Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Thanks. I might post another chapter a little later on, but I'm quite tired . . . So if I do, it'll probably be short. Unless I really get into it.

*wonders if he offended Saffa*

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
The Czarnian and the RAFians . . . Don't Get Along

"Sheddup," Bolo said, point a flamethrower at Cloak. He fired it, but was surprised when the fire abruptly changed direction and head back toward him, as if the Realm Walker. Cloak had no qualms in doing this as he remembered the Czarnian trait of regeneration, rather like Demos's, only somewhat slower.

"Care to stop making yourself out to be a fool, Czarnian?"

"Oh, I know you didn't just cal the Main Man a fool."

"More like the Pain Man," Saffa muttered.

"Stuff it, girly," Bolo growled. "Now, give me my bounty."

"Ooh," Faerie said as flippantly as only she could, "someone's gettin' coal for Christmas."

"That's a eleven months away," morfowt said.

Bolo ignored this. He didn't know or care what Christmas was. He had rep to maintain -- he always got his bounty. Always. He wasn't about to let these fraggin' interlopers interfere, and this one in the cloak, he was the one who insulted Bolo repeatedly. He had to go down.

Cloak anticipated this attitude. "Don't do it, Bolo."

"What? Blow the frag out you?" Bolo said, as his bike puttered mutiously.

"Don't challenge me, Czarnian." the Elements Master warned, voice even. Though his eyes began to glow scarlet-gold. "It won't end well for you."

"Oh, why so serious? We can liven up this party." Bolo said, balling up his fists, clearly planning to use them.

"This is serious." Gaz muttered. "You Kiss reject."

"Hey-ey-ey-ey, hold on there, pretty lady." the womanizing Bolo said, clearly not taking it seriously, and overconfident in his reputation for always getting his mark. "Let go on a date first before you deride my kisses."

"And now I need a shower," Gaz quipped, obviously repulsed and revolted.

"Why don't we just hand them over?" Aquilai asked.

"Well, I'm not really being too protective over the Veils," Cloak said. "It's the chains that I don't want in this Czarnian's possession."

[Cloak]

Okay, as compensation for the lack of a chapter yesterday, here's another one.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Diplomacy Fails

"I don't really care," the Czarnian said. "I just want my bounty. If I get to bust a few skulls along the way, well then, that's a plus."

"Let's mention the fact they escaped from you thrice before, then," Yarin said.

Bolo's facade of brutish carelessness and rough indifference seemed to evaporate in an instant. He got very angry.

"They never escaped from me!" Bolo snarled. The Veils snickered. "Hey, shut up!"

Bolo might have looked frightening to someone unaccustomed with dealing with frightening things on a nearly everyday basis. The RAFians were not so easily intimidated by a bullying brute.

"Oh, I see." Cloak said, his eyes narrowed. "You've never had Veils as bounties before. You captured them ignorant of their abilities."

"Hey!" he protested.

"So, one of them possessed you," Cloak continued, undaunted and unintimidated.

One of the Veils shuttered, and said (revealing himself to be Androvex), "It was like wearing underwear that had been soaked in mud and gasoline."

"If I didn't have to bring you in alive . . ." Bolo snarled.

"Alive? Well, you lost my support." Aquilai said, surly. "That, and you don't seem to thing these things out."

"Sheddep!" Bolo said, pulling out a gun and began to fire indiscriminately, but only managed to get two shots off. It nailed both Veils, both in a leg. Of course, this gave Bolo an idea, but found his head hurting. Yarin attempting to telepathically force him into unconsciousness. It was like trying to wrestle with a tyrannosaur, but due to the Czarnian's brutishness and not his intellect.

"AniDragon! Bind the Veils now!" Cloak ordered, as he sunk the Czarnian in the earth to his neck.

"But --"

"No time for doubt. Just do it!" Cloak snarled a lot harsher than he intended. "Ash. Underseen restrain their tongues."

"Wha--" Underseen said.

"You heard me!"

[Shenmue654]

~They certainly seem to get into a large number of interesting adventures, both with out-universe villains and in-universe threats. There is a shared universe here, built among the RAFians, largely it seems about both writing and the past of the users.

We are also glad we were not the only ones who conceived of a shared Internet communication as a "place where people were" early on.

Yepyep, keep the good stuff flowing Cloak. Also, this makes me want to watch Doctor Who.

[redtailedsaffa]

Yes, do watch Doctor Who.

The personalities we create for ourselves and RAF only make it all the more fuller.

[Underseen]

Restrain...their... tongues

[Cloak]

Um . . . thanks, Shenmue. I think.

Too right, Saffa.

And yes, Underseen. Restrain their long, whippish tongues.

'Nother chapter methinks.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Get Lost

"It is done." AniDragon said, withdrawing her hands from Gynecovyx's chest and head. "But I must register my concern again about the permanence of th-- you two can let go of their tongues now."

Underseen shuttered. "That, by far, was the grossiest thing I've ever had to do."

"You know you liked it," Androvex taunted, though his taunt was weak.

Underseen looked at him, shaking his head, muttering, "Pathetic."

Cloak withdrew the chains from the depowered Veils. They fell to the ground rather comically, staggering to get up, as if their limbs were numb, which they were.

"Now, then, Lobo," Cloak said, addressing the Czarnian.

"Bolo!"

"Right, my mistake." Cloak continued with indifference. "Bolo, you may have your bounty. They pose no danger to anyone anymore."

"Cloak, again, I --" AniDragon began to protest.

"Doubt your ability's effectiveness," the Realm Walker finished. "But I don't, AniDragon. Even if they should regain their abilities, there is nothing they will be able to do about it on Incarcecon."

"Wh-wh-what?" Androvex said, fearfully. "Not there? Please tell me, not there."

"What's Incarcecon?" Shenmue asked.

"Later," Cloak said. "Bolo, take them and go. And I hope, by the First Light, we never see you again."

"Aww. You're gonna make me blush with all this sentimentality." Bolo said.

"Get lost."

"I'll miss you too." the Czarnian said, smirking, as he gathered up the two Veils, numb and stiff with shock, and left to deliver them to their fate.

"So, Cloak," Shenmue said.

"Incarcecon, right?" Cloak said. "It's a prison planet."

"I think we gathered that," Saffa said.

"But . . ." AniDragon said, uncertain.

"What if their powers come back? Even if that happened, they would still be marooned. The jailors are Galvanic Mechamorphs, no organic bodies for them to possess." Cloak said. "You saw how fearful Androvex was. There is no way off for him and Gynecovyx. Even if the power binding was temporary."

[redtailedsaffa]

Reminds me of last night's Supernatural episode (though I don't watch it, I picked up this quote from my Twitter feed):

"We don't see you here again. Or else..."
I'm dead. Yes, I know. I love you too."

[Cloak]

That is an apt comparison, I believe. Anyway, Saffa get ready for PDFing -- when you're not busy, naturally.

• BOOK CCXXXIV: "R.O.C." -- Rotiart, in another dimensional timeline, takes over RAF and either kills or subjegates the RAFians.
• BOOK CCXXXV: "Surrogate Suppliments" -- RAFians are divided over robotic surrogacy, a la "Surrogates".
• BOOK CCXXXVI: "Ghost Town" -- The RAFians must race to save the lives of eight children from being sacrificed to unleash a cunning force.

And here's the last chapter. Well, of this book.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Welcome to RAF, You

Saffa, Underseen, and Abby were introducing newer RAFians:

"We are the welcoming RAF creatures.
We're very pleased to meet chas!
Senors and senoritas, too!
The users we feature
You know would never eat cha!"

"Er, mostly." Saffa said.

Then they continued:

"We sing so very sweet to you
Welcome to RAF, you.
You, you, you.
With Tyclairecorns (ooh), and the Realm Walkers too.
Welcome to RAF, you, you, you.

Show some self-reliance
Come in and see our RAF clients
But beware Pootang attacks.
You'll learn about Roxeans,
And advertising tie-ins,
And maybe learn some literary facts.
Welcome to RAF, you.

Wipe off your eyes, so you can see
The sentient star, Mewtwo, and the Chee.
The shingami, the faeries, the Gryphon are all hairy
The Goombas, Dracomansas, Stroggs, and Vampyras
Seals and Nyacs and the non-species, and the . . .
(rambles on) . . . Strogg!
Welcome to the RAF, you, you, you."

Then Saffa sang solo, with a pencil tucked behind her ear:

"We're literary creatures.
We're very pleased to meet chas.
I haven't written this verse yet!
But, uh, I will write it, and it will sound much better
Than when we had the wet, wet, wet."

Then they sang together:

"Welcome to the RAF, you.
With the Bota-kun and the Geeks too.
Welcome to the RAF, you, you, you."

***

Meanwhile, Aquilai was keeping to himself. Cloak understood, and gave him his space. But there was one exchange between the two of them that Cloak would have been hard pressed to forget.

"Would you have done it if it had been Shadow?" he had asked.

"What?"

"If the Veils had killed Shadow, would you have been so lenient with them?"

"They would be incapable of --"


"You know very well what I mean." Aquilai cut across the Realm Walker. "If someone murdered her, would you have been so lenient?"

Cloak said nothing.

"It's always easier when it's someone else's burden, isn't it?"

[redtailedsaffa]

Ouch. The question left me cold.

And here's the PDF:

[Cloak]

Thanks, Archiver.

Anyway, my Kindle Fire had decided to turn my Wifi off (though I can get online and post through my 3DS), so I'm unable to get online with it.  Maybe I can never get online with it again, though that is a extremely pessimistic view.

I'll try to post the first chapter later today, after work.

[Shenmue654]

That question was pretty powerful. The psychological implications of murder and tragedy, and of other people trying to judge another person's reaction to it....get sticky, and interesting.

Also, YAY! I got into the story. <3

[Cloak]

Right. Well, I finished planning out Book CCXXXV, the ending of which might make you annoyed -- but in a good way . . . I think.

BOOK LV:
DANGEROUS DEALS
CHAPTER ONE:
In Session

Abby sang, as she gathered her books:

"We're sad we're confessin'
That school's back in session."

She pulls out a water gun with a mischievious smile, as Saffa glares at it.

"I sure learned my lesson."

Saffa slammed her in her locker, as she sang:

"I actually had fun!"

Gaz sang:

"I'm filled with elation,
I'm back from THAT vacation!"

Alia sang, as she was being pursued by a nerdy guy:

"For my next regeneration,
I'm coming back as a nun!"

The teacher sang:

"Welcome back to school, you few,
For a new school year."

The students declared:

"Yikes! A test!"
"I need rest!"
"I'm living in fear!"

Gaz sang:

"Gotta commute to the city."

Ash sang:

"At least I got my pretty."

Duff sang:

"No more playtime,
No more stay time."

RAFians sang:

"We've been outdone."

Abby added, in song:

"And I am the champ."

Saffa pulled a string, as she sang:

"And now you are just damp."

A cascade of water falls on Abby. She twitched a bit, and sqid, "No fair."

[Gaz]

Keep up the good work.

[redtailedsaffa]

I'm actually in uni, but eh.

[Cloak]

Yeah, RAF U.

. . . Man, that sounds like an expletive. Anyway, my internet is being iffy.

CHAPTER TWO:
Who Needs You?

Demos was left to his own devices, but without access to his secret lab, he really did not have much to do. His lab privileges were suspended after the Maul incident. He wandered away from the forum, walking aimlessly. He wore an old silk suit, but still looked slick.

"Hello there, brother," a throaty, inhuman voice said.

Demos gritted his teeth. His eyes took on a stony edge. "Shenecron."

"It's been a while," the skeletal dragon demon said.

Demos turned round, eyes alight with anger. "Not long enough."

"C'mon, I have a deal --" Shenecron began conspiratorially.

"NOT interested."

Now Shenecron matched Demos in anger. "Aw, who needs you?"

"And who needs you?!

I need you like a hole in the head!"

"And I need you like a bug in the bed!"

"You're constantly biting the claw that feeds you!"

Then they bith sang:

"Who needs you?  Not me!"

Then Shenecron sang:

"I need you like a pain in the gut!"

"Oh yeah?!
Well, I need you like a kick in the butt!
You truly disgrace the race that breeds you!"

Both sang again:

"Who needs you?  Not me!"

Shenecron sang:

"Who needs you, you weepy, clawsy creature?!
You're ugly as sin,
Just a scraggly bag of skin!"

"And who needs you?
Your tail is your finest feature.
You're thick-skulled and a bore,
Dragging your telly 'round the floor!"

"Oh, I need you like a sock in the nose!"

"And I need you like a rock in my toes!
I'm shocked and appalled by your behavior!"

"Don't try being nice,
Because that won't save ya!"

Then they sang in duet again:

"I'm better off without you I can see!
So, who needs you?  Not me!"

Demos sang:

"I need you like a cold in July!"

"And I need you like a punch in the eye!"

"Of all the dumb beasts,
None precedes you!"

Together, they sang:

"Who needs ya?  Not me!"

Shenecron sang:

"I need you like I need a disease!"

"Oh, and I need you like the universes need to freeze!
For quickness of mind, a rock outspeeds you!"

Again, they sang together.

"Who needs you?  Not me!"

Shenecron sang:

"Who needs you, you cross-eyed crazy critter?!
You twitter and squawk,
And knock me when you talk!"

"And who needs you, slack, no-foot quitter?
You're bitter and you're mad,
Cause you're as ugly as Dad!"

"Oh, I need you like I need more teeth!"

"I lift a rock, and find YOU underneath!
I'm deeply upset by your demeanor."

"I know that I'm mean, but you're the meaner."

Demos muttered sarcastically, "Clever."

Then they sang together:

"No more do I care that we'll ever be."

Demos proclaimed:

"The words are 'sibling incompatibility'!"

"Not only that, we don't get on, you see!"

Thwn they sung together antagonistically:

"Who needs you,
Except the race that breeds you,
Who needs you?!"

Demos:

"Not me!"

"Not me!"

"Not me!"

"Not me!"

Then they both sang:

"Not me!"

After a moment's hesitation, Shenecron said, "Fine. Suit yourself."

Then he swept away from Demos, muttering, "Stupid RAFians. Made him go soft."