Memoirs of a RAFian

[Cloak]

In the words of Yoda, Underseen, "No, there is another . . ."

Well, two actuaally, whose species has a rather advesarial relationship with the Vox.

Well, unless I change my mind.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
A Bitter Pill To Swallow

It became clear soon enough, no matter how long the search, no matter how thorough, Richard would not be found.

It was difficult for Phoenix, nor the RAFians, not to find this news demoralizing. Hope of finding him persisted, but it was dying a slow, painful death. RAF was soon losing the hope of finding their leader.

"Phoenix?" came a quiet voice. It penetrated Phoenix's deep thoughts like a flashlight's beam in a subterranean shaft.

"What is it, Goom?" Phoenix said, unable to keep the weariness from his voice.

"It's Cloak," he said.

Phoenix raised his eyebrows, "He's awake?"

"No," Goom said, "not quite. He's talking in his somniferous state."

"Saying what exactly, Goom?"

"Just one word over and over again." Goom said, leaning inward, rather conspiratorially. "'Vox'."

Phoenix looked flummoxed at this, "'Vox'? What does that even mean?"

"I haven't a clue," Goom said, "but I thought it was worthy enough to bring to your attention."

"'Worthy to' . . ." Phoenix murmured, looking taken aback a little, until he remembered that he was now the head of RAF. "Oh."

"Well -- I must return to my post in the infirmary. 'Bye."

"'Bye."

Then Phoenix returned to looking out the window without really looking outside.

***

Aquilai happened to be passing by the infirmary to go work on his TARDIS, when he heard Cloak mutter in his sleep state.

"Vox . . . Vox . . . Vox . . ."

Aquilai stopped, stock still, and looked at the doorway to the infirmary. All thoughts of working on his TARDIS were forgotten.

'Vox'? The Vox?" Aquilai muttered. "Of course. Of course!"

How could he not have seen it? How could he not have realized?

But . . . this presented more problems.  More problems they didn't need.

[Underseen]

As I see from this chapter Time Lords are one of them.

[Cloak]

I was actually referring to two Time Lords. I apologize -- I see that was too vague on that.

CHAPTER NINE:
A New Wrinkle

"Phoenix, I believe I have news," Aquilai said, tentatively crossing the threshold into the room.

"News?" Phoenix echoed. "Of what kind?"

"Pertaining to the Vox," Aquilai said immediately.

"How'd you know about that?"

"Cloak was muttering it quite audibly."

"Understood. What do you have?"

"Well --"

"Incoming communication," Yarin interrupted on the intercom.

"Interrupt all video displays and broadcast it," Phoenix commanded after a slight moment's hesitation.

Even Cloak was partway roused by this. He stared bearily at the screen -- Kelly and Goom had their backs to him.

On the screen, it showed Malice in a strangely-illuminated shack. She was even looking into the screen, but preening herself by looking in the mirror.

"RAF, I know you're monitoring this frequency," Malice said, in an off-hand way, still not looking directly at the camera. She was still primping.

"I've a little sumthin-sumthin that might be of interest to you," Malice said, almost bored. "I believe you call him . . . what was it? Oh, yes Richard."

She sneered at the name, as the imaged panned to Richard who was in a cryonic sleep, tightly swaddled in what appeared to be shredded Reaper Cloths.

"You want your precious founder back, it is just a simple matter of barter, my dearies."

Now she looked at the camera directly, her eyes colder than the surface of Io.

"You will transfer Cloak into my custody," she said, her tone as icy as her stare. "Cloak for your founder. Your choice."

[Underseen]

This is a strange dilemma we caught ourselves in. We can't hand you over because that would basically be admitting defeat, but we can't live without Richard. 

[Cloak]

Yes, but is everything what it seems, Underseen? Anyway, this'll be the last chapter today.

CHAPTER TEN:
The Backfire

"But . . . that . . . that can't be right. . . ." Aquilai said, perplexed.

"No kidding," Phoenix said. "It's an impossible choice!"

"No, I mean I was sure that --"

"Dwellers! I'm getting impatient!" Malice scolded. "I'm not getting any younger!"

"Or any nicer," Cloak said, quietly. Goom and Kelly jumped rather comedically. Cloak moved to stand up, but the two tried to usher back to bed.

"No, stop." Cloak said. "That's not Richard."

That stopped the two from fightung him.

"What?"

"That's not Richard," Cloak repeated. "It's an explosive simulaid synthoid. It is nearly impossible to detect, if you don't know what to look for."

"What makes you so sure?" Kelly asked. "If your wrong . . ."

"There are several clues," Cloak said, feeling his energy returning. "Such a cryonic sleep would leave traces of the process -- the bluing of the skin or some sort of frost build-up. And those items that he's swaddled with -- they're shredded Reaper Cloths, most likely to disguise the seams on the body. Not to mention just how bored Malice seems in the broadcast -- if it was real, she'd be more animated."

The two looked at each other.

"Besides," Cloak said, "you can hear the ticking."

"What?"

Cloaked at them, slightly surprised, "You can't? It's rather incessant."

"Your time draws to a close, Dwellers!" Malice said, with a quaver to her voice.

The three went to Phoenix to inform him. When they finished, there was a rather conspicuous explosion. Then communication ended.

"But . . . Richard . . ." Phoenix said.

"He was taken by the Vox." Closk said. "They took him and knocked me out."

"Their kind are antagonistic to my kind," Aquilai said. "They are OCD about keeping the time stream going along, with no deviations."

"But why?" Goom said.

Cloak shrugged, "Who can say?"

"But why did Malice go through this charade?" Phoenix asked.

"She just attempted to on the off chance that it would work." Cloak suggested.

"But . . . how'd see even know that Richard was gone to begin with?"

Cloak said nothing for a moment, before suggesting, "She must have an insider . . . an informant . . ."

"A spy," Kelly supplied heavily.

[Underseen]

This is just getting better and better. I always look forward for your work.

[theyoungphoenix]

This is amazing work. 

[Cloak]

Thanks, but just forewarn you -- the traitor's identity won't be revealed until #35 "Richard's Horn". Towards the end, and it won't be who you think it is.

[theyoungphoenix]

Thanks, but just forewarn you -- the traitor's identity won't be revealed until #35 "Richard's Horn". Towards the end, and it won't be who you think it is.

Gahh!!! What kind of hint is that?

[Cloak]

Corocoro-type hint.

(Pokemon reference.)

[redtailedsaffa]

Ah, that kinda hint, is it? Well now, that just heightens the anticipation.

[Cloak]

Okay, continuing to plan the chapters of "The Contingency".  Only seventeen chapters in.  It's nearly done, the planned chapters, that is.

• Book XXXIII: Emotional Food

The RAFians must confront a different kind of vampire.

• Book XXXIV: Transformation Confrontation

The RAFians must confront some strange machines.

• Book XXXV: Richard's Horn

The RAFians must get Richard's Horn, a mystical musical instrument, back from Malice, who received it from a RAFian traitor.

• Book XXXVI: Feral Scream

A Wildwethel-centric book, he must deal with his feral side.

• Book XXXVII: Predators and Prey

The RAFians are being preyed upon by some sentient predators.

• Book XXXVIII: A Protean Problem

The RAFians must deal with a powerful snot-nosed kid who, quite literally, can do whatever he wants.

• Book XXXIX: The Horsemen

Four RAFians are captured and converted into four Horsemen of the ancient, rogue Realm Walker Cataclysm.

• Book XL: Sizeable Pain in the Necks

The RAFians must deal with Heinlein aliens.

• Book XLI: RAF's Nightmare

The RAFians must survive their own nightmares.

• Book XLII: Unlucky Charms

The RAFians must contend with a rather bloodthirsty leprechaun.

• Book XLIII: The Piper

The RAFians must contend with a pied piper.

• Book XLIV: Starlight Desire

The RAFians race Malice, Abomination, and the Banned to a wishing star (no, not Estelore).

• Book XLV: A War of Armor

Parker is outraged to see knockoffs of his rather unique armor and what they're being used for.

• Book XLVI: The Worst Plague

The RAFians must weather the worst plague to ever existed -- the Hate Plague.

• Book XLVII: Little Alien Napoleons

The RAFians are caught in the middle of a war between Helmacrons and Fmeks.

• Book XLVIII: Go Away!

The RAFians must deal with the paparazzi who are all of a sudden interested in them.

• Book XLIX: RAFian Tales

RAFians tell various RAFian-themed stories across a lunch table.

• Book L: Maul

The RAFians must deal with the result of one of Demos's experiments.

• Book LI: Erised Orbs

The RAFians must face their greatest desires.

• Book LII: RAFians Alive!

Read the "Mummies Alive" parody in the RAFize songs thread.

• Book LIII: The Pain Reliever

The RAFians must deal with an elderly Vulcan styling himself the "Pain Reliever".

• Book LIV: Beyond the Veils

Aquilai and Aila must confront old foes while the other RAFians must put up with a Czarinian bounty hunter.

• Book LV: Dangerous Deals

Demos meets up with his half-brother, Shenecron, who has a perchant for making deals.

• Book LVI: Of One Mind

Malice seeks out the Unimind.

• Book LVII: The End of Time

The RAFians must contend with two Kryptonians (who think they're Time Lords) and prevent them from ending time altogether.

• Book LVIII: Hematomimic

The RAFians must capture a Plasmavore and put up with it's rather stupid Judoon jailer.

• Book LIX: Sins of Youth

Estelore, Richard, Parker, and Cloak must survive when the entire city and forum have been reduced to two-year-olds.

• Book LX: The Replacements

The RAFians must contend with the fame-feeding Eidolon Consciousness.

• Book LXI: Arachnoids

The RAFians must contend with the Arachnoids and finding a cure for one of their own that was poisoned before it's too late.

• Book LXII: Personal Tissues

The RAFians must contend with some one misusing Bibliophaetos's discarded book shell.

• Book LXIII: Memory Today, Gone Tomorrow

The RAFians lose their memory and must find a way to regain it.

• Book LXIV: Appliance Armageddon

A superintelligent computer controls all electronics, and the RAFians must stop it.

• Book LXV: Prodigy and Composite

Some RAFians are merged into two separate entities.

• Book LXVI: The Merging

The Universes begin colliding and merging.

• Book LXVII: Be A Doll

The RAFians are confronted by a Super Chucky.

• Book LXVIII: They're Such Cards

The RAFians are sealed into cards, which end up trapped in an ancient leather-bound book, and it's up to three kids to free them.  An out-of-continuity book.

• Book LXIX: Dinosaur Island

Everyone, except those that bear a Mark, begin turning saurian.

• Book LXX: Corrupted

The RAFians must deal with the son of Cataclysm, Corruptor.

• Book LXXI: Artificial Skins

The RAFians must deal with symbiotes.

• Book LXXII: Separation Anxiety

The RAFians must contend with an ethereal virus.

• Book LXXIII: A Thing About RAFians

The RAFians must contend with Seekers, which home in onto their Marks.

• Book LXXIV: A Planted Idea

The RAFians must contend with a floramaniac.

• Book LXXV: Vacation Photos

The RAFians are sucked into a Polarisoid camera.

• Book LXXVI: A Personal Gremlin

The RAFians must contend with gremlins.

• Book LXXVII: The Rust is Silence

The Rafians must deal with an oxidation ray wielded by a criminal.

• Book LXXVIII: The Toyman Cometh

The RAFians deal with a Toyman-esque character.

• Book LXXIX: RAFian Idol

Yes, just another excuse to put in more of the (as of writing) nearly 800 parodies.

• Book LXXX: Savage Heart

Cloak battles an ancient being called Garrotik.

• Book LXXXI: Slave Islands and Juggernauts

Three RAFians are taken prisoners by the Knights and sold into the slavery of New Genoshia, while the others deal with a juggernaut.

• Book LXXXII: Shredding a King

The RAFians deal with a demonic Shredder-like ghost called Regiphaetos.

• Book LXXXIII: RAF -- The TV Show

The RAFians are forcibly recruited to Mojo's programs.

• Book LXXXIV: The Drinker

The RAFians must contend with a Spirit-Drinker.

• Book LXXXV: The Last Laugh

The RAFians must face Joker Gas.

• Book LXXXVI: It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Villain

The RAFians must contend with mind control cards which are ineffective on them.

• Book LXXXVII: Sight Unseen

Six RAFians are rendered functionally blind, optically-speaking.

• Book LXXXVIII: Don't Let It Snow

The RAFians must face a second Ice Age caused by a Diznee Ice Ifrit.

• Book LXXXIX: The Rachel Toxin

The RAFians must find a cure to a toxin that increases the fearlessness, hostility and aggressiveness induced in people which the Mark cannot protect the RAFians from.

• Book XC: Virus Alert!

The RAFians face a dangerous virus seeking a host.

• Book XCI: A Youthful Thief

The RAFians face a creature that siphons off the youth in its victims, provided they're younger than him.

• Book XCII: Calendar Creep

The RAFians face the Calendar Creep, a criminal whose crimes are holiday themed.

• Book XCIII: The Branding

Faerie fights a witch-boy named Salem (and his magical black cat, Saberhagen) for a magical branding iron in Faerie's possession.

• Book XCIV: The Void Zone

Nothing like a "Subspace Emissary" parody.  Sorry.

• Book XCV: An Epic Yarn

The RAFians' world is turned into yarn and fabric.

• Book XCVI: RAFian Gladiators

RAFians are kidnapped by Gamesmaster, another rogue Realm Walker, and force to participate in gladiatorial games.

• Book XCVII: The Box

The RAFians must cage thirteen Revenants released from Pandora's Box -- each representing and amplifying a particular feeling (i.e. hatred), while looking for the perfect host.

• Book XCVIII: From the Shadows

The RAFians must save their shadows and the shadows of everyone else from being absorbed (eaten) by the Umbraraptors, but not everything is what it seems.

• Book XCIX: Grimm Prospects

The RAFians discover Malice controlling several "wesen" with control collars akin to April's in "Catwoman from Channel Six" and get stuck in one-on-one battles to the death with them.  One will die.

• Book C: Loop-De-Loop

Everyone's trapped in a temporal loop, but the only ones that realize it are Cloak, Aila, and Aquilai.

• Book CI: Get 'Em, Shaw

The RAFians face a creature native to the planet Gossamer, who's under the control of Malice.

• Book CII: Threadfall

The RAFians must exterminate an epidemic of Thread.

• Book CIII: Siren's Song

The RAFians must deal with a siren and her alluring song.

• Book CIV: Resistance is Futile

The RAFians must deal with a hybridization of the Borg and the Hive chips (Ben 10: Alien Swarm) -- which the Mark cannot protect them from, nor the Unity energy can destroy.

• Book CV: The Titan

The RAFians must contend with the Titan serum and its effects.

• Book CVI: A Stony Glare

The RAFians must deal with a hungry Stone-Biter and a petrifying venom of a Diznee Stone Ifrit.

• Book CVII: Spritely Pests

The RAFians must deal with irritating sprites, which Faerie has had some rather tenuous experiences with.

• Book CVIII: Destroy All . . . What?

The RAFians must contend with a Furon incursion, and it turns out the Nyacs have knowledge of Furons. . . .

• Book CIX: Going Backwards

A grievious malfunction in Aquilai's TARDIS causes time to reverse its flow and flow backwards.

• Book CX: Death Takes A Holiday

The RAFians must convince Death to take up his role again.  A RAFian will die in this book, and it is within the continuity.

• Book CXI: High Price Stakes

Shanker and Gaz must flee and elude Daphne, the vampire hunter.

• Book CXII: A Killer Housing Market

The RAFians must survive and either destroy or escape a killer house.

• Book CXIII: A Silenced World

The RAFians must cope with a world that has become muted and a young sorceress, Melissa Spellman.

• Book CXIV: The Bureau

The RAFians must save their own from the insideous Bureau of Lost.

• Book CXV: To Tell the Truth

Broken's apprentice, Melissa, accidentally casts a spell forcing everyone to tell the truth.

• Book CXVI: Skin Crawlers

The RAFians, repulsed and revolted, must contend with Hundred (who eventually becomes Thousand, then becomes Million, then Billion, and then, finally, Trillion).

• Book CXVII: School of Stepford Lies

The RAFians must save the children from a school that turns them into Stepford students at Terenia's school.

• Book CXVIII: Ol' Salty

The RAFians must deal with the Salt Man.

• Book CXIX: The Great Race

The RAFians hold a race that Aloth cons himself into.  Who will win?

• Book CXX: Ape Escape

The RAFians must help super intelligent apes -- Caesar the chimp, Brutus the gorilla, and Maestro the orangutan -- reconcil their misanthropy.

• Book CXXI: A Different Kind of Unity

The RAFians must contend with a parasitic "unity".

• Book CXXII: The Great Brain Robery

Someone is stealing brains for an unknown purpose.

• Book CXXIII: The Bounty Hunter

The Knights, in their hypocricy, hire a Tsul'Kalu bounty hunter to collect select RAFians (to taxidermy).

• Book CXXIV: New Controllers

The RAFians confront Zirconians.

• Book CXXV: Creeping Crystal

A wave of crystallizing energy is sweeping the land. . . .

• Book CXXVI: The Element Feeder

The RAFians deal with a creature who feeds on a specific element and matures to a different element each time as it matures. . . .

• Book CXXVII: The Rider and the Walker

The RAFians come up against the Ghost Rider.

• Book CXXVIII: Headhunters

What will happen when RAFians lose their heads?  Seriously.

• Book CXXIX: The Color Purple, Man!

The RAFians confront the Purple Man, who manages to turn the entire government against them . . .

• Book CXXX: The Nemetrix Beetle

The RAFians confront the Black Beetle with Nemetrix properties.

• Book CXXXI: It's Tought to Be A Mod

The members of a primitive forum declare Demos and Blue to be mods. . . .

• Book CXXXII: Who-Zilla?

An energy reaction begins turning RAFians into monstrous creatures in 3XXX.  Out-of-continuity book.

• Book CXXXIII: Well, Techadon-ally . . .

The RAFians confront Techadons who assign them qualitive quatilities, and refuse to acknowledge any defeats.

• Book CXXXIV: The Mind's Eye

The RAFians face Spellbinder and his realistic illusions.

• Book CXXXV: Bas-ic Instincts

Bas awakens and attempts to take control of Cloak and other felines.

• Book CXXXVI: Midas Duck

The RAFians must contend with a very strange golden idol and a greedy sneak-thief.

• Book CXXXVII: War with the Warworlds

The RAFians must defeat two heavily-armed Warworlds.

• Book CXXXVIII: Solar Sucks

The RAFians must save Estelore from a device able to suck out her stellar substance and lifeforce.

• Book CXXXIX: Hounded

The RAFians are attacked by hellhounds that only Demos can see, although Cloak can "see" them via Earthsight.

• Book CXL: Politics

The RAFians, much to Cloak's chagrin and irritation, get caught up in the middle of Realm Walker politics.

• Book CXLI: Buggy Afternoon

A Bug is after Parker's blood, to "avenge" their brother slain by the SPARTAN.

• Book CXLII: Cloak's Nightmare

Cloak has an exceedingly vivid nightmare of the Great RAFian Purge. . . .

• Book CXLIII: Cloak and the Olympians

Cloak confronts and defies the Olympians.

• Book CXLIV: Down to Earth

The RAFians have gravity-related problems.

• Book CXLV: Hittin' the Dino-Sauce

The RAFians learn the dangers of Dino-Sauce.

• Book CXLVI: Blood Feud

Shanker's past comes into light. . . .

• Book CXLVII: She's Back! A Dino Story

Pretty much a shameless parody of "We're Back! A Dinosaur Story".

• Book CXLVIII: A Journey into Her Past

Delving into Noelle's pre-RAFian life and her relationship with Ardnalil-Shicom-Maar.

• Book CXLIX: Mortality and Morality

The RAFians face some rather conceited Leviathons.

• Book CL: Utter Pandemonium

Cloak, Gaz, Saffa, Underseen, and Hunter investigate odd goings-on at a theme park island named "Haunted Island".

• Book CLI: A Reality Rewrite

Cloak, Faerie, Broken, and Broken's protege discover a magical, reality-altering typewriter.  Cloak, being a Realm Walker and the other three, being magical, are immune to its rewrites of reality.

• Book CLII: The Coming of Galacticron

The RAFians must save Earth from Galacticron.

• Book CLIII: Theft of Intellectual Property

The RAFians must contend with Brainiac.

• Book CLIV: The Contingency

The RAFians must battle the Talos Project and their living weapon -- Weapon XLIX.

• Book CLV: Muppet, Muppet Man

Parker and Gaz are turned into Muppets. ()

• Book CLVI: Larval Ambush

The RAFians must deal with insectoid creatures who are parasitoids with humans.

• Book CLVII: As the World Doesn't Turn

The RAFians must stop a group of feline aliens from stopping the world from rotating.

• Book CLVIII: Princess Pearls

A few girls of RAf discover the Princess Pearls.

• Book CLVIX: Attack of the Killer Produce

The RAfians must deal and cope with killer produce.

• Book CLX: Moonscarred Menace

The RAfians investigate mysterious disappearances on Moonscar Island.

[Cloak]

Hmm. . . . It would seem that I've confused Vox with Vok. Oh well.
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Oh, Vox!

"A spy?" Phoenix said, skeptical. "Who'd want to betray us?"
 
"There are countless lurkers -- forum bums." Kelly shrugged.
 
"There is Rotiart," Aquilai said thoughtfully.
 
"Isn't that a bit too, I dunno, obvious?" Goom said.
 
"How do you mean?" Cloak asked.
 
"His name is simply 'traitor' backwards." Goom said, earnestly. "He probably never considered the implications of such a name."
 
"Regardless," Phoenix said, "keep this under your proverbial hat. We don't need to tip off this spy."
 

***

"What's this?" Yarin said, looking at the scans. The orbital sensors may have been obliterated, but the atmospheric ones were working well enough.
 
It was these sensors that picked up strange things. Stonehedge was giving off strange energy, a floating island appeared, and a strange botantical pod -- but not the one who abducted Richard.
 
"I'm pretty sure those weren't there before," he muttered. He almost missed the most important message . . .
 
"My . . . RAFians . . . "
 
Yarin said nothing, but boosted the signal carefully, as not to lose it.
 
"My . . . RAFians . . ."
 
"R-richard?" Yarin said, no really daring to believe.
 
"Yarin . . ."
 
"Richard? Richard, where are you?"
 
"I . . . dunno . . ."
 
"Richard, your signal is weakening! Say that again."
 
"It's . . . strange . . . and cold . . ."
 
"Richard, come in! Cone in!! Come in!!!"
 
But nothing more came of it. Yarin indulged himself in a string of Nyac curses.

[redtailedsaffa]

Okay. He's in Antarctica.

[theyoungphoenix]