Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Deceptively Dangerous

"Cloak," Saffa said, with an air of trying to patiently reason with a very emotional toddler, "that doesn't look at all like the creature we saw."

"Neither do you look like yourself when you morph Psycholeopterran or Shear Goliath," Cloak countered. "And neither does Underseen if he doesn't want to look like his human self."

"What are you getting at?" GH asked.

There was a crinkling sound and a sort of "snuff snuff" sound. The creature was eating some discarded, crumpled up aluminum foil.

"It's . . . eating aluminum?" Abby questioned, completely nonplussed. "How is that even possible without it hurting it?"

Cloak stopped to consider, though his eyes never left the creature. He could only come to one conclusion, but found it rather farfetched.

"Ah eeyah!" GH winced as he heard the sound of chewing the aluminium foil. It felt as if he was chewing it himself. "Can someone get it to stop it?"

But apparently it had finished its foil snack, and went in search for more aluminum to ingest. It waddled off, and out of Cloak's eyesight, but not out of range of his Earthsight.

"Still looks harmless to me," Abby said.

"Wait until it metamorphizes into something that seeks out an element that composes your bodies," Cloak said. "Then it'll be dangerous."

"'Until it meta--', I think a little elaboration is in order, Cloak." GH said, perplexed.

"I have no concrete proof," Cloak said, starting to pursue the creature as he was having trouble Earthsight, "but I think this creature eats only a single element. When it metamorphizes it feasts upon a different element. An Element Eater, not to put too fine a point on it."

"Aluminum has an atomic number of thirteen," GH said, "and the creature had at least thirteen legs and eyes."

His three fellow looked at him, impressed.

"Hey, I'm smart!" he protested.

***

But the Element Eater was metamorphizing again. This time it was pale brown with twenty-one pink eyes arranged into three rows of seven eyes, with twenty-one rippling legs ending in two claws. It possessed a large mouth with rows of sinister teeth.

It had an aggressive disposition, and search for its new elemental foodstuff. . . .

[guitarhero01234]

Actually, when I was in middle or high school and got incredibly bored, I would try to memorize the periodic table. I got up to . . . nickel (28), if I remember right.

I'm a nerd, I know.

[Cloak]

Noted.

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINE:
Thirty-Two Eyes

Cloak noticed that the electronic humming that signified the creature to his ears had briefly changed timbre, pitch, and tone. It seemed, at first, to be too subtle to notice. He was surprised when he realized that it was.

"The humming changed," Cloak said.

"I still don't hear anything," GH said.

"You have human hearing," Cloak said, at once.

The tone, timbre, and pitch of the humming returned to normal. It was almost unnoticeable, you had to actually be looking for it to notice it. Cloak had a thought about it.

"It must have metamorphized," Cloak said. It was the only thing that Cloak could come up with to explain it.

"What if it gets larger with every metamorphosis?" Abby asked.

Cloak had considered it, and it made sense. And it worried him. If the Element Eater managed to metamorphize to the point where it craved Ununoctium, or whatever it was called, the element woth the atomic number of 118. It would possibly mean thatit would be 9'5", roughly. Bigger than Cloak himself, albeit slightly.

"Then," Cloak said, "we have to stop it before it gets to far down the periodic table."

"What do you mean 'down the periodic table'?" Abby said, almost as if she was hoping Cloak didn't mean what she thought that he did.

"We've seen it twice now," GH answered. "And the second time it had more legs, more eyes than the last. I'm pretty sure that it was feeding on oxygen when we first saw it as it had eight legs and eyes, and oxygen has the atomic number of eight. Then it ate aluminum, which is further down the periodic table."

Pause.

"Okay, guys, the looks are getting rather grating now," he replied in response to the almost dumbfounded looks on their faces. "The joke's been over a long while now."

Cloak's ears perked up. He heard the hum fluctuation again. It was metamorphizing again. It was just gonna get bigger.

***

The Element Eater was indeed metamorphizing.

It was now two and two-thirds feet long and had pachydermic pale green skin with thirty-two deep strawberry red eyes, arranged into four rows of eight eyes. It also had thirty-two tentacle legs, each tipped with five claws. It had a wide mouth with teeth like that of a blender.

[Cloak]

Tomorrow's chapter may be late.

New chapter.

CHAPTER TEN:
Conflict With the Connoisseur

"We have to make haste," Cloak said, going after the Element Eater, tailing it by the deep, electronic hum that no human ear could hear, "we don't want it to metamorphize eating one of the radioactive elements like plutonium or uranium."

"But it would just eat them, right? It wouldn't harm anyone right?" Abby asked.

"No, it appears to take on the properties of that which it likes to ingest." Cloak said. "So it itself would become radioactive."

"You're overlooking one thing, though, Cloak," Saffa said. "Consider where the creature would have to go in order to have those kinds of elements to eat."

"Well," GH said, "this got amped up to eleven rather quickly."

"It'll be amped up to a hundred and eleven if we don't find the Gateburst thing," Cloak said. Then he listened and then uttered a Realm Walker curse that did not translate into Realm Walker languages. "It's metamorphizing again!"

It was GH's turn for a choice expletive. "Again?"

"So soon?!" Abby gasped.

"At this point it will be beyond indium within the hour!" Saffa declared.

She wasn't wrong, you know. It had metamorphized beyond indium. It was now a light yellow with fifty-three dark purple eyes arranged in five rows of ten, with the extra three atop three stalks. It had a needle-like teeth as narrow as syringes, and fifty-three legs which were like centipede legs except that they ended seven claws each. It was also a little longer than four feet. No longer a small nuisance, but capable of legitimately harming someone.

And Cloak had just found it.

"There!" he proclaimed, as made his way to it.

It didn't seem to be afraid or intimidated by Cloak. If anything, it was as if it was saying, "I'm looking for iodine, eff off."

Cloak, though he didn't voice it at the time, didn't like this attitude from it. He was too used to being ignored by his narcissistic mother, and he really didn't like it. He was almost tempted to say, "Don't you dare ignore me."

But he supposed that they have the element of surprise.

[Cloak]

New chapter. Sorry about the brevity.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Form . . . Change!

After snacking on some iodized salt, which only contained trace amounts of the element that it craved as it excreted the salt without the iodine in it, it apparently was sufficient enough to trigger another metamorphosis.

"What it doing?" Abby asked, though she already knew, as the Element Eater curled into a ball and became a wad of litht yellow flesh.

Cloak utter the untranslatable Realm Walker expletive, as the creature darkened to a dull green. "It's metamorphizing. Come. We have to cover ground."

"Could you just kill it? Right now? With any one of the six elements?" GH asked as it ballooned to seven and a third feet long.

"It's an Element Eater, GH," Cloak said, as the Element Eater opened eight-five firetruck-red eyes arranged in six rows of fourteen with the remaining eye on a short stalk . "That may just present it with the very element that in now requires to feed upon."

"What about fire, then?" Saffa asked, quick on the uptake, as the creature grew eighty-five rippling legs ending in seven sharp, rending claws. "Fire isn't a chemical element, but a form of energy."

Cloak hesitated, which allowed the Elements Eater to reveal its wide mouth full of rending teeth. "Fire might not work, considering it clearly takes properties of the elements that it feasts itself upon. Some conduct heat, some don't. And I do not know the properties of every element."

"Eighty-five? Technium? Antimony?" GH said. "Can't remember."

"Astatine," Saffa said.

"You Googled that on your phone," GH accused.

Saffa's reply was cut off when it saw the lot of them, and despite its previous harmless and benign nature, it seemed scads more aggressive and hostile. It was because of the rarity of astatine, the rarest naturally-occuring elements.

It roared as it charged them, only being slightly smaller than Cloak himself.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
No! Baaaaaaaad Element Eater! Bad!

The RAFians hadn't any astatine in them or on them. This charge wasn't about food or sustenance, but merely an intimidation tactic. Due to the rarity of astatine, it became very territorial and fierce. And it saw the RAFians as threats, which wasn't a wrong assessment, per se.

Cloak projected a golden-scarlet energy shield with a swipe of his left hand, leaving the creature to slam headlong into it. It stunned itself by doing this, leaving it vulnerable for a few moments.

But the RAFians hesitated. They didn't know how to kill this creature. Anything they used might have the element that it sought in it. They did not know what had astatine   in it or not. Could they take such a risk? Could they afford to be reckless at such a juncture?

"Hey! Where you going?" GH said, as the Element Eater shuffled off in a daze. "Where you going mother--"

"We need to capture it, before it finds sufficient astatine to metamorphize again." Cloak said at once.

"What stopped you from just encasing it in an energy bubble and leaving it it as simple as that?" GH asked. Suddenly, a branch smacked him good upon the backside when it seemed only to bend in the wind. But there was no wind. "Ow!"

"Let's stop playing around, GH," Cloak said, urging the others forward. "Come! Before it metamorphizes again. It's becoming difficult to Earthsight it."

"Why?" Abby asked.

"Background vibrations," Cloak said, as they moved. "And it has light footsteps for its size."

They continued, until Cloak stopped and said, "Gateburst! It is metamorphizing!"

"How?!" Saffa demanded. "Astatine is not a common element!!"

"And that could be it," Cloak said, darkly. "It may have felt that it exhausted its supply and is going to metamorphize to get a more available element."

"Oh, my god," Abby said. "It's just going to get bigger!"

"Our concerns are more grave than that, Abby," GH said. "Surely, its to the radioactive elements now. Meaning that it itself might be radioactive."

"And might unintentionally lead to the meltdowns of nuclear power plants," Saffa said.

***

The Element Eater was a mass of flesh that ballooned up to seven and a half feet long. It was hot pink in color with ninety-one deep brown eyes arranged into seven rows of thirteen eyes. He gained a gnashing mouth which gave it a sinister grimace. It gained a strange hodgepodge of legs, ninety-one in number, each ending in two claws.

It was after proactinium now, an immediate product of nuclear fission of thorium to uranium, emitting beta radiation.

[Cloak]

Might not be twenty chapters this time.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Cloak's Decision

"There it is," Cloak said. But even he could sense the beta radiation coming off the creature, a property it had taken from its desired elemental meal, proactinium.

The others made to move forward, but Cloak stopped them. None of them were wearing aluminum plating, or some derivative, and their clothing would hardly serve as a deterrent. It was dangerous, Cloak felt, for them to be even this close. He, himself, however, was not in any danger, given his species didn't have DNA and beta radiation could cause spontaneous mutations. Even cancer. The Realm Walker genetic code was a bit more complicated than deoxyribonucleic acid, being essentially an energy being.

Granted, the beta particle would have to actually strike DNA for this to happen, but Cloak wasn't sure about this, though aware that it might have been in use in radiation therapy. He knew that it would be neutron radiation (which apparently causes other things to become radioactive, even living tissue), or gamma rays (which would be certainly lethal), or alpha rays (which can be stopped with a sheet of paper). But that was neither here nor there.

"What is it, Cloak?" Abby asked.

"The creature is emitting beta radiation," Cloak said. "I must go in alone."

"Why? Won't it hurt --"

"I'm a Realm Walker, remember, Abby," Cloak said seriously. "A being of energy, essentially. I have no deoxyribonucleic acid for the stray neutrinos or positrons to affect and afflict. It cannot mutate my genetic code. It cannot give me cancer. But it can for you three. And, who knows? It might affect you girls' morphing ability, I don't know."

"You still shouldn't do this alone," GH said stubbornly, fingering the neck of his alder guitar.

"Not many RAFians are impervious to radiation," Cloak said, still refusing to allow the three to proceed any further.  "Parker's armor most likely can block it, but he off on a mission with Helen. Estelore by her very stellar physiology could survive easily, but she's who know how many billion miles away, on one of her galactic sojourns. Oceanspray? Blaze? HannibalMoon? Sam/Spectre? Demos? All on other missions, or PR campaigns. It has to be me."

Cloak erected an energy barrier, a domed energy bubble, encapsulating him and his opponent. There was an ulterior reason for this, but he had hoped that it would not come to that. It might mean a visit from those swaggering pea****s on the Council, unless they got impeached and overthrown. Again.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
You and Me, Nowhere to Go

Cloak walked into the area finding the Element Eater, desperate to escape. There was no proactinium in here for it to eat. It was hungry for it. It needed it. It was ravenous. It was hostile. It was aggressive. It was angry.

Cloak had no fear of the creature, but he was not complacent or arrogant about it. He did not swagger up against the brute, which was just about his size, only with more legs and eyes.

"You cannot escape," Cloak said, fully aware that this creature was not sentient, and could not answer him back. "It is futile to continue trying."

Naturally, the beast didn't stop trying, not recognizing Cloak words for what they were. It wasn't really understood if it was even capable. But, it didn't matter, this creature was dangerous. Cloak would do what must be done.

But his gentler instincts couldn't help but feel pity for the thing. It was just doing what it was biologically programmed to do, and, in doing so, had made itself a threat to every living thing on this planet with deoxyribonucleic acid as the mode to carry their gentic information. And thing about this realm, and this planet, was that most organic lifeforms, if not all, had DNA. But it was hardly the creature's fault.

Cloak watched as it still tried to escape the golden-scarlet dome that Cloak had erected. He knew that it couldn't but couldn't help but wonder if it was feeling fear, feeling apprehension, feeling trepidation. He wondered if it was even capable of feeling at all.

"There is no escape, creature," Cloak said, pointlessly. "No escape, but the sweet embrace of Death himself."

Cloak had met Death, so it was rather awkward to phrase it like that.

It suddenly realized that Cloak was there, as it turned all of its many eyes towards him. No protactinium . . . it was so very hungry. It could tell that Cloak had none of it in him or on him, but . . . it was so hungry . . .

"Don't do it," Cloak said, knowing what was going to happen, predicting its thoughts. "You won't like the results."

Naturally, the Elements Eater did not respond, did not understand or recognized the words or the import of the message. It shucked off beta radiation like profuse sweat. It thudded all its many legs as it charged forward to attack. Through Earthsight it was almost like it was a one-creature-stampede.

Cloak easily sidestepped the charge with little effort. This just enraged the beast, causing the beta radiation to increase dramatically. Cloak wondered if it would downgrade to elements with smaller atomic nuclei, but he somehow doubted it.

He sidestepped another charge. This was too easy, if Cloak kept playing it defensively like this. He would have to attack. He would have to slay this poor creature for doing what nature programmed it to do . . .

He would have to harden his heart.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Pulling Punches

Better said than done.

He still, even now, questioned his decision to slay Cataclysm, questioned his ruthlessness with killing the siren, and more of his more questionable choices. They weighed on him years afterward, whether or not he wanted it to.

It charged again, and Cloak dodged easily. The Element Eater was surprisingly fast for its size, mass, and hodgepodge of legs, but yet too slow for Cloak's feline reaction times. Yet Cloak was reluctant to strike back.

He was able to be all brave and determined and committed when he was with the others, yet he was being rather hesitant when it came down to it, when he considered all the facets of the creature. He had no idea that it was an artificially-created creature, that it was designed, not by nature, but mere random chance. Though one could claim that's all of evolution is, change by random chance of an alteration, a mutation, in someone's DNA.

Cloak somersaulted over the creature, as he was mulling all this over. He firmly pulled himself out of his thoughts. This was no time to have an existential crisis of sorts. He . . . he had to harden his heart. He had to be ruthless. He had to attack. And he couldn't hold back. He must not hold back . . . he must not . . .

It charged again, only this time to be greeted with a giant  fist straight to the face. He flung his hand back, forming a tendril of golden-scarlet energy, and slammed it down on the Element Eater. But he was still holding back, pulling his punches.

Killing in cold blood isn't exactly an easy act, not when you're a person that feels anything other than anger, hatred, fear, or selfishness. Even like this. Cloak didn't even remember how he managed to kill the siren without so many qualms . . .

He pressed his attack, with the Element Eater backing away now. Something about this, attacking it in this way, just felt wrong to Cloak. Just felt like something out of his character, something that was just not him.

But he had to this. He was the only one who can.

But he had to harden his heart. He was the only one who could do this.

But he had to be ruthless. He was the only one who could do this.

He continued to press his attack, resorting to energy blasts now, causing the creature to flee. Cloak, secretly hating himself for it inspiring fear in another in such a way. He didn't like this . . .

Perhaps it would be best if he ended this quickly, as he fiddled nervously with the clasp on his cloak. . . .

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
What Do You You Think You're Doing?!

He narrowed the dome, so that only he and the Element Eater were present. No innocent tree or bush in the way, no innocent woodland creature also trapped within the confines of it. This would be the easiest way for him to deal with it.

It did cross his mind that it might be considered cruel and heartless to do this. Cloak had no idea if it would be fast and painless or fast and painful. Cloak could not really bear to see how it seemed to be cowering before him. He did not like to witness its cringing before him. It made him feel like some sort of warlord or something.

It was cringing so much that it seemed to blur. Its color seemed to drain out of it as it closed all of its eyes. Its legs seemed to retract into into its body. And the eyes and mouth seemed to have sealed over . . .

"Gateburst!!" Cloak spat.

Cloak had neglected to take into account the humming noise. Failing to notice how its constant drone shifted ever so slightly. It was metamorphizing again. For the final time.

He could still drop his cloak, but he watched the creature transfigure itself into its final form. With a hundred and eighteen black eyes, a hundred and eighteen mismatched legs, and a rather unusual mouth, a strange proboscis. Oh, and it was just under ten feet tall.

"Ununoctium," Cloak guessed, "or oganesson, whatever. Definitely radioactive, considering it's artificial nature."

There was little point in saying this aloud, but Cloak didn't care. He missed his chance at exploiting the creature's moment of vulnerability. One could possibly chalk it up to feline curiosity or not wanted to kill it in such an exposed state, or just plain, sheer stupidity on his part. In any case, his hesitation had allowed the creature to trigger its last metamorphosis.

Cloak found himself being livid and enraged with himself. He was too concerned with the aftermath of what needed to be done. Too concerned with the politics of it, too concerned with the trivial matters surrounding it.

It had to be done. And it had to be done now.

[Cloak]

New chapter. Sorry about the brevity.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Enough of This

The Element Eater roared a rather tinny roar. Cloak followed suit, his roar sounded more throaty by comparison. But there was a standoff between the two, broken when the Elements Eater charged him and Cloak somersaulted over it, springing up from the ground and the creature's centauroid back. He landed daintily behind the creature.

Then he slammed a golden-scarlet tentacle into the creature, knocking it off its feet. But it quickly got to its many feet, snarling a strangled-sounded growl. But Cloak would not up his attack.

He whipped it viciously with a water whip, not unlike a waterbender. But any injury done seemed to heal up, to seal up, fairly easily, despite it not have been fed at all.

Cloak brutally impaled it with a spire of earth, not unlike an earthbender. But when he withdrew and retracted the earth, the creature got back up, the hole healing into an actual hole in the creature. Cloak wondered if it truly had any internal organs.

Cloak swallowed his pyrophobia, and blasted it with it the sheer force of flames he could muster. But his pyrophobia still tempered his hand, the power of this flame. But, apparently, it was not flammable or combustible, as the fire did not seem to affect it as it would were it human.

Cloak spun around, pulling the air around him, and blasted it with hurricane gales. It caused it to tumble head over many feet, to the edge of the dome, which Cloak still maintained.

Cloak stood on the other side, watching his foe warily. This creature was surprising resilient, which would present a problem. If he was any other species, that was. The Element Eater would not be getting out of this dome alive.

"It is time," Cloak said, solemnly, "to end this debacle."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Time to End This

"It is time," Cloak had said, "to end this debacle.

Naturally, the creature held no understanding of these words, but was collapsed on its side. It wasn't a feint. It had exhausted all its energy, and it couldn't even metamorphize to recoup any energy. It couldn't even downgrade to a lower form, as that would just make it smaller, and less of a threat, supposing that it even could.

Cloak narrowed the dome further. He wanted to keep the collateral damage at a bare minimum. Or maybe negated completely. He added an energy floor to the dome, so it was just him and the Elements Eater. No collateral damage.

The Element Eater appeared to breathe heavily, which Cloak wouldn't take as ironclad proof that the creature breathes. But that was not important now, as he walked the three steps toward the creature.

Cloak reached for the strong clasp on his cloak, mostly unseen by his Dweller friends. The creature whimpered, but Cloak would not allow his sympathies to sway him from this. It had to be done. It had to be.

Cloak deftly unclasped it, and his cloak fell away. His corona flared, unsuppressed.

***

"What d'you think going on in there?" GH asked.

The three were still standing where Cloak left them. They were watching intently, wondering, worrying. They could not see through the energy dome, and so couldn't see the goings on.

"He shrank the dome twice," Abby said. "There's probably a good reason."

"We won't know," Saffa reasoned, "not until he drops the dome."

"What if he can't beat it?" Abby asked.

GH snorted at the idea. "Cloak? Please, Abby."

"We don't know where it came from," Abby said, "for all we know, it could have come from the Universal Nexus. You know, Cloak's homeworld."

"Wouldn't it need to be wearing a cloak, then?" GH asked.

"The Black Mercies didn't," Saffa said, darkly.

Then the dome evaporated, and only Cloak stood there, alone. His cloak was on, and he wore a morose, contemplative look on his face.

"It's done," he said.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
You Like RAF?

As Parker took on a Splixson DNAlien, GH was making a promotional vid for RAF.

"You like RAF?" he asked the camera. "I'm mad about RAF."

Music started up.

"Now, RAF is a wonderful thing, you see.
Every RAFian has their own personality.
You just take a look and instantly
You know a RAFian is whatcha wanna be!"

He strummed a little as images began to flood the screen of the RAF campus -- the AFC building, the ARP building, and the AFFA building. Then GH picked up the song:

"You like RAF? I'm mad about RAF!
Now say that I wanted I really liked what I see,
I just click this and, magically,
There something fantastic that comes over me,
Understand, my little chickadee?"

Images of the spacious auditorium, the immaculate mess hall, the stretching grounds, the placid lake were shown before GH continued.

"You like RAF? I'm mad about RAF!
Now some of these RAFians aren't mad at all.
Some are quite reserved.
Some are quiet and small.
Some are more daring, they laugh at fate!
Its a matter of taste, but it's really great!"

Shots of the General Building, the archives, and more. Soon enough, however, GH continued his song into completion.

"You like RAF? I'm mad about RAF!
Now its amazing how RAF can emphasis your style,
You can go high-fashion, you can go hog wild!
RAF's for everyone all over the world!
RAF's for boys! RAF's for girls!
RAF's for the workin' man!
RAF's for fun!
RAF's for the winter!
RAF's for the sun!
RAF's for the Hunters!
RAF's for the game!
RAF's for the little girl who lives down the lane!
You like RAF? I'M MAD ABOUT RAF!!"

After the vid ended, GH inquired, "So, what did you think?"

Abby and Saffa exchanged a brief glance before responding. GH noticed.

"It's good, GH, but --" Abby said.

"But?" GH repeated.

"But people are just going to think that it's propaganda," Saffa said, choosing not to mince words and be blunt. "I don't think it'll help our PR standings like you hope."


Song source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NJkg_9536PU

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Disgust

"What did you think about what I would do if you did that and died? Hmmm? What would happen to me then, huh?"

"What about me, huh? I work my butt off and what do I come home to?"

Those were two of the mildest jibes from his mother. The rest were just as self-serving, just as selfish, just as . . . condescending.

Ever since he reached young adulthood, roughly 180 Dweller Earth years, he had been plagued with how to service his mother. He had unwittingly fed into her narcissism in this decade (century, Dweller time) spent in her company. He wasn't allowed to show any emotion practically, a habit he only recently started to get out of. He was desperate for parental approval, but he never got any from her. No matter how assiduously and diligently he worked to get it, he never did. And, despite what she said to the contrary, he did try -- it just was never up to scratch in her eyes.

When he realized that nothing he did would ever be good enough, he lost motivation to do things to his very best ability. Why bother when she was going to spot some flaw, some fallacy, some imperfection in every single thing he did? She would never be satisfied, never be appeased, with his endeavors at the monumental chorework sat before him. She would never help him unless it meant immediate benefits for her in some way. He was really a Cinderfella. . . .

All this led, not only to disgust for his mother, but deep resentment. As his sister, Dagger, said once so long ago, "It's always about her."

As so it was, and according to his aunt, Wheeza, she was always that way. Cloak couldn't say that he was really surprised at this, considering his mother's irritatingly inflated ego. She never thought about her actions as they would affect others, never knew how desperately her only son wanted to die while living with her, with no escape. Cut off from basically every one he knew from school, who had gone on to do other things. And yet he was here -- stuck with her.

"Cloak," Aniyu prompted.

How do you reconcile so many years of disgust, resentment, and dislike? Was it even truly possible? He had thought that he was over this. But it was a lie. A lie that he told himself for far too long. He wasn't over this. He wasn't and he wondered if he ever would.

She also could never be corrected when she was in one of her cranky moods. If she was, she would pull his ear for daring to defy her. Cloak wasn't a son to her, but some sort of live-in servant. No, a slave.

Actually, now that he thought of it, it actually oscillated. Most days he was nothing but a lowly slave. Others, far fewer, were as if his mother considered him a pet, a creature of subpar intelligence to her own. Those were the good days when she wasn't so verbally abusive to him.

She took so many opportunities away from him, and then turned around and told him to grow up. But Cloak knew that he wasn't entirely innocent in this, he was complacent in the fact that he so blindly let her do such. He had let her . . . let himself reject so many opportunities. It was his fault just as much as hers, on that one count. This he would admit, though with some difficulty.

He didn't only feel disgust with his mother, but he also felt it with himself.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

BOOK CXXVII:
VENGEANCE
CHAPTER ONE:
Hard to Let Go

GH was just getting back from having to deal with an Opticoid DNAlien, when he looked up Andy on his social media. He had since learned what the whole "being friends with" characters meant. He felt a little sheepish that he didn't figure it out sooner.

But then he saw something that caused his heart to sink.

"In a relationship."

Andy was in a relationship. With a guy. With a guy that was the complete reverse of what GH was. Stocky, with repulsively bulging muscles. So much hair on his body that he could pass for a dwarf Sasquatch. GH thought the guy was really ugly as well, wondering if he even worked at the same place as Andy.

GH felt heartbroken and felt like crying. But he had no one to blame but himself, as he did not make his move when he had the chance. He felt much regret as he thought to himself in song:

In a perfect world,
One I've never known,
We would never need to face the world alone.
They can have the world.
I'm create my own.
I may not be brave or strong or smart,
But somewhere in my secret heart,
I know,
Love will find a way.
Anywhere, I go, I'm home.
If he was there beside me . . .
Like dark turning into day,
Somehow I'll come through.
Now that I've become blue,
Love will find a way.
I was so afraid.
Now I realize
That I was wrong,
And so love never dies
There's a perfect world,
Shining in my eyes.
And if only you could feel it too
The happiness I feel with you.
You'd know,
Love will find a way.
Anywhere we go,
We're home,
If we are there together. . . .
Like dark turning into day,
Somehow we'll come through.
Now that I've become blue,
Love will find a way,
I know love will find a way. . . .

"Daddy?" Leatherhead asked. "What's wrong?"

This snapped GH out of his bitter, rather stalkerish song. He shoved such dark thoughts where they belonged -- outside of his mind.

"Nothing, LH," GH said, gently parental, "it's . . . nothing."

***

"Cloak, you know why your energy is tied up here, am I right?" Aniyu asked, gently but shrewdly.

"Because of disgust," Cloak said, quietly.

"You know that there's more to it than that, Cloak," Aniyu said, gently.

"Yes . . ." Cloak said. "The disgust I have for her has intermingled and meshed and entangled with the disgust I have with myself."

"Now you know what you need to do, Cloak," the lupine Realm Walker said.

Cloak said nothing.

"You need not only forgive Ursa for her transgressions that disgust you so," Aniyu explained, in a quiet but instructive tone, "but you need to also forgive yourself. Only then can you clear these vines, only then can you free your energy from these blockages."