Memoirs of a RAFian

[Darth Revan]

Aw, no confirmed part for me?

This is going awesomely by the way. I hope if they fix the past, that Aila's soul will have never been taken. Fingers crossed!

[Gaz]

I'm loving this and I'm sure the next book will be just as snazztastic (that's snazzy plus fantastic).

[Cloak]

Yes, let's just say, pay attention to the end of Book Three -- something in the ending there will come into play in about Chapter Six of the next book.  But let's finish up this one, I'm not sure how many chapters I can post today, but I'll give it a go.  Naturally, this'll probably be a short one.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
TARDIS Trouble

They -- "they" being Parker, Shadow, Aquilai, and Cloak -- were inside the TARDIS, which Aquilai was feverishly working on.  Parker had taken his helmet on, making him look more human, rather than a robot*.

"How much longer?" Cloak said.  He had gotten a lot more surly since entering the TARDIS.  He was reeling from losing Aila, but he was NOT looking forward to traveling through time.  He never had the stomach for time travel, which is why he tended to avoid it at all costs.

"Patience is a virtue," Aquilai said, only half paying attention to him.

"Not now, it's not," Parker said, although he seemed a bit deflated.  Losing one of your own can do that to a person.

Cloak had a time trying to console Shadow after seeing such horrors.  She was only eleven, after all, and that was a horror that no eleven-year-old should see.  Correction: No one of any age should have seen that.

Aquilai continued his feverish work for what seemed to be hours, but was probably just a half an hour to an hour.  Finally, Aquilai claimed it to be fixed, blustering about the specifics that the others really just didn't care about.

"Enough of that," Parker said, "will it work?"

"I believe so," Aquilai said with a certain tremble to his voice.

"Start it up." Cloak said, bracing himself.

---
*

[Cloak]

'Nother chapter.  Might be a bit on the short side.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Blast Into the Past

The TARDIS began to rocket backward in time.  Cloak slumped over, leaning against an exterior wall.  He was feeling quite nauseated.

"Um, any idea what we do when we get back in time?" Shadow asked tentatively.

They all looked at her.  None of them considered this.

"Or what time to go to?"

Silence.

"Or who exactly caused this chronial time shift?"

Silent stares.

"Don't you think that this would have been kinda important to know?"

Aquilai, Parker and Cloak squirmed a bit.  There was an uncomfortable silence that spanned a few minutes.

"Aquilai, couldn't you lock-on to a disturbance in the time continuum?"

"What is this, Star Wars, time edition?" Parker muttered.  Apparently, he forgot that Cloak's feline hearing is quite keen.

Aquilai, however, smacked his forehead and facepalmed.  "Of course!  I just have to --"
And he went into a long technical spiel as he performed the actions.

"But that doesn't answer what exactly what we will be there to stop," Parker pointed out, "our own actions could very well lead to the present we just left."

It was a very real possiblity.  And a frightening one at that.

"Richard," Cloak said.

"You must be sicker that I thought.  I'm Parker, remember?"

"No, Parker," Cloak said.  "I mean, the others didn't know who Richard was.  That's our starting point.  Aquilai, do you have any information on that?"

"No . . ." he started, then an LCD screen appeared to life.  "I mean, yes.  Apparently, sometime in the nineties, twenty years or so from the present, Richard was killed."

[Cloak]

'Nother shortish chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Brief History Lesson

"What?!" Parker and Cloak exclaimed at the same moment.

"I thought Richard was immune to aging.  I assumed he was immortal, as well." Cloak said.

"Clearly not," Aquilai answered swiftly, "as this hellish future -- er, present, was a result of his death."

"All that misery, all that suffering, was due to the absence of one man?" Parker said, aghast.

"Richard founded RAF, remember."

"Well, as that's what the 'R' in RAF stands for, I don't think we knew that." Cloak said, sarcastically.  It was very nearly a mistake as he almost hurled upon the TARDIS floor.

"Anyway," Aquilai said, clearly a stab to move on, "by making the forum, and making the forum so free-willed and, admittingly, insane, he forged a strong team of users.  Our meeting and joining this forum served to preserve this area of the 'Net, apparently without our knowledge.  And, by RAF's existence, that virus was never synthesized, never created to do . . . to do that."

"That makes no sense," Shadow said.

"Shadow, be quiet." Cloak scolded.

There was a rough bumping and tumbling within the TARDIS.  It was not helping Cloak's stomach.  Aquilai picked himself up from the floor, and dusted himself off.

"We're there, I take it?" Parker said, donning his helmet again.

"We're when it happened . . ."

[Cloak]

I know I probably should take a "Doctor Who" route on time travel . . . but I decided that I'll take a "Back to the Future" take on it.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
The Terminator

They stepped out into the brisk air, and overhead the sky was blue with little fluffy clouds.  The air was fragrent with flowers.  It was very lovely.

"I almost forgotten the sky was blue," Parker commented.  It was true, the sky in that future was not as pleasant as this.

"Who is the assassin?"

"Time Lords cannot see the absolute futures, but the best possible good ones . . ." Aquilai said.

"And you're just telling us this now, because . . ."

"Never mind."

"Go on, Aquilai." Cloak said, finally getting over his nausia.

"There is an assassin . . . sent by the Banned Queen . . . to kill Richard."

"It's metallic, isn't it?  Liquid metal?" Cloak said suddenly.

"I . . . think so.  How do you know?"

"You got a chronial sense.  I can sense elements."  Shadow looked a little downtrodden.  "Don't worry, Shadow, you'll learn it sooner or later."

"Liquid metal?  That sounds a bit little like --"

Suddenly, a being of liquid metal formed from the ground, formed it's left hand into a knife and attempted to stab Parker.  It was a molecule's length of hitting him under his right armpit.

Naturally, Parker didn't sit still for it to come around again.  Cloak was in NO MOOD for this thing.  He stepped up, took a stance, and made a few gestures.  The assassin was shredded to pieces.

"Excellent!  Can we go home now?" Parker asked.

But then he noticed that it was regenerating, clumping back together.  Reforming into its faceless, vaguely male, humanoid form.

"I should have known it wouldn't be so easy.  Great, a T-1000."

"Wrong.  This thing reforms far faster."

"How do you know -- oh."

But then the assassin slinked away, taking the form of a metallic bird.  They were not its targets.  It had no interest in them anymore.

[Cloak]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
The Masks

*

The four follow the bird, Cloak in the lead.  He could sense it's presence due to its metallic form.  After awhile the others lost sight of it, but Cloak kept barreling forward toward its direction.  Then they come to stop at the edge of the forest, which a street was bisected into a "T" intersection.  The street in line with their position let into what appeared to be a cul-de-sac.

The street was crowded with humans.  It could have taken the appearance and coloration of any of them, and Shadow and Cloak would probably be lynched for looking different . . . humans can be odd like that.

"Parker and I can go --" Aquilai offered.

"No need." Cloak handed Shadow an ID mask, and he took one out himself.  Then he put it on and took on a human appearance, as did his niece.  He wore glasses, while Shadow lacked any.  But they still appeared to be wearing cloaks and their own clothing.

"C'mon, then." Cloak said.

"How is those things not, I don't know, melting?" Parker said, curiously.

"Made by Itemsmith, Parker," Cloak said.  "They're commonplace items for realms with possibly hostile Dwellers.  For Realm Walkers who want to live amicably, and don't have grandoise, megalomaniacal dreams of world conquest."

However, Aquilai would have attracted less attention still, as he was dressed as what was considered "normal".  Parker had his armor still on, and the two Realm Walkers still had cloaks.  They kind of looked out of place as there was no Comic Con here taking place.

But they pressed forward, getting unwelcomed stares.  And suspicious stares from police officers.

"So much for being inconspicuous." Aquilai sighed.

---
*Just note, I do not know Richard IRL nor do I know where he lives or grew up.

[Cloak]

'Nother possibly short chapter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Basket Boy

The four made their way to the cul-de-sac, Cloak was unable to sense the metal assassin, which eventually became the groups name for the creature.  Cloak scanned the cul-de-sac for it.

"Is that Richard?  He looks so young," Parker pointed out.

Cloak said nothing.  He noticed a small, sandy-haired boy on a red tricycle.  He was sensing Assassin in that direction.  He couldn't have been more than five . . . but it was odd that this cul-de-sac was so deserted.  Richard and the boy were the only one around.

"You can't possibly mean that little boy is --" Shadow said, watching her uncle.

"It is," Cloak said with narrowed eyes.

"But that's far smaller than the size of Assassin." Aquilai pointed out.

"I never said it was the T-1000.  In fact, I recall saying that it wasn't."

Suddenly, Cloak was proven right when the "boy" absorbed the tricycle into his body when Richard had his back to "him".  He formed the boy's right hand into a claymore-like blade when Richard paid him no mind.

"We have to be quick, before Richard notices." Aquilai said as rapidly as Blurr.  "We're already
possibly polluting the time stream."

"And if we succeed?  What then?" Parker asked.

Cloak reached out his hand, forcing Assassin out of the shape of a young boy, and into the shape of a metallic basketball.  Which just so "happened" to roll their way.  But Cloak could feel the robotic assassin struggling against his control.

"One of two things -- we'll just go to the TARDIS and go back to the present, or we'll just snap back to the present, fixing this place in time."

"Will you two stop chatting and get to a more inconspicuous place?!" Cloak said with gritted teeth, uncharacteristicall y course.

[Cloak]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN-POINT-FIVE:
Breakin' Balls and Walls

"Wait -- what happened to Chapter Eighteen?" Shadow asked.

"Would you believe I losted it?"

"No," Shadow replied.

"Would you believe I got sloppy and spilt a soft drink on it?"

"No," Shadow retorted.

"Would you believe that I got lazy?"

"Yes, actually."

"Would you believe that I wanted to insert schtick somewhere in this book to offset the dark feel to it?"

"Yeah . . ."

"You'll believe anything."

BACK TO THE STORY, the four carryed the obviously struggling orb to the nearest forest behind the houses.  They had successfully succeeded in preventing Richard's murder, but they had to make sure this assassin could not do it again.  They were in a heavily sheltered spot.  There was a small creek nearby.  Cloak selected this location deliberately for that reason.

They set the orb down on the ground, and Cloak relaxed his control over it.  The strain was gone and it immediately assumed a humanoid form . . . then immediately took on the form of the boy again.

"What the --" Aquilai began.

"Oh, that's really nice, really pathetic," Parker snarled.

He had seen what Cloak saw.  It had assumed that by taking on the form of a child, that the four would not destroy him.  They all knew that it was not a true child, just mimicking the appearance of one.  One that it probably "terminated" in order to impersonate.

[Cloak]

Sorry about that schticky chapter, I couldn't resist a little humor.  Probably another short chapter.  I will finish this today.  Maybe.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Assassin Assassinated

Cloak had had enough of this.  He forced it out of its boy disguise basically forced it into the shape of a large cube.

"Shadow, heat it up!!" Cloak instructed.

Shadow blasted two concussive blasts of fire from her hands, both directed at the same spot on the cube.  Superheating it.  Melting it a bit.

"Enough, Shadow.  Now switch to water -- you too, Aquilai!"

Aquilai bent the water from the stream while Shadow produced the water from nowhere.  The metal that made up the assassin was no longer liquid, but blackened, brittle metal.  It was dead.  But that wasn't enough.

"Parker, fire all artilery you have at it," Cloak said, setting it down, relinquishing control over it.

Parker aimed and fired numerous amount of times.  Cloak caught the shrapnel in a golden-scarlet energy orb, and using the last of his strength sent it off to the nearest volcano.  That said, his energy was spent, and he collapsed in exhaustion.  Parker and Aquilai settled Cloak onto the mauve and lavender platform that Shadow had created for him.

"Sheesh, Uncle!  Lay off the sweets!" she muttered.  With that, they all went back to the TARDIS and travelled home . . . hoping that they were right.

[Cloak]

Last chapter, another short one.  You'll notice a "running gag".

Chapter Twenty:
Time Will Tell

As it turns out, it was the right action.  RAF was back into existence, with all the RAFians restored to normal.  Gaz was back to being a vampire.  Horse was a seal who happened to be the favorite food of the Pootang, which was also back in existance.  Aila and Estelore's souls were back firmly within their bodies and niether held any memory of the alternate timeline.  It was fortunate, because Cloak, Shadow, Parker, and Aquilai would much rather forget it.

The forum was alive with threads and posts.  Everything was as it should be.  Yet, Cloak went to Goom, who was in the infirmiry.  There were no injured parties, so it was very empty.

"Goom . . ."

"I know what you seek, Cloak.  It's up, and it's effects should be felt by all of the RAFians.  Why do you think this should be secret."

"The less that know, the better.  For now.  We'll just have to hope that it'll be good enough for whatever she throws at us."

***

Cloak and Shadow had returned to their favorite hill, the one that overlooks the forum.

"Not your best work, Uncle.  It got a little conviluted and contrived at the end."

"I didn't think you knew those words."

"And don't you think you tend to use deus ex machina a bit too much?  Like Captain Planet?"

"Who taught you those ugly words?!"

[Gaz]

The power is yours! Also; what sort of power is heart anyway?

That was exciting stuff. And, yay I'm a vampire pirate person thing again! Whee!

[Cloak]

Yeah, and I'll be posting a new chapter shortly -- I'm tryin' to multitask.  RAF and clean.  Shadow and Faith will be coming late tonight and, therefore, I won't be on at all tomorrow or Sunday.  Gonna be a relatively short introduction chapter.

BOOK V:
MARK OF A RAFIAN
CHAPTER ONE:
Evening Pursuits

It was nighttime.  The RAFians were doing their nightly rituals.  Gaz was dutifully brushing her fangs, humming "My Shiny Fangs and Me".  Parker was meticulously polishing his armor as so to be presentable.  Aquilai and Aila were doing something with each of their respective TARDISes. (Or is that TARDI?  Never mind, it's immaterial.)  Ash and Broken, as well as Esplin and Dameg, were having a nightly rendevous.  Horse was singing along to her favorite musical.  Guy was computing something on his computer.  Yarin was still playing with his ooze -- wait, that came out wrong.

Shadow had toddled off home, to the Nexus, while her uncle remained, staying in his thread, rereading the first Kane Chronicles book upon the wrought iron bed.  His thread was sparsely decorated, Cloak preferring function over fashion.

Suddenly, he marked his place at the thirty-third chapter, and looked at his palm.  It was still there.  It was still strong.  He hoped it would be enough for whatever she'd have planned.  Cloak questioned himself about keeping it a secret . . . was it really necessary to be all "Cloak and Dagger" about this?

Cloak wondered idly if he should tell the others about this, maybe starting a new thread.  But, Cloak was frightened of negative reaction.  This thing was meant to empower the others, and protect them . . . they may not see it that way, though . . .

Goom didn't raise any concern about it, but was a supporter of this . . . thing.  Goom was actually pushing for full disclosure, but Cloak wasn't sure the RAFians were ready . . . Cloak was sure Goom told Richard, and that was okay.  That was a must . . .

Meanwhile, while Cloak was wallowing in indecision, a mysterious figure in a cloak the color of dried blood appeared on the same hill that Cloak and Shadow regularly look down on RAF from.  She was a lean figure, but also a bit stooped, and seemingly lopsided.  Her eyes glowed bloodred and black.

[Cloak]

'Nother chapter -- gonna post all I can.  Probably a longer one.

CHAPTER TWO:
It's Heeeeeeeere!

The figure pulled out an inert lump of black stuff with gold markings.   She whispered, "Warlock" and the substance sprang to life, taking the shape of a generic songbird.  Then it flew to RAF.

***

Yarin was examining a beaker of inert ooze, rubbing his chin.  No one exactly knew what experiments he was doing, but apparently it was sufficient to monopolize Yarin's time and energy.

When, suddenly, his bunsen burner turned black with gold trim, which spread throughout his table.  It then formed a roughly human form with a robotic voice.

"Designate: Yarin, you will be assimilated," it droned.

"Perhaps," Yarin said, pulling on an emergency backpack he had stashed, pulling out several egg-like devices as he made a beeline for the door.  "But not today."

He threw the egg devices, which the being assimilated.  Or tried to, as they exploded before they could be.  Yarin ran for it.

Gaz, Guy, Horse, Ash, Broken, and Parker heard this, and came running.  Parker was still wearing his armor, and he was preparing for a battle.

"What was it?!" Broken asked.

"Dunno, but I think running would be a good idea."

Suddenly, the database flaired to life.  "Phalanx, Realm #031-616."  Then it went onto quote the Wikipedia article verbatum.

They came across Aquilai and Aila, both of the TARDIS were about to be assimilated and absorbed into this creature.  Both self-destructed them, rather than allow the Phalanx time travel.  Time travel, after all, is the most DANGEROUS power possible.

Aquilai and Aila ran with the others, until they were outside.  The starry they could see the constellation Orion and Perseus.  It held no meaning for them at the moment, as they did not care to be assimilated.

***

Cloak had his back to the wall, which suddenly took on Technarch coloring and Cloak, who was familiar with Technarchy and Phalanx, immediately went on guard.  Using his mastery over metal, he forced the wall away, and leaped out into the night's air.

"Designate: CloakedFigure, you will be assimilated."

"You don't know much about Realm Walker physiology, then, do you?" Cloak quipped as he forced the entity away.

He had to get to the others.  He ran, and ran, and ran -- until he collided directly and painfully with Parker.

"Hey!"

"No time to talk, Phalanx is here!" Cloak said urgently.

"Yeah, we know!  We had to detonate our TARDIS because of that stuff!!" Aquilai said irritably.  But, really, could you blame him?

"Designates: Aila, Aquilai, Ash, Broken McLoser, CloakedFigure, Gaz, Horsefan1023, Mr. Guy 36, SPARTAN-281 (Parker).  You will be assimilated."

"Who do these guys think they are, the Borg?" Ash complained.

"Who are the Borg?  Oh, never mind -- it's not important just now." Cloak said.  "No, run.  I will attempt to keep them away from us."

"How?" Gaz asked.

"They are metal.  In part.  I can repel them.  Not as well as Magneto could but --"

Then two cylindrical tentacles surged forward and wrapped around Guy's arm and Broken's leg!

[Cloak]

Now, a dreadful albeit short chapter -- Ash, Parker, Horse, and Gaz, prepare yourselves.

CHAPTER THREE:
Overrun

"NO!" the group yelled as a whole.

"GUY!" Gaz and Horse screamed.

"BROKEN!" Ash screeched.

Suddenly, more tentacles appeared and Cloak attempted to fend them all off.  But he was only one ferrokinetic, and he was not all-powerful.  He saw with a pang that Guy and Broken were now encapsulated in a blue egg-like sac where they were shown in fetal positions.  The blue sacs . . . it worked.  The Mark worked. . . .

"We can't just let Cloak battle these things!!" Parker said with a false bravado.

"Parker . . . don't . . . wait . . ." And that's was all Cloak could manage with the effort of keeping the tentacles at bay.

"Okay," Parker nodded, "I won't wait."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. . . ."

Too late, Parker dashed toward the tentacles firing his artillery.  It had absolutely no effect, and he was overrun with the tentacles.  He realized how foolhardy he had been.  The tenacle covered him, leaving him in a blue bubble, without his armor, which they had absorbed and assimilated.  Which means they would have his artillery, too.

Great.

This was not good.  They could do no more here.  But how to escape?  There had have been a way.  But he was not seeing it.

"Did I just write myself into a corner?" Cloak muttered, breaking the fourth wall.

"What?" Aquilai snapped.  He seemed to have died a little from his TARDIS's destruction.

"Nothing," Cloak said.