i'm still in absolute awe that double fine pseudo-confirmed the longest-running theory for psychonauts. alluding that loboto left his kid in whispering rock is something that is still stunning me, but i've welcomed it with open arms, and i'm sure we know it's bobby because there's really no one else who it could be. it recontextualizes a lot about bobby now that it's pseudo-canon, and i'm living for it.
Intruder Alert
In Bobby's timezone, it was approximately five in the afternoon. He had mentioned he was usually available at nighttime for phone calls. It was perfect for her, as she typically spent her summer mornings and afternoons researching and gathering data for her various projects. Corresponding in the evening allowed her a mental reprieve from a long day of intellectual pursuits.
But she would not be calling the telephone number of his earthling home. Before she boarded the bus to leave camp, Bobby had explained to her that his parental figures confined him to another session in Whispering Rock. He had been stranded in the camp until the summer ended. Initially, she had believed that to be strange, but he insisted it was something he was accustomed to as many of his previous guardians elected for joint summer and winter sessions.
That had been almost a week ago. In the following days, they had shared a few pleasant phone calls. Last night, Chloe was delighted to inform him that she had witnessed a meteor shower, which left him in awe. Tonight, she was ready to report that she had seen the straggling meteors flurry across the sky.
Possibly going northwest, she reminded herself as she stepped into the family's kitchen. He might have an opportunity to see them as well.
She approached the white landline phone attached to the wall. Reaching on her tiptoes, she tugged the chord and caught the phone in her free hand when it fell off the receiver. She dialed the number for Whispering Rock's main lodge, as Bobby had congregated there throughout the day to watch television and eat whenever he wasn't by the lake.
Chloe slipped the phone through the opening in her helmet and held it to her ear. A monotonous buzz rang through her head like a bee that refused to fly away. Chloe waited as it continued, ringing up to six times before it clicked, a quiet hum filling the silence when no one on the other side spoke.
"Bobby, are you there?" she asked. "Please confirm if you are present."
"You know Robbie?"
She flinched. The raspy, creaky voice filled her head. The phone nearly slipped from her fingers if not for her helmet catching it from the inside. She recovered the phone and pinned it to her ear, swallowing a breath to compose herself.
She knew that voice, but Chloe assumed it was one she would never hear again. That person should have been apprehended by the Psychonauts after the incident in Thorney Towers. But hearing him grumble on the other side when her breathing turned tremulous made her heart sink into her stomach.
"Hey, are you still there?" the man snapped, an edge in his tone. "I don't have much time to waste when I have a kid to catch."
"Who is this?" she inquired with as much authority as she could muster. "I was under the impression that the only adult at Whispering Rock was Ford Cruller."
"Well, not anymore. I heard the burger-flipping coot took off to be with his girlfriend, but I'm here," he drawled with a snicker, "and as if that hunchbacked crone counts as an adult. She sequestered herself in that halfwit's lab the moment she saw me."
Chloe frowned. She gripped the chord and tugged it. "It's evident that you are not one of the camp counselors."
The man hummed, reminding her of a door hinge in desperate need of oil. "Well, you got me there, little girl!" he cackled, the sound piercing through her eardrum.
Her heartbeat quickened. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. The man's identity was on the tip of her tongue, but she dared not say it. She wanted his verbal confirmation before jeopardizing Bobby's safety.
As he collected himself with a long sigh, Chloe remembered the leather straps he had used to pin her in place. Even a week later, a dull pang still pervaded in her right wrist from the metal buckle jabbed into it. Glancing at it, the faintest outline of a bruise remained. It had once been a dark blue welt the size of an orange, but the physical pain paled in comparison to the shock of waking up in a dark, secluded location while her tormentor mocked her before forcibly removing her brain through the use of super sneezing powder.
"Boy, that was something," he heaved out with a snicker. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, can I take a message? I'm actually very, very busy at the moment."
Chloe calmed herself. There was no reason to overreact or allow her emotions to dictate the situation. "I would like to know the identity of the person I am speaking with," she said, enunciating every word as carefully as possible.
A grunt escaped him. The temptation to ask him to use proper words was great, but she repressed the urge. He was a volatile, explosive wild card, and Bobby was alone with him like a mouse trapped in a cage with a cat ready to pounce.
"Well, it's probably not too big of a deal. Not like you can do much in your current state, little miss," he said, and in her mind's eye, she saw his lips painted in that black liquid stretch. "Caligosto Loboto, D.D.S, at your service."
She took a calming breath. She had all the information she needed to place an emergency call to the Psychonauts. They wouldn't allow him to kill one of their PSI cadets; the lawsuit would ruin them.
Before that, she certainly didn't want to contemplate what Loboto would do to Bobby if he managed to successfully capture him. When they had met again in Coach Oleander's treehouse, he had seemed to be on the verge of tears. He had been battered, bruised, but he bit his tongue, telling her that he, too, only had his brain stolen.
He had reacted unnaturally. Speaking in a voice that threatened to break when they had endured the same procedure was a red alarm. She should have pursued it, but she had aspired to reach her people and escape the planet before Oleander's death tanks could storm across Whispering Rock. Bobby hadn't complained while she worked, and as Loboto broke into another guffawing fit, Chloe wished she had pressed him.
"I see. You are Coach Oleander's collaborator," she stated, and he scoffed.
"Nonsense! I've reformed. Ask Junior Agent Aquato," Loboto countered.
"Presently, I cannot. I don't have his contact information. I only have my personal experience with you to rely on to make further judgments."
"Pah! You psychic kids, always so smarmy and comeback-y. When I was your age…" Loboto trailed off. She heard him stomping. Under his breath, Loboto grumbled, "Could've sworn I heard the back door open. Polluted powers, no, no, Caligosto, do not bring that up around Robbie if he's here-" He raised his voice. "-using invisibility to try to get one up on me!"
"Robbie? Who is-? Oh."
Chloe's eyes widened. A realization collided with her using the full force of an imploding star. Her face burned red in a sudden frenzy of embarrassment. She was so stupefied by Loboto's reappearance that she hadn't picked up on the similarities in their names. The members of the Greater Galactic Community would have shunned her for missing such a crucial fact, and hearing Bobby curse in the background only added fuel to the fire of her indignity.
"Dr. Loboto, is Bobby, excuse me, Robbie there? Please put him on the phone. I want to verify his safety," Chloe ordered.
"He will be safe! Once I take him out of this camp, of course. No kid should stick around a dump like this for an entire summer. It's unhealthy," Loboto replied, and he proceeded to mutter to himself. "I know he's in this lodge, but the kid's invisibility has improved. Much better than when he was younger. He couldn't hide when I-" He gasped. "Oh, nevermind, nevermind that, girlie. Scratch that from the record. Third parties are not privy to that information."
A chill ran down her spine. Chloe tightened her grip on both the phone and chord. Questions raced around her mind, and she listened to him mumbling to himself, his apprehension making her muscles tense.
"The kid must've darted into the television room," he said, and he cleared his throat. "It rots your brain, Robbie! Television rots your brain! Oh, yes, I could corner him there, and wait a minute! Why am I still speaking to you? It's rude to eavesdrop!"
Chloe winced, wondering if he had genuinely forgotten they were in the middle of a call. She cupped the bottom of the phone, warning, "Listen to me, Dr. Loboto. If any harm comes to my third-in-command, then I will alert the Psychonauts, and they will come for you."
Loboto's voice cracked in a way that reminded Chloe of Bobby. "What? I'm not going to hurt him! Not again, I mean! I only want to - I'd take it all back if I - oh! Robbie! Wait, don't run!" He lowered his voice. "I have to go, little girl. I'll let Robbie know you were on the line. Bye."
He hung up in the middle of another question. Chloe dropped the phone and let it dangle on the chord. It swung from side to side, and she finally hung up when a woman's voice began to drone that she needed to place the phone on the receiver. She shuddered from head to toe, the sweat that had gathered on her brow finally dripping down the sides of her face.
Chloe didn't know what to do. She had already made an error by menacing Loboto with the Psychonauts. If Bobby was in the lodge and Loboto chased him out, then the threat to Bobby's brain intensified. He might have already been abducted while she ruminated.
The ache returned to her wrist, and she snatched the phone. She jabbed the redial button and waited. Each ring made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She rocked on her heels until finally, on the seventh ring, a click ticked on the other end.
"Hello?" a boyish voice croaked. "That you, Chloe?
"Bobby!" Chloe shouted, her joy strangling his name. She rubbed her neck as if soothing her tone. "Yes, yes, I'm here. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, uh, yeah. I managed to, um, trap him outside the lodge," he quietly replied, and he breathed out a laugh. "Old man didn't even realize I locked both doors when I snuck in. What a total moron."
On any other occasion, she would have reprimanded his obvious satisfaction in someone's failure, but she let it slide considering the anomaly. "I'm glad to hear of your quick thinking," she said, "but why does Dr. Loboto want anything to do with you?"
"'Cause he's a freak!" he blurted, the words spilling out of him almost faster than she could comprehend. "That pisshead came outta nowhere while I was walking in the woods this morning! He's been trying to get me to go with him all day! Kept saying he's changed, and - and you know, that's not gonna happen." Anger made his voice tremble. "I'll never go with him. Not again, uh, n-not now, not ever, I mean."
He presented many peculiarities. She wanted to pick them apart and examine each one. She had the opportunity to pursue those curious strands of information, but he sniffled, and the sound of mucus drawing back into a nostril halted Chloe in her tracks.
"I'm fine. Really, I'm good," he insisted. "Linda's on my side. She hates the dude almost as much as I do, and that's saying something."
Chloe drew back. "Wait. The Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata is your ally?"
"Yep. Don't say she's 'hideous,' though. She's sensitive about her, uh, looks, but I think she's cool."
"I see." She gently twirled her finger around the chord. "And you are safe for now? Because I can report this to the Psychonauts, and they will arrive to assist you in apprehending Dr. Loboto."
"I got the doors locked, and I'm gonna set up a barricade. There's food and water, and I'm gonna hang out in the TV room tonight. Like I said, Linda's on his ass right now," Bobby explained, sniffling again. He gasped, offended as he exclaimed, "Wait a sec! Did that guy say somethin' weird to you? You can tell me! I'll kick his butt from here to next week!"
"I'm more concerned about your well-being, but to assuage your worries, I am fine. He did not say anything that would imply immediate harm to my person." Chloe glanced over her shoulder to the nearest window. She couldn't see a single star in the pitch black sky. "Now, are you sure you wouldn't like me to tell the Psychonauts? They will eliminate this problem for you."
"No," came his immediate answer.
She drummed on the side of her helmet. "I do not understand why that is your decision. Can you please explain it to me so we can be on the same wavelength?"
Something like a grumble resounded on his end. "I mean, I only have to wait, I dunno, a few more days 'til camp starts up again. He'll probably give up by tomorrow and hightail it out of here." She heard something metallic scrap on wood, and she assumed he was picking up items that had dropped. "Oh! Hey, did you ask your parents about coming back for the second session? I, uh, know it's a lot of cash to dish out, but I think it's, y'know, worth it.."
Chloe did not want to accuse him of changing the subject. He was in a tense situation that could have been easily compromised if they were not careful. If she said anything that provoked his more volatile emotions, then he risked endangering himself. Abiding by the new turn in the conversation seemed to be the most appropriate course of action to keep him protected in the lodge. (As he was a Fathian, his species was more prone to outbursts that she had attempted to quell with her prior hospitality lessons in Whispering Rock.)
"Well, after I gave a detailed report to my earthling parents, they phoned the Psychonauts. After a few lengthy discussions, their upper management said that they could give me a free summer session if my parents did not pursue any manner of litigation," Chloe slowly replied, Bobby humming in acknowledgment. "My human mother was hesitant to agree, but my human father convinced her otherwise as a means to help strengthen my intergalactic telepathy. I'm very grateful to him as you could imagine."
A pause came between them. Chloe held her breath and listened to Bobby murmur, "Your dad did?"
"Yes. He believed it was a pertinent resolution, especially in knowing that Oleander has faced proper repercussions and received the mental attention needed to help him heal."
"That's - that's awesome. Yeah, that's sick, Chloe." He cleared his throat. "I'm - I'm glad, uh, you're comin' back. Camp would probably be filled with a bunch of losers, y'know?"
"I cannot agree nor disagree with your claim as I have never met these new PSI cadets."
He snickered. She imagined him nodding his head, his wild mass of hair shaking as well. "Yeah, well, I've been comin' here for years, and trust me - huh? Oh, wow."
She swallowed, looping her index finger around the chord. "What?"
"I saw Loboto take off screaming with Linda hot on his heels. It was awesome."
She pursed her lips and withheld her laughter. Cupping her mouth, Chloe sighed, unable to hide her huff of amusement. "Such behavior would not be accepted by the Greater Galactic Community."
He chuckled, raising in pitch like an untuned, yet agreeable instrument. "I know. You say that a lot."
"Because it's true."
From the top of the staircase, her mother called down. It was nearly time for Chloe to go to bed. Normally, Chloe would have listened and then stayed up in her room for several long hours. But she lowered the phone and affirmed her mother's request, an odd sensation of warmth in her chest when she heard her voice.
"My earthling mother is saying I must retire for the evening. I'll call you tomorrow for debriefing," Chloe stated, and Bobby hummed in agreement, seemingly unbothered. "Remember that you have my phone number. You have my permission to contact the Barge home whenever you want during the day. I'm certain my parental units will answer and alert the Psychonauts should you come under siege."
"Well, I can handle that crazy dentist, but, uh…" He trailed off, the distant reverberations interjecting on his behalf. "Wow. She's really doing a number to him."
"What's going on?"
"Linda has him by her lure, and she's slamming him into the side of the lodge. She's really mad about being mutated."
"As any lungfish would be when taken away from their natural habitat and transformed against their will."
Bobby laughed, screechy and pleasant at the same time. Anyone else would have deemed it dissonant, but it alleviated her concern long enough for the conversation to end. "Well, thanks, Chloe. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye."
"Until tomorrow. Zool," she softly replied.
He hung up first. Chloe listened to the dial tone drone before setting the phone on the receiver. She stepped over to the staircase and rested her hand on the smooth railing, her mind buzzing with uncertainty as silence filled her home.
The solution was to notify the Psychonauts. Their experienced agents could have defeated Loboto in the blink of an eye. He might have been devious, but he was nothing compared to a coordinated assault from any respected Psychonaut. And considering he was located back in Whispering Rock, she assumed they would have sent the camp's previous counselors to incarcerate Loboto and rescue Bobby.
His attempts to alleviate her worries had her scratching through her short hair. If the situation was under control as he insisted, then he wouldn't have needed to hole himself up in the lodge. Even if Linda was powerful - she had been the one to capture her and Bobby before they had their brains removed - Chloe wasn't convinced if that strength would last Bobby until the counselors returned.
Scratching her cheek, Chloe stared at the phone when her mother called her name. It was now passed her bedtime. Chloe marched over to the staircase and clutched the rounded edge of the smooth wooden railing, gripping it tightly enough for her wrist to ache again.
Bobby was trustworthy in a loose sense of the word. He was the only camper who took her alien heritage seriously. Even Milka and Lili seemed to humor her at times. Unlike them, he believed her every word about Cygnus A and other star systems, never once trying to disprove or counter her. Perhaps it was foolish of him to believe her without a word of caution, but Chloe decided that if he placed blind faith in her, then she would do the same for him, at least until tomorrow evening.
If anything is slightly wrong, I will override him as captain of our ship and refer the Psychonauts to Whispering Rock, she thought, stomping upstairs only to pause in the middle. She stared straight ahead, her vision glassy. She lowered her head, sinking with her thoughts. Oh. I forgot to mention the meteor shower.
"Chloe, it's late. Let's get ready for bed," her mother chimed from her bedroom just as Chloe pivoted on her heels.
"Affirmative," Chloe replied, dragging her feet up the remaining steps. She shuffled across the carpet to her bedroom, twisted the doorknob, and ambled inside. While the door shut behind her, she walked over to her window and parted the curtains, presenting her with a clear view of the black, starless night.
Resting her hands on her cheeks and her elbows on the windowsill, she ignored her throbbing wrist. If I call the Psychonauts tonight, it would be a breach of trust. One day is enough for observations. Nothing more, nothing less, she thought, folding her arms and resting her chin on them. Maybe he would have liked seeing the meteors. It's a bit of a rare occurrence on this planet, but perhaps it's for the best. It isn't worth stargazing if it means risking bodily harm.
Closing her eyes, despite her logical thinking, Chloe hoped against hope that Bobby would manage to see a single meteor streaking across Whispering Rock.