"First we'll need to return to our secret headquarters at Whispering Rock," Sasha said. "Mr. Bonaparte, I'd like you to remain at our satellite headquarters here in the city."

"Um, okay. With more Psychonauts, right? I mean, I'll be safe here, right?"

"Of course." Sasha's voice had no assurance to it. Fred was not used to Sasha's way, and this tone was clearly not reassuring him. Milla, in an effort to counteract Sasha's emotionless voice, put a friendly hand on Fred's shoulder. Of course, she had to levitate herself a bit to reach him. "Don't worry about a thing," she trilled sweetly.

The Psychonauts Satellite Headquarters they left him at looked just like any other office. The place might have been owned by an insurance company or a tech support call center for how normal it looked. Sasha left Fred in an empty office and told him to hold tight until they returned, whereupon Fred sat down behind the unoccupied desk and began looking for a magazine or something to do.

The three Psychonauts then left the building. Raz bounded along eagerly. Beside him Sasha walked calmly and evenly, and beside him Milla strode confidently with a bit of a swagger. They were pretty mismatched together, and they looked as contrasting when they were together as they did among ordinary people. It was different when they were together, though. Raz and Sasha, and to a somewhat lesser extent Milla, always looked out of place among normal people, as did a lot of psychics. However, when they were together, there was an invisible, unspoken bond that could be sensed by anyone. They didn't look like they fit together, but there was an understanding of belonging, something that was rare among psychics and non-psychics alike.

"Which car are we taking?" Raz asked.

Sasha reached into his coat pocket. "I believe yours is still in the shop, Agent Vodello?"

Milla smiled. "Don't act like you're not glad."

Sasha didn't react, but they all knew he didn't care much for Milla's car. It was flashy and loud. Sasha had two cars, each one more sensible than the other. One was beige, the other was black. Both were boring. They had special spy gadgets built in and receptors for psychic actions, but they could be equipped to fly to the moon and still be dull cars.

They got in, Sasha driving, Milla shotgun, and Raz buckled into the back seat. The drive would be long and quiet, through winding country roads that had no rest stops, no billboards, no big signs pointing out which gas stations, fast food restaurants, or traveler's motels would be at the next exit. There was only one exit, and it didn't really go anywhere anymore.

At first Raz occupied himself by running through the mission, and recalling what he could about the asylum from his last visit... however, even though he was an official Psychonauts agent, and he was used to traveling for long stretches of time, he was still an eleven year old kid who was stuck waiting for something exciting to happen. Raz shifted in the back seat. He tugged at his seat belt. "Are we there yet?" he asked when he thought he was about to explode.

"Almost, darling," said Milla. Then, to Sasha, "Just a little farther, yes?"

Sasha held the steering wheel tightly and looked straight ahead, nodding slightly.

"When we get to Whispering Rock, we'll check in with Ford," said Milla. "Morry is there, too, but he won't be working with us."

"Call ahead and ask him to open the gate," said Sasha. Milla pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed. Raz slumped back in his seat.

"No answer," said Milla. "I'll see if Ford can send him a message..."

The car slowed down, then stopped. They were still on the road.

"Why are we stopped?" asked Raz, leaning forward.

Then he saw why Sasha had stopped.

Oh, the gates were open, all right. They looked like they had been forced open by Bigfoot. The bars were warped and the lock was smashed.

Milla, eyes fixed on the gate, hung up her phone. "No answer," she said.

Sasha got out of the car. Milla slid over and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Stay close to me, Razputin," said Milla, and she got out of the car.

Raz pulled his goggles down over his eyes and fell into place behind Milla.

Sasha was standing in the middle of the parking lot, staring straight ahead. His left hand was in his pocket. Milla came up behind him. "Do you sense anyone?"

"No," said Sasha. "Not foe nor friend."

"Oh, dear."

Raz looked down at his feet. "Isn't the big tree stump supposed to be right here?"

"I don't think someone would break in and only steal the slab of a tree," said Sasha. Raz took that as Sasha shooting down his comment, and he frowned.

"Wait- what's that?" Milla went ahead up the hill to the lodge, and then shouted, "Come quickly!"

Sasha and Raz jogged up the path to see what she'd seen. It was the rabbit pen, and a cougar attacking it. Three of the bunnies were in the hutch and the rest out in the pen. The hutch was open and one of the rabbits was sitting in the doorway, the other two huddled in the hay. The cougar was pawing at some of the rabbits in the pen, but the one in the doorway kept firing little blasts of concentrated aggression at it, just enough to keep it from getting the others but not enough to convince it that this wasn't going to be an easy meal.

Milla telekinetically picked up the cougar and flung it into the woods just as Raz and Sasha made it to the pen. "Cool," said Raz.

"Something happened while Oleander was putting the rabbits up," said Sasha. "They may have seen something."

Sasha knelt down and held his hand out near the hutch. The one who'd been attacking, Jackson, sniffed Sasha's hand curiously, then hopped into his outstretched arms. Sasha checked Jackson's memories. Sunshine... carrots... hopping... Morry... a shady man in a trench coat... dragging Morry away... then, cougar!

"It's the same over here," said Milla, reading Sasha's mind as well as the bunnies. Raz couldn't manage to make sense of an animal's mind yet, since it was so different from a human's. He settled for letting them swarm around him with curiosity and affection.

Milla picked up one of the bunnies. "Put them up, darling," said Milla. "Let's make sure they'll be safe."

"Is this thing cougar proof?" asked Raz. He scooped the rest up in one mental handful and shoved them into the hutch.

"It doesn't look it, but it is- it pretty much has to be." Milla gave the bunny a snuggle and put it away.

"We'll go to my lab," said Sasha.

The woods were calm, and under any other circumstance it would be peaceful. Now, however, the stillness was spooky. Every broken beam in the fence seemed sinister in origin. Every snap of a twig was an assassin's foot. Minds ready, the Psychonauts went on. Now the woods were still. The sound of the birds seemed distant, and hardly any breeze rustled the leaves. Soon they could hear the sound of the stream running.

Then, a new sound joined the ordinary forest sounds. It was a low rumble, punctuated by soft thuds.

Sasha took point as they followed the sound, with it growing louder and louder as they approached the GPC area. The thuds became sharper and more defined, and the rumble rolled in highs and lows. Muffled shouting and pounding.

Sasha floated up to the lowest grate platform and opened the door of the bottom geodesic isolation chamber. Oleander, who had been slamming his weight against the door, went sprawling and fell onto the grate, then tumbled onto the grass below.

"Coach Oleander?" said Raz at the same time Milla said, "Morry?"

"What happened?" Sasha asked.

"An enemy soldier caught me off guard with a confusion grenade and made us POWs!"

"Us? You and Cruller, then?"

"Yeah."

Sasha leaned over and looked into the GPC. It was empty, though the walls were a bit wet from where Cruller had been mopping them. "... Where is he now?"

"I don't know, it was dark. He stopped talking about mopping a few hours ago, and then I couldn't find him."

"Well, that's..." but there wasn't a better word for 'bizarre' so Sasha didn't finish. "Your assailant, what did he want?"

"To lock me in a psychic prison, how should I- oh, wait, I do know! Sheegor! He wanted Sheegor."

Sasha didn't hesitate. He took off up the grates to the GPC entrance of his lab. Everyone else followed behind him, first up and then down the steps into his lab.

"Sheena!" called Sasha.

"Sheegor!" Raz also called.

The lab was empty. There were clear signs of a struggle. Sasha's lock box had been cracked open and some classified folders taken.

Mr. Pokeylope was sitting on the control panel of the Brain Tumbler. "They took her," he said sadly.

"When?"

"Only a few hours ago."

Raz reached his hand out, palm up. Mr. Pokeylope crawled into his hand, and Raz put him in his backpack. "We'll get her back," he promised.

Mr. Pokeylope nodded. "Ford wants to see you."

"Yeah?" said Oleander. "Well, where is he?"

"His sanctuary." Mr. Pokeylope pulled his head into the backpack, then into his shell.

Ford was indeed in his sanctuary. When they entered, he was standing on the platform, arms folded behind his back, staring at the computer images floating all around him. He didn't turn around when they came in, but he did say, "The area has been compromised."

"It's not safe out here," said Sasha. "We need to relocate back to the satellite office."

"I know."

Milla approached Ford. "It won't be for long, just until we secure the area." She put a hand on his shoulder. "And you'll be with friends."

Ford turned around and looked at them all. He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

"Is there anything you need to tell us before we leave?"'

"Nothing I can think of," said Ford. "Let's go."

Without looking back, he followed them out of his sanctuary. He tried steeling his mind, willing himself to remember who he was, as he always did before stepping into the tree stump and out into the camp, to prepare burgers like he always did, if the coals were hot enough, and those darn kids always heading into the off-limits areas in the woods...