Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

Thanks.  I actually based this . . . this plot on an episode of Danny Phantom, but I forget what it's called.

CHAPTER FOUR:
Turtle Power

"Get me out of this white hell!" Blaze shouted, attempting to slash his way out.  His sword was glowing banana-yellow.  He was afraid.

"Will you calm down?!" Cloak roared.  He was still feeling quite nauseous.  He felt like he was holding his own molecules together by sheer force of will.  It wasn't truly happening, but he felt that way nonetheless.  "Slashing at nothingness will not get us out of here any sooner!"

"But the question remains," Yarin pointed out, "how do we get free, if, indeed, we CAN be freed."

"Just a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Blue said drolly.

The conversation began going in circles from here.  No one came up with a viable solution, and Cloak just floated at a slant, his nausea not going away quickly enough.  Usually time travel would make Cloak feel like this, but not as bad.  So, they didn't travel through time.  But what . . . the green flash.  That obviously did it.  But how?  And why?

Malice, Cloak thought.

***

Meanwhile, in reality, the RAFgirls and Shadow were heading north of RAF.  They saw an overlarge, midnight black tortoise.  Its beaked mouth was sharper than the sharpest blade, its shell was unnaturally smooth, and gem-like.

"What IS that thing?" Gaz asked.

"It's a turtle," Shadow commented.

Gaz narrowed her eyes at Shadow, "I know that."

"What's that it's guarding?" Faerie asked.

"Some sort of stone, I think," Horse suggested.

<That must be the thing that sent the RAFguys away,> Noelle guessed.

"What makes you say that?" Gaz said.  "It could have been anything."

"That stone, nor the turtle, wasn't their yesterday." Ash said.  "Broken and I picnicked just under that banyan tree over there."

"Well, I guess that means we must defeat or destroy the turtle, then destroy the stone."

"Yeah, 'coz that'll be so easy." Shadow muttered.

[Blazing Angel]

The tortoise sounds like a legend of zelda boss.

[Cloak]

It's actually based on those directional creature things in Asian mythology - Black Tortoise, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Yellow Dragon, etc.

Oh, that Danny Phantom episode I based this part on was "Girls Night Out".

CHAPTER FIVE:
Fallen and Shattered

"Okay . . . how do we beat that thing?" Gaz asked.

"Hope we get lucky?" Horse replied brightly.

"Anyone else?"

But Sakki had charged forward and attempted to punch and kick and basically melee-attack it, but it would not penetrate the shell.  She backed off as it knicked her metallic body.*

"Well, that beak mouth of it is sure sharp," Sakki said, with false bravado.

"I think we need to aim for the shell.  Penetrate that first, then we can consider what to do next." Aila said.

Faerie attempted to get through the shell with that huge honkin' battleaxe of hers.  But it didn't even make the smallest nick.  Faerie looked to be offended by this turtles superior defensive abilities.

"Well!" she said.

The RAFgirls were debating and deliberating on another means of attacking the turtle, each of which failed or were incredibly unlikely to work.  Shadow, however, was gazing around, taking in the turtle and the semi-transparent green stone.  She had a startling notion.

"The guardian isn't important," Shadow said suddenly.

"The what?" Ash asked, as the RAFgirls broke off the debate.

"The turtle is guarding that gem.  We don't need to destroy that turtle.  We need to shatter the stone."

"Good idea!" Faerie declared.  "Any idea how?"

"Nope."

"Swell."

But the turtle wouldn't let them anywhere near it.  Shadow got so frustrated, that she used the earth element to lift the turtle's legs on earthen columns, the left side being much higher than the right.  The left side was continuing to be higher, until the turtle tumbled off, landing on its back.  Unable to right itself.

"There!  Now, stay there, you black-shelled . . . uh, ragamuffin!"

"'Ragamuffin'?" Alic asked, teasingly.

"Okay, so my battle banter needs work." Shadow sniped.  "Just destroy that stone."

<But HOW?> Noelle asked.

"Perhaps simultaneous energy blasts?" Aila asked.

"But Shadow is the only one here with energy blasts.**" Gaz pointed out.

<Wait -- what if we use the Mark?> ND said.

"The Mark . . ." Horse said, looking at her flipper.

"We've got nothing to lose," Dameg said, and she aimed her mark at the stone.  The rest of the RAFgirls did the same.  Shadow did nothing, as she did not carry the Mark.

The stone seemed impervious to it at first.  Then it fissured, then fractured.  After several tense moments, it shattered into powder, into dust.  It was gone, and seconds later, there was a green flash.  And the RAFgirls dashed back to RAF as the large turtle petrified, then dissolved into dirt.

---
*Yes, Sakki is a VOLCAROID in this, which I noticed that she changed on the Registry.
**If I'm mistaken, sorry!

[Cloak]

Okay, a new chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
Normalcy Returns . . . Somewhat

The RAFguys were standing right where they vanished, looking very dazed, and Cloak looking very much like he was going to be sick.  He was never very good at time travel, although the RAFguys did not travel through time, Cloak found the experience very similar.

Shadow, naturally, went to attend to her uncle, while the RAFgirls reunited with their RAFguys, and Blaze was absent-mindedly holding his sword out, the glow was transparent, personifying his dazed state.  He blinked, and the sword glowed white as he sheathed it.

Then the other RAFians launched into a lively discussion about what happened on both sides, but Cloak sat down, leaning against a tree.  His nausea was slowly fading, and he was becoming in a fitter state.

***

Meanwhile, back at the side of the shattered green stone, Malice was looking on, with a small smile playing around her face.  She held two small blue stone shards in her hand, about the size of a pack of playing cards.  She kept rotating them in her hand, then she held each one in both her hands, looking through them, delighting in how they captured the light.

Then she quickly pocketed them, and entered the shadows, entering another Realm for a bit.  Laughing maliciously all the while.

***

Meanwhile, back at RAF, Cloak was reflecting on the events.  It was really over -- a lot quicker than usual, Cloak noted.  The the other RAFians were sending up and alarm.  Cloak woozily got to his feet and went over to ask what was up now.

"It's Esplin and Dameg," Parker reported, "they're gone, and no one can find them."

[Blazing Angel]

Oh things are heating up!

[Cloak]

It's funny that you word it that way, Blaze . . . but you'll find out why soon enough.  Short, stubby chapter.  Sorry.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
The Red Stone

Malice appeared a good distance south of RAF, without the blue shard stones in her possession.  She had left them elsewhere, at some unknown destination.  She still wore a very satisfied smile, as she produced a red stone, identical to the green one except its coloring.

She set it down, and it hovered an inch or two above the ground, rotating clockwise slowly.  She watched it for a few moments, then bent over it, and whispered, almost lovingly, "Activate."

The red one did as the green one had, and turned nearly-translucent (while still remaining red), and unleashed a red shockwave that hurtled recklessly towards RAF.

***

Meanwhile, back at RAF, Cloak, Shadow and Aquilai were talking about the "Legend of Korra" series that was to debut soon.  Aquilai causally mentioned that he too could lightningbend, something Cloak himself was unable to do.  Although Cloak found that he could redirect it and other forms of energy, but it was incredibly draining for him to do so.  As such, he preferred not to do it.  Shadow confessed she did not know how to do this -- with her uncle saying that she would learn, in time.

Then the red flash came, and Shadow, Jack, Horse, Blocky -- everyone under 18 biologically -- were suddenly gone!  Vanished, without a trace.  Every underage RAFian . . .

[Blazing Angel]

You know, if they ever wanted to keep us in a prison, make it nice. Free wifi and infinite cheeseburgers and I would never, ever leave.

[Cloak]

Be sure to check the above post -- I started typing up the next chapter.  Then I opened a tab to check sumthin'.

[Aquilai]

Cool lightning
[spoiler]

Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion, the way other firebending is. Some call lightning "the cold-blooded fire." It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind.

[/spoiler]

[Cloak]

One reason why I cannot do it.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
Parallel Panic

<Where . . . where'd they go?> Noelle was heard to say.

"Not again." Gaz muttered.

Cloak said nothing, but began looking everywhere for his niece.  She had to be here somewhere!!  She just could NOT have been gone.  He would never allow her to be slain in such a way.  Faith had charged him with her care, something he NEVER took too lightly.

But his efforts were futile, as he could not find her.  His concern for his neice and protege caused him not to notice the new sense that the realm had somehow been fractured.  Right down the middle.

"Horse, Block, Jack -- all the under-eighteens." Parker reported.  "All gone . . ."

"But to where?" Aquilai said.  "The RAFguys were shunted to a white void last time."

"I don't have interdimensional sensors," Parker retorted.  "I cannot tell you that.  Perhaps Cloak can, though.  Cloak!  Hey, Cloak!"

Cloak came over, looking thoroughly woe-begone. "What?"

"Do you know where the other went?" Aquilai said.

Cloak narroed his eyes dangerously.  He was very protective of his neice, so naturally he would be in a very, very foul mood just now.  When he spoke, the anger was unmistakeable.

"No.  I don't.  If I did, Shadow would be standing right here with me."

"But could you Realm Walk there?" Parker interjected.

"Do you trying walking around with your eyes closed?" Cloak snapped.

"No, but --"

"That's what Realm Walking aimlessly, without an definite destination, is like.  I rather not do it -- it won't be precise, and I could end up worse off then when I left."

Then Cloak turned his back and began to search again.

"Whoa -- losing Shadow is a sore point with him." Aquilai noted.

"But, really, Aquilai, can you blame him?"

Then they notice a faint red glow in the distance, to the south.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fissure, the under-eighteens were confused and looking for the elder RAFians, as there was fewer of them then the adult RAFians, though between fifty or sixty still.  They searched to no avail.

Shadow was concerned for her uncle, but knew faster than him that the Realm had been fractured down the middle.  She just didn't know what could have caused it, though she suspected that it was another one of those stones.

"ANOTHER one?" Horse exclaimed.  "How many more of these stupid stones are there?!"

"I don't know." Shadow answered honestly.  "But I do know that this stone has broken the Realm down the middle.  I assume the young ones are on this side, and the older ones are on the other.  I guess."

"But why can't we see the fracture?" Yunyun asked.

"Because it's not a spatial or chronial tear, I suppose," VisserZer0 postulated.

"But how do we fix it?" Mythgirl asked.

"I guess we go over to where that red glow is," Shadow pointed.

[Cloak]

'Nother chapter, maybe?

CHAPTER NINE:
For the Birds

The youngster RAFians darted south and saw the faintly-red, near-transparent stone slowly revolving on the spot.  It's right half was simply not present, but even though it was revolving, it looked stationary.  Shadow looked at it, ****ed her head, and stroked her chin.  She was wonder how to destroy it.

"That's it, then." Yunyun said.  "And -- what do we do now?  What do we know about it?"

"All good questions," Horse confessed, "but we must destroy it quickly before --"

"BRA-A-A-A-A-A-K!!"

"Oh, great."

***

Gaz, Parker and Aquilai led the other RAFians to the red glow, along with an usually cold Cloak, which turned out to be another stone.  Cloak looked at it wearily, as he seemed to recall a legend about four stones placed at the four cardinal directions -- north, south, east, and west.  Each with it's own guardian.

The northern stone was a black tortoise.  He couldn't remember the other three, and he was sure there was one in the center . . . a yellow dragon.  Cloak's eyes widened as he realized that could be referencing the Pootang . . . but a Pikachu, even a Pikachu as rabid and overlarge as the Pootang, was hardly a dragon. . . .

"How do we destory it?" Parker pressed.

"Don't know," Gaz stated.

"Wait, wouldn't there be some sort of --" Aila said.

"BRA-A-A-A-A-A-Ak!!!!"

Aila facepalmed as she finished, "Guardian . . ."

It was the right side of a huge, overlarge, vermillion bird.  By all logic, a bird that size could not be airborne with a single wing, but it was obvious the other side was in the half of the Realm that the youngsters currently inhabited.

Cloak cracked his knuckles, which was uncharacteristicall y violent of him.  "Let's get this over with."

[Cloak]

'Nother chapter, methinks.

CHAPTER TEN:
The Lightningbending

Cloak dashed towards the birds, not really caring it he had to battle it alone.  He had become dangerously reckless.  The others however were not as foolhardy, though they followed Cloak's lead.  Cloak stamped his feet and a spire of earth launched him into the sky.  He somersaulted once and landed on the birds back.

<Okay, now he's just showing off.> Noelle commented dryly.

Cloak knew he could not access the other side of the bird, but found that he cared very little about it.  Nor did he realize that Shadow had just done the same on the other side of the Realm divide, and was closely mirroring his actions.

The RAFians that could fly were charging the bird, but its slipstream was murder for them to deal with.  Cloak attempted to strike it down with fire, but failed miserably at this, and found out why a few seconds later when it fired a stream of fire at Jess and Gaz, and at Yunyun and Mythgirl in the other half of the Realm.

So fire was it's element, which meant that fire could not harm it.  But surely, water would be enough to qwell this beast.  But before Cloak and Shadow (still mirroring each other's movements) could attempt it, the bird began bucking violently.  It was all they could do to remain atop it.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Gaz, Jess, and Aquilai had decided to focus on the stone itself.  But all of their attacks wound up rebounding upon them.  They proceed more cautiously.

Aquilai took a deep breath, and began the motions to begin lightningbend.  He fired yellow lightning from his left index and middle fingers.  It hit the stone, sparked along its surface.

For a second, it appeared to have done nothing.  But there was the smallest of lateral fissures going from the top to the bottom.  It had worked, partially.

Back atop the beast, the bird did a sort of barrel roll, and both Cloak and Shadow fell off.  Cloak managed to right himself and land on his feet, as all cats are prone to do without even thinking.  Shadow, however, landed squarely on her rear end.

Cloak glared at the bird, stomped his feet, and beachball-sized boulders of earth levitated at chest level, and Cloak fired one after the other at the bird, but only with marginal success.

"Hey!  Watch it, Cloak!" Faerie roared.

Shadow, however, did not mirror this in the young-half of the Realm.  She attempted to aerokinetically slow it down, but she did not have the adequate power to accomplish such a feat.

Meanwhile, Aquilai attempted to lightningbend at the stone once more.  This time he used his right arm.  It made another fissure in the stone.  But it was still in tact!

"One more time, Aquilai!" Jess egged him on.

Aquilai did so, only using both arms this time.  And this time, it was sufficient enough to shatter the stone.  The fractured Realm was reunited into one.  The vermillion bird vanished into flame.

There were tearful reunions with the adult and young RAFians alike.  There was much  rejoicing.  Only Cloak knew that there possibly too more stones that would be in the east and/or west . . .

[Blazing Angel]

All kid land might have been fun. Pity.

[Cloak]

Doubt it, truthfully, Blaze.  Things like that ALWAYS end bad.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
MIA RAFians

The celebrations at being reunited with the young ones could be heard all over the 'net.  The jubiliant, joyous jocularity was quite raucous and deafening.  Cloak, however, was not celebrating, was not jubiliant.  Shadow had returned to the Nexus, as she had an event with her father planned.  But this was not why.

There were still two more stone to be accounted for.  They were either to the east or west or both.  This information he could not keep to himself with a good conscience.  But he had trouble getting heard over the noise.

But the noise volume was suddenly silenced upon a startling realization.  There were four that were not celebrating.  They weren't even there.  Gaz, Mr. Guy, Ash, and Broken were missing, just like Dameg and Esplin.

This drove the thought of the other stones from Cloak's mind momentarily.  The mods were beginning to organize a search, when Cloak strode over to them.

"May I have a word?"

***

Meanwhile, to the east of RAF, Malice lurked in the shadows, watching the RAFian search effort.  Her black cloak blended into the shadows, and the RAFians were so focused on finding their comrades, they did not see her.

She waited until they cleared out, which took a while.  She watched the whole effort with detatched amusement.  She knew what happened to them, all right.  Four more for her . . . "collection".  She looked at the four blue stone shards in her possession, like a card collector marveling at rare holographic cards.

"All according to my plan," she smirked.

[Aquilai]

lol Cloak.

...
"All according to my plan," she smirked.

Always famous last words