Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Being impatient, I'm gonna go ahead and release tomorrow's chapter right now.

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIVE:
The Old One

Aquilai stepped into a moderate sized room that was decorated in such a way that it reminded him of Splinter from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". The straw mats on the floor with the panel artwork on the wall. There was only a singular window to their left. The figure sat upon the center of the mattress, looking far younger than his name would have implied. And, of course, Aquilai did, in fact, know him by another name.

"Richard," he said, in acknowledgement.

"So refreshing to be referred to by name," he said, just now opening his eyes. He didn't appear to have aged a single day, much less a thousand. It just occurred to him just how ancient Richard could be. He decided that that would be one fact that he didn't really want to find out the answer to. "And I know, Aquilai, you came from the past."

"Yes," he said. "is that why you wanted to see me?"

"In part," Richard said, wearily. It was in this moment, in those two words, that Aquilai heard Richard's age. It actually stunned the Time Lord. "But I also wanted to be the one to answer questions."

"But wouldn't too much knowledge prove detrimental to the time stream," Aquilai said. He was embarrassed to admit that he had just thought of this. He had allowed his curiosity to get the better of his judgment. "Chronal pollution, and all that."

"This is the timeline where you left and haven't returned until this point," Richard reasoned. "When you return, as you inevitably will, this timeline will be changed regardless."

Aquilai couldn't argue with that logic. And, to be honest, he was rather curious about this world.

"But, still, I'll answer the questions as an Oracle of Delphi would, if you'd prefer," he said.

"No, no, there'll be no need for that." Aquilai said, shifting around his mind for questions that might be considered innocuous. "Where's Cloak? A century for us is only ten for him."

Richard's expression saddened, "The reason for that is simple, Aquilai. Cloak was murdered."

"Malice?" Aquilai said, making an educated guess.

"No," Richard said, sadly, "Cloak slew Malice, as she forced his hand. Cloak was slain by someone else over eight hundred years ago. His death broke the Mark, and we've been without it ever since"

Aquilai hesitated, almost rethinking himself for asking, "Then, by who?"

"Another Realm Walker," Richard said. Now Richard was wondering if he was saying too much now. "One who called himself Singularity."

"'Singularity'?" Aquilai asked. "What does that mean?"

But before Richard could answer, an alarm blared. Aquilai was astonished with the agility and swiftness that Richard managed to get to his feet. Something a man a mere fraction of his age couldn't do as quickly and smoothly.

"An incursion!" he said. "Come, Aquilai, old friend, we must engage!"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
The Five Furies

Aquilai followed Richard into the main atrium of the space station. There, he saw five individuals that looked roughly human. Richard quickly explained in an aside that after Cloak died, and Singularity vanished somewhere, there was a villain vacuum. Instead of fighting for it, the Knights, the Banned, Cadmus, and the Cartel -- this last one was unfamiliar to Aquilai, but he wasn't able to inquire about it -- united as one. After a brief and bloody skirmish to be the ultimate leader, these five became it. Known colloquially as the Five Furies. And the organization became known as the Syndicate. The Knights became the Enforcers, the Banned became their propaganda wing and spies, Cadmus became their science and development department, and the Cartel basically became their grunts and foot soldiers. This actually made them a very credible threat. And the RAFians' main adversaries in this time. And it was the reason why many of the older RAFians seemed to be so worn and tired. Their battles often proved to be exhausting and draining, both mentally and physically.

Then Richard addressed each of the Furies by name. Not their real names, of course, but no one knew those and the Furies never used them.

"Oculus Rife," Richard said, at the woman in emerald green attire with an emerald instead of her right eye. She looked very dismissive of others, and had an overinflated sense of self-worth. She was clearly the leader of the cadre of six. Though, in typical villain fashion, she thought the other four were expendable if it came down to it, denying any contributions the other four made as minor and of little overall consequence. And, yet she still maintained the mantle of leadership of the Five Furies. She could project concussive blasts of energy from this emerald, and it allowed her a degree of telekinesis.

"Incinerator," Richard said, at the man, in his late teens to early twenties, who was completely engulfed in flames. He looked as if he were perpetually angry, and a typical angsty teen, only slightly older. Unsurprisingly, due to the nature of his abilities, he was a bit of a hothead and very quick to rage. He could barely control his rage, but his fear of Oculus Rife was the only thing that reigned his fury in. He used his pyrokinesis for a variety of effects, least of which to allow him to fly. He was constantly on fire, and could not revert to a non-burning form.

"Brutish," Richard said, at the amalgamation of rocks in a rough humanoid form. He looked as if he was the one most willing to bargain with his enemies. Possibly the weakest link of the five, but still tough enough to rise to be a fury. He was once human, but due to an accident with cosmic waves, he was stuck with this form, struggling to keep his humanity. He was able to separate his rocks and scatter them, but also recall them. His physiology was remarkably similar to a Segmentsapien, only with rocks. Even so, he wasn't too terribly smart and tended to not understand the reasons behind what the Furies and the Syndicate did. He harbored a large amount of self-loathing and wasn't above lashing out. Like Incinerator, he feared Oculus and so did as she asked.

"Vanish," Richard said, at a sad-looking woman who immediately vanished from sight. She was suffering from a deep depression from children that she lost several years ago. But there were discrepancies of whether these children had truly ever existed and she wasn't suffering from some delusion. She rarely spoke, but was powerful enough to become a Fury. She could make herself imperceptible to others, though not intangible. She could also make invisible force fields and the like, but she usually played a more defensive, protective role. She had a rather contentious relationship with Oculus, but she didn't possess enough willpower to fight her on any issue, choosing just to comply so Oculus would leave her to grieve.

"Malleable," Richard said, at the last of the group, who looked resigned and accepting of his lot in life. He had accepted what the Syndicate stood for, and the perception of being evil criminals. He accepted all that, though he did not believe it to be true. He believed that the RAFians were the evil ones, not really registering the hypocrisy of those assertions. Everything the Syndicate did was actually worse. Corrupting politicians (not really hard for some legislators, unsurprisingly enough), corrupting governments with corporate money, stealing from the working class -- the Syndicate was implicated in all that, and Malleable didn't care and didn't acknowledge it. His powers allowed him to stretch any part of his body, making any abilities with any physicality to it completely ineffective to him. Even abilities with ballistic potential were very limited in their effectiveness.

"What do you want here? You know you cannot win," Richard said.

"Oh, can't we?" Oculus said. She had a sultry sort of voice as if she was an actress chewing the scenery. She gestured to her left and Richard was chagrin to find five percent of the RAFians -- about 200,000 or so individuals -- all having mind control discs on their heads and chest. This included both Vector and Argyle Sirois. And a speedster that Aquilai wasn't sure was related to either Cerulean or Shenmue. The speedster was probably how she managed to get those discs on all these people in such a short amount of time. "As you can see, they've decided to join the winning side."

"Damn," Richard said, recognizing the dangers. And apparently already aware of what their scheme is. "I've never should have sent Shadow to that mission on Darwin 4."

"Shadow?" Aquilai asked.

"Later," Richard said. Then he addressed the Furies. "You'll never get away with this you know."

Oculus laughed, "Won't we?"

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
Assimilating Assault

"Hubris has a nasty tendency to ruin even the best-laid plans," Richard said, almost deliberately trying to take attention off Aquilai. Or, more importantly, his TARDIS. The time machine would be exceedingly dangerous in the hands of the Furies, much less the greater Syndicate itself. Meddling with time always proves to be a hazardous preoccupation.

But Aquilai's TARDIS could only be worked by him. Only he, or others he allowed, were permitted access. It was rather like something made of mokeskin, and it would only open for him. So that was of little concern to him. And those mind control discs . . . he still, strangely enough, bore his Mark. The Mark, though far from infallible, blocked such mundane forms of manipulation and control. It would have no effect, no matter how futuristic the tech was. It was how Cloak, Goom, and Richard himself crafted it, but Cloak had it tied to his life, his power.

"Hubris?" Oculus Rife laughed, coyly. "Hardly, you old Coot."

That was evidently her little pet name for Richard. Aquilai couldn't help but notice how the term was just one letter away from a racial slur. Richard didn't react to it, clearly demonstrating it wasn't the first time he heard the derogatory remark. Richard was far more concerned with not allowing the Furies to notice Aquilai's TARDIS, which was shrunk down into its pendant form, and swing around on the Time Lord's neck.

Of course, during this time, the mind controlled RAFian speedster was putting more mind control discs on the other RAFians before they could react. Those that were naturally immune, due to their physiology and species, like Underseen's physiology, were either killed outright or severely injured. Soon, too soon, there was about a quarter of all of the RAFians that were either controlled or killed. This was roughly a million or so individuals. Aquilai couldn't count all of them, to be honest.

"You're losing your touch, Old Man!" Incinerator crowed, taking a savage pleasure.

Oculus Rife's demeanor changed immediately to a cold, angry one as she said to her fellow Fury, "Be SILENT."

Incinerator immediately complied. He was terrified of her.

"We agreed that only I would engage the enemy in conversation, you forgetful dolt."

Aquilai was getting strong Malice or Queen vibes from Oculus Rife. And it was clear when she said "we agreed", that that wasn't technically true. It was clear as crystal that Oculus made that decision unilaterally, and the other four Furies were too afraid to go against her. It was a vanity thing, on Oculus's part, obviously.

"Give it up, Coot," Oculus said, completely losing her flippant tone. She was getting serious, and Aquilai looked to Richard. His face was inscrutable, and Aquilai couldn't tell what was going on through his mind. The Time Lord was assuming that this was still weighing very heavily on his mind, that Richard was being forced to make a calculated, risky decision. The kind of decision that no one enjoys making. Oculus spoke again, "A quarter of your precious RAFians are mine. Just give it up."

Then Oculus fell silent, apparently enjoying the struggle that was going on within Richard. She was rather sadistic in this manner, as her emerald eye glistened evilly.

"Just yield," she intoned, "just do it. Submit to me."

"Never," was Richard's response.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Inaction Versus Action

"Really, Coot?" Oculus said, clearly taking some modicum of offense at this response. "'Never'?"

Richard said nothing, but stood a little taller, refusing to give into her. But his ulterior motive was still to take any and all attention off Aquilai. And more importantly his TARDIS.

"You think you're some really big man, don't you?" Oculus snarled. "You think you're really above it all, DON'T YOU?!"

Aquilai was seriously suspecting that Oculus was, at least partially, mentally and emotionally unstable. Richard was still struggling with what he could or couldn't do. The last thing that he wanted to do was harm his RAFians. They were not his subordinates, they were his friends, his family. There had to be a solution that he couldn't see. He just had to stall the Furies and . . .

But it was at this point that roughly half, roughly two million RAFian individuals, were either controlled, killed, or grievously injured. Richard didn't like this. His inaction was allowing those that were not able to be controlled to be either killed or maimed. He wasn't really paying attention to the rant (which happened to be a bit racist and speciesist) that Oculus was undergoing. There was only one chance.

"Aquilai," he whispered in such a way that the Furies didn't notice. "You need to go back. Go back in time."

"I cannot," Aquilai said. The chronal capacitors and the like were likely needing to still be recharged enough to do such. Until then, he was stuck here in this time zone.

"I applaud your bravery," Richard whispered, tersely. "But this is no time. You need to go back and change all this. Even the smallest change could change this for the better."

"Or the worse," Aquilai whispered in argument. "The flow of time is hardly ever, if ever, predictable."

"You must!" Richard said. "Any small change. Butterfly effect this, Aquilai."

"You're discounting the multiverse theory, Richard," Aquilai said. "There's a chance, that no matter what I do in the past, that this reality would just remain the same. And this predicament would remain the same."

Richard fell silent at this.

"Time travel isn't the answer to this situation," Aquilai whispered. "There has to be another one."

"RAFians are dying," Richard whispered back. "Killed by RAFian hand. But people they considered friends, though through no fault of their own."

"Yes, which is why we must come up with a solution," Aquilai said, "and, I'm really sorry, Richard, but time travel can't be one of them. My TARDIS needs some time to recuperate from the last trip."

"You DARE to IGNORE ME?!" Oculus Rife roared. Clearly, she didn't like being ignored.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINE:
You're Too Late

"ENOUGH OF THIS!!" Oculus roared. "We have enough RAFians for the plan!"

"Wait, what?" Aquilai said, quietly. He was under the impression that she wanted to assimilate all of the RAFians, every single one. But, evidently, that was just the first stage in whatever they were planning.

"What do you intend to do with my RAFians, Oculus?!" Richard demanded. He clearly was under the same impression that Aquilai was.

Oculus turned away, and spoke over her shoulder, in a frosty way, "Wouldn't you want to know?"

She took off with her mind-controlled RAFians, and the Furies. There were several beats of silence, before Richard's eyes widened.

"You know what she's planned," Aquilai said, matter-of-factly.

"Go forward in time, Aquilai," Richard said once more. This time there is more urgency in his voice. "Stop this long before it happens."

"There is a myriad things wrong with that course of action," Aquilai said. "First, the multiverse theory would mean that anything that do back in my native time period won't change this, just make it an alternate timeline, an alternate reality. Second, time flows like a river -- if whoever or whatever determines its flow is determined for this to happen, it will happen. We may be able to change the details of it, but the main import of it potentially will not change. Time is a very fickle thing, and any time you try to control it or manipulate it for your ends, more often than not it comes back to bite you in the butt in the end."

Richard turned away. This was not the answer he wanted, the answer he was hoping for.

"Besides," Aquilai said, "my TARDIS is not ready to go back."

"Come again?" Richard said, turning around to look at Aquilai. It was at this moment Aquilai could actually feel the ancientness of the man in front of him, the weariness and exhaustion of a man who lived far longer than any man should logically live. Aquilai actually could see the age in the father of RAF's eyes.

"My TARDIS needs time to recuperate from the last trip," Aquilai said. "From my native time, to here. It was not a very smooth trip. It was a . . . it was an accidental trip."

Richard sighed. Aquilai could see easily that Richard was hefting a burden that made Atlas look just whiny in comparison.

"Then we have to act quickly," he said.

"What is she planning?" Aquilai asked, at once.

"She's more than likely planning to discredit the RAFians as an organization," Richard said, heavily. Aquilai didn't like how weary and weakened he sounded. Aquilai realized just how much Richard's decisions weighed on him, just how deeply he took his mistakes and failures. How such things are too much for one man to endure.

"And she'll do that by using the RAFians she is controlling," Aquilai quickly surmised. "But how? In what way?"

"She'll launch an assault on the capital planet," Richard said. "Earth."

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TEN:
Capital and Colonies

As Richard took the remaining the RAFians, including the Time Lord, he explained the situation to Aquilai. There were seven colonies, as Mars boasted their own native life, White and Green Martians. Earth had become the capital city in the Sol system, and the Martians received equal representation -- represented by the Green Martian, Senator Ar'res Res'ar, and Earth itself, as well as its moon, was represented by Gaia Terrance.

The colonists on the other planets (and some moons, which falls under the jurisdiction of the planet) were genetically modified generations ago to survive on the planets. So much so that they're considered offshoots of Homo sapiens, which some of the more fanatical species-purists find almost blasphemous and sinful. But these are also the racists and xenophobes that consider that [/i]Homo sapiens terra[/i], as the "genetically pure" humans on earth were called since, these "humanity purists", evolved from the same ideology that the Knights formed and thrived on before the conglomeration of the Syndicate, considered themselves above any of these colonists, and had a variety of racial slurs for them. Many of them uncreative.

Venusian colonists, or Homo sapien venus, looked very feminine, even the males. This was the first extraterrestrial colony. Their bodies had been changed to respire on carbon dioxide instead of oxygen, not unlike plants on Earth. They were about the same height, perhaps slightly, imperceptibly smaller, as humans on Earth. Their bodies were far more durable than Earth humans due to the thicker atmosphere on Venus. They also have to wear pressure suits when they're off-world considering the atmospheric pressures that they were genetically modified to have. They're also immune to the effects of strong acids, such as sulfuric acid, which is what rains on Venus. They also require excessive amount of heat, which they, somehow, metabolize for sustenance, as they don't appear to have grown any food on the surface, due to the heavy wind speed, which these Venusian colonists are able to resist as if they were subtle breezes. Some members of this race demonstrate the ability to manipulate beauty, manipulate emotions, manipulate love itself, induce fertilization, manipulate pheromones, and have supernatural beauty, but not necessarily all of these abilities at once. They are represented by Senator Aphrodite McLean.

Mercurian colonists, or Homo sapien mercury, looked slightly feminine with little antennae right between the eyes. This was the second colony. They are able to withstand more extreme temperatures than Earth humans, and do not need to breathe. They absorb light and heat from the sun in a rather photosynthetic manner. They tend to be a lot taller and thinner than regular humans, due to Mercury's substantially lower gravity. Which is why they have to wear an anti-gravity suit when they're off their planet. They are also completely hairless, as they manage to feed through their bald heads -- their mouths only function as a communication apparatus. Some members of this race have demonstrated absolute thievery abilities, purported afterlife messaging, purported afterlife transport, manipulation of boundaries, manipulation of economies, manipulation of art, enhanced inventing abilities, literary manipulation abilities, manipulation of money, enhanced athleticism, flight, omnilingualism, manipulation of the soul, being tricksters, and warping speed, but not necessarily all of these abilities at once. They are represented by Senator Hermes Castellan.

Jovian colonists, or Homo sapien jove, looked as if they stop aging at twenty-four, with a purported "sky father" or "sky mother" physiology. This was the third colony. They breathe and metabolize hydrogen for both respiration and sustenance. They were typical substantially smaller and stockier than an average Earth human, due to the immense gravity of Jupiter. They live their lives suspended in the gaseous atmosphere of Jupiter, leaving their legs fairly atrophied. Though they can easily support their weight on planets with lesser gravity, like Earth, and can even fly in those lower gravity planets. Some members of their race have demonstrated the ability to remove immortality, to manipulate order, to manipulate subordination, to manipulate the sky, to manipulate the weather, to manipulate the air, to manipulate electricity, to manipulate storms, and to manipulate celestial bodies; others have showcased a kind of sky lordship. They are represented by Senator Zeus Grace.

Saturnian colonists, or Homo sapien saturn, looked rather like the archaic form of a demon due to their forked tail and humanoid body and horns. This was the fourth colony. They breathe and metabolize hydrogen, just like the Jovian colonists, though they can supplement their diet with plants that were similarly genetically modified. And they also eat Veleek particles. They were slightly smaller and stockier than an average Earth human. Their fashion seemed to revolve around rings, as well. They survive by floating, and if there's a core to Saturn, they haven't mentioned it. Some members of their race have demonstrated the ability to manipulate autumn, to manipulate the harvest, to manipulate plants, to induce plant growth, of temporal cognition, and of temporal guardianship. They also exhibit enhanced charisma and a proficiency with sickles as weapons. They are represented by Cronus Lucas.

Neptunian colonists, or Homo sapien neptune, looked like the classical depictions of merfolk, though their fish tails can become legs, rather like a Pisccis Volan. They are resistant to cold, and hairy, like a yeti. They breathe and metabolize hydrogen, just like Jovians and Saturnians, with supplementary diets of similarly engineered foodstuffs that they could grow on Neptune. They are slightly smaller and stockier than the average Earth human, head to tail. They survive by "swimming" through this atmosphere. Some members of their race have demonstrated the ability to manipulate aquatic life (including crustaceans and ichthyoid lifeforms), trident proficiency, aquatic adaptation, earth manipulation (including earthquake generation), storm manipulate (including rain generation and hurricane creation), ocean lordship, disaster manipulation, sea monster manipulation, ocean manipulation, and water manipulation (including tidal wave generation, water affinity, and water mimicry). They are represented by Poseidon Jackson.

Uranian colonists, or Homo sapien uranus, looked like humans with strangely prominent bellies and navels, all of which are innies. Both genders are extremely hairy, like yetis. They had legs and feet that seemed to be vestigial but could support their weight on planets with lower gravity, and were, in fact, stronger than that of Jovians, Saturnians, and Neptunians. They survive by metabolizing the ammonia and water ice for sustenance, even cultivating them as crops. Some members of their race have demonstrated the ability to manipulate the sky, stars (at least the perception of such), and weather. They are represented by Ouranos Furst.

Plutonian colonists, or Homo sapien pluto that looked rather like one of those Blackwoods wendigos with hunched backs and crystalline skin. They are able to adapt to severe cold, akin to a Kraaho. They respire mostly carbon monoxide and nitrogen, but feed on water ice or liquid water, not unlike Namekians. They have a classic humanoid body plan, and require a specialized suit to survive on warmer planets. They don't really have much of a face to speak of. Some members of their race have demonstrated the ability to nullify divinity, manipulate earth, be empowered by fear, manipulate money, practice necromancy, manipulate the nether, manipulate souls, and manipulate order. They are represented by Hades DiAngelo.

There were no colonies for Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris, and remain uninhabited to this day.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Enacting the Final Line

After this not-so-brief briefing, Richard and the remaining RAFians outfitted him with a floatation ring, as he was not a flier. Sure, when he Regenerated into an airbender, he could airbend the wind around him to fly, but he wasn't an airbender. He was a waterbender and he couldn't technically fly with that ability and skill. Other non-fliers were also fitted with the floatation rings, including Richard. They were the final line of defense. Even among the ones they, up until a few moments ago called their friends. Aquilai was not naïve to be oblivious to the implications of this.

This was shaping up to be, essentially, a RAFian civil war. True, the half of the RAFians that were on the Syndicate's side, the Furies' side, were acting against their will, their decision to commit this act was not their own. But the fact of the matter remained, the free RAFians had to fight the controlled RAFians. At all costs. Even if that meant that more of them had to . . .

"I wish Estelore or Shadow were here," Richard muttered, though Aquilai could scarcely hear him. "They're the most powerful RAFians we have left uncontrolled."

This left Aquilai to wonder about Spectre -- who was neither one on their side or the . . . the enemy side. But a thousand years is a long time. Things of considerable magnitude have a tendency to pop up from time to time in such a time frame. He didn't have time or energy to get into what happened to every RAFian from his time. His TARDIS would allow him to return to them, but the RAFians stuck here didn't have such a luxury. He couldn't afford to get ambivalent, he had to due his best to retrench these controlled RAFians from Oculus's control and manipulations. Aquilai said nothing, but he honestly feared that saving them would prove to be a rather futile endeavor.

Aquilai was also quite aware of how the politically corrupt and the opponents of RAF down on this capital planet, on Earth, would smear their efforts this day. But there was very little point in trying to convince them of the truth, as these people already had their minds made up. Hell, apparently, even in this advanced day and age, people still were laboring under the impression that the Earth was still flat, and these senators were from distant lands, and not planets, asserting the genetic manipulation was always unnecessary and asserting that they knew better than much better educated persons, just because some ancient book which bore many contradictions.

"It begins," Richard announced.

They began to approach, and it wasn't just the controlled RAFians. Oculus Rife had staffed this onslaught with disguised grunts and trolls. They were rather shabbily disguised as RAFians. They were intending on destroying the planet -- although it was still recovering from global warming from the repeal of many environmental regulations when one of the most powerful countries had a childish buffoon in office, and the corporations were polluting with reckless abandon. Aquilai did not know how they managed it, but the world was just starting to bounce back.

Focus, Aquilai. Focus.

He took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, as if he were unholstering a gun, and spun in his had as a gunslinger would his favorite pistol. His waterbending wouldn't be as helpful in this battle, he decided. He didn't have his skin of water here with him -- he had left it in the TARDIS -- and he hadn't thought to get it when he first decided to explore this world. He considered bloodbending -- he knew that Cloak wouldn't have approved, but he had to consider every avenue that might lead to a nonlethal solution -- but there were several factors and circumstances that ruled that out. He didn't know how to properly bloodbend (having made a conscious decision to never learn how), it was high noon, and they were nowhere near a full moon. So that wasn't a viable option.

Maybe he could deactivate and detach the mind control discs, using his sonic screwdriver. It would not be a quick solution and he would have to get close enough to do so. He doubted seriously that they would allow him to get so close. And if he made any progress, he risked attracting the attentions of the Five Furies. He was sure that he didn't have enough power to stop any one of them, let alone all five together. It was a humbling thought, to know that he wasn't all-powerful, but he had relied on his intelligence and cunning before, and it managed to allow him to wriggle out of some sticky spots before.

He glanced on the Mark on his right hand, and then gripped his sonic screwdriver tightly, as he stuffed his TARDIS pendant beneath his shirt. It was time to see if they could do this.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Work Fast, Aquilai!

The anticipation before the battle. These controlled RAFians also had floatation rings, and the troll and grunts had knockoff brands of sort of the floatation rings which was too buggy and glitchy to be really useful. But there was the problem of the sheer number of them. It was rather intimidating to face a horde such as this, where former friends were on the front line. Aquilai surmised that this must have been what it was like back when the Yeerks first tried to invade the Earth. To his left was Michelle Riley, the descendant of Phoenix, who inherited her ancestor's pyrokinesis, although any phoenix physiology she possessed was more of a pyrokinetic construct, a la Jean Grey. He noticed the way her face was set. She was as looking forward to this as Aquilai was.

And all Aquilai had at his disposal was his sonic screwdriver. It made him feel a little small and daunted about this. But he had his plan. He would deactivate the discs. Find a way to deactivate them all, even if he had to go one by one. They were getting closer now, and he didn't see any of the Furies. He found this rather ominous, but, at the same time, rather cowardly. Though it would make sense that they would not want to advertise that the Syndicate was behind this. They would want RAF to shoulder all the blame, to be smeared in eyes of all the inhabitants of the Sol system. This would be far more pervasive than any propaganda, because the populace would see this with their own eyes -- and, despite whatever the biases they may already have, this would permanently mar the RAFians in their eyes.

Though Aquilai would not say it aloud, this plan was brilliant in a way. As long as they could keep the mind control fact under wraps, win or lose, the RAFians' reputation would be smeared and marred. Maybe irreparably. This would be a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, if they can keep the mind control fact covered up. Even if it wasn't covered up, there would be those conspiracy theorists that would insist the opposite of the truth. There are still people in this day and age who believe that the Earth was flat, that prayer could heal any illness, that the moon landing was faked (despite the fact that the moon was now one large theme park), and so on. People will always have a tendency to believe what they want to believe, especially when they have made up their minds about it.

The silence before battle. The battle lines were drawn, and there was the slight hesitation that always seemed to precede a climatic battle, such at this. Aquilai took this moment to try to single out a controlled RAFian to target first. One that he could get to the disc first without much resistance. He decided on a Earth human who looked as if he was a child, despite RAFians having a bit of an age limit to go on dangerous missions. He could have simply looked younger than he was, or perhaps he was actually a child. Aquilai did not know. But he wore a floatation ring, indicating that he might lack powers of any sort.

With a shout, a roar, and a shriek, the battle commenced. Aquilai was unnoticed as he immediately went to his target and immediately was able to take off the main casing of the disc and was able to get to the guts of the disc. He managed to stumble upon a mechanism that acted like the Z on the chest of one of those Z Putty Patrollers from "Power Rangers" which not just detached him from the chest of the childlike RAFian, who became dazed and confused.

Aquilai couldn't afford to comfort him, he needed to move on and deactivate more of these discs. He couldn't afford to be distracted by anything else. He had to ignore the chaos, the cries and the roars of battles. He had to focus. Focus on the one role he had chosen to ascribe to himself. He had to do this. If he proved to be proficient, he could severely limit the amount of destruction and devastation. And now that he knew the mechanism that would eject the discs from their chests, things could proceed far easier.

One freed RAFians became two freed RAFians. Two became four. Then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Then sixty-four. And he did this all unnoticed by the onslaught or the Furies. He knew that it wasn't going to stay that way for very long. Then one hundred twenty-eight were freed. Aquilai tried his best to ignore the injured and dying RAFians that were fighting against themselves. Then two hundred fifty-eight were free. Aquilai was getting into a routine with this. He was pleased that he was being rather productive at this. Aquilai had lost track of the time that passed by, which he was willing to admit was a bit ironic, given he was a Time Lord.

Then he freed roughly seventeen percent of those that had been controlled. Another eight percent were injured . . . or worse. Four percent of their side were likewise in precarious situations of life and death. He had to shut all that out. He had to work. He had to work on this. There could be no distractions. Even though it was getting harder and harder to ignore as the battle became more and more brutal.

Hopefully, the people below had the good sense to stay away from this battle and evacuate to safer areas.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Taking Notice

Aquilai had freed so many RAFians now that he lost count. And, yet, despite his bobbing and weaving through the battle like a mouse navigating a maze, looking for more of these discs, like a mouse looking for grain. The Time Lord wasn't stupid, though. He knew that eventually his efforts and endeavors would bring him to the attention of the Furies. But, fortunately, the speedster she used to put the mind control discs onto, a RAFian known as Sonia, was one of the first that Aquilai managed to free.

But that doesn't mean that he had nothing to fear. Granted, he had twelve more Regenerations in front of him, but that doesn't mean that he wanted to Regenerate. It would completely mess with his power set and little details about his personality and mindset as well. And he most certainly didn't want to have a mind control disc on his chest. He cherished his individuality and his independent thought. And his free will. He greatly feared this latter circumstance.

He couldn't worry about that, though. He had to remain focused on his particular mission. He had to remain disciplined in his goal. He could not allow his mind to wander. He could not allow his mind to waver from the task at hand. The more RAFians he freed, the less would have to be maimed or . . . worse. He had to be arduous in his work, burdensome as it could be. Insofar, it had been auspicious and lucky. But luck rarely lasts for very long.

He was bound to get noticed by the Furies. Aquilai surmised that he was only being protected by the pretext that the Furies wanted to uphold. That the RAFians were behind this attack, and only the RAFians. Then the Syndicate could swoop in with propaganda propping themselves up and smearing the RAFians. Propaganda that preyed on the stupid, the gullible, and the naïve. By showing up themselves, the Five Furies would be basically turning that narrative on its head, potentially disproving it.

They would have to weight their options on whether it was worth blowing the plan, or showing him who was the boss. It would be a very tough decision that Oculus would have to make. To act too early would be detrimental to her grand plan. To act too late would mean the complete and utter unraveling of this plan.

But Aquilai was certain that the Furies had taken notice of his endeavors, despite them not showing up themselves. Why? Because he was running into more trolls and grunts than mind controlled RAFians. The trolls were stupid but incredibly strong, while the grunts were the reverse, clever but weak. It was an almost complimentary dichotomy, an inelegant balance. Aquilai dodged and ignored them the best he can. They weren't his primary concern.

During all this, and unbeknownst to Aquilai himself, his Mark shone brilliantly as he went about his work. It was almost as if it was trying to rekindle and resurrect the Mark in this time. But to no avail, at least in this regard.

Aquilai had to dodge and evade and avoid a particularly large and gnarly troll whose stench was strong. Fortunately, trolls are stupid. Then he spun out the way of a frail grunt's attack. Aquilai didn't attack back because he hadn't any interest in actually fighting back in that way. All he needed to do is free all the RAFians, Another troll attacked Aquilai and he redirected the strength of the attack back at him, which actually took him out. Another grunt tried to do the same thing, thinking that Aquilai wouldn't be prepared for it, Aquilai just did the same thing, only it dazed the grunt as he didn't have much in the terms of power. Aquilai moved forward, managing to free two or three more RAFians, which was making him a rather large threat to Oculus's plan.

Another troll loomed over him for attack, which Aquilai blocked by throwing a grunt in the way, and he continued to look for another RAFian to free. Aquilai looked around, quickly scanning and surveying his surroundings. He kept going, managing to dodge, evade, avoid, block, redirect, and preempt all of the attacks of grunts and trolls.

Aquilai realized full well that by freeing the RAFians that he was essentially putting a rather large target on his back. And, though he came from the past, he wasn't a push over. True, he didn't have the power of Esty, Cloak, Specter, or Richard himself. But he was no slouch when it came to battle, though he was usually utilized to making curative devices with Goom, Xeno, and Yarin, and he did so with the same sort of gusto.

After the last RAFian he freed, he couldn't find anymore to free. And he looked quite thoroughly.

[Cloak]

Posting tomorrow's chapter early, due to the time change likely screwing up my time sense (I really should be in bed right now).

New chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Furies' Fury

After several passes through, Aquilai concluded that he must have gotten them all. All the controlled RAFians . . . all the surviving ones . . . were now freed from Syndicate control. The Time Lord allowed himself to relax ever so slightly. This was a mistake. If he hadn't swayed to the left every so slightly, he would have had to Regenerate.

Incinerator had tossed several fireballs at his head. The Furies had showed themselves. The game was up. It was now obviously a Syndicate plot, and the Furies knew this. And they were not happy about it. This was Oculus's grand scheme, her magnum opus as it were. She was especially not happy about it, and wanted Aquilai's blood.

"HOLD HIM!" she had screamed. If she would kill him herself. If she could take nothing else away this night, she would have the enjoyment of this.

Brutish attempted to grab Aquilai, when he landed, but he sensed reticence and reluctance in the Fury. Aquilai wondered why Brutish was even doing thing this, following her orders when he clearly didn't want to. Each attempt to grab Aquilai seemed more halfhearted than the first, and Oculus was to focused on having Aquilai's blood, on killing him herself. The other RAFians were still dealing with grunts and trolls who had decided to become more fiercely, more dirty, and more viciously.

"HOLD HIM!!" she demanded again.

Vanish tried to grab him with her force fields. But Aquilai was by a body of water, and he used his waterbending to repeatedly burst the force fields. Aquilai was clearly demonstrating his resiliency. Despite his fatigue, he was still fighting back. And he would still fight back. He didn't care if he was forced to Regenerate to death. He would do so on his feet. He would do so fighting back. He would go down fighting. Eventually Vanish passed out due to the effort. and Aquilai stumbled. His vision was starting to blur. His exhaustion was getting the better of him.

He had done so much. So much in such a limited timeframe. So much . . .

Suddenly, his movements were restricted. With the last of his strength, he pocketed his sonic screwdriver. He didn't want to lose it. It took him a moment for his senses to catch up with him and realize that Malleable had tied him up rather like a boa constrictor. Aquilai didn't have the strength to fight the Fury's strength.

"Don't let him go, Malleable," Oculus said, with sinister relish. "Don't you dare let him go."

Malleable would tell her that he hadn't any attention to, but he maintained his silence. Oculus was rather dangerously unstable, and there was no telling just how she would take anything he said. So silence was the more prudent answer since she never took that too negatively. Aquilai's vision kept blurring, and his exhaustion fully hit him like a semi truck loaded with cinderblocks. The only reason that he was held upright was because of Malleable, and the Fury could sense it, but didn't dare say anything about it. He didn't want to incur Oculus's wrath.

"Thought you were very clever, didn't you?" she said. She was gloating like an eighties' supervillianess. Her voice became more forceful. "DIDN'T YOU"

Aquilai was just fighting to remain conscious. But Oculus seemed to be oblivious to this fact, as well as the fact that Aquilai was a Time Lord and had a TARDIS. Even if she did, she wouldn't care. She wanted to kill Aquilai, and she wanted to make it slow and excruciating. She strode right up to him, and he was too tired to fight or resist whatever would come next. But Oculus had no intention to control him. She wanted to see him bleed. She wanted him to die, slowly and painfully.

She ****ed her fist back, gave him a right cross, but she pulled her punch. She didn't want to end this too quickly, and she was that overconfident in her strength. It still hurt though. She did this over and over again, lambasting Aquilai for daring to interfere, for refusing to standby and let her and the other Furies discredit the RAFians, for successfully dismantling her plan.

"Now, DIE!" she said, striking the final blow . . .

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
A Fiery Reveal

"Die," Oculus said, viciously.

Malleable released Aquilai, who did not sway, who did not fall, as all the Furies had anticipated. Instead, his body gave off light. Miniscule at first, but growing in intensity, as if his body was dissolving into light. Much like a Realm Walker, only a tad faster and none of the energy trailing off in a flurry of Kirby dot-like energy in an almost artistic way.

It was clear what was happening here, but these Furies clearly had no experience with the physiology of Time Lords. Clearly, they didn't know or understand their concept of Regeneration. Granted, being rejuvenated to childhood last year -- er, the year before he made this thousand-year leap -- it had "reset" his Regeneration "clock", so to speak. So when he was returned to adulthood, he was the adult First Aquilai, and his miniaturized TARDIS was hung from an emerald green and silver cord. He had twelve more or so Regenerations left. Well, now it appeared that was marked down to eleven.

He now appeared very much like Looker from the "Pokémon" franchise, with the cord from which his miniaturized TARDIS hung was now scarlet and gold. He wore a black dress shirt with matching vest and slacks, and a neatly-tied scarlet tie. He also wore a trench coat with a certain amount of bedhead. His shoes were black and freshly polished. His eyes were now a very intimidating amber.

"What is this madness?!" Oculus roared, outraged that Aquilai had dared defy her order to him to die. "You were dead! I could feel the life draining from you."

Then she pointed, rather dramatically to the emerald which replaced her eye. "I SAW YOU DIE!!!!"

"Sorry to disappoint then, sweetheart," the Second Aquilai said, rather irreverently. His voice was even different, too. It sounded rather like a younger David Tennent.

"Don't you take that flippant tone with me, RAFian!" Oculus growled dangerously.

"I take it you haven't come across a Time Lord, like myself, before, have you, Rift?" Aquilai said. He actually felt no fear. It was rather enjoyable to feel so fearless. "Not too surprising, after all! My kind aren't exactly the most common around, are we? No, that would have to go to humans, or nearly-human species, I would have to say."

"Fine, then," Oculus said, growling. "I killed you once. I'll just do it again, and again, until you are DEAD!!!"

"Pity, that," Aquilai said.

"What?!"

"Do you think I shall allow you to kill me -- or, rather, force me to regenerate again? I'm still just getting to know this appearance." Aquilai said, dropping none of the flippancy. "Not to mention the little fact that this Regeneration has replenished my stamina and strength. Granted, I'm no longer a waterbender anymore."

"STOP TALKING AND DIE!!" Oculus screamed, blasting a concussive emerald green blast from her emerald eye. Aquilai deftly dodged it.

"I'd rather not, now that you mention it," Aquilai said.

"GET HIM, YOU USELESS IMBECILES! MAKE HIM DEAD!!" she roared.

Incinerator blasted him with several fireballs, and he blocked the fire without any harm, demonstrating his status now as a firebender. He deftly responded in kind, actually surprising Incinerator.

"Yep, I got some new tricks now, flyboy," Aquilai said, with a wink. He wasn't taking any of them seriously.

And when Vanish and Malleable tried to accost him, he deftly and almost lazily bent lightning at them.

"Don't take ME as lightly as these other four idiots," Oculus snarled.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Outnumbered and Outmatched

Aquilai really should have listened to Oculus's warning, but his Regeneration had seemed to have done away with any caution. He quickly was overpowered by the woman's sheer, undeniable fury. Yes, Aquilai as a firebender was a bit more hotheaded and unwilling to think things through as his previous incarnation. The fact that he was now struggling against Oculus demonstrated this quite vividly.

"Take-me-seriously-damn-it!!" Oculus roared between concussive blasts with her eye. Aquilai actually couldn't make a pithy, laconic remark, because he was too busy focusing on the concussive blasts. She was proving just how dangerous it is to acquire her immense ire. "Die! Just DIE!"

"I still rather not," Aquilai managed to blurt out.

"Then attack me, fool!" she snarled. "I think you'll find that you cannot!! You can't even handle me!"

Aquilai said nothing. His flippancy seemed to relegated to a sardonic smirk plastered to his face.

"You'll PAY for your insolence, your impertinence!!" she roared. Then she turned to her other Furies, and furiously lambasted them, "What are you four idiots doing?! Attack this . . . this . . . this disrespectful swindler!!"

The other four did not argue with her. They knew full well that to make her angry was an almost suicidal proposition, as she wasn't too touchy about little things like morality and good values -- they were just meaningless words to her, and the only right and wrong she cared about is what she decreed to be right and what she saw as wrong.

Anyway, the other four Furies getting back into the battle complicated things for Aquilai. He was still quite smart as his previous incarnation, and he new that the other four Furies were pulling their punches before, still in shock that he managed to not die and change his power set. This time they were not holding anything back, due to the fact that if they did -- it would incur Oculus's berserker wrath. She never saw reason when she got that way . . . not that she really saw reason when she was calm.

It wasn't too surprising that the five Furies got some hits on him. It was five-on-one, after all. You'd have to be stupidly powerful to be able to do so, but Aquilai was self-aware to know that he was nowhere near as brutally powerful as Estelore, Cloak, or Richard in his prime. If he didn't get help soon, he would regenerate again, this time into an earthbender. Then they would continue and he would regenerate as an airbender. Then back to a waterbender again. Dying wasn't pleasant at all the first time, he didn't care to live through another twelve in such a short lifespan.

"Back off, Joy," came a commanding voice.

Oculus stopped in her tracks. Her body went rigid at the sound of the name. She turned very slowly to look at the issuer of the voice. The other Furies immediately stopped attacking Aquilai when she did, for fear that she wouldn't take very kindly if he died by one of their hands other than her own. She was quite fickle in this way.

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" she said, her voice icy and dangerous as an innocuous iceberg.

"Surprised, Joy?" Richard said. "Surprised, I know the name you discarded so long ago? 'Joy Ann Moreau'? Last surviving of the now obscure and defunct Moreau clan? A family known for their . . . eccentricities?"

Then Richard turned around to address the other Furies, "Isn't that right, Jessica Storm? Christopher Storm? Benjamin Skye? Ricky Reid?"

Oculus ignored Richard calling out the other Furies. She didn't care about them, finding them barely useful. She glared at Richard, "You dare to use that name? You DARE to call me by that inferior name?"

"And 'Oculus Rife' is any better?"

Oculus punched him in the gut before turning to Richard. "You dare to slur me with that slanderous name?!"

"I'm getting the feeling she really doesn't like her family," Aquilai said, hobbling back to the RAFian ranks.

"Gee, ya think?" Vector Sirois said snarkily. His brother was one of the causalities in the battle, so naturally he was a little cranky.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
Now You Face . . . the Power and the Fury

"ENOUGH!!" Oculus roared. "I've had ENOUGH of this song and dance, Richard! It's time that we end it ONCE AND FOR ALL!! A battle to the death!"

"So, a Death Battle?" Aquilai said, irreverently. Then he posited, almost aimlessly, "Are they still relevant in this time period?"

"SHUT UP!!" Oculus screamed. She seemed to have become quite deranged in quite a short timeframe. "I would kill you again, but I have a bigger fish to fry! The one who decided to sully me with that inferior, DIRTY name!!"

"Wow, such strong feelings about such a minor, inconsequential thing," Aquilai observed, as Oculus ignored him and launched herself at Richard, with the intention of ripping him apart with her own hands. To rend his flesh with her sharpened, claw-like fingernails. She wanted the tactile pleasure of killing him, of feeling the life draining from his skin and sinew. So, imagine her great displeasure as her lunge . . .

Missed. Richard had foresaw the type and nature of the attack, and just sidestepped out the way. Unlike Oculus, he kept his composure. Something that is surprisingly necessary for any type of battle. Panicking or giving yourself over to anger and rage tends to be more detrimental than helpful in most cases, Aquilai found. But Oculus didn't care -- she wanted everyone who knew that name, who dared to use it, to refer to her as such to die. To die painfully. After all, there was a reason why she discarded it. Discarded the shameful hybridization of the given name of her disgraceful, weak, and unworthy mother with her filthy, womanizing father. No, she fashioned herself a better name, a name more worthy of a person of her power, her strength, and her worth. And it was "Oculus Rife".

She seriously didn't come up with anything better. She may have been powerful in her own right, but she wasn't a very creative person. As she prepared for a second lunge, the rest of the surviving RAFians attacked her, and the other Furies that immediately went to defend her. The other Furies showcased just how they rose to be in the leadership of the Syndicate. And it wasn't by using politicking or bureaucracy or anything like that. They simply killed anyone who stood in their way, and killed anyone who would be their competition. They never hid or denied this, and the others in the Syndicate just allowed their rise. Oculus allowed the other Furies to live because she saw promise in their ambition, saw worth in their bloodthirstiness, saw value in their fear of her. They only lived because she permitted it -- and each one of them knew it.

Aquilai wished he could say the RAFians of this day and age were beating back the four Furies (Oculus was obsessed with Richard, just as she obsessed with Aquilai just moments before). But one had also take into account that this was right at the tail end of another massive battle. They were beaten, bloody and bruised and exhausted going into this battle. Any victory here would be a pyrrhic one. The costs of this struggle, this war were really far too high. There was no way that the RAFians would come out of this battle whole and unscarred. That would be impossible -- for even if their bodies were unmarred, their minds and psyches would not be so lucky.

This was really too much. This was the future that he could look forward to? This was the world that would be shaped? This could not come to pass. When he returned to his native time he would ensure . . . but everyone who tries to do that always has it blow up in their face. Without fail. But he  . . he had to do something. Even with his newfound power set, he couldn't do anything but hurt. Granted, even as a waterbender he was unable to heal anyone. Even though he tried desperately to help, he couldn't help but feel so . . .

Helpless.

He hated that feeling. He was accustomed to be able to do something about anything. He wanted to be able to do something, but with his new abilities, it was far too easy to hurt friend and foe alike. There was just so much chaos and screams and yells, in a cacophonous mess. There had to be something . . . something he could do, something that could save lives where there had been so much blood spilt and heartache.

It was then that he felt the power bubbling up within him. A power long forgotten by the RAFians of his native time. His body was starting to glow again, but he wasn't Regenerating yet again. This was different.

This was . . . could it really be? Aquilai had assumed that it had left forever, dissipated into the nothingness, the aether from which it came.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
A Strange Power

The Great Power . . . it was back. But it was . . . different, somehow.

With a crackle of energy, a bolt of white energy lanced outward from Aquilai. It struck the hands (or foreheads if the particular RAFians are quadrupedal or have vestigial arms (or lack them entirely), but it did not harm them. It just alarmed them greatly. After a few moments, every surviving RAFian had a mark. The Mark. The only difference that it had from the previous one was that it was this new Mark was of the purest white. And it had all the effects of the first one.

But that wasn't the only odd thing that the Great Power did. Aquilai looked to his right and saw his previous incarnation, the First Aquilai, as a white energy construct with his dark eyes and the green-and-silver cord that he wore his miniaturized TARDIS on standing out from the whiteness. Then Aquilai looked to his left and actually saw more white light constructs of his incarnations. His future incarnations. The one immediately to his left, the Third Aquilai, wore a yellow and black cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Fourth Aquilai wore a blue and bronze cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Fifth Aquilai wore a blue and white cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Sixth Aquilai wore a red and black cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Seventh Aquilai wore a green, pale yellow, and brown cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Eighth Aquilai wore a brown and tan cord from which his TARDIS hung. The Ninth Aquilai wore a chain of pebble-sized green emeralds from which his TARDIS hung. The Tenth Aquilai wore a chain of pebble-sized red rubies from which his TARDIS hung. The Eleventh Aquilai wore a chain of pebble-sized yellow amethysts from which his TARDIS hung. The Twelfth Aquilai wore a chain of pebble-sized blue sapphires from which his TARDIS hung. And, the Thirteenth Aquilai, the final Aquilai, had an ornate band that contained all the colors and jewels of his twelve predecessors.

"What the --" Aquilai stammered. This was completely unprecedented.

But these eleven future incarnations, and the one past one, seemed unable to speak, but Aquilai knew that these all were still him. And it was still quite surreal. Could you imagine seeing all your incarnations, past and future, in a single place at a single time. So surreal.

"What's this?!" Oculus demanded. "Answer me!! Answer me, or I will kill you all!"

Aquilai just raised his hand up, and his previous incarnation and his eleven future ones rose up into the air around the Five Furies. Then they rotated in a cyclonic fashion, until they became a white energy ring. The Furies remained rooted to the spot, simultaneously fascinated and fearful. Even Oculus, though she would never admit it aloud.

The other RAFians raised their new Marks up towards this ring, which began to rotate faster in a clockwise motion. And, in the Furies, fear and fascination were battling it out. Neither one was succeeding which was leading to their inaction, their frozen stance. None of them knew what this would amount to, not even the RAFians or Aquilai. It might fail completely, and just be a large spectacle.

Then the cyclonic force became hurricane-grade, although the RAFians that ringed around it were not affected at all. The only ones that were effected at all by this were the Furies. All five fell to their knees, and appeared to be in pain. But the cyclonic force would not stop. If anything, it seemed to have sped up. This actually seemed to force the five to all fours, as what appeared to be black spheres of darkness were leeching out of their bodies. Slowly at first, but it became quicker and quicker, until all five collapsed on the ground, unconscious, as the ring sealed itself and then vanished in a shower of white sparkles.

Aquilai's appearace reverted back to its normal colors, though the Marks remained on the RAFians of this time. The Great Power seemed to be inaccessible once more. Aquilai thought it was rather like the power that a White Lantern power ring would bestow upon its wearer. But the Great Power was very fickle about when it appeared, and rather unreliable for concrete testing. Not to mention he would have to procure a White Lantern power ring.

The Time Lord now cast his glance down at the Five Furies. Incinerator was no longer engulfed in flames, but was perfectly human with a ridiculous black pompadour and a thin but muscular build. Brutish was also perfectly human with a thick build and a stout frame. Vanish looked no different, with her teased, stringy blond hair. Malleable looked slightly more filled out, with his salt-and-pepper hair and crow's feet. Oculus also looked no different, other than her emerald eye was unpleasantly asymmetrically cracked in a vaguely "+" pattern. It was clear what had happened to them. Their powers were leeched out and away from them. They were now powerless.

[Cloak]

New chapter.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Back to the Past

While the dust was just settling down, a sober silence overtook the area. Aquilai looked around and saw that, thankfully, any collateral damage seemed to be only cosmetic. That should be easy enough to solve.

Aquilai winced, almost visibly. "No collateral damage" was probably an insensitive term to use. Especially considering at least thirty-four percent of the current roster of RAFians were slain during this debacle. They did win this battle . . . but not without a cost. Whether the victory was pyrrhic or not was a question that would be up for hot debate. And that was one debate that he didn't really want to attend.

The local law enforcement came in, and immediately arrested the Furies. They couldn't fight back against it, as they were without their powers. Incinerator and Oculus were livid about it, Brutish was actually happy about it (even smiling broadly and openly when he realized he was human again), Vanish was depressed by it, and Malleable had just accepted it as inevitable and wished to move on past it.

"You can't do this to me!!" Oculus shouted, fragments and shard of her gem eye flying to the ground like tears. "Do you have any idea who I am?! Get your filthy, unworthy hands off me!! Don't you know who I am!! I asked you a question, flatfoot!! Do you know what I can do to --"

"Oh, for the love of god, Joy, SHUT UP!!" Incinerator said. He really had had enough of this from her. And, knowing that she was as powerless as him, gave him courage enough to stand up to her.

"You DARE to --" Joy huffed as she was being handcuffed by the boys in blue (which actually was more of a teal in this time period for some reason).

"YES, I DO, JOY!!!" he screamed back, as he complied with officers cuffing him. "For years, we've had to put up with your PETULANT WHINING!! For too many years now, we've had to endure your childish tantrums. Well, not anymore, Joy!! I cannot speak for Ricky, Ben or Jessica, but, frankly, Joy, I'm sick of it! I'm sick and tired to having to indulge your monstrous ego and being a sycophant to your rage."

Ben wasn't paying attention, he allowed himself to be handcuffed, but he was happy. Ecstatic, even. He feel so euphoric at simply being human once more. Sure, he had to go to jail, but he would be going as a human, the species he wanted to be, the species he was born as. Nothing else mattered to him. He would pay any restitution he had to, but he was going to live as a human. He would never have to be Brutish again!

"Don't you yell at me, Christopher!" Joy snarked back, as the police began to drag her away

"I'll yell at you all I want, Joy!" Christopher snapped. "I'll yell at you because it's what you need to hear!!"

Vanish, however, was quite dismayed at the loss of her power. She loved being able to become invisible, to make force fields to protect herself from people who would hurt her . . . like those nasty, mean girls. They were so cruel to her. She wanted to disappear, wanted to be unnoticed, wanted . . . then her powers somehow manifested. When they did, she found that she could make them pay for what they did to her, the teasing, the bullying, the mocking. They all regretted being mean girls, although they didn't know who did it to them. They couldn't see the perpetrator, they didn't know that she went full "Carrie" on them . . . and now she was back to being the plain girl who everyone picks on . . . now, with a rap sheet.

"I don't care what you think, Christopher!!" Joy snarled. "You've always been wrong and incompetent in whatever you do!!"

"It's no wonder that you haven't got any real friends, Moreau!!!' Christopher roared. "You think you need to threaten and intimidate people into subordination! It's no wonder that no one even likes you!! You're pathetic, Moreau!!!"

Malleable had taken his lost of elasticity in stride. He always accepted anything that came along. In his view, there was no point in fighting against anything that was inevitable. He felt whatever happened would happen and he would deal with it when it came. He also felt that there was no point in fretting about the future or worrying about past mistakes. It made him a rather apathetic person, even bordering on nihilistic.

As all five were taken away, and clean-up was underway, Aquilai noticed that his TARDIS was ready to return him home, a thousand years in the past. He wondered if he should just leave without telling anyone, or if he should actually make his goodbyes.

"Well, this will be one hell of a report to file," Richard muttered, not noticing Aquilai.

***

Aquilai was in his TARDIS, quickly pressing buttons and flicking switches and things, moments away from hurdling backward in time. Backwards time travel was always harder than forward, as forward is the natural flow of time. Towards progression. There was one time where regression was the natural flow of time. And that wasn't a pleasant thing to remember, so he tried to focus on his priorities.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if he had made the right decision. He had decided to walk away without telling anyone. He wanted to avoid awkward questions. He already had a taste of it when Richard had ordered him to go back through time and change things. People who do that often change history for the worse. They more often than not bring into fruition that which they sought to prevent. Time travel is a very heady subject that not even the smartest being in existence could account for all the permutations that could come from events that had passed, and how even the most minute changes could ripple throughout time and create greater differences. Most only look towards their own timelines and how it affects them and only the people they know and care about. It's a very dangerous thing, travelling through time.

One could argue that he's doing that anyway, but he didn't seek out specific details. He didn't ask for dates. He didn't ask for spoilers, as it were. Granted, some were unavoidable. But the future isn't set in stone, the past is. Though, technically, that really depends on your viewpoint and what point in time you have it. Perhaps it was hypocritical, what Aquilai was doing. But it was no more hypocritical than any Time Lord, Chronian, or Chronosapien. . . . Although that didn't make it much better in that case. Aquilai shook his head, as if to clear it. This time wasn't his. He didn't belong here. He belonged with the others . . . perhaps that made him selfish. Then so be it. He was selfish, then.

It was at this point the panel that he thought that he secured hit him in the back of the head, just as he entered the time stream . . .

***

When Aquilai awoke, he had a splitting headache. He felt as if someone took a hatchet to his brain. He rubbed the back of his head as he got up, his mind catching up with him. He was in his TARDIS, and he was back in present time. His native time. But everything seemed to be exactly as it was before he was hit by the panel in the first place, when he accidentally travelled forward in time a century.

It made him question everything . . . made him wonder if everything that came before was a dream . . . but he was Second Aquilai now. Was the panel strike hard enough to make him Regenerate? Possibly . . . or possibly not . . . Aquilai didn't care to test it out.

Was it all a dream? Was it real?

Aquilai shrugged. Time would tell.