Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Yeah, Spin-Yarn isn't much of a talker.

New chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Strings Attached

"I'm starting to think that I should have gone to Mali or even back to tye Savage Land." Sakki said. "I hate all this ice and --"

"Say," Green Lantern Sam said suddenly, unintentionally interrupting Sakki's griping. "Isn't this tundra . . ."

"What? C'mon, out with it, Greenie, the cold is making me cranky!" Sakki snapped.

"I don't think it's the cold doing that, to be honest," Oceanspray said.

"Oh, be quiet, Cyborg," Sakki retorted, likening Oceanspray to the DC Comics character.

"Isn't this the same tundra as the ifrit?" Sam asked again.

"God, I hope not," Sakki and Oceanspray spoke at the same moment.

"In any case, we should not dally for very much longer," Sakki said, "in case the little bastard shows up again."

<You should not have come, guys,> Yarin reached out telepathically.

"Wait, why?" Sam asked, near immediately.

<Because he wil make me attack you,> the Nyac explained.

"But the Mark prevents mind control, I thought," Oceanspray said.

<He's not controlling me by mind control,> Yarin said, distaste evident. Yarin was ushered into view, being controlled like a marionette, strings attached to each of his wrists and both of his ankles.

"Oh, my God," Sakki said, rather irreverently, "they've turned him into Pinocchio."

***

Deeper now . . . must go deeper . . .

It would be on the seabed, yes. Right there. There would be nowhere else for it to be. Spin-Yarn knew deep down with yarn that made him up, that that's where he'd find the Alpha Stitch, that's where he'd find the Atlas String.

Such power . . . it made him nearly salivate with sheer anticipation. . . . Such power, and it was very nearly his. . . . He would take the Atlas String into himself as he took the thread, the string that made up his prison into himself to make himself stronger.

And when he did that, not only would there be no one powerful enough to stop him, he could remake this world as.he saw fit. He could even merge with global patches if he had the inkling or desire to do so. . . .

Nearly there . . . nearly there . . . nearly there . . .

***

"That's one string down!" Oceanspray said.

It wasn't a real challenge to fight Yarin like this. The marionette strings could not force the Nyac to use any of his telepathic or telekinetic abilities against the RAFians, as his Mark saw to that. So Yarin basically sat there doing nothing, except when the strings forced him to take a swipe at the others. But Yarin's physical strength was pretty much on par to an average human, and Sakki and Oceanspray's hides were far too tough to be hurt by that, while Sam, as a Green Lantern, was a long- to mid-ranged fighter.

And they had just managed to free Yarin's left ankle. Not really too helpful at the moment, but they were only one sixth of the way down.

"Got one," Faerie said, having removed the string attatched to Yarin's other ankle, which cause to sizzle and disintergrate from existence.

"Me too," Oceanspray noted, as he took care of the string attached to Yarin's upper right wrist.

"Snip. Snip," Sam commented as he used a green light construct (which was "yarn-ified", naturally) of scissors to cut the string attached to Yarin's lower left wrist. Then he did away with the other two strings.

"Showoff," Sakki said.

[redtailedsaffa]

I'm just glad he wasn't doing the creepy Ultron "there are no strings on me" dialogue.

[Cloak]

Ah. Okay, since I'm posting this now, the new one tomorrow may come later on than normal.

New book ideas.

• Book DCLXXVII: "Instant Transmission Demons" -- An old RAFian foe discovers demons who can ride on wireless signals, and tries to decide if he can use them.
• Book DCLXXVIII: "Corporatist Interests" -- A corporatist has a rather big secret.
• Book DCLXXIX: "Famous Faces" -- An impersonator makes mischief that vary from harmless to criminal.

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Isn't That -- ?

<Shouldn't we be in human morph?> Noelle asked.

<We have more present concerns,> Esplin said. <It doesn't mean anyone will remember this.>

"Besides this is an official RAF mission, after all," AniDragon said. "Wait -- over there . . . is that . . . ?"

<It can't be,> Noelle said, <He's back at the first location.>

<Besides,> Esplin said, <the whole body porportions are off. Cloak is obviously feline, Shadow is obviously simian, Malice is obviously some sort of marsupial.>

"Oh, you only know that because Cloak told you," AniDragon teased, as Esplin glared at her with a single stalk eye.

<This one is clearly reptilian.> Esplin said.

But it wasn't reptilian at all. It was more of a bipedal avian.

<The only thing that it is clearly is a Realm Walker, Esplin.> Noelle scolded good-naturedly. <We still don't know much about Cloak's species, despite what he has already shared with us, which would be considered treasonous by Andalite military standards.>

Esplin made as close to a harrumph sound that Andalites could generate, and Noelle just savored this victory privately.

"He's coming closer," AniDragon pointed out. "It's definately not Cloak -- not with those piercing eyes."

<In any case, it's a fake,> Noelle pointed out. <This "yarn-ification" doesn't affect them, remember.>

<Lucky them,> Esplin said, moodily. He liked it about as much as Cloak did, though Cloak wasn't made of yarn, string and buttons now like Esplin.

The mockup proved to have powers rather like Cloak's -- except they worked with yarn and things -- despite the dact that Spin-Yarn had never before met Cloak. This proved to be a tad problematic, as none of the three could match that level of brute power with brute power.

<This is impossible!> Esplin raged. <That thing has all the powers of Cloak! Hiw can we possibly slay it?>

<Yes, it does,> Noelle said, <but it has far more weaknesses to exploit.>

<Like what?> Esplin said, rather disgruntlex.

Noelle looked at the faux Realm Walker and said, <Like this.>

FWAAAAAP!!

She used her tail blade to slice through a structural bit of yarn that caused this monstrous mockup to collapse intk useless yarn, string, and buttons.

"That was too easy," AniDragon noted.

***

Spin-Yarn was getting closer all the time, but was finding this push-back heavily irritating. He would have been there already if not for it! He would never admit it, but he was tiring. He decided that he would have to recall his minions. But they were not showing up on his senses? Why weren't his minions showing up?!

Oh, they were all dead. . . .

WHY WERE THEY DEAD?!*

Spin-Yarin could only come to a single conclusion. And it was one that scared him far more than the "yarn-ified" ocean. This single thought terrified him in such a way that nothing -- nothing! -- else could.

"I'm not going back," he muttered to himself, revealing his capacity to speak was there, he just elected not to most of the time. "I will NOT go back."

He was almost there . . . he was so incredibly close that he could almost feel his body vibrate with the power of that Atlas String . . .


*Obligatory Abridged Frieza reference.

[redtailedsaffa]

Did yarn just cut through yarn?

[Cloak]

More like a button-half cutting through yarn.

[theyoungphoenix]

Saffa sent me all the PDFs I needed to read so I'll probably be binge reading them all soon. XD Yay

[Cloak]

Glad to hear it, Abby. How many did you have to go?

I might rewrite the ending from my original outline. I rarely do that, though.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Shake, Shake, Shake -- Shake Earth's Booty

Spin-Yarn kept puing deeper and deeper in the ocean. He couldn't help but feel a little livid. His minions were destroyed! Destroyed utterly! The power expended to create them and vive them some semblance of life had returned to him upon their destruction, but that wasn't the issue that irked him so much.

The fact that someone had the sheer audacity to destroy one minion of his, let alone all of them. That they had the gall to even challenge their sovereignty, to challenge his sovereignty. This is what the yarn sorcerer found intolerable, inconceivable, disrespectful. Spin-Yarn was like any megalomaniacal madman in the fact that he thought highly of himself and lowly of others, even eschewing anything resembling friendship or love.

Deeper and deeper he went as he thought about this, getting incensed with every foot he travelled. He never had to worry about taking a breath -- he didn't breathe, he didn't need to.
He didn't need to eat or to sleep, either. Yet he was allowing himself to be consumed. Consumed by rage and powerlust.

There!

There! That had to be it. It just had to be. Just had to be the Alpha Stitch. It looked too much like it to not be it!! It had to be it. And . . . inside . . . inside would be the Atlas String.

Spin-Yarn could have gone ahead and absorbed it into his being. He could have made the patches that made up the world separate and flow off aimlessly in the vastness of space, waiting for him to arrange them as he saw fit. To remake the world to suit his choosing, and even becoming the new Atlas String himself, the master binder of the world.

But he stopped short of taking the Altas String for himself. He considered all the possibilities. He flicked the string with one of his staffs, and it caused the entire world to shake rather dangerously. This confirmed Spin-Yarn's assumption.

Still he did not take his prize for himself. He considered. If he took the Atlas String now, those infernal infidels, those treacherous traitors, would potentially die and go unpunished for their treasonous transgressions. They would escape his wrath in death.

This would not do, Spin-Yarn decided. This simply would not do. They must be punished, they must be made to pay for their actions. They could not simply go scot-free.

He made several devices made of balls of yarn, to deliver his message. Spin-Yarn would expect nothing less than abject obedience, absolute subjection, and unquestioning servility. These demands were not negotiable.

[redtailedsaffa]

Where did that chapter name even come from. XD

[theyoungphoenix]

Uhm. Too many Cloaky. A good twenty or so at least XD I have to search and remember where I was. I don't think I was caught up originally.

[Cloak]

Oh!

And I don't make it any easier, do I?

New book ideas! (Now you know what I think about on the walk to and from work.)

• Book DCCLXXX: "All Hope Dies" -- A being preys on Adara, the blue Entity of Hope.
• Book DCCLXXXI: "Love Lost" -- The same being preys on the Predator, the violet Entity of Love.
• Book DCCLXXXII: "Rage Forgotten" -- The same being preys on the Butcher, the red Entity of Rage.
• Book DCCLXXXIII: "Greedy No Needy" -- The same being preys on Ophidian, the orange Entity of Avarice.
• Book DCCLXXXIV: "Without Compassion" -- The same being preys on Proselyte, the indigo Entity of Compassion.
• Book DCCLXXXV: "The Last One . . ." -- The same being preys on Parallax, the yellow Entity of Fear. This being does not go after Ion (the green Entity of Will) as it does not consider willpower an emotion.
• Book DCCLXXXVI: "The Entity-Eater" -- The same being takes on the name of Entity-Eater and declares himself ruler of the universe.
• Book DCCLXXXVII: "The Steward Rises" -- But the Steward threatens the Entity-Eater's rule.

Don't think I rehashed anything. I'm calling this the "Entity-Eater Arc".

[theyoungphoenix]

How long of a walk do you have?

[Cloak]

Twenty minute walk. Give or take.

[theyoungphoenix]

Dang. Well I will be sure to catch up

[Cloak]

But, alas, I won't be making it easy for you.

Anyway, since I'm posting this now, tomorrow's may come a little later.

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Of Realm Walkers and Spin-Yarn

The RAFians regrouped back at the forum, not having found Alpha Stitch or the Atlas String at any of the locations. A majority was beginning to think that they were just distractions, the deliberation of which was arguable.

They were hotly debating this, with a sparce few RAFians not being as respectful of the views of others as they should be. Rotiart was a notable example of that.

"Well, that amounted to nothing," Rotiart sniffed.

"We destroyed the minions of Spin-Yarn and freed Yarin," Cloak said. "I believe that's sufficient enough to not be called nothing."

"Not to mention that faux Realm Walker," AniDragon said.

"What?" Cloak said promptly, with a snap in his voice. This was news to him. "What fake Realm Walker?"

<We fought a yarn-manufactured creature in the shape of a Realm Walker.> Noelle said.

"But why would he do that?" Saffa asked. "Why would he want to make a minion in the shape of a Realm Walker?"

"Cloak, did you do something or know something with this Spin-Yarn character?" Abby asked.

"I have never met him before," Cloak said, rather overly serious.

"And there are other Realm Walkers, too." Shadow pointed out.

"Malice, the Walker formerly known as Abomination, Cataclysm, Corruption, Collector -- I'm probably missing someone, but yeah, that pretty much backs up Shadow's point," Gaz said, listing them off on her fingers. "But the question remains. Spin-Yarn clearly knows of your species, Cloak, Shadow. Is there any individual you know who would have had dealings with such a creature?"

"Aside from Malice?" the feline Realm Walker asked, still so serious. "No."

"That's not really a fair question." Shadow said.

"Actually, it was," her uncle said, though he appreciated her coming to his defense just the same. "The bigger, and better, question was where was Spin-Yarn before now. Surely, he would have done this before if he could. Perhaps he was contained somehow."

"If he was contained, then he could be again," Aquilai said.

"If he was," GH repeated. "If. We don't know that for a fact. We don't know anything about this Spin-Yarn, or his possible relationship to some unknown Realm Walker (which, in and of itself, is another assumption). We know nothing concrete. All we're doing right now is waiting in inaction, whilst we speak in conjecture and speculation. We need to --"

The Earth shook violently.

"Oh, crapbaskets," Helen said.

"He's found the Atlas String," Underseen said, as the tremors ceased as quickly as they started.

"We need to act fast," Cloak said. "But -- I . . . I need to go talk to someone."

"I'll go, too." Shadow said.

"No," her uncle said firmly. "This I need to see to myself."

"But --"

"Please, Shadow," her uncle actually pleaded, "don't argue."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
The Yarn Magician's Message

On that enigmatic note (and before Shadow could talk him out of it, as well), Cloak Walked away from the forum. His destination unknown to everyone, including Shadow, who did not know what to make of this rebuff.

Suddenly, the tremors began again. Spin-Yarn was twanging the Atlas String once more. There was really no reason for it, other than a simple show of force to increase his credibility as a legitimate threat amongst the people of the world. As if the transmogrification of the world into a rainy day activity was somehow insufficient.

"Would he just STOP that?!" Saffa snarled. "Is it just bloody necessary or something?!"

"It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'playin' the world'!" GH cried, desperately trying to stablize himself.

"But that's not a phrase!" Genies declared, as the tremors winded down slowly.

"Semantics," GH decided.

Then three strands of coiled yarn flew into the forum, unbothered by the low-levelled Code Avalon, looking very much like a ocean blue, faceless Combee. The three coils detatched from each other and the first one uncoiled and undulated itself into a word -- "This" -- written in cursive, or "joint-up", writing. The second and third strands of coiled yarn followed suit, undulating and recoiling into the words "is" and "Spin-Yarn", written in cursive.

It was obvious what this was. Spin-Yarn was sending a message -- literally this time. His voice -- a rather grating sound -- spoke the words, reverberating through the blue strands of yarn. For the fourth word, the first string undulated again into the new word so that the strands of yarn were essentially captions for his speech.

"This is Spin-Yarn. I am at the Alpha Stitch, which houses the Atlas String. This String is what binds your -- our -- world together. The tremors you assuredly felt? They were mere plucks of the Atlas String. Imagine how much power that I'd wield if I had absorbed it into my being? I'd gain the power to do as I please while this planet breaks apart. This so gives me the option to remake it as I see fit. Now, why am I telling you all this? Well, I suppose I have a weakness for the classical sort of villainy, so forgive the indulgence."

"Why are villains always so dang long-winded?" Sakki sighed.

But Spin-Yarn was not yet through.

"But just why haven't I done so yet? Well, the reasoning is simple. You dared to destroy my minions. The audacity of that unholy mistake will cost you dearly. But in time, in time. Just for the moment, I will settle for abject obedience to any and every edict I issue, no matter whether or not they make sense to you personally. You will not question these edicts, and you will not question me or my interests. You will proselytize my will and uphold my every whim. This is not an option. This is not a request. This is a law unto all of you."

"Oh," Abby said, "he's one of those villains."