Chapter Three: New Communications

"Dogen?" Raz uttered, turning to the bluish-green skinned boy in front of him, adorned in his traditional tin foil hat. Razputin took a few steps closer to the boy and looked him over, his smile shining through as he inspected the boy's appearance. "Oh my gosh, it is you! Oh man, it's been forever!"

"R-Raz? I didn't think I'd see you here of all places." Dogen mumbled, his eyes wide in shock before turning to his sister that stood behind the counter of her diner. "After camp, I wasn't sure what happened to you, you guys just took off with Sasha and Milla. H-How did you end up here with my sister?"

"It's a bit of a long story, but it's great to see a friend after four years. What have you been up to?" Raz questioned, staring down at his friend who was still a bit on the short side, only being about an inch taller than his sister. He was wearing a random graphic tee and cargo shorts, which seemed a fitting style for such a small quiet kid, though he wasn't that much younger than Raz.

"He was in normal school up until now. He started his first day as a freshman in the academy today." Sam answered for him, receiving a nod of confirmation from the boy who now seemed to be playing with his fingers out of nervousness.

"Hey, that's cool! That means we'll be seeing each other more now!" Raz exclaimed excitedly, smiling at his old friend as Lili appeared from behind Sam with a random bag of chips that she found in the pantry.

"Hey, I heard Raz screaming, what's going on out h- Dogen? Is that you?" She questioned upon arrival, staring between Dogen and Raz in awe at the revelation of their old friend from camp being right in front of her. "I can't believe it, you made your way into the academy!"

"Y-Yeah, it's been a bit of a challenge, but I finally made my way into the Psychonauts HQ. They required a certain level of education in order to get in, but I made it without any more 'incidents'." The boy revealed, his gaze shifting as he mentioned the many incidents that had been plaguing him since he first discovered his powers. Raz and Lili shot each other a look of fear as they knew exactly what he was referring to.

Despite his harmless and shy exterior, Dogen, like his grandfather Compton Boole, had extraordinary psychic powers which were hard to control, and since Dogen was so young when his powers manifested, he found himself with the habit of… Detonating minds. Luckily the only things that have been victim to this were animals that stressed him out.

"Well that's good, I'm glad to hear you're starting to get that habit of yours under control…" Raz responded, almost relieved to hear that the risk of him being a victim of Dogen's lack of control seemed to have lessened over the years. "So, Sam, you knew Dogen was attending the academy now? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know you guys knew each other." She replied simply with a shrug, passing a small basket of fries across the counter to the goggles wearing boy.

Raz frowned. "I've told you that we were friends."

"Must have slipped my mind." She shrugged.

"How does that-"

"Okay! Anyways, how about you come and eat lunch with us, Dogen? We should catch up, we've all probably got a lot of stories to share." Lili interrupted, smiling at Dogen as she snatched one of Raz's fries and gestured to one of the stools on the opposite end of the counter.

"W-Well, I was gonna ask Sam to make me lunch anyways. The cafeteria food in the Motherlobe makes me feel sick…" Dogen revealed, making his way over to one of the stools and taking a seat. Raz and Lili joined him as Sam sighed and made her way around her kitchen in order to fix her brother something to eat. "So what've the last four years been like for you guys?"

"Well, aside from Raz's family being clinically insane and us being instated as the first class of this academy, not all that much." Lili revealed, watching as Raz side-eyed her when she revealed the information about his circus of a family (Literally).

Dogen turned to Raz with a hint of fear in his expression, almost as if conveying that there was a possibility that he should be cautious of Raz as well. Razputin sighed and held a hand to his forehead wearily as Lili snickered at Dogen's reaction.

"Relax, Dogen. Lili's just teasing, she's only saying that because my family is filled with really powerful psychics. Besides, she's not that much better herself." Raz countered, shooting the girl a challenging smirk before patting his old friend on the shoulder comfortingly.

"You mean one psychopathic psychic with amnesia?" Lili mumbled in response, smirking as Raz opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't come up with a good rebuttal to her statement.

Raz sighed as Sam made her way back over with a plate of fries for her little brother. "...Just quit making fun of my Nona."

"Here, Dogen. Eat up quick, lunch is gonna end in a few minutes here." Sam instructed as she passed him his lunch for the day. Dogen smiled gratefully and began to eat his fries with haste. "So, are you two ready for the new recruits? I heard we're going to be getting interns of our own this year while we're with our mentors."

"Are you serious? Ugh, I do NOT want to have to look after a bunch of amateurs!" Lili groaned, attempting to flop her head onto the counter before he, but was caught by Raz using his telekinesis to catch her head. He patted her on the back understandingly, and she let out a soft, "Thanks, Raz…"

"Yeah, being a teacher for the first time… I don't know how we'll fare, I've only ever had to teach my little sister how to read." Raz commented, beginning to play with the waves in Lili's hair idly as she hummed with approval of his actions. "I mean, most of the first years are around my age, I doubt any of them would see me as an authoritative figure."

"Well, the first years are all from camp this year. Besides, everyone's heard about how powerful you seniors are. I don't think they'd want to cross you." Dogen chimed in, continuing to wolf down his fries after he finished speaking. "Well, excluding Bobby."

"You're kidding." Both Lili and Raz spoke simultaneously, turning to Dogen in shock that he had just mentioned one of the most disliked individuals from their camp days.

"Seriously, hair boy's here? I would've thought he flunked out years ago." Raz said, scowling at the memory of his less than ideal time he spent at odds with the large haired boy. "Seems like everyone who hates me is fated to cross paths with me…"

"Yeah, how do you think that we met?" Lili questioned jokingly, smirking as the realization of her statement set in in the boy's mind. He frowned and slowly turned his head to the snickering redhead beside him.

"I'm not amused, Zanotto." He replied, shaking his head while feigning annoyance. He then turned back to the two members of the Boole family. "And we seriously have no say in the matter, knowing my luck I'd be stuck with that crooked tooth freakazoid."

"It's funny how this Bobby guy is the only person able to get you angry, I'd say that's an admirable asset." Sam joked, earning a high five from Lili as they shared a laugh at Raz's expense. "Besides, it's not guaranteed that you're going to be paired up with him. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't want you two together anyways. I'm pretty sure Sasha and Milla are more than aware of you two's 'feud' with one another." Lili chimed in, playfully punching Raz in his arm before hopping down from her stool as their lunch time was now coming to a close. "Now come on, we've gotta go."

Raz smiled and nodded,"You know what? Maybe you're right. I'm sure it's going to be just fine and I won't have anything to worry about."

"I take it back, this is the single worst day of my entire life." Raz stated, groaning as the person he least wanted to see stood a few feet ahead of him, slouching in Sasha Nein's office chair. The two boys locked eyes with one another, glaring daggers at each other.

"Trust me. I'm not so happy about it either, circus freak." Bobby retorted, crossing his arms angrily as he swiveled idly in his seat. The orange-haired boy definitely looked different, his hair was longer and reached down to his back now, but it was held out of his face with a hairband. The boy was significantly taller as well, now appearing to be around 5'10, and the most notable feature had to be that his teeth were being pulled together by metal braces.

"What are you even doing here, hair boy? I thought you would've dropped out of the psychonauts program by now." Raz questioned, matching Bobby's stance by crossing his arms and scowling at him.

"What? No way, nerd. I'm here to make a name for myself, and just because you've been on a few 'missions' doesn't make you any better than me." Bobby challenged, mocking Raz's battle experience with air quotes as he stood from his chair. The two teens were waiting for Sasha to return with some paperwork for Bobby to fill out, leaving Raz and Bobby alone with each other, or so they thought.

"I hate to break up your dumb little fight, but Ratchet we've got work to do, remember?" Norma spoke up, alerting the two boys to the girl's existence as she began tampering with the brain tumbler per the instruction of Sasha Nein.

"Right, right. Sorry Norma, I'm coming now." The goggle wearing boy replied, shooting Bobby one last dirty look before making his way over to Norma and the brain tumbler. "And it's Raz. What are we doing again?"

"Well if you'd actually paid attention you'd know Agent Nein wants us to test our new trainee. We're to give him a proper psychic analysis and test his skills in the field." Norma replied, as she continued to type away at the little monitor before turning to the boy beside her. "After this assessment in the collective unconscious we're going to go into his mind and just make sure that he's clear of any… Unforeseen trauma. DON'T go poking around and pulling what you did to Agent Forsythe."

"Geez, would you let that go? I've learned my lesson already, that was years ago…" Raz mumbled, the guilt of his past actions rising within him. It was no secret that he had messed around in the head of the "Lesser Head" of the Psychonauts, but he was a reformed boy. Someone who knew better than to mess with someone's mind in order to get what he wanted.

"Whatever you say, Rupert. Now, go grab the little weirdo so we can get this over with and I can go home." Norma instructed, shooing the boy before he begrudgingly made his way back over to his worst enemy.

"Hey, we need you for an assessment. Can you lay down on that table over there so we can get started?" The boy questioned, pulling on his goggles as he requested Bobby's assistance.

"Finally being courteous, circus boy? I like the change of attitude." He antagonized, smirking as Raz frowned and rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to really teach Bobby a lesson, he was sharing a sentiment with Norma for once. He wanted this over and done with. "What's this whole thing about anyways? Haven't I already been assessed?"

"Agent Nein likes to do his own kind of assessments for his interns, and since he's not here to record the results, we're doing it in his stead." Norma informed, strapping Bobby onto the table after he laid down. Raz and Norma then activated the brain tumbler and prepared to enter the collective unconsciousness. "And don't worry, Robby, this probably won't hurt a bit."

"It's Bob- Wait, what?"

The trio was met with an odd pattern of shapes and figures, all with different shades of blue. Beneath their very feet was the massive construct of the average human brain, and all around them were pathways leading to certain doors that would open the minds of those previously traversed by all of them respectively.

"Here is a good place to run the test. We're going to need you to showcase a basic understanding of telekinesis, levitation, and PSI Combat." Norma explained, turning to Bobby who was preoccupied investigating his surroundings. "Hey, moron! Is this your first time here? Quit ogling and let's get this over with!"

"Geez… The heck's her problem?" Bobby grumbled, snapping his attention back to his two "mentors" of the evening.

"I find it best to try not to fight her and just let her have her moment. Besides, once this is over with, we won't have to do anything like this ever again. So get up there and show us you know the basics, Hair boy." Raz urged, directing his attention with his finger towards a few new objects that Norma had just conjured for him to practice with.

"First up, we need you to show us the strength of your telekinesis. Lift up these needlessly simple cubes with varying weights, and try to shoot them at Rocks over there." Norma instructed, pointing out into the distance where a newly teleported Razputin found himself waving at his two "frenemies".

"What the- How the heck did you get over there so fast!? You were just next to me!" Bobby exclaimed in confusion, staring at the goggles wearing teen enviously. He knew that Raz had gotten better with his techniques, but to have learned teleportation was a big feat in itself. That skill required a lot of mental focus, and he was doing it as nonchalantly as Ford Cruller himself.

"I'm ready when you are, Tin-Teeth!" Raz teased, hoping to get some feistiness out of the boy, which he was successful in. Bobby furrowed his brows in annoyance as he lifted up the first cube with relative ease and hurled it straight towards Raz with all of his might. Raz decided to taunt the brace-faced teen by yawning and dispersing the cube with a quick PSI-Blast, shattering it with ease. "Oh come on, you can do better than that. Really put some force behind it this time!"

Bobby growled in anger before picking up the next cube, this one being slightly heavier than the previous one, but he could still handle it with little effort. He placed two fingers to his temple, really putting some focus into this next throw as he shot the next cube towards his antagonizer. "Take this, Circus Freak!"

Raz waited for the perfect moment and quickly swatted it away with his own telekinesis. Bobby was surprised to find that his power was just overwhelmed like that and grew even more enraged. Someone younger than him had surpassed him on levels unimaginable and he wasn't a fan.

"Come on, Hair Boy! Put your back into it!" Raz taunted, fueling Bobby's ever-present hatred for the boy. He watched as the long haired boy struggled to lift the third and final cube, his mind was straining but he was more determined than ever to really hit Raz as hard as he could.

Raz watched as Bobby winded back the cube in order to put some force in his throw, straining his mind even further as he chucked the cube at him. Raz was impressed, he didn't even know if Bobby could do it, but it appeared that his intimidation and taunts from before had made him capable of such feats.

Unsurprisingly however, Raz was once again unaffected by the attempt at harming him, and actually caught the heavier cube with ease before it disappeared out of thin air, courtesy of Norma getting what she needed documented.

"Huh… Not bad, Bobby. I'm impressed, you were able to put some force behind each throw. Seriously, you did pretty good, most people can hardly lift the second one during their first year!" Raz complimented, suddenly appearing beside the blue-skinned teen and the taller beanie wearing girl behind him with an annoyed expression on her face.

Bobby was taken aback by Raz's compliment; it was odd to receive words of encouragement for the first time, but he'd respond in kind. "U-Uh, thanks. Shouldn't doubt me next time, though. You stopped me this time, but I'll really nail you next time around."

Razputin smiled courteously, "Of course, I wouldn't expect any less. Though I'll be sure to be even more skilled with my psychic prowess."

"Ugh, can you two stop being so nice to each other? It's gross." Norma groaned, rolling her eyes as she waved her hand and conjured a small arena-like platform for the next test. "Hurry up and get on the platform, Larry."

"It's, Bobby."

"Whatever, GO!" She urged, practically shoving the boy onto the platform before it levitated a few yards away from them, leaving him out in the void that was the collective unconscious. Norma then proceeded to shout out to him, "NOW LEVITATE BACK OVER TO US, IF YOU CAN'T CLOSE THE DISTANCE LABS WILL TELEPORT YOU BACK."

"It's RAZ!"

"Whatever!"

'Something has seriously got to be wrong with that girl…' Bobby deadpanned internally, letting out a sigh before taking a few steps back to the edge of the platform in order to get a running start. 'Alright, you can do this Bobby.'

"Come on Poppy-Boy, you can do it." Norma apathetically encouraged, crossing her arms with a judgemental gaze as if mocking his ability to levitate across the void. Raz nudged her roughly with his elbow in order to silence her.

"Cut it out, you know distracting them makes it more likely for failure during this. I'm not looking forward to saving someone because you practically make them fall into the collective unconscious." Raz scolded, lifting his goggles enough to glare at the brunette who simply rolled her eyes in response.

Bobby disregarded the two's conversation and focused purely on his assessment as he broke into a full sprint before leaping from the platform and used all the mental energy he could muster in order to make himself begin to levitate across the gap slowly.

"Hey, there you go- That's the way to do it, Bobby!" Razputin encouraged innocently, watching the boy in excited anticipation as Bobby grew closer and closer to the two.

"Would you shut up, I have to concentrate on this-" Bobby spoke softly as his focus was interrupted and the hold that he had on his levitation was lost, forcing him to begin to plummet right before making it back to Raz and Norma. All parties involved suddenly had the same thought process.

"SHIT!"