Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Yes, yes, I know. "Stronger Than You" is the song most overused in Memoirs. I acknowledge it.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Rise Up, RAFians!

"You've lost, cloaked one," Mon Gall said. "Don't embarrass yourself, and die quickly."

This caused Cloak to laugh, "You clearly know nothing of Realm Walkers."

"And what are Realm Walkers supposed to be?"

"Exactly," Cloak snarled, extending another energy blade from his left hand. "You know nothing of what I'm capable of."

Cloak closed his eyes, and he stood. He felt the others stirring. Standing. Defiant of this monstrous force that curb-stomped them earlier. Mon Gall was clearly less than impressed.

"Nor anything we're capable of," Cloak said, as his cloak billowed melodramatically behind him and as the other were walking to his side. They all displayed bruises or cuts or both, but the looked quite able and willing to fight again. RAFians are a determined lot.

"Is that so?" Mon Gall said, taking that as an impudent insult. "Unity is just a cheap tactic to make weak beings stronger. Quit embarrassing yourself! I've seen the extent of your abilities."

Cloak chuckled, "No, you haven't."

GH began to play, and Cloak sang:

"We are RAF."

Underseen sang:

"Back together."

Faerie sang:

"And we're never going down at the hands of the likes of you."

GH sang, with a smarmy sort of smile on his face:

"Because we're so much better."

Sakki sang:

"And every part of me is saying, 'go get him'."

Az sang:

"The few of us ain't gonna follow your rules."

Underseen sang:

"Come at us without any of your fancy tools."

Cloak sang:

"Let's go, just us and you."

GH echoed:

"Let's go, just us and you."

Then the battle began again in earnest, only Mon Gall was on the offensive, and was having difficulty catching or hitting the RAFians. All their Marks were glowing bright, the "R" sigil on their dominant hands.

Cloak sang, whilst dodging a flurry of blows that really seemed slow. The gash on Mon Gall's arm was bleeding now, weakening him.

"Go ahead and try and hit us, if you're able."

Underseen added, snaking around a powerful kick:

"Can't you see that our relationships are stable?"

Az observed, freezing Mon Gall's foot in place, which he easily freed.

"I can see you hate the way we intermingle."

GH deduced, still off to the side, still playing:

"But I think you're just mad 'coz you're single."

Cloak sang, riding off the slipstream of a punch and using that to glide behind Mon Gall and slash him with his left energy blade:

"And you're not gonna stop what we made together."

GH added, whilst still playing, which was actually empowering the others:

"We are gonna stay like this forever."

Sakki sang, as she somersaulted over Mon Gall's head and gave him a swift bicycle kick as she landed:

"If you break us apart, we'll just come back newer."

Faerie, delivering a diving kick, sang:

"And we'll always be twice the person that you are."

Then they all sang in chorus, which irritated Mon Gall. He never much liked music of any kind. He believed it to be for the weak and lazy.

" We are motivated
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
Uni-i-i-i-ity."

As GH played, his Mark glowed, as did the others, brighter and brighter, until his very guitar started to glow RAFian blue as well. His symphokinesis was proving invaluable in the RAFians current success. He had become their white mage, in a way, for this battle.

Cloak slammed Mon Gall to the floor -- not an easy thing to do, though they were of equal height, Mon Gall had more bulk to him. So, Cloak didn't only slam him to the ground, he slammed him through the ground.

The others joined him, with GH ever so dutifully still playing.

Az sang, standing over Mon Gall.

"This is who we are."

Cloak sang, looking at Mon Gall with disgust as he staggered to his feet:

"This is who I am."

Sakki added:

"And if you think you can stop us -- "

Faerie finished:

"Then you need to think again."

Underseen sang:

'

"We know that you're reeling."

GH added:

"And it will never end."

Then they all sang, with deliberate force:

"'Coz we won't let you hurt our planet,
And we won't let you hurt our friends."

Underseen sang, as he shifted forms with expert ease:

"Go ahead and try and hit us if you're able."

Sakki sang:

"Can't you see that mercy's off the table?"

Cloak sang:

"I know you think we're not something you're afraid of --"

GH finished:

"'Cause you think that you've seen what we're made of."

Faerie and Sakki sang:

"I am RAF's fury."

Cloak sang:

"I am RAF's patience."

GH sang:

"I am RAF's determination."

Then they all sang together, as the continued to fight with Mon Gall yelling desperately for them to stop singing:

"We are motivated
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
By-i-i-i-i
And it's stronger than you.
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
And it's stronger than you.
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
And it's stronger than you.
By-i-i-i-i
Uni-i-i-i-ity.
Uni-i-i-i-ity."

Then he was thrown into an electric generator of some sort and he vanished from view as the lights began to oscillate. . . .


SONG SOURCE: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ct0Sq57u4c

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Crossing Paths

Battered and bruised, but triumphant, the six RAFians stood as the lights struggled to on. The Warworld must have been exerting its own gravity or something, as the RAFians did not start floating around, as expected. But Mon Gall was presumably dead. There was no way he could have survived an impact and electrocution like that.

"The auxiliary power supply should be through -- Cloak?" a voice said.

It was Goom and Beta Team. They had come here to shut down the generator. They had already managed to destroy four of the five redundant, auxiliary power sources already. Gamma Team had unwittingly taken care of the fifth.

"So . . . is it over?" Salad asked.

"Mon Gall's dead," Faerie said, not one to mince words, "so, I think so."

"He's not dead," Cloak said. He hadn't taken his eyes off the rubble that supposedly had buried Mon Gall.

"He's not coming back from that Cloak," Az said.

"I can feel the vibrations from his breath," Cloak said. "I can feel his thunderous heartbeats through the floor."

"That can't be," GH said, astounded. "No one could have survived that."

"I could have," Cloak said, quietly. He wasn't boasting. It was mere statement of fact. "Perhaps a human couldn't have, but a Gem could. A Realm Walker could. A Kryptonian under a yellow sun could. A Petrosapien possibly could."

Cloak's tone turned quieter, "A Mongul probably could have."

"So, what do we do now?" Mithril and Underseen asked, in unison.

"We leave him to his fate," Sakki said. "Warworld's power is dwindling expotentially now. He may have survived the impact and the power surge, but there is no way he can survive without the Warworld's life support, he won't be able survive. It will be failing at any time now, if I'm not mistaken."

"Transylians can survive in the cold and airless vacuum of space," Cloak countered, "as can Ectonurites. It's not an impossibility."

"Then why even have life support?" GH queried.

"You assume that Mon Gall had some part in the design and construction of this ship," Cloak pointed out, "he could have easily taken it from a weaker owner. Or he put in that system for some sort of gladiatorial battles. Point is, none of us assembled here know anything about Mon Gall's species -- not even a real name for it, other than the Mongul moniker which is a nickname if anything else."

"So, the question remains," Goom said, addressing Cloak directly, "what's our next move?"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Cloak's Deadly Decision

"Send word out to Alpha Team," Cloak said, "have them come pick you and the rest of Gamma Team up from the nearest airlock. Broken was bound to have enlarged the back of the ship to accommodate all of you."

"All of us?" GH asked, at once. He was quick on the uptake. "What about you?"

"Never mind me," Cloak said. "I still have one more objective to complete."

"He's dead, Cloak," Sakki said, with emphatic stress on the word "dead".

"Just go with Beta Team, Sakki," Cloak said. He could be incredibly obstinate when he wanted to be. "This is my decision."

"Cloak, the life support is due to fail at any moment now, and --" Xeno said, before Cloak interrupted, his back to them all.

"Then you lot had better be going," he said, voice soft but firm.

"But --" Salad said.

"Do you really have time to argue with me on this?" Cloak said. His voice was pleasant enough, but his eyes conveyed his firm resolve on doing whatever he had decided. "The clock is ticking."

"Cloak!" Sakki said. She was almost hysterical with frustration now. "He is dead! Killing yourself over a friggin' dead man isn't worth it!! See sense, will you?!"

Cloak said nothing for a moment, still with his back to them, facing the broken generator where Mon Gall had vanished into. He allowed another brief pause before speaking again.

"You should go," was all he said.

"Cloak --"

"My mind is made up," Cloak said, his voice edging into sounding cross. "Arguing with me will not sway me to your position. It just wastes time that you do not have much of. Now go."

They hesitated at this.

"I will be fine," Cloak said.

"That sounded ominous," Underseen said.

"And you ruined the moment," GH teased, as Cloak said nothing, seemingly eyeing the rubble with a scrutinizing glare. After another moment's hesitation, they left him, though not one wanted to.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Unmitigated Mon Gall

Cloak waited until he could not Metalsight the others any longer. He wished that he hadn't have to do this next thing alone, but he was the only one who could, and the exertion alone might prove to be too much for him.

The rubble shifted ever so slightly. Cloak continued to eye it. So, I was right. You aren't dead.

And up from the rubble, looking distinctly more battered and bruised than any RAFian who battled him, Mon Gall rose. He stubbornly refused to give up. This suited Cloak just fine.

"So," Mon Gall said, thickly, a trail of what appeared to be red or black blood trickling ever so nonchalantly down from the left corner of his mouth, "you decide to face me alone, itty bitty boy?"

They were roughly the same height. And chances were Cloak was actually older than him, even if he didn't look it. And, in reply, Cloak said nothing. He did nothing. Mon Gall did not.intimidate him in the least. He's lived with worse, so Mon Gall could hardly stand up to that high standard.

"I have to admit, boy, this is new." Mon Gall said, spitting blood. It was obvious he was severely weakened. "But I've killed plenty of stronger people than you in my day. Millions. Literally millions."

Cloak said nothing. He didn't see the point. Mon Gall hadn't seen the true extent of Cloak's powers, as neither has Cloak himself.  Cloak always placed limits on his abilities, as he did fear them (though not so much anymore, after his sessions with Aniyu) and he believed that he shouldn't use excessive force. Not to mention that Cloak didn't believe Mon Gall one bit.

"What's the matter?" Mon Gall said, when he noticed Cloak's prolonged silence. "Run out of quips? Why are you holding your tongue?"

Mon Gall was getting angrier now, "No more words to fail?! You think. Now that your crutch is gone, that you're better than me?! The Great and Powerful Mon Gall?!?!"

Cloak remained silent. He just folded his arms in an obviously contemptuous manner.

"Well, you're not!!" he said, and Cloak thought he sounded more like a petulant child than powerful warlord. "I own you!! I own everything!! Everything is my dominion!!"

"Your parents never set any boundaries for you, did they?" Cloak said, speaking at last.

"What?" Mon Gall snapped. This wasn't the response that he was expecting.

"They must not have, or else you would be constantly overstepping the boundaries of others," Cloak said, psychoanalyzing him. "Or you have a great fear of having nothing, of being nothing. A fear of ignominy."

"You know nothing," he growled.

"Perhaps it is anthropophobia," Cloak suggested, offhand, " a fear of people or company."

"I'm not afraid of anything, boy!"

"It's funny," Cloak said, "those who profess that they fear nothing with such force, often are either being dishonest with themselves or hiding their fears beneath a blanket of bravado."

"Shut and try to kill me," Mon Gall said, growing quite weary of this psychobabble. "Complete that last objective of yours."

To this Cloak smiled and laughed, "Why, Mon Gall, I don't recall ever saying that killing you, showing you that mercy, was my last objective."

[Cloak]

Well, this book might wind up being nineteen chapters. Anyway, the next chapter probably won't be up until some time in the afternoon tomorrow (my time, of course).

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Finality

"What?"

"You heard me," Cloak said, "but if you try to stop me from my endeavor, I shall grant you that death wish of yours."

"I don't have a . . . what do you mean stop you?" Mon Gall said, stopping mid-thought.

"I should think that it was obvious," Cloak said, calmly focusing his mind. He would probably need to go to his sixth tier at least for this. Maybe seven.

"Tell me," Mon Gall ordered.

"You do not give me orders, Mon Gall," Cloak countered, as he steadied his breath steadied his emotions. He had never attempt something like this, on this scale. The Warworld was far larger than that --

"You tell me what I want to know, whelp!!" Mon Gall demanded, barely able to stand anymore. Really, killing him would be a kindness. A kindness that Cloak still refused to bestow upon the Mongul.

"No," Cloak said firmly. He wasn't about to be a doormat for this uppity warlord. He already spent too many of his years as one, in the home of his mother, and he'd be Veiled if he was gonna be Mon Gall's.

"Yes, you will!" Mon Gall said, with a barely audible wheeze. "Or, when I repair the Warworld, when I have my droids back in order, I will unleash my entire armaments down upon --"

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will! And I will take immense satisfaction in --"

"The Warworld will not be repaired," Cloak said, with staunch certainty.

"Yes, it will," Mon Gall said, still soundly like a petulant brat. "And I will take extreme pleasure in wiping your little mudball from our starcharts!!"

"But the Warworld will not be here," Cloak said, standing and touching various internal walls, as if looking for something.

"You --"

"It will not be here," Cloak said, his serenity betrayed by a bite of impatience, "because I shall destroy it."

For once, Mon Gall was silent. Stunned and taken aback by this pronouncement. By something he believed to be abjectly impossible.

Cloak touched a section of the interior wall and felt that it was a load-bearing wall. Well, so to speak, given that they were in space and the definition of load was different here, in a way. "Take this time to escape, if you wish. I will not stop you. But know this, if you ever try this again with Earth, you'll have me to contend with. And maybe the star, if she's around."

"You can't destroy Warworld. It's impossible."

"I can," Cloak said, serenely serious. "And I will."

"But then you'd die too!"

"Life support is already waning, can't you feel it?" Cloak said, placidly. "Death looms for you, but I have ways of surviving."

"You lie!"

"Do I?"

"You're not destroying anything!"

"I am. I'm even in the process of fracturing on the important infrastructure of this Warworld. It will eventually rend itself to pieces. Or explode. Either way, it will be beyond repair."

"I won't let you!"

"Then you die," Cloak said, opening his eyes to reveal golden-scarlet suns of power with six tendrils of energy trailling from them like streamers. "I would feel no love lost at the death of a tyrant. So, decide what's more valuable to you. The Warworld . . . or your life."

[Cloak]

Okay, I was wrong. Managed to get this up before work.

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
The Wait

"He's still up there," Underseen said. "And Estelore's on her way."

"We never should have left him," Sakki said, ruefully.

"He had his mind made up," Aquilai said. "There was no way that we were gonna get him out of there."

"We all would have died," Az said.

"Don't talk about him like he's dead!" GH protested. "The Warworld is still in one piece!"

It was at that moment, before anyone could mention how the Warworld staying intact did not guarantee Cloak's survival, when, visible even from the ground during the day, the Warworld fractured noticeably. It deteriorated rapidly, almost as if something -- or someone -- was ripping it apart from the inside.

Then the explosions came. Any debris that came close to the planet was evidently small enough to be burned up by the atmosphere. But that was it, the Warworld was gone. And there wasn't a trace of Cloak or Mon Gall.

"He . . ." Az said.

"Don't say it," GH said.

"GH, there's no point in denying it," Faerie said, mournfully pragmatic. "The Warworld is not nothing more than dust on a breeze. I know how resilient Realm Walkers are -- I knew Cloak longer than you as well -- but I fail to see how anyone, even a Realm Walker could have survived such a blast."

"Cloak always finds a way," GH said. "He's still alive, I'm sure of it."

"We all thought he was dead over a year ago," Blue pointed out. "When Abomination beat him within an inch of his life."

"That was different," Guy said.

"How so?"

Guy couldn't come up with a retort.

"What's that?" Gaz asked.

There seemed to be powerful light descending towards them.

"Esty," answered Xeno.

The star had encapsulated her in human avatar form, wearing a sundress with a big, floppy sunshine yellow hat to match. Yet her expression belied this sunny appearance. He heard about the Warworld and that's what drove her to come this far out. To come back to her friends and the fold.

She was dismayed to find that she was too late.

"Esty, did you see anything in the wreckage?" GH asked, at once.

"There was no wreckage," she said. "Even the debris seems to be dissipating."

"You didn't see Cloak?" GH said, not believing his friend was dead.

Estelore looked a bit puzzled by this, but answered, "No. I didn't see anyone. Nothing but debris."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Cloak, Ya Jerk!

"Are you sure?" GH queried at once. "Not even a scrap of cloth?"

"I didn't go through it all, GH," Esty said, primly. "There was a lot of minute debris."

"GH, I think you need to accept --" someone that GH couldn't see began.

"Why are you so quick to believe he's dead?" GH snapped in protest. "How many missions have we been on where it appeared that one of us bit the big one? Huh? And how many times did that prove to be wrong?"

"Only once, if I recall correctly," Gaz said, "when Cloak was beaten within an inch of his life by Abomination."

"You know," said another voice, "he really doesn't deserve that name anymore. He redeemed himself and all."

Silence met these words. Not because of the meaning of the words, but the voice who spoke them.

"CLOAK?!"

"Yeah?" he said, raising an eyebrow at this reception. This wasn't what he was expecting at all.

"We thought you were dead, ya jerk!" Sakki said, almost sounding scandalized.

"You thought he was dead," GH corrected, smugly. Sakki popped him upside the head. GH rubbed the spot vigorously, protesting, "Hey!"

"Why?" Cloak said, perplexed. "Don't I always have an exit strategy?"

"Well, then, how did you do it?" Xeno said, curious. "The Warworld is less than rubble now.

"I simply Walked away," Cloak said. "Then I simply Walked back again."

This was met with some perplexed looks from the RAFians that did not know the Walker term for crossing from or to the Universal Nexus -- the Realm Walker homeland -- and any of the copious amount of Realms.

***

Malice had wrapped Cloak and the Realm Walker formerly known as Abomination in the firm grip of energy hands.

"So you . . . don't want to date me?" Ab said.

Malice laughed a hysterical laughter of which Ursula the Sea Witch would be proud, and said, "Oh my -- that is -- you think that I -- with you? Oh my -- that is too good! I mean it's sad for you, but . . ."

She sighed heavily, than set the both of them down. Then she said, ". . . Let me put this a way you nincompoops will understand."

Sultry music bubbled up from nowhere.

"I'm not the damsel in distress.
I'm not your girlfriend, or a frightened princess.
I'm not a white swan who needs your help to fly.
Nope . . . I'm the bad guy."

She lit up row after row after row of cages. Cloak recognized some of the inhabitants. Bowser. Dr. Eggman. Frieza. Dartz. Galvatron. Megatron. Ganondorf. Dr. Wily. Sigma. Vile. Vilgax. Mongul. Apocalypse. Darkseid. Thanos. Mojo Jojo. Voldemort. Even more, more than he could make out, but he was sure that they were villains.

"All these former villains that you see,
Each of them, with quivering knees, has knelt before me.
So, I'm not your teammate, or your partner in crime."

She turned to address the captured villains, "What am I, boys and girls?"

They sang in a defeated unison:

"She's the bad guy."

Then Malice took up the song again.

"Oh, it's magic
To watch a Realm
Shrivel up and die.
Oh, it's thrillin'
To be a villain.
I destroy their planets and then I watch them die."

Malice laughed heartily before continuing her song:

"'Cause I'm the bad guy!
Oh, ain't it fantastic?
I see something, I blast it!
And let me tell you why.
I've always had a weakness
For barrenness and bleakness.
I crush all your hopes and then I watch you cry.
See, I find this business rather fun!
I don't want your persistence, or your adulation!
I'll vaporize your Realm and bid ya bye-bye!
Why?"

She had ensnared the two of them again in the energy hands, as she spoke menacingly, "Come on, GUESS!!"

"'Cause you're the bad guy." Cloak said, bored, at the same time as Abomination.

"'Cause you're the bad guy," Abomination said, crushed, at the same time as Cloak.

"Or, well, girl." she corrected, punctuating it with maniacal laughter.

Naturally, it was at this point when Cloak awoke.


SOURCE SONG: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xdEo_t-iVbM

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Bomb Voyage!

Phoenix was relaxing at the nearest park in the city. He had decided to go ahead and seek more education, though he knew it would not be easy juggling his RAFian responsibilities -- a full-time job, really -- and his educational pursuits. But he felt he could handle it as well as Abby and Saffa did.

So he read from his textbook . . . until he heard the explosion. It was nearby, and nothing of the magnitude of any of the Warworld's armaments. But it was sufficient to send the parkgoers running cor their lives. Phoenix was quickly the only one remaining in the park.

He was resigned as he packed away his textbook, and even more so when he saw the bomber. It was another one of Demos's creatures.

"Of course, it is," he muttered, mutinously.

The creature had a humanoid body with a slightly avian head, and forest green, mowawk-like protrusion atop its bald, purple head. Its forearms and legs from the knee down were purple, dark brown at the joints, white shorts markings where its legs met its body, golden spikes on the side of his head, green thighs, and a green chest and upper arms. It had round eyes whose pupils were red with black sclera. He had tendrils sparking from his shoulders like bomb fuses. He stood roughly as high as an Ewok.

"Not a pretty thing, are you?" Phoenix said, his resigned tone giving way to bored banter.

It secreted a cartoony bomb from its right hand, complete with lit fuse, and ****ed its arm back, prepared to lob the thing.

"You cannot be serious," Phoenix muttered.

Before the creature could lob the bomb at Phoenix, he fire a pulse of flame as he extended avian wings made of flame -- something he had never shown that he was capable of before --and hit the bomb that was was pulsating as if it were to blow soon if not thrown. The flame did that for it, damaging the creature.

But seemed to be quite resilient, as, while injured, it secreted another one to throw, and Phoenix just repeated the process. And he did so a fur the five times before this creature was snuffed out.

***

Demos called the creature a pyrobolusapien. Demos claimed his purpose was to help with land reclamation, and didn't even consider any potential terrorist purpose to which the pyrobolusapien could be used. Again, he was not believed.

***

"Well," Malice said, having watched all that, "that certainly bombed."

[theyoungphoenix]

wheew. finally caught up again. i like how you've been silently incorporating Demos' creations(?) through it all.

[Cloak]

Excellent. And yes, that's gonna be a thing for a while.

New chapter.

BOOK CXXXVIII:
SOLAR SUCKS
CHAPTER ONE:
Do You Have It? Guts!

Parker stood looking at a construction site. He was alone -- and in his armor, of course, as this was a mission. It wasn't anything too bad, just some routine bad guy beatdown. Hardly necessitating a full contingent.

Parker looked around rather procedurally, and he saw nothing noteworthy. He was beginning to think that this was nothing more than a wild goose chase, and the reports they received were fabricated.

"Tyr, locate the bogey's coordinates ag--" Parker began, before he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. "Cancel that. I found him."

The creature was a hulking, humanoid beast the size of a Wookie. It had big, burly, purple arms, with dark green shoulder guards and thick, dark green grieves on said arms. Its chest was white with a circular emerald in the center. Its loins were dark green as was its legs up to its knees. Its thighs were purple. It had a purple head with white markings and a smaller emerald in the center of its forehead, a square jaw that jutted out in a rather extreme underbite. It walked with a simian gait as its arms were longer than its legs. It had no discernable nose and angular eyes. Its pupils were gray with black sclera.

"Well, hello, there," Parker said. "What are you doing here?"

In response, the creature pulled up a rock and threw it at him. He used his fusion cannons to blast it into smithereens, but he was resigned in doing so as this creature did not seem capable of coherent thought and intelligent discourse. That made everything harder, at the same time making it easier.

The creature gave a small jump, causing the ground to shake enough that Parker was somehow knocked off his feet. He was glad no one was around to see that, as he found it embarrassing.

He quickly got up and threw one plasma grenade at the creature, which oddly enough exploded upon contact. It blew off one of the creature's shoulder guards, but it continued to pull out a rock from the ground -- a rock that must have weighed two tons, at least -- and readied to throw it. Then Parker threw two more plasma grenades which ended the beast.

"Well," Parker said, after dusting himself off (there was a lot of dust and sand there), "that's done."

***

Demos called it an gatsusapien. He had intended it for use in construction sites, lifting what the construction worker couldn't and such. No one mocked him for this, as it was a practical use. But no one did believe him in that he was to use it for altruistic purposes.

Demos felt as if this was demon bigotry.

***

"Ah, well," Malice said, smiling, "at least he had guts."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWO:
RAF Party Time!

The forum was in the midst of celebrating their monthly RAF Party. They were far enough away to not disturb any of their neighbors. (Xeno managed to turn on a muting feature in Code Avalon to block the raucous nature of the party from penetrating the shield, and yet, this did not.manage to interfere with communications somehow.)

Anyway, GH was on stage with a nervous Leatherhead. This lovely May afternoon was to be his first gig since he got his keytar, which he could transfrom into a halbried as his adoptive father GH can change his favorite guitar into a battle axe. It wasn't known if he could transform his keytar into a hoverbike-like transport like GH, and GH wasn't about to suggest it -- not until Leatherhead's sixteen, anyway.

Anyway, GH assuaged Leatherhead's misgivings and nervousness by telling him with sincere certainty that he'd do fine. He just needed to have some confidence in himself and believe in himself, but GH tried to say that in a way that didn't make him sound like an afterschool special. Not the easiest task.

They played a guitar and keytar rendition of a . . . polka? If that was even possible. But GH could be a bit of a mad scientist when it came to music, so if it was remotely possible, he'd probably know.

Anyway, he sang, with Leatherhead providing backup vocals:

Faerie, Esplin, and Az
Mr. Guy, Estrid, and Gaz.
Falc0, bladepaw, Whammy,
Yarin, Kitkat, and Cloaky.
Myitt, SuperNate, Cerulean,
Quaf and Helen,
Traycon and Slushie Man - everybody, RAF party!
Morfowt, Esty, AniDragon
Jess, YeerkSalad, then Dylan
Broken, Shanker, Sakki
Shock and ol' Blocky
Goom, Phoenix, Richard, AniMel,
Abby and, of course, Kelly
Sharky and wildweathel -- everybody, RAF party!
It's time to party,
For Qwerty and Kelran, too.
Come on, and put on your loony self,
And try not to stamp on little Horse!
You'd better grab yourself a partner,
Like Terenia or Parker (Parker)!
Hold on a minute -- there's still at least nine hundred and twenty-seven more!*
Including Nomad and Saffa!
ANna, me, and Nina,
AniTiger and Leatherhead,
Hunter and ThinkAgain,
Don't forget about Ash,
Ax-Man and Gafrash,
Wildwethel, and Tyler - everybody, RAF Party!
Everybody, RAF Party!
Everybody, RAF Party!"

And this just kicked off the festivities.

Meanwhile, Cloak stuck to the shadows, enjoying himself from afar. He really didn't like big hullabaloos and such like this much, but he was glad that he wasn't in the spotlight. This was a whole different ball of wax than being the center of attention in battle.

He was also mulling over a riddle that came to him in a dream:

"Beware the gardens where mistruths and fabrications
Obscure and obfuscate the sought-after location.
Beware the device that shrinks
The star more than one thinks.
Beware the family that the one seeks,
Before the accused leaks."

He had no idea what it meant, but feared the star meant Estelore.


SOURCE SONG: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-lbw491S8Ss

*Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration on Memoirs GH's part here.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER THREE:
That Sucks

A deranged man was setting up in a tall building with a large open window. It wasn't too bad, considering the balmy May weather -- not too hot, not too cold. The building itself was a rather dilapidated mess. It would be drafty, had it been winter.

The man, a former scientist by the name of Jonas Barlowe -- full name of Jonas Avery Barlowe, was disgraced by the scientific community. He suggested that to end the energy crisis they faced in the oncoming years that they simply siphon it from the sun itself. They initially thought that he simply meant solar power by way of solar panels and the like. (The oil lobby wasn't having any of it, though.)

But no. He meant literally siphoning the energy from their star. The energy and substance. This led to the scientific community worldwide to utter dumbfounded silence, which he took as them in awe of his genius. But, in reality, they were baffled -- utterly nonplussed -- at the raging stupidity of this man. It almost sounded like a Gavin Free hypothetical from a Minecraft video.

Barlowe was really a shortsighted fool who only thought in the short term, really, as he never considered the ramifications of such a drastic action. He would cause more irreparable harm than charitable help, but he could not see this. He did not understand this. He did not understand if he did this, the system would very likely lose the planets of Pluto (okay, technically a dwarf planet), Neptune, and potentially more.

Not only that, the planet would suffer as the plants would eventually die off if he siphoned off too much. If he siphoned off too much, he might even kill the sun and cause it to create a supernova or a black hole or some other unforeseen ramification. His grand plan would not end suffering, but result in more.

All this never occurred to him, and, with the cold, hostile reception his idea got, he felt not only rejected but greatly spurned. He could not fathom how they could not see that this was the only way. He thought green energy was a hoax, that a hydrogen-cell battery was laughable, that solar panels didn't go far enough, and he didn't think fossil fuels and oil were any better. His opinion and conclusion was, obviously flawed.

With this idea, it was the final nail in the coffin of a less than illustrious career as a scientist of a vague speciality. With this, his career was over. He had lost everything, and became a mockery of his former self to his former colleagues. It left him sorely embittered and, yet, more stubbornly set to prove himself right.

Now he lived here, in this tall but rotting, roach-infested tenement. Fueled by revenge and rivalry, by anger and stubbornness, he had made a machine that looked like an oversized raygun, with an attached platform, pointed at the sun, which was rising. He had made it using parts from what appeared to be an old, forgotten carpet cleaner.

Only this wasn't a carpet cleaner, it was Horse's old Sanity-Sucker 2000. It was used in an almost ceremonial "hazing", if you could call it that, to new RAFians. She claimed it sucked their sanity out, but in reality it didn't, not really. It was more of a tradition than anything else.

But, eventually, that tradition got laid by the wayside, and greatly forgotten. Horse never remembered what happened to the Sanity-Sucker, but it clearly fell into Barlowe's possession, and he turned it into the Sun-Sucker 2000. It took him years to build -- so much so that he no longer looked as pretty as he did in his prime. He had an unkempt beard, long greasy hair, and was as thin as a rail spike. He was malnourished and not at all well, but he kept at it with his fanaticism fuelling his resolve.

He went through the preliminary procedures and prepared to fire the beam that would travel the 149,600,000 kilometers to the sun at the speed of light. If his copious amount of calculations were accurate, it should take all of eight minutes and twenty seconds, before the sun's energy and substance is stored in his six solar batteries -- which was an idea that would probably faired better than his whole sun-siphoning thing.

It was almost time to activate his precious machine.

[theyoungphoenix]

jeeze. who woulda guessed that by scorning this insane man and ruining his career you'd just push him into making the machine anyways. (note the sarcasm)

oh also cloak i don't know if you were still worried about Saffa but she's alright. I messaged her on snapchat and she said that her finals are coming up so she's been too busy to really get on.

[Cloak]

Yeah, I was worried, but I saw that she was posting on FB, so I knew she was okay.

Anyway, new book ideas!

• Book MXCVI (1,096): "Dance, Puppet, Dance!" -- The RAFians deal with articulation actuators.
• Book MXCVII (1,097): "The Company of Unity, Love, and Tenderness" -- The RAFians uncover a very strange company.
• Book MXCVIII (1,098): "Cloak's Bounty" -- The Realm Walker Council send Enforcers after Cloak.

The titles are not final. I don't think I rehashed anything.

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR:
Cool?

"Hmmmm . . .?"

Estelore was still enjoying herself as the RAF Party was beginning to wind down. But then she noticed something odd about Sol, her name for the Earth's star. It was a nonsentient star, but she had an affection for it as a child would for an inanimate object they loved. She noticed something strange was going on with Sol, but she couldn't put her finger on what.

"What is it, Estelore?" Cloak asked, easily noticing her preoccupation.

"I don't . . ." Esty blurted, but then she abruptly changed tact. "It's . . . nothing. It's probably nothing. Nothing at all."

Cloak wasn't fooled so easily. He wasn't a Homeworld Ruby, and it would take significantly more effort to lie to him, but he could tell that the lie wasn't meant for him, but Estelore herself.

He could have pressed her on the issue, but he failed to see the point of doing that. He knew that it would come off as antagonistic and hostile, which would only serve to make her either bottle up or react in kind. So he let it go, but it also infected him with concern and worry, but he was already adept at hiding it from others.

"Cold," Leatherhead said, starting to shake. Cloak found himself, despite himself and all prudence, curious about this. Was Leatherhead sufficiently human enough to shiver or was he still to reptilian for such an act. He said nothing, as it would be tactless.

GH swept Leatherhead off to their thread, as it was getting late, and he was still six years old. He needed his sleep, and this whole get took a lot out of the tyke. He kept rubbing his right eye, a clear indication it was bed time for him. He didn't even argue with GH about it. GH was complimenting him on a gig well done as they left.

Estelore, however, was looking directly at the now setting sun. Her stellar nature allowed her to do this without hurting her eyes. She was sure that there was something very wrong going on with Sol. But she really could not fathom what. And this annoyed and concerned her greatly.

She noticed how chilly it got. Had she been just some ordinary girl in a sundress and floppy sunhat, she would have required a lightweight jacket or sweater. But as she was most certainly not some ordinary girl, she did not. But it was enough for her to take notice. It was not supposed to be this chilly this time of year. It was getting to be close to summertime, not autumn.

This was not natural. She was sure of it. And she didn't know why, but this alarmed her, but she kept internalized. She didn't want to raise an alert that turned out to be nothing.

"Oh, Sol," she said, quietly, to herself. Her gaze never faltered, and her tone was as if she was rebuking a rambunctious puppy. "Oh, Sol, what's going on with you?"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIVE:
That Ain't Right

"This doesn't seem right," Aquilai said, looking at a scan. At the request of Estelore, he ran a long-range scan on the sun. He didn't know why she possibly could want to know such a thing.

"What is it?" Estelore snapped unintentionally.

"Four million, three hundred and thirty-five thousand, two hundred and ten kilometers in equatorial circumference," Aquilai reported, reading from a readout.

"Really?" Estelore asked at once. "Are you sure?"

"That's what our instruments indicate," the Time Lord said, placidly, "why?"

"I'm pretty sure that Sol is supposed to have an equatorial circumference of four million, three hundred and seventy-nine thousand kilometers in equatorial circumference." Estelore said, rather pedantic. "That's a one percent decrease. I think."

"I know, but perhaps our instruments are wrong, perhaps stars fluctuate in weight like --"

Aquilai stopped at the glare Estelore was giving him. But she continued her thought, "If there is a decrease like that, it could mean a variety of things. None of them good for the planet."

"That is a big assumption though, Esty," Aquilai said.

"I tell you, I think something is siphoning off the energy and substance of Sol. It will die if we don't find out who or what is behind it!!"

"That's a large leap to make, Esty," Aquilai said, attempted to placate the distressed sentient star. "We don't even know if that's happening. We don't even know if it's even possible."

"If this.Realm is anything like that other one," came a voice behind them, "then it is possible. Not prudent or intelligent, perhaps, but possible."

"Cloak?" Esty queried. "How'd you --"

"I saw that something perturbed you earlier," Cloak answered, his cloak slicing through the air like a bladed pendulum as he strode into the room proper. "And I sincerely hope we aren't facing a star-sucker type of device. That could have all sorts of potential ominous outcomes."

"That's what I was saying," Estelore agreed.

"If that is, indeed, what is happening," Aquilai said, "then it should be giving off an energy signature. And that can be traced."

Aquilai immediately went over to a shelf laden with all sorts of technological gadgetry, and pulled out what appeared to be a hybridization of an old-school Game Boy and a Game Boy SP. It had exposed wiring, which Cloak could help but think was a safety hazard.

"This should help," the Time Lord said, activating the device with his trusty sonic screwdriver. Then, after a moment's thought, he grabbed a jacket, and then said, "Let's go."

Then the trio left, and Saffa decided to help when she met them outside Aquilai's TARDIS, and was appraised of the situation.