Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Gonna try to getbup another four chapters today . . . a tall order, I know.

CHAPTER NINE:
The Judoon and the Knights

"Do not interfere with my pursuit," the Judoon said.

"You have no amnesty or diplomatic immunity here, Hornnose," Aquilai said, thoroughly distemptered. "You haven't a right to order me around or call the shots."

"Do not interfere with my pursuit," the Judoon said mulishly.

"I swear," Aquilai said, irritably, "I'd make better headway with a brick wall."

The Judoon said nothing, but may not have understood Aquilai's frustration. Aquilai was the only escort the Judoon ever saw. Abby, Saffa, Ash, Noelle, Rocklobster and Underseen were hiding in different forms or disguises. Even Aquilai didn't know what they were disguised as. They had decided to allow the Judoon to proceed on his mission, and allowed him to think he's doing it on his terms.

They didn't tell him that he could, though. But, by the same token, they really didn't say that he couldn't do it by his own terms, just that he had to abide by the laws of the governing body here. Unfortunately, even this had its consequences.

"No, no, no!" Aquilai said, "Leave him alone!"

The Judoon had gone after a jaywalker. He had decided to follow the rules strictly, and sought to impose such strictness upon everyone, in addition to his mission to get the Plasmavore. Needless to say, Aquilai was very stressed out.

"No!" was his constant refrain, followed less frequently with "Stop that!", "Leave him/her/it alone!", and "Knock it off!"

"I told you not to interfere in my mission, Time Lord," the Judoon said.

"Your mission is to capture the Plasmavore, you inattentive twit!" Aquilai said, venting some of the frustration he felt. "Not punish the citizens and inhabitants of this city for every misdemeanor! Granted,  some of them may have d-- never mind. Get your ample posterior over here and let's get going."

"You hand me orders, Time Lord," the Judoon said.

"You do not have sovereign-- you are not the boss here, microbrain," Aquilai said, deciding midsentence to dumb it down from this bounty hunter.

He was about to continue, when he noticed two figures in gleaming armor coming toward them. Outraged at the audacity of the openness of the alien form. They were obviously Knights -- coming at the worst possible moment, as usual.

"Oh, lovely," Aquilai snarled quietly.

[redtailedsaffa]

You wouldn't have expected comic relief from a book with such a... er... bloody name.

[DinosaurNothlit]

This CANNOT end well. 

[Cloak]

Sorry about the hiatus guys. Just a little longer wait.

CHAPTER TEN:
Track's End

Cloak bent down to look at a dark stain upon the ground. He touched it and brought his fingertips to his nose. Sniffed. It was blood. His olfactory sense wasn't as strong as a canine's perhaps, but it was sufficient enough to tell that it was human blood.  He couldn't discern whether it was male or female, young or old.  But whether that was due to it having aged somewhat or the strength of his sense of smell, he could not be sure.
 
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE!
 
That pricked his ears.  But he did not move, he shut his eyes and listened.  Not just with his ears, but with his feet. This Plasmavore, or whatever it was, could not be an insurmountable obstacle. Cloak sat in the kneeling position, not moving an inch, not giving an inch. It may have given the appearance of fear, but Cloak felt calm, confidant. He knew the beast he was tracking was close. This splatter-spot was fresher than the last.

RUSTLERUSTLERUSTLER USTLERUSTLE!

Something was certainly agitated. But Cloak was calm and unafraid. After all, he had faced far more frightening creatures.  This one sounded rather man-sized. Cloak was prepared, prepared for anything. He closed his eyes -- he was more alert, though it looked differently.

"RAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cloak reacted quickly at the creature who leaped out at him, blast it with a low-intensity energy beam of golden scarlet. That downed the creature instantly. Cloak crossed to the creature, without a trace of sympathy or remorse. He knew this was the creature which he tracked. It affected the form of a middle-aged, lightly bearded man with black hair wearing black-and-white stripes. "His" lower jaw still bore blood on it.

"Pathetic," Cloak said, dismissively. "Think you could feed on me? Me? Do you realize the number of things wrong with that?"

The creature moaned piteously.  Cloak's eyes narrowed.  It was just an act.

"First, Plasmavore -- yes, I know what you are -- first, I do not have blood.  I have ichor -- something which you cannot feast upon."

The creature gave up on the "moaning-piteously" ruse.

"Secondly," Cloak said, continuing his lecture. "Secondly, you get up and personal with my body, you'll go headless.  Not anything I can do about it, blame my physiology."

The Plasmavore couldn't not believe that it was getting a lecture.

[Cloak]

New book ideas!

• Book CCXC: "Dark Sham Asylum" -- The RAFians must deal with an asylum taken over by the inmates, some superpowered.
• Book CCXCI: "Untying the Ties That Bind" -- The criminal, Lisa Scheisser, manage to get their hands on a Yuyong Seed. . . .
• Book CCXCII: "Pixelating" -- The RAFians must counteract an odd pixelating effect.
• Book CCXCIII: "Hard to Swallow" -- The RAFians must route an Absorbuerat invasion.
• Book CCXCIV: "Just Another Tattoo" -- The RAFians must face a tattooed man.

Remember, all titles are subject to change.

Now, let's see if I can get another chapter up.
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Escaping a Realm Walker

The Plasmavore struggled "his" way to "his" feet.  Cloak's back was turned, and the Plasmavore was under the errant assumption that he could not "see" "him".  The Plasmavore thought this was "his" chance. "He" made a break for it . . . and ran straight into an Earthen wall.
 
"Escape," Cloak continued in his intentionally-droning lecture, "is quite impossible, Plasmavore."
 
Cloak's stratagem was to drone on and on, and cause the creature to be bored into sleep.  It worked with Cuthbert Binns, why not here? Cloak essentially was indulging on the feline tendency to play with their quarry. He hadn't even realized that he was doing that, anymore than Demos realizing his inherent cruelty from being a demon.
 
The Plasmavore attempted to take off again, as Cloak continued his droning lecture.  But found "his" leg snagged by a scraggly, but hardy, vine. "His" leg was quite tangled up.
 
"You're wasting your energy, Plasmavore," Cloak said.
 
The Plasmavore tried kicking vehemently and violently, but that just ensnared "his" other leg.
 
"And, apparently," Cloak said, with final summation, "so am I."
 
Then the Plasmavore did something Cloak had not anticipated.  It changed form.  It changed form to a child, a homeless child that it had fed on previously. Cloak was not prepared for such a thing, unaware of the ability to recall the forms of old victims. It was unprecedented in his experience.
 
Using the Realm Walker's shock to "his" advantage, the Plasmavore fled into the forest.  It took a bit of time before Cloak's faculties caught up with him. When they did, Cloak dove into the forest, after the Plasmavore. Cloak had "his" scent, but it was different now.  It must subtly change the scent with every shift, but he could still smell the blood upon "his" face.  If "he" was smart, he would have wiped it off.

Of course, there was the downside of such a victim recall. "He" was now very hungry, but he couldn't afford to stop and feed right now.  Now with the cloaked beast chasing "him" down. "His" escape made him very, very angry.

[redtailedsaffa]

I know where that criminal came from.

[Cloak]

Yep. "Scheisser" is supposed to mean "worthless person" in . . . in Dutch, I think it was.

Gonna try this again.
 

CHAPTER TWELVE:
At Wit's End

Aquilai was quickly believing that he got the short end of the stick.
 
"No! No! Leave them alone! It's fine! Don't! ARGH!" was his constant, consistent refrain. It was no contest. He would have much preferred to be "escorting", read "babysitting", the Czarnian. Though violent-prone, he was at least indifferent from the rule of law on whichever planet he trespassed.  He didn't insist that every citizen follow every law to the letter, in a way that would make even Bartemius Crouch Sr. blush.
 
Aquilai wasn't sure how much more he could take of this Judoon buffoon. He supposed Rocksteady, incompetent though he was with his pal Bebop, would have been easier to escort.
 
"Do not interfere with my mission, Time Lord," the Judoon repeated his refrain.
 
"How is pummelling jaywalkers to a pulp fulfilling your mission to capture the Plasmavore?!" Aquilai exclaimed, exasperated and frustrated.
 
"Plasmavores do not follow the law," came the simplistic response.
 
"That doesn't make any sense!" Aquilai said, quite obviously stressed. "You are so dense, it's a wonder how you can stand at all!"

Aquilai was quite literally at his wit's end.  He couldn't take anymore of this, he knew.

"That's it, we're going back to the forum."

"Do not --"

"We are going back to the forum." Aquilai said, his frustration leading to an open display of frustration and anger. "You won't listen to me, maybe Dino can make you more pliable."

***

"Here! Here!" Aquilai said, somewhat hysterically. "I've had enough with this idiot.  I'll go find Cloak. I'll help him. One of you can deal with this buffoon!"

"I told you not to --"

Dino lumbered up and eyed the Judoon distainfully as she assumed her true size.

"I . . . I told --"

"Don't make me eat you," Dino said.  "I bet you taste nasty."

[Cloak]

Ah, the old "modify-post syndrome", I presume.
 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
A Bloody Trail

The Plasmavore couldn't help it.
 
"He" was so hungry, "he" couldn't pass up those unfortunate hikers. He drained all six of them.  He took the form of the most jowly of the bunch with most horrid, Santa Claus-type beard. As to why "he" picked the form the most ill-suited for a lengthy chase is anyone's guess.

Sudden rustling in the grass.

Was it just the wind or the cloaked devil? Can "he" be sure? No.  No, "he" couldn't.  He must flee -- only to discover that this form was the wrong one for such an endeavor.  He had to recall another -- and their was only one worthwhile to recall. "He" quickly shifted and remolded himself into the second campfire victim, which was fortunately a track star in her high school.

"She" sprinted in a random direction, which, in and of itself, was a foolish maneuver. The thing about humans is they had no innate sense of whether a forest thickened or thinned, no internal compass.  They were not wolves. Another downside of this maneuver, in addition of recalling a previous victim, all this aimless running worked up the hunger again.

There was probably no chance of lucking into another campsite, and "she" could not feed off the animals, or "she" would lose the veneer of being a human to the Judoon's scanners. "She" had to get out of the forest . . . but how?  Was "she" deep in the heart of the forest, or nearing a clearing, or approaching what passed for civilization on this planet?

Suddenly, the trees simply stopped for a straight line, a black path with two yellow lines dividing the path. The Plasmavore blinked "her" eyes, unable to believe what she stumbled on. With "her" back to it, she did not see the two glowing lights approaching her rapidly.

There was an earshattering screech and an obnoxiously sustained honk of a horn. A voice called with a hint of a Jersey Shore accent, "Hey, kid! Get out of the road!"

***

Sniff, sniff.

Blood. It was definitely blood spilt here.

Cloak looked around, and walked away from the center of the road. His thoughts whirring fast, as he noticed the tracks in the blood trail. The Plasmavore has obviously attack and assumed the form of a driver passing by. There was no telling where the Plasmavore went. It could be anywhere, look like anyone.

But the directions of the tire tracks that had gone through the small pool of blood, just before it dried . . . it pointed to a direction. It was the only lead Cloak had. He had to follow it.

[redtailedsaffa]

This book needs a warning label. "DO NOT READ IN THE DARK." Creepy.

[Cloak]

Okay, after a mandatory hiatus (I don't have internet at my new place yet, I'm waiting to see if I can afford it).
 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Stranger Danger!

Cloak was really fighting a losing battle. The trail, though he abjectly, stubbornly, obstinately refused to acknowledge it, had gone cold. He was just really aimlessly going in one direction, the last direction he lead pointed to.  But there was no way of knowing -- it could have suddenly decided to double back . . . but no.  No, if that had happened, Cloak would have been aware of a car driving on the other side of the road.  But that did not happen, the road was as dead as a graveyard. And he had not come upon and intersection yet, and should the Plasmavore had decided to do some off-roading, there would be obvious evidence, he would think.
 
No, it must have continued on in this direction.  There wasn't any intersection for . . . miles?
 
He had just stumbled upon a "+" intersection, where all the roads were perpendicular to each other. Each at a ninety-degree angle from the other.  Cloak was irritated.  Here, he had to admit the trail was cold. He had no idea whether it went right, left, or straight ahead. It could have decided to go directly into the city, which would have been either the straightaway or the right roads. The left? He hadn't a clue where it led.
 
That left either the straightaway or the --
 
"So, how far are we along?"
 
"RAAAAAWRR!"
 
The attack was purely instinctual. It had no rationality or consent of the conscious. Cloak managed to stop himself before he could harm the newcomer.
 
"Aquiliai," Cloak said, voice vibrating with indignant anger. But his powers were under control. "Aquilai, do you have any idea how close to regenerating again you came?"
 
"I . . . I think I just got the memo," the Time Lord said. "I thought I couldn't sneak up on you."
 
Cloak said nothing. It should have been true, but he was really fixated on tracking the Plasmavore, like a hungry tiger who's sighted the presence of prey. Cloak was recklessly disregarding taking precautions of his personal safety. Granted, nothing in-realm could kill him, but that did not prevent him from feeling pain.
 
"I thought you were escorting the Judoon," Cloak said, diverting attention from that little faux pas.
 
"I . . . I, uh, delegated that responsibility to Dino," Aquilai said.
 
"Did she eat him? Dah, I mean, why are you here?"
 
"I'm here to help you," Aquilai said.
 
"I don't need help."
 
"Well, I'm here in case you do."
 
Cloak recognized a circular argument as well as anyone, and decided it wasn't worth the energy.
 
"Fine. Just stay out of my way."

[redtailedsaffa]

Hey, I think I recognize that title from somewhere!

Aside from that, hope you're settling in well and that lady isn't giving you too much hassle.

[Cloak]

Got it from "Family Guy", actually.

And I'm still trying to get the $1,100 she owes me.

• Book CCXCV: "Another Body-Swapping Story" -- The RAFians must deal witht the Trinity Stones and the Transference Prism.
• Book CCXCVI: "Carpe Corpus" -- The RAFians must destroy a Soul Cistern.
• Book CCXCVII: "The Secret Past of Underseen and the Muck" -- Details of Underseen's past and a certain "science goo".
• Book CCXCVIII: "Species Swapping" -- Whilst Cloak is away, the RAFians have their species swapped.

All titles are subject to change.

Now the chapter.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Snatching Success

The Plasmavore had ditched the car and the driver's form as it infiltrated at blood bank -- the perfect place for it. The blood was in plentiful supply, and it can get it rather cleanly. It appeared that it was aware that it was leaving a trail via blood splattered, and finally was thinking through it's feeding.
 
It took the form of an nondescript, elderly woman. "She" decided to see if she could maintain this form, and remain in this form.  "She" suspected the constant shifting was actually aiding "her" hunters, "her" would-be capturers. "She" thought that "she" was being careless.
 
But Cloak and Aquilai still pressed closer, and the Plasmavore noticed Aquilai (unable to see Cloak, who was using his tiger instincts to stay hidden). "She" started to panic, recognizing the Mark on his hand as the same one as the cloaked one. "She" put two and two together and correctly assumed that he was a colleague of Cloak. "She" knew that "she" could not fight, could not attack, the cloaked one. "She" could not attack the friend of the cloaked one -- then he would not simply want to capture "her", but destroy "her".
 
And "she" knew that he could. "She" had to get out.  And "she" had to do it NOW.
 

***

"Nice try," Cloak said.
 
"I . . . I don't know what you're talking about deary!" the Plasmavore said, attempting to affect any old woman's mannerisms. "She" was trapped in a stone cage, rather like the XY animation of Stone Edge, only with very small gaps -- so "she" couldn't simply shapeshift into a child victim and slip away again.

"Save it, Plasmavore," Aquilai said. "We know that it's you."

"I -- I'm sorry, deary," the Plasmavore said, still attempting to keep up the pretense. "I don't know what a 'plasma-whosit' is."

"Save it, Plasmavore," Cloak snarled.  "I can smell copious amounts of blood on your person.  And my sense of smell isn't strong enough to smell blood when it's still in veins."

"Not to mention my sonic screwdriver has a scanner -- one of my own design, actually -- and it is more sensitive and acurate than any Judoon scanner."

"But, dearies," the Plasmavore tried again, but it was now tripped in a golden-scarlet energy bubble as the earth spires receded back into nothingness once more. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"You know exactly what we're doing, Plasmavore." Aquilai said.

"You might as well drop the pretense." Cloak said, in a careless way. "You aren't fooling anyone."

[redtailedsaffa]

Wait, five more chapters... surely this isn't the end of it.

[Cloak]

Five more chapters. There is still one more wrinkle to be worked out.
 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Interloping by Knight

The two RAFians began their trek back to RAF. However, it never occurred to the two that the sight of them carrying an elderly woman in a golden-scarlet energy bubble might be misconstrued as something sinister. Especially to a type of person who would easily believe the maliciousness, whether mispercieved or not, of non-humans.
 
"Dearies!" the Plasmavore cried, putting on the facade, the pretense again.
 
"Shut up, Plasmavore -- we've told you that you're not fooling anyone." Cloak snapped.
 
But she wasn't addressing the two RAFians, as Cloak assumed.
 
"Oy!"
 
"Hey, you there!"
 
"Stop right there!"
 
Three men, who had more brawn than brains by the look of them, and were wearing obvious signs of Knight membership (the chain-metal armor and helmets and blades were a dead give away). Passersby probably assumed that they were refugees from a renaissance fair.
 
"Oh, like we have time for this now," Aquilai sighed.

Then the three attacked, and the two RAFians, resignedly, engaged them.
 

***

"Dino!" Shenmue scolded. "Put him down! Put him down!"

Dino spat out the dazed-looking Judoon, who seemed disinclined to move. It was as if he was a fainted Pokemon.

"Dino!"

"What?"

"What was that for?"

"I didn't chew him." Dino said, mulishly defensive.

"Be that as it may, don't you think it was a bit extreme?"

"Hey, I warned him to cut it out," Dino countered.  "That if he didn't, I would eat him. Not my fault he didn't listen."

[DinosaurNothlit]

*smacks lips*  Hmm, Judoon is an interesting flavor.  Interesting mix of 'alien' and 'rhinoceros,' with slight undertones of 'lawyer.'

. . . Oh man I haven't had lawyer in forever.  Now I'm nostalgic AND hungry.