Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

I also haven't planned out the chapters for it.  I'm still working on planning out the chapters for Book CXLI ("Buggy Afternoon").

*hums Disney's "Belle" for no reason.*

EDIT: Added three more book ideas.

• 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.

• *Book CLII: The Coming of Galacticron

The RAFians must save Earth from Galacticron.

• *Book CLIII: Theft of Intellectual Property

The RAFians must contend with Brainiac.

• *Book CLI: The Contingency

The RAFians must battle the Talos Project and their living weapon -- Weapon XLIX.

[Cloak]

Hopefully, I won't accidentally delete this chapter . . . again -- (fortunately I only had written two or three paragraphs).  Hmmm . . . looks like I may have to split this chapter into two chapters. . . .
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Fury and Phaedos

Cloak walked into the center of the forum as the Phaedos team boarded Yarin's ship, even Esty.
 
Cloak closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, to calm his nerves, to silence his doubts, his fears of failure.
 
What he was about to attempt was exceedingly dangerous.  He could easily lose control, of himself, of his emotions, of his powers.
 
He took a couple more steadying breaths, as he saw, via Earthsight, that Yarin's ship was a boarded snd powering up for flight.
 
Cloak opened up his eyes, two golden-scarlet suns. A tendril of golden-scarlet energy extended from the outermost corners of each of his eyes.  Then the tendrils split into two, then into three.
 
Mustn't lose his focus now.  He must tread where he feared to tread.
 
Suddenly, the Black Lanterns recieved a shock as hurricane-force winds forced them all from forcefield. They were violently buffeted, the wind was also turning into a massive firestorm.  But this usage of his powers were wearing on Cloak's focus, his attempt to keep himself controlled.
 
"Go. Now." Cloak urged, the stain evident in his voice.
 
Yarin's ship rose and passed through the forcefield's radius as Code Avalon was momentarily dropped and then reestablished.
Then Cloak shut his eyes, causing the energy tendrils to dissipate into nothingness, as did the firestorm seconds later.  Cloak allowed a long exhalation. He did not wish to repeat the feat again, it took enormous self-control to manage this feat, and he felt drained somewhat afterwards.
 
Yarin and his crew were now on their way to Phaedos. . . . but the distraction wasn't sufficient enough, as three Black Lanterns had enough autonomy to follow while the other Black Lanterns seemed none-the-wiser.
 

***

Some time has passed since they managed to escape from the Black Lantern's siege and elude the ones that followed them.  It was a scene of monotony.  Parker had to keep himself from falling asleep, although his armor allowed him to convince the others that he wasn't sleeping . . . even though they hadn't asked.
 
Estelore and Yarin were so focused upon simply finding Phaedos in the myriad of stars and planets.  It was not so much as "finding a needle in a haystack" as "finding a needle in the Pacific Ocean".  It was a task that was very tough, very arduous, and one that they simply could not afford to screw up.
 
The others mostly spent their times sleeping or eating as none of them had the foresight to bring a book or portable gaming device for fear of losing it or having the treasured items destroyed.
 
"This is so boring," Underseen complained.
 
"Be thankful for it being so," Parker replied darkly, "chances are that it won't be so boring sooner or later."
 
"Ever the positive one, eh, hon?" Helen teased.  Parker's face was expressionless -- not that anyone could tell beneath his helmet.  "Oh, c'mon, stop it with the Batman-moodiness."
 
In spite of himself, Parker smiled -- again, no one other than Helen seemed to notice.
 
<Are we near?> Noelle asked, and it was clear that boredom had infilitrated her mood.
 
"Nearly." Estelore replied.
 

***

They soon landed upon the arid land with harsh-looking mountains raking upward like fangs around them.  It was like a beach -- without the water.  Or life.
 
"Well," Estelore seeing the expressions of the others, "I did say it was barren."
 
"Estelore, I advise you to look again." Yarin said, remaining in the ship, clearly reluctant to leave it.
 
The land wasn't just uniform sand and mountains.  Upon the ground, partially covered by sand were bones.  Bones of every sort, from countless number of species.
 
<Well, that's pleasant,> Noelle said, drily.  She was just struggling to walk -- Andalite hooves were not made for sand.
 
"I'm starting to get the feeling that this was a bad idea," Helen said.

"Oh, great," Parker said, looking skyward.  "Incoming!!"

The three Black Lanterns landed, their horrid features thrown into horrible relief by Phaedos's strong sunlight.  Noelle glanced at the bones with her left stalk eye and wondered if the Black Lanterns would reanimate these beings.  Did they have other rings besides their own?

"Brace yourselves, RAFians!" Parker cried.

But it was unneeded as a beam of powerful white light, punctured all three in a single shot.  The bodies dissolved, and the RAFians braced for all three to regenerate, but the rings themselves dissolved.  The RAFians turned to see a lone figure in white with the Great Power's symbol upon her chest, and wearing a white power ring.

Underseen blinked, and said, "You're a --"

"That's right, I'm a Chimera Sui Generis, what of it?" she said, haughtily.  She glared imperiously at the assemblage, but the RAFians were still rather in shock at her sudden appearance.

[Cloak]

Okay, I'll try to get another two chapters up, including this one, but I make no promises.  Chances are it'll only be this one.
 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Richard's Old Friend

"Who are you?" Helen asked.
 
"Imperient." the Chimera Sui Generis sniffed.  "You come to my doorstep bring those ring-bearing corpses and you expect me to be subject of your interrogations?"
 
<Forgive us,> Noelle said, as diplomatically as she could, slipping a bit causing her hand to flail a bit.  Her Mark was briefly visable.
 
"What's that?" the Chimera Sui Generis said, suddenly.  Her eyes locked onto Noelle's hand.  "On your hand there."
 
<What?  My Mark?> Noelle asked, geniunely nonplussed.
 
"Mark?  That symbol . . . that is not your mark!" she said defiantly.  Then her tone turned wistful, lovingly.  "It's his mark.  It's his symbol."
 
"Who?" Underseen asked, but Parker realized something.
 
"You know Richard?" he asked.  "Head mod of RAF?"
 
"'RAF'?  What is this 'RAF'?"
 
"It's his forum -- Richard's Animorph Forum." Estelore said.  "We're all members of it."
 
"You're . . . you're his?  His allies?"
 
"Yes," Yarin said, refraining from simply telepathically probing her.  It is usually universally considered rude.  "We were sent to save Earth from the Black Lanterns."
 
The Chimera Sui Generis visibly relaxed a little.  It was clear that she fancied the mod, whatever difference their species had.  "I am Silhaxx, Guardian to the path toward the Great Power.  If Richard has sent you, I know his reasons must be just."
 
She walked up a narrow path, and over her shoulder said, "Follow me."
 

***

They came to a white marble and alabaster building that looked remarkably like the Pantheon.  Upon nearing the threshold, Silhaxx said, "Behind here, you'll find your powers do not work, and your technology and weapons will be inert and nonfunctional."
 
"What?  Why?" Parker asked quickly.
 
"Because it is only then that the Great Power will endow you with it's power." Silhaxx elaborated.
 
"White rings?" Helen asked.
 
"Possibly," Silhaxx said, rather evasively.  "Possibly something . . . more."
 
<Great, she picks now to be cryptic.> Noelle muttered in private thought-speak.
 
"You could go now, or turn back." Silhaxx intoned again.

A split second before the music started, Parker declared, "Sensing musical number coming."

Silhaxx closed her eyes and sang:

"You must go to the east, go to the west,
The road is rocky and the way is far.
It's a dangerous trail, a difficult quest,
If you want know where the Great Powers truly are . . .

There are voices all around you,
To comfort and to guide you.
Fathers and teachers,
Powerful creatures.
And a voice that sings inside you.

Or you can turn back around,
Run along home.
Back to the place where your friends are.
Perhaps that is best,
You need the rest.
Who wants to go on a ridiculous quest?
Unless you want to know,
You truly want to know,
Unless you want to know . . .
What these powers really are."

Then the music died off, and Silhaxx's eyes opened.

"So what is your choice?"

[Underseen]

This is getting quite interesting. I am surprised Sam didn't join us to go find the secret to defeating the black lanterns.

[Cloak]

[spoiler=. . . Why am I putting a spoiler tag on this?  You're just gonna read it any way.] It's actually a bit of foreshadowing for a future book, Underseen.[/spoiler]

EDIT: Finished planning out the chapters of "Buggy Afternoon" and "Cloak's Nightmare".  Working on Book CXLIII, "Cloak and the Olympians".  Waring -- it will contain, as the "Simpsons" episode commentaries put it, a "screw-the-audience" joke.  Oh, expect a minimum of one chapter tomorrow.

Well, here's a chapter.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
The Osteoanima

They chose to go onward.  Silhaxx warned them that, in order to be truly worthy, their powers and weapons would be suppressed and ineffective.

"WHAT?!" Parker protested.

"This must be so," Silhaxx said, very seriously, "or the Great Power, the Power of the White Lantern, with not deem you worthy."

"Aren't you coming with, Silhaxx?" Underseen asked.

"I bear the only White Ring," she said, "if I were to escort you, I would just negate all your trials and tests."

"Lovely," Estelore said sourly.

None of them seemed aware that she said that she had the only White Ring.

***

"Well, this isn't so bad," Helen said, in her "street clothes" despite still wearing her Star Sapphire ring.  "Just a hike . . . through an explicablely-grown rainforest. . . ."

"The mugginess leaves a lot to be desired."

"Still," Helen said bracingly, "it could be worse."

A sudden rumble vibrated the ground all around them.

"I cannot believe you just said that, Helen," Parker groaned.

From the ground, many skeletal form rose.  They were not Black Lanterns, they were the osteoanima.  Osteoanima tyrannosauria (an animated tyrannosaurus skeleton), osteoanima pterosauria (an animated pterosaur skeleton), osteoanima ceratopsia (an animated ceratopsian skeleton), osteoanima smilodon (an animated smilodon fatalis skeleton), osteoanima mastodon (an animated mastodon skeleton), osteoanima draco (an animated Godzilla-style dragon skeleton), osteoanima gigantorana (a gigantic animated frog skeleton), osteoanima arctos (an animated brown bear skeleton), osteoanima lupus (an animated wolf skeleton), osteoanima pullus (an animated crane skeleton), osteoanimapithecus (an animated ape skeleton), and osteoanima gigantofalco (a gigantic animated falcon skeleton), specifically.

"Okay, this is a bit overwhelming." Estelore admitted.

"Eh, there are only twelve." Underseen said.

"You're kidding, right?" Parker said.

"This is obviously one of the tests, Silhaxx told us about." Yarin said reasonably.

"What happened with stepping up the difficulty in stages?  Why do we have to jump in, without powers and weaponry no less, at level 50?" Parker complained.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks," Helen said.  "Look they're not attacking."

"Yes," Yarin said, thoughtfully.  "It's rather odd.  They've closedoff our rear, so retreat isn't an option.  They've cut off either side, so escape that way is not possible without force.  And our path ahead is impended."

<Is it me, or is this a rather perverse test?> Noelle asked.

"How do you mean?" Underseen asked.

<Bones are usually associated with death, are they not?> Noelle answered.  <Is it not perverse that they be used in a test for the power of the White Light of Life?>

"Perhaps," Yarin said as Parker said, "Guys."

Yarin continued, "Perhaps, because they're animated they represent life after death."

Parker said a little more loudly, "Guys!"

"That makes sense," Underseen said.

"GUYS!" Parker shouted. "We don't have time to launch into a lengthy, drawn-out discussion about the meaning of this test!! We're on a time limit, remember?! We need to figure out the best way to whoop these things, whatever they are and get to that power ASAP!!!  Code Avalon won't hold out forever!  We need to hurry."

"Why do we have to 'whoop their butts'?" Helen asked.

"What?" Parker snapped.

Helen elaborated, "Why do we have to beat them at all?  Maybe the trick is simply to get by them."

She decided to prove what she meant. She dashed toward the group of osteoanima impeding their progress, and she pulled a few gymnastic moves and easily bypassed them.

"Ten years of gymnastics," she explained with a triumphant smile.

Though it was a bit more awkward for the others, being rather dependant on their powers and weaponry, they managed.

<Okay,> Noelle said. <Where to now?>

"I am guessing," Yarin said, pointing the clear path onward with his right upper arm, "on."

[Cloak]

Well, here's another.
 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Improvising and Lith Guardians

Meanwhile, back at the forum, things were not going so well.  The Black Lanterns seemed to make even the sunlight seem darker, diluted.  They relentlessly hammered away at Code Avalon.  And there seemed more everyday.  Every hour.
 
The klaxxon sound was not well-received by the other RAFians.  Aquilai's announcement nor his worried tones did not bode well, either.
 
"Code Avalon is failing! Brace yourselves!"
 
"I don't think so!!" Cloak cried willfully.  "I will supplement Code Avalon with my own energy!"
 
"No, Cloak!" Kelly protested. "You've already exerted a great deal of energy already!  Any more, and it might result in --"
 
"Do you want the alternative?" Cloak asked, already throwing his hand up and fortifying the forcefield, turning it into a heterogeneous mixture of opaque-yet-translucent white and golden-scarlet.  Kelly said nothing, but he knew her answer . . . and he knew this was a plan that would not last unless the others get to that Great Power, and fast.
 

***

"We're there." Helen said.  "I think."
 
<Just where is "here," exactly?> Noelle said, dutifully scanning with her stalk eyes.
 
They had come upon a stone wall, with what appeared to be a door rather like those of Jurassic Park.  But instead of torches, seventeen notches filled up the sides -- eight on each side and one atop the door -- and each one was filled with alabaster-like stone statues.  Each one carried a different looking weapon and each had a face that not even a mother could love.
 
They sprung to life as the RAFians approached, with their body armor transmuting chromatically.  Their bodies retained their stony appearance and textures but took on the smell of flesh.  They were all dressed rather differently, and they all were vaguely humanoid.
 
The plain-looking one wielded a bladed bow with a quiver full of arrows.  Its armor took on a rather plain, pink color and it snarled in the most unpleasant way.
 
The fiery-looking one wielded a big claymore.  Its armor took on a fiery red color as if it were made from real flames.  It hissed in a most disconsolate way.
 
The fish-faced one wielded a trident.  Its armor took on a blue color that made it appear as if it was underwater.  It gulped in a rather comical way.
 
The one sprouting leaves and vines, which obscured its face, wielded a bo staff.  Its armor took on a verdant green color that made it camouflage rather unfortunately with the surrounding rainforest.  It huffed and snorted in a rather threatening way.
 
The electric one wielded a warhammer and its armor took on an electric yellow color that seemed to literally spark.  It grinned most malevolently.
 
The grounded one with the sanded face wielded a scythe and its armor took on an earthy brown color.  It was expressionless and did not make a sound.
 
The one with the poisonously sweaty face wielded twin daggers and its armor took on a toxic purple color.  It looked as if it was thoroughly discomforted, as if it preferred to be a lifeless statue.
 
The one with a face like minced meat wielded a gladius and its armor took on a rather violent orange color.  It seemed incapable of staying still.
 
The buggy one wielded nunchukkus and its armor took on a rather sketchy, olive green color.  Its appearance more than it's scuttling gait was disconcerting.
 
The cold, icy one wielded some overlarge shurrikens and its armor took on an icy white color.  It looked more of ice than stone.
 
The ethereal-looking one with the multiated face wielded dual katanas and its armor took on a spectral indigo color.  It looked more like a samurai ghost than the others.
 
The draconic one wielded a flail and crook, while its armor took on a tannish color. It looked rather hostile and brutal.
 
The airy one wielded a pair of battle fans, while its armor took on a sunrise golden color.  It looked feminine and exceedingly dangerous.
 
The bulky, burly one wielded a halberd, while its armor took on a granite gray color.  It looked the most generically stony of the lot.

The dark, shadowy one wielded a ninjato, while its armor took on a shadowy black color as if it were crafted from the very shadows itself.  It looked the most evil of the lot.

The hard, metallic one wielded a machete, while its armor took on a metallic silver color.  It looked rather like a very ugly knight.

The final one, the one that was at the top of the door, wielded a chakram and its armor took on a mindful violet color.  It looked the most dangerous of the lot.

The RAFians stood there and blinked a bit at this.  These were the Lith Guardians, and the RAFians had to get by them in order to get the Great Power.

Parker sighed heavily, "Let's get this done."

"Remember, it more than likely won't be as easy as just defeating them," Yarin warned.

"Yeah, I would have never guessed." Parker said, surly.

[Cloak]

And . . . here's another chapter.
 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Failure and Power

"Cloaky, you must stop!" Kelly protested.  "We've fell back to another fortified perimeter."
 
"I can still keep it up," Cloak said.  But this was a lie.
 
"No, Cloak." Kelly said, her voice more authoritative now.  "You'll run yourself into exhaustion -- if you haven't already!  We're prepared to fight back."
 
"But --"
 
"Uh-uh." Kelly said, putting her foot down.  "No.  Suicide isn't an option here -- and we don't need martyrs.  Come along now."
 
Cloak, very near exhaustion, meekly acquiesced, and as the shield vanished and failed, the Black Lanterns -- including Rojo, Azul, and their Virus mother -- bumbled into the outer boundary of RAF as Kelly and Cloak retreated. . . .
 

***

Back on Phaedos, the RAFians were already in the fluidity of battle.  They quickly disarmed the poison-themed, plant-themed, air-themed, fire-themed, and water-themed statues, but couldn't just kill them when they looked so pitiful disarmed.  All five vanished.
 
They quickly disarmed the insect-themed one, showed it mercy, and it vanished.  The plain one quickly followed suit, then the electricity-themed one.
 
"Come on, everyone," Estelore said, bracingly, as the ground-themed one vanished.  "Keep it up!"
 
"Where do they go when they vanish?" Underseen said, disarming the brawl-themed one.  He showed it mercy, and it vanished.  "What if it presents a problem later?"

<Live in the now, Underseen!> Noelle said, disarming the mind-themed one, showing it mercy, and it vanished with the others before it.  <We can worry about what may be at a later date!!>

"Give me that!" Parker said, disarming the stone-themed one.  He showed it mercy, although it was clear that Parker found it tempting to finish it off.  The living statue vanished as did the others before it.

It went rather quickly after that.  Soon, the metal-themed one, the ghost-themed one, the ice-themed one, and the rest were all disarmed, rather dismissively shown mercy, and vanished.

"That's all of them," Yarin said.

"Yeah," Parker concurred, "so . . . what now?"

With a blinding flash of white light, the statues had returned to their lifeless states back into their niches in the wall around the door.  Then the door began to open . . . and the RAFians -- though having no idea why they were doing such -- held out the hands had bore their Marks at the blazing white light behind the dramatically slow-opening door. . . .

[Cloak]

Okay, a fourth, albeit shortish, chapter.  This book is nearly done.  I hope you're not tired of the dark atmosphere.
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
The Power of Life

Suddenly, the RAFian's marks were no longer the blue they normally where but a blistering, pure white.  Their color schemes of their clothing or fur as the case may be became the purest white with the other colors become mere highlights of their clothing or fur.
 
"Whoa . . ." Underseen could not help but utter aloud.  "Cool."
 
Parker's armor looked rather like he was heading out for a mission with snow terrain.
 
"Oh, baby!" Yarin said.  The RAFians looked at him, as he was not apt to say such a thing.  Then they realized why he said that.  He was speaking of his ship -- his "baby".  The Great Power had also apparently drawn Yarin's ship to this spot, and a white portal was opening up in front of it.
 
"Everyone on board.  Now.  C'mon, let's get going." Yarin said, encouragingly.
 
They did, and they were on their way to Earth, going much faster than the ship was usually capable of, as it was being powered by the Great Power, the White Light of Life, as the RAFians were.
 

***

Meanwhile, back at the forum, something happened that caused the Black Lanterns, every single one of them, to back away with a horrid hiss.
 
The RAFians stood up -- the Great Power having transferred via the Marks.  The Mark granted all RAFians the Great Power.  Cloak's cloak was now the purest white, as well as the primary color on all his clothing.  Laserbeak was all white as well (except gold in the joints).  All the RAFians clothing or bodies were now primarily white.

Cloak realized immediately that the Great Power erased his exhaustion, as it did for the others.  To make matters better, above, in the sky, Yarin's ship appeared, with a white paint job.

Cloak looked directly at the Black Lanterns, who now weren't very scary.  Not very scary at all.

"Looks like the tables have turned," Cloak said, with a coy little smirk, addressing the Black Lanterns, "You better run and protect your Battery."

They decided that he was right, but the rings either would not or could not abandon their corpse hosts.

"Time to end this," Gaz said.

"Indeed," said Richard, looking rather resplendent in his Great Power redesign.  "Let's go, my RAFians."

[Cloak]

Fifth chapter today, and the penultimate chapter of this book.  Sorry that I got a little political, but Fred Phelps and his church really irks me.  I hope I didn't make a mistake by doing that. . . . You could always skip this chapter, I guess.  Please don't flame this thread.
 

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Unified Life Beam

The RAFians, empowered by the Great Power, followed the fleeing Black Lanterns.  Cloak's taunts had worked.  The Black Lanterns apparently were not smart enough to realize by fleeing directly toward their Lantern, their hive-mother, that they were leading the RAFians straight to it.
 
But the RAFians were prudent enough to keep at enough of a distance to keep the Black Lanterns from finally figuring out their plan.  It took about two hours of travelling, but they discovered the Lantern at the church.  Cloak was unsurprised about it being at a Westboro Baptist sect.  In a way, Fred Phelps embraced death -- the death of decency, the death of tact.  He was one of the more evil men to have every existed.  To actually advocate protesting at soldier funerals . . .

Using homosexuality as a scapegoat for everything. . . . Cloak knows a thing or two about scapegoating . . .
 
Cloak closed his eyes and gave his head a small shake.  It was probably the best for him not to allow hatred fetter his heart right now.  Now there was a task that needed to be done.

The RAFians marched into the grounds of this sect of that evil place, that garden of hatred, and saw that the Lantern was pretty much standing out in the middle of the grounds.  Cloak was secretly glad.  He didn't want to step foot in that evil place.  He wondered idly how humans could secrete such evil . . . but then again, Realm Walkers weren't any better. . . .

Cloak attempted to clear his mind.  Thoughts like these weren't helping matters.

The Black Lanterns were buzzing around their Lanterns like ants in an anthill or bees in a hive.  They sought to protect their mother, this lover of death and bitter enemy of life.

"Everyone," Richard commanded, "together now."

Then they launched an almighty Unity Beam, powered by the Great Power of Life.  This destroyed the Black Power Battery, the Lantern, explosively, while disintegrating all Black Power Rings reverting the wearer to dust or back to life that they had before the Black Lantern rings came to Earth.

Then the Great power dissipated from the RAFians.  With the Black Lanterns utterly destroyed, the Power was no longer needed.  So it faded away to nothingness, until such a time where it would be needed again.  The rings remains and the remains of the Black Lantern Power Battery, faded away into the blackness of space.

"Can we get out of this godforsaken spot?" Cloak said rather moodily.

"Yes.  Please," Gaz said, with similar disgust and similar reasons.

[redtailedsaffa]

I just discovered that I'm in this book, and here I am still stuck on book 23 

[Cloak]

Oh, you'll be in far more -- now that I've gotten a better sense of who you are, character-speaking.  In fact, you'll be one of the main protagonists in the, at time of posting, unwritten but planned-out "Solar Sucks".

Now, the last chapter of Book XXVIII.  Gonna be a bit on the short side.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Reflections and Introspections

With the Black Lantern debacle behind them, and virtually no trace of them left behind.  Those turned recall EVERYTHING that they underwent as a Black Lantern.  As such, the mayor parlayed with his higher-ups with the government, and RAF was named the primary institution to deal with such situations.  There was going to be a big ceremony and such.  Richard and the other mods will be there.  Cloak supposed that a majority of RAF would be present.

He would not.

He didn't want to be in the public eye.  He did not want to be a spectacle.  Frankly, all he wanted at the moment was some alone time, so he could write.  Perhaps transcribe his experiences in a memoir, though he knew he wasn't really old enough for a memoir -- although he was old, by Dweller standards.  Being 271 apparently is a big deal to Realm Dwellers.

But as much as he didn't want to dwell on it, his mind seemed to want to, of its own accord, go to the worst and most painful memories had.  He had tried to suppress them, but that never works.  He had a very tumultuous life before RAF offered him some stability.

He couldn't stand it, he got up from his bed, and paced around his thread, cloakless.  He made sure that the door was locked, as it would have been horrific if someone just opened it and he was without his cloak.

He kept mulling his thoughts over and over again.  He knew that he shouldn't dwell on the awful times -- the times with his mother, the absence of his father in his life, his grandfather's death, his involuntary separation from Shadow . . . it was enough to get a grown Realm Walker to cry.

KNOCK!  KNOCK!

"Cloak, it's time to go to the ceremony," Aquilai said through the door, though his voice was somewhat more muffled due to the Nexus fabric lining it as well as every other interior surface that may lead outside.

"I'm not going." Cloak said, surly.

"But you must!" Aquilai insisted.  "You were there when the Black Lanterns --"

"I'm aware, Aquilai," he said, far more calmly than he felt.  "I need some time to myself."

There was some silence, before Aquilai replied, "Well, if you're sure --"

"I am." Cloak said.

"Well, then," Aquilai said, with a chipper attitude he was doggedly determined to maintain, "see you later."

"Have fun," Cloak said, rather noncommittally.

Little did Cloak know that soon enough, far too soon, he would have to deal with these memories and would not be able to suppress them.

[Cloak]

Now, this book will be interesting, I think.  Especially for me.  Okay, maybe a short introductory chapter.
 

BOOK XXIX:
SOUL-SUCKERS
CHAPTER ONE:
Cold Chills

Cloak spent the next three days in this moody disposition and he continued to isolate himself.  Aquilai, Noelle, and Underseen were seen to express concern about this, but he wasn't in any danger.  He just needed time to himself, time to think.
 
Cloak had managed to focus on the positive aspects of his life -- something that tended to involve Shadow a lot.  He was unable to think about her without a smile or smirk on his face.  He remembered her when she was young, he remembered her when he saw her last.
 
But, unfortunately, this came with pangs of sorrow and loss.  He deeply missed his little Shadow, but felt that he was as good as forbidden from seeing her ever again.  This was one wound that he wondered if he would ever recover from.
 
Then his thoughts turned to his father . . . his father which he gave the epithet of Brute.  Now, he regreted it, as it stuck.  Cloak knew that his father wasn't a perfect man, but he also know that he wasn't nearly as bad as his mother, Ursa, made him out to be.  Cloak felt a measured amount of guilt about how he vilified him, about how he hated the man.  Especially when he did not deserve it.  In many ways, the two were vastly different . . . and yet . . . in many ways, they were alike.  They were both victims of his narcissistic, controlling mother.
 
"ACK!" Cloak said aloud, verbally scolding himself.  "DON'T think about things like that!!"
 
Of course, telling yourself not to think about things never works.  Not really.  And there were so many things that Cloak did not want to think about, so many memories that he did not want to relive.  He tried to suppress the more painful ones, but those were the ones that lingered, the ones that remained so powerfully formed, so ingrained, so sharp and clearly focused.

Suddenly, Cloak stood stock still.  Not even his tail moved in the slightest.  Cloak felt a chill, a chill so encompassing and so complete that it shook him out of trying to suppress these unhelpful and negative thoughts. . . .

What was worse . . . this chill was familiar. . . .

[Underseen]

WBC uses more than just homosexuality as a scapegoat. They blame the economy on Muslims last time I checked.

I am surprised that you released 6 chapters in one day. The Great Power was cool while it lasted.

This new book seems quite depressing only because Dementors always make me think about the third Harry Potter book and how sad Blacks' death was.

[Cloak]

Damn it -- lost a chapter.  Excuse my language, but I am very pissed right now.

Anyway, I didn't know that Underseen.

[redtailedsaffa]

Whole family but me was out this morning so I FINALLY got to catch up! I must say so far The First Master has been my favourite.

Great new chapters... so, we're not on the Public Enemies list anymore, are we? Interesting. Of course, as with most good periods, all it takes is one little bomb to blow it all to smithereens. Or maybe that's just my experience.

New book sounds good!