Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Aw, dang it. I forgot to elaborate.

The general idea I had was that he was more like a combination of Jericho and a masculine Wuya. So he's not "wearing" anyone currently.

Sorry for not posting. Time got away from me today.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
Swarm Unbound

"Please tell me that that's that," Underseen said, as soon as he resumed his base human form.

Wild said, "You know better than that, Underseen."

But Empress Goose said nothing, but floated there, looking at the hostages. The Compulsion Ticks were still active. Obviously, Regientomos wasn't destroyed -- which was proven when the Jafar-like laugh rent the air, though with an irritating buzz within it.

Regientomos Unbound stood up to his full height, and displayed a silhouette strikingly similar to Arukenimon with the horns like a male stag beetle, Scyther-like blades sprouting from his wrists, and a rhinoceros beetle horn sprouting from his back and arachnid abdomen. His eyes looked like multifaceted human eyes, with a soft, pale red glow.

"Thank you," he said, his voice more raspy with an odd clacking when he spoke. "Thank you for free me from that accursed encumbrance."

"'Emcumbrance' isn't a word," Wild said.

"Oh, sure, Wild," Empress Goose said, sarcastically. "Provoke him. That's a winning strategy."

"You got a better idea?" Wild said, as Underseen went ahead and impetuously engaged Retientomos without a second thought.

"Perhaps," Empress Goose said, quickly. "Listen -- after I do my thing, you two need to whale on him while he's distracted. I dunno if it'll even work."

"It leaves a lot to chance," Underseen observed.

"But it may work," Wild said. "Whatever happens, whatever the consequences, we'll deal with it then. But for now, getting rid of Bug Boy is the topmost priority. Go ahead, Goose."

Empress Goose sped toward the hostages, which just looked blankly ahead. In a way, this was worse than the Heinlin incursion. They at least kept up a facade, which made them dangerous and creepy -- but less creepy than this, somehow.

Empress Goose floated up behind one of the hostages -- a man in his prime -- whose clothing, or costume, or whatever didn't leave much to the imagination. Empress Goose sighed audibly, releasing some of his tensions. Even now, he wasn't sure this would work. He could hear the sounds of a vicious battle between Regientomos Unbound and his two allies. He had to do something. They were the distraction -- and so was he.

He jumped into the man's body, which he never liked doing without consent. But the man was not in any position to give or withhold consent, and Empress Goose was trying to help him in the most direct -- and intimate, one could argue -- way possible. The sensation was, for the first time in Empress Goose's memory, uncomfortable and hard. Usually he could slip in and out quite easily and comfortably, for both him and the target body. And the host minds generally always knew that he was there. At least, that's what Empress Goose said.

Anyway, he filled up the man's body and it was like trying to stand when you're crouched down in thorny briers. Empress Goose was not accustomed to such sensations, because of the aforementioned ease that usually accompanied his body jumping. That and he usually never inhabited a body for more than twenty minutes at most before getting tired of it. But it eventually worked as the body, while hosting Empress Goose's consciousness rejected the Compulsion Ticks. Empress Goose made sure to stomp the tick before pulling himself out of the body with his usual ease. He went through several more hostages, doing the same thing he did in the man's body.

This was sufficient enough to garner (and divide) Regientomos Unbound's attention. This made the battle easier for Underseen and Wild. The battle swiftly began to turn against him, and the two RAFians attacked in tandem as Empress Goose pulled out of the last hostage -- a twelve-year-old kid. This tandem attack was the killing blow.

"Well," Empress Goose said, feeling as if he had been scratched up, "that was unpleasant."

"Yes," Wild said, "it was."

[Cloak]

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
Clink, Clank

"What exactly is a metal foundry anyway?" Damien asked.

"Look 'round, Damien," Broken said, almost bored, "it should be obvious. It's a plast were they cast metal. In retrospect, I'm not sure my magicks will work here. I haven't tested them in such a locale."

"Why wouldn't they?" Gumby asked, looking thoroughly out of place.

"Reasons," Broken said, unintentionally repressively.

"You think this place is connected with that smelting place that Phoenix, Demos, and Shock went to?" Damien asked, conversationally.

"Who knows?" Gumby said. But then Gumby narrowed his eyes, noticing something odd. "I don't think it's safe to leave all this unattended."

"It's not," Broken said, drily. "Clearly the hostages are the foundry workers."

"That's probably 'em then," Damien said, jabbing his finger in their direction. "With the metal skullcaps?"

"The Control Caps," came a prim, steely voice. "If your going to refer to something, at least use the proper terminology."

"Lady of Metal, I take it?" Broken said, blithely. He sounded unimpressed. "Seriously, though, don't you and your siblings have something more constructive to do with your time? Must it always be conflict?"

"Yes," Regiferros Confined said cuttingly, on no uncertain terms.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Gumby said, holding up his hands. "Can't we talk? Can't we just hash out whatever our difference of opinion is?"

SLASH!! SLASH!!! SLASH!!!!

Gumby was repeatedly slashed into he was bits of gum strewn about. Regiferros Confined smirked smugly, as if they knew now that she means business. But the pieces of gum flew back together, rather like Majin Buu, and reintergrated into Gumby.

"Well," Gumby said, as if this was a minor inconvenience, though his tone betrayed his testy irritation. Just because it seemed that it didn't hurt, did not mean that it wasn't painful."well, that was uncalled for!"

"Thundaga!" Broken cried as he unleashed a magical lightning attack. It just served to electify the plates on Regiferros. Which she shrugged off momentarily.

Meanwhile, Damien was drawing furiously on a sketch pad. He recently discovered that he had the ability -- other than superhuman endurance and vacuum survival -- the ability of pictomancy. He could draw things and bring them to life for a short time. But if the drawing is destroyed, then so is the pictomancied creations.

But none of them survived Regiferros, revealing the fraility of the creations. But it didn't matter, Broken had an idea that he wasn't sure would work.

"Firaga Burst!!" Broken said, casting the fire spell that hit Regiferros square in the chest, superheating her.

"Not so easy, is it?" she gasped.

"Not done," Broken said. "Blizzaraga!"

The rapid cooling that came from the ice spell was sufficient enough to cause Regiferros's armor to buckle and fragment off her body. The three were too perceptive to know that it wasn't over yet.

[redtailedsaffa]

Oh dear, modify-post syndrome.

Isn't that all the plates?

[Cloak]

Nah. There's still Regidracos, Regicryos, Regiumbras, and Regiphaetos himself.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
Metal Unbound

The usual, Jafar-esque peel of crazed laughter sounded again. The three RAFians were not intimidated. Or impressed.

"Seriously," Gumby said. "What exactly is so funny that these guys think it's necessary to cackle more than the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"Perhaps they have a weakness for old super villain cliches," Broken speculated as the three watched impassively as Regiferros reared up, and stood at her full and considerable height.

She was at least ten feet tall, and had the appearance of a Terminator endoskeleton in Zero armor. A broad, swordlike appendage was attached firmly to her right wrist, while her left hand fingers could elongate, like a T-1000, into overlarge, icepick-like stabbing weapons. She clearly favored a more hands on approach in battle, and did not apear to have any means of defense.

"How d'ya like me now?" she said, stoically devious.

"Do we have to answer?" Damien asked.

In response, Regiferros leaped upon Gumby and began to literally rip the RAFian apart. Slashing and stabbing, slicing and dicing, cutting and cleaving until there was just bits of Gumby everywhere. Then she backflipped away, but even as she did Gumby was reconstituting himself, Majin Buu-like.

The minute Gumby's mouth and vocal cords reformed, he protested, "HEY!! It was DAMIEN who said that! This isn't funny! It isn't funny, I tell you! It isn't! It . . . wait, what are you -- oh, not again!!"

Regiferros Unbound apparently enjoyed sensations of ripping the gum guy apart. Gumby, however, didn't enjoy it as much as she did.

"HEY! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU STEEL-COLD BI--" Gumby roared, before ducking another full-body dismemberment. She continued to target Gumby for some unknown reason, while ignoring Damien and Broken. Perhaps she saw Gumby as the bigger threat and wanted to eliminate him first because of it, perhaps she saw him as the weakest of the three and wanted to eliminate the easiest first, or perhaps -- just perhaps -- she was just plain insane.

"Hey! Guys! I would appreciate a little, oh, you know, HELP here?!" Gumby shouted, addressing the other two. "If you're not too BUSY or anything, 'kay?! But she's about to go all Terminator on me! AGAIN!!"

"Calm down," Broken said.

"Calm down?! Don't you DARE tell me to calm down!! You haven't been ripped apart by her. I have been twice now!!" Gumby raged. "So, no, Broken. I will not calm down!"

"Impedimenta!" Broken shouted, and it managed to slow her down. Gumby quickly scampered away, as Regiferros looked as if she was trying to move in molasses. She was fighting the spell.

"There, done!" Damien said, having ignored the exchanges between Broken and Gumby, hastily sketching in a sketchbook. He used his pictomancy to bring his sketches to life, as Broken's Impediment Jinx faded with a sound of shattering glass.

Suddenly, Regiferros was besieged by . . . a green origami bear, a yellow origami ape, a blue oraigami Chinese dragon, a pink origami turtle, and a red origami lion. Regiferros was taken aback at this, because she could not believe someone would send such frail creatures on her like attack dogs. She overcame her shock fairly quickly, and sliced the origami critters to shreds with a simple, single slash.

Gumby and Broken slowly turned their heads to look at Damien, who did not meet their eyes. He was furiously flipping through his sketchbook, only muttering, "Oops, wrong drawings."

His pictomancy thing was fairly new to him, he hadn't quite worked out all the caveats and limitations yet.

Broken shouted, "Reducto!"

Broken had intended to shatter Regiferros Unbound's wrist-mounted blade, but instead gor her entire right arm. She looked more annoyed than pained, though. But Broken noticed that her arm did not regenerate.

"Well, maybe now she'll leave me be," Gumby said, hopefully. She eyed him and extended her claws. "Oh, me and my big mouth."

But Broken followed through with several more Reductor Curses, until she was just a head. A head that was given the Kirby treatment when Damien summoned him from a picture. Regiferros was gone.

[redtailedsaffa]

Hahaha, poor Gumby.

[Cloak]

Yes. Quite.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
Ice, Ice, Baby

"An ice rink," Azzy said. "Another obvious clue to who we're fighting, as if we didn't already know."

"I never did like ice skating," Blaze said. "The ice couldn't handle me."

Az and Blue shared a look.

"What?" Blaze said, defensively. "My defense mechanism is counter to the nature of the ice!"

Neither Az or Blue said anything.

Deciding that time was due to change the subject, Blaze said, "So! Where's the hostages?"

A brief silence met his words.

This was a popular skating rink, at the height of their business day. The place should be a flurry of activity, full of shrieking laughter and amateurs falling on their bums. And yet . . . nothing. Nothing at all. The place was a ghost town. The house lights were off and only the light above the rink was on, with the three RAFians standing on the periphery of it.

"It's too quiet in here," Blue said, seriously. "It's like a cemetery."

"Ugh," Az shuttered, "nice comparison."

"But it's true." Blaze said, thoughtfully. "There's not even a guy driving a Zamboni on the ice."

"Wait!" Blue said suddenly. He pointed subtly. "There."

There was a mass of people sitting on a set of tiered seats, sitting as still as mannequins. Their eyes were frozen and pale, almost like cataracts. There was no outward sign of how or why.

"They're frozen," Az observed seriously.

"I'll thaw them," Blaze said. He was preparing to act.

"NO!" Az exclaimed, then continue firmly, "If you thaw them too quickly, it could -- I don't know the specifics, but there is a chance, a high probability -- that it could very possibly kill them. Too slowly could be equally as detrimental."

"Oookay, then," Blaze said, abandoning his plan, "then what do we do?"

"Oh, will you three get there already?" cried an annoyed, icy voice. He continued with a bite of impatience in his voice. "Or my Brain Freezers will thaw before you connect the dots!"

They turned to see Regicryos sitting on the ice, with crossed legs, looking rather bored by the whole proceedings. He clearly did not care for the "game" his siblings were so on about. He preferred to be left alone at the best of times, which is why he did not manipulate the hostages like puppets like his brethren were apt to do. He preferred his isolation, alone in a desolate tundra -- it was his idea of a vacation spot.

But no. No, he had to play their stupid, inane game. It was compulsory and mandatory for the progeny of Garrotik. Regicryos hated it, but considered that whether he won or lost, he'd get the isolation he craved.

"Let's get this over with," Regicryos said, standing up. "Either way, I'll get what I want."

The RAFians, not knowing Regicryos's motives and misreading his cold body language, interpreted this as talking smack about them not being challenges. To which they quickly protest, and Regicryos does not bother correcting their mistake. He didn't care.

The battle that took place was rather swift and impersonal, a stark contrast from the vicious conflicts of his brethren that battled before. Regicryos fired several cannonball-sized (and cannonball-weighted) snowballs at the RAFians, which Blue easily sliced through with his ninjabo, but nabbed the other two directly.

Regicryos dodged Blaze's fireballs with surprising athletics, almost like a waterbender. He blasted cryogenic beams of energy, which were deftly countered by Az. But Blaze had had enough and managed to get right up close to Regicryos, who had allowed his guard to fall. Then Blaze let loose the burning inferno that demonstrated the limits of his power (though he still had potential for more powerful pyrokinetic techniques).

Regicryos Confined was downed, as Blaze fluttered away, looking rather proud of himself.

[redtailedsaffa]

One source of fire is enough, then?

[Cloak]

Well, Blaze was in very close proximity and Blaze went nearly supernova. Yeah, it was sufficient.

Oh, now this is officially the longest Memoirs book. *clears throat* Thus far . . .

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY:
Ice Unbound

"Blaze, don't be a fool," Blue reprimanded. "We're not done here, yet."

"But we beat --"

"Have you even paid attention to the previous battles?" Az asked, sincere. "We just broke his Confined Form, nothing else."

"Oh. Right," Blaze said, feeling that his flashy finisher move was wasted now.

Unlike his siblings, there was not Jafar-like peel of crazed laughter. When Regicryos rose from his shattered Confined Form state, he said nothing and made no sound at all. He just coldly and distantly rose to his full and considerable height. He had the icy skeletal body similar to Ice Titan, with translucent snowy "flesh" with a head similar to Marshmallow from "Frozen". He had icicle claws, and ice blades akin to Hork-Bajir blades, only these appeared to be retractable.

He said nothing, he did nothing but stare at them. He was waiting for them to make the first move, rather like Freeze Man in "Mega Man 7". The RAFians hesitated, taken aback by this approach. Regicryos was the only one of his siblings to employ it, they always made the first move, the first strike.

"Make your move," Regicryos said, his voice more husky than in his Confined Form.

The three RAFians narrowed their eyes suspiciously. This wasn't a turn-based RPG, but reality. This was a very odd stratagem to employ, with as straightforward as it is.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get this over with."

"You want to be killed?" Az said, genuinely surprised and perplexed.

"You assume you'll win?" he countered coldly. "You assume I would not resist? Well, allow me to disabuse you of that notion right now. I shall battle you to the fullest of my ability. I might win, I might not. In the grand scheme of things, it matters very little. I don't fear death -- only one incapable of dealing with their own mortality is capable of such a fear. I just want this battle over with. For no other reason but to return to my isolation. Win or lose, I'll get what I desire."

Then his glare intesified. "Now make your move or I shall shatter the brain of one of the hostages! Engage me in battle now!!"

The RAFians had no choice. Not really.

Blaze was the first one to comply by sending a volley of fireballs rwther wildly and haphazardly at Regicryos.

"Now's not the time for getting sloppy, Blaze," Blue scolded, using his ninjabo to either deflect or slash through Regicryos Unbound's attacks. Then he flung his right arm out for no apparent reason -- before it was revealed that Blue pulled a Batman, and had thrown explosive shurrikens that embedded themselves into Regicryos Unbound's chest and exploded violently. But Regicryos still stood, though he was clearly in pain.

Az was actually mostly just deflecting Regicryos's attacks with his own cryokinesis. Az even managed to redirect the attacks back at the son of Garrotik. But this seemed to have the opposite desired effect, as it seemed to heal him. Az abandoned this at once, which actually gave Blaze and opening to fire a ball of red flames into Regicryos's chest where it seemed to resonate within him.

Regicryos looked as if he were in pain, but he handled it in a rather nonchalant, knowing way. He didn't even plea with his life as Blue struck the final blow.

Regicryos had just gotten his wish.

[redtailedsaffa]

Wow, that was rather cold. bad pun very sorry

[Cloak]

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:
Forgotten Fighter*

"Welcome," Guitarhero said, sardonically, "to Fight Club."
 
"Hilarious," Yunyun said, drily. She elected to flutter above the ground instead of walk.
 
"This is obviously a trap," Slushie Man said, seriously.
 
They were in an underground arena, with what appeared to be a wrestling arena ringed by steel-barred cage walls. These walls were at least twenty-five, thirty feet high, and perhaps fifty feet long. The only light around was being focused on this arena, whilst the three RAFians stood (Yunyun finally landed) in the darkness in the tiered seating around it. The door to the cage stood open, and everywhere else was abandoned.
 
"Where are the hostages?" Yunyun said, shrewdly apt. "How is this Regifisticuff controlling them?"
 
"It would appear," Slushie Man said slowly, eyeing a spot at roughly eleven o'clock from them, "that he beat them into submission."
 
The other two looked at the location Slushie Man eyed so intently. They blinked and were surprised. There were no mind control or manipulation here. It simply looked that Regifisticuff simply beat the stuffing out of them until he wont their loyalty and devotion -- or they were nearly dead. Most of them looked like the latter, to be honest.
 
"He has all the finesse and subtlety of a runaway semi truck, apparently," Guitarhero muttered.
 
"Hey, I heard that!" a voice cried out. It sound almost like the stereotypical "dumb voice" people tend to adopt when they are speaking for someone they consider to be rather dim.

"I don't really care," Slushie Man quipped.

"Come over here and say that!" Regifisticuffs said, stepping into the cage's center. His orange plated armor glinted under the bright light. But it really wasn't as impressive as brute like Regifisticuff would believe.

Guitarhero did not attempt to stifle his yawn, nor did Slushie hide his eye roll. Yunyun wore of unimpressed boredom.

"Don't disrespect me! Nobody disrespects me! Nobody disrespects me and lives! You here me?! YOU HEAR M--?!"

"Are you done yet?" Slushie Man said.

"You DARE show me disrespect?!" Regifisticuffs raged.

"You are such a child," Yunyun stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not the child! You're the child!" Regifisticuff said, petulantly.

Yunyun sighed exasperately, as Slushie Man said, "If we engage you in a fight, will you please just shut up? All your whining is giving me a migrane!"

"I'm not whining!" Regifisticuffs whined.

"Ugh," Slushie Man groaned. He rubbed his temples, and said, "Let's get this over with."

The battle from there was fairly easy, as all the RAFians had to do keep their distance from him and attack long range -- Guitarhero with the sound waves from his beloved guitar (calling into question whether the power came from the guitar or Guitarhero himself), Slushie Man with his slushie "webbing", and Yunyun was using latent magical abilities via a card medium.

Soon enough, Regifisticuffs Confined's plate armor broke (mostly due to his own folly more than anything else).


*Reference for when I was planning out this book, doing the brief chapter synopses, I apparently forgot about Regifisticuff.

[redtailedsaffa]

Oh I forgot about him too.

[Cloak]

Ah. So I wasn't alone.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:
Brawl Unbound

"I don't suppose that we could just go home now?" Yunyun said, ruffling her wings a bit. She had put her deck of special magic cards away. The spent cards would eventually return to her deck when the spells they depict recharge. "Right?"

"You know better than that," Slushie Man said, very seriously.

"Can't a winged elf dream?" Yunyun asked.

"Yes," Guitarhero said, giving a sardonic little smirk, "but just not right now."

There was crazed laughter, but it wasn't at all like Jafar. More like the raucous guffaw of a bully with the I/Q of three who was trying to imitate Jafar's laugh. The RAFians looked impassively unimpressed.

Regifisticuffs Unbound wasn't really pretty. He had orange, blistered skin and a a body plan rather like a mutated human/Tertramand hybrid. He had six disproportionate arms, six blue eyes (without pupils) of disproportionate sizes, ham-sized fists with sausage-like fingers and the grossest fingernails imaginable. His feet possessed no toes but five backward-raking spikes. His gaping maw looked as if was a gash lacerated his face. He lacked several teeth, and what teeth he did have was snaggletoothed.

"Wow," Guitarhero blurted, "we didn't do you any favors, did we?"

"What was that, little boy?" he growled, his voice somewhat more raspy and bestial.

"Wait, what? What did you just call me?" Guitarhero retorted. "'Little boy'? Seriously?"

"Wanna do sumthin' about it?" Regifisticuffs Unbound goaded rather amateurishly.

Guitarhero was surprised, despite himself, that Regifisticuffs Unbound would actually try to goad as a schoolyard bully would. Regifisticuffs really had no subtlety.

Yunyun was rubbing her forehead, as if praying for patience and Slushie Man was shaking his head pityingly.

"What?" Regifisticuffs said, genuinely not comprehending why they aren't fighting him, why they were just talking. "What's with the looks? What's with the yakety-yak? Fight me! Fight me, you -- uh, you -- foolish . . . foolish fools!"

"Clever," Yunyun said, acidly. This guy was really beginning to wear on her nerves.

"Fight me! Fight me, you . . . you twerps!"

Yunyun sighed heavily, and Slushie Man said, "If we must."

The RAFian utilized the same tactics as before -- keeping their distance and using projectiles and other long-range attacks --  and Regifisticuffs never got wise to it, though it angered him considerably.

"Time to finish this," Slushie Man said, decisively. "Ready?"

"Naw, I want to draw this out more," Guitarhero said, with almost-acidic sarcasm.

"I was ready an hour ago!" Yunyun said. She showed a card, and shouted, "Energy Chains!"

Energy of a cool blue coiled around Regifisticuffs (who shouted, "Stop doing that! That's cheating!") and Slushie flicked his hand in a very Spider-Man manner. This caused a spurt of slushie to cover all of Regifisticuffs' eyes, effectively blinding him.

"Time for some tunes!" Guitarhero said, strumming on his guitar. He played a wild, furious tune with destructive soundwaves, which he could narrow down to affect a singular target.

"Argh!! What is this noise?!" Regifisticuffs shouted.

That just made Guitarhero angry.

"Noise?! I'll show you NOISE!!!" he shouted furiously.

The music intensified to a rather supernatural degree.

"Stop it! Stop the noise!!"

"Don't stop, GH!" Yunyun replied, unsheathing the sword she had received from Cloak a year ago. She pulled out a card and tapped it with the sword (which had a subtle green glow). "Detonation Strike!"

Then she threw the sword, which succeed in impaling Regifisticuffs' topmost shoulder. Then the sword was driven deeper by Slushie Man's slushie "web" shot and Guitarhero's musical vibrations. Then, when it was driven up to the sword's hilt, it detonated. Taking out Regifisticuffs.

Yunyun nonchalantly picked up the undamaged sword, and sheathed it.

[guitarhero01234]

Ok, Regifisticuffs is officially my favorite character from anything ever. I really need to get around to reading this from the beginning.

[Cloak]

That's . . . that's gonna take a while, GH.

Anyway . . . new book ideas!

• Book DCLXXXIII: "Absentee Kids" -- The RAFians investigate the disappearnce of missing children
• Book DCLXXXIV: "Desperate Alliances" -- Two former enemies of the RAFians come to them in desperation to save their son.
• Book DCLXXXV: "Under His Hat" -- Two RAFian foes use a hat to steal and displace the souls of others.
• Book DCLXXXVI: "Myth Massacre" -- A RAFian foe unleashes a monster to destroy cultures by somehow destroying their myths.
• Book DCLXXXVII: "Terminate . . . Terminate . . ." -- The RAFians must uncover some techno-savvy assassins and terrorists.
• Book DCLXXXVIII: "Corporate Chameleon" -- The RAFians uncover a corporate spy by accident.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:
Dragonslayers of Burn

"A misty moor," Dino grumbled. "It had to be a miserable, misty moor."

"It could be w--" Blocky began.

"DON'T SAY IT!" Dino snarled. "Those four words have a habit of jinxing whoever utters them."

EvilPinkDragon said nothing. She rarely says anything*, if at all.

"Well, then," Blocky said, "where is this son or daughter of -- wait. What is . . . what happened to these people?"

A group of people, children and adults alike, laid strewn upon the floor. Apparently, they were paralyzed -- completely paralyzed, save for their eyes. Which rolled around their heads, looking absolutely terrified. This disturbed all three RAFians.

"What . . . what . . . ?" was all that Dino could choke out.

EvilPinkDragon spied something on their foreheads, and pointed to it was with a clawed finger.

It was a dragon scale, shaped like a shield, and the size of a thumbnail of a particularly large human. It was adhered to their foreheads as if glued there. It was obviously the source of the paralysis.

"What are you doing to my treasure?!" a raspy, spitting voice shouted. "They're mine! You can't have them!"

"Regidracos," EvilPinkDragon said, "I presume."

"So, what about it?!" she snarled, coming into view. "Leave. They're MINE."

"No," Dino snarled, before issuing a deep, bellowing roar. "They aren't."

"They are mine! They're MINE!! Get away!! Get away now!!"

The three took immense care to step around the hostages, and begun to bear down on Regidracos. All three were larger than Regidracos, who didn't back down. But it was unclear if that was from sheer stupidity or acidic arrogance.

"Stop CROWDING me!! You don't fool me!! You want my treasure FOR YOURSELF!!" Regidracos snarled. Then she seemed to realize something, "Oh, you three are here for that stupid Death Game. Well, too bad!! I don't have time for stupid games. I need to protect my treasures. My precious --"

"Anyone else getting a Gollum vibe here?" Blocky said.

Regidracos was continuing her little tirade, unaware of Blocky's reference. She seemed to be talking to herself more than anyone else now.

"Uh," EvilPinkDragon said, "is she okay?"

". . . They're MINE! MINE, I tell you! MINE! MINE!! MINE!!! . . ."

"I am guessing," Blocky replied, "no."

"Let's get this over with." Dino said. She planted her foot squarely on Regidracos. Yet there was no squish sound.


*I know this is kind of a mean dig at her rarely posting anything, if at all (especially when I mostly only really post in this thread and Totally Random Thoughts at all anymore).

[Cloak]

Guess Saffa's busy.

New chapter.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
Dragon Unbound

"Oh, c'mon," Blocky said impatiently. "We all know that you're still alive."

"Yeah," Dino agreed, "stop milking the suspense! Come on out, and show yourself!"

Regidracos didn't comply. At first, but then she made an entrance very much like Maleficent (you know, the good one -- er, genuinely evil one). This was apt as her Unbound form was basically a tan color swap of her dragon form, only with a somewhat blunter snout, broader face, slightly larger eyes, and thicker limbs. She also lacked wings, as she was tethered to the ground.

She said, as she reared up to her full height, "Now shall you deal with me, O Mortals, and the powers of HELL!"

"Oh, it's not enough that you stole Dragon Maleficent's look," Dino said, rolling her eyes (which was very impressive in and of itself for a saurian species), "you also steal her dialogue."

"You poor, simple fools. Thinking you could beat me. ME! The Lady of Dragons!"

"Yep, no original dialogue," Blocky agreed.

"Die!" she said, blowing a supernatural, mystical kind of fire that was similar to Fiendfyre in color but not behavior. It wouldn't even penetrate Dino's ankylotyrannus shell -- which actually surprised her. Dino anticipated at least feeling it, causing the RAFian to reply, "Talk about a Bowser defense."

"Die!" she repeated, blowing the strange fire at EvilPinkDragon, who folded her wing in front of her, and found that the flames could not penetrate them. This surprised her as well, leading her to reply, "Exactly HOW did you become the Lady of Dragons?"

"By being the first one?" Block asked. The question was sincere.

"Is she even trying?" Dino asked. Again, the question was sincere.

"SHUT UP!!" Regidracos roared, slamming her considerable tail down several times in frustration. "SHUT UP!! I am the Lady of Dragons! All dragons! They all serve me! They have no choice but to give me their utter devotion and loyalty!"

Her attention snapped to Blocky and EvilPinkDragon.

"You two. You two serve me. Obey your Lady and Mistress."

The two dragons shared a "can you believe this crap?" look and each raised an incredulous eyebrow. Regidracos looked at them imperiously, expecting them to give their loyalty and devotion.

Blocky eyed Regidracos, and said, "Does the phrase 'go suck a lemon' hold any meaning for you?"

"What?!"

"'Go'. 'Suck'. 'A lemon'." Blocky said. "It's a pejorative phrase meaning --"

"I am your Lady! You live, you exist to serve me!" she raged. "It is your only purpose in life!! The only reason you exist!"

"And you're talking out of your backside," Dino said. "Guys, we've delayed this too long. Let's get this over with."

The two dragons blew fire at Regidracos, who was indignant with apoptotic rage. It didn't do much, but it took her attention off Dino. That wasn't exactly easy to do either. But it was enough. Dino took Regidracos's neck in her jaws and began to exert presure slowly, to be sure she couldn't escape. Then she swiftly exerted all her bite strength upon Regidracos's neck.

The Lady of Dragons was no more, and her "treasures" freed.