Memoirs of a RAFian

[DinosaurNothlit]

Raise your hand if you saw that coming.  *raises hand*

Rumor was a bit too back-talk-y for his own good. 

[Cloak]

True.

Probably not gonna post another chapter tonight.

[spoiler=Dreading tomorrow.]Hafta work with the three guys who abandoned me today (as mentioned in Totally Random Thoughts), potentially ruining some friendships in the process.[/spoiler]

Can't sleep, so a brief chapter. Sorry, it isn't longer.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Unease

Back at RAF, Cloak was eventually fully rested and back to 100%, physically. His mind was preoccupied, however.

He was certain he saw Malice. He was sure now that it was not a delirium-induced sight. She could have stepped in at any moment. She could have interceded at any moment, impeded their progress. He would have been in no position to attack or defend. They were perfect targets.

Then, why? Why choose inaction when she never had before? Why allow them to escape when going through all the effort of hiring the help of that hapless Piper? It seemed all rather pointless. It was irrational and illogical . . .

But, then again,perhaps Malice's decision was an emotional one instead of a practical, rational one. But Cloak still could not understand her motivations, and it was this that caused him a great amount of unease.

Cloak was the only one that seemed to be distinctly aggrieved at this. The other RAFians didn't seem to grouse over this like Cloak was. But, then again, he was the only one that seemed to notice Malice's spying.

Whenever he tried to mention this theory with the others, they dismissed it. And, should he persist in it, they would pass it off as Cloak's paranoia.

***

Meanwhile, Malice had abandoned the palace, leaving Rumor's corpse in the same place it fell.

She now was in what appeared to be a rundown warehouse. She hovered over mechanical bits and such. She smiled devilishly as she cracked her knuckles.

"Well, enough of the flawed minions of the past," she said, as she began to tinker. "Ttime to build a better minion."

Then she thought of something.

"No," she said, with finality, "no, those 'Despicable Me' minions are so played out. This one . . . this one needs to be better. Less of a thinker like Rumor, more loyal than that traitorous Abomination."

The sounds of fervent tinkering was heard, as Malice began to build her next servant.

[redtailedsaffa]

Oh no, Rumor died. And to think he was a RAFian before...

[theyoungphoenix]

Ya, I saw that coming.

[Cloak]

Yeah, well, we won't be seeing Malice for a while, I think.

Saffa, be prepared to make a PDF of this -- last chapter.

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Edge of the Edge of the Boundary

Cloak isolated himself training himself in the elements. Despite himself, he thought of and remembered his past . . .

***

He was venturing nearer and nearer the realms. Against his mother's wishes.

"She never hears me,
Although she has ears, she
Refuses to understand.
She merely sees me.
She doesn't believe she
can let me be who I am.
What am I to do?
After all that I've been through?
She may tie the proverbial ropes,
But she can't hold my hopes!
That some day . . .
I'll break away!
And I'll fly,
You will see,
To the edge of the edge of the boundary.
To be free from her control."

But his mother discovered him, and he saw her, and sang quietly:

"Oh, how I'd like to go."

***

A while later, Cloak snuck off again, singing quietly, in an aside:

"Conscience, be quiet.
C'mon, let's try it.
So many realms to explore.
I don't have a plan,
I'll just have to trust my hand.
She's not that wise,
And I still can surprise
her some day!
I'll break away!!
And I'll fly, unbounded and free,
To the edge of the edge of the boundary!
To be free from her control,
I can't wait to go!
Let's go!"

And, with that, he dived into the Prime Universe. This eventually earned the ire of his mother for daring to defy her. She would continue making his life difficult to the point that Cloak felt himself expendable, the only expendable one of the family. Fortunately, this would only last . . . a few years.

***

Meanwhile, an entity hovered above the Earth, discovering it for the first time.

It giggled.

[redtailedsaffa]

It giggled. Huh.

PDF: done.

[theyoungphoenix]

It giggled?? Waddaya know.

[Cloak]

Well, believe me when I say that there is a completely legitimate reason for it.

Now, I'll start this new book in a moment -- and it won't be as heavy as the last one. It's gonna be a loose parody of "Wakko's Wish", though with a twist at the end . . .

*overdramatic gasp* I've said too much.

BOOK XLIV:
STARLIGHT DESIRE
Chapter One:
The Star of Blue Fire

Cloak stood upon a hill, two feet from a sycamore tree. He was still pondering Malice's motives. It was a fatal flaw of his (and he knew it), being unable to let things go and holding grudges.

He sought the solitude of this lonely, star-filled night. It was really quite beautiful. The Nexus didn't have stars, it was just an expanse of land, water, and a near featureless sky. It took some time to become habituated to it when moved into his thread. He couldn't help but wonder if Estelore was really the only one in these billions of stars that had, somehow, attained sentience. Could it be possible that there were others?

"What the Veil . . . ?"

There was a strange blue twinkling in the sky that looked simply odd. Yet, it didn't seem like a threat . . . Cloak didn't understand why it felt this way.

Suddenly, the blue twinkling became a blue burn, as the object descended from on high as a falling star.

Cloak's first thought was Esty . . . but her stellar powers were sunlight yellow.

Something very odd was going on here. . . .

***

Meanwhile, Abby was suffering from a little morphing snafu -- she couldn't. All the Andalite RAfians were flummoxed with it. She still possessed the ability but could not apparently activate it. It was a possible allergy to the tylee chains, unique to Abby.

"What? Why me?" Abby complained when this hypothesis was presented to her. "Why me? Why not someone who deserves it? Why not Rotiart?"

A voice called, "Hey! I heard that!"

Saffa and Underseen were at her side. They were both attempting to calm Abby, but she was feeling thoroughly disgruntled and disillusioned.

Then they heard and saw a large something land in the distance.

"What, in the name of the infernal KASU, was that?" Saffa asked.

"No idea." Underseen said.

"Wonderful." Abby said.

"I know what it was," said a voice.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Hmm, I'm interested to see what kind of servant Malice builds . . .

And why anything would giggle at earth.  I mean, okay, it is kind of a funny-looking planet, but not like laugh-out-loud funny.

[Underseen]

Wakko's Wish is one of the many episodes I remember.

[Cloak]

[...]And why anything would giggle at earth.  I mean, okay, it is kind of a funny-looking planet, [...]

Believe me, that isn't the reason. But I can't say, lest give away a large plot detail.

[theyoungphoenix]

Stupid tylee metal. But I have a feeling it has something important to do with this book or something...

[redtailedsaffa]

It's always you, isn't it?

[theyoungphoenix]

Apparently.

[Cloak]

Well, it's because of -- never mind.

CHAPTER TWO:
The Wishing Star

"That wasn't Rotiart," Saffa said, turning to find an elfin boy between six or seven dressed in various shades of blue, grinning in a cheeky, puckish way. He was sitting cross-legged, hovering in a way reminiscent of Peeves of "Harry Potter". Saffa let out a stifled scream, as Underseen asked, rather calmer than he felt, "Who are you?"

"Forget that," Saffa snarled. "How'd you get in here?!"

"All good questions," he said, and it was strange to see a boy this young speak in such a way. But RAFians are trained not to underestimate a potential threat based solely on looks. Look at the Yeerks, for instance. They look innocuous and harmless in their pools, but their ability to essentially steal the bodies of others for seventy-two Earth hours a pop makes them rather more dangerous. "That's quite beside the point."

Abby said, unable to keep the derision from her voice, "Come off it. You come in here, acting like a mythological trickster, brushing aside all inquiries, with giggly exuberance, and expect us to immediately trust you?"

"Not to mention having the form of a kid will make us trust you any more than any other form." Saffa said, shrewdly.

"Exactly," Underseen said. "Now, who the bloody hell are you?"

"I'm the wish fulfillment facilitator," he said. "I've come to say that you just so happened to wish on the one and only wishing star out of all the other stars in the sky."

"I did no such thing." Saffa sniffed.

"Nor did I," Underseen said.

There was a few seconds of silence before the two turned to Abby.

"What?"

The two held their gaze, not backing down.

"Okay, okay! I did make wish upon a star." Abby conceded. "Who knew it would actually work?"

"Whoa, let's not jump to conclusions." Saffa interjected. "If you made a wish, why hasn't it come true?"

"You must touch the star first," the "facilitator" said.

"Oh, lovely," Abby rolled her eyes.

"How can we be sure you're on the level?" Underseen pointed.

"Well, your cloaked friend -- a least he has the same marking you three have -- is on his way there now."

He showed them a wobbly image of Cloak making his way to the star.

***

The truth of the matter was that Cloak was not after the wish. He did not put stock in such things, believing it to be ludicrous to have a wish magically come true. His view was not uncommon amongst Realm Walkers.

He was after the star because he thought that it was Estelore, fearing that she might be injured.