Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

But there's always a way.  It doesn't help that these are some old demons, particularly in Parker and Gaz's case.

EDIT: Still planning out "Buggy Afternoon".

• Book XXIX: Soul-Suckers

The RAFians are attacked by Dementors, which have a rather large effect on Cloak.

• Book XXX: Mayhem of the Music Miser

Cloak recalls the RAFians' previous confrontation with the Music Miser three years ago.

• Book XXXI: The Metal-Maker

The RAFians must save their own from a Roboticizer.

• Book XXXII: Richard is Missing

The RAFians must cope without Richard.

• Book XXXIII: Emotional Food

The RAFians must confront a different kind of vampire.

• Book XXXIV: Transformation Confrontation

The RAFians must confront some strange machines.

• Book XXXV: Richard's Horn

The RAFians must get Richard's Horn, a mystical musical instrument, back from Malice, who received it from a RAFian traitor.

• Book XXXVI: Feral Scream

A Wildwethel-centric book, he must deal with his feral side.

• Book XXXVII: Predators and Prey

The RAFians are being preyed upon by some sentient predators.

• Book XXXVIII: A Protean Problem

The RAFians must deal with a powerful snot-nosed kid who, quite literally, can do whatever he wants.

• Book XXXIX: The Horsemen

Four RAFians are captured and converted into four Horsemen of the ancient, rogue Realm Walker Cataclysm.

• Book XL: Sizeable Pain in the Necks

The RAFians must deal with Heinlein aliens.

• Book XLI: RAF's Nightmare

The RAFians must survive their own nightmares.

• Book XLII: Unlucky Charms

The RAFians must contend with a rather bloodthirsty leprechaun.

• Book XLIII: The Piper

The RAFians must contend with a pied piper.

• Book XLIV: Starlight Desire

The RAFians race Malice, Abomination, and the Banned to a wishing star (no, not Estelore).

• Book XLV: A War of Armor

Parker is outraged to see knockoffs of his rather unique armor and what they're being used for.

• Book XLVI: The Worst Plague

The RAFians must weather the worst plague to ever existed -- the Hate Plague.

• Book XLVII: Little Alien Napoleons

The RAFians are caught in the middle of a war between Helmacrons and Fmeks.

• Book XLVIII: Go Away!

The RAFians must deal with the paparazzi who are all of a sudden interested in them.

• Book XLIX: RAFian Tales

RAFians tell various RAFian-themed stories across a lunch table.

• Book L: Maul

The RAFians must deal with the result of one of Demos's experiments.

• Book LI: Erised Orbs

The RAFians must face their greatest desires.

• Book LII: RAFians Alive!

Read the "Mummies Alive" parody in the RAFize songs thread.

• Book LIII: The Pain Reliever

The RAFians must deal with an elderly Vulcan styling himself the "Pain Reliever".

• Book LIV: Beyond the Veils

Aquilai and Aila must confront old foes while the other RAFians must put up with a Czarinian bounty hunter.

• Book LV: Dangerous Deals

Demos meets up with his half-brother, Shenecron, who has a perchant for making deals.

• Book LVI: Of One Mind

Malice seeks out the Unimind.

• Book LVII: The End of Time

The RAFians must contend with two Kryptonians (who think they're Time Lords) and prevent them from ending time altogether.

• Book LVIII: Hematomimic

The RAFians must capture a Plasmavore and put up with it's rather stupid Judoon jailer.

• Book LIX: Sins of Youth

Estelore, Richard, Parker, and Cloak must survive when the entire city and forum have been reduced to two-year-olds.

• Book LX: The Replacements

The RAFians must contend with the fame-feeding Eidolon Consciousness.

• Book LXI: Arachnoids

The RAFians must contend with the Arachnoids and finding a cure for one of their own that was poisoned before it's too late.

• Book LXII: Personal Tissues

The RAFians must contend with some one misusing Bibliophaetos's discarded book shell.

• Book LXIII: Memory Today, Gone Tomorrow

The RAFians lose their memory and must find a way to regain it.

• Book LXIV: Appliance Armageddon

A superintelligent computer controls all electronics, and the RAFians must stop it.

• Book LXV: Prodigy and Composite

Some RAFians are merged into two separate entities.

• Book LXVI: The Merging

The Universes begin colliding and merging.

• Book LXVII: Be A Doll

The RAFians are confronted by a Super Chucky.

• Book LXVIII: They're Such Cards

The RAFians are sealed into cards, which end up trapped in an ancient leather-bound book, and it's up to three kids to free them.  An out-of-continuity book.

• Book LXIX: Dinosaur Island

Everyone, except those that bear a Mark, begin turning saurian.

• Book LXX: Corrupted

The RAFians must deal with the son of Cataclysm, Corruptor.

• Book LXXI: Artificial Skins

The RAFians must deal with symbiotes.

• Book LXXII: Separation Anxiety

The RAFians must contend with an ethereal virus.

• Book LXXIII: A Thing About RAFians

The RAFians must contend with Seekers, which home in onto their Marks.

• Book LXXIV: A Planted Idea

The RAFians must contend with a floramaniac.

• Book LXXV: Vacation Photos

The RAFians are sucked into a Polarisoid camera.

• Book LXXVI: A Personal Gremlin

The RAFians must contend with gremlins.

• Book LXXVII: The Rust is Silence

The Rafians must deal with an oxidation ray wielded by a criminal.

• Book LXXVIII: The Toyman Cometh

The RAFians deal with a Toyman-esque character.

• Book LXXIX: RAFian Idol

Yes, just another excuse to put in more of the (as of writing) nearly 800 parodies.

• Book LXXX: Savage Heart

Cloak battles an ancient being called Garrotik.

• Book LXXXI: Slave Islands and Juggernauts

Three RAFians are taken prisoners by the Knights and sold into the slavery of New Genoshia, while the others deal with a juggernaut.

• Book LXXXII: Shredding a King

The RAFians deal with a demonic Shredder-like ghost called Regiphaetos.

• Book LXXXIII: RAF -- The TV Show

The RAFians are forcibly recruited to Mojo's programs.

• Book LXXXIV: The Drinker

The RAFians must contend with a Spirit-Drinker.

• Book LXXXV: The Last Laugh

The RAFians must face Joker Gas.

• Book LXXXVI: It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Villain

The RAFians must contend with mind control cards which are ineffective on them.

• Book LXXXVII: Sight Unseen

Six RAFians are rendered functionally blind, optically-speaking.

• Book LXXXVIII: Don't Let It Snow

The RAFians must face a second Ice Age caused by a Diznee Ice Ifrit.

• Book LXXXIX: The Rachel Toxin

The RAFians must find a cure to a toxin that increases the fearlessness, hostility and aggressiveness induced in people which the Mark cannot protect the RAFians from.

• Book XC: Virus Alert!

The RAFians face a dangerous virus seeking a host.

• Book XCI: A Youthful Thief

The RAFians face a creature that siphons off the youth in its victims, provided they're younger than him.

• Book XCII: Calendar Creep

The RAFians face the Calendar Creep, a criminal whose crimes are holiday themed.

• Book XCIII: The Branding

Faerie fights a witch-boy named Salem (and his magical black cat, Saberhagen) for a magical branding iron in Faerie's possession.

• Book XCIV: The Void Zone

Nothing like a "Subspace Emissary" parody.  Sorry.

• Book XCV: An Epic Yarn

The RAFians' world is turned into yarn and fabric.

• Book XCVI: RAFian Gladiators

RAFians are kidnapped by Gamesmaster, another rogue Realm Walker, and force to participate in gladiatorial games.

• Book XCVII: The Box

The RAFians must cage thirteen Revenants released from Pandora's Box -- each representing and amplifying a particular feeling (i.e. hatred), while looking for the perfect host.

• Book XCVIII: From the Shadows

The RAFians must save their shadows and the shadows of everyone else from being absorbed (eaten) by the Umbraraptors, but not everything is what it seems.

• Book XCIX: Grimm Prospects

The RAFians discover Malice controlling several "wesen" with control collars akin to April's in "Catwoman from Channel Six" and get stuck in one-on-one battles to the death with them.  One will die.

• Book C: Loop-De-Loop

Everyone's trapped in a temporal loop, but the only ones that realize it are Cloak, Aila, and Aquilai.

• Book CI: Get 'Em, Shaw

The RAFians face a creature native to the planet Gossamer, who's under the control of Malice.

• Book CII: Threadfall

The RAFians must exterminate an epidemic of Thread.

• Book CIII: Siren's Song

The RAFians must deal with a siren and her alluring song.

• Book CIV: Resistance is Futile

The RAFians must deal with a hybridization of the Borg and the Hive chips (Ben 10: Alien Swarm) -- which the Mark cannot protect them from, nor the Unity energy can destroy.

• Book CV: The Titan

The RAFians must contend with the Titan serum and its effects.

• Book CVI: A Stony Glare

The RAFians must deal with a hungry Stone-Biter and a petrifying venom of a Diznee Stone Ifrit.

• Book CVII: Spritely Pests

The RAFians must deal with irritating sprites, which Faerie has had some rather tenuous experiences with.

• Book CVIII: Destroy All . . . What?

The RAFians must contend with a Furon incursion, and it turns out the Nyacs have knowledge of Furons. . . .

• Book CIX: Going Backwards

A grievious malfunction in Aquilai's TARDIS causes time to reverse its flow and flow backwards.

• Book CX: Death Takes A Holiday

The RAFians must convince Death to take up his role again.  A RAFian will die in this book, and it is within the continuity.

• Book CXI: High Price Stakes

Shanker and Gaz must flee and elude Daphne, the vampire hunter.

• Book CXII: A Killer Housing Market

The RAFians must survive and either destroy or escape a killer house.

• Book CXIII: A Silenced World

The RAFians must cope with a world that has become muted and a young sorceress, Melissa Spellman.

• Book CXIV: The Bureau

The RAFians must save their own from the insideous Bureau of Lost.

• Book CXV: To Tell the Truth

Broken's apprentice, Melissa, accidentally casts a spell forcing everyone to tell the truth.

• Book CXVI: Skin Crawlers

The RAFians, repulsed and revolted, must contend with Hundred (who eventually becomes Thousand, then becomes Million, then Billion, and then, finally, Trillion).

• Book CXVII: School of Stepford Lies

The RAFians must save the children from a school that turns them into Stepford students at Terenia's school.

• Book CXVIII: Ol' Salty

The RAFians must deal with the Salt Man.

• Book CXIX: The Great Race

The RAFians hold a race that Aloth cons himself into.  Who will win?

• Book CXX: Ape Escape

The RAFians must help super intelligent apes -- Caesar the chimp, Brutus the gorilla, and Maestro the orangutan -- reconcil their misanthropy.

• Book CXXI: A Different Kind of Unity

The RAFians must contend with a parasitic "unity".

• Book CXXII: The Great Brain Robery

Someone is stealing brains for an unknown purpose.

• Book CXXIII: The Bounty Hunter

The Knights, in their hypocricy, hire a Tsul'Kalu bounty hunter to collect select RAFians (to taxidermy).

• Book CXXIV: New Controllers

The RAFians confront Zirconians.

• Book CXXV: Creeping Crystal

A wave of crystallizing energy is sweeping the land. . . .

• Book CXXVI: The Element Feeder

The RAFians deal with a creature who feeds on a specific element and matures to a different element each time as it matures. . . .

• Book CXXVII: The Rider and the Walker

The RAFians come up against the Ghost Rider.

• Book CXXVIII: Headhunters

What will happen when RAFians lose their heads?  Seriously.

• Book CXXIX: The Color Purple, Man!

The RAFians confront the Purple Man, who manages to turn the entire government against them . . .

• Book CXXX: The Nemetrix Beetle

The RAFians confront the Black Beetle with Nemetrix properties.

• Book CXXXI: It's Tought to Be A Mod

The members of a primitive forum declare Demos and Blue to be mods. . . .

• Book CXXXII: Who-Zilla?

An energy reaction begins turning RAFians into monstrous creatures in 3XXX.  Out-of-continuity book.

• Book CXXXIII: Well, Techadon-ally . . .

The RAFians confront Techadons who assign them qualitive quatilities, and refuse to acknowledge any defeats.

• Book CXXXIV: The Mind's Eye

The RAFians face Spellbinder and his realistic illusions.

• Book CXXXV: Bas-ic Instincts

Bas awakens and attempts to take control of Cloak and other felines.

• Book CXXXVI: Midas Duck

The RAFians must contend with a very strange golden idol and a greedy sneak-thief.

• Book CXXXVII: War with the Warworlds

The RAFians must defeat two heavily-armed Warworlds.

• Book CXXXVIII: Solar Sucks

The RAFians must save Estelore from a device able to suck out her stellar substance and lifeforce.

• Book CXXXIX: Hounded

The RAFians are attacked by hellhounds that only Demos can see, although Cloak can "see" them via Earthsight.

• Book CXL: Politics

The RAFians, much to Cloak's chagrin and irritation, get caught up in the middle of Realm Walker politics.

• Book CXLI: Buggy Afternoon

A Bug is after Parker's blood, to "avenge" their brother slain by the SPARTAN.

• Book CXLII: Cloak's Nightmare

Cloak has an exceedingly vivid nightmare of the Great RAFian Purge. . . .

• Book CXLIII: Cloak and the Olympians

Cloak confronts and defies the Olympians.

• Book CXLIV: Down to Earth

The RAFians have gravity-related problems.

• Book CXLV: Hittin' the Dino-Sauce

The RAFians learn the dangers of Dino-Sauce.

• Book CXLVI: Blood Feud

Shanker's past comes into light. . . .

• Book CXLVII: She's Back! A Dino Story

Pretty much a shameless parody of "We're Back! A Dinosaur Story".

• Book CXLVIII: A Journey into Her Past

Delving into Noelle's pre-RAFian life and her relationship with Ardnalil-Shicom-Maar.

• Book CXLIX: Mortality and Morality

The RAFians face some rather conceited Leviathons.

• Book CL: Utter Pandemonium

Cloak, Gaz, Saffa, Underseen, and Hunter investigate odd goings-on at a theme park island named "Haunted Island".

• Book CLI: A Reality Rewrite

Cloak, Faerie, Broken, and Broken's protege discover a magical, reality-altering typewriter.  Cloak, being a Realm Walker and the other three, being magical, are immune to its rewrites of reality.

[Gaz]

You're right, Cloaky. Some pretty creepy stuff here.

[redtailedsaffa]

I'm at Book 13, and so far it's been SO FREAKING AWESOME! Cloaky, do not ever, ever stop writing. You make wasting time on the Net a good thing.

[Cloak]

I'm at Book 13, and so far it's been SO FREAKING AWESOME! Cloaky, do not ever, ever stop writing. You make wasting time on the Net a good thing.

Saffa, I assure you, as long as my hands are in good working order and completely functional, I won't.

Anyway, probably a long chapter.
   

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Ghosts of the Past

Cloak paced idly, something he did when thinking or agitated, with the rapidity usually indicating which in combination with the movement of his tail.
 
Cloak had his arms folded rather stiffly as he twitched his right ear in a most irritated way.
 
He had his back to a big, black silhouette wearing a ring on one of his beefy, sausage-like fingers.
 
Cloak didn't even deign to turn around, and felt secretly sick.  He addressed the silhouette, "Thanos, I presume?"
 
"Surprised, boy?" Thanos said, his appearance was a Black Lantern uniform with their symbol of a point-down triangle with four lines arising from the flat edge in diagonals.  His flesh was corpse gray with sunken, white eyes.
 
Cloak turned slowly to face him, his face expressionless and quite serious.  "Not really.  You couldn't stand to have your powers bound, I suppose?  So desperate to be with Death in you own delusions, you snuffed out your own life.  Am I close?"
 
"Scared?"
 
Cloak narrowed his eyes with utter contempt, he replied, "You wish."
 

***

Gaz hovered outside an abandoned florist, showing signs of serious apprehension and trepidation.
 
"My daughter . . ." came the voice of the person Gaz dreaded.  "My daughter . . . you have forgotten me . . ."
 
The truth was Gaz had not forgotten that voice, that sultry, enticing voice.
 
Gaz turned around and saw Madre de Vampyra, looking very much the same, only wearing a Black Lantern uniform and a ring.
 
"You've abandoned the old ways . . . the true ways . . ." she said in a breathless manner.  "You've abandoned your mother. . . ."
 
"You are no mother of mine," Gaz said defiantly.  But she did feel fear.  Not fear of Madre per se, but what she represented.  But she needn't have voiced this.  "And I reject your path, Vampyra!"
 
"Such a pity," Madre tsked almost fretfully.
 

***

Parker was completely on guard, he was trained for this type of scenario.  He was completely cautious. His mind so focused at the task at hand, he didn't recognize the familiarity of the spot he patrolled.
 
"Returned to the scene," said a sneering voice, "of the crime?"
 
Parker was glad that his helmet obscured the shocked, stricken look upon his face.  He said nothing as he turned.
 
It was Louis Cannon.  He was in the spandex-looking Black Lantern uniform which really left nothing to the imagination.  His skin was the darkest corpse-gray, and his hair was quite white and thick, not whispy at all.
 
"Oh, big hero," Cannon sneered.  "It wasn't enough for you to steal my betrothed from me, but was killing a bit overkill?"
 
Parker hesitated for a moment, before saying, tonelessly, "It wasn't I who killed you."
 
"LIAR!  She didn't kill me!"
 
"No, she didn't." Parker said, narrowing his eyes.  "You did it to yourself in your lust over Helen . . ."
 
"LIES!"
 

***

Noelle's hooves clop-clop-clopped on the sidewalk rather omniously.  Her stalk eyes were never stationary and her tail-blade quivered.  The idea of reanimated corpses were unnerving to Andalites as they were to humans and Realm Walkers.
 
<Noelle . . .> came a thought-speak voice that was like an ice molasses.
 
<No.> Noelle gasped.  She had suspected that he might be a Black Lantern.  But she had hoped that she was mistakened.  He didn't wear a uniform, but a black belt rather like Machoke or Machamp's with the Black Lantern symbol on it.
 
<Noelle . . . you've killed me . . .>
 
<No! I didn't!> she protested.  <Ardnalil, I didn't!>
 
<You . . . allowed that beast . . . to do what he did.> Black Lantern Ardnalil said, his tone more accusatory.  He looked at Noelle and saw green, yellow and indigo.  At what he said he saw a little of the yellow and indigo transmute into bright red.
 
<I did not.  I could not have helped what happened to you.>
 
<You should have just married me when I asked . . .>
 
At this point, the yellow and indigo he saw in Noelle transformed at once into the brightest, deepest red, while the green remained intact.  The two colors filled her.
 
<Now you listen here!  I don't care if you're a zombie, a Black Lantern, or some strange hodgepodge of both!> Noelle said heatedly, her tail quivering from anger instead of fear.   <If I had married you it wouldn't have changed your fate at all.  You've always placed far too much importance on image and rank.  You were -- are one the most arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic people in the whole galaxy!>
 
<I'm . . .> Ardnalil said, voice sinister and breathy, ". . . very disappointed to hear that, darling Noelle.  Prepare to join us.>
 
<Us?> Noelle said, frantically rescanning her surroundings.
 

***

Estelore was standing looking rather ruffled.  When she heard a shuffling sound behind her and a cry of, "I . . . I must have . . . MORE!!"

Estelore easily dodged the lumbering attack from Syphoon.  He no longer had his absorbing powers, but he did bear a Lantern Ring, and it didn't seem to satisfy this hunger that cursed him, even in death.  Estelore, taking pity (seen by Syphoon as an overwhelming amount of indigo with a bit of yellow, green, and blue mixed in.  She held out her hand and used her stellar might to reduce Syphoon to nothing -- but the ring remained.  Because the ring remained, Syphoon's body began to regenerate, to pull itself together.

Estelore's eyes widened.  "This is gonna be a problem."

***

Sakki paced irritably around this.  She didn't like the fact that Cloak decided to volunteer her for this duty.  Granted, she would jumped on board to kick butt, naturally.  But she didn't like waiting around, doing nothing.  It was clear that this city was either abandoned or all turned into Black Lanterns.

The fact of her mechanical nature saves her from the Lanterns . . . Sakki wasn't sure how to feel about that.  She glanced at her Mark, which she had noticed was white instead of the normal light blue.  She wondered idly why it was doing that, when she heard a breathless voice with an accusatory tone.

"You . . . !"

Sakki calmly looked up from her Mark with a heavy-lidded look, and saw Mallory Falwell.  It was the bimbo who delighted in being assimilated by the Phalanx.  She clearly was no longer assimilated by the Phalanx, but by the Black Lanterns this time.

"Can't ever pick a winning team, can you?" Sakki asked, casually.

"You," Falwell said, still pointing an accusing finger with the hand that she wore the corroded ring on, "you severed me from my . . . from my . . ."

"Phalanx?" Sakki guessed.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she said, stamping her feet like an overemotional toddler.

"Hmmm . . . I see you've matured well in death," Sakki replied drily.

"You will join us, machine!"

"Eh, not bloody likely."

***

Meanwhile, in the patrols of Oceanspray, Faerie, and Underseen were far less eventful.  But each were on edge, unsure of just what to expect.  Every sound put them on guard, even when it could have been made by an innocent creature just scurrying out for a late-night snack.

[Cloak]

Now, Slushie has a little notion in this chapter.
   

CHAPTER NINE:
Overwhelmed and Research

While the nine were out and about, Slushie Man had a thought.  He dashed to the library, one that Estelore herself was quite fond of, one with tomes from a variety of species -- albeit many translated into English, and began to search and research this idea he had.  He had to know if there was any possible weight, any clout to it. . . .
 
Then he looked down at his palm which was glowing brightly.  The meaning of this wasn't lost on him, "They must be resorting to Unity Energy.  This is bad.  I have to find it soon or . . ."
 

***

"Before we start, Cloak," Thanos said, with sickly smile, where his teeth looked rather rotted, playing around his face, "I believe my friends deserve to join in."
 
Suddenly, the former wielder of the Infinity Gems appeared.  Behind them where far more Black Lanterns.  Cloak's eyes widened as he saw the horde, knowing they were even too much for him to beat alone, especially since the rings would possibly regenerate the dead bodies.  Cloak had a nagging suspicion that the Black Lanterns could not even feel pain.
 
However, he did not feel weak.  He felt the other RAFians with him, though they were not physically near.  He clenched his fist, which was charged with white Unity Energy -- and the Black Lanterns seemed very leery of it.
 

***

Faerie came upon an unrelated horde of Black Lanterns, she was slashing through them with her Gale Blade.  It was nasty and gory, and it was a futile gesture, because the Black Lanterns always regenerated enough to be functional.  Then her eye flashed, her Mark glowed and her fist was enveloped in white Unity Energy.  Her smile would incite fear in any evil army.
 

***

Gaz was overcome with more hatred than fear.  She viciously attacked Madre, as Laserbeak (which Gaz could use as a form of transportation rather like Snake's up-special in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) peck, shot, and divebombed her relentlessly.  But all for naught.
 
"Tsk tsk tsk." Madre said.  "You really should exercise more control over your pet, Daughter.  And over yourself."
 
"Die, monster!" Gaz said, uncharacteristicall y bloodthirsty.
 
Suddenly, Madre's manner changed to one of anger and rage to match Gaz's.  "You DARE to DEFY your Mother?!  You DARE to DEFY my whims?!?!"
 
"YES!" Gaz said, as the fist that held her Mark pulsed.
 
"Come to me. my children!" Madre called to the other Black Lanterns who were just arriving.  Gaz realized that she couldn't take them all on.  Part of her didn't care.  Her Marked hand flared and was engulfed in Unity Energy.
 

***

Underseen had came upon several Black Lanterns, unrelated to any other group.  He was currently proving that he was just as hard to hold on to as a Realm Walker.  The Black Lanterns seemed leery of his Light Blade and he used that to his vantage, as they seemed to simultaneously hate and fear the Blade.
 
Underseen balled his Marked hand into a fist as he tossed the Blade to his other hand, and his fist became engulfed in the white Unity Energy as his face set, teeth clenched.
 

***

"Back off, Cannon," Parker warned, pointing his dual fusion cannons at him, "or you'll go back to your grave the hard way."
 
"You can't kill me."
 
BLAM!
 
Cannon's head was gone.  Parker took no satisfaction in what he had done.  But then Cannon's head regenerated from his the surge of his black ring, but he looked far more grotesque.  The ring only regenerated enough to be functional -- it didn't do cometic changes.
 
"Like I said," the ghastly being said, "you can't kill me."
 
Parker's Marked hand began to glow, engulfing his fist in white Unity Energy.
 
Parker spat, "Wanna bet?"
 
Cannon whistled, and Black Lantern Knights of Humanity appeared at his side.  But Parker wasn't willing to back down although his more pragmatic side knew the futility of his actions.
 

***

Oceanspray was blasting each Black Lantern over and over again.  At this rate, he'd need a new battery.  Eventually he had to just stop as his Marked hand glowed and engulfed his fist in white Unity Energy.
 
"This'll do," he muttered.
 

***

Sakki was using her sonic wails and her sonic roars, but really to no avail.  She knew not how much longer she could hold out.  Nothing that she could inflict upon these monstrocities that Falwall had called to her aid, these Black Lanterns, seemed to be very lasting.  Not even when she mimicked the Howler's howl, not something she even knew that she was capable off.
 
"Give it up," Falwell taunted.  "Your efforts are futile.  You'll just wear yourself down.  Just join us."
 
"Um . . . nah, don't think so." Sakki said as her Marked hand glowed and was engulfed in white Unity Energy.
 

***

<You can't win, Noelle . . .> Ardnalil said, as his fellow crew members -- all Black Lanterns as well -- joined and flanked him.  <Give up.>
 
<No,> Noelle said defiantly.  <You've never known me as well as you think you do.  I shan't give up so easily!!>
 
Her Marked fist glowed and was engulfed in white Unity Energy.
 
<You can't beat me, Noelle . . .> Ardnalil said.  <No mere female can . . .>
 
<You're not making your case any better, you --> Noelle said, uttering a rather impolite Andalite word.
 
<Language.>
 
<Oh, shut up!!>
 

***

Estelore was finding herself being overwhelmed by the sheer influx of Black Lanterns that she seemed to have attracted.  She kept incinerating them, but their rings just kept reanimating them.  However, with dogged determination, she continued to attack, attack and attack.  Eventually, her Marked hand glowed with white Unity energy and she balled it into a fist which caused the energy to engulf her hand.

***

Each of the nine RAFians knew what they had to do, though they had no certainty or qualms whether it would work or not.  They simply must try it.  The Black Lanterns seemed leery of the energy, it must be for good reason.  The silence of the city was soon broken when nine voices cried out --

"Unity Explosion!!"

The city was suddenly engulfed itself in the white Unity Energy, which had no interest in harming the buildings.  The glow remained for a few seconds before dissipating.

[Gaz]

Oh no! Evil vampire lady!

[Underseen]

Hmm, Unity Explosion. Sounds strong, but I am anticipating what kind of damage it caused.

[Cloak]

From my hand, I summon . . . a new chapter! (Sorry, I have YGOTAS on the brain for some reason.)

Okay, and chances are this'll be the only one you get today.  Apologies if it is too short.
   

CHAPTER TEN:
Code Avalon

The city was intact, of course, but the Black Lanterns were severely injured.  But it wasn't anything that the rings couldn't regenerate, as the rings themselves weren't destroyed, but looked a tad bit more corroded.  The nine were well aware of this, and they didn't need Richard telling them, "Get out of there now, you nine!"
 
They all fell back to RAF quickly as the Lanterns began to regenerate.
 

***

"They're in," Aquilai prompted Yarin.  "Activate Code: Avalon."
 
"Activating." Yarin replied as his four hands flew over the computer console.  Only a tetramand species could work in such a fevered fashion and so quickly to activate the protocol to activate it.
 
Code Avalon worked by putting up a multi-layered defensive forcefield in a complete bubble around the forum.  While no RAFian would be foolish enough to claim that such a thing was foolproof and invincible and unbreakable, it was very close to all those things.
 
The code was developed for such a situation that a horde of zombies, pillagers and assorted ne'er-do-wells who would attempt to storm the forum.  It was thought prudent due to the number of times that they had to abandon and take back the forum in the course of recent years.
 
But it was not foolproof, but it was the best completed defense that they had at the moment.
 

***

"Unity Energy was effective," Parker said, "but only marginally."
 
"Doesn't matter, though, does it?" Sakki said, rather huffily.  "Those rings would just regenerate this Lantern zombies into semi-perfect functional order."
 
Cloak stood with his arms crossed and head bowed.  "Unity Energy was our best weapon against them.  No element I wield would be as effective against them.  Anything I try, they could regenerate from."
 
"The same here," Estelore said, rather dejectedly.  She had become complacent in her power.  "Each time I incinerated one, the ring remained, and the cinders would coalesce back into a reanimated corpse."

She was unable to suppress a shiver at the thought.

"So . . ." Underseen asked, "it's hopeless?"

"It would appear so, Underseen." Gaz said, with a hoarse voice.  She was still emotionally strained after being forced to deal with Madre de Vampyra again.  Then she said, more to herself than the others, "I . . . I just don't wanna see her again."

Parker remained silent and surly, having only spoken to Helen.  She shared Parker's mood.

"Code Avalon can only hold out for so long." Goom said.  "We haven't infinite power.  Eventually . . ."

He let it hang, as the idea was too horrible.  None of the RAFian's hearts were taken nor were any bitten, so the mystery of whether they would be turned into Black Lanterns or whether the Mark would forbid it was still mostly a mystery.  Though one could make the argument that since the Unity Energy seemed to perturb them that the Mark would protect them, it was still of very little consolation.

There was an overall feeling of depression in the auditorium after this info sunk in.  However, there was one RAFian that was not present.  There was one RAFian that had remained in the library feverishly pouring over tome after tome after tome . . .

[Cloak]

Now, how's about another?  Warning: it's gonna be a bit short.
   

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Slushie's Shining Discovery

Slushie was working harder than he ever remembered working in RAF.  It was as if this idea had taken possession of him, but he didn't care.  If he discovered an answer . . . just any plausible answer . . .

He pulled an old leatherbound book to him.  There were strange characters on it -- in black, yellow, blue, pink, red, and white ink.  Slushie Man thought about that script for a moment, and thought he recognized it.  It looked like Phaedosian characters.  He did not know enough about the Phaedosian language to dare a translation, but still his curiosity was piqued.  He saw from just how stiff the book's spine was that had never been opened, or perhaps not for a very long time.

He cracked the book open, and he could tell right off that the book was quite old right off the bat.  He coughed a little and sneezed as the dust desperate to be free from their bookish prison made a mad escape.  Then he carefully blew some dust off the pages and resorted to using a Galvan universal script translator to help him translate the text.

Something 'bout a guy named "Ooze", something about a betrayal, something about goliath automatons . . . worthless to their plight right now, but still Slushie Man read on. . . .

What's this?

Slushie read on with the text translator, not in a hungry fashion but in an almost starving, obsessive manner.  This could be exactly what they needed!!  Phaetos couldn't have been too far away, surely Estelore must have known where it was. . . .

Slushie knew what he had to do, what he must do.  He slammed the book shut, which caused more dust to flee the confines of the book, and tucked it under his arm.  Then he hurriedly dashed to the auditorium, where the meeting was starting to break up.

"HOLD IT!!" Slushie shouted as he came barrelling into the auditorium.  "Hold it!  I've found something!  I've found something!!"

"Slushie, you're late." Alic said.

"I know, I know, I know!" Slushie said, but nothing could squash his excitement.  He was convinced now.  Really, truly convinced that this was the way.  The answer to the Black Lantern zombies.  After all, what better way to combat a force embodying death and destruction then one that embodies life and creation?

[Cloak]

Maybe just one more.  Writing can be addictive for me. *sheepish grin*
   

CHAPTER TWELVE:
The White Lining

"What is the problem, Slushie Man?" Cloak asked genially.
 
"Problem?  No problem!!  None at all!" he replied, still full of that vibrant, excited energy.  "I found it.  I found the solution, I believe.  The solution to destroying those zombies!"

"Black Lanterns, actually," Helen corrected.
 
"Whatever." Slushie said, dismissively with a gregarius wave of his hand.  "Here, look!"
 
Cloak watched as Slushie opened the book -- which was placed under a camera so the whole assemblage could see as well.  Cloak looked at the squiggles that were words, sentences and paragraphs.  But the thing that interested him most was the symbol his saw in some sort of pictogram.
 
"That symbol . . ." Cloak said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
 
<I know that symbol,> Noelle said, uncharacteristicall y aggressively.  Apparently, her Black Lantern ex-boyfriend wrought far more damage to her than she let on.  <It was on Ardnalil's ring.>
 
"It was also on Thano's," Cloak said, "if not for that one horizontal line.  The curved one."
 
<What?> Noelle hadn't apparently noticed.
 
"Yes," Slushie said, pressing on, "the text translates a story of a Great Power, purported to be powered by life and creation, resting upon the planet Phaedos."
 
"Phaetos?  Surely not a Anur Phaetos?" Underseen said skeptically.
 
"Phaedos," Slushie Man corrected, "with a 'd'.  Not Phaetos."
 
Estelore stirred.  "I have heard of it, bypassed it in my travels."
 
"Bypassed?" Cloak asked.  "Why?"
 
"It's barren, as far as I know." Estelore said, looking rather perplexed.  "Why would such a place harbor a Great Power of life and creation?"
 
"It could be life that we are unfamiliar with," Gaz suggested with a shrug.
 
"Yes," Richard said, thoughtfully.  "In any case, I think we should mount an expedition to Phaedos.  Esty, you know the way, so you should go.  But I think you need a team with you."
 
"Right." Estelore agreed.
 
"Yarin can pilot his ship to the Phaedos," Richard said, " so he's in, I think."
 
<I'm going.> Noelle said, though her thought-speak voice trembled a little.

"So am I." Underseen said valiantly, though his form quivered a little, betraying his fear.

"I am too." Parker said.

"Not without me this time." Helen insisted.

"Alright then," Richard said, "Helen, Parker, Noelle, Yarin, Underseen, and Estelore."

There was a small expectant pause.

"Cloak?"

"What?"

"Aren't you going to chime in and say that you're going?"

"Nope."

Richard couldn't hide his surprise.  "Oh, well then, uh --"  He turned to the group going, "good luck then.  Goom will replace Yarin in the communications center.
 
 "One question, Richard," Saffa said.  "How are they gonna get by the Black Lanterns, they're crawling all over the forcefields like maggots on roadkill."

"Leave that to me, Saffa." Cloak said, and his eyes were golden-scarlet suns.

[Underseen]

I'm surprised the unity explosion was not stronger, but they do have unbreakable rings that revive them.

[Cloak]

Well, not quite unbreakable -- there is one thing that can destroy it.

[Noelle]

Man, what was I thinking when I picked that guy?   


This is a great break for studying, can't wait to read more. 

[Cloak]

Man, what was I thinking when I picked that guy?   

 Oh, you'll fine out.  Granted, it is over a hundred books away.

[Noelle]

Man, what was I thinking when I picked that guy?   

 Oh, you'll fine out.  Granted, it is over a hundred books away.

*Feeds Cloaky's muses mass amounts of caffeine.*