Memoirs of a RAFian

[Underseen]

Robotic Andalites were so cool, but nothing can replace the real Noelle.

[redtailedsaffa]

Just goes to show when you're angry you can screw everything up.

[Cloak]

Too true, Underseen, Saffa.

I just realized the evil stepmother and Timothy Spall's character in "Enchanted" has a similar relationship to Malice and Abomination, only the latter tends to be more violent. . . . Actually, now I think of it, I believe someone brought this to my attention before.

Anyway, I've come up with an additional two ideas "Princess Pearls" (#158, or #CLVIII) and "Attack of the Killer Produce" (#159, or #CLIX).

EDIT: And now planning the chapters of "The Coming of Galacticron" -- but I haven't gone beyond the first chapter yet.

And the list -- and, yes, I fully intend to write all these books.

• 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 CLIV: The Contingency

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

• Book CLV: Muppet, Muppet Man

Parker and Gaz are turned into Muppets. ()

• Book CLVI: Larval Ambush

The RAFians must deal with insectoid creatures who are parasitoids with humans.

• Book CLVII: As the World Doesn't Turn

The RAFians must stop a group of feline aliens from stopping the world from rotating.

• *Book CLVIII: Princess Pearls

A few girls of RAf discover the Princess Pearls.

• *Book CLVIX: Attack of the Killer Produce

The RAfians must deal and cope with killer produce.

• *Book CLX: Moonscarred Menace

The RAfians investigate mysterious disappearances on Moonscar Island.

[Cloak]

First chapter of the day -- dunno how many I can post today, but I'll try for a minimum of three. This one's kind of short.
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Aggro

Back at RAF, Aquilai, Goom, and Yarin seem to be unsatisfied with how large and bulky the De-Roboticizer had to be.

"I still think we can miniaturize it!" Yarin was heard proclaiming to Phoenix.

"But Malice's Roboticizer, and the schematics, were destroyed," Phoenix countered reasonably. "There won't be a need --"

"So it'll just be a busywork project," Aquilai shrugged. "Cloak has the RAFparodies, Gaz has her reviews, and we three have this."

"Well, it is your time and energy," Phoenix said, thoughtfully, "what you do with it is your business."

"You never know," Goom said in an off-handed way, "it may have a future application that we don't forsee at the moment."

With that, the three went to work.

***

It was a couple of hours later where Bear went WHUMPH! And his body was partially Re-Roboticized again.

"What? Bear!"

"So . . . hard . . . to fight . . ." he muttered. He was fighting very hostile and rageful feelings that were horribly amplified by the Re-Roboticization. It was as if he was fighting an inner Appoplexian, and sooner or later, he knew, he'd tire and lose the battle.

<Wait -- if Bear's been Re-Roboticized . . .> Saffa said in her hawk form. Her eyes widened.

"The others!" Underseen gasped. "Gaz! Horse! Noelle!"

The fearful suspicions and assumptions of the two turned out be accurate. Gaz, Horse, and Noelle were flesh and bone no more. Once again, they were metal and wires and circuits. But, unlike Bear, they were completely Re-Roboticized, and could not resist going aggro.

Cloak was on the scene immediately. He saw what had happened -- the De-Roboticizer's effects were only temporary.  He could have berated himself for not realizing sooner, but that was best saved for later.

"Calm down, you three," Cloak warned, with a suggestion of a plea in his voice, "don't make me do something I'll surely regret."

[Cloak]

Second chapter comin' up.  And a bit of a spoiler -- something will happen to Abomination in Book L (#50), I think. . . .
 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Cloak and the Mental Metal People

"Let me tell you sumthin', Cloak!" Gaz said, in a rather flawless Appoplexian vernacular, with an accusatory finger, "you aren't nearly as strong as you think!"
 
Well, at least they're not talking in the third-person, like an Appoplexian, Cloak thought, before switching to speech, "Please, guys, don't force me to act against you. You know I will."
 
"Let me tell you sumthin'," Noelle said, "you ain't got nothing!"
 
Then the three attacked Cloak in their addled, hostility-increased states.
 
"Then so be it," Cloak sighed. He raised his hands and the three's attack stopped before the first strike. They hovered in front of him, struggling against an unseen force.
 
Cloak hated himself for it. He felt like a bloodbender -- something he considered quite shameful.
 
"I hoped you wouldn't . . . wouldn't force me to this. . . ."
 

***

Meanwhile, back at Malice's rather easy-to-find headquarters, she was still seething.
 
"Where the bloody Veil were you?" she said without even turning around. She knew it was Abomination, and her anger had not abated but nor had it straightened much.
 
"Attending to the repairs that you set before me," Abomination said, with a little quaver to his voice which went unnoticed by Malice.
 
"You didn't come when I called."
 
"I --" Abomination dare not voice his doubts about the sincerity of there relationship or the uncertainty he had of the sincerity of Malice's feelings. For the moment, his brushed all that aside and thought up the most plausible lie he could muster, that he could conjure, "I -- I didn't -- didn't hear you."
 
Malice glared at him for a moment through narrowed eyes, before saying, "Very well. The slaves should be reactivated by now. Gather them and send them here for new instructions."
 
"Y-yes, my love," Abomination said, and went to her bidding as Malice brooded some more.
 
Abomination knew he wasn't happy, living in a world of fear and verbal abuse. But he now labored under the pitiable delusion that he could change her . . .

[Cloak]

Third chapter, but probably not the last today. And I'll apologize in advance to Abby if she doesn't like her characterization here.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Portability and Purpose

Goom, Aquilai and Yarin, shut up in the lab, were blissfully unaware of this incident.  They just continued to improve upon the De-Roboticizer, their decision to do so was more serendipitous than one could have hoped.  It was just very unfortunate, however, that they were nowhere near finished.
 
They were unaware of the failure of the first, rather rudimentary, De-Roboticizer -- until Abby burst into the room and told  them that the first De-Roboticizer failed.  She told them what Cloak had been forced to do.
 
"-- And he doesn't look very happy about it at all." Abby finished.
 
"Of course not," Aquilai replied, looking very serious and grim, "he despises Bloodbenders."
 
"But . . . he's not manipulating their blood." Abby said, confused. "They haven't even got blood anymore, have they?"
 
"And he can't bloodbend," Aquilai said, "but the principle's the thing. He can manipulate the metal -- it's one of the Six Elements."
 
"Six elements? What --"
 
"Water, Wood, Earth, Metal, Fire, and Air," Goom answered as he looked at the readings for the new portable De-Roboticizer with more intensity than ever. He knew that the importance of this device just became top priority.
 
"Oh," Abby said.  "Anyway, we need you to fix --"
 
"We're already on it, young RAFian," Yarin said, his four hands working feverishly. "But the portable prototype won't be ready for a few hours."
 
"But . . . but we haven't got hours," Abby protested.  "We got minutes at most."
 
"Why?" Goom said, finally looking up at the relatively-new RAFian.
 
"Gaz, Noelle, and Horse aren't the only Robians that are here . . ." she replied enigmatically.
 

***

Cloak was holding himself back, trying to keep his emotions in check, thereby keeping his powers in check.  He was able to reasonably "mechbend" -- that is able to manipulate the metal within any mech or robot -- although he was not a bender by the "Avatar: the Last Airbender" terms.  Not at all.

Cloak managed to Earthsight it a fraction a second before he managed to dodge it's attack.  Then he did the "mechbend" thing on the Roboticized Kinecceleran.  Cloak knew that the others would show up before long.

He was right, of course.  He managed to "mechbend" all of them, all seventeen.  It was not without effort, however.  It was not without strain.  Cloak exerted a large amount of energy in just keeping them all immobile and frozen in place.  He did not know how much longer he could maintain this, how much longer before he exhausted his abilities.  This was a risk, it's true.  But it was a risk he was willing to take -- no, it was a risk that he had to take.  For the safety of his friends, of the world.

"I hope Abby hurries," Cloak muttered, revealing it was he who had sent Abby to Goom, Aquilai, and Yarin.

[Cloak]

A fourth chapter, and it'll be a bit short.
 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Exhausted and Explosions

Cloak's energy reserves were depleting, and he knew it.  But he still obstinately refused to give into the fatigue that he felt -- and he felt the exhaustion growing in him, like some cancerous curse.  Cloak abjectly refused to give in to it, as he knew the importance of keeping these seventeen from running rampant.
 
"Cloak, you'll overexert yourself!" came Parker's cry.
 
"I . . . don't . . . care!" Cloak snarled, stubbornly.  "This must be done until the De-Roboticizer is completed!"
 
"Cloak --"
 
"Don't argue with me!!" Cloak said, momentarily distracted.  He relaxed his hold over the seventeen in that moment, and, cursing his own stupidity, had Parker go after the Robotized Opticoid.  Parker took this up with great gusto, as Cloak maintained his control over the remaining sixteen, this time determined not to let his focus waver.  Not even when he heard the explosions, unaware that the lab was hit.

Parker manged to successfully recapture the Robotized Opticoid, with the help of Helen (who froze him in a pink Star Sapphire crystal construct).

"Good," Cloak said, not even looking in that direction. "Now, go see what the bloody Veil is taking those three so long!!!"

***

The four in the lab were recovering.  The explosion only blasted a hold through about have of the exterior wall.  But the original De-Roboticizer was done for.  Fortunately, the portable version, while incomplete, was fine.

"That was lucky," Abby said, noticing this.

"Yes, and let's not push it any longer.  Goom, Aquilai," Yarin said, calling his fellows over, "time to get back to work."

The three had just began to get back to work when Parker came in, and they told him what had happened, as they continued to work.

[Cloak]

It's a very good day for chapters, apparently.
 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Device Complete!

"Parker, you can stop that," Aquilai chided, "we're going as fast as is prudent."
 
"Cloak is getting tired, and I think he's overexerting himself." Parker said.
 
"Cloak is fine," Goom said aptly, "he could do more.  He's being so crass because he doesn't like what he's doing being like bloodbending."
 
It was true -- Cloak may have been exhausted, but it could have been exacerbated by the fact that he absolutely hated doing this.  Especially to friends, and what he considered to be innocent victims.
 
"He looked exhausted," Parker remarked, still concerned.
 
"Probably because of his hatred for such an act -- that wire's loose, Yarin -- and he may not like it, but we need a little more time." Goom said.

"He's not gonna like that," Abby said.

"It's not like he has much of a choice," Aquilai said solemnly. "It's nearly done, anyway."

Then they closed a small panel.

"And now it is done," Yarin proclaimed.

***

Cloak wondered idly why this was taking so much effort.  He's done amazing feets with this element, after all.  This should be nothing . . . perhaps he was expending more energy than he need to, more energy than he ought?  Cloak stood up straight, while keeping his hands raised up.  He stopped expending so much energy needlessly.  He found immediate results.  He wasn't as tired, and he was actually recouping some lost energy.

Cloak sighed to himself, while keeping his focus, and shook his head.  He had forgotten one of Sage's most basic lessons -- do not use any more energy than is necessary to complete an objective.  Otherwise it could lead to meaningless, pointless wastes of energy.  Cloak, in his reluctance and hatred of the act that he must commit, had proven that particular lesson of Grandpa Sage's. But even those experienced in an art are not immune from forgetting the basics.

He could easily wait for the De-Roboticizer now.

[redtailedsaffa]

I know that feeling of wanting to give it your all even though there are several people shouting in your face.

Brilliant chapters!

[Cloak]

*Nods.*

Too right, Saffa.

Now, that'll probably be the last chapter for a couple of hours.

EDIT: New -- but short -- chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
De-Robotization

"We're here, Cloak. How you holding up?"

"Oh, just lovely," Cloak answered dryly, unable to concoct a more scathingly sarcastic remark. "You had better have that thing finished, Aquilai. I'm starting to get bored."

"Lower Horse down a bit and we can try it out." Yarin instructed.

Cloak complied and Yarin took out what appeared to be a golden steering wheel the size of a saucer ans pressed it to her head.

Cloak lost the power to restrain Horse as she was no longer metsl and circuitry, but flesh and bone again.

"It works!" Saffa and Abby exclaimed.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Parker said.

"Deal with that later," Cloak said. "Do Gaz and Noelle now."

Within minutes, they were back, groggy but flesh again.

"Great," Cloak said, "now the -- stop struggling! -- The others. Turn them back."

Cloak suspected that Malice had programmed them to resist De-Roboticization. A protocol that the Robo-RAFians' Marks had undone and burned through.

"Hurry! They're really struggling now!" Cloak warned and complained at the same time.

But then Cloak lost focus and the Roboticized Slitheen, Wookie, and human teen managed to free themselves, and dodge Cloak's attempts to freeze them again.

"Forget about them," Cloak ordered the others, "revert these first!"

They did -- first, the Kinecceleran. Then the Opticoid. Then the Pyronite and grail. Then then the Galvan, the Klingon, and the Vulpimancer. Then the Perk Gourmand and, finally, the Tetramand.

At long last, Cloak could lower his hands. It was over . . .

Nearly.

[Underseen]

These are really good. I am at the library and I now know how you feel with a time limit on computers.

[Cloak]

It's inconvenient, right, Underseen?

Another chapter (what the heck, I might as well finish off this book today).

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Back to Flesh

"Aquilai, Goom, Yarin," Cloak said wearily. "Our work is not yet over."

The three understood at once what Cloak had meant. With that the hunt was on.

***

The easiest to find, by far, was the Slitheen. In lieu of taking human skins (although it still could, having a built in compression device) it could project a holographic form.

However, Earthsight easily unveiled it.

Cloak easily found him, disguised as an overweight teacher with an ample gut and walrus mustache in a brown suit and black vest with gold fastenings.

"Hold up there," Aquilai said. "We like to have a word."

The Roboticized Slitheen dropped the pretense and prepared to attack -- still compelled by Malice's order.

But it found suddenly that he could not move. Cloak had hidden in the nearby forest, and had slinked into position, like the cat that he was.

Aquilai easily De-Roboticized him, and arrested him -- the Slitheen were guilty of several criminal acts on Earth.

"Why was he here?" Yarin asked pensively. "Why did it not return to Malice?"

"I would think it obvious," Cloak said. "Malice has Walked. She's no longer in-universe."

"But . . . why? Why has she left?"

" To that," Cloak said, "I haven't a clue."

"But you've a suspicion." Aquilai said shrewdly, as they went after the Roboticized Wookie.

***

They found the Roboticized Wookie in a forest. They found it with some difficulty, but De-Roboticized it easily enough.

The human teenager however hid in Comic-Con . . . which Cloak felt just plain awkward going into. It took them several hours and a more than a few honest mistakes before finding the real one and De-Roboticized him immediately.

"Ugh, that was too challenging," Yarin said.

"All's well that ends well." Cloak looked around self-consciously, then said, "Can we get out of here now?"

[Cloak]

Now, let's end this book, which turned out better than I anticipated. Very short chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Abomination Abuse

"S-sorry, love," Abomination said as he cowered before Malice's rage. He was fighting tears. "I'm s-sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry!" Malice snarled, glaring at the larger, but emotionally fragile Realm Walker. "You know, Ab, that's not really acceptable anymore. All my schemes . . . all would have come to fruition."

She had weird, wistful look upon her harsh Tasmanian she-devil face, as if she was transported. Then her face darkened, and her eyes were like dark suns.

"Then you . . . you just have to go and bungle it!"

"B-b-but . . . but I . . ." Abomination stuttered.

"Save it!!!" Malice roared. She was starting to get careless. If she made any more noise, she'd attract unwanted attention. But fortunately for her, the two hadn't Walked back to the Nexus. They were in some unknown universe. "I'm not interested in your excuses."

"But I wasn't --" Abomination attempted reason. But a person like such as Malice is uninterested in things like truth and reason.

"I said save it!" Malice snarled. "My plans were perfect, especially this one. Then you didn't pull your weight. --"

And she went on a rather violent tirade. Abomination soon realized that it would just be easier to accept the blame --although it wasn't his to take -- than try to convince Malice of the truth. She continued to barrade Abomination, and he just took it.

"Huh?" a sudden voice said as a young child peered into the alleyway which the two were.

Malice heartlessly flicked her wrist, unleashing a whisp of energy which twisted his neck until it broke. She never batted so much as an eye.

"And to the RAFians," Malice said, as she prepared to Walk away, "a Vox on their house."

[theyoungphoenix]

Great chapters!! You did a good job with me. The newcomer, not understanding much in the ways of RAF.

Go Cloak!!

[Cloak]

Thanks, Abby.  Anyway, I dunno how many chapter I'm gonna be able to post.  Much less this week -- it's gonna be very busy for me.
 

BOOK XXXII:
RICHARD IS MISSING
CHAPTER ONE:
A Questionable Mission

"Richard, I must register my concern of the advisability of this mission," Cloak said.

"Yes," Richard said, wearily, "and, after the last thirty-one* times, it's getting a bit redundant."

"We do not know this thing is," Cloak said, urging Richard to keep his distance from the roughly egg-shaped, organic-looking thing.

"It looks familiar," he said.

"It could be dangerous," Cloak countered, deadly serious.

"It's inert," Richard pointed out.

"That doesn't mean that danger lurks within," Cloak insisted. "Like Venus flytraps."

"Don't be so paranoid."

"Paranoia is one thing," Cloak said, "caution is quite another!"

Richard -- rather recklessly in Cloak's opinion -- approached the odd pod-like device that apparently just blossomed in this deserted area.

Richard had decided to investigate this himself, tired on sitting on the sidelines. Cloak immediately sensed danger in this, and he went with.

Anyway, Richard reached out to touch it as Cloak roared, "RICHARD, NOOOO!"

To late, his skin made contact with the cool, rough-textured device.

Suddenly, a blinding flash blinded the two. It was strong enough to knock Cloak off his feet, while Richard had vanished.

Before lapsing into unconsciousness, he realized why he was so weary of the device. It was at this moment that he recognized the design of the pod.

He muttered, "Vox . . ."

---
* Spell Check said the proper way to spell "thirty-one" is "thirteen" . . . the words don't even LOOK alike.