The sound of an audience applauding never got old.
Razputin stood at the top of an acrobatic formation, a bright smile on his face as usual. After the Whispering Rock incident and saving Truman Zanotto, he'd finally been able to return home and get some well-needed rest. Although he was reluctant to go back to the circus at first, he was reminded that he wasn't old enough to live on his own quite yet, and that keeping up on his acrobatic skills was not a bad idea anyway. He'd help his family put on shows to stay in top shape when he wasn't being called out on missions.
He thought he'd hate being back at home, but oddly enough, it wasn't as bad as before. The animosity and hiding had all but faded and he felt a bit more free than before. And above most else, he'd almost forgotten how much he enjoyed impressing a crowd sometimes.
He looked over them, the awed children and even the adults that were amazed. Everyone was clapping and cheering. But then, toward the entrance of the tent, Razputin noticed something odd.
There was someone in the crowd that didn't belong.
Razputin recognized him anywhere That jacket, that hair, that same pair of sunglasses. That upright, composed stance. An air of order and sureness of self that could be felt for miles. Sasha Nein was unmistakable.
The two exchanged brief glances. Razputin could see Agent Nein nodding subtly before exiting the tent. Only when the audience finished applauding did Razputin's attention refocus to the situation at hand.
Each of Razputin's siblings began to climb down from the human tower they'd made. Razputin descended just as deftly as the rest of them, doing his best to resist the temptation to simply levitate down. As they took their bows, he noticed his father giving him a curious glance out of the corner of his eye. Raz instinctively winced and looked away.
They never come here in person, son. Is something going on?
Raz glanced back only briefly before returning to bowing out the crowd. I don't know, Dad. Sasha never comes out here.
Something must be wrong for him to come all this way. I don't like it.
After the crowd had left, Razputin immediately made for the side exit of the tent, ignoring the stares his family gave him along the way. He briefly shivered on exiting - he forgot how much colder it was outside compared to inside the tent, and his light-weight performance outfit wasn't doing him any favors.
He found Sasha waiting patiently near one of the side tents, a good distance away from the crowd, where he wouldn't draw much attention. Anyone that happened to pass by closely enough hardly paid him heed anyway; Sasha Nein wasn't exactly known for standing out in a crowd.
As Razputin approached, Sasha turned to glance in his direction. Raz offered the usual grin. "Hey, Sasha! We don't see you here every day."
Sasha nodded in reply. "If by 'here' you mean wherever your family happens to be performing, then you're right. I don't come to visit very often. At least not under normal circumstances."
So something was going on. His father's suspicion had been right on the mark.
"How have you been doing?" Sasha asked. "Recovering well from that last mission, I hope?"
"Yeah. It's pretty dull on this side of things, actually…"
The faintest hint of relief crossed Sasha's face. "Good to hear," he said.
Raz quirked an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"Official Psychonauts Business," Sasha replied readily. "We have a mission for you, Razputin."
"I had a feeling that's why you were here," Raz replied, barely able to suppress a grin. Finally, something to do other than more performances. It had been months since his last assignment. "How big is it?"
"I'm here in person, Razputin. How often do you get that instead of a phone call or a letter?"
"…good point. So, what's the scoop?"
"We can't discuss it out in the open," Sasha replied. "Do you have somewhere…?"
"Everyone's probably washing up and eating right now," Razputin said. "The caravan'll be empty."
"Fair enough. Lead the way."
Lili Zanotto breathed as quietly and slowly as possible, forcing herself to remain calm. No one knew about the hiding place in the attic that she frequently retreated to. As long as she stayed quiet and didn't move too much, she'd be fine.
Still, it was hard to stay calm and quiet when beneath her the house was being torn apart in search of her. They wanted her, and they wanted her now, for good reason. But she'd learned her lesson last time. This time, she wasn't about to be kidnapped. Not without a fight.
"WHERE ARE YOU, WRECHED GIRL?!"
The sound of shattering glass and porcelain erupted from the dining room below. Lili curled up, wincing and remaining perfectly still. It would be over soon. They'd realize she wasn't there, and they'd leave and look elsewhere. She hoped. She just needed to lay low and wait.
She glanced at her phone. Still no response to her test message. She couldn't risk calling anyone, not with how she was being hunted down right now. She'd have to wait. But for how long?
Sasha had opted to tell Razputin about the mission while on the Astral Plane, to avoid being overheard. Although initially hesitant - after all, the very notion of this seemed a bit suspicious - Razputin agreed, and was once more met with the sight of the deceptively quiet and empty shooting gallery. Shortly after entering, Razputin conjured up his levitation orb and took a seat. "So, what can you tell me about the mission?"
"We've been receiving reports of trouble being caused by an unknown culprit," Sasha began. "Luckily, the damage has extended only as far as a bit of property damage and stolen goods. Normally, this wouldn't involve the Psychonauts, but we've uncovered that the culprit is a rogue psychic."
"So contacting normal authorities is out of the question," Raz added. Psychonauts were commonly called on to deal with rogues, essentially fighting fire with fire. Typically such missions were directed toward newer recruits; Raz had done his fair share of hauling in telekinetic thieves and levitating burglars.
Sasha nodded in approval to Razputin's response. "Precisely."
"What all do we know about this guy?"
"Not much. There seems to be a pattern to who and where he's been targeting, so we have a reliable trail. Unfortunately, he's a slippery one and we haven't been able to catch him. We believe he's familiar with most of the psychic signals of most of the Psychonauts, and manages to identify our presence long before we're on the scene. That's where you come in."
Raz lifted a hand to rest his chin on as he thought. "You want me to track him down because I'm relatively new, right?"
Sasha paused. "…something like that. A certain associate of ours believes this may be no ordinary rogue. The pattern of attacks can only indicate some stronger motive at work."
Certain associate. That had to be Agent Cruller. The wheels in Razputin's head were spinning at top speed, processing all of this information. Someone that knows the psychonauts already, a pattern of attacks that points to a greater motive…there was definitely something up. But how were people coming out unharmed, even after being attacked? And what was with the stolen property? Something didn't add up. There were too many missing pieces…
"Therefore, we'll be sending you solo on this one."
His thoughts popped like a soap bubble. "Wha— Solo?! Can't you or Milla come with me? I've never gone on a solo mission before!"
"We have our hands tied with the camp," Sasha replied, "And the culprit will probably be able to detect either one of us, so we'll only cause you more harm than good. Besides, this will be the perfect chance for you to get some solo experience on the field."
Razputin wasn't convinced. Something nagged at the back of his mind; a little something that made him feel like Sasha wasn't telling him the whole story. That, or this mission was bigger than either of them thought. Whatever it was, going alone sounded risky. "I still don't like this, Sasha. It just doesn't—"
"Wait." Sasha held his hand up, and was glancing about elsewhere. He seemed wary and tense, and the atmosphere of his mental world seemed to shift with it.
"What is it?" Razputin whispered, although he still felt he spoke too loudly. Sasha's mind was oddly quiet; oftentimes you could hear a pin drop.
"…someone is eavesdropping on us."
The young psychonaut's eyes widened. "Eavesdropping? How?! We're on the astral plane-"
Sasha Nein ignored Razputin, in favor of glaring behind him. "What are you doing in my mind? This conversation doesn't involve you."
Startled, Razputin turned around to see none other than his father standing behind them, just reappearing from the veil of invisibility. He was standing just as firmly and confidently as Sasha Nein was, and he looked quite annoyed.
"Dad?!"
"I had a feeling I'd walk in on this sort of thing," Augustus said, his tone bordering on annoyance.
Nein's glare narrowed. It was difficult to see behind his sunglasses, but Razputin had been around the man long enough to discern what even the slightest changes in expression meant. "We're discussing a highly classified mission, Augustus. You shouldn't be eavesdropping."
"You're sending my son off on a dangerous mission, and alone at that." Augustus crossed his arms. "I think I have the right to eavesdrop, Nein."
"This is top-secret business, Augustus. Unless you're authorized—"
"I'm not going to go about spreading this. You can stop treating me like an enemy spy."
"There are rules, Augustus."
"You think I don't know that?"
"Can you two knock it off?!" Razputin said as loudly as he could without yelling. Both men paused, glancing at him in surprise. Good. It worked. "Dad, what're you doing in Sasha's mind?"
"I came looking for him after the performance," Augustus explained. "I hoped he'd tell me what he was here for. Looks like you got to him first, though."
"What do you want?" Sasha asked. "I'm trying to debrief Razputin on his next mission."
"So I noticed," Augustus replied. "But why come in person to do it? Normally you have other ways of contacting him. This seems a little out of the ordinary for you."
Sasha shifted, and remained silent. Razputin felt the world around them tremble ever-so-slightly, reflecting a feeling of unease. As orderly and under-control Sasha kept his mind, as long as they were in it, it was more difficult to hide certain things.
"Sasha…?"
"…I suppose you'd better hear this part either way," Sasha said. "There have been a few…incidents lately. Incidents related to Razputin's mission. I was here to check on him and see if he had noticed anything out of the ordinary."
"Incidents?" Razputin echoed. His bad feeling about this mission was only getting worse. "What kind of incidents?"
"The people being attacked were all psychics themselves," Sasha replied. "Particularly young psychics, most of them around your age or younger. Luckily, nothing has happened to any of them, and they're still safe for now, but we've found an alarming pattern."
Razputin and his father exchanged nervous glances. "What kind of pattern?" Augustus asked.
"All of the targets are Whispering Rock Candidates."