AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HERE IT IS!

I started this fic August of last year, VERY shortly after completing Psychonauts 2, and now I am FINALLY starting to post this! As you can see, this is another multichapter fic. Most of it is complete, and I'll be trying to post a new chapter once a week.

As with most of my fics in this fandom, you'll find references to some of my other Psychonauts fics in this one. But you DO NOT have to have read any of my other fics to understand this! This can be read on its own.

Huge thank you to my beta readers, Jaywings, Pinky G. Rocket, and Sailor Spellcheck!

Please enjoy!

"...and so it's, um, still a lot to think about, you know? Since it just happened uh…" Raz paused, flicking his fingers up and down, counting out the digits. "...yesterday? Yesterday."

"Understandable," Morris replied.

Raz shifted in his seat. "On second thought, maybe we should have waited a week or something for this to settle before—"

Morris shuffled his notes, the fwip of paper against paper drowning out Raz. "So, now that you're an official Junior Psychonaut—"

"Hey, you are, t—"

Morris cleared his throat and gave Raz a glance. "Now that you're an official Junior Psychonaut, what are your plans?"

"Well, obviously I'm gonna..." Raz blinked and leaned away from the mic on the back legs of his chair.

Morris leaned forward on his wheelchair and waved Raz forward with one hand. "Yes?"

"Now that we—er, now that I'm officially a Psychonaut... I'm not sure what to do. I haven't exactly been given any missions yet, other than to familiarize myself with the Motherlobe, the quarry, and..." He gestured with raised palms, even though the less than half-a-dozen people listening to the station couldn't see them. "...other stuff. ...Am I really going to be going on missions?"

"You say that like you've never been on one!" Morris said, raising a single eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but this is for real. Really real. Really official. Not as an intern! And without, y'know, messing with—"

Dude, Morris rang out inside Raz's head. Raz darted his eyes to the side; Morris stared back with a grimace, while waving a flat palm beside his throat.

"—um, stuff," Raz finished. "You don't want to mess up as an official Psychonaut! Now that you've got an official job and everything... wow. You know, this sounds a lot more stressful when I put it that way—"

"AND that's all the time we have for today!" Morris called into the mic while pulling it away from Raz. Raz jumped in his chair at the volume of Morris' voice, nearly tipping over. "Thanks for listening to K-L.O.B."

Morris set the mic back down on the table and tweaked a few knobs on the radio. Then, he turned to look at Raz, staring at him with a slightly squinted stare.

"Wow," Queepie commented from the corner. "You're really bad at this."

"My thoughts exactly," Morris said, leaning back in his chair. "Our listeners probably tuned out halfway through."

"Hey, it's just been a lot to think about!" Raz tossed up his hands over his head. "This only happened, what, yesterday?"

"Two days ago."

"Two days?" Raz blinked and looked at his fingers again. I'm not that bad at math, am I?

"Mom says you slept eighteen hours," Queepie added.

"Oh." Raz scratched the back of his head. "I guess that's why I feel so... off."

"Really though, you haven't thought about going on missions?"

"I mean, growing up, yeah."

"...Aren't you like, ten?"

"Yeah, but... I read every True Psychic Tales issue I could get my hands on, and imagined myself going on missions like that... But I'm not so sure those tales are as 'true' as they say anymore." He rested his chin against his hand, then gave a start. "What am I saying?! I know they're not! The issue about Maligula was a bunch of baloney!" Raz found himself pacing around the little treehouse. "They painted Lucy as some kind of... of irredeemable monster, and everyone else as these heroes who never did anything wrong... And they said Helmut was dead!" He paused, rubbing a finger against his chin and glancing aside. "And they misspelled his name with two 't's, come to think of it. Should've been my first clue that something wasn't right."

Turning away from his brother and his fellow intern—er, junior agent—Raz looked through the doorway and out into the quarry, its waters a blinding orange as the sun set over them. "But after spending time with these people, and... going on real missions myself... I know these things aren't always as heroic and fun and cool as they sounded."

Memories of bad mental connections in Hollis's mind, Sasha and Milla dazed with psilirium sickness, and the office construct being overtaken by mountains of teeth and gums and tongues filled his mind.

"They're... messy."

Morris quirked one of his eyebrows. "Man, I should have left the mic on." He shook his head. "Really though, what are you trying to say?"

Finally, Raz turned back. "I'm saying I... don't know what I'll be doing now that I'm a Psychonaut. I have no idea what to expect."

Queepie and Morris exchanged glances. "Well... that's the point, isn't it?" Morris asked with a shrug. "We're secret agents. Every mission's gonna be different."

"Yeah... I guess so."

"Well, one thing that's predictable... is the cafeteria's schedule!" Without warning, Morris zoomed past Raz and out the doorway. "I'm getting dinner. Hold down the fort for me, will you Queepie?"

"Got it!" Queepie pushed his seat over to the radio, which began to blast "Welcome to My Mind" for the eightieth time that day.

Giving the kid a thumbs-up, Morris began hopping his chair down the path out of the treehouse. "You coming, Raz?"

"Oh, yeah! I'll... be right there!" Raz called back, and wrapped his arms around himself. "Maybe, anyway."

"You're not going?" Queepie asked as he bounced around in his seat.

"I dunno. I'm still... thinking about stuff." He turned back to his younger brother. "Do you really think I'll be going on a real mission soon?"

Without stopping his dance, Queepie only shrugged. "How should I know? I dunno anything about your weird job."

"Guess not." Sighing, Raz made his way out of the treehouse. "See you around."

"If you're gonna get food, could you get me a soda?"

"Nah, I think you're good without the sugar."

Leaping off the platform, Raz grabbed a thought bubble and gently floated down to the ground. After a few more acrobatic-slash-psychic stunts, he arrived at the entrance to the Motherlobe. Many agents were casting long shadows across the stone floor as they entered and exited the building, either heading home for the day or arriving for an evening shift. Everything felt at ease; no one gave him a second glance, and he only heard the barest mentions of the events of two days ago other than comments on the updated mural and remarks about the "wild storm." He passed the receptionist, who earlier that day had indicated she hadn't realized anything out of the ordinary had happened.

Was this just... normal?

A ThinkerPrint scan and quick levitation-lift ride later, Raz found himself in the Atrium, still as full of people as it had been earlier, though many of them were heading to the Noodle Bowl. They were just fellow agents going about their day, like he would be, too, now. But in spite of all his exploration, everything was still so... new to him. Not the parts like the Atrium and Nerve Center and other wings—he still felt a thrill run through him as he remembered that he was really here—but there were still parts he hadn't seen, not labeled on the tourist map he'd been given. On top of that, his mind still reeled at the thought that he would be expected to be here every day. And all these people... even though he could pick out the names of agents and workers around him via natural mind-reading, he didn't really know them.

He didn't know what he was doing, either.

Change like this shouldn't have felt so weird, should it? He was a circus performer—he'd been traveling his whole life, seeing new places, new people… but it was always the same shows. Occasionally there were new acts, and occasionally they'd partner with different circuses, but what was expected of him was a constant.

Now it was the complete opposite—he would be in the same place, but his missions might be wildly different each time. But this was what he'd wanted, wasn't it?

So… why was the thought of it making his stomach tie itself in knots?

The doors to Astral Lanes swished open, and a couple stumbled out, leaning against each other as they talked and laughed. Raz watched them go, feeling a tug within him—he was an agent too, just like them. Why couldn't he be that happy? (Well... other than the fact that he wasn't going to be consuming alcohol for another ten years or so at least.) Maybe he should talk to...

A moment later he found himself walking through the long hallway into the bowling alley, hurrying around the shoe rental. "Sash—uh, Agent Nein—"

He skidded to a halt to stop himself from bumping into another agent, who laughed, adjusting his tie. "Wow! I didn't know I looked that tall."

"Ugh, sorry." Raz looked around the bar area, his heart sinking when he saw no sign of Sasha or Milla. "Hey, um, have you seen Agents Nein and Vodello, by any chance?" Remembering something they'd said earlier, his heart raced. "They haven't left for camp yet, have they?!"

The man's brow furrowed. "Uh... man, I dunno, kid. They're probably too busy to sign autographs though—"

"They got called up Truman's office," the bartender called from across the room. "Sounded like something came up."

"Oh no...!" Raz's heart was pounding in his throat as he bolted out of the bowling alley and to the nearest Otto B.O.N., only to growl in frustration when it refused to open. "What now?"

"Apparently there was an issue with the hatches," a nearby janitor said, mopping the floor by Raz's feet and prompting him to move away. "They're shut down for now."

Groaning, Raz hopped onto his levitation ball, barreling toward the Nerve Center to take the long way to Truman's office. His mind raced during a ThinkerPrint scan that felt like it took an age. Had Gristol escaped? Had something gone wrong with the Astralathe? Had something happened to Ford or Nona or—?!

The doors slid open, and Raz barreled through. He had to carefully swerve around workers in the huge room, at one point bouncing over the head of one who nearly walked into him. Several people were abuzz about something, but he didn't have time to stop and listen, instead heading straight up to Truman's office.

Maybe Truman wasn't okay after all, maybe something had happened to him! Was Lili—what the heck was so loud?

Raz stopped just before the stepping stones that led up to the office. Now that he'd been broken out of his thoughts, he could hear what sounded pretty close to a wild animal snarling just around the corner, the voices of Sasha and Truman and a few others barely audible above it.

"Psychic wolverines!" Raz cried. "I knew it!"

After a few hops across the rocks (ignoring the now-friendly watery hand that waved as he passed), Raz dismissed his lev ball and struck a psychic pose atop the stairs. "Don't worry Truman, I—"

Raz faltered.

Standing before him was Sasha, Milla, Oleander, Truman, and Otto, who all stared at him in surprise. And hovering in the midst of them was a figure he was not expecting to see again anytime soon.

Doctor Loboto, held in place by a psychic fist, swiveled his mechanical eyes down to stare at him. "Say, you look familiar."

"Uh."

"Agent Aquato," Sasha said, and Raz stood taller, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Your presence is... unexpected, but at least you've gotten our captive to quiet down."

His smile fell. "Uh, sorry, I just wanted to catch you before..."

"We're a bit preoccupied at the moment, darling," Milla said.

"Yes!" Otto raised his hand and, with it, the psychic fist holding the doctor. "I found this fellow wandering lost through my Otto B.O.N. system. Seems he escaped from the lab when no one was looking."

Raz stiffened, shuffling his feet and looking away. "Oh. Uh... weird how that happened."

"I wouldn't be lost if you told me how to leave!" Loboto grunted, struggling in the fist. "I have to get back to camp!"

"What, did you leave your car keys there?" Oleander remarked with a smirk.

"No, I left the keys to the spare brain tank," Loboto shot back.

Oleander's eyes widened as he broke into a grin. "There's still a spare—?!" Sensing the stares around the room, he took a step back, hands on his hips. "I mean, uh... I'll... have to dismantle that when I get back."

"That man is absolutely not leaving this place!" Truman cried, swiping his hand as he stepped toward Loboto. "He was an accomplice to the man who stole my brain!"

"Yes, it took a while to pry Nick Johnsmith's name out of him," Sasha remarked, and Loboto froze.

"Wait, hold on..." Raz held up a hand. "We got the information we needed from him, right?"

"Maybe so, but Truman is right." Sasha turned his gaze to Loboto, who had gone a shade paler and was muttering faintly to himself. "Even though Gristol Malik has been detained, Loboto could still be a danger to others. We cannot let him leave."

"I have to!" Loboto wailed, kicking out his feet. "My kid's still at camp!"

Sasha, Milla, and Oleander exchanged bewildered glances (or Raz figured Sasha must have looked bewildered behind his goggles), and Raz joined them, looking from Loboto to the counselors a few times. He couldn't help but feel relieved that they were as lost as he was. "So uh, did he really have a...?"

"If he had a kid," Oleander began, eyeing the doctor, "he didn't mention it to me when we were planning—" He faltered. "Uh, when, um, we infiltrated his mind."

"What?" Loboto's eyes darted toward Oleander, his brows furrowed.

"Caligosto," Milla said gently, "none of the children that attended camp last week share the same last name as you. Unless your spouse has a different last name—"

"Spouse?" Loboto's optics pulled back. "I don't have one!"

"Then why would your child—"

"I never said he was one of those kids! Unless you started accepting lungfish at your weird psychic—"

"Linda?!" Raz blurted out. Immediately he started cracking up, bending over as he gripped his sides. "Your kid is Linda?!"

"Who's Linda?!" Loboto snarled.

"The lungfish you experimented on?" Raz raised his head, still giggling, only to realize everyone was staring at him. Quickly he straightened, his giggle turning into a nervous chuckle. "She... uh... told me that was her name."

"Huh." Oleander rubbed a knuckle against his chin. "Didn't know it had a name."

"She, he, Linda, Larry, whatever, I need to get back to her!" Loboto hung his head. "I left her all alone in that cold, cruel lake..."

"Uh... pretty sure she's fine. I sorted out everything in her mental world and she was doing pretty good when I left." Raz turned to the others. "Did you know that her boyfriend's a turtle?"

"...Turtle?" Loboto squeaked, shuddering.

"Well, now that that's settled, it doesn't look like you've got any reason to leave here anytime soon," Otto remarked, tugging Loboto slightly closer. "Like I was saying earlier, if you let me pop out his brain, I could—"

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!"

Everyone flinched back, Truman and Oleander rolling their eyes while Raz covered the sides of his helmet, for all the good it would do.

Sasha let out a tremendous sigh. "Just when I thought we'd gotten past this..."

"Now, now," Otto said, turning Loboto to face him. "If you let me have a peek at your brain it would certainly—"

If it were possible, the doctor began screaming louder, struggling even harder to get away.

Around the pain in his head from the noise, Raz glanced in annoyance between Loboto and Otto. Couldn't he see he was just aggravating—

Raz gave a start. "Wait!"

Mercifully Loboto stopped screaming as everyone turned to Raz once more. The doctor's mechanical eyes darted between Otto and Raz, brows creasing as he looked at the latter.

Initially Raz thought to bring up what he'd seen in Loboto's memory vault several days ago, but faltered. He certainly wouldn't want anyone bringing up his memory vaults out of the blue, so maybe... "Uhh... Agent Nein already used a bunch of devices on his brain the other day," Raz said, looking between Sasha and Otto. "Right?"

"Of course, but there's still plenty more I could do without—"

"Maybe you'd get, um, better results if you gave his brain a break from machines for a while," Raz proposed.

Sasha and Otto exchanged glances. "Well... he's not wrong," Sasha admitted. "It would yield more accurate results if he were given time to rest. I did have to use quite a lot of different devices to uncover what he was hiding."

"...I suppose you're right," Otto said, and Raz couldn't help noticing the way he slumped as he spoke.

Loboto heaved a sigh of relief, his terror quickly replaced by annoyance. "Right, and I'd be able to rest well if you let me get back to—"

"However," Otto went on, "Malik did do a number on him—more than could normally be expected from a non-psychic. I do think that brain would be quite interesting to study in the future, so we can better understand what—"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"No testing!" Truman cried, waving his hands. "Not if it means we'll have to deal with that screaming!" Once the doctor shut up again, he stepped back, a hand to his head. "Ooof, a migraine's the last thing I need right now, after everything else my brain's been through..."

"Not to mention the poor thing's scared enough as it is," Milla said. She took a step closer to Loboto. "What he really needs is a look into his head—"

"AAA—"

Milla gently tapped him on the tip of the nose, shutting him up. "In your mind, darling, no brain-removal or machines involved."

"Oh," Loboto said dully. "I knew that!"

"Who has time for that though?" Oleander asked. "We've got camp again in less than a week, and some of us have some things to wrap up before then."

Sasha nodded. "Yes, I still have Malik to attend to."

"Yes, Sasha, and you'll need help with that," Milla added, though Raz got the feeling that "help" probably involved more of keeping Sasha in-line.

"Ah, astral projection without the use of additional machines isn't quite my forte," Otto admitted. "Besides, I've research to do to figure out how to get Helmut's body out of the ice."

"I've still got things to catch up on, and Hollis will be out for two weeks..." Truman shook his head. "Most of our other senior agents are out on missions right now, too."

Missions...

Raz looked around at the agents in the room, then at Loboto. "Hey," he said, eyes going wide. "I don't have a mission assigned right now! I could work with Doctor Loboto!"

Immediately the adults turned their attention to him, including Loboto, whose eyes swiveled as he looked Raz over. "You'd be a bit short for an assistant."

"Ra—" Sasha caught himself. "Agent Aquato, you must remember that you are a junior agent. It is highly unorthodox for junior agents to perform a mission entirely solo."

"How come?" Raz crossed his arms. "I've done it before."

"That is true, darling," Milla said, turning to Sasha. "He was the one that rescued you and I a few days ago, when we'd been captured."

"And at the Rhombus, too." Oleander rubbed his chin.

"Not to mention all the others he's helped over the past few days." Otto nodded to Raz, smiling. "He's done wonders to help some of our friends."

"Though it has been such a short time after the last... incident." Milla tipped her head toward Raz. "Agent Aquato, are you sure you'd be ready to take on a new mission so soon?"

Before walking into this room, Raz's answer would have been "no"—he hadn't felt ready at all to begin his real life as a Psychonaut. Going on a full-fledged mission seemed like a lot, especially after everything he'd just gone through. But looking Loboto over, he felt an odd sort of... relief.

"Yes," he said, nodding firmly. "I've dealt with this guy before, anyway. What's one more time?"

"You never scheduled an appointment," Loboto grumbled, drumming his claws soundlessly against the psychic fist.

"This is the young man who saved my brain, but... ohh... I don't know about this," Truman muttered. "If Hollis were here, I'm not sure she'd approve. This man is highly dangerous—"

"Hmm, not so much, now. To the non-psychic world, or when collaborating with another dangerous individual, yes, but not to us, while he's alone." Sasha nodded to the doctor. "I managed to break through the hypnotism he received, so his withholding information should no longer be an issue. He's been thoroughly searched and his prosthetic no longer has any trace of sneezing powder components. As well, he has no psychic powers of his own."

Raz almost argued against that, but thought better of it.

"Yeah, so long as you're not surrounded by psilirium, he's no match for a psychic," Oleander said, crossing his arms. "He's no threat to any of us."

"Oh, you didn't seem to think so during our first meeting," Loboto said, grinning down at Oleander. "I can still remember you s—" Another psychic hand muffled him.

"Can it, Cal!" Oleander hissed through grit teeth.

"Very well, that settles it, I suppose." Giving Loboto a wide berth, Truman approached Razputin. "Agent Aquato, for your first mission as a junior agent, I am assigning you to the case of Caligosto Loboto. Your mission is to explore his mind and help uncover anything that would aid in this man's... um..." He cast an uncertain glance back at the doctor. "...recovery."

Muffled, angry sounds came from the doctor, and Oleander finally dismissed the psychic hand he'd called. "Recovery?!" Loboto blurted, eyes flashing. "From what? Listening to you bozos yammer all day?"

"Yes, sir!" Raz said, puffing out his chest, fighting the urge to geek out in front of the Grand Head. "I accept this mission!"

"Good. I'll get some paperwork sorted out for you later."

"Don't forget his dental insurance," Loboto muttered, rolling his optics.

Truman pointedly ignored the doctor. "For now, though, get him out to your office and keep him secured."

Raz paused. "...I have an office?"

"Oh." Truman rubbed his head. "I knew I was forgetting something..."

"He can borrow mine for now," Oleander said, "so long as he keeps that mad doctor out of my things. I've got some business to take care of elsewhere."

"But Morry, don't you think my office would be more comfortable for them?" Milla asked. "Your office is..."

"My office is fine, Vodello." Oleander's voice dropped to a mutter as he went on, "Or so Hollis tells me..."

"Seems to be settled, then," Otto said, finally tugging Loboto away from the rest of the group and heading toward the exit. "We'll take him to Morry's office and go from there."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Loboto whined, optics swiveling as he was carried.

"Great!" Raz practically leaped after him, only to stop and turn back to Truman. "Don't worry, Grand Head Zanotto, I won't let you down!"

Truman smiled back at him. "Good luck, Agent Aquato."

Milla waved to him. "And don't be afraid to call on any of us for help, darling."

"I'll be okay. Good luck with your own missions, fellow agents!" Raz called back, hurrying to catch up with Otto. He'd hovered gracefully over the stepping stones, while Raz hopped from one to the other. Upon touching down on the other side, he jumped in surprise when Oleander landed abruptly next to him, apparently having bounced over the water via levitation—not something Raz had seen him do before. The Coach mumbled something about "fancy offices" before following Otto out of the room, and Raz rushed after them.

Once he was keeping pace with Oleander, Raz turned to him. "I haven't seen your office yet, Coach."

"Don't expect anything fancy like what you saw from Nein and Vodello," Oleander said. "I think Truman and Forsythe like to play favorites."

"I did search for it, though," Raz went on, then looked down, his brow furrowing. "I saw a plaque with your name on it, but I think someone put it up as a joke. Agent Forsythe had it on a list of 'mission-critical assets' for me to obtain, and when I took it down, the door said 'supply closet' underneath!"

The Coach winced. "Oh."

Switching gears, Raz fiddled with his gloves. "So, uh, have you been on a mission like this before?"

"Not in a while, but sure," Oleander said, relaxing at the change of topic. "It's pretty common for when we've apprehended troublemakers." Leaning closer to Raz, he lowered his voice. "All you're doing is pokin' around his mind to make sure he doesn't have any thoughts of hurting anyone or causing harm. If he does, we'll have to keep him longer until we get him straightened out, if not just turn 'im over to the authorities."

Turning his gaze back to Loboto, Raz grimaced. "...Oh." That seemed a bit of a tall order, but... Loboto had had a change of heart, hadn't he?

Glancing around uneasily, Oleander cleared his throat. His voice entered Raz's mind: I've also… had a bit of personal experience from the other side of that, recently.

Wait, when did—oh, right. Raz attempted a grin. Well, you must've done pretty well, since you didn't get arrested!

Hmph.

It didn't take them long to reach the Agent wing of the building past the aquarium. There were a lot of offices here Raz hadn't been to—while exploring the Motherlobe had been a top priority, he wasn't about to barge into random agents' offices... except Milla's and Sasha's. They seemed okay with visits.

They passed the smaller offices, and Raz found himself looking around eagerly, wondering where Oleander's office was and how he'd overlooked it. However, Oleander and Otto were approaching the supply closet door, and Raz's brow furrowed. "What are we stopping here for?" Suddenly he perked up. "Oh, is there something we can grab that'll keep keep Loboto subdued—"

"Oh, no, this is our destination," Otto said, frowning at the door. "I see they've yet to fix that label on it."

"Forsythe's had other things on her plate," Oleander grumbled, looking away. "No time to fix a door, I guess."

"Putting me in a closet for solitary confinement, eh?" Loboto raised a brow. "They've tried that. It doesn't work!"

Raz looked between Loboto and the other adults, raising a finger. "Uh...?"

Either neither of them found anything concerning about that remark, or they'd missed it entirely, as Oleander unlocked the door to the "office" and Otto carried Loboto inside.

Oleander hadn't been kidding when he'd said it was "nothing fancy." While the room wasn't as small as Raz had expected (they make supply closets this big? he wondered), it still felt tiny compared to Milla's comfy office and Sasha's spacious lab. In fact, it was slightly smaller than the office within Sasha's lab. A portion of it was dedicated to a large wooden desk with a rolling chair cranked up to its full height, and a couple other chairs sitting off to the side of that. A large metal cabinet took up another significant chunk of the space, as did a short bookshelf lined with books on mechanics, military tactics, and psychic techniques (Raz recognized a copy of Mindswarm that stuck awkwardly out from the other books), as well as a few out-of-place looking rabbit figurines. The walls were covered in posters for different military branches, and several medals hung above the desk.

No, it wasn't big or fancy, but it was definitely Coach Oleander's office.

It did feel a bit more cramped than Raz would have liked, and the fact that there were no windows did not help. For a moment he wondered if it was too late to take Milla up on her offer to use her office instead, but he didn't want to upset the Coach.

"You're free to interrogate our captive to your heart's content here," Oleander said, waving his hand out. "Just don't let him touch my stuff."

One of Loboto's optics extended toward the medals on the wall. "No need to worry about that. I don't have much need for plastic."

"Don't worry, Morry," Otto said over Oleander's growls. Lifting Loboto with his psychic fist, he gently sat him down on one of the chairs. "I think your craftsmanship looks very convincing."

"Thanks." Oleander looked at Otto askance before facing Raz again. "You know how to keep an enemy restrained, right, soldier?"

"Uhh..." Raz looked at the fist holding Loboto. "I've never done that before. I can pick people up, kinda, but not... restrain them." His stomach gave a sudden twist at the realization that he was unprepared for such a basic part of the mission.

"No need to worry!" Otto said, eyes lighting up in excitement as he fished something out of his pocket. "I grabbed this just in case before carrying this strange fellow out of my lab." He held the object out eagerly.

Raz found himself looking down at what appeared to be a large wad of tightly-wound cables with a red light mounted to the top. Frowning, he looked back up at Otto. "But I thought Sasha said no machines?"

"None that will affect his mind. Here!" He placed the device in Raz's palm. "This is a device I made specifically to use when dealing with non-psychics. There's a switch in it that can only be activated with telekinesis! So hold it out to our friend there, and go ahead and activate it."

"Okay..." Raz held up the device flat in his palm, the light facing him, the other side facing Loboto, who was starting to look slightly unnerved, his optics twitching to look in different directions around the room. "Here goes!" Reaching out with telekinesis, he felt the switch within the device, and activated it. Otto let go of Loboto the second the device sprang out of Raz's hand. Multiple cables rapidly uncoiled and immediately latched onto Loboto, who yelped. The cables effectively tied Loboto to the chair, rendering him immobile, and the red light (now in front of Loboto's chest) turned green with a cheery ding!

It was very hard to maintain a professional air after seeing actual Psychonauts spy-gear at work, and Raz couldn't help but let slip a wowed "cool."

Loboto looked significantly less impressed as he stared down at the device keeping him still. "You know a dental chair would have worked better. They've got restraints and everything."

"There! Works like a charm," Otto said, beaming. "You won't have to worry about maintaining a telekinetic grip on him now, so you can keep your psychic abilities focused on the mission at hand."

"You'll want to work on some better telekinesis later, soldier, but tools like this can help you in a pinch," Oleander remarked. "You ready to begin your mission?"

With a confident grin, Raz nodded to his senior agents. "Yes, absolutely! Thank you Agents Oleander, Mentallis!" He hopped onto the desk chair.

"Call me if you need backup!" Oleander said as he turned to leave. "That guy's craftier than he looks."

"Good luck!" Otto turned to leave as well. "Bring that back when you're done, and be sure to give me some feedback on it as well. I'm still testing it."

"Uh—"

The door shut behind them, leaving Raz and Loboto alone in the office.