Chapter 3: Lead

Yeah I had writer's block all day, now I'm gonna start with something my sister noticed (she's played it 2 or 3 times) that really needs to be explained. Actually, there are two things, but I can't put in the second thing until Raz sees Lili again. Which happens early, so whatever.

And I keep getting mail about how Lili wouldn't call Raz a loser, dork, or dorkface. I think she would. I revised it a little though, and took out one of the times she says "dork." I switched it to "Raz."

Raz was about to take his key out of his pocket when he realized something. He ran back to Milla's room, jumping just before he got to her door to stop himself.

Of course, it was a burst-into-the-room-and-blurt-out-whatever-you-want-to-say kind of entrance.

"Sasha! Didn't you say you knew who was behind the kidnapping?"

"Yes, I did. Unfortunately, by the time we'd gotten to HQ, the traces had been proven false. Whoever did this, they're very intelligent."

"Oh… Okay. Sorry, guys." He left, feeling fairly embarrassed. A couple Psychonauts, who appeared to have come from the same area where his room was, passed him, giving him weird looks.

The next morning, or maybe that night, (he couldn't tell because he didn't even have a window) Lili was hammering at his door (they made the doors really strong, to resist the TK hands that some Psicadets accidentally used) and yelling, "GET UP, RAZ! THEY HAVE A LEAD! WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND MY DAD!"

He didn't know what time it was (he hadn't been supplied with a clock of any kind) but he was extremely tired. It even took him a minute to realize that, if it was actually morning, it would be Sunday. The circus workers slept in on Sunday.

"RAZ, YOU DORKFACE! GET THE HECK UP!"

"What time is it!"

Oh, come on, Raz, it's already four!

Only two hours before I usually get up passed through his mind, but he didn't care. He got dressed sluggishly, then went to the door.

"Raz! Finally! Come on! They think they might know who has my dad!"

She darted into his room and searched… for something…

"It's too early to hear your voice."

"Shut up, Raz. You're starting to sound like Sasha."

"It's too early for this."

She found whatever she'd been looking for, something… dark… fabric-ish…

"No, it's way too late. Now come on!" She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him out of his room. If he had been awake then, his eyes probably would have bugged out. As it was, he was one tiny step closer to being awake.

Too late? It's too early to think. How can she say it's too late?

"Because they should've figured it out yesterday."

"Unh… How do you keep reading my thoughts? Oleander couldn't even do that."

"Dude. I've kissed you. Twice. I know all the little twists, turns, and loops in your mind. Duh."

"Oh."

"Come on!"

He now had to run to keep up with her, and given that he wasn't a morning person, especially at 4 AM, it wasn't a fun experience. Colors and shading kind of… blurred, and even when they got to where Sasha and Milla were standing, he didn't even register that Milla was there for a minute (she was wearing he uniform) and he only saw Sasha because his glasses were shiny and his skin was a pale shade of green.

"We're here, Raz. You can stop running now."

"Oh, uh, I knew that!"

"Right. Come on, LET'S GO!"

He was slightly awake when they left, enough so that he realized that coffee might not taste bitter and disgusting at 4 AM when you'd been woken up to Lili's voice. Heck, adults (especially Sasha) drank it all the time. Until this morning, he hadn't realized why it might ever seem appealing.

"Uh, Raz, the jet is right here. It might be time to get your levi-ball out and go back to the top opening."

Fortunately for Sasha and Milla, there was a lot of Psitanium as an actual part of the jet. It, like Milla's bracelet and earrings, held telekinesis for a long, long time. In basic terms, the jet was thrown from one place to another. Except that these were Psychic experts powering the jet, so that it stayed at the same altitude.

Raz couldn't think for about five minutes. When he could think, it registered as a clear thought, not a constant urge, that he wanted to go to sleep.

"Well, too bad. We're finding my dad, and soon we'll be… well, relatively near the place we're going. But it's gonna be soon!

"Ugh. Would you stop reading my mind?"

"Sorry. My mind is way faster than it usually is. My mind is bored, if that makes any sense."

"My mind is slush."

"No it isn't. It's sludge. Sludge moves faster than slush, because slush is more liquid than sludge."

"Thank you, darling, but we don't need to know the difference. The jet's going to be landing soon." Milla hadn't been in that room a minute ago, and now she was. It took a minute for Raz to realize that. That's how tired he was. One night, he'd been up until morning, then last night he'd been woken up at four. He had to start getting some sleep.

"WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!"

"Lili, darling, shush! You don't want them to hear you, do you? Now, everyone, remember to guard. Have your shields ready, and your invisibility. Be ready for anything. I'll be lookout, since I can levitate best, Sasha's good at mental focusing, so he'll be targeting anything that moves, and you and Razputin will…?"

"We generalize. Heck, I'm not even supposed to be here. I wouldn't count on Raz doing much of anything, though. He still isn't awake."

"Oh, dear. Well, uh… I suppose a couple of minutes won't change much. They've held him for two days already, a couple minutes to force some coffee into him won't change Truman's experience."

"Hey, Sasha! You cot any more cans of espresso up there?"

"He always does, darling. They're in the glove compartment."

"'Kay! Thanks, Milla!"

Raz, of course, had not heard any of the conversation between Lili and Milla, as he had already fallen asleep.

Hey sorry if you like coffee, it's way too bitter for me. I just realized, at the beginning of the game, Oleander thought Raz's name starts with a "D." The original main character was called "Dart." I wonder if it's a coincidence…

Anyway, thanx 4 the suggestions! Hope I get more soon, and I really hope I get good ideas for names. I couldn't even come up with a decent name for Lili's roommate.

And don't expect an update tomorrow because a) it's a school day, and b) I'm gonna be revising chap. 2. By the way, it's called "Zig" because I suck at chapter titles, and that was the best name I could think of.