Chapter 2
When I fell asleep, I soon saw that I had been warped to an area that was familiar... both to me and Rasputin. It was the black void where we could talk and edit to our whim whenever we were in dreamland. And there was an old guy with us who I recognized instantly, same with Raz.
"Whoa... Are you Ford?" Raz asked as he then simply spoke.
"Now, now, sonny, that can be answered another time. For now, look over to the right for me, would ya?" he asked, me doing so with Raz and we saw the Psi Card. "See that thing there? That's a Psi Card. Gather as many as you can and then you can combine 'em with a Psi Core to make a Psi Challenge Marker. Making those can get you some sweet promotions in your rank... now look up above," he said, me doing that and smirking at the sight.
"Is that a Psy Challenge Marker?" I asked when I saw the 9 cards orbiting the Psy Core.
"Right ya are, Rosie Dodie," he said, me gasping at that. "What? Ya'll told the others their names, so of course I'd do the same to you," he said, me frowning at that. "Gotta stay vigilent with all that knowledge in your brain, little lassie. Yer among fellow psychics now, so ya gotta stay strong, even when asleep," he said, me frowning at him and nodding.
"Thanks... ahem. So, can we have some dreamtime, now? It's the only time we can swim," I said, him nodding as he left and I then proceeded to create a wave pool made out of chocolate and Raz smirked at it.
"You promise it's chocolate this time, right?" he asked, me nodding at him.
"Yes, I promise. Observe," I smirked as I jumped into the drink and gulped down some of the chocolate water, me then poking my head out and smirking at how I was coated in gooey chocolate!
"MMM MMM! Delicious! Tastes just like Hershey bars!" I smirked widely.
"One of those things from your world? Now I gotta taste it!" Raz smirked as he jumped in and gulped in some of it as well, him gasping at the taste.
"Oh my god... you weren't kidding! This is the most delicious chocolate I've ever had! Sorry, mom, but your chocolate cake has been defeated," Raz smirked.
"I'm sure she wouldn't be mad," I smirked at him as we continued to swim and eat the chocolate in the dream before we then woke up to the blaring trumpets of the camp wake-up call, me groaning awake from Raz's mind and getting off the top bunk as well as him, us then following the kids, them going to the big treehouse. Well, most of them, that is. Dogen stayed behind to talk to the squirrels, Chloe tried to speak to aliens with the speakers on the tower, and I saw that Kitty and Frankie were laying down on the ground and fiddling with some flowers.
"Excuse me, why aren't you going to Coach Oleander's class?" I asked the duo.
"We're here because of our parents, not because we want to. Also, the coach's Basic Braining is a bit too much. We heard that it has hurt some kids in the past," Kitty explained.
"And who said that?" I asked.
"Bobby did," Frankie said.
"Then I'd probably say that it's a lie, since Bobby seems to be a big barker with no bite. I've dealt with punks like him before, and that's how they do things. They have lackeys do their bidding and create an air of fear and intimidation so they can't be taken down from their high horse. Just like the bitches I'd deal with in high school," I said, Frankie frowning at me.
"Language? This is a kid's camp," she frowned at me.
"English? And you're obviously teenagers," I said, them frowning at me.
"Fair enough. So are you going to do that class with Raz? I'd think that, if anyone could beat that course, it'd be you two," Franke asked.
"Yeah! Especially when you showed your prowess last night! You might become a true Psychonaut by the end of the camp!" Kitty smiled at me as I then looked in her mind and saw what she was thinking. "Oh man, I hope she doesn't look in my brain... I couldn't stand being rejected by Frankie if she found out I have a crush on her!" Kitty said, me then looking into Frankie's mind and seeing... she thought the same way.
"Don't you dare tell Kitty I like her, or I'm gonna scream," she said, me then simply combining their thoughts and giving them to each other, them then gasping as they looked at each other and then at me.
"D-Did you... you mean..." Kitty gawked as she looked at Franke and both then blushed.
"Would you two just kiss, already?" Raz asked, me smirking at how they then kissed and did so for roughly five seconds.
"Uh... thanks for that... I didn't think Frankie liked me in that way..." Kitty admitted.
"Same... you're alright, Rosie," Frankie smirked at me.
"I like that nickname, so thanks," I smirked at them as Raz and I then finally walked up the path until we got to the top, where Bobby was waiting, and he blocked the way to class.
"Okay, ya WUSSES! Pay the toll to pass!" he said, me simply frowning at him as I then handed him my hand, him frowning as he touched me, only to get zapped big time, as I wanted him to be in pain. "OOOW! What the hell was that for?!" he asked as I smirked at him.
"That is how I deal with no-good assholes like you. I've seen your future, and I can tell you've been a nasty person for ages. And if you don't shape up, your parents ship you off to math camp instead of this one," I said, being completely honest. I'd seen his future and some of Milla's, where she gets kidnapped by Oleander and gets her brain stolen. Bobby then gasped at what I said before glaring at me.
"Ya think you can fool ME with those fortunes?! Fine, then tell me, who am I in love with?!"
"Chloe. You love Chloe," I said, him frowning at me.
"Peh, just a fluke!" he pouted.
"You going to keep talking, or should I move that cotton candy off your head and into my mouth?" Raz asked, that making Bobby growl.
"OOOOOOGH! Benny! Put these punks on my beat-up later list! Let's decide this in Basic Braining, punks! First one to beat the punchy minigame all 5 rounds will be the winner!" he growled, me smirking at that.
"Done deal, Bobby," I smirked as we then went into the room and I looked at Oleander and saw he was with the kids and having them in his brain.
"You're late, rookies, now get in here and give me twenty!" Oleander said as he used the Psycho Portal to send both me and Raz into his mind, us then emerging in the warzone that was Basic Braining... only we were in the staffing room at first.
"This looks like a dentist's office," Elton said with seriousness.
"A mental dentist office," Raz said... before the projection of the coach appeared on the screen with me then finally becoming my own self in the mind.
"This is a staffing quarters, rookies! And I'm recruiting soldiers! I need you to prove you can go to war! To be able to fight minds with minds! This is your last chance to chicken out, rookies!" Oleander said.
"Me, please! I'd like to chicken out right now, sir!" Elton said, me smacking my face.
"Oh dear... how about I go ahead and prove I'm a soldier. Before I was sent to Raz's infant brain, I spent two years in the service on the air force! HYAGH!" I shouted as I punched down the coach's projection, showing the warzone shortly after.
"Good job, rookie! That's what I'm talking about!" Oleander shouted as Elton then looked fearful as he then ran ahead blindly.
"CHARGE!" he shouted... before getting blown up by a mine!
"What the hell?! What kind of monstrous obstacle course is this?!" Raz asked in shock.
"It's a warzone obstacle course, rookies! Now get to the end and I'll give you your badge! Fail and yer just another number on the list of rejected rookies!" Oleander said, me nodding as it was time to prove our worth.
"Let's go, Raz," I smirked as we then proceeded to use our pyrokinesis as an alternate means of flight, us going through the first part of the course with ease, managing to get the figments and the emotional baggage in the process, which was always a plus. And then, we found the minefield, where we then proceeded to use our acrobatic skills to pass by without touching a single piece of them. And when we got across, we then raised the flag and got into the plane.
"Plane's goin' down, cadets! Open the door and jump for it!" Oleander shouted.
"Wait! I didn't pack a parachute!" Raz shouted.
"Don't worry, Raz, I'll be the parachute. Let me hook onto your back and then kick the door open and jump. I'll do the rest," I said, him nodding as I then did just as I said and he jumped out of the plane, me then waiting for a good 10 seconds before morphing my astral body to turn into a parachute, like Elastigirl in the Incredibles! We then had a soft landing in the snowy punchy game arena… while Bobby and the Nose fell down shortly after and looked to be in pain.
"No fair! You cheated!" Bobby growled at me.
"I didn't see any rules saying you couldn't turn yourself into a parachute to fall softly. And if there was, Coach said nothing about it," I frowned, Oleander then responding before Bobby could talk.
"The girl's right! Now for a test in reflexes and hand-eye coordination! I overheard you making that bet, so I have a different idea. First duo to get 100 points gets promoted up 5 ranks as if they beat all the rounds. Deal?" Oleander asked, me smirking at that.
"Peh! We're gonna smoke you losers so bad, you'll be the next victim of pyrokinesis!" Bobby snarked at me.
"You may laugh now, but I don't think you were born with mastery of future visions. I can see all outcomes from all possible angles!" I said as I then senses Benny coming from behind to push me down, me responding by kicking my foot back into his crotch! And he then held it for a bit before I saw that he wasn't in as much pain as I expected.
"Oof... even after training for two years, it still smarts," he groaned. We then started the challenge as me and Raz saw some targets appear right in front of us and we then hit them, us getting two points right away. We then proceeded to have a very tense competition as Raz and I punched the soldiers and made sure to avoid the babies like the plague. And after roughly 3 minutes straight of pounding away at cardboard, the victor was decided.
"We have a winner! Raz and Rose, you got up to rank 7 so far! Very impressive! Now can ya make it all the way to the end?" he asked, me smirking at that as Bobby growled at me.
"We may have lost this, but we're still on top! Come on, Benny! Let's get the badge before they do!" Bobby said as they rushed ahead and Raz and I followed suit, watching the duo fail once against the turret at the end of the snowy place, but we also opened the vault to see Oleander's Pride, which was really sad. And by sad, I meant pathetic, because he hated being short and wanted to be taller. We then proceeded to go out into the danger zone and hid behind the different barricades to prevent getting riddled with holes by the turret. And once we got to the final one, we managed to deactivate the cannon before we then slammed our way inside and proceeded down into the cannon's innards before I then raised the flag, opening the door to keep moving forward.
"Looks like it's gonna be a slide. If there's any figments in there... hmm... can I ask you to turn into a net so I can grab them from an extended reach?" Raz asked with a smirk.
"Depends what kind of net it is. I'd prefer bug net as opposed to pool net and fishing net," I said, him nodding as he put up one finger, but I could hear his mind even in my sleep, and I saw he was imagining me as a basketball net. "No, that'd just be dumb, Raz. I couldn't catch anything if I had two holes instead of one," I said, him then laughing at what I said. I then smacked myself when I realized the biggest mistake of talking to a 10-year-old boy about my holes. "Shut up, or I'm not helping at all." That was enough for him to stop laughing as I then turned into a bug net and he held me as we slid down the slide. He proceeded to use me to grab the figments, us managing to acquire all of them up to this point as we then arrived at the next part, it being the giant wall with the poles on it.
"Time to go swinging, I guess," Raz said.
"See, Raz? This is what I was trying to tell you. Your dad was prepping you for this," I said, him raising his eyebrow at me. "Still not gonna budge, huh?" He simply stayed silent as we went forward, and I followed him up the poles before we then got to the ones with flames. We made sure to go up only when the flames stopped spurting, resulting in us breaking through the top wall to face the tightropes.
"Tightropes?" Raz asked.
"Believe me yet?"
"Nope. Not unless they have a trapeze section next, then I might be inclined to believe you," he said, me smirking at that as we then climbed up the ropes, grabbing the figments before we then broke through the next barricade, where we saw the kids of Elka, Chops, and Kitty all hanging from the trapeze swings of the zeppelins.
"The trapeze ain't for the faint of heart. I understand if you don't think you can do it. Just means you're like most rookies," Oleander said, mocking us to try and build us up in tension. I looked at Raz, him being surprised at the mention of the word and I smirked at him.
"So?... What do you have to say to me about the daddy?" I asked in a singsong, mocking voice. And Raz frowned at me.
"As much as it pains me to admit... dad may have been preparing me for this, like you said... I still don't like how he never let me leave the circus for anything," Raz frowned.
"Raz, don't you remember your 5th birthday?" I asked, him then thinking as we got to the trapeze and frowning.
"Sorry... I don't. Do you?" he asked.
"Maybe this one word will trigger your memory. Disneyland," I said, his eyes going wide at that.
"I remember now! You convinced my parents to have all three of us go into sleep together and you melded our minds so that we could have an entire day of fun at one of the biggest parks you knew with no lines! Disneyland... it's been half of my life... I can't believe I forgot!" Raz frowned as we then reached the slide to end off the event after finishing off the baggage and the figments up to that point, not including the mental cobwebs, as I'd warned Raz about them prior to arrival and that we'd need to get a high rank and even higher number of arrowheads in order to get access to it. And that was why we had to reach rank 10 as quick as possible so we could get the Dousing Machine to find bigger caches of arrowheads.
"Well, now that you remember, now we can do another special event in the circus. The unicycle wire trick! I'll turn into a long pole, you just slide like the master you are," I smirked as I then did just as I said and Raz held onto me, us then going down the rails with him going down the middle slide while I handled the two other sides with my new length. And once we got to the bottom, we saw Bobby on the final wire taunting us, but I simply turned into my normal form in front of Raz so I could bitch-slap him out of our way, which I did as he then fell for a long time! We then got into the final gauntlet, which Oleander laughed at us.
"Ah, the old spinning room of death and visual tricks! If you can make it past... haaahaahaa! Oh, who am I kidding? Yer never gettin' past this, kids!" he said, me smirking at that.
"Well, this time I'll do something different. Shape of a bird!" I smirked as I then turned into a bluebird, Raz looking at me in confusion.
"So why are you doing this?" he asked.
"Ahem. Need I point out that all the figments in this room are in motion?" I asked, him then seeing that I was right. "Oh, I got it! I handle the walking, you handle the figments so we get promoted to rank 12 by the end of this room!" he smirked, me nodding at that.
"Exactly," I smiled at him as we then did that. I flew through the obstacles to grab the figments while Raz walked the path to the end patiently and effortlessly. I then joined him on the other side and we went forward, wher we saw a giant seat that was obviously Oleander's throne.
"Hello? Anyone? I guess we're early," Raz said as I then looked to the right and saw the room that we needed to go into. The one that led to Oleander's big plan. We went inside, me making sure our minds were protected from intrusion as we went in and we went to the photo, me managing to see through it using what I called invisible sight, where I could see through at least one layer of anything to see what lay underneath. And what did I see? That the blueprints for the think tanks weren't Oleander's fault at all... it was because of Doctor Loboto doing things to his mind! But before we could do anything, we got shouted at and our bodies yanked out of the room.
"HEY! Just what do you two think yer doing in there?!" Oleander asked as I simply frowned at him.
"Two things. One, we got to the end and were looking for a way out. And two, seeing that someone is controlling your brain to do bad things, as I saw in my future vision of you last night," I said, him then gasping as he then frowned at me. "All I saw was blueprints for a weapon and that the name Doctor Loboto was on it. Tell me, who is this guy?" Oleander looked to be thinking as he paced back and forth and then looked at me in an upset manner.
"You're half right, that's all I'll say. He made the weapon and showed it to me. At first, I was on board, but I decided against it from your future vision last night, since you said it would result in very bad things for me and only me... but I don't want you tellin' anyone else about it, because I want no part in it anymore, got it?" he said, me nodding at that.
"Only if you can tell us where Loboto is at," I said.
"He's on the island in the middle of the lake. It's his base. But you can't reach it from here in a paddleboat for... reasons... mainly because the lake is hard to traverse when you get in the open waters, no matter the transport. Just know that I'm not going to do anything with him and that my mind is in defense mode 24/7 from now on, got it?" he asked, me nodding at that.
"At the very least, can you promise me something?" I asked, him frowning and nodding. "I think a good way to do that is for us to go into the deepest repressed memories you have. If we can do that, maybe we could prevent this weirdo Loboto from doing anything worse to your brain specifically," I said, him frowning at me and nodding.
"When it hits nightfall, then you can do so. I can't trust my brain's defenses if I fall asleep. Just know that Loboto plans to do something to the kids. And that's all I'm going to say," he said, me nodding at that.
"Very well, we can agree to that. Now, we beat the entire course, so..." I said, him then smirking.
"That ya did, and you earned this for a job well done. Your basic braining badge. Wearing this proves that you can take further courses with the other teachers," he said, me smiling and nodding at that notion. We then exited the mind, courtesy of Oleander, where I then projected myself from Raz with a smirk, wearing a projected image of the badge on my backside, right in the center.
"Good work, kids. You got guts to get that far in there and tell things straight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go back in. Need to get the stragglers back," he said, me seeing that among them were Chloe and Maloof, who had taken the course without chickening out. And Bobby and Benny looked at us in anger.
"You're gonna pay for that, you punks! This changes nothing!" Bobby said as his spit flew into my face.
"Okay, does this change anything?" I asked as I then simply conjured an electric buzzer and poked it at him, which I saw made him terrified. "Mess with us again for any reason, your hair goes bye-bye. Then you'll be just as bald as a naked mole rat," I said, him then running away after as I saw Sasha Nein appear and he looked at me and Raz with a smile.
"Well, I must say that I am impressed. It's not every day that anyone can pass Oleander's class, let alone on the first try. I'd like to ask if you could come to my lab so we could enact another test, one that I'm hoping will be quite intriguing to learn the intractacies of two minds in one," Sasha said as he then handed us a button.
"Huh... cool!" Raz smirked.
"Of course, this test is not a part of the curriculum, so you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but know that it will be useful in later endeavors. You have great skills, Raz and Rose. But sometimes, isolation can create great things, when given the proper knowledge," Nein said as he levitated down with such demure and grace that it made me jealous at how I couldn't do it nearly as good.
"Wait! You didn't tell me where your lab is! Is this a test?" Raz asked as I simply smirked at him.
"He said something about isolation... back where I come from, there were these things called solitary confinement cells, which were designed to trap you alone in a dark room with nothing but yourself to talk to. Maybe there's something similar in this camp, but for psychics?" I asked, Raz then smirking at that before Chloe walked up behind us.
"It's in the wilderness. The GPC. Solitary confinement for psychics. Locks you up and suppresses all mental powers and thoughts. Torturous for anyone, but psychics more so. It's been turned off ever since construction, as that was when they were outlawed," she said, me smirking at her.
"Thanks, Chloe... say, would you like a free future vision? Maybe I can see something interesting," I said, her simply nodding her head and giving a small smile.
"Very well, I accept," she said, me then doing so... and seeing something shocking. Chloe WAS an alien! It was why she was bald! Her parents lived on a far away planet in the Kaiper Belt, that being Pluto. And when the camp ended, so long as she continually worked the radio and upgraded its signal to connect to space, she'd be able to meet her parents!
"Wow... definitely not what I expected, but... wow," I gawked.
"What'd you see?" Chloe asked.
"That, so long as you upgrade the antenna on the coach's radio and you keep talking into it to connect to your relatives, you're parents will come here to talk to you. And they apparently come from Pluto," I said, her then smiling wider as she then produced a couple tears from her eyes.
"I'll do it, then! I'll upgrade the radio and keep talking into it! I'm coming home, mommy and daddy!" she smirked happily through tears as I saw Oleander had listened in and simply showed her to the radio, me smirking at that. I didn't expect I'd get the stone-cold serious Chloe to get so happy she cried tears of joy! But then there was Oleander... hopefully, so long as we kept our promise and went into his mind before the end game, we could defeat the game WITHOUT doing the final level of his brain mixed with mine and Raz's. Two was bad enough, imagine three all together!