Memoirs of a RAFian

[DinosaurNothlit]

You know what Goom reminds me of right now?

This video.

Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions

[redtailedsaffa]

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking of!

[Cloak]

Well, Saffa, I hope you're prepared to make another PDF. This book's now done . . . after this chapter. Maybe short, it's essentially an epilogue to this particular book.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
New Toys, New Schemes

Parker was elated and estatic, having discovered that all the "Mega X" Armors, as he named them, were now at his beck and call. Cloak watched, mildly amused and benignly interested, at the sight. It was like watching a child opening his gifts on Christmas morn.

"Parker, you're going to wear yourself out," Cloak said, with a lighthearted chuckle. His words were lost to Parker's whooping laugh.

Cloak, despite himself, allowed himself a small smile. There was so little precious time for such levity nowadays. Especially in the line of work RAF was in.

"Oh, let him have his fun, Cloaky." Helen said, with a broad, yet subtle, smile. Her Star Sapphire aura seemed somewhat more vivid.

"Eh," Cloak said, with an indifferent shrug, "okay."

***

Malice sighed irritably. She did not like the levity the RAFians displayed. She found it boring, lacking the drama that she found so interesting, intriguing, and entertaining.

"Ravager!" she snapped angrily. She was always prone to anger when bored. "Ravager! Pull yourself together."

It transformed back into the lithe panther form, with the spy camera returning to join up with the rest of Ravager.

"'Bout time!" she said, waspishly. "C'mon, let's go."

Ravager made a small, low-pitched growl.

"Let's just say we need to learn . . . 'Spore'."

Ravager growled with polite interest.

"Oh, they'll hate it."

She smiled maliciously, with a laugh to match, as the two left their mysterious, mill-like hideout.

[redtailedsaffa]

If I was any sort of artist I'd draw the picture that formed in my head - a kid Parker playing with his armour.

Aaaand your PDF.

[Cloak]

If I was any sort of artist, this'd be a graphic novel series.

BOOK XLVI:
THE WORST PLAGUE
Chapter One:
We Are One

Cloak sat on his bed, with his legs crossed, his tail wrapped tightly against his right leg. He had his hands placed upon his knees. His eyes were closed, and his mind focusing on a rather fond memory of his beloved grandfather.

***

Cloak was a young cub, younger than Shadow. He was attempting to master the Earth element, and getting frustrated.

"What if I don't want to be an Elements master?!" he said, frustrated. "It's no fun."

Instead of barrading and scolding him from giving up, Sage knew well enough that subtle encouragement was the ticket.

"That's like saying you want to hide part of yourself from the world," the aquiline Realm Walker said gently. "It's a part of you. As I am."

He smiled, which looked fiercer due to his yellow, curved beak. "We are not so dissimilar, you know."

Music started up as Sage looked skyward, never losing his benign temperment.

"As you go through life, you'll see
There is so much we
Don't understand.
And the only thing we know
Is things don't always go
The way we planned."

Then he clapped his hand on Cloak's shoulder, then he continued.

"But you'll see every day
That I'll never turn away,
When it seems all your dreams come undone.
I will stand by your side,
Filled with hope and filled with pride.
We are more than we are.
We are one."

Then Cloak looked up at his grandfather and sang:

"If there's so much I must be
Can I still just be me?
The way that I am?"

Sage smiled and encouraged Cloak to probe further.

"Can I trust in my own heart,
Or am I just one part
Of some big plan?"

Sage shrugged before looking off at the distance, before looking Cloak in the eye, singing:

"Even those who are gone
Are with us as we go on.
Your journey has only begun!
Tears of pain, tears of joy,
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside.
We are one!
We are one, you and I,
We are like the earth and sky.
One family in the Nexus.
All the wisdom to lead,
All the courage that you need.
We are one."

Then the music ended, but Cloak didn't understand it then, and he told Sage this. His grandfather, the aquiline Elements Master, just smiled warmly and said, "You will. Some day."

***

Cloak opened his eyes. He thought he understood now. He and Sage, together, were one family.

Just like Cloak and his surrogate family members were one as well. One united -- Cloak thought of Rotiart -- one semi-united force. . . .

[redtailedsaffa]

Aww, flashback time.

[Cloak]

Yeah. Still tired, but here's a chapter (expect more this weekend, too).

CHAPTER TWO:
The Red Spores

Malice was standing outside a burrow of some sort. It was nightfall, all stars obscured by clouds, as if those very clouds were allied with the villainous Realm Walker. She had pulled her cloak tightly around her, as there was a blustery breeze billowing a moorish mist around.

"Hurry, Ravager," she prompted, addressing the burrow. She had sent lithe Ravager in, but her reasoning was not because she would not and could not fit.

Ravager wiggled out of the ravine burrow, having procured all of which Malice sought.

"Careful with that!" Malice snapped. "I have yet to modify them from affecting my kind!"

Ravager mewed its apologies, and began to be more cautious with bring out the corked glass container of red spores.

"This all of them?" she asked.

Ravager grunted affirmatively.

"Good." she said. "The Hate Spores will serve my scheme well."

The two walked off to further the scheme's goal. . . .

***

Cloak was continuing to meditate, relieving more pleasant memories. Nearly all featured Shadow or Sage. But then he sensed something powerful enough to cast a chill down his spine, all the way to the very tip of his tail.

This caused him to snap his eyes open. He shivered, but did not know why. He unfolded his legs and allowed them to dangle over the edge of his bed. He held hishead in his hands, pressing his palms over his eyes.

But why? Why did he sense something so powerfully evil, something so powerfully hateful?

Then he narrowed his eyes. This had to be some scheme of Malice's. If not directly, then indirectly -- she definitely had to have had a hand in it.

But part of him wondered if he was just jumping to conclusions. Misinterpreting things. . . .

[Underseen]

I liked chapter 1's song.

[redtailedsaffa]

Me too.

Book sounds pretty dark though.

[Cloak]

Sorry, no chapters today. My damn internet thinks it's being funny again. It probably not even allow me to post this.

[redtailedsaffa]

Well, okay then, I can go back to studying my Physics.

[Cloak]

Let's try this again. If it doesn't . . . well, I guess I'll throw this thing into a wood chipper.

CHAPTER THREE:
The Dispersal

Malice worked hard to alter the spores to be ineffective against Realm Walkers. She did not want be affected by them, for no known species capable of feeling is immune to hatred. Granted, there might be thouse whose abilities retard the effects, but Malice believed that reinfection would always be an option for such species or individuals.

She held a small vial of blood-red granules to the light. It was three-quarters of the way full.

Ravager perked up, growling lightly.

"Yes," Malice replied in response. "Yes, Ravager, I do believe its done."

Ravager got up, but Malice motioned for it to remain.

"No no no, Ravager," she said, still not even bothering with a look, still gazing lovingly at her modified Hate Spores. "No is not an auspicious enough time for the disperal. The timing has to be perfect."

Ravager ****ed its head to the right, obviously perplexed.

"Don't concern yourself with it," she said, gaze never leaving the vial. "I know what I am doing."

***

Cloak knew not why his dreams were filled with darkness and images of hatred. Nor why they had a pitch black and blood-red color scheme.

His eyes snapped open and he threw off his navy blue comforter, and threw his legs over the side of his bed. He just sat there, haunched over. Then he rubbed his face in a rather forceful manner.

He was plagued with this nightmares for more than a week. He was thoroughly sick of it. Perhaps they were warning him of something, but his somnolent mind could not conjure what.

What could these dreams possibly mean? His mind as too somnolently slow and muddy to grasp anything at the moment.

***

Malice decided not to directly infect the RAFians. They'd expect such at thing from her, though she was sure that they were unaware of her scheme.

No, she scoped out a lively, wild kindergarten class. It was recess, and they were playing. She deliberately makes the over large brush she hid within rustle when a dark brown-haired boy -- who looked so much like Daniel Witwickey of the G1 Transformers cartoon -- came over to retrieve a dull red kickball. Malice inticed the boy's innate curiosity by rustling the brush again.

Not knowing any better, the boy cautious approached . . . and Malice blew the spores directly into his face.

[redtailedsaffa]

You have demigod dreams, Cloaky.

[Cloak]

Mine are much more vague and unclear than a demigod's. Like trying to watch a tv with a flickering picture, or watching itnthrough heavy static.

CHAPTER FOUR:
Victim Zero*

The poor boys body stiffened and tensed as his body, his skin, his hair, his very clothing -- all of them became the exact same shade of blood-red with black highlights and accents. His eyes were the only exception -- they clouded over, becoming opaquely white, like cataracts. But he had no problem seeing.

"Interesting reaction," Malice muttered, blithely passive.

Then the boy was filled with incredible hatred. He was incapable of feeling anything else. His face contorted with rage, as hatred and rage often go hand-and-hand.

"Ah, that's the reaction I was looking for." Malice said happily, swishing her cloak, leaving Ravager's spy cam behind.

The kindergartner stormed away from the brush, the kickball quite forgotten.

"Stan, where's -- hey!" said another boy, with auburn hair and square glasses. The infected kindergartener, Stan, had pushed him. But this act had more to do than just mere pointless violence, the moment Stan touched this classmate, Stevie, he passed along the infection to the new boy. Stevie took on the same color scheme as Stan, including the cataract eyes.

The infection had spread to a couple of girls (Francine and Hayley) and another boy (Roger) before beginning to infect the adults (Jo, Glenda, Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stu, and Brian).

***

"Veil's bells**," Cloak muttered as the alarm was sounded throughout RAF. He was still groggy and a wee bit grumpy. But he seized his eponymous cloak and left his thread to see what was the matter, unaware that a team was already sent out.

***

Helen, Sakki, Faerie, Gulliver, and a reluctant Rotiart went to investigate the goings-on at the school, which by this time was entirely affected and infected. Yet quarantine was not called around the school, as anyone who got to close was infected by those already afflicted.

"What the bloody hell's going on here?" Sakki said, her concern genuine.

"Dunno," Helen said, worriedly. "But perhaps we should keep our distance."

"What?" Rotiart snorted derisively. "No way! It's more than likely nothing!"

"You're being careless, whelp!" Faerie snarled.

"And you're being overcautious," he countered snottily.

He was standing the closest to the brick school building, near a window.

"Rotiart, I don't think --" Gulliver, a friend of Rotiart's, began to protest.

But it was too late. The window was broken, and the infected lady principal touched Rotiart. He had assumed the Mark had immunized him from this threat.

He was gravely mistaken and infected.

---
*Reference to Patient Zero.

**Realm Walker variation of "Hell's bells".

[redtailedsaffa]

It's a contagious Dalek disease!

Sorry, was up the whole night watching Doctor Who. Didn't feel like studying.

... And the Marks can't protect us? Brilliant...