Memoirs of a RAFian

[redtailedsaffa]

It's like the "Terms and Conditions Apply" thing on most products. No one reads it and installs them anyway.

[Cloak]

Precisely, Saffa.

CHAPTER TEN:
Just Say No

Shenecron decided to try to tempt his half-brother's weak fellows. They shouldn't be so hard to tempt, right? He happened to come upon some at the base of the mountain that RAF was hidden in. Shenecron couldn't know what to expect.

A musical number wasn't what he expected.

"Well, you look like three fine individuals.
I have an offer here that you may want to try.
Something to suit you real good."

The goomba glared at him, as he sang as if speaking to someone else.

"There’s a million and one wonderful ways to say no."

Gaz added:

"No thanks!"

Goom:

"No way!"

AniDragon sang:

"Better learn a few,
And take it wherever you go."

Gaz:

"No thanks!"

Dino sang:

"No sir."

AniDragon:

"If your pals have left you high and dry -- "

Fubar sang:

"Here’s a practical reply: -- "

KitsuneMarie sang:

"Go ahead, just once,
Go ahead and just say – "

RAFians sang in unison:

"No!"

Parker, Wild, and Shorty sang in unison:

"There are a million magical ways to say no.
All around the world,
Different places you may go."

AniDragon:

"I have dreams for RAFball."

Morfowt sang:

"A stitch in time saves nine.
Or something like that."

Shenmue sang:

"A challenge that works fine."

The RAFians sang in unison:

"‘Coz there are a million wonderful ways to say no."

Fubar sang:

"Now, you can say “beat it”,
“get lost”, “get outta my face”
And that stuff."

Shenmue:

"But that could be tactless,
You may prefer to be cool.
Like this: -- "

Then random RAFians popped up with difference suggestion, in song:

“I’ll catch you guys later, okay?”

“I’ve got too much homework.
It’s rough.”

“I’m late for practice,
And I’ll miss my ride.”

“My kid sister needs me.”

“My hamster died”!

“I’ve gotta get home”.

“No time to kill”.

“So I’ll catch you later.”

The RAFians sang in unison:

"Like heck we will!"

Parker, Wild, and Shorty sang together:

"There’s a million wild and wonderful ways to say no."

Whammy sang:

"'Ah-choo.  Guess I’m allergic.'"

Fubar sang:

"A good excuse is something you never outgrow."

Faerie came up with an excuse:

"'It’s bad for my complexion'."

AniDragon sang:

"When it persists,
Say 'Give it a rest'."

"OKAY! I'm going. A simple 'no' would suffice." Shenecron said, stalking and storming off.

[redtailedsaffa]

Hehe. Here's a tactic I can use the next time someone bugs me to do something.

[Cloak]

I'd never have the courage to do it, though, Saffa. I only felt comfortable singing in front of Shadow -- who, like her mother, has a pretty decent singing voice.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Tempting the Realm Walker

Cloak had retreated to his serene, forested spot to meditate. He had become curious of his ancestry of late, after Avatar but before Sage. He knew there was an ancestor called Guardian, but did not know anything about her. He was consumed with curiosity, and he need the peace and sanctity of this place in order to achieve it.

He sat with his legs crossed, heel touching hip, with his tail draped over the back of the flat, gray rock where he sat. He had his hands on his knees, eyes closed. The tip of his tail twitched contently, like a cat bathing in sunlight streaming in from the window.

Pity that he wouldn't remain alone long enough to glimpse any ancestors, or their lives. He felt and Earthsighted the intruder long before he said anything.

"Hey, there!" cried a voice, disrupting the stillness and near silence. "Have I got a deal for you!"

Greeeeeeaaaaaaat, Cloak thought, not even bothering to open his eyes out budge an inch. He gave no indication that he heard this most unwelcomed newcomer. That's just what I need now. A living pop-up ad.

Cloak knew at once that this intrusion was not brought about by a fellow RAFian. They knew to give him his space, and respected that. This guy, whoever he might be, clearly did not respect anything like that. He had no qualms about interrupting Cloak's endeavor to divine his ancestry.

"Hey, pal," came the same voice, grinding the Realm Walker's nerves. "Didn't you hear me? I've got the deal of a lifetime for you!"

Cloak said nothing. Maybe he'd get the point if he was greeted with a frosty silence, maybe he'd leave. Cloak was quite mistaken, to his chagrin.

"The deal of a lifetime, friend!" the voice persisted. Clearly, subtlety was simply not going to work. "You simply cannot pass it up, friend!"

"Go. Away," Cloak said, with remarkable resemblance to that monkey spirit in the "Avatar:the Last Airbender" episode "Siege At the North Pole, Part 1". You'd think that that would be sufficient, that he'd be left alone after that, with his aggressive tone and infliction.

"Aw, don't be like that, friend!" said the voice. Cloak stood, and turned to face the owner of this voice. Obviously, it was Shenecron.

"I am not your friend, demon," the Realm Walker said, voice silkily quiet. "Now leave this place. Leave me to my meditation."

"Now, don't be that wa-- AAAAAAHHHHH!"

He was suddenly buried alive. But he managed to extricate himself minutes later as Cloak turned his back to him. Then Cloak felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to confront Shenecron again.

"Wwhy for you bury me in the cold, cold ground?"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean like this?"

Cloak repeated the technique. Shenecron extracated himself again.

"Why do yo keep d-- AAAAAAHHHHH!"

He extracated himself again.

"Stop that!"

"Leave me alone, then."

"But -- ARGH!"

He extracated himself again, but it took six or seven more times before he got the point. He stormed off and Cloak returned to his meditations.

[Cloak]

Now, a new chapter. . . . As soon as I check my notes.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
Brotherly Hate

Demos was milling around the base of the mountain, on the opposite side to the others. He was expecting an unwanted visitor, and he wanted to be alone when the time came. And he told Sakki so when she tried to stay by his side. He insisted that he had to do this alone.

"Took you long enough," Demos said, suddenly, without turning around. He knew that he was there. He didn't know how he knew exactly, but he knew. "You surely aren't stupid enough to try to get me to sign a -- what the bloody hell happened to you?"

Demos was inquiring about Shenecron dirty, dingy visage. He was caked with dirt, in his skeletal, dragonoid form. He looked thoroughly disgruntled, and Demos seemed to guess what Shenecron had been up to, of just whom he tried to tempt.

The RAFian burst out in hysterical laughter.

"It's not funny!" Shenecron pouted, sounding more like Achmed the Dead Terrorist than a scary demon.

The protestation caused Demos to laugh harder.

"It's not funny!" Shenecron repeated, still with the unintentional likeness of Achmed.

"I . . . I . . . beg to differ," Demos choked out. He was finally winding down from his raucous peel of laughter. "You were actually fool enough to disturb Cloak during his meditations?"

"What of it?" Shenecron snarled, scowling heavily.

"Oh, just that everyone -- everyone -- knows better then to bother him when he goes on such a retreat!" Demos said, almost winding himself up with another series of laughs. He couldn't laugh that hard anymore, he'd rupture something. "Only Shadow herself could get within that radius!"

"Who's Shadow?"

"Someone smarter than you," Demos answered swiftly, wiping a tear of hilarity from his eye. "And don't think I didn't hear the song either."

Shenecron looked thoroughly humilated.

"These mortals that I been with," Demos said, turning more serious, though the smile lingered around his face, "not so easy to manipulate are they, Shen?"

"My name is Shenecron," the skeletal dragon spat. He did not like having his name shortened.

"Yeah," Demos said, flippantly waving the comment away. Then replied in a remarkable imitation of the Nostalgia Critic, "I don't care."

With a frustrated roar, Shenecron charged his younger half-brother, unable to take the embarrisment any further.

[redtailedsaffa]

Well. That escalated quickly.

[Cloak]

Yep. Oh, I should update with new book ideas.

• BOOOK CCXLV: "A Forsaken Covent" -- Immortal witches seek to take back one of their own, who forsaken them for the RAFians.
• BOOK CCXLVI: "Omnifarious" -- The RAFians must battle Night's Champion.
• BOOK CCXLVII: "The Gorf" -- The RAFians must deal with a creature that can steal voices and use them as its own.

Hopefully, there aren't any rehashes there. If there are, I'll just retool them, I guess.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Heat of Battle

Demos rolled to the side, yet his silk suit remained pristine and pressed. Improbable as it seems. Shenecron roared -- it was a bit tyrannosaur, a bit Baby Bowser, a bit of a screech. During this roar, Demos dashed up to his half-brother and socked him with a fiery fist, before dashing away. Shenecron was not pleased as he glared at his younger half-brother.

Shenecron dashed forward with a fiery uppercut, a more brutal Shoryuken than Ken, Ryu or even Akuma had ever executed. Yet, he still missed Demos by a wide margin.

"Where did you learn that move? Off a cereal box?" Demos sneered.

"Why you imputant little --"

"Ah, sheddup," Demos said, stabbing Shenecron with a dagger formed from flames. Shenecron was only nicked, but he didn't heal as quickly as Demos could. Not something one should bring up in conversation with him.

Then Shenecron then sent out a volley of Hadokens at Demos, which he just batted aside. Though younger, Demos's pyrokinetic combat was superior to his elder half-brother. This was due to his being a RAFian, where the call for his pyrokinetic talents were called on more than the rather lazier lifestyle that Shenecron had. While Demos hadn't the power to manipulate events like Shenecron did, though he could only do that via contracts.

"Stop that!" Shenecron roared frustratedly.

"Get off the couch, Shenecron? I mean, at all?" Demos said. "You let your abilities atrophy grossly."

"Atrophy, you say?" Shenecron said, a sinister smile playing around his face. "You have no idea what I am capable of, little half-brother. NO IDEA!"

"Oh?"

"My power is beyond your feeble imagining!"

"Really? I can imagine a lot." Demos said. Then the other RAFians had begun to gather round, attracted to the sounds of battle. "Don't interfere! This is my battle and mine alone."

Shenecron, despite his beating, laughed heartily, yet derisively, "You'll come to regret such a decision, little half-brother. I'm reasonably warmed up now."

It was true, he was holding back, warming himself up. Now Demos faced his full power.

Alone.

[Cloak]

I guess that the last chapter fell to "Modify Message Syndrome".

Short chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
An Ill-Timed Deal

Then the battle began anew.

This time Demos was at a disadvantage, and Shenecron the upper hand. The elder demon was moving with such blinding speed, even teleporting. Apparently, all these techniques were new, as they took Demos on unawares.

Shenecron knew he could do this. The first part of the battle was just Shenecron playing with his pup of a half-brother. Demos had gotten overconfident. That's very dangerous to do in any kind of combat, though not guaranteeing failure necessarily.

Shenecron was also starting to get over confident as well.

"Didn't I always tell you, you little nothing?" Shenecron sneered. "No matter how strong you get, no matter how smart you get, I will always be your BETTER!"

"I'm not done for, you dottering old fool! Not by a long shot!"

The battle had become more vicious and more brutal. Cloak and Horse concerned themselves in preventing the flames from causing a forest fire, which was a real possiblity with sheer volume of flames and hellfire and Fiendfyre being produced (the latter two being solely from Shenecron).

Shenecron laughed a laugh similar to Flame Hyenard, complete with the "Burn! Burn to the ground!" banter. Revealing any collateral damage was intentional on his part. This intentional harm to a forest of innocents was unfathomable to the RAFians.

"That's it," Cloak siad, his morose tone disguising and hiding his anger. "This has gone on long enough."

"No, Cloak. This is my fight."

"Wel, you fight is going to raze the tri-state area!" Cloak exaggerated.

"So?" Shenecron said. "In any case, my little half-brother there has no hope of winning."

Shenecron recieved a fiery sock to the nose for that.

Shrugging it off Shenefron said, "Perhaps you would like to sign a contract, little half-brother. It's really the only way for you to defeat me."

Now Demos's untapped power started to come into light. He engulfed himself in flame armor, as he said, fullfury carrying in his voice, "You dare? You dare have the audacity to try and tempt me, Shenecron?"

"It crossed my mind," Shenecron said, unimpressed and blithely.

[redtailedsaffa]

Lol yes it did. But this is engrossing stuff.

[Underseen]

Lol yes it did. But this is engulfingstuff.

[Cloak]

Okay, I have new book ideas (to think, I thought I was running out):

• BOOK CCXLVIII: "Ultimate Omnifarious" -- The RAFians deal with the return of Omnifarious.
• BOOK CCXLIX: "Wanna Fight, Scout?" -- The RAFians deal with a Limax scout.
• BOOK CCL: "Unlikely Uniformity" -- The RAFians must stop the Mirror of Narcissis from being used.
• BOOK CCLI: "Star Gatherer" -- Estelore is kidnapped.

I'm currently planning the chapters of Book CCXLIX. I'll post another chapter soon. Maybe.

Lol yes it did. But this is engulfingstuff.

Eh?

[redtailedsaffa]

Same reaction, Cloaky.

[Cloak]

Right, chapter time. Maybe then I can feel my extremities again . . . accursed.cold and snow. And ice.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
RAFian Rage*! Demos, Smash!**

The battle commenced, with maintained viciousness and fervor. This was an outright half-brother-on-half-brother civil war. Demos was feeling plenty of rage and indignation while Shenecron was still overconfident, arrogant, and conceited.

"Is this the limit of your power, half-brother?" Shenecron teased maliously, as he dodged, evaded, gave and took blows with Demos. "Pathetic -- you can't even summon hellfire or Fiendfyre!"

Demos snorted derisively, as he stood with an impressive profile. "You surely must be kidding, Shenecron. Hellfire and Fiendfyre are notoriously unpredictable and uncontrollable. They can be.powerful, perhaps, but their use does not signify strenth, half-brother."

Demos held out his open hand, palm up. Then he balled it into a fist, and all the hellfire and Fiendfyre vanished with a pop and a sizzle. Suddenly, Shenecron wasn't so confident, so sure, so condescending.

"Summoning hellfire and Fiendfyre is not a demonstration of skill, but one of ineptitude. One of the inexperienced. One of a novice attempting to look more impressive and skilled, hiding the atrophied and amateurish forms and stances." Demos lectured. "Namely, hellfire and Fiendfyre are crutches for the weak."

"I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK!!" Shenecron roared.

Demos was not daunted, as he dodged all his elder half-brother's attacks, without even striking back. It wasn't necessary to, as Shenecron allowed his rage to consume him. Demos hadn't even ruffled his flame armor.

"STAND STILL, YOU IMPUDENT --"

"Not going to happen," Demos said benignly.

"I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!"

"Why? Has yours stopped working? You need a replacement?" Demos goaded skillfully. "I mean, it certainly would be a step-up."

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HHH!" Shenecron roared in sheer, unadulterated frustration. He charged forward blindingly. Demos smiled as he saw his opportunity present itself. The smaller demon used Shenecron's own momentum against him and slammed the draconian demon upon the ground.

Demos was in the perfect position to kill him.

---
*YGOTAS reference.

** Yeah, yeah, I know. Dragonball Z-type title.

[redtailedsaffa]

Actually I was thinking along the lines of Hulk Smash.

Demos' lecture reminds me of some of the debaters from my match yesterday. Too many big words, not enough real substance.

[Cloak]

I meant the title as a whole.

Short chapter.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Merciful Heavens! . . . Or, You Know, Not

"Well," Shenecron said, looking rather singed and bloody, "what are you waiting for?"

Demos said nothing, did nothing, and his face was hard and inscrutable.

"Why do you hesitate?" Shenecron snarled, feeling as if he was being toyed with. "Finish it. Finish me. I'd do it if positions were reversed. You know I would!"

Demos said nothing still, and remained immovable. It was as if he was contemplating on whether or not he should commit such an action. Fraternicide, the slaying of a brother (semantics of being blood, half, or step-brothers all being applicable to the term) was a serious thing to commit to. Shenecron admitted that he would do it without a second thought. But did Demos want to be like him?

The truth was not all that surprising, really.

Demos withdrew, and said, heavily, "But, I am not like you, Shenecron. I do not want your depravity, your soullessness, your heartlessness. I do not want them. So, go now."

"You deprive me oblivion?"

"I show you something you've no concept of," Demos said, somberly. "I show you mercy. It is not something you deserve. It is not something that you earned, but I am not as ruthless as you are. I cannot ignore the guilt, guilt which you've never felt."

Shenecron stood up, and brushed himself off. But, far from feeling grateful, he was scornful. "I was right. You're soft! All your pretty words have no real value. All just excuses and rationalizations for not doing what has to be done! You're not only soft, but weak and stupid as all moralizing fools are."

"Need I remind you, Shenecron," Sakki called out from the RAFian crowd, "that Demos already whupped your ungrateful butt?"

"Butt out, you stupid wretch." Shenecron snapped.

"Oh, I know you just didn't call me a --"

"Sakki, stand down." It was Demos's uncharacteristic morose, calm tone that surprised her enough that the anger quickly evaporated from her. Demos continued, "Shenecron, you're beaten. Defeated. You've nothing more to gain here. Leave this place."

"You don't give me orders!"

"No, he doesn't," Estelore said, glowing brightly. "But maybe, just maybe, I can fulfill your death wish if you don't comply."

Shenecron growled frustratingly, before vanishing in a blast of flame. The RAFians dallied for only a moment or two more before returning to their forum.