Chapter 5
Upon exiting the lab, we then went right to finding the way to the lake docks... and when we did, Raz was shocked when he saw Dogen walking out of the water of the lake in an obvious daze.
"Dogen! What's going on?" he asked as Dogen then spoke the only thing he could say in this state of mind.
"Teevee..." he grumbled, me then looking into his head... and sure enough, no brain.
"It's just as I feared. His brain's been stolen right out of his noggin!" I said, Raz being shocked at that... but then, I heard the voice of something.
"Rose? Can you hear me?" I asked the voice of Dogen, telepathically!
"Dogen?! Where's your brain at, buddy?" I asked him.
"I don't know... all I know is that it's very wet... and I can hear the old man nearby... please help?" he asked, me nodding as Raz stayed behind with Dogen while I rushed to the boat shack and looked for Dogen's brain... and I was shocked to find it underneath the floorboards of the shack and in the jar! I then grabbed the jar and the brain and rushed back to Raz, me then handing him the brain and me looking at Dogen.
"Okay, how the hell do we get this thing back in Dogen's head without hurting him?" he asked, me then thinking... before I then remembered something.
"Wait a tick... I have an idea! Get that brain out of the jar, quick," I said, him then opening the lid, me then using a specific power I'd been practicing since last year... and after doing so, the brain vanished and Dogen then gasped. Why? I'd just teleported the brain back into his head!
"Whoa! What the? Where am I?... The last thing I saw was a crazy doctor in a creepy tower... and he was being mean to an old woman," he said, me looking at him with seriousness.
"That doctor took your brain out of your head, and we managed to find it hidden under the floorboards of the boat shack. But... what was it doing there of all places?" I asked as I then sensed a bit more... and I managed to sense that there were other brains that had already been taken, those being the ones belonging to Kitty and Frankie! And where were their brains? Of all the places, they were trapped in the parking lot! Kitty's was hidden atop the main gate and Frankie's was underneath Milla's car!
"This is much different than what my visions said... when I saw the future before our arrival, the brains of the campers would all be isolated to the island out on the lake, where the mad doctor is... okay, new mission, Dogen. Until further notice, you are to hide out in Ford's underground base. In the meantime, I'm going to get some assistance for getting the brains of Kitty and Frankie, as they're currently brainless and their brains are at the parking lot," I said, him nodding and giving me a salute.
"Okay, I'll get going right away," he said as he then hopped into the stump and Raz looked at me in seriousness.
"Were you serious about that? About the brains all being on the island in the middle of the lake?" Raz asked, me nodding.
"Yes, which is why I'm so confused about this current situation... why are the brains being hidden elsewhere other than on the island?" I asked aloud as we then went to Cruller, showed him our boater's license, and we proceeded to use our psychic powers to ride the boat out to Milla's docks, where we Bobby, Benny, Crystal, Clem, and Lili were there. And as for Lili, she was simply sitting down and focusing, me going to her and speaking.
"Lili, we need your help with something very urgent," I said, her looking at me in confusion.
"Oh, hi. Listen, I made you something, but-" she was about to say before Raz said it for her.
"Someone is stealing the brains of the campers! We found Dogen walking out of the lake with his brain being under the floorboards of the boating shack! And according to what Rose said, she saw that Kitty and Frankie's brains are in the parking lot. We need help," Raz said, her frowning at that.
"If you're going to lie, try to be more convincing," she said, me groaning and then simply showing her what we saw in the past five minutes. Every bit of it, which made her gasp when the shared memories ended. "Holy crap... you weren't lying... did you happen to have a nightmare about a freaky doctor with a shower cap, a filthy lab coat, and a metal arm with a clawed hand?" she asked, me nodding at that.
"Yes, we saw something exactly like that in the brain tumbler experiment! We already got Dogen's brain back in his head, but we need you to find Kitty's and Frankie's and meet up with us after Milla's class so I can put them back in," I said, her looking at me in surprise, but then nodding her head.
"Okay, I'll do that. But I want something in return," she said, me nodding.
"What's the payment?" she asked, her motioning me closer... before then kissing me on the lips! I gasped at that as she then did the same thing to Raz, who also looked a bit surprised by the sudden gesture. "Not a word to anyone about this, okay? And that goes for you too, miss Milla," Lili said with seriousness.
"Oh, don't worry darling, I saw nothing. I'm too focused on the levitation party," Milla smiled back at her.
"Meet back with me at the boat shack after the dance party. I'll bring the brains, Frankie, and Kitty there for when you finish up," she said, me nodding at her as she then boated away, and we then went to Milla with seriousness.
"Did you happen to overhear any of that, Milla?" I asked, her smirking as she levitated in place.
"I already said, darlings, I'm focused on the party. Do tell, what were you talking of?" she asked.
"Someone stole Dogen's, Kitty's, and Frankie's brains," I said, her then opening her eyes after and looking at me.
"Are you being serious?" she asked, me nodding.
"Yes, we are. We also know that the cause is an insane doctor on the island out in the lake," I said, her frowning as she looked at me and frowned.
"I can see you're truthful... but that island is dangerous, darlings. It's an abandoned asylum, which is off limits to the kids. Why would they be going there of all places?" Milla asked.
"Kidnapping is the only logical thing I can think of... but enough about that, because we're going to protect the kids with help from Ford. We need you to teach us levitation ASAP," I said, her nodding.
"Okay, come on in and join the party," she said as we then went into her psycho portal and we soon found ourselves in the mental minx's party-filled mind, where we looked around and I smiled at the very funky decor and music.
"Agent Vodello? Where are you?" Raz asked as I looked at the screen and smirked at how she was dancing on the screen.
"I'm on TV, darlings! Where I was always meant to be! I mean look at me, I deserve this, loves! If you can join me at the party grounds, you'll get your badge. For now, here's a learner's permit. Use it to get to the party so we can party till we're purple," she smiled.
"I think Benny might find that offensive," I smirked, her giggling at me as we saw Crystal nearby on a levitation ball and she proceeded to ride it over the ground and over the first gap.
"So how do we do this, Raz?" I asked him.
"Maybe you turn into the ball?" he asked, me frowning at that.
"Maybe, so long as you give me a back rub when we're done at camp," I said, him frowning as he then focused and he got the ball on his own, me then doing the same... only I was able to levitate without use of the ball! I was literally flying in the air!
"Oh, you're a natural, darling!" Milla smirked at me as I then flew over to the next area while Raz rolled on his levitation ball over to the next part, where we then went through the rings, collecting the cobwebs and figments in the process... though given that this area was FILLED with neon lights, I had to end up using what I called Night Vision mode in order to sniff out the figments from the place. And using it in neon meant the figments were much easier to find. Sure, it was harder to soak in the beauty, but I'd rather get the figments than focus on partying... but then, I heard the voice I'd wanted to hear when we got to the first party platform.
"Rose? Is that you?!" I heard none other than GLORIA say! And she was right next to the very well-hidden magic lamp figment, me then smirking at her.
"Gloria! I can't believe it!" I smirked as I ran over, grabbed her, and hugged her tightly while spinning in the air. Mainly because I thought I'd never see her again!
"Oh, darling! I didn't know that madame Gloria was related to you! Had I known that, I would've given her consciousness to you the moment we met," Milla said, me smirking at her.
"It's fine, Milla. Just let me have her join my mind before we leave and Rose and I will be forever grateful," Raz smirked.
"Only if one of you can beat the race in less than 3 minutes. But hold off on that until you get there," she said, me smirking at that. Easy peasy. I simply looked at Gloria and she led me to the figments, which we got together and then went upwards after Raz got the rings hit, where we got the figments on the way, including the area in the back room, which Milla retorted at quickly.
"Where are you going, darlings? The party's the other way," Milla said, me smiling at her.
"I'm showing her some of the hidden figments... don't worry, we're not opening the chest," Gloria said, me nodding at that.
"I'll hold you to that, darlings... it's a party killer in there," Milla said, me looking at the tv and sighing.
"Milla... I know it may not seem like it, but I know how you feel, and I know what's in that chest," I said, her looking at me in surprise as I saw her hammering her fingers together. "Let's just say, I've seen death and destruction with over half of the visions I see... I've even seen my own death that was planned as a cruel prank by some bitches in high school. But I never let it get me down. I use those negative outcomes to help people become better. And in your case, you used the pain to become one of the greatest Psychonauts in the world... and I know that they wouldn't want you to wallow in despair and fear at what happened. They'd want you to do what you're doing now. Keep working to make the world a better place."
And when I finished, Milla smiled as I saw a couple tears in her face... and then, the chest then opened as I saw the children emerge from it, them being who they were in the vision instead of the scared, screaming kids that were inside. "That was poetry, darling... I know you're right... I guess I just needed someone to tell it to my face," she said, me smiling at that.
"It's what she specializes in, Milla. I should know, she helped me out a ton when we grew up. If not for her, I would've gotten into some tough scrapes when I became a cop," she said, me nodding at that.
"It's still so weird to me that you could have a 32-year-old sister that is so much shorter than you, Gloria, doll," Milla said, me smirking at that.
"I can understand. She got the short end of the stick," Gloria said with a chuckle, me then whacking her upside the head, which caused the kids to giggle at it. "Fine, fine, I deserved that hit for the terrible joke," Gloria smirked as we then went back to the party with the kids from the orphanage joining in, us going to join back up with Raz while getting some more Figments and cobwebs in the process.
"So I'm going to assume that you being teleported to this world made you much more psychic than before, Rosie?" Gloria asked.
"Right on the dot, sis. And I've had 10 years of practice when inside of Raz's head since birth," I smirked as we then went to fly with the levitation balloon... aka, I flew with my head being the balloon when in the fan area. We all then proceeded to climb up the ladder, me still feeling weirded out by the bizarre turning that it did upwards into the next area, it being the pinball party, as I called it. We proceeded to grab the cobwebs and figments while I also grabbed a memory vault that consisted of how Gloria got stuck inside of Milla's head. When Milla had been on a mission with Agent Nein, a villainous psychic attacked her with electricity, which is when Gloria got sucked into her mind from my dimension, her being surprised and scared when that happened, but Milla decided to make her a small area for herself in the mind, that being the orphanage area with the kids when they were happy, which was hidden in one of the closed-off rooms in the first party room... but I did still feel bad for Gloria when I saw it, because she couldn't do a damn thing about it.
"You saw me in that vault, didn't you?" Gloria asked, me nodding. "It was one of the freakiest things ever, but I was grateful that Milla let me take residence in such a nice place in her mind... but I do wish she would let me in control now and then so I could be my own self, y'know?" she asked, Milla sighing at that.
"But you forget, darling, that two minds in one isn't the easiest thing to get used to. I wouldn't want you to accidentally blow our head up if you get in control of our mind and body," Milla said, me smiling at that.
"I understand your concerns, Milla, but I think she should be given a chance, y'know? She's my sister, after all," I smirked.
"Well... okay, then. I'll let her in control during the race," she said, me smirking at that as we then finished the rest of the first part of the party, getting everything with my night vision sight as we then got to the race, which still perplexed me at how we dropped into it from the checkered flag itself. We then got on our levitation powers and went to the starting line aside Clem, Crystal, Benny, and Bobby. Meaning it'd be a race of 7 to get to the end.
"Okay, darlings, let's see how fast you really are! And if Raz, Rose, or Gloria get to the end within 3 minutes, then they'll get Gloria to reunite in Raz's mind. I'll let you in control for this one, darling. Let's see what kinda party race you can make," Milla smiled as Gloria then thought hard and then, the race track changed to be one of the greatest racetracks in history, that being Hyper Spaceway from Crash Nitro Kart! And when Milla saw it, she gawked at it. "Oh baby, this track looks amazing! I'm sure Chloe would LOVE this track... haven't seen her for a bit. Okay, get ready, get set... go, baby, go!" Milla smirked as we then proceeded to rush off the finish line and proceeded to race along the track, grabbing the figments along the way, them being the same amount in game, but it was much easier to grab them than the original. Mainly because they didn't blend into the background nearly as much. And at the end, Raz managed to get first place in 2:38, followed by Gloria, and then me. Bobby actually managed to finish with a time of 2:58, which he looked at us in anger as I then smirked at Milla.
"Hey, Milla? You think Bobby could get a reward as well? He finished in under 3 minutes as well, after all," I said, him looking at me in confusion as Milla then smirked.
"Very noble, darling! Here, Bobby, you get promoted by 10 ranks for beating the 3-minute time limit," Milla said, Bobby being surprised before then doing his celebratory dance, me smirking at that.
"Huh. You're alright, Rose. Never thought you'd do something nice for Bobby of all people," Clem smirked at me.
"Like, totally! I never saw him so happy!" Crystal smirked as we then went to the fan area... and with the night vision addition, we managed to get the rest of the items and reach Milla with absolutely no issue, us then approaching her with smiles.
"Well, darlings, you proved your worth, your smarts, your speed, and your passion for parties. You deserve this merit badge for levitation," she said as she then gave us the badge... as well as me feeling mine and Raz's mind expand a bit, caused by a new person being sent into it.
"Thanks, Milla. I'm forever grateful for this," Gloria smiled as she gave her a hug.
"You're quite welcome, darlings. Now go and get prepared. We wouldn't want any more of those kids to be kidnapped after all," Milla said, me nodding as we then were sent out of her mind and we proceeded over to the boat shack, me feeling Gloria in the mind of Raz and her managing to project her image next to me as well.
"Whoa... so this is how strong you are in terms of psychic stuff, Rose? This is so cool!" Gloria smirked widely as she looked at her hands and then at me.
"Yep. It's like my mind expanded tenfold when I was sent to a world filled with psychics," I smiled back as we then saw Lili in the shack with Kitty, Frankie, and their brains in hand.
"You weren't kidding... how do we do this now?" she asked, me then looking at them and seeing that Kitty's was in the left and Frankie's on the right. I then used my teleport technique to warp Frankie's to her head and the same with Kitty's brain to her own brain. And the duo of girls looked at each other and then at me.
"Oogh... I feel kind of sick... what happened?" Frankie asked in confusion.
"I remember some weird doctor and the urge to sneeze... nothing else after," Kitty groaned.
"That's because a doctor called Loboto stole your brains for some reason. And then, stored your brains in the parking lot of the camp... I need to go finish the Brain Tumbler experiment before nighttime hits. I need to talk to the coach to let him know what's going on," I said, Lili nodding at that.
"I'll keep an eye out for anyone else who's missing their brains," Lili said, me nodding as I sensed around and I sensed that Chops, JT, Maloof, and Mikhail were all missing their brains right now! And as for their locations? The kids were currently in Ford's base of operations and their brains were located all over the camp!
"Four more brains to find, Lili. Chops's and JT's brains are at the kid's cabins, the former being on top of a cliff and the latter being underneath the well. Maloof's brain is hidden in one of the containment units of the GPC and Mikhail's is... um... up there," I said as I pointed to the cliff near the waters, pointing out the jar of green and a brain inside of it.
"What the hell is up with that, though? Your mind says that you saw that the brains would be kept at that creepy asylum out on the water, but they're stuck here on the island... I wonder if someone is helping us?" Gloria asked, me thinking about that before I could only guess one thing.
"Maybe the coach? Don't say anything, any of you, but the coach was formerly on the side of Loboto, but only because he was being controlled somehow," I said, Lili gasping at that.
"That creepy doctor was controlling the coach?! How is that possible?! His mind is second only to yours in terms of defenses!" Lili said in surprise.
"I don't know, but we're going to find out. After we're finished with the final Brain Tumbler test, we're going to find him and go into his mind to try and prevent him from getting controlled in his sleep," I said with seriousness.
"Just know this... one thing I can remember is that, for some reason, before I got to the island, I could hear a lot of growling and I was in complete darkness... I thought I was eaten and that freaked me the hell out," Frankie said, me nodding at that.
"We'll keep an eye out, then. For now, you should go to Ford's sanctuary. Lili, when you find those brains, take them to Ford so he can put them back in the kids' heads," I said, her nodding as we then dispersed immediately. We had to act fast, as I could see that the time was 4 pm, meaning that, where we were at, it'd be dark out in three hours.