Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY:
Staying Frosty

Parker was dispatched to an evacuated ski resort. He wished that he could go up to the lodge and kick back by the open, inviting fire, pulling Helen close . . .

But he had a job to do. And he had to do a thorough job of it. But it became increasingly obvious that he would have to ski to the base of the resort to even find this fiend in the first place. It was not something that he enjoyed. Skiing down the mountain in insane weather conditions on a track that clearly was not maintained yet before the evacuation order. And all that in heavy SPARTAN armor, which alone should have made it impossible -- had it not been for the improvements Parker made to the armor during his years at RAF. Every time he came across a useful piece of tech for his armor, he would mimic and replicate it for his armor. This is what made it lighter than normal, but still.

At the bottom of the resort, he came across a shack where he deftly entered, and found a staircase leading downward. He immediately took it, where he eventually entered a large room where they clearly create more snow and ice if the skiing season's weather wasn't kind enough to oblige. There were ice blocks going on conveyor belts -- for some purpose that neither Parker nor Tyr could ascertain. But that wasn't too important as the creature was right before him.

The creature was twice as tall as Parker and three times as wide. Its white, mouthless, noseless head with a pale yellow cranium with four green divets was sunken into its massive torso. It had round, human-like eyes with dark orange sclera and pink irises. It had a round collar made of black ice bricks. The upper half of its torso was made of ice blocks in an opening-less igloo pattern, above a pale yellow section, with a cold generator emblem on its chest and back with black tubes linking the two. The creature's spherical shoulders were made from ice bricks sitting upon green sections that connected it to its white upper arms. Its lower arms were made of ice blocks with yellow wrists. It had black, mitten-like hands with attached knuckledusters. The knuckledusters were pale blue with silver nodes. Its waist was white and its pelvic area was light blue. Its thighs were white, pale yellow kneecaps, and its lower legs were made of ice blocks, like an igloo's main portion connected to yellow ankles. It had purple feet with blue, pod-like toes with four red divets.

It saw Parker and had a stupid-sounding guffaw as it generated several ice sculptures of him. It jumped and smashed half of them. Slammed its left fist down on a third of the remainder, then its right fist down on the second third of the remainder, and finally slammed both fists down on the final third. Then guffawed again, as if it was being clever.

"Oh, boy," Parker said, urged to rub his temples. "All muscle, and no brain."

It charged forward, with an ice-covered fist. Parker, surprised by this goliath's astonishing mobility and agility, had just managed to pivot and sidestep in order to avoid it. It slammed the ground, causing a crawling wave of ice spikes that slithered its way to Parker, who immediately and instinctively shot it.

It was here when he got the idea. He had to move quickly, for it to be effective. He threw a sticky bomb onto the fiends head. It exploded with a flash. But the fiend survived, only dazed by it. But Parker wasn't done -- that sticky bomb was just a distraction.

Parker had deftly adhered flashbang grenades on the fiend shoulders, torso, lower legs, and forearms. Parker then ran to a safe distance as the fiend collected its senses. Then Parker detonated the flashbangs.

It was done.

***

Demos called it a "furosutosapien". He said nothing more on the subject.

***

Malice watched it, but seemed restless and bored.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

BOOK CLXIV:
MOODY
CHAPTER ONE:
The Tengu Fiend

Az was dispatched to take care of the next fiend released. Honestly, how many of these things did Demos make unnoticed by anyone in the forum? Az used the Iceman trick of creating a ice slide to the floating facility. It was rather curious that no one knew of this facility before now.

Upon landing upon the deck of this Helicarrier-like facility, he immediately became aware that this was a former Cadmus facility -- as their emblem was plastered everywhere. The strand of DNA within a beaker within an eye sigil was everywhere that it would have been aesthetically pleasing. But it was remarkable that this floating city (with minor aesthetics to the buildings on board that had a slight traditional Japanese architectural motif to it) was still somehow airborne without and visible means of propulsion, especially as it carried signs of being abandoned and defunct. Forgotten by Cadmus itself, apparently.

Az was given pause to wonder just how many of these abandoned and/or forgotten Cadmus facilities that there were. But his mind had hit upon an necessary point to consider -- when this facility loses power and falls, it would cause untold collateral damage, both in lives and property damage. He had to nip it in the bud -- he immediately when to what appeared to be the bridge of this aerial research facility. He immediately programmed the coordinates to the ocean -- just in case.

The fiend wasn't that hard to find either. It was right outside, on the deck, which wasn't unlike the deck of an aircraft carrier. The creature was the size of a rather tall human with triangular, human-like with one eye having a crimson sclera ands a brown iris and the other having a brown sclera and an black iris. It had barn swallow-like wings, with a jet pack-like structure on its back. It had a golden plates on the back of its head, which had brown hair sticking out here and there, and a green mask-like face without a mouth and a long, spike-like nose. It had a brown crest, and overlarge silver epaulets on its green shoulders. Its upper arms were brown with its elbows being purple. Its lower arms were zigzagged with monochromatic colors. Its right hand was black, while its left was a structure similar to that of a Shiftry's hand, and either red or orange (depending on how the light hit it). Its high chest was yellow with vertical orange stripe, with a brown abdomen. It had a green disc around its waist which came to a sharp edge all around. It had a green crotch with two purple rings where its legs met his body. It had brown thighs, brown growths on its knees that matched its crests with another purple ring over this. Its lower legs were black with white markings. Its feet were pod-like and orange with a green triangle marking that was oriented from toe inward. There was also a small red divet in each foot.

The creature saw Az, made a scoffing sound as it floated down near the ground, as if to get Az and it in the same camera shot. This it slashed outward with its leaf-like, three-pronged blade, and held a pose, as if it was posing dramatically for a camera.

"What the --" Az said, as it immediately floated up, hovering rather like a drunken hippo, Az thought. But this was a deception, for when it dived (blade forward, of course) it was with astonishing aerial mobility and agility. Az had somehow managed to do a rather poorly-executed backflip over this, escaping any harm from the attack.

Then, when it came back, it fired off its blade, which spun like an industrial fan. This cause a column of air to billow up, like a cylindrical tornado. But it stopped before it reached the end of the deck. Az dodged it by basically encasing it in ice, before the fiend regenerated the blade.

Az had had enough of this. When the tengu-based fiend landed, Az froze its feet to the floor and proceed to pummel it with ice punches and ice projectiles until it was no more.

Az, breathing hard, called Yarin for a pick up.

***

Demos called it a "tengusapien". Demos wouldn't elaborate on its purpose.

***

Malice watched with detached interest, asking herself why she was still doing this. She answered herself that it was because she hadn't anything better to do.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWO:
Dreams and Kluge

Cloak stood before . . . something unidentifiable. It a big mound of something. All he knew was that he had to get this thing out of here. He had to -- or else she would be mad at him. She would -- he rather not think what she would do. She was . . . scary, when she was mad. When there were not instant results.

Then he heard someone behind him. He asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Wheeza said. "What do you plan to do now that you've found that? Keep it locked up at home?"

Cloak turned to the mound, "First, I have to get it out of here."

"AND THEN WHAT?!" Wheeza asked forcefully. "You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when --"

"I would have figured something out!" Cloak protested.

"No!" Wheeza shouted. "If your RAFians hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!"

"I know my own destiny --"

"Is it your OWN destiny?" she asked. "Or is it a destiny that another has tried to force on you?"

"Stop it, Wheeza, I have to do this."

"Cloak, I'm BEGGING you," Wheeza said emphatically, "it's time for you to look inward, and start asking yourself the big questions. Who are YOU and what do YOU want?"

Cloak collapsed with his hand on his head . . . *

Then he woke up. He was alone in his thread, so he felt no compunction in allowing himself to cry openly. Her death . . . it still hurt. He still missed her dearly.

He knew it was just a dream, and that he wasn't really talking to the real Wheeza. But it just reminded him how much he missed her. . . .

***

His name was Doctor Emanuel Lucius Kluge. He was a bit what you may call a mad scientist, though his doctorate was legitimate, unlike a lot of mad scientists running around nowadays.

He was a neuroscientist, specialized in what he called emotionology. He specifically researched how the human brain reacted to various emotions. He had become curious if there was a technological means to manipulate another's emotions. This is where the mad scientist part comes in.

He had successfully mapped how the human brain processes various emotions: sorrow, shyness, suffering, boredom, surprise, shock, trust, awe, wonder, shame, worry, confidence, self-confidence, anger, schadenfreude (the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another), contempt, saudade (deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves), attraction, sadness, contentment, resentment, avarice, remorse, curiosity, regret, apathy, rage, depression, pride, anticipation, pleasure, desire, pity, fear, passion, despair, panic, annoyance, outrage, disappointment, lust, courage, loneliness, disgust, joy, anguish, jealously, hope, interest, distrust, humiliation, angst, hostility, ecstasy, horror, compassion, hatred, embarrassment, happiness, affection, empathy, guilt, love, grief, enthusiasm, gratitude, anxiety, frustration, envy, and euphoria. It was one of the most comprehensive mapping of the human emotional spectrum ever done, and it was a massive undertaking that Emanuel undertook with great enthusiasm and gleeful abandon.

He quantified all those into seven emotions -- which, unsurprisingly, aligned with the emotional spectrum (with courage replacing willpower, which, technically speaking, wasn't an emotion). From there, he created several small chips which looked rather like the faceplate of the Omnitrix only black and blank, with four metal clamps on it. They were roughly the size of small coins. He called them, and trademarked them, as "moodulators",  a portmanteau of "mood" and "modulators".

They were intended to stick to a person -- humans, obviously, as he hadn't mapped any other species' brain who were capable of emotion. Anyway, the moodulators were designed to adhere to the skin of a human being where the skull and spine met, right beneath the hairline. From there, when activated, they could control the chipped target's emotions -- although he only really got far enough to program in anger, greed, fear, courage, hope, compassion, and love.

And all these moodulators were controlled by a simple device that looked remarkably like a smartphone, with a rather generic cover on it. He just thought a touch screen interface to control these devices would be simpler and easier to use than some clunky remote control device out of the eighties.

He had no idea if these moodulators would even work, and never conceived of the kind of misuse such a device would have. He just wanted to see if it was possible.


* Based on this.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER THREE:
The Break-In

"Leeeeeeeeeeeeeroy Perkins!"* shouted a sudden voice.

Kluge jumped in surprise. He wasn't expecting anyone, especially at this late hour. And, in any case, he usually turned away visitors, especially the uninvited kind.

"Gee, thanks, Leroy," came an angry woman's voice with an acerbic tone, as a dark figure in full Knight of humanity regalia burst into the room that Kluge and the moodulators were in. "There goes the element of surprise. Not to mention he now knows your name, you damn fool!"

This figure was followed by two others in full Knight regalia: full-body metal armor, with helmets that recalled an Empoleon head (but in full metal), with a white cloth draped onto their shoulders and tied at the waist. The edges of this cloth were colored blood red, with the emblem of the Knights -- a stylized "KoH" in forced perspective -- on their chests.

"Your impetuous act may have already jeopardized the mission, Perkins," said the other, in a slow, calm drawl with a deep voice. "How you ever managed to get into the elite guard, I don't know."

"He's the Knight King's brother-in-law," the woman sneered. Her name was Irma Essex, and she took secret pride in being a member of the elite guard of her chapter of the Knights, but she wasn't brave enough to do it with her face uncovered. "He didn't earn this position. He never worked for it!"

"I'm right here!" Leroy protested at being talked about as if he wasn't present.

"Oh, be silent." said the other knight, a man named Lyndon J. Bauer. "Your hasty actions have grown old for a long time. Shut your mouth for one time in your life, and use your head to think!"

Leroy was mollified into silence.

"Excuse me," Kluge said, with all the dignity he could muster. "But I haven't the time or energy to entertain such . . . ah, flamboyant personalities such as yours."

Kluge knew nothing of the Knights of Humanity. He never kept up with current events. So, he didn't know the danger he was in. He didn't seem to notice Leroy's sword, still in his scabbard. Didn't notice the double-headed battle-ax at Lyndon's belt. Didn't notice the heavy mace in Irma's belt. They weren't toys. They were clearly prepared to use violence. Kludge didn't recognize the position he was in.

"Silence, old man!" Irma snarled.

Kluge seemed to register this, finally taking the weapons into account, and came to the correct conclusion. He said, "What is it that you're after?"

"We've heard word that you've come up with a mind controlling tech," Lyndon said. "We've come to appropriate it for our own uses."

This admission just showcased how the Knights' xenophobic rhetoric flounders wildly in the marketplace of ideas. They have to deceive, manipulate, and force people to believe their lies, mistruths, and half-truths. Xenophobia generally never has any science or facts to prop it up, just pseudofacts and pseudoscience.

"You've been misinformed," Kluge said, apparently unaware that this wasn't the answer that they wanted. "My work had nothing to do with mind control. I'm sorry that you've gone all this way for nothing."

This was the wrong answer.


* Yes, a reference to Leroy Jenkins.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR:
Unseen Security Detail

"Be silent, old man! Just give us the goods! " Irma snarled, fingering her mace in a malicious manner. "Or else."

"Or else what?" Kluge asked, mildly. He wasn't as afraid as he should be, it would seem. Or maybe, like Cloak, he internalized his emotions, and his external reactions seemed placid and apathetic.

"Use you imagination!" Lyndon snarled, now fingering his axe.

"But you are mistaken. My work hasn't a thing to do with controlling the mind, but the manipulation of --"

"Stop your talking, old man! Just hand it over!" Irma said, hand on her mace's handle. She was rather eager to use it, but was exercising all her restraint not to go bashing heads. "Comply or we get . . . physical."

"I cannot give you the technology you want," Kluge said, succinctly, "as it does not exist."

"And now we bash -- urgh!" Irma began, before she, Leroy, and Lyndon were thrown against the far wall. Irma and Leroy was knocked into the tub of moodulators. Their helmets lifted off, faces revealed. Leroy was baby-faced with red hair and freckles, Lyndon was an older man with white hair, and Irma was a woman with black hair and a pinched, snobby face. And there was now a moodulator on Irma's and Leroy's necks, unnoticed by everyone.

"He said no," came a voice from the darkness. "'No' means 'no'."

"You'd think, after all this time, they'd know not to use metal armor," came another voice, with acidic disdain.

"Perhaps they didn't expect us to be watching them," came another, quieter voice.

"Who's there?" Kluge asked, politely. He was starting to think his whole moodulator experimentation was not worth it, if there were people who wanted to steal them thinking that they were mind control tech. He made a mental note to destroy all of them after this whole ordeal was over. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

In response to his question, Cloak came from the shadow, his cloak mincing around his body like a deadly guillotine pendulum. His amber, feline eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. To his right, Shinobi and Blue appeared, as if materializing out of the darkness. To his left, GH and Leatherhead (not in his human suit, as it was still being cleaned) stumbled out of the darkness. Leatherhead wore a blue backpack with fluorescent yellow straps and zipper tassels.

Cloak released his ferrokinetic hold on the Knights, and gave them a baleful, scornful look. "And this is why you're considered D-list villains. This is why you are considered jokes. Laughingstocks! You know of my mastery over metal, and what do you do? Use it as your uniform. You're more pathetic than the Banned. At least Queen considers these things more."

"Shut up!" Irma said, throwing the tub of moodulators -- the technology they were actually after, ironically enough -- toward Blue and Shinobi. They appeared to dodge it, but Shinobi had somehow got a moodulator lodged onto his neck, unnoticed by the neophyte RAFian.

"Pathetic, Knight," Blue said, disdainfully. "Pathetic actions, shameful rhetoric."

The three Knights righted themselves, and drew their weapons.

"You cannot be serious right now," Cloak said, his stoicism giving way to annoyance.

[Cloak]

Memoirs is six years old today!

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIVE:
Battle Commences

The three charged forward, towards Leatherhead. Leatherhead cowered at this blantant targeting at the overtly youngest, overtly nonhuman RAFian. GH had feared that he was not ready yet, especially after the werecat incidents.

"I guess they are being serious right now," Cloak sighed at the sheer incompetence of the three.

GH blocked the three's path with his body, unshouldering his guitar, grasping it by its neck, and turning it into its battle axe form. This was a nonverbal sign towards the three that said, very clearly, "stay away from my son, you bastards". This caused Leatherhead to be jostled backward, knocking the wooden bookshelf, painted black, behind him. Something small and flat slid into his open bookbag without him realizing.

But the three frozen after three steps. Cloak had exercised his Mastery over the Metal element again. He looked seriously annoyed by the three.

"Master of Metal, remember?" Cloak said, his annoyance plain in his voice. "You should, after all. I demonstrated it not more than three minutes ago!!"

Cloak's eyes glowed briefly gold and scarlet, before he shut his eyes, and calmed himself down. He took a deep breath. He opened his eyes again, and they returned to their normal amber.

"You Knights," he growled, "are all the same. You are nothing more than thugs playing dress-up. You Knights are nothing more than pathetic, xenophobic children with frangible ethics and questionable motives."

He heard several protests from the three that came out as a cacophonous noise, which caused their voices to be tangled up. Their messages were uninterrupted due to this.

"Your goals are both foolish and counterproductive to human society at large," Cloak said. "Bigotry and xenophobia holds back your society. They are the malignant cancers of any society."

Cloak turned to Kluge, and said, "Sorry to impose upon your hospitality, we shall take our leave now. And we will take these three to the police -- we may need you to make a report."

"Very well," Kluge said, deciding to destroy the moodulators as soon as they returned. He would never know that three were.missing -- he never counted them.

"The Knights own the police!" Leroy roared. "There are a number of our people in there!"

"LEROY!!!" the other two yelled.

"Really?" Cloak said, dryly. He wasn't really surprised at the news. "How surprising. Like who?"

"A.J. Pi, Eddie Carson, and Ike O'Reilly!" Leroy said, as if he was playing a trump card.

Cloak smiled. They hadn't met a Knight with such loose lips before.

"Interesting," Cloak said, as the other two admonished him again. Cloak thought Police Chief Justice would find this very interesting, and internal affairs would be called in. "And just what did they do, as police officers?"

"YOU SAY ANYTHING ELSE, LEROY, AND I SWEAR THAT WHEN I CAN MOVE AGAIN I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN BARE HANDS!!!" Irma roared.

[Underseen]

164 books of this in 6 years. That's an insane amount of dedication. Here's to how many more left until the end.

[Cloak]

We'll see.

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
Courage Control

When they got to GH's thread, GH turn on the television for Leatherhead, while he got to work on some pedal thing for his guitar's amp. He was planning to totally Tim Taylor (Tim Allen's character on "Home Improvement") it. Supe it up, and hopefully get halfway decent sound from it. It was delicate work, so he asked Leatherhead to just play quietly, or watch cartoons.

Leatherhead, not in a particularly fussy mood, complied with no objection. He immediately found his humansuit, freshly laundered by the forum's house-elves, and he immediately put it on. He saw it as a human six-year-old would see a play suit, only this was full-body. Then he rooted in his bookbag, and pulled out what appeared to be a smartphone.

He turned it on, after giving a slight glance at GH who was busy at work, saying what Leatherhead came to know as naughty words, or "grown-up words". Then he touched the touchpad, bringing up several emoji, and he tapped the one in the center. The phone's screen went green with a "courageous" emoji on it. . . .

***

Shinobi and Blue were training by meditating, both unaware of the moodulator on Shinobi's neck. Both were silent, focusing their thoughts and abandoning their emotions.

Shinobi felt a sudden swell of emotion, of courage that was unfiltered and potentially dangerous, but the meditation actually suppressed the full effects of the moodulators. Not too surprising as they have never been tested for weakness before Kluge mass produced them.

***

Irma, Leroy, and Lyndon were kneeling before the KoH King -- they thought the term "King of Humanity" was a bit self-aggrandizing, and didn't really fall into their beliefs -- the KoH King, named Jeffrey Booker (his wife was Meredith Perkins-Booker). King Booker was displeased with their apparent failure, all present unaware that Leroy and Irma had moodulators on their necks, as their hair hid them.

"You failed to procure the mind control technology," King Booker barraded. "And what's more? You compromised the identities of our moles in the local police force!! It was not easy getting them in those positions, you know!"

It was at this point that the moodulators L.E.D. screens, unnoticed by all, lit up green with the "courageous" emoji. Irma and Leroy felt a sudden, inexplicable swell of feeling in their being. It was like fear of consequence and inhibition due to repercussion was wiped away. The moodulator had eliminated all other emotion other than courage. And, while having courage was a remarkable thing, without perspective and clarity, it becomes little more than arrogance and being overbearing.

Irma interrupted King Booker and sang:

"It's time you learned a lesson.
It's time that you understand.
We don't ever count on anybody else
From any other land!
I once hoped for leadership,
To find a place among my kind.
But those were the childish wishes
Of someone who was blind."

But Leroy wasn't taking this laying down:

"Maybe I make things a mess,
And maybe you're right to have doubts in me.
Maybe, but nevertheless!
If you for once could just trust me."

Irma continued, addressing King Booker, without acknowledging Leroy:

"Open up your eyes!
See the world from where I stand!
Me, among the mighty!
Him, failed at your command.
Open up your eyes!"

Leroy persisted:

"Just this once let me come through for you
The way that you want me to!"

Irma addressed Leroy now:

"Give up your sweet fantasy land!
It's time to grow up and get wise!
Come now, little one, open up your eyes!"

Leroy ignored her and sang, addressing the KoH King:

"Let me make you proud.
Let me show you the best in me.
Let me give you a reason to believe that I can stand tall!"

Irma sang, more to herself than anyone else:

"We all start out the same
With simple naive trust,
Shielded from the many ways
That life's not fair or just.
But then there comes a moment,
A simple truth that you must face.
If you depend on anyone else,
You'll never find your place."

Leroy persisted still, addressing the KoH King:

"And when I return --
And I'm more than you dreamt I'd be --
Maybe then you will realize that you never actually knew me at all!"

Irma sang, addressing no one in particular:

"And as you take that first step,
Upon a path that's all your own,
You see it all so clearly.
The best way to survive is all alone!"

Leroy sang more:

"Sure, I've made lots of mistakes.
I know that I've disappointed you.
Still, though, whatever it takes
I'm gonna fix it, just watch me."

Irma belted out, as Lyndon watched all this confused and dumbfounded into incredulous silence.

"Open up your eyes!
See the world from where I stand!
Me, among the mighty!
Him, failed at your command.
Open up your eyes!"

Leroy continued:

"Just you wait, I'll make it up to you.
If it's the last thing I ever do
I will make you proud.
I will make you have faith in me.
I will prove that the way I used to be is all in the past!"

Irma concluded:

"And behold the faded light!
It's time to grow up and get wise.
Come now, my King, open up your eyes!
Open up your eyes!"

And Leroy concluded:

"I will save the day
And come back here triumphantly.
'Cause I long for that look of surprise when you see me rising at last,
The pride in your eyes when you see me rising at last."

King Booker just stood at the top of his throne's dais, looking stoically onward. But he was hiding his irritation as the green glow from the moodulators faded, with the two looking on horrified.

"ENOUGH!!!" he bellowed. "Get out of my sight. All three of you. Now."

When they hesitated, he replied, "Did. I. STUTTER?"


SOURCE SONG: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UvZrcLFYpWk and https://youtube.com/watch?v=iF6SzWvggq0.

[Cloak]

Sorry for the delay. Work was very hard on me -- I have to deal with this one ***** antagonizing me and the rest of the kitchen hates her as much I do, but my boss just LETS her hateful, pompous attitude turn the kitchen into a hostile work environment. I'll be looking for a new job soon because of it. This ***** is really intolerable, and I'm sick of the preferential treatment she evidently gets. She should have been fired a while ago.

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
Fear -- the Ultimate Enemy

Well, that seemed to do nothing interesting, Leatherhead determined. So he tapped the screen again, returning back to the previous screen with the seven emojis. He tapped the third one from the left, and the smartphone's screen turned yellow with a "scared" emoji.

***

Shinobi was done meditating with Blue, and he was only vaguely aware of the moodulator's previous activation. But he passed it off as nothing. He had to focus on sparring with Blue now. He was holding his own, but Blue was also pulling his punches.

Then the moodulator activated, and all of Shinobi's emotions were suppressed, other than fear. Shin never such overwhelming fear such as this. His heart beat furiously, as if desperate to break out of his ribcage. His breathing shallowed. He saw Blue as a hulking shadow with a ninjabo. He felt as if his very life was in jeopardy.

So, he cowered. He begged a perplexed and confused Blue not to hurt him, as he curled up into a prone ball, rocking back and forth, shivering with fear. Blue briefly considered that this might be a ruse to get him to let his guard down -- he had taught Shin that tactic already, and Shin knew how to use it -- but, after a few seconds hesitation, he realized that this sudden, inexplicable fear was not a facade or a hoax. It was genuine, all-consuming fear. Blue knew what that looked like.

"Pl-please . . . d-don't hurt m-me . . ." Shin stammered as he cowered.

"Shin," Blue said, genuinely concerned now. Shinobi was not this cowardly. He was not this prone to fear. Something had happened, but Blue couldn't put his finger on what it was. Did he trigger some sort of latent trauma in the boy? Being a member of the League could be very traumatic, especially for an abducted child who never had a choice to be there, but knew nothing else. "Shin, what's . . . what's wrong?"

Shinobi said nothing, but shivered like a vibrating cat toy. He felt nothing but fear. He did not know where it came from, but it was present. He never liked feeling afraid. Cowardice was punished most severely at the League of Assassins. Age was not a mitigating factor in this. Even the youngest child was given harsh punishments if the higher ups decided they were behaving cowardly. Or behaving merciful, for that matter. They wanted all their assassins to be fearless and deadly.

Then, suddenly, all at once, this intense fear subsided and he was able to feel more than simple, all-consuming fear.

***

"Did we just do that?" Leroy asked, a few minutes after the deactivation of his moodulator. "Did we seriously just do that?"

"You spiked my drink, didn't you, you little weasel?" Irma snarled at Leroy. She always liked to antagonize him. "Thought you'd make me all tipsy, and so you could usurp me?"

"Hey! There's no need for --" Lyndon barked.

It was at this moment that the whole atmosphere changed on a dime. Irma's anger evaporated, replaced immediately with the deepest kind of fear imaginable. Leroy's fear doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled, until he felt nothing else. Both paced frantically, with Leroy wringing his hands fretfully and Irma suppressing shivers of fright.

"He'll have our heads for speaking to him in such a way," Leroy said, rather pathetically.

"Worse! He'll turn us out!" Irma lamented fearfully. "We will have nowhere to go, nowhere to turn!! And we've dealt with more of those dirty invaders, that alien filth, than any other Knight! And we made one misstep -- one little misstep and it could have ruined everything!"

Even fearfully hysterical, Irma couldn't help but boast.

"We're doomed!" Irma continued with her terrified theatrics. "Everything we've ever worked for, everything we've ever achieved -- all gone do to a moment of insanity!"

"He's going to literally kill us," Leroy said, more concerned with the more direct threat to their lives. "He's going to have us killed."

It was at this point that the moodulator turned off, but the fear lingered. . . .

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Sweet Hearts

Well, that didn't do anything, Leatherhead thought, disappointed. None of these apps seemed to do anything. But there were still four left. Maybe they did something.

He clicked the one furtherest to the right, the violet one. The screen turned a violent shade of violet and had a big emoji of a heart. Leatherhead, the six-year-old, thought it was rather girly.

***

After the moodulator's yellow "fear" function deactivated, Shin found himself very embarrassed, flummoxed in trying to explain to Blue what just happened. It was quite out of character for Shin to display such outward emotions. That's one thing that the League frowned upon. And you didn't want to do something they frowned upon. Your very life could depend upon it.

Then the still unseen moodulator flashed to the violet setting, and Shin found himself feeling nothing but love. It was a grateful love, and it filled him, blocking out and denying any other feeling. And Shin began to . . . gush.

Needless to say, Blue was starting to feel real uncomfortable about this. He wasn't used to Shin being so open and vulnerable to him, and the ninja found it a bit offputting. Especially due the fact that it came out of the blue. Uh, pun not intended.

But Blue was an experienced enough RAFian to know that this was not . . . well, it wasn't in character for him. Something was going on -- but there were a myriad of possibilities to consider for this odd, and, frankly, concerning behavior.

***

When the moodulators went to their violet "love" setting, Leroy and Irma reacted . . . differently from Shin. Very differently.

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" Lyndon demanded, as he tried not to watch them . . . going at it.

***

Inside a shack-like warehouse, GH was chained to the floor. His jailor was a slender teen with fair skin, shaggy brown hair with light brown and blue highlights, freckles, two front buck teeth, and light blue eyes. He wore a brown shirt with a red patch sewn on to it, gray pants, light brown apron, black gloves, light gray shoes, and a navy blue bowler hat with large cartoony eyes, not unlike Cappy from "Super Mario Odyssey". These eyes mimicked, in real time, the expressions on the boy's face.

"Any moment now, 'King of Birbs'," he said, antagonistically, as he worked on something that looked like Nemetrix Beetle. Then he sang:

"Believe me, I know
I've sunk pretty low,
But, whatever I've done, you deserve."

"Rotiart . . ." GH said, despite the clacking of his golden chains.

Rotiart snapped, "Quiet!"

"I'm the bad guy, that's fine!
It's no fault of mine,
And, at last, some justice will be served."

"Please, Rotiart, listen," GH pleaded. But he was ignored, as Rotiart continued singing.

"Now it's time to step up or it's time to back down,
And there's only one answer for me.
And I'll stand up and fight
'Coz I know that I'm right.
And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll ever be!"

Meanwhile, back at the forum, Cloak was reclining on an infirmary cot. Kelly was doing her best to tend to his internal injuries -- but due to the nature of Realm Walker physiology, this was proving . . . rather difficult. Cloak allowed a groan of pain to slip out.

"Cloak, are you sure that you're up for this?" Dek, the RAFian Zirkonian, asked.

"Actually, I don't think I am," the Realm Walker confessed, "I'll only slow you down."

"But how are you gonna lead the assault?" Salad inquired.

Cloak's reply was simple, "I'm not. She is."

It was at this point Shadow, now a young adult (despite the fact this was incongruity as the RAFians were the same ages that they were supposed to be), strode into view, looking proud, if a tad nervous. She sung:

"Now it's time to rise up or it's time to stand down,
And the answer is easy to see.
And I swear by my uncle's sword,
If you're in, get on board!
Are you ready?"

Dek sang:

"I'm ready!"

The rest of the RAFians sang:

"We're ready, we're ready!"

Shadow concluded:

"Ready as we'll ever be."

Meanwhile, Dino was approaching Leatherhead, who looked to be an adult. Upon seeing Dino, he said, "There you are!"

Apparently, Dino was struggling with some doubts, as she sang:

"Are you quite sure you can do this?"

To which Leatherhead replied in song:

"Together, we will! Guaranteed!"

Rotiart sang:

"I'll make them fear me!"

Shadow sang:

"I will prove they can trust me!"

Leatherhead sang:

"I'll save my home and family."

All sang:

"Now the line's in the sand, and our moment's at hand!"

Dek sang:

"And I'm ready!"

Shadow sang:

"I'm ready!"

Dino and Leatherhead sang:

"I'm ready!"

Rotiart concluded the song.

"Ready as I'll ever be . . . "

Naturally, at this point Cloak awoke. He had just planned to lay down for a bit -- he hadn't expected to fall asleep. He spent the next few moments trying to sort out whether it was a Truth Dream.or just a simple, run-of-the-mill ones.

It took him a moment to notice the high-pitched sound, which was shrill as a squeaking industrial dishwasher. Exceedingly annoying.


*SOURCE SONG: https://youtube.com/watch?v=r-PYYaoq0fY

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINE:
Rage Age

Leatherhead nodded, that one was boring. All these apps were boring. They just showed a colored screen with a different emoji. Where were the games? Every smartphone had Candy Crush, right? Or Fruit Ninja? Where were those?

He clicked on the one furthest to the right, the red one. The screen became solidly crimson as the "angry" emoji*

***

When the "love" setting was deactivated from his moodulator, Shin felt immensely embarrassed for how mushy got thanking Blue for taking him, saving him from the abusive League of Assassins.

But, in as big a mood swing as you can get, all his emotions were pushed out of the way and turned off. In this emotional void, unbridled anger and unrestrained rage bubbled forth to fill it. He grabbed his training ninjabo, and gripped it tightly.

Then he immediately went into attack Blue, who was ill-prepared for this. But, fortunately, the training sword was blunt and little more than a stick. However, after the first strike, Blue was more prepared and had his guard up. He was sure something was going on with Shin, something artificial. No one has mood swings with this extreme severity, he was sure.

With every strike, Blue parried. With every block, Blue broke. Blue had more experience, a stronger technique, and his mind wasn't clouded with anger. This only served to make him angrier, and make Shin's attacks more reckless, techniques more sloppy, and his thoughts far more muddled. Anger often erodes objectivity and tends to consumes an unnecessary amount of energy. Rage was a fire, that leaves you hollow and empty when you become apathetic after the rage is spent.

And, when the "angry" function deactivated, Shin felt this in full force. Shin did not like to be angry. While the League like to cultivate "ragers", they would punish them if they got too out of hand. Nobody wanted to be a rager.

"Are you okay, Shinobi?" Blue asked.

" I -- I don't know," was his reply.

***

When the "love" function had turned off, Irma and Leroy immediately stopped being enamored with each other. Irma's face immediately became beat red with embarrassment and began accusing Leroy of some not very nice things, and he pushed back with saying that she had led him on, that she was using this as an excuse to punish him legally later.

"What the hell is going on with you two?!" Lyndon asked.

"STAY OUT OF IT!!!" the two yelled, before going back at each others' throats. When the "angry" function activated, this escalated to rather . . . dangerous levels. Much more when you consider that both had weapons.

Within seconds, Leroy had his sword in his hand, and Irma had her mace in hers. Lyndon realized what was going on, what the two intended, and he did his best to defuse the situation. But neither one was listening to him. Their weapons were clashing to loudly to pay attention to distractions like Lyndon.

They only stopped when the moodulator's "angry" function ceased and exhaustion took over.

***

This shrill sound wouldn't stop. And his feline curiosity was getting the better of him. He had find out what it was. He put on his cloak, and left his thread to follow this annoyingly shrill sound. He had to go slowly, to make sure he finds the true source.


* You know, this:

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TEN:
Avarice Availability

Leatherhead found this one more or less as entertaining as the one before, which wasn't entertaining at all. He clicked the orange one right next to it. The screen became orange with an emoji of a hand with business suit cuff, clutching a small stack of money with a deathly iron grip.

***

Shin was scared. He didn't know what was going on with him emotionally. He decided that he needed to meditate. Blue offered to join him, and Shinobi took him upon the offer. He was afraid of what would happen if . . . if he wasn't watched. What emotion would . . . would take him over.

It felt rather . . . invasive now. How all his myriad of emotions were roughly shoved aside within him, to allow one singular one to fill him up. Fill him up to a ridiculous --
and dangerous -- extreme. Beings that only feel one, singular emotion -- whatever it may be -- can be just as dangerous as a mentally unstable one.

Then he felt it happen again. He felt all his emotions being pushed aside, like Moses crossing that sea. He felt the emotion filling him up, but he didn't recognize it. It was a feeling of want. It was a feeling of never having enough. It was a feeling of having more, and more, and more. It was then that Shin was able to acknowledge it and resist its effects -- presumably because of his meditation.

It was avarice. Greed. It was something that Shinobi hadn't really been allowed to feel when he was at the League. The High Council frowned upon it, and they saw it against their own interests, as it would severely limit their own coffers. His mind wandered to the treasury of the League, full of a sea of gold coins, a smooth, ellipsoid white pearl, an unfaceted, round blue pearl, an unfaceted, round yellow pearl, a smooth, ellipsoid pink pearl (which had eventually went missing), a white diamond, a yellow diamond with a diamond facet, a blue diamond with a kite diamond facet, a five-sided pink diamond (which was shattered somehow), a kite diamond faceted holly blue agate in the shape of teardrop, an unfaceted, polished aquamarine in the shape of a teardrop, two topazes with triangular facets and a circular central facet, six rubies each with a square facet, an emerald with a typical emerald cut, a triangular jasper with a low facet, a four-faceted rectangular blue zircon, a four-faceted rectangular green zircon, a circular carnelian with a hexagonal facet, three unfaceted, triangular fluorites, a fluorite with a circular cut and facet, a unfaceted, circular fluorite, a rhomboidal fluorite with a rhomboidal facet, two fused rutile gems in a reverse "y" shape with two facets, a polished, unfaceted, circular rhodonite, a circular rhodonite with a square facet, a circular padparadscha sapphire with a triangular facet, a polished, unfaceted lapis lazuli in a teardrop shape, a circular rose quartz with a pentagonal facet, a circular amethyst with a hexagonal facet, a triangular peridot with facets around the edges, a circular blue sapphire with a triangular facet, a circular garnet with a triangular facet, a circular garnet with a square facet, a smooth, ellipsoid opal, a circular opal with a hexagonal facet, a circular sugillite with a hexagonal facet, a circular sugillite with a triangular facet, a circular sugillite with a square facet, a smooth, ellipsoid sardonyx, a circular sardonyx with a triangular facet, a circular sardonyx with a square facet, a circular alexandrite with a hexagonal facet, a circular alexandrite with a triangular facet, a circular alexandrite with a square facet, a smooth, ellipsoid alexandrite, a smooth, teardrop-shaped malachite, a triangular malachite with a low facet, a circular rainbow quartz with a pentagonal facet, a smooth, ellipsoid rainbow quartz, a circular smoky quartz with a pentagonal facet, a circular smoky quartz with a hexagonal facet, a . . .

He shook his head. It was starting to clear as the moodulator was starting to deactivate. He hadn't resisted this all that well, he felt.

***

The two were on their butts, exhausted from the fighting, ignored by the other Knights, who didn't care if the two killed each other, spilling their so-called "pure human" blood. Sort of proving how BS their rhetoric is.

They were in the cafeteria when their moodulators activated again. They grabbed as much food as they could (barely being able to afford it), and began to shovel the food into their mouths as if there was no tomorrow. As if they we're afraid that they'd starve if they weren't greedily gluttonous, like a Taxxon.

Lyndon was disgusted by these actions, but his concern for the two deepened. They were both acting very strange. Very strange, indeed. He started to wonder if they were being manipulated by an alien source. Maybe they were infested with parasitic non-Terran filth, or that some alien monster had clawed its way into their heads.

Honestly, that made the most sense to Lyndon. Something was manipulating their emotions, but for what end? It didn't matter. These alien filth didn't need a reason to do their sinful acts, to occupy this planet illegally, to prepare for their inevitable invasion forces. His daddy was always right about this sort of thing.

***

Cloak approached slowly cautiously, listening intently. He was still following the sound. It was shrill, in a very harsh sort of way. But was getting closer. He was sure of it.

[Cloak]

Sorry for the tardiness, both work and the weather have been getting to me, wearing me out.

New chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Putting Hope on the Ballot*

Nope, that was boring, too, Leatherhead decided. He tapped the screen again, and then tapped the third one from the left. The screen became blue with a "hopeful" emoji -- an emoji of a red, tulip-like flower -- on it. Maybe this one would be a game of some sort. Maybe like Angry Bird.

***

Shin continued to try to meditate to resist whatever is making him feel like this. To try to resist whatever emotion would fill him up to the exclusion of any other emotion. He found himself wondering what, precisely, was behind him feeling like that during these . . . episodes. Was it magical in nature, or technological? Biological or chemical? In any case, he knew that it would turn out for the best.

He knew that all would be well. And he found a certain kind of peace in this knowledge. However, he didn't realize or recognize the swelling hope he suddenly felt was actually a result of the moodulator. Fortunately, this was a less extreme emotion, as pure hope is usually meaningless without the willpower or courage behind it to accomplish anything. Due to the very nature of the moodulator, this is wasn't really possible.

But he found himself not really thinking about acting upon this swell of hope within himself, just feeling that all will be well with perfect confidence in it. He sat there meditating, unaware that the moodulator took effect. Unaware that he was only feeling such hope from the machine hidden on his neck.

"All will be well" was a constant mantra in his head, without him recognizing that the thought was not really his own, but one influenced by the moodulator. His mentor, Blue, was meditating, too, but he was keeping a sharp eye on Shin, wondering if he was okay.

Blue, though he never said it aloud or would admit to thinking it, was wondering if it was such a good idea now that he took in Shin as a protege. Grant, Blue didn't know about the moodulator, hidden by a high red scarf that Shin like to wear that gave him the superficial appearance of Strider Hiryu, only much younger. But Blue thought that if he gave into his misgivings now, that would be cruel to young Shin. He thought if he admitted aloud that he may have been in over his head by taking in Shin, it would make the boy feel unwanted and unwelcomed -- something Blue abjectly did not want Shin to feel at all with their current situation. But something had to be up -- one didn't just cycle through emotions in this manner, as if they were numbers on an archaic rotary phone.

***

The two stopped shoving and shoveling food into their mouths, looking, frankly, embarrassed. Lyndon had managed to steer them out of the Knight cafeteria, and down a further corridor. He didn't say anything, as his eyes raked them, looking for any exoparasite that could be causing such behaviors (apparently, completely missing the moodulators adhered to their skin, hidden by their hair).

"Something is going on with you two," Lyndon accused. "First, you two tell of Knight King. Then you make out -- and that's, honestly, the kindest interpretation. Then you two start shoveling food into your gullets as if it was some sort of competition! Everyone saw you do this, too! Patrick, Cosmo, Angelica, Eliza, Bill, Catherine, Jeremy, Sandy, Dora, Dave, Kevin, Donnie, Tiana, Cory, Ruthie, Ernestine, David, Heather, Jimmy, Aileen, Lucy, Sergio, Diego, Mike, Tommy, Bob, Wanda, Chuckie -- they all saw you! And you know that they're not all going to hold their tongue about it!"

But, instead of panicking at this and feeling the utter embarrassment from it, the two looked rather serene and oblivious. Not unlike descriptions of Luna Lovegood from "Harry Potter". All other emotion had washed away from them, and they felt nothing but placid hope.

"All will be well," the two said, in unison.

"What?!" Lyndon snapped. Before recognizing they were having another episode. "Oh, no. Not AGAIN."

***

Cloak had found himself in front of a door. He recognized who the owner of it, and he was sure the sound was emitting from behind it. Why would GH be making such a noise?


* Yes, this is a reference to the ridiculous rhetoric of Tom Perez.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
The Last App

What a stupid phone!

Leatherhead was less than pleased with this new acquisition. What kind of smartphone didn't have any games on it? It had to have been broken. But wait -- there was still one more app he had yet to try. Maybe this one actually had a game on it?

Leatherhead tapped the purple icon, and the screen turned indigo with an emoji with halo on it, and nothing more. The six-year-old was not happy. This wasn't a game. It was supposed be a game, and it wasn't.

***

Shinobi realized that this sudden swelling of hope he felt towards the exclusion of every other emotion was another effect of whatever held this hold over him. He was much too embarrassed to admit this aloud. What sort of ninja, what sort of RAFian would he be if he couldn't master his emotions? If he couldn't best whatever this was that held this control over his emotions.

But, then it happened again, a emotions were swept away from him. All except compassion. A passionate compassion for others. He still meditated, and, this time, was able to acknowledge that this wasn't natural. This compassion he felt wasn't natural -- sure, it stemmed from legitimate compassion. But it was artificially amplified, and Shinobi could recognize it as such.

And, because he was able to recognize it, he was able to be mindful of it. Able to control this until it ends. Able to manage it admirably. But this was by no means an easy feat. It was with relief when this, whatever it was, subsided. He hid his mental fatigue, though.

But Blue did not miss the clear signs of mental fatigue and the mental struggle he had undergone. It was at this point that Blue had actually noticed the moodulator on Shin's neck, unknowingly hidden by his hair and scarf.

***

"You two are going to see Doc Kevorkyan," Lyndon decided. "Something is definitely up with you!"

"I . . ." Leroy said, the effect of the hope function of the moodulator had faded. He felt a full stomach, yet felt hollowed out. Exhausted.

"You . . ." Irma started to accuse, before stopping. She felt the exhaustion as well. Their reactions were a bit more extreme than Shin's, and, therefore, more draining. It was one detail that Dr. Kluge.

"I am not going to hear a word against it, Irma," Lyndon said, firmly. "We're going. Now."

"But he's a medical doctor, not a psychiatrist," Leroy said, sounding groggy.

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," Lyndon stated, again firm. "You two are going right . . . oh, no. Not again."

The two's eyes unfocused as they felt nothing but compassion -- the complete antithesis of everything that the Knights stood for. They only had compassion for "their kind" -- humans and Terran-borne species. But the moodulators don't make specifics like that. They didn't have that kind of specificity, as that only works with the irrational, xenophobic hatred. And the moodulators suppressed hatred.

"No, Lyndon," Irma said, sounding firm, but serene. "We won't."

"Yes, Irma, you --"

"No, Lyndon," Leroy said. He actually felt as if his mind had never had such clarity. "We're resigning from the Knights. What we've done, as Knights is unconscionable. Not only that, Lyndon, the world sees us as a joke. We're not considered a legitimate threat, and, perhaps, that's for the best."

"This isn't you talking," Lyndon said. "It's whatever force is manipulating you."

"No, Lyndon," Irma said, and she was quite serious. "I've never been thinking so clearly."

***

Cloak could have simply barged into GH's thread, but Cloaky correctly assumed that the RAFian guitarist would not appreciate such an infringement on the privacy of himself and his son. And Cloak's Earthsight told him that both were inside the thread, that it was not vacant and neither were currently . . . indisposed.

So, Cloak knocked on the door, two swift rapt knocks.

[Cloak]

Unless I can find a way to stretch it, this'll probably end up being one of the shorter books.

Oh, and, due a numbering mishap of mine, the current last book (unless I continue) will be #1237, not #1,236, unless I uncover another numbering mishap.

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Discovery and Departure

"Cloak?" GH asked, answering the door, as Leatherhead tossed the smartphone on the opposite side of the couch, which actually, somehow, deactivated the moodulators. Deactivated them, as in completely powering them down. "What's up?"

Cloak's ears twitched slightly. The sound had gone. That frustratingly annoying sound, like the shrill squeak of an old industrial dish machine that needed replacing. Gone. But, nonetheless, Cloak explained why he had come to GH.

This perplexed GH, as he hadn't heard any such sound. But he invites Cloak in anyway.

"Any new acquisitions or anything that could produce a sound within my auditory range but not a human's?" Cloak asked.

"A bit wordy way of saying 'do have something I can hear but you can't'," GH mused, "but no, Cloaky, I can't say that I have. I've just been working on this amp, trying not to f--"

He glanced at Leatherhead, and corrected himself.

"-- And try not to screw it up."

"What's that?" Cloak said, taking immediate notice of the moodulator controller, which stood out against the color of the couch.

***

"Shin," Blue said, as he travelled around to his back, "stay still."

"What is it?" the boy asked immediately.

"There's something on your neck, hidden by your hair and scarf." Blue explained. "It almost appears to be a tracking device of some sort."

"The League is tracking me?" he asked.

Blue hesitated for only a moment before answering. "No, Shin. I don't think that they are. They're d-- never mind. Just hold still, I'm gonna try to remove it."

It wasn't as difficult as Blue expected. Blue had expected it to have latched onto Shin's skin tightly, like a tick or some other hemophageous exoparasite. But it gave without very much effort, which surprised the RAFian greatly. It was about the size of a small coin, with four clamp-like "legs". It had a faceplate that greatly resembled the faceplate of the Omnitrix.

"What is that?" Shin asked.

"Looks like whatever it was Dr. Kluge was working on," Blue replied, almost grimly.

***

They were now able to feel other things other than compassion, Irma and Leroy were. But they were not able to easily forget what they felt when they felt compassion. In a rather ironic turn of fate, this caused their irrational hatred of aliens to weaken severely until it seemingly fractured and disintegrated. It may return at some point in their lives from this point, but they made the hard realizations.

They were Knights, and the Knights of Humanity were as monstrous, if not more so, then the alien species that they feared so greatly, that they despised so openly. The moodulators had forced them to open their eyes to this -- the sheer hypocrisy of this irrational hatred, the aversive fear that it was rooted in. The moodulators had, unknowingly proved to be beneficial to the two, as it offered them a brief moment of clarity. A clarity that most, if not all, of the Knights would never have.

Neither noticed the moodulators falling off, and being crunched underfoot in their abrupt departure (complete with suitcases) from the Knight facility. Leroy had a falling out with his younger sister, Meredith, about this -- she seeing him as being traitorously disloyal and him seeing her as blinded with xenophobia. It wasn't a happy farewell, but it was one that needed to happen.