A Different Set of Circumstances
Prologue- Orientation
"The human mind… six hundred miles of synaptic fiber, five and a half ounces of cranial fluid, fifteen hundred grams of complex neural matter… A three pound pile of dreams." Coach Oleander then turned towards his audience.
"But I'll tell you what it really is. It is the ultimate battlefield, and the ultimate weapon. The wars of this modern age- The Psychic Age- are all fought somewhere between these damp curvaceous undulations." The coach then paused to gently stroke the projected image of the brain behind him in what appeared to be admiration. Then just as quickly, he turned back.
"From this day forward, you are all Psychic Soldiers. Paranormal Paratroopers! Mental Marines who are about to ship out on the adventure of their lives!" Gesturing to the brain projection with his crop, Oleander declared.
"THIS IS OUT BEACHHEAD!" He then tapped his head with his crop, "And this is your landing craft! You shall engage the enemy in his own mentality! You shall chase his dreams, you shall fight his demons, and you shall live his nightmares!" Oleander's gaze swept across his audience.
"And those you who fight well, you will find yourselves on the path to becoming international psychic agents. In other words… PSYCHONAUTS!" The coach turned to his right, giving his fellow counselors Sasha and Milla a proud smile. The smile then disappeared as he finished his opening speech to his audience.
"The rest of you… WILL DIE."
Silence, with the occasional whimper fell over the group of children who were listening to Coach Oleander's speech. Dogen Boole bursting into tears then broke the silence. As the tinfoil hatted child wailed, Paula Jones started patting his left shoulder reassuringly. "Easy there Dogen," the blonde girl smiled, her blue eyes gentle.
"Oh, Morry," Sasha sighed, exasperated at Oleander's statement.
"Children, you're not going to die," Milla soothed.
"Well, if you're not a Psychonaut, you might as well be dead!" Oleander declared. The children all flinched.
"They told me this was a summer camp!" Dogen whimpered as Paula continued to comfort him.
"Well, it is!" The boy next to Paula, a red and blue baseball cap covering his black hair huffed. "It's a camp taking place during summer. Only this summer camp is for special kids."
"Ness," Paula admonished him as the other campers started glaring at him.
"I'm not implying anything!" Ness Stevenson snorted. He couldn't help but be bitter at his circumstances that led him to be here, far from his home in Onett, Eagleland. Just a few days ago, Ness was just a normal all Eaglelander kid, but then he just had to get into a big fight that labeled him dangerous in his own hometown. It was either stay in jail, or learn to control his gift. A 'gift' his mother knew he had since he was a baby.
"Ah, Dogen. Don't worry about ol' Coach Oleander. I've been coming here for years, and trust me- nothing ever happens." Lili Zanatto then appeased. Ness started a retort, but a sharp look from Paula silenced him.
"Yeah Dogen. Lili's right. You don't got nothin' to worry about." Ness bristled when the orange haired boy seated behind Lili and Dogen started talking.
"Bobby, leave Dogen alone," Paula took Dogen's hand to comfort the timid boy. Ness glared at the bully.
"Oh, I'm not teasin', " Bobby smirked, his horrible teeth on full display. He then leaned over the quivering Dogen while making claw gestures with his fingers. "I'm just telling Dogen he should be on the look out for the giant monster in the lake."
"Bobby Zilch! I told you to stop scaring people with that ridiculous old legend!" Oleander snapped. Sasha and Milla then stepped on to the stage as Oleander continues his spiel. "I don't want to be afraid to go out alone at night and walk alone on the perfectly safe paths of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp." Ness had to roll his eyes at that statement. There was a curfew in place after all.
"And we don't want to scare off our special guests, superstar Psychonauts Sasha Nein-" Oleander brandished his crop, nearly striking Sasha who was at his right, "-and Milla Vodello!" He then gestured to his left.
Suddenly, a tree branch overhead snapped. There was a cry of alarm, and then something fell into the bushes behind the campers.
"Lake monster!" Dogen screamed, pulling free from Paula's grip in a blind panic. As the campers around him ran around in fear, Ness simply telekinetically opened his yellow backpack and pulled out a cracked baseball bat.
"Ness, I don't think that's necessary," Paula protested. Ness couldn't help but be impressed that she was staying calm. "We aren't in danger," she then clarified.
"Just in case, stay close to me, okay?" Ness replied as he stood up and brandished his bat, making sure to stay by Paula, who remained seated.
"Formation!" Sasha declared, and the three camp counselors began to try and catch the unknown entity. The bushes rustled loudly as they tried to pull out the entity.
"It's resisting." At Milla's quip, the counselors put more effort in pulling out the entity. At last, they pulled something from the bushes. Ness could see a glint of red on the entity from the campfire. "Quick, bring it over here." The counselors moved the entity over the heads of the (mostly panicking) campers. As the entity flew over Ness, Paula stood up and made him put down his bat.
"As I told you, we aren't in danger," Paula gave Ness a smile, and had him sit down. Ness sighed, and then telekinetically placed his bat back into his backpack. The intruder was telekinetically held over the counselors in the meantime.
"What is it?" Sasha asked.
"It's just a little boy!" Milla exclaimed. "What's your name darling?" All the campers were beginning to calm down. Ness blinked and realized that yes; the struggling entity that was floating over everyone just a kid. But then he noticed how Paula was eyeing the new kid attentively.
"I'll find out," Oleander narrowed his eyes and began to pry into the new kid's mind. Or more accurately, tried to. "Can't… get… in… Argh!" The counselors then lost their telekinetic grip of the new kid, and falling with a flip, he landed on the stage gracefully. Now that the new kid was in the campfire light, Ness could see just how he looked. The kid wore a jacket with matching pants over a green striped turtleneck sweater and brown shoes. Adorning the kid's head was an aviator helmet and red tinted goggles.
"My name…" The kid started.
"…Starts with a D…" Oleander quipped.
"…is Razputin." The new kid lifted his goggles, revealing bright emerald eyes. Oleander grumbled at guessing wrong. "But everyone calls me-" The new kid folds his arms and dramatically stares at the audience, "-Raz."
"Please don't kill us, lake monster!" Dogen begged. Paula resumed comforting the timid child in response, but Ness could see that she still had her attention on Raz.
"Compelling," Sasha mused, eyeing Raz with curiosity.
"Armored like a tank!" Oleander added, impressed with Raz's defensive mind.
"Sorry I'm late. I don't want to interrupt your Agent Oleander." Raz apologized. He then addressed Sasha and Milla, "Agents Nein, Vodello. Please continue." Ness blinked in surprise as Raz then leapt off the stage toward the other campers. At Raz's action, any awe the counselors had for him faded.
"Where do you think you're going?" Oleander asked with narrow eyes.
"You've broken into a highly-classified, remote government training facility," Sasha added sternly.
"I know! Isn't it great?" Raz asked, unperturbed by the counselors' disapproval. "Listen, why don't I just sit over here quietly with my fellow Psi-Cadets-?" As Raz moved to join the seated children, Paula then made a space for him between herself and Ness. Ness felt a twinge of annoyance at the way Paula smiled at Raz.
"Oh thank you!" Raz smiled at Paula's gesture.
"You're welcome," Paula replied, a light blush covering her cheeks as Raz took his seat.
"How's it going?" Raz asked Ness. Ness could only glare in response. Raz then turned towards Dogen. "I like your hat!" He complimented.
"We need to have this young man taken from here immediately," Sasha announced, folding his arms.
"I'll call his parents," Milla added.
"What?" Raz cried out in alarm. "But… don't you train Psychonauts here?"
"Yes darling, but-"
"To soar across the astral plane? To wage psychic warfare against the enemies of free thought?" Raz gazed at the counselors, a look a determination in his eyes.
"That is what I wrote on the front of the pamphlet…" Oleander admitted as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Those words are why I'm here Coach Oleander," Raz continued. "Do you remember what you wrote on the inside of that pamphlet?" Ness blinked in surprise, his anger momentarily forgotten.
"You were born with a special gift, but the people around you treat it like a curse. Your mother is afraid of you, and your father looks at you with shame in his eyes." As Raz recited the inside of the pamphlet, there was a noticeable silence in the air. Oleander mouthed the words Raz was speaking.
"Come to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, and you can show them all! Back home your powers make you a loner-"Lili lowered her head. "-an outcast-" Paula hugged her teddy bear tightly. "-a circus freak-" Raz then added bitterly, "But in this dojo, this Psychic dojo, they make you a hero." Raz eyed the counselors, silently pleading them to allow him to stay.
Oleander turned away in an attempt to hide his watery eyes. "Get that soldier a bunk." He declared with a point.
For the next few minutes, Raz was the topic of interest among the campers. Ness didn't bother to join in any discussions; all he was focused on was that Paula seemed to like him-
"Hey Ness!" Elton Fir interrupted Ness's train of thought. Ness glared at the sailor-clad camper.
"What?" Ness asked, his voice low.
"Did you see how Lili looked at the new kid Raz?" Elton asked, worry drenching his question.
"I wasn't paying attention to Lili, so why should I be concerned if Raz scared her when he dropped in?" Ness answered curtly. "Also, didn't I warn you that your crush on her is a waste of time?"
"Hey! Love is never a waste of time!" Elton countered.
"And I thought it was very clear she's not interested in you," Ness rolled his eyes. Most of his fellow campmates were such drama monarchs acting in one of the soap operas his mother enjoyed watching. Ness then sighed. He really misses his mother.
"Besides, you noticed the way the Twoson Wonder looked at Raz right?"
"Sailor, head out to sea before I throw you overboard!" Ness snapped in a sudden rush of fury. Elton squeaked and dashed away at Ness's outburst. Ness sighed in relief at being alone again. He started toward the Boys' Cabin.
"-I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" Ness froze at Paula's voice. And there she was in her pretty pink dress with a strange badge pinned on the white collar, red boots on her feet, and a cute red ribbon in her golden hair, talking to Raz in front of the Boys' Cabin!
"Do you remember me? We first met about three years ago?" Ness bristled, feeling Paula's empathy drench the surrounding area with her feelings of infatuation. Meanwhile, Dogen sat near the entrance of the Boys' Cabin, oblivious to Paula's display of power.
"Um, sorry?" Raz replied, scratching his head. "I don't remember ever meeting you." At Raz's answer, Paula deflated.
"Oh, well, your family does travel a lot, being circus performers and all."
"I'm not gonna be a circus performer anymore, I'm gonna be a Psychonaut!" Raz gestured proudly.
"Children! It's almost curfew!" Milla announced. All the campers still outdoors then started towards their respective cabins. She then smiled at Paula. "You know the rules."
"Yes Miss Vodello," Paula smiled respectfully. She then turned to the two boys. "Good night Raz! Good night Dogen!" And she started towards the Girls' Cabin. But she froze, and then turned toward Ness. Ness bristled and refused to meet her eye. If he stayed quiet, maybe she'll just go to bed- Nope, she was walking right up to him.
"You're jealous." Ness slowly turned. Dark violet eyes met blue eyes.
"I'm not," Ness grumbled in response.
"You are, and you shouldn't be," Paula admonished. "Raz is an old friend of mine. There's nothing wrong with being happy to meet up with a friend you haven't seen for a long time again."
"Or rather, you found your ex-boyfriend who forgot about you," Ness bitterly answered.
"Ness!" Paula rebuked, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment; the two Eaglelander Psychics were starting to draw attention. "I'll admit Raz is cute, but we are just friends! Don't be so selfish! Good night!" Paula stormed off to the Girls' Cabin, clutching her teddy bear tightly.
Ness snorted and tried to suppress the guilt and anger bubbling in his gut. He continued on his way to the Boys' Cabin. As he approached his destination, he noticed Milla leaving a despondent Raz at the cabin's door. As Raz watched Milla depart, he sat down on the doorstep.
"Wowee, you're so lucky. You get to go home soon," Dogen sighed as he sat next to Raz.
"Home? Back there I was just like you were Dogen-" Raz stood up, "punished by my own family for having powers I never asked for." Raz then turned towards the Girls' Cabin, catching Lili's eye. She paused, then turned and entered the Girls' Cabin for the night.
"But here, I have a chance to be something." Raz turned back to Dogen, "To make a difference." He knelt towards Dogen.
"They may come for me, Dogen, but they will be looking for Raz, the boy." He then stood up again. "What they're going to find… what they don't expect, is Raz," Raz then made a gesture, "the Psychonaut."
"And- and- and then you'll make their heads explode?" Dogen asked. Ness had to stifle a laugh at Dogen's question.
"No! Do you do that?" Raz inquired Dogen, shocked by Dogen's reveal of Blastokineses.
"No!" Dogen answered, then he amended, "Well, once kinda. But now I wear this special hat." Both boys then started to enter the Boys' Cabin.
"Wanna try it on?" Dogen offered.
"No no no!" Ness couldn't help but chuckle at Raz's panicked refusal at Dogen's offer.
"Ness Stevenson," Ness froze when he heard Sasha address him suddenly. "You do realize how late it is right?"
"Yes sir, sorry I was distracted," Ness apologized to the German Psychic. "I will rest well for my lessons with you tomorrow." Ness then dashed into the Boys' Cabin. As he entered the cabin, he noticed the counselors discuss what to do over Raz's presence.
Speaking of Raz, Ness noticed that Raz had decided to bunk with Dogen. Dogen noticed Ness enter the cabin.
"Hey Ness," Dogen greeted Ness with a smile.
"Any time at all, Dogen," Ness replied with a smile. Ness then jumped up to his bunk over Maloof's bunk. Meanwhile, Maloof was sobbing underneath him.
"Chin up Maloof," Ness consoled as he telekinetically pulled his suitcase from under the bunks. "Summer won't last forever." Maloof simply started crying louder in response. Ness shrugged, took off his baseball cap, and set it near the corner. He then opened his suitcase and pulled out his blue and white striped pajamas.
"So…" Ness tried to sound casual, "Raz right?"
"Yeah, that's what everyone calls me," Raz answered from his bunk over Dogen.
"Well, don't mind me asking, but do you know Paula Jones?" Ness interrogated.
"Who?" Raz eyed Ness confused by the question.
"Ness is talking about the Twoson Wonder," Nils Lutefisk explained as he practiced pushups on his bunk. Nils then smirked at Ness. "You got competition."
"I don't have a crush on Paula," Ness growled as a blush slowly covered his cheeks. "Besides, that love and making out crap is a waste of time."
"So that means Paula's available?" Nils asked. A burst of red, blue, and yellow lights flashed from Ness's body as he glared daggers at Nils.
"I warned you, if you go anywhere near Paula, I will break your pretty face! GOT IT?!"
"Okay! Okay! I'll leave her alone!" Nils cried out in alarm.
"Good!" And that statement marked the end of Ness's lightshow. The entire Boys' Cabin was silent as Ness changed from his yellow and blue striped shirt, jean shorts, and red shoes into his pajamas. Ness was just putting his suitcase and yellow backpack under the bunk when Coach Oleander suddenly burst into the cabin.
"All right! Settle down in here! BIG DAY tomorrow! I want to see each and every one of you runts at oh-six-hundred hours on the dot! I'm the early bird, and you're the worms, got it? Now… light out!"
The cabin was plunged into the darkness of the night.
A few hours pass…
And then suddenly, a loud scream broke the tranquil night. Ness startled and tumbled out of his bunk. He quickly rose from the ground, for he recognized who had screamed.
"Paula!" Not bothering to change into his outdoorsy outfit, Ness grabbed his yellow backpack and dashed to the Girls' Cabin. The lights in the Girls' Cabin were on; Ness stopped at the closed door and pounded on it.
"Eek!" Who's there?" Ness had to suppress a gag at the sound of Kitty Bubai's voice.
"It's just me!" Ness answered.
"Well go away then!" Lili's voice replied from the other side of the door.
"Not until I know Paula's okay!" Ness countered.
"Children!" Milla Vodello was on the scene. "What happened?"
"It's okay, Miss Vodello," Paula answered, sounding rather shaken. "It's just a nightmare."
"Can you believe that?" The snobby voice of Franke Athens snarked. "The Twoson Wonder having a nightmare?"
"Hey, shut up!" Ness snapped. He disliked how Kitty and Franke treated Paula, and wasn't going to let them badmouth her so easily.
"A Nightmare huh?" Raz had joined the scene. "I've been reading on how to fix nightmares. Can I see it please?" Ness glared at Raz.
"Raz, everyone, I'm so sorry," Paula apologized. "It's not too serious. Just go back to sleep everyone."
"You hear that? Now mind your own business Raz!" Lili snapped.
"Let me handle this," Milla gave Ness and Raz a comforting smile. "But I am glad that you two are so eager to help out." She then gently shoved the two boys toward the direction of the Boys' Cabin.
"Oh man, I wanted to see a real nightmare!" Raz grumbled as he and Ness approached the Boys' Cabin. Ness then suddenly grabbed the front of Raz's shirt and slammed him against the side of the cabin.
"Hey!"
"Listen here Gogglehead, I'm the one who looks after Paula; so you better stay away from her. Got it?" Ness glowered.
"Okay! I get it!" Raz yelled out as he struggled against Ness's grip.
"Ness?" At the sound Sasha's voice, Ness flinched and quickly released Raz. He guiltily turned toward his teacher.
"Ness, I told you multiple times to stop fighting with your campmates," Sasha sighed.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Ness apologized.
"It's not me you should apologize to," Sasha admonished. Ness bristled, and slowly faced Raz.
"I'm sorry for threatening you," this apology was not as sincere as the previous one.
"No hard feelings," Raz answered, aware of the insincerity.
"Good, now you two go back to sleep," Sasha ordered, oblivious to the fake apologies. The two boys were quick to comply.
"Don't- say- anything." Ness growled at the other boys in the cabin as he returned to his bunk. He lied back down and tried to go back to sleep.
Eventually, Ness was able to fade way into a peaceful rest, throughout which he dreamed of home.