Chapter 6
Once we'd gotten our jobs, we then went to Nein's lab, but not before finding the rest of the available items we could get, those being the cards, psi challenge markers, and scavenger hunt items, which only took up 20 minutes total. We then went to Agent Nein's lab, where he spoke to us as we went to the Brain Tumbler.
"We got the levitation badge, now jack us back in, Sasha," I said, him speaking after.
"Sorry, but the interference is sure to attack you again. I can't be sure that it'll be easy for you to go through it again, or if it'll be safe anymore," Sasha said.
"With me on the team, I can help them out," Gloria said, Nein looking at her and then looking at Raz.
"I see you convinced Milla to give Rose's sister to your mind... but sorry, we don't know what might happen when you're in there," Sasha said with concern in his voice.
"And I'm assuming there's another way to find out faster? Because our vision came true and that mad doctor is stealing the campers' brains. If we don't stop him soon, he'll do the same thing to everyone else," I said, Sasha looking at me before then throwing his hands in the air.
"Fine, we don't have any more ideas, so go to the Brain Tumbler and prepare for battle," he said, me nodding as we went into the same place as before, that being Raz's tent part, where we saw the place looked a bit more pleasant, but the creepy tower was still there. And everything else looked more like Gloria's last address before we were sent here, that being atop a very beautiful hill in a pleasant valley. And when we got up to the top of the tower, we saw that, inside, was someone different than Dogen. This time, it was Chloe! And she was actually staying very calm... that is, until Loboto removed her helmet, which she then started to freak out.
"Put the helmet back on, right now, freak! I need to talk to my parents! I JUST managed to contact them and then you kidnap me!" Chloe shouted in anger as Loboto smirked.
"Oh, shushes, now let's extract that big tooth from you," Loboto said, which made Chloe freak out more.
"I don't have any teeth! I don't need food, so I don't need teeth! Let me g-" she was about to finish before he sprinkled her nose with the super sneezing power. "G-...Gaaa... GAAAACHOOO!" she sneezed like she were in a car crash, resulting in her brain flying out of her nose, which made Raz gasp as Loboto smirked.
"See, no issues at all. How do you feel, little one?" he asked Chloe.
"Tee...vee... Plu...to..." she said, me being surprised at how she still had a semblance of who she was despite her mind being out of her head. Loboto then threw the brain away and turned the television on for her, it being a Mickey Mouse and Pluto cartoon, her trying to retort after Loboto threw her brain into the garbage chute.
"Not... right... stop..." she said, me looking at her and seeing that, despite her being brainless, she actually had a second brain that was located right next to her heart, this one being a backup brain, meaning she WAS alien! And then, Loboto opened another door, showing that she planned to do the same thing to someone that I was shocked to see.
"MITSY?!" I shouted in shock when I saw her. The leader of the cheerleader bitches, who was strangely absent when we went here last.
"Who?" Raz asked as we then entered the room and saw that Loboto was now speaking to her, but we couldn't hear anything.
"The leader of the cheerleaders and the one who thought of the prank that would've killed me. Now let's go find Chloe's brain," I said, her then speaking to me as she looked at me with a blank stare.
"Please... save... brain..." she said, me nodding as I held her hand for a brief moment.
"We will, Chloe, we will," I said to her as we then went down the garbage chute, entering the blueprint room and seeing Chloe's brain entering the blueprint as we arrived. And then, the think tank started to attack as we entered the arena!
"I have an idea!" Gloria said as she then went over to the tank, and she turned into something that made me smirk. She turned into a supersized Battlebot called Whiplash, which she used to completely up-end the tank, her then holding it in place for us to attack the underside. And when that was all done, the brain became freed and proceeded to shoot its beam everywhere while we chased after it... before Gloria then stopped it one more time by smashing it with the hammer of another Battlebot called BETA, which shattered the glass and sent us to the next blueprint, which showed something even worse. It was plans for world domination, with two names on the big plan. Doctor Loboto... and Mitsy Skarlowey!
"It can't be! She can't do this! NO!" I shouted before we then were sent back to reality.
"Sasha! We need to talk!" I said as I saw he was going up the stairs.
"Sorry, Rose, but the experiment needs to be put on hold, I have official Psychonaut business to attend to," he said, me then stopping him by simply flying up and halting his progress by going in front of the door.
"I'm SERIOUS! I know who's causing the brains to be stolen! And they plan to rule the world!" I said, him looking at me with seriousness only after I'd said that.
"And who would they be?" he asked.
"Doctor Loboto and Mitsy Skarlowey!" I said, him then gasping at the last person I listed.
"Mitsy Skarlowey?! Are you absolutely sure?! She's one of the best agents in the Psychonauts!" he said, me gasping at that.
"That BITCH is with the Psychonauts?! She was the one who tried to kill me with that prank I keep talking about! And now she's not only a Pyschonaut, but she produced THIS plan with Doctor Loboto to rule the world," I said as I showed him the blueprints for both the think tanks and the ultimate goal of using the stolen brains of Psychadets and Psychonauts to power them for world domination. And when he saw it, he then nodded.
"Then we'll need to contact Milla immediately," Sasha said as he got onto his mind waves and I did the same.
"Milla, this is Agent Nein. Do not go to the Asylum, I repeat, do NOT go to the Asylum! It's a trap!" Nein said, Milla then responding.
"Okay, I was actually about to head there to meet with Agent Skarlowey. Why the sudden change in attitude? I don't think I've heard you this scared before," Milla asked.
"Because Agent Skarlowey is the one stealing the brains! She plans to use them to make tanks powered by psychonaut brains for world domination. If you go there without us or a plan, you'll just get your brains stolen, too," I said, Milla then nodding at me in thought.
"Okay, I'll go meet with Agent Cruller, then. We need to formulate a plan of attack and find out how they keep kidnapping campers. Because I just witnessed Crystal, Clem, and Chloe come out of the lake with no minds to speak of!" Milla said, me then sensing for their minds and finding them in even weirder locations than the others. Chloe's was hidden above the bear cave in the reception area, Crystal's was on top of the main lodge, and Clem's was above the coach's tree base in the kid's cabins. I then shared the locations and Milla then spoke after.
"Keep up that detective sleuthing work and you'll be a Psychonaut before it reaches midnight. But what are you going to do now?" Milla asked.
"I need to get to the Coach and go into his deepest repressed memories. He was being controlled by Loboto to try and assist their evil plot, but if I can get into his mind, I think I can find the source of the mind control and eliminate it before anything nasty happens," I said.
"See, this is why you work the brain and I work the body," Raz said, me nodding at him as we Sasha spoke to us.
"Coach Oleander's living quarters is in the upper levels of the main lodge. You'll need this key to get in there," Sasha said as he handed us the key, it being in the shape of a brain with a bolt being the part to go into the lock. I nodded at this as Raz, myself, and Gloria went up the ladder and went on our way to the main lodge, managing to get there as we saw the sun setting in the background. We then went to the upper level and used the key on the window, us seeing that Oleander had 9 other brains in his possession, and he looked to be concerned on looking at the map of the park. And he didn't notice us come in.
"Come on, where do I hide them from Loboto at? Oh, I never should've agreed to that implant! I can't fall asleep, or I'll get consumed by the Psitanium and the implant!" he said, me then speaking from behind him.
"Soldiers Rose, Raz, and Gloria reporting for duty, Coach Oleander!" I said, him then gasping and trying to blast us, which I blocked by turning into a shield, him looking at me with seriousness.
"This isn't what it looks like, kids," he said, me speaking after he said that and before he could finish.
"I already know what's going on. You were doing the right thing," I said, him shutting up at that. "I really appreciate this, coach. If not for you, the kids might have died from their brains being out of their bodies for so long. Before we get started, I'm going to ask where the kids are."
"They're in the tv lounge watching tv. And their brains are here. But how are you going to get them back in their heads? And where do we hide them?" he asked, me speaking seriously after.
"Piece of cake," I said as I then teleported every single one of the brains to their respective owners, those being Milka, Bobby, Benny, Nils, Phoebe, Vernon, Quentin, Elton, and Elka, me then looking into their minds and seeing each of them were surprised.
"Fellow campers, this is Rose. This is an urgent message to each of you. Your brains were kidnapped by a mad doctor that lives on the creepy island in the middle of the lake. Because we need to keep you safe, each of you will be watched over by one of the teachers until further notice. You'll need to stay at the kids cabins with Milla Vodello, at the main lodge with Coach Oleander, at Agent Nein's lab with Agent Nein, or in Ford Cruller's underground base. When I find the source of the kidnappings and stop it, then you can be safe. So tell me which places you want to stay at," I said, them then speaking after. Nils, Milka, and Elton wanted to stay at Nein's lab, Phoebe, Quentin, and Vernon wanted to stay at the Main Lodge, Bobby, Benny, Dogen, and Chloe (the latter two were currently rebrained in Ford's place) wanted to go to the kids' cabins, and the rest of them minus Lili wanted to go to Ford's place. And where was Lili at? She was outside the main lodge floating in the air, hoping to come in alongside us, me then letting her in and then me giving the message to the four teachers in question. To watch over the kids and make sure none of them got kidnapped.
"Okay, you have officially impressed me, Rose. I didn't expect you to have such control of your mental state to be able to talk to multiple minds at once, use teleportation effortlessly, and be an impressive commander in your own right! But now it's time for your final test in this class," Oleander said as he produced the Psycho Portal on his head and placed it there. You, Lili, Raz, and your new mind friend are going to be going into my darkest repressed memories. Back when I was a kid like you, just learning my psychic powers. Be prepared, the sights you'll see won't be pretty," he said, me nodding at that.
"I'm prepared to do this. Anything to stop that bitch Mitsy from getting what she wants," I said, him nodding at me as he then opened the Psycho Portal and we then were sent into his mind. Not just those in Raz's brain, but also Lili. And when we did, we saw that we were in a place I recognized... though it looked very different at the same time.
"What the hell?" I asked as I looked around, seeing that it looked like a mix of a butcher's shop and a factory for cars.
"I uh... didn't know the coach had a thing for cars," Raz said, me frowning at that. I remembered one thing about someone I knew who was into cars and car factories... in fact, it was where something horrible happened to him.
"I don't think this is just the coach's mind in here, guys..." I said. And my fears were made true when I saw that Little Olie was chasing his pet bunny and with a worker at the factory following after him.
"Come on, catch the bunny, quick!" Olie said as I then picked the bunny up gently with telekinesis, which Olie then grabbed with a sigh. As for the worker of the factory? I recognized him instantly.
"Thanks, love... but to be honest, I never thought I'd see you again, let alone in this hole," the man said, me smirking at him. It was my dad, through and through!
"Daddy... I'm so relieved to see you're okay!" I smirked at him as I then gave him a hug, him smirking at me.
"We have to save the bunnies before my dad finds them, quick," Olie said, me nodding at that as we proceeded through the factory of meat and cars, collecting the cobwebs, figments, and grabbing bunnies, us managing to save and collect at least 10 rabbits before we then found the main area. The butcher area. And when we went inside, we saw the big bad butcher, who I saw was coated in armor on his body, save for his head. And he looked more like a mix of metal and man than a real man!
"Peh, you brought some meat, did ya?" he asked, Olie shivering in fear as I spoke.
"The only meat that's here is your head!" I shouted, that making the big bastard growl at me.
"You're an insolent kid! I'm gonna turn ya into sausage links for breakfast!" he shouted as I then handed the bunnies to Olie, Lili, and my dad.
"You guys keep the bunnies safe. We're gonna give this big guy some punishment for hurting innocent rabbits," I said, them nodding as I then proceeded to use levitation to rush up and around the meathead, him trying to slash at me with his giant cleavers, before getting it stuck in the ground, me then responding by turning into an anvil right above his skull and slamming down with the strength of 30 tons! And when I did so, his body completely imploded, managing to turn the meathead into tons of meat before he then fell into the grinder!... But then, we heard another voice. The voice that ruined my dad's life when he was at the car factory.
"Well, look who we have here," said the voice of the owner of the rival card dealership down the road, that being CEO Bill Cinder, who burned my dad's factory to the ground by placing explosives in the building! He was trapped in a wheelchair ever since that day!
"I could say the same thing to you, Butthead!" I shouted, him growling at that, but even more so when I managed to mess with his appearance, so he actually did look like he had a butt for a face, which made Lili laugh her head off.
"You're that girl that tried to stop me! Well, I still managed to cripple your old man! And I still got away with it! You know why? BECAUSE I'M RICH, BABY!" he laughed like a maniac as I then simply frowned at him.
"Not in here, you're not! You're nothing but a bad memory, a figment of my dad's imagination. Your money is worthless in this world," I said, him looking at me with a smile and him laughing... before my dad smiled and imagined him in a different way. As a dirty bum who looked completely helpless.
"I forget how powerful a Psychic's mind can be... thanks, Rosetta... these two have been messing with our mind ever since that creepy doctor and that stupid cheerleader placed that transmitter in Olie's skull. But now that you've beaten them, it's effectively destroyed. Hey, coach? Permission to be joined in my daughter's mind with my family?" he asked, me smirking at that.
"Are you sure, mister Mark? Four brains in one head sounds like a bit much, don't you think?" Olie asked, but then Lili spoke up.
"I have another idea... listen, so long as I give you and Zeke shared control of my body, I can handle it. I'm just as strong willed as the coach and my mind is also very defensive," Lili said, me smirking at that.
"You're a trooper, Lili. That's a bit of lingo I used in the air force," I smiled, Olie looking at me in confusion.
"Is that true, though? How could you be in the air force at such a short height?" he asked.
"Well... the year in my world before I was sent here was 2022. Our army is much more accepting of people, no matter their height, color, weight, even gender. I joined the air force, not as a pilot, but as a drone operator, which I used to silently look at possible war activity before then recording conversations to get intel on the bad guys," I said, him smirking at that.
"You've made me very happy, miss... thanks again," Olie said as I then felt our bodies leave his mind and I also saw that Lili then spoke after, me seeing that it was someone else in the driver's seat.
"So can I have a turn for a bit, then?" Really?" Zeke asked, Lili speaking from the mind.
"Yes, you can. We'll switch it in thirds. I'll be in control during the morning, Rose's dad for 12 noon and afternoon, and you during the evening and later. But three is going to be my limit, Raz, okay?" Lili said, me smirking at that.
"Understood, I wasn't going to ask you to do that, I was just surprised at how you're willing to share your body with my family members," I admitted.
"Consider it my payment for helping everyone out. But we still need to find a way over the lake and to the asylum," Lili said, me nodding at her.
"And when we do get there, we're going to need to make sure that, when we go there, if we need to, we'll need to have one team go into the brains of anyone using this-" I said as I showed off the Psycho Portal that Ford gave me. "-And the other team will be the lookout for anything nasty. The last thing we need is for our bodies to be interrupted if we're venturing into peoples' minds," I said, the coach nodding at that.
"I know of the way to the Asylum, but you won't like it, or what I have to say," Oleander said, us looking at him with seriousness. "Back when I was still fully mind-controlled, which was before you even arrived at camp, Loboto forced me to capture one of the Lungfish from the lake, mutate it, and implant a mind-controlling device in its brain. You'll need to find the beast and go into its head to find the source of the mind control and defeat it. Be wary, though, because Loboto will know when you stop the mind control. He'll also know that I'm not on his side anymore. And be careful of Mitsy. She's one of the strongest Psychonauts, and also queen bitch. She'll probably try to do something very nasty to you if she realizes that you're on the island," he said, me nodding at that.
"We'll be careful, just keep watch over the kids, coach. We'll let you know when the monster is defeated and broken from its mind control. When that happens, you can give the kids a little more freedom, but keep watch over them at all times," I said, him nodding at me.
"Move out, soldiers!" he said as he gave the salute and I did it right back, which made Zeke smirk on Lili's face.
"Let's go get the catch of the day," Zeke said, me frowning at that.
"Bad joke, cousin. It wasn't even that funny," I frowned.
"Lili's laughing at it like crazy, though. She may seem to be mean and hard to impress, but she really is an easy audience with jokes," he smirked, me then looking into the mind and seeing that Lili was actually laughing, me smiling at that.
"Well, he's not wrong," Gloria giggled.