

He turned a very studious, industrious, tidy child into a very lazy, slothful, slovenly boy. The sudden change would have been jarring for his parents, if he didn't resemble a photo negative of himself.

His most recent victim, a tough-talking professional wrestler with a fondness for yellow and sour food, was turned into a weak-sounding, fearful pansy with a fondness of purple things and sweets.

And Corruption wasn't done with his great fun. . . .

*At least, in my country.

**This is my criticism for all politicians. Democrats and Republicans included. Sorry that I got a little political here, although, when one considers the Council, it should be obvious that I don't trust politicians, regardless of what party they're in.

*** Yes, yes, I know. Yet another dig at Fox News.

[redtailedsaffa]

I've seen Fox News once. Truly idiotic reporting.

[Cloak]

Oh, too right, Saffa. Though I think calling it 'reporting' is a stretch since I believe they make up most of their numbers and statisitcs. I detest them with a passion, like many other Americans.

Oh, yeah, I have some more books for the arc, which I'm calling the Ultimate Enemy arc. Why? You'll see soon enough.  I think that this is only the second arc in the series, though feel free to correct me on this.

• Book CCCXCVI: "Orichalcos Seeds" -- Seven children are implanted with seeds that siphon all the light away from their being.
• Book CCCXCVII: "Born From the Orichalcos" -- The true purpose of the Orichalcos seeds are revealed.
• Book CCCXCVIII: "The Haunted Masks We Wear" -- The RAFians face the Super Oni masks.

Don't think I rehashed anything. New chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR:
Reports of Odd Behavior

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, Rotiart!" Richard said. Rotiart was getting his butt reamed for being so lax in security. "What if someone had been hurt?"

"No one was," Rotiart said, attempting to sound aloof and indifferent. But it just came out as whiny and petulant. "Nothing happened."

He turned to look at the other RAFians assembled. "Right?"

Saffa was apoplectic in outrage and Sakki was not too far behind her. After what he just did, he was actually expecting -- no, commanding! -- them to cover him for his blunder?! Seriously?! He was that stupidly arrogant, that stubbornly naive, that remarkably childish to expect the very people whose lives he potentially put in peril to cover for him?

Cloak was leaning on the wall, arms crossed, head bowed. He didn't even react to this. He had expected it. Rotiart was many things -- a rat, a weasel, a dunce, a dunderhead, a coward -- but one thing he wasn't was good at inspiring faith and loyalty.

Truly, it was a wonder that he wasn't Banned and banished to the wasteland that was the Bannedlands. Rotiart didn't really seem to be helping his cause, either. His childish naivete leading him to believe that they would never Ban him, despite how much of a jerk and a prick he could be.

Cloak could easily recognize it simply because he used to have the very same naivete. For years, he thought his mother would never thow him out, considering everything he did. He did a bulk (if not all) the cooking, a bulk (if not all) the cleaning, all of the yardwork (which he hated with a passion), with never a sincere word of thanks. Granted, he was technically jobless, but it wasn't like he wasn't pulling his weight. Cloak supposed he probably could have done more, but it wasn't an ideal situation.

"Rotiart," Richard was saying, Cloak had tuned out most of Rotiart's reprimand before this point. "Rotiart, if you don't start to take responsibility fornyour actions, you'll leave us with only one recourse. So, you need to shape up and -- what is it, Cerulean?"

"Reports odd behavior in the city," he said.

"That's hardly in our jurisdiction," Sakki countered.

"There is something more," Cerulean said, passing around the pictures.

When it came to Cloak, he promptly dropped them. He was ashen faced and looked pale. His stomach dropped and the space between had filled rather rapidly with terror. Cloak did not want to believe it.

"This can't be true. . . ." he said, voice small and aghast. "H-He can't be awake. This has to be fabricated. . . ."

"Cloak," Saffa said, concerned by Cloak's strong reaction to the pictures, "what's wrong?"

Rotiart smirked smugly-- he thought that he was off the hook. And, he essentially was, for the time being.

"Cloak?" Saffa prompted again.

"The son of Cataclysm," Cloak said. Looking at each RAFian assembled, he intoned hosrsely, "Corruption."

[redtailedsaffa]

Haaaww, imagine if Rotiart was turned. Although that would provide for some interesting moral conflict.

[Cloak]

Now, the last two books of the Ultimate Enemy arc. Tell me what you think of the arc thus far.

• Book CCCXCIX: "In Essence Denied" -- The RAFians must procure the lingering essences of the seven demons that Shenecron released.
• Book CD: "The Ultimate Enemy" -- The RAFians face an old enemy who is virtually unrecognizable with powers that overwhelm all of them. Even Cloak and Esty.

And, after that last book, we'll move into year five -- that is to say, five years since the start of Book 1.

Sorry, no new chapters yet. Not quite feeling up to it yet.

[redtailedsaffa]

Ooh, I like it, it seems like a recalling of all the bigger, recurring foes of the RAFians.

Five years!

[Cloak]

No, five years in the narrative. In real time, it'll probably be ten years from now. And Book CD, as it stands right now will bring back only one foe, but more dangerous than ever.

New chapter. It may get a bit PG-13, but it shouldn't be so bad.

CHAPTER FIVE:
The Myth of Corruption

"'Corruption'?" Saffa echoed. "This can't be good."

"It isn't. Maybe it is. I don't know!" Cloak said. He had rarely ever achieved such a level of anxiety and uncertainty and apprehension nowadays. To see him at that level now, it was quite jarring. "But it can't be true. What they say. It can't be. It's too much power for one being to wield."

"Pardon me, Cloak? But just what can't be true?" Cerulean said, head ****ed a little to the side, arms folded, looking at him as if Cloak was a statue in a museum.

"Yeah," Sakki piped in, "not for nothing, but we'd all like to be filled in."

"Oh, right. Exposition." Cloak said, returning to his own sane manner once more. "Well, Corruption is . . . was Cataclysm's son."

"I think we got that," Richard replied with a dry, droll smile.

"He was Cataclysm's only son." Cloak elaborated. Then he corrected himself, "Well, he was the only son that was known publicly. There might be more children of Cataclysm, presumably the ancestor of Malice, if the persisting rumors are correct."

"Wait -- Realm Walkers have illegitimate children?" Saffa asked.

Cloak gave her a bemused, confused look. "You didn't honestly think that humans and other Dwellers held a monopoly on adultery, did you? Some things are universal -- er, some things are not bound by species and realm. But, yes, it is rumored that he sired a number of children. Some scholars think that he was ignorant of their existance, though I personally think that's about as likely as Glen Quagmire not saying 'giggity'." Cloak shook his and, then continued. "In any case, it's beside the point. Corruption exists, and is known to have existed. But everything else that he's rumored to do . . . it just can't be true. . . . And yet, those . . . those pictures . . ."

"They're photo negatives, so?" Sakki said, with a shrug.

"Are they?" Cloak countered. "I lay not know a thing about Dweller cameras, but enlighten me. Do your photo negatives only show the negative of people but not environment and landscaping?"

Silence.

"How did I not notice that?" Sakki said.

"What's the big deal? So he just inverses color schemes. That's hardly a threat." Saffa shrugged.

"There's much more to it," Cloak said. "Corruption's touch --"

"Lemme guess," Sakki interjected, "it corrupts you?"

"That is only putting it into its mildest of terms," Cloak countered gracefully. "It changes you. It completely reverses your personality. Even the most petty and banal things. You hate broccoli with a passion? One touch from Corruption, and you'll love broccoli with equal passion."

"That's . . ." Cerulean began, unable to find the right words to articulate what he felt about it.

"It is one reason that he was locked up so long ago. No one nowadays knows -- knew -- where. In many aspects, he was and is a greater threat than Cataclysm."

"You flatter me with the overdue recognition," came a husky voice.

"Corruption!"

"But he's so cute." Gaz said, having come and heard Cloak's explanation with Parker and Underseen. This was not a good thing to say. Corruption didn't want to be known for being cute and cuddly. He wanted to be feared and reviled.

"ROTIART!" Cloak roared. Corruption should not have been able to come here.

"I didn't do nothing!" he protested.

"Precisely!"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
Touchy, Touchy

"Precisely, Rotiart!" Cloak snarled. "You didn't turn Code Avalon back on after you turned it off, you irresponsible, bratty little twit!"

"Don't mind me, really," Corruption said, in a convincingly demurred way. He dropped down from the tree in which he had eavesdropped. "I just wanted to reach out and touch some people."

He reached out unexpectly and touched Parker. The Mark did nothing to protect him from the touch. Parker's color scheme inverted and he became an insecure, timid, overemotional crybaby. He also quickly stripped out of his armor which he now absolutely despised, inadvertently revealling that this inversing corruption was more than just cosmetically deep. Parker also now hated Helen as passionately as he used to love her. And he was now evil.

"No!" Cloak shouted. He had half-expected the Mark to block it. But, then again, it didn't stop the Hate Plague.

Helen was the next victim. Her Star Sapphire powers stoped working abruptly, as she no longer was the loving, doting person she used to be. The love was synthesized into hatred and the doting nature became a callous one. She now hated Parker with equal passion as he hated her. Oh, and she was evil now, too.

Cloak was stunned. He never imagined this coming to pass. Rotiart ran away, leaving the RAFians to their fate, but Cloak was only dimly aware of this. He had no idea how to stop this. He had no answers. None.

Underseen was next. The tactful, affable, respectful Underseen became disrespectful, mean, and tactless. He was evil now, as well. Not a good quality to have in a shapeshifter.

"Corruption -- please." Cloak begged. He was reduced to begging because there was no cure for this. Other than, possibly, Corruption touching them again.

Richard was just as stupidified as Cloak was. He was intended to be Corruptions next victim, but the touch wouldn't work on him. Cloak didn't know why, but Corruption didn't seem to.care all that much as he turned Saffa into an evil but timid and cowardly supervillainess, Cerulean into a rude, obnoxious prick, and Sakki into a vapid, shallow valley girl.

Cloak stood rooted to the spot, yet to process one thing. Corruption was a Realm Walker, just he himself was. Corruption's powers would affect him as it would the others. Cloak had foolishly allowed himself to be complacent, permitted himself to let his guard down!

He was the next victim.

Cloak's cloak was bleached white, rather like Marth's alternate costume in SSBB. He revered his grandfather and loved his sister Faith and her daughter, but under the effects of the touch he hated them all with equal passion that he had cared for them before. He was afraid to use his powers at their full potential for fear of losing control, but now he not only ised them but he reveled in it, with no fear of losing control. He used have doubts and question himself endlessly, under the effects of the touch he had no such compunctions, and became impulsive and arrogant.

This can't be good.

[redtailedsaffa]

OMG PLOT TWIST!!!

[Cloak]

Huh. I never thought that that would be considered a plot twist.

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
The Untouchables

It was not a good place to be, just then.

A powerful, swirling cyclone sphere encapsulated Cloak as he grinned in a disturbingly megalomaniacal way. Soon this cyclone was joined by a narrow loop of water and fire as metal, wood, and earth shrapnel swirled in their own orbits. Six narrow streams of energy streamed from the corners of his eyes. Cloak had never demonstrated this amount of power. Never. Because he always feared losing control over both himself and his emotions, even going to the length of subconsciously putting mental blocks in his mind to restrict his powers. But here . . . here he was given free rein.

And it was frightening. Truly terrifying.

"Aw, look at that," Corruption said, with only mild interest. He didn't feel intimidated at all, but the guy didn't have the best of common sense. "The boy can finally have his fun."

Corruption used Cloak's reveling in his own power (power of which that the touch had essentially unlocked, by tearing down these mental blocks) to his own advantage. He touched Richard once more. Nothing happened. Corruption tried again, and nothing happened. Corruption tried futilely a fourth time, before giving it up as a bad job. Richard was immune, he was untouchable.

Undeterred and undaunted, Corruption found and touched AniDragon. Again, it failed. But it worked on Broken, Gaz, Ash, and Abby, so Corruption wasn't worried. He could still have his fun, and he was enjoying himself as much as General Iroh with Pai Sho.

He touched Kelly. It didn't work, she was an untouchable as well. But there was something about this Dweller. Something that felt off to Corruption, but he could not imagine what. After all, he was a Realm Walker! What threat could a simple, backwards Realm Dweller provide? No, he was getting paranoid. That was his father's problem, Corruption believed, he was always so Veiled paranoid. This Dweller meant the same as every other: nothing.

He moved on to Shenmue, Sorunome, Genies, Asmo, Demos, Aquilai, Goom, and Yarin. All were touched, all were inversed. This allowed Corruption to ignore his lingering doubts about that one Dweller. He should have considered the danger Richard and AniDragon could present as well, but, in typical Realm Walker arrogance, he did not.

Instead, he just touched Horse, turning her into a cowardly seal with black fur and pink eyes and a death wish to be eaten by the Pootang, whose trapdoor Corruption was starting to make a beeline for.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Going Underground

Corruption had entered the Pootang's "paddock", touching any RAFians he came across, the untouchable RAFians were forced to flee, made more difficult by Cloak elemental tempest. All three fled and ran to an undisclosed location. It was a catacombs, where strange crystals jutted out every which way at random intervals. The crystals were not all the same, either. They were different in size, shape, clarity, and color (only ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, yellow, gold, silver, bpack and white varieties could be seen).

"What is this place?" Kelly asked.

"A site that I originally considered to host the forum ten years, or so, ago," Richard said.

"Why didn't you?" AniDragon asked.

"It was darker and more dank then. And the crystals weren't bioluminescent." Richard answered. "And, now, it's just not big enough."

It was true. Just putting twenty people in there would have been pushing it.

"You considered it as a back up bunker," Kelly said knowingly.

"Yes," Richard answered. "But then Cloak dug us out that other one, the one we used when Abomin -- Ab, nearly beat Cloak to death, and I forgot about this one until just now."

"That's convenient," AniDragon sighed, plopping down upon a flat, boxy crystal, just lying on the floor.

"If you've an idea for another sanctuary --"

"No! No, this one's fine. It's perfectly fine."

"I think we should address the elephant in the room," Kelly said.

"Hello, Elephant-in-the-Room!" AniDragon said.

"Funny." Richards said, though tone indicated he thought it was anything but funny. He also showed that he felt some guilt for leaving the untouched RAFians there to get touched. That he had, for all intents and purposes, abandoned them, something he has never done before. "Kelly's right. We need to grasp just what happened."

Richard's face darkened, and it was clear to see the burden of leadership upon it. The mask that shielded the others from this pressure and stress that he faced had come off. "Grasp it, and grasp why I just abandoned everyone."

"Richard," Kelly said, gently, "you mustn't blame yourself. You couldn't do anything. We have never had a foe like this before, we didn't know what else to do but regroup."

Richard said nothing. It was clear that he was taking this hard. He had reafted without thinking, and, as a result, the other RAFians were more than likely being touched. Richard was still furious with himself. But, alas, that's the price of leadership, you don't always make decisions that you think that you can live with.

"Kelly's right, Richard." AniDragon said, voice soft and consoling. "Realistically, what could we.do to stop Corruption?"

It was no so easy to forgive oneself for perceived cowardice, especially when that person is not by any means a coward. Some people cannot forgive themselves for mistakes made, but time would make it easier.

"Seriously, though." AniDragon said. "There has to be something we can do. We're not beaten yet."

[redtailedsaffa]

This is giving me the feels.

[Cloak]

You make it sound like an illness. ;P Anyway, this book is turning out to be darker than I thought it would be when I planned it out all that time ago.

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINE:
What to Do?

"Eat me!" the inverse-personality Horse was saying, ignoring the fact that there was a heavily-reinforced cage between her and Pootang. Hence why there weren't any escapes as of yet. "I know you want to! Eat me!"

It was something that Horse would never do. So, naturally, when her peraonality reversed, it would be something that she always does. And the Pootang was yearning to acquiesce, but unable to. The box that held the remains of Bucky remained undisturbed and forgotten, though the RAFians were confident that he was still in there.

Corruption was also standing at the cage. He found this all highly entertaining and amusing. He had come across a few beings who begged predators to eat them while under the influence of his touch. He always enjoyed seeing the people under the influence of his touch acting so out-of-character, doing things that they would never do. It's always one ofnthings that you could tell, as a very inhibited personality would lose all inhibitions under his touch.

He reached out a hand, and touched the Pootang's outstretched paw.

Yellow became purple, brown stripes and tail base became pink, checks and glowing eyes became green, and its ear tips became chalk white. The Pootang, a beast with little emotion and restraint, became burdened with emotions and restraint as well as becoming timidly fearful, and skittish.

"Eat me!"

The Pootang pulled away from the cage door and huddled against the back side of its cage, trembling. It was terrified of Horse, when it usually had no fear of her.

"Hey! Get back here and eat me!"

Corruption laughed heartily before leaving.

"It's not funny!" Horse snarled only after he left, before addressing the Pootang again. "EAT ME!"

***

"I suppose that I could bind his powers," AniDragon speculated.

"That won't work," Richard pointed out. "Corruption is a Realm Walker. Try that and you'll lose a hand, one way or the other."

"Oh, right. Forgot that."

"We'd have better luck trying to trick him into touching them again," Richard said, pensively.

"He's Cataclysm's son," Kelly pointed out. "And Cataclysm was ancient, even by Realm Walker standards. Chances are that someone tried that in the intervening years, so he might be very well on the look out for it. Expecting it."

"Any other ideas?" Richard asked, trying not to give into despair. It was hard.

"Unity Pulse?" Kelly shrugged.

"With just the three of us?" Richard asked, skeptically.

"Worked on the Hate Plague," AniDragon put in.

Richard said nothing.

[redtailedsaffa]

So he finds this funny.