A/N: WARNING: The next few chapters will deal with depression and suicidal impulses along with mental representations of the former because, ya know, Clem and Crystal exist. I tried to handle it as tastefully as I could, but if these are touchy topics for you, feel free to tap out for a little bit. I promise you'll be able to keep up.

And since this warning kinda gives away the next world, I hope you're all ready to look into the campers who arguably need it most...

Also, since these next couple chapters will be tricky and I'm trying to piece together the rest of the day's events as well, I could really use a beta reader if anyone feels like it. Just someone to bounce ideas off of, at least!


Water. Murky water as far as the eye could see.

Taking a side bridge from the main lodge led out to Lake Oblongata, the hugest death trap Frazie had ever laid eyes on. The lake was absolutely massive, though thankfully only a small chunk was cordoned off for the campers to use. That little section was still too much for Frazie, though. Every little slosh of the waves tickling the shore sent another chill down her spine as she stood alongside all the other campers on the beach.

Frazie was no longer surprised to see Ford somehow waiting on the pier, having teleported from the kitchen and changed into a life jacket and bucket hat in the blink of an eye. "Alright, young'ns, gather round!" he called. "I'll be your instructor for th' next hour or so. Some nasty lake bugger's been tearing holes in my canoes left and right, but we still got a few good ones left. Pick a partner or two and line up - but don't let me catch you on my pier without a life jacket, ya hear me?!"

The few kids still without floatation devices promptly leapt to attention and scattered. Chatter sprang up as children started picking out teammates. Benny waved to Bobby from his side, but the alpha bully roughly shoved him away and tried to chat up a girl in an astronaut's helmet instead. Phoebe and Quentin were inseparable, of course, and it was a relief to see the girl recovered well enough to take to the lake with her bandmate.

And Lili had her eyes set on Frazie. "You and me?" she asked, life jacket around her neck and eagerness in her voice.

Frazie tried to hide it, but it was clear the idea was less than appealing. Not because of Lili, of course. Out there surrounded by phantom limbs reaching for her throat? No thanks.

She sucked in a breath through her teeth, trying to figure out the best way to turn her down. She really did want to spend time with Lili... but somewhere safer, preferably. "I dunno. I really want to, but..."

But nothing. Lili grabbed for her hand, trying to pull her across the sand. "Come on, let's boat together! I feel kinda bad since you taught me a little acrobatics and I didn't get to teach you pyrokinesis... but maybe I can show you how to handle a canoe instead?"

Frazie didn't budge, staying still while Lili kept tugging and grunting. "No, no, I appreciate the offer, buuuut I think I'll stay right here."

"Don't be scared, it's fun! You don't even have to use an oar..." Lili let her go and pointed both fingers towards her head. "We move the boats with our minds."

The younger girl looked up at her, pleading, and Frazie didn't have the heart to turn her down. Yet, she had to. "Listen..." she said, looking down at her. "I can't."

"What, can't swim? That's what the floaties are for."

"Something a biiiiit more than that." She bit her lip, finding it impossible to be anything but honest about her bizarre situation. "Wooooould you believe my entire family's got a fortune teller's curse on it that'll drown us if we touch the water? Swearsies."

Lili's mouth quirked downwards. Eyes narrowing, she shifted her weight and crossed her arms. "If you don't wanna hang out, you can just say so."

Uh oh. That was the exact opposite of what Frazie'd wanted to insinuate. "No, no!" she protested bluntly. "I want to, I just can't! You don't gotta believe me about the curse, just..." Frazie looked around, and then pointed straight down. "Look. I'm gonna sit right here and watch you. Alright? Won't budge an inch."

Lili took her time to mull it over, enough to make Frazie sweat, but finally, the girl relented. "Alright. But you gotta teach me another trick later today! Promise?"

Relieved, Frazie offered the girl her pinkie. "Promise."

A bit cheerier, Lili took it and shook. "Remember, not an inch!" she reminded her before leaving her behind to race for the dock. Frazie plopped down right where she stood, intending to keep her promise as she watched Ford help Lili and an abandoned Benny into a canoe. The boy flinched and swallowed nervously when she shook a fist at him - clearly she wasn't going to take any of the bully's usual shtick.

Not her ideal choice of partner, and Frazie was sorry for that, but it could've been worse. As Lili claimed the front of the boat and pushed them off land with her mind, Frazie bid her farewell.

Lili turned back and waved at her from the canoe once they were far out, and Frazie waved back. It was nice being able to just sit down and relax after running around all day. Sitting here, supporting from the sidelines, reminded her of all the times she'd cheered her siblings on while their parents taught them new techniques.

Trying not to dwell on her family too much, Frazie rested her palms on the sand. With a relaxed sigh, she leaned back and stretched her legs. Shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun, she peered down the shore to pass the time.

Far in the distance, she noticed she wasn't the only landlubber around. It seemed those two cheery campers weren't canoeing, either. For some reason they were hefting huge rocks and carrying them towards the water. Oh, well. Kids doing kid stuff.

...Wait a sec. Frazie leaned in, squinting. On closer inspection, it looked like the rocks were leashed tightly around their ankles with jump ropes. So they were tying themselves to boulders and heading to the lake to...

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

There wasn't any time to think. Frazie launched off the sand and dashed down the beach, kicking up grains behind her. She was an incredible sprinter, but there wasn't a second to spare.

The shore was split in half, a wide expanse of dangerous liquid blocking her from the campers. Some tiny rocks poked their heads from the water alongside some logs and dirt patches, but the path was still perilous. Her hydrophobia was screaming like mad, but if there was any chance at saving them... she had to take the risk.

"Hup!" She leapt as far out as she could, trying not to focus on the water below her as she landed with one hand atop a stray boulder. 'Don't look down' was the acrobat's mantra when starting out, but she'd always expected it to apply to open air, not sea.

Shoving off the boulder, she next landed on a thin branch on her tiptoes. Thankful it was secure, she crept hastily along, leaping to another rock next. While she hustled, she kept her eyes on the cheerers, seeing the kids growing ever closer to their end.

And all the while, the Hand of Golochio watched from the sidelines, just waiting for Frazie to slip up.

Ignoring it as best she could, she leapt again, skipping a platform. She had to be quicker. Taking a deep breath, she doubled her speed, flipping end over end as she switched between landing on hands and feet. Each little push off sand, off rock, made her a little faster. Unstable, but faster. By the time she touched down on the final stump on one foot, the campers were at the edge.

They were in the water. Her time was up. Desperate now, Frazie reached out, extending her psychic reach as far as she could. She was so close... just a little more... one... more... push...

To her relief, the boulders jiggled. The gasped as their loads started to rise up telekinetically. "Hey!"

Not giving herself a chance to relax, Frazie gripped them tightly in her mind's eye. The campers tried to yank them back down their minds, but even two to one, Frazie's telekinesis overpowered theirs. Finally, pelting her siblings with pinecones was paying off in dividends. She hopped down on their part of the shore, trying to float the rocks over to her end. "What are you two thinking?!"

"What are you thinking?" the boy fired right back, clearly an expert at rebuttals. "Cut it out! You're getting in the way of Crystal and I's project!"

"Yeah!" his partner agreed with a glare. "When we're done with this, Clem and I will be more powerful than you could ever imagine."

"Are you insane?!" Frazie spat, jerking the boulder back towards her when they managed to steal an inch.

"We're the only sane ones here!" Clem grunted. "No one's even noticed us trying to do this all day! Drinking poison up on the speakers, then jumping off the roof when it didn't do anything!"

"Yeah! All it did was give us upset tummies and bruises!" Crystal backed him up.

"But this time... it was foolproof."

"Until you showed up!"

The roof... the speakers... Frazie's mind drifted back to all the times she'd seen them that day even amidst their struggle. She'd thought it weird they were always high up and out of the way, but she'd had no idea what they were up to. She mentally slapped herself. If she'd just paid a little more attention...

No. No time for guilt trips. She couldn't have known, but she did now. So now? She had to do what she could.

With her mind straining, she tried to pour her sympathy into her voice. "But you guys are so cheery! Literally!" she tried desperately to appeal to them through grit teeth.

"Who cares! It's not like anyone even likes them. Or us!"

"And they'll pay for it. They'll all pay!"

"I liked them!" Frazie claimed.

The three of them paused their tug-of-war to stare at each other. "...Alright," Frazie admitted shamefully, "I liked your energy at least!"

Annoyed, the kids tugged with even more force, slowly forcing the rocks back to their side. Frazie wasn't reaching them - she wasn't a therapist, for Pete's sake. What could she do? She couldn't just dive into their heads and try to talk sense into them.

Wait a second. Yes, yes she could.

But there was two of them. If she jumped into one's mind, the other would take full advantage of the opportunity. No, she had to try something new.

Slowly, she snuck towards them while they battled with their minds. Steady. Steeeeady. She couldn't risk alarming them. While they tugged with all their might, eyes shut with focus, she got up close while they thought they were winning the fight.

Before they could realize what she'd done, she slapped her Psy Portal right on Clem's forehead.

"Huh?" He dropped his telekinesis and looked up just in time for the door to pop open and the trance to overtake him.

"You leave Clem alone!" Crystal shouted, but before she could do anything, Frazie grabbed her and turned her towards her friend.

"What are you..." She gasped as Frazie directed her psyche towards her, not Clem. It latched onto her mind and pulled, yanking her own consciousness along for the ride up and into the air.

Keeping Crystal hostage for her own good, she pulled them both head-first into the light.

Now entering:

Clem's Happy Happy Happy Happy Place


"Oof!" Frazie and Crystal hit the ground together, the teen losing her grip on her. Quickly, she pushed up off the ground, ready to act if need be.

The first thing Frazie noticed about their new location: They were surrounded by censors.

"Ah!" She immediately stood straight, whipping back and forth, making it clear she was ready for a fight.

But... none of them were attacking her?

It wasn't like they hadn't noticed her. They each glanced over, some lounging on lawn chairs and towels, some kicking their feet in a pool, but after a moment they just shrugged it off and went back to relaxing.

And boy, was this place relaxing. The grass was golden, the sky was yellow, and everything just radiated positivity and comfort. Censors basked in the sun, and off in the distance, a giant statue of Clem and Crystal kept watch over it all hand in hand.

"This place does not look how I expected," Frazie thought aloud, turning to take it all in. And then her eyes fell on Crystal, the kid glaring defiantly up at her.

"You can't stop us!" she claimed, whipping out a small capsule with one end gripped in each hand.

"Just watch me!" Like taking candy from someone half her age, Frazie whipped her arm out and snatched the container away.

"Hey!"

With the situation finally contained, Frazie held the pellet up to her eyes. "What even is this thing?" she murmured, tugging at it. With a pop, it split open, spilling an absolutely horrid cloud of stench right up her nostrils.

A few awkward seconds later, Frazie once more landed back in the mind while Crystal rolled her eyes. "Alright, you're definitely not getting this back," Frazie muttered, pocketing it.

Crystal's head whipped around, seeking a back-up plan. And there it was. Clem was here lounging as well, right under the statue, kicking back with some headphones on. Crystal immediately ran for him while Frazie chased behind, the girl shaking her friend wildly when she got to him. "Clem! Clem!"

Slowly peeking an eye open, Clem popped awake. The boy sat up when he saw who'd arrived. "Crystal?" he said, pulling one of his earpieces off. "What are you doing here?"

"This crazy lady kidnapped me!" Crystal explained, gesturing wildly at Frazie.

"Really?" Clem just shrugged, popping his earpiece back on and laying back down. "Well there's no better place to end up! Come on, relaaaaax. Make yourself at home!"

"...Clem?" Crystal shook him again, but he was staying put this time. "Clem, wake up! You need to boot me out of here! The plan, remember?!" She tugged at his headset, but it wouldn't budge an inch.

Things were finally coming up Frazie. "Looks like you're stuck here," she said, kneeling down. "And we're not leaving until I figure out what's going on." Eyes flicking to the side, she leaned her head in towards Clem's, trying to pick up what he had playing. "What's he listening to, anyway...?"

She perked an ear up. She grimaced. She gasped. She jerked her head back, face aghast. Horrible, horrible things. Listening to the tape had been like having poison poured through her ears, dark voices whispering awful insults and threats. How could he relax with that on?!

Standing back up, she motioned for Crystal to stay put. "You stay here, I'm gonna look around. Unless you want to talk?" The girl pouted and sat straight down, turning away from her with a hmph. "Exploring it is."

Leaving her behind, Frazie wandered around. The area was beautiful... but small. A large circle of golden grass and sunshine, but it didn't seem to extend much farther than that. Giving the censors a wide berth just in case, Frazie walked up to the edge of it all.

The sky seemed to slope down as she approached the rim. Not only that, it seemed to fade a bit, growing transparent. Stepping right up to it, Frazie made binoculars with her fingers and peered outside.

It was the exact opposite of what she'd seen so far. It seemed they were in some kind of dome that kept the darkness at bay... and there was a ton of it. Twisted, gnarled branches of pure black coiled and grew over barren gray dirt, the occasional patch of dying grass decorating it. It was a jungle out there, one forged from someone's worst nightmares.

That was scary enough. What was scarier was that if she waited long enough, the shadows seemed to engulf the bubble just a teeny bit more. Centimeter by centimeter, picking away at it.

Frazie shuddered. Somehow she knew if she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she was going to have to go out there, wasn't she?

She glanced back. Clem and Crystal were still back where she'd left them, one chilling, one fuming. They were safe here... but they wouldn't be if she left the mental world before she'd done something.

That was all the motivation she needed to brace herself, press forward, and pass through the bubble out into the gloom.


Hopefully that came out alright. Feel free to toss any feedback! I want to explore these two's traumas and see them better off, but I also don't want to write stuff that'll make people just drop out. I'd like to think if you've gotten this far you can trust I'll make an interesting and satisfying experience.