Chapter 3
After we'd finished our duties in Coach's brain, I showed Raz how to find arrowheads, which we then had to use to pay a toll to get across the bridge to the main lodges. And instead of the way being blocked by Kitty and Frankie, it was blocked by Chops and JT.
"So what's so important about these arrowheads?" I asked.
"They've been in the dirt ever since the meteorite hit this place. They seem to be connected to psitanium, a rare mineral that only exists in this camp. Maybe the arrowheads that the natives used in the past ended up getting infected with the psitanium?" Chops asked, me smirking at that.
"Sounds cool. Anyways, we're off to go to a secret lab to meet with Agent Nein," I smirked.
"You mean you're going to the lab inside of the GPC? Sakes alive! Well, nice knowing ya'll," JT said, me smirking at that.
"Psh, you forget that we passed the coach's Basic Braining in record time and on our first attempt. We can handle anything from here on out," I boasted.
"Oh yeah, Milka came through while invisible saying she was impressed by that. Said she was going to hide from Vernon somewhere where no one could hear her," Chops smiled.
"Milka, huh? What's her deal, then?" Raz asked.
"She's super shy, and barely talks at all. She can only talk to Elton. And between you an' me, I think she's in love with 'im," JT smiled.
"Don't worry, I know how to talk to shy girls. Maybe I can tell her future?" I smirked.
"Any chance you could do so with us?" Chops asked.
"Sure," I smirked as I looked into Chops's mind first and I saw that, after camp would complete, he'd go back home and become the hall moniter at his school, taking care of bullies with his psychic powers and becoming famous at the school as a hero to the nerds. And as for JT, I saw that he'd become a rodeo rider when he got home, riding on bucking broncos and being able to win a championship without ever using his psychic strength for added help!
"Stay on the paths both of you are currently on and great things will happen. JT, you'll become a championship rodeo rider without even needing your psychic strength. And Chops, you'll become a hero to the downtrodden as a hall moniter that detains bullies with your psychic gifts," I said, them smirking at that.
"That's some fine and dandy talent ya got there, pardner! We'll do just that, and train harder in them aspects," JT smirked.
"Good, now we need to go get a dowsing machine," Raz smirked as we then went across the bridge to the main lodge, only to get stopped by none other than Cruller, who was dressed as a ranger right now.
"Oh, uh, hello mister Cruller!" I smirked.
"Ah, some more youngsters wanna take on the scavenger hunt, do they? Well, here's the list of things ya gotta find," he said as he gave us the list and I saw it was the same things as in the game.
"Okay, and what are the rewards?" Raz asked.
"Promotions to yer ranks, duh! if you get 8, you get 4 ranks, and 4 more for the full list. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to the kitchen. Now git!" he said, Raz being confused at that before I then spoke to his mind with some foresight.
"He's uh... gone a bit loco. He can only be his own sane self when in his personal quarters under the camp. It involves a battle shattering his psyche and the Psitanium deposits underground help him control his mental state," I said to his mind, him nodding at that.
"Sounds tough. What was that fight, anyways?" he asked.
"A big bad evil villain. It happened 20 years before today, at least from what I remember. Anyways, let's go get that dousing machine," I smirked as we then went to the main lodge and we happened to see that Phoebe and Quentin were working on some music and Milka was drawing stuff at one of the tables. And when she saw me and Raz, she immediately turned invisible. But I still knew she sat in place, since I had that sixth sense.
"It's okay, Milka. I know what it's like to be shy as a mouse... I had to deal with my own shyness when I was in high school," I said, her then whimpering a bit as Raz went to the kitchen and started to talk to Cruller. "You want me to turn invisible too? Would that make you more at ease?" I asked, her shaking her head no. "Okay... what do I do to get you to speak?" I asked, her sighing.
"I... no, please..." she said, me sighing at that and nodding.
"Okay, I understand. I won't force it on you... I just wanted to know if you'd like a future vision," I said, her then finally turning her head visible.
"Turn invisible now... please?" she asked, me nodding as I did just that and I then looked in her eyes, me seeing that, in her future, she'd be going down a tough road. She'd be so shy that she'd get bullied by other girls, then do drugs, and possibly go to jail for doing them. And I knew I had to say something.
"Um... it's not a good future... if you don't find some way to get over your shyness, you're going to get bullied so much that you end up doing drugs and then going to jail. I don't want that to happen to a sweet and innocent girl like you, okay?" I said, her then whimpering again and turning invisible, so I looked in her mind.
"I... I don't know how to do that... I want to tell Elton how I feel about him, but... I can't say anything... how do I do that? I know if I can get someone to listen to me and what I want to say, then I wouldn't be so shy!" she said, me smiling at that.
"Well, I'm listening," I said, her then gasping at that.
"You... can read my mind?" she asked, me nodding at that. "C-Could you teach me how to talk with my mind?... I think that would be much easier to do... please?" she asked, me smirking at that.
"I could do that in my sleep. In fact, that's kind of my specialty," I smiled at her. "But in order to do so, I'm going to need to put my fingers on your temples. And it will be a slight bit painful. Imagine it like a bee sting in your brain. An electrical bee sting. You okay with that?" I asked, her nodding her head while invisible before then turning visible again, me then touching her temples and exerting some psychic interference to her brain, managing to do so even after she squeaked from the pain. She then turned invisible again and then, she focused.
"Can you hear me?... Hey, I can hear my own thoughts in my ears! This is incredible! I can't believe it!" she smirked as I saw that the band duo looked at me with a smile.
"Wicked, dude! You're good at this job!" Quentin smirked at me.
"Yeah, I haven't been able to control my pyrokinesis ever since getting the badge, but you can control your telepathy so much, you can make other people telepathic! Sweet!" Phoebe smirked.
"Now I need to find Elton! He should be at the lake right about now. He likes to talk to the fish," Milka smirked as she stayed invisible and rushed out of the building, just in time for me to see that Raz had bought the dousing rod.
"That was cool," he smirked at me.
"Thanks. Team effort, right?" I smirked.
"All I did was buy the rod," he frowned.
"And that's very important. Let's go search the campgrounds for some arrowheads and get on our way to the GPC. We found some cards, a Psi Challenge Marker, and we got roughly 400 arrowheads just from the campgrounds, us then going around the camp itself to find more cards, more arrowheads, and more Psi Challenge Markers. But on top of that, we also found numerous different parts of the scavenger hunt in the form of the gold doubloon, the comic book number 1, the cherry wood pipe, and, using invisibility, I got the golden acorn outside of the GPC. But we also got the condor egg in the process from the reception area along with all the cards we could find there. And once all of this was done, we then finally went to the GPC, where we heard some crying coming from the topmost compartment. We then opened the door to find Maloof in there and tears all over his face.
"What were you doing in there?" Raz asked.
"Bobby threw me in there because I couldn't pay the toll... I can only talk to plants and animals with my mind! I can't take him on by myself like you can!" he said, me sighing at that as Mikhail then came in.
"Sounds like bully needs lesson. Much like how I handle hairless bear outside gate. I follow you and take care of Bobby bully if he bothers you again, okay, Maloof?" he asked, the kid smirking at that through the tears.
"Y-Yeah, that'd be nice... thanks, Mikhail!" he smirked.
"We would've done the same thing, but Agent Nein invited us to do some training at his lab," Raz said.
"No issue there, just be careful of hairless bear. They know psychic claw technique," Mikhail said, me nodding at that.
"Thanks for the warning, Mikhail," I said as we then went into the building and we then placed the button on the ground, which opened a secret hatch for us to go down, where we then did so and entered Sasha's lab, where we saw he was busy working with paperwork. But I got the dinosaur fossil from the upper parts of the lab before going down to talk with him and Raz.
"We heard that you could make heads explode, so maybe we could-" Raz was about to say before I slapped him on the head. "OW!" he retorted.
"Raz, I don't think he'd be willing to teach us a technique that could kill people. He probably wants to do something more interesting," I said, him nodding with a smile on his face.
"Indeed, we do science here, not parlor tricks. When you are ready, Raz and Rose, step up to the Brain Tumbler," he said as he activated the machine and aimed it slightly downwards.
"Brain Tumbler?' Raz asked as I smiled at that.
"I've heard of this device before. It allows one to go inside their own mind and the collective unconsciousness of any minds they've previously visited, so long as they're within a 5-mile radius," I said, seeing that much from the pamphlet at the circus that we'd received, Sasha nodding at that.
"Yes, you're correct. Simply enter Rasputin's mind so he can go into the brain tumbler, and we can begin," Sasha said, me nodding as I did that and Raz went to the machine.
"Is this going to be dangerous?" he asked as I felt the machine start up and meld my brain to it.
"No, no, not dangerous. Not unless something goes horribly wrong," he said as we then found ourselves in the collective unconscious, looking just as trippy as I thought it would.
"This is the collective unconscious. As you can see, most of the doors you can visit are locked up tight. You'll need to find those people and enter their minds before you can visit them from this spot. Only one door is open for you right now, that being your own. Enter the door and the test will begin," Sasha said, me nodding as we did just that and went to it, where we found ourselves in a foggy black void.
"Rasputin? Rosetta? Can you hear me?" Sasha asked.
"Yes, we can," I said.
"Tell me, what do you see in there?"
"We see a uh... a gypsie caravan. The same one that I was born in back at the circus," he said.
"Interesting... what else?" I then saw something from nearby that made me surprised, that being a memory that was entering the caravan.
"I see a memory of me in my world... the one that made me realize how good of a psychic I was... where I found out that a group of bitch bullies were planning a prank that would've killed me and sent them to jail. I made their prank backfire in their faces while also embarrassing them big time. And when they were embarrassed in front of the whole school, they tried to get me suspended... but I told them of what I saw. That if I hadn't have done what I did, their prank would've killed me and they'd be in jail, since it involved oil, fire, and feathers. A deadly combination, as you can imagine," I said, Sasha speaking after.
"Hmm... maybe enter the caravan?" he asked, us then doing so and we saw that, when we did, we were in what looked to be a duo of places right next to each other. One side was Raz's circus tent and on the other was my high school.
"What do you see now?" Sasha asked.
"We see a duo of areas. My school on the left, Raz's tent on the right, both combined together like they're split down the middle," I said.
"I see. Your minds must be quite intertwined and concise to be so perfectly balanced. Try to move forward into the building and tell me what happens," Sasha said, us then doing that and going to the school first... only when we entered, we saw what looked to be a large shadowy figure. And it had glowing eyes, a big angler on its head, and had on what looked to be a cheerleader outfit.
"What do you see? I'm picking up a hostile creature," Sasha said.
"A large, dark, shadowy creature with glowing eyes and a cheerleader outfit... I'm ready to burn it up if it comes near us," I said, Sasha speaking after.
"Okay, um... I'm pulling you out right now," he said, us then disappearing before the monster could attack. And when it did, it barfed up three things, all combined together. A diving helmet, a brain, and a bunch of feathers!
We then were unceremoniously sent back to Sasha's lab, where he then spoke.
"Strange, that shouldn't have happened... it's almost as if something was messing with the simulation," Sasha said.
"All I saw before we were sent out was that the monster barfed up three things. A diving helmet, a brain, and a bunch of feathers... I don't know why, but I think it may have something to do with my future visions... oh, if only we could shoot things with Psi Blasts, we could've beat that monster in an instant!" I complained.
"Hmm... you'll need further training, then. You'll need to find Agent Cruller. Use that stump to access his underground lair. And don't tell anyone about it. If anyone asks, I told you nothing," Sasha said, me nodding as I kept my mind safe from intrusion. "And so you know, young Rose, your mind was exceedingly tough to get into while you were in the brain tumbler... but I can say that, what I did see, made me realize that you are not alone in this 'two people in one mind' thing," he said, me gasping at that.
"What did you see?!" I asked in annoyance, him frowning.
"That you have a sister named Gloria. And that same exact Gloria is actually inside of Milla's mind... and then you have a cousin called Zeke... and that same Zeke is actually in the mind of young Lili Zanotto," he said, me gasping at that.
"Gloria and Zeke?! They're here too?!" I asked in shock.
"Yes and come back here whenever you get the Psi Blast learner's permit from Ford so we can train your brains in the technique," he said, us nodding and going to the stump that Sasha had pointed at, us going down it and me turning my body into a small ferret so both of us could fit.
"Whoa, what is this?" Raz asked as the computer spoke.
"Welcome to the Whispering Rock underground transit system, Agent Ford. Where would you like to go?" the computer asked.
"Uh... take me to my sanctuary," I said, the computer falling for it.
"Of course, Agent Ford," the computer said as we barreled down the rails... and on the way, I gasped as I heard a voice in our heads. One that I was surprised to hear.
"Raz and Rose! Where in the world are ya?! We're worried sick!" shouted none other than Frazie, Raz's older sister and the eldest psychic child in his troupe, though it was secret from most of the family, much like with Raz.
"We ran off so that we could get further training. We told you we were going to do it, so why are you surprised?" I asked her in annoyance.
"I didn't think you'd actually go through with it! Mom and dad want you to come back home, and I know I can't tell them where you are right now because I contacted you telepathically! What do I tell them?!" she asked.
"Well, maybe the truth? And that you want to come join us?" Raz asked, her gasping at that.
"You... you can't be serious, Raz! They'd be so ashamed if they learned I was a psychic!" Frazie said in surprise... and then another voice joined in.
"What are we talking about? Is it big brother and sister? Did you find them, Frazie?" asked none other than Mirtala! AKA, the most adorable acrobat in the world and Raz's little sister. And her voice was also telepathic!
"MIRTLE?! You... You're a psychic, too?!" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah! I found out when I was practicing the fire breather routine! Mommy said that she was surprised, but that she wouldn't be angry so long as I used my psychic powers in the routines and with control! So where are ya? The camp?" she asked, me smirking at that.
"Mom really said that?" Raz asked.
"Does that mean... she wouldn't be mad if she found out I was psychic?" Frazie asked.
"I guess not. How about this. Tell them what I say to both of you. Raz and I are at the Whispering Rock camp. Not just to train to become Psychonauts, but also because of two more reasons. One, I foresaw that something dangerous and big would happen here and the world would be in trouble if we didn't change it... and the second thing, I've learned that I happen to have relatives of my world trapped in some of the people in the camp! One in a teacher, and the other in a camper! And I NEED to save them above all else!" I said, which made Mirtala gasp.
"You found some of your own family?! AWESOME! I wanna say hi to them when I get there! I'm gonna ask momma if Frazie and I can join ya! The camp should still go one for a good 2 weeks, right?" Mirtala said in excitement, me smirking at that.
"Tell your parents that we're at Whispering Rock camp for Psychics. And that we're inviting all of them so they can see the nice side of psychics... with a couple exceptions. There are a couple bullies, but they're inferior to my skills," I smirked.
"Okay, then. And if they say anything nasty, then I'm running away, too. And never coming back home," Frazie said, me smiling at that.
"And my offer still stands, Frazie. We can have quite the shocking night, y'know?" I said, her blushing at that. She was well aware that I was in love with her spunky personality and her blossoming psychic powers, especially since her specialty was electrical manipulation, so she was able to withstand my touch and even hug me with only a slight tingling sensation. And since she was 18, she was definitely legal age for me to make a move.
"I still don't know how it'd work with you being in Raz's mind... but I'll let you know when we get there," she said, me smiling at that.
"I'll take your word on it," I smirked as the telepathy moment ended and Raz looked at me with a smile.
"So... does that mean I'm also going to be given the talk? Or not?" he asked.
"Keep in mind, Raz, I can be my own entity for up to 100 feet of distance, so if I do find a suitor, you could stay out of the noise range," I said, him nodding as we had arrived. It was time to meet the true Ford Cruller.