Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Eh, my idea is that your guitar, for the sake of expedient simplicity, is essentially like your personal Keyblade. You can use it for music, combat, and transport, changing it so that it is suited for these jobs. Without you there, it would revert to an ordinary guitar.

Currently working on the new chapter as we speak.

[guitarhero01234]

OK, never mind what I said. THAT is badass.

Kinda off-topic, but I really do need to get my hands on a copy of Kingdom Hearts.

[Cloak]

Glad you approve.

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
When I'm the Conqueror of RAF

Malice threw Shadow down on the ground, which managed to shock her back to consciousness. She was on her feet in seconds, quickly realizing what happened the moment she saw Malice in close proximity to her. Shadow felt a series of quick jabs of embarrisment, knowing that she had allowed her innate impetuousness to get her captured and knocked out. She felt utter humilation.

Malice smiled, knowing full well that she had embarrassed the young Realm Walker. Malice could have gloated, could have rubbed salt into the wound, but, rather uncharacteristicall y, she said nothing. She smiled with clear and deliberate maliciousness.

This irritated the simian Realm Walker. When Malice continued to say nothing, Shadow was infuriated into speech. The elements remained calm, however, as she demonstrated less emotional volatility than her uncle. Far less, as she didn't run away from her emotions as he did.

"Why don't you leave me alone? Why don't you leave RAF alone? Why don't you leave my uncle alone? And, well, why don't you leave these Dwellers alone?" Shadow berated.

Malice said, her tone clearly manipulative, "But you don't understand, m'dear. They need me."

"Say what?" Shadow said, not expecting this answer, and completely disbelieving of her claim all the while. "Are you honestly serious?"

"Now, his land needs improving.
It's just too impossibly odd.
Someone needs to get some changes moving,
And I'm just the woman for the job!
Now, don't you ever wonder about his land?
How everything's upside down?
The creatures are so crazy in their RAF land.
They don't know that it's turned around!
Everything's all askew.
But I could change a thing or two!
And . . .
Don't you ever wonder about his land?
How everything is so confused?
Everything's disorganized in that land.
There should be just a few strict rules.
Everything's turned around.
Someone needs to tone it down!
And . . .
Wouldn't it be wonderful if that land
Were underneath a metal dome?
The traffic would be minimized in his land,
With everyone banned from this home.
Lands and creatures well in hand.
We'll make the colors much more bland.
With everything at my command.
When I'm the conqueror of RAFLand.
When I'm the conqueror of RAFLand."

There was a resounding silence that followed the end of this song.

"What. Was. That," Shadow said.

"What? Can't I get a villain song once and a while?" Malice said, with faux affront. "It's been forever since I last got one!!"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINE:
Overlooked

"Big deal," Shadow said, flippantly. She almost sounded as belligerent as her uncle could be, which Malice surprisingly didn't take any offense to this attitude. Mostly because Malice was angling behind her, with rather creepily creeper vibes.

Malice had drawn a control collar around Shadow's as if she was about to put a necklace on her. It lost none of its creeper vibes. However, Shadow was deeply offended. She used her mastery over the Metal elements to tear and rip it to shreds.

"How dare you?!" Shadow said, losing her usually pleasant, vivacious demeanor.

"Mind your elders, girl!" Malice said, allowing her frustration and anger to filter through her facade.

"I do," Shadow said, "but you haven't done anything to have earn respect. You just got old."

"You insolent Hatchling!" Malice roared. "You forget that I hold all the cards here. You are at my mercy. Your uncle and his pets are at the mercy of Shaw, my pet, who is unbeatable!! There is nothing either one of you can do to stop me!"

"Makin' a lot of assumptions there," Shadow observed.

"Shut up, you stupid child," Malice said, atrabilious, as she radioed an order through Shaw's collar tag. "Shaw. Attack. Do not rest until they are dead."

Shadow glared stubbornly at Malice, clenching jaw. She had the family hallmark of obstinacy. She wasn't about to lie down and allow Malice to get away with this.

***

"SHADOW!!" Cloak was raging. The elements were beginning to become as agitated as Cloak was. This was not good as loose debris and detritus was being flung, albeit unintentionally, at Shaw and it was absorbing the kinetic impacts, though they weren't really much to comment on. But it grew a millimeter with each minor impact. "SHADOW!!"

"This cannot be good," GH said, forcing himself to stand on his feet, his guitar still in its axe form. "He's just going to make things worse if he doesn't calm down."

"SHADOW!!"

"He's just gearing up before he loses total control," Saffa said, pulling herself up to standing. She didn't have the energy to morph yet, though. "It'll be like Garrotik's island all over again."

"No," Aquilai said, "worse than that."

"He can get worse?"

"SHADOW!!"

"You have no idea," Aquilai said. "He has never utilized his full power, you know that."

Abby nodded, "He was always afraid to go to his absolute zenith."

"SHADOW!!"

"He needs to stop it -- that Shaw thing." GH said, seriously and practical. "If that thing chooses to attack us . . ."

"SHA --"

SLAP!!

"CLOAKY!!" Saffa yelled. She had slapped him, across the face, her hand never dipping beneath the hood, keeping it whole and undamaged. Even if it did, she could just morph and demorph to regenerate. "Cloaky. You need to SNAP out of this."

A silent, stressful pause elapsed.

"NOW, Cloak!!"

[guitarhero01234]

Holy ****, this is getting intense.

Also, Shadows attitude. I LOVE it.

[redtailedsaffa]

I regret nothing.

[Cloak]

Perfect reaction, Saffa. I think I might work it into a chapter . . .

New chapter.

CHAPTER TEN:
A Shadow of Strength

"You stay here," Malice said, very harsh and strict. She clearly was expecting Shadow to obey, to capitulate. She's clearly never raised a kid before. "Stay here, and do not touch a thing."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Shadow said. She was never this disrespectful, usually, but Malice had no reason to expect respect. Or obedience for that matter.

"Girl, do as you are told!"

"No."

"Do as I command!"

"I'm not one of your lackeys, Malice," Shadow said, obstinate, "the answer is still no."

"You don't have a choice in this matter." Malice said.

"And, yet, I do." Shadow countered easily. She wasn't about to back down from Malice, whose bite was as bad as her bark sometimes, but oftentimes, not. "I have  a choice, as long as I choose to have one."

"You --"

"I nothing!" Shadow said, demonstrating the same force that her uncle could display. Only in her case,  it was far more controlled and less volatile. "You aren't my mother, you aren't my uncle. You are not any member of my family. You are not in any position of power here. You have NO authority over me."

"Your uncle's life hangs in the balance," Malice said, savagely. Getting, Shadow felt, far too close to her. "My Shaw will kill him with his little pets --"

"Wow."

"Yes," Malice said, proudly, "now you see that I mean bus--"

"Uncle was right," Shadow interrupted. "You really don't think these things through."

"What?!" Malice demanded, in scandalized tones.

"You've overlooked several things," Shadow said.

"You lying, insolant --"

"Bye!" Shadow said, in a manner very similar to her ancestor, Avatar. Unseen by Malice, Shadow had vanished into the earth and was already making her way back to her uncle and the other RAFians.

"What? You're not going --" Malice snarled, before realizing very quickly that she was talking to herself. "Where'd you go?"

[redtailedsaffa]

Told you she'd get by on her own.

[Cloak]

Yep. Now, in an effort to reduce my anxiety and worry, here's a new chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Move to Attack

"Saffa, you do realize just how dangerous --" Aquilai began, before Saffa, matter-of-factly, cut across him.

"I regret nothing." Then she turned to address Cloak. "Cloaky. You need to snap of it. Now."

Cloak seemed to still be in a bit of shock. He had failed to protect Shadow. He had failed her. He had failed. She was taken away from him again. There wasn't anything he could do. He did not know where she was. Had no idea what Malice was doing to her. He could do nothing to help . . .

"Cloak. Don't make me slap --"

He was helpless. Helpless to help her. Helpless to help anyone. He just hurt everyone that he touched. . . . He just hurt . . .

"The big ugly is moving!" Abby said. "And attacking!"

A scuffle was heard, while Cloak was having his emotional crisis. Saffa knew that he would be needed, otherwise he would become a potential liability. Though she did not say it or even really want to acknowledge it, but it was true.

"Cloak! I will slap you again, if you don't kindly pull yourself together and snap out of it!!"

"He's getting bigger!" GH warned, on his feet, his guitar in its axe form. It had been able to absorb the kinetic energy generated by its own blows. Making it bigger with every punch it both throws and takes. "This ain't good!"

There was a crunching sound as Aquilai was trying to waterbend ice around the Gossamer, trying to immobilize it, as fighting back only served to make it bigger and stronger. It broke the ice before any progress could be ascertained.

"Cloak! C'mon!!"

Hurting. He could only hurt. . . .

"Cloak, PLEASE!" Saffa said, sounding almost as if she was begging for lucidity and rationality to be restored to him. "We need you!! You hear me, Cloak? You. Are. NEEDED!!"

There was a sound, like glass shattering.

"We can't keep this up!" Aquilai shouted.

[redtailedsaffa]

This is absolutely how I'd react in this situation, actually. "Oh my god, screw your emotions! We need some rationality here or we're all dead! Oh **** this, I'm doing it myself."

[Cloak]

Excellent.

Sorry for the lateness of the next chapter (I'm still working on it), but time got away from me today.

New chapter. Sorry about the brevity.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Priorities

The Gossamer began to lurch forward. It didn't appear to be very fast, but that could be because it was the size of an adolescent tyrannosaur now. It's movements seemed slow and sluggish from the RAFians perspective, and yet it seemed to be getting bigger with each impact, regardless of whether it was its own or by the actions of RAF. Direct attacks, be it physical or projectile, were not only ineffective, but detrimental to the RAFians' success.

But they were at a loss. What could they do? Nothing they were capable of seemed to be able to help. They couldn't attack without it gaining strength and size. They couldn't defend without it gaining strength and size. There seemed to be nothing they can do.

"Aquilai has the right idea," Cloak said.

"Cloak!" Saffa said. "It's about friggin' time!"

Cloak had decided to ignore this. He quickly assessed the situation, "We need to somehow restrict its movement. We need to prevent it from absorbing the kinetic energy."

"Thanks, Sherlock," GH said, testily, still using his guitar in his axe form. "We would have never thought to figure that out!"

Cloak said nothing, but he didn't take these remarks personally. Or at least he tried not to. He could easily think of two ways they possibly could easily subdue the creature. Both of which he could do, one that Aquilai was possibly capable of (at a full moon) and the other was one that only he had the possible ability to do. But  he did not suggest them, because of the sheer utter dark techniques they were. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that.

"And just how do we accomplish that?" Abby said, dodging a swung fist from Shaw. "Not all of us have passive abilities!"

Cloak assessed this. He found himself unable to not consider the two dark abilities . . . no. No, he must not stoop to these temptation to use them. He must not allow sway from his inner darkness.

"Just keep doing what we're doing!" Saffa declared. "Maybe we can wear it out."

She was mistaken. Gossamer do not tire. At least, not in the conventional sense. The more they move, the more energy they exert, that uses up the energy that they have absorbed. It was one reason why Gossamer have a rather sedentary lives, as this also the energy that nourishes them, at least in part.

Cloak thought he saw this when it moved to strike GH. Perhaps that was a way?

[guitarhero01234]

Cloak thought he saw this when it moved to strike GH. Perhaps that was a way?

If anybody suggests, "Hey, let's just let this behemoth beat the tar out of gh," I swear I'm killing you all in your sleep.

[Cloak]

That wasn't my intention, GH, but you're so getting a +1. I really needed that laugh.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Dangerous Dismissals

"Where is she?" Malice demanded, refusing to believe that Shadow was miles away, nearing the place where she could reunite with her uncle, fighting the Gossamer. "Where is she?"

Malice looked rather deranged, so her sanity was once again called into question.  She was so keen to have Shadow under her thumb so she could have a bargaining chip with Cloak. She neglected to remember that Shadow had elemental mastery, just like her uncle. It was only weaker than his due to her youth, but she was just as skillful. Only she didn't have a predilection for any element, unlike her uncle, her teacher.

But Malice, in her sheer arrogance and burdening superciliousness, refused to believe that she made a mistake. Or even admit to it when she had made one. It was rather sad, actually.

"Where IS she?" Malice said, with an edge of panic to her voice.

She had never kidnapped Shadow from right beneath Cloak's nose before. Never. She knew that she was in some serious crap now. She knew that she had crossed a line with Cloak by doing this, and she had acted against her better judgement anyway. Cloak could never be brought to kill her, because of that shameful weakness of mercy.

This, however, was before Cloak had killed her ancestor, Cataclysm. He had done that . . . and, yet, she still lived in later confrontations with the volatile Elements Master. She lived . . . because Cloak was still burdened with that cancerous quality of mercy. Even killing her verbally-abusive ancestor had not cut away that gangreneous attribute from him.

She stopped her desperate, and inevitably fruitless search, to ponder and consider this. She dropped the threadbare pillow that she held as if she was expecting Shadow to be hiding under it, like a bug.

She has killed a number of her own kind -- Collector, Gamesmaster, Abomination, Corruption, her own parents, possibly more than she could have think of off the top of her head. . . . And, yet, never felt bad nor any qualms about doing such. She wouldn't hesitate to do it again, in the future. This is why he just could not understand the concept of mercy. If you had power to flaunt, why would you not abuse it with reckless abandon? If you had the authority, why not throw your weight around all the time?

Malice's face contorted with disgust, Shadow's escape somewhat forgotten. And her mind continued to dwell upon this sudden, and persistant, fixation of hers.

How coukd these people be so foolish? There was nothing more important than power, and those too stupid and childish to seek it out! Family. Friendship. Sincerity. Altruism. All absurd concepts by those too idiotic, too distracted from the ultimate goal of life. The goal to dominate, to conquer, to oppress and deregulate!! Why can't these deluded children see this? Why can't they understand this simple concept?

Then she remembered what had agitated her in the first place. Cloak's wrath and ire was bound to reach a peak with her. He may not be so reticient to slay her for her transgressions. Her life may hang in the balance, as she knew that she could not survive when it came to blows against the Elements Master.

She would have to distract him.

"Shaw," Malice said contacting her very favorite pet, "belay the last order, and head to the city. Kill as many of the populace there as you can. Do not hesitate. Do not succumb to compassion. Kill. Every. Last. One."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
What Are We? Chopped Liver?

The battle was a stalemate, in the loosest of terms.

Everything that the RAFians threw at the Gossamer, Shaw, he was able to absorb the kinetic energy of. But he seemed to have stopped growing in size. But not brute strength and power, which continued to grow with each kinetic impact it absorbed.

"Why hasn't the collar popped off or something yet?" Saffa asked.

"What does it matter?!" GH screamed in frustration. He was dodging frantically, unable to do anything without making the situation worse. "Its giving a serious beatdown here!!"

"It matters," Saffa replied dangerously, "that if it popped off the threat would have been ended! And it is still on it! Even though it's practically the size of a duplex!"

"We do not know the natural disposition of this creature had without the collar," Aquilai said. "It could possibly be wor-- hey! Watch it!"

Aquilai had to dodge another strike, by rolling and tumbling out of the way.

"Worse?" Abby said. "How could it be any worse?!"

"I can imagine," Cloak said. He was still holding back the two possibilities, fearing the darkness required to use them. "But there is also still the problem of just getting close enough to take if off. It swipes at us before we can, and this kinetic absorption . . . it's a real problem."

"Nice summation," Saffa said, caustically sardonic. "But it doesn't help us take this thing down. For every bit of energy it exerts, it always manages to recoup it!"

"There must be a cap to just how much it can absorb!" Aquilai insisted. "Being able to absorb things without end, without limit, like that is physically impossible."

"Didn't stop Syphoon," Saffa pointed out quietly.

No one could really argue the point. None of them would really forget that event, as it demonstrated that there were threats out there that the RAFians couldn't outright stop singlehandedly.

But then, Shaw seemed to lose interest in them in the most abrupt way possible. It turned away from thek and began to head to their left. It was suddenly as if the RAFian didn't exist, and, in the simplistic mind of the Gossamer, they had ceased to exist.

"Did . . . did we bore it? Or something?" Abby asked incredulously.

[redtailedsaffa]

Control collar malfunction?