A/N: Here comes another bigger chapter. Looks like Frazie's starting the next morning off with a bang :P Another day, another adventure.
Another thanks to SandrC and DiLithiumDragon for helping out!
Over the river and through the woods, to Sasha Nein's lab she went.
The secret hatch was just as she'd left it. She'd lowered the trapdoor enough to obscure it, but not enough to lock it back up. So after a quick ascent up to the highest dome, all she had to do was crack it open and hop on down.
To her relief, Sasha either slept here or made checking into his lab a part of his morning routine. He was standing over his console again - seriously, what was so interesting about that thing? - sipping slowly at a mug of fresh coffee.
"Ah, good morning," he greeted once he noticed Frazie's footsteps tapping down the stairs. "You're here early."
"It was urgent." She reached the bottom and leaned over his machine, the man cocking a brow the moment she dared touch his precious thingamajig. "I think Milka and Elton might be in danger!"
Casually, he reached out to nudge her off his technology. "We've been over this already, Ms. Aquato. I'll have you know, Oleander called in to let us know he's handling it. He's out searching for them as we speak."
As he chugged another mouthful of joe, Frazie crossed her arms. "Cruller thinks they're in trouble, too."
Pfffbt! Sasha suddenly spat out his sip, sputtering a bit as he wiped his lips. "Hck, guh... you, you spoke with Ford? The real Ford?"
She nodded. While Sasha was shocked anyone else had found out about his true self, he composed himself rather quickly and set his mug aside. "Be that as it may... I'll tell you exactly what I told him. The situation is under control. Milka and Elton's brainwaves are still accounted for, and Coach is closing in on them. Frankly, it's disappointing to see how little faith he puts in Coach's ability. He's as valuable a member of the team as Milla and I. He'll be back with the children sooner or later."
Frazie groaned a bit in frustration. He wasn't budging. Ford definitely hadn't been lying. Nothing short of a direct order would move them, and Ford had no reason to give one until they knew for certain what was up.
Fine. There was something else she was here to talk to him about, anyway. "Alright, alright, forget it! Change of subject. I dreamt about the two of them getting their brains stolen last night, and Lili had the exact same dream. Now what does that mean?"
Sasha let out a curious hum, stroking his chin. "That is rather curious. Typically, a shared dream has some sort of psychic correlation. Either a mental link, an implanted mental structure, or a broadcasted brainwave. I don't know what it means... but I know how we can find out."
He paced to his giant machine again, Frazie following behind. "How?"
"With the Brain Tumbler." He patted the not-hair dryer affectionately, flipping a few switches. "It seems you can help me with my experiment after all. It's a device that sends a person deep into their own psyche, allowing them to cross through the Collective Unconscious and study their own mental faculties."
"Uh huh. Uh huh." Frazie nodded along while he explained. Finally, she raised a hand. "Let's pretend I understood any of that. How will this help, exactly?"
"It can allow us to review your dream," Sasha explained. "And if there's an underlying cause that's making multiple people experience it... we'll figure it out."
That made a bit more sense. Go into her own head, play the memory again, and try and find what it was all about. "So how do we use it?"
Sasha pointed to the front of the machine. "Simply stand there, facing away."
While he made the final preparations, she did as instructed, taking her place. "Alright," she murmured, bracing herself for whatever psychic mumbo jumbo was about to happen. "But if I come out of this thing with a new hairdo, I'm gonna be upset."
Sasha slapped a hand over his face. Not even dignifying her with a response, he flipped the switch, the machine starting to power on behind her.
The Tumbler whirred to life, spinning, glowing. At first, Frazie felt a sort of sucking sensation behind her, a light pressure that tugged at her scalp. Soon, though, it was almost like an invisible force was pulling her mind from her body, drawing her even further beyond where a Psy Portal would lead her.
Seizing up, teeth grit, Frazie's consciousness slipped away, and though her body stayed still, her mind fell backwards into nothingness.
Now entering:
The Collective Unconscious
The darkness didn't last long. A second later, it was like someone had flipped a switch and completely filled the void with light. And it was all really, really... blue.
Frazie landed on some sort of outer rim, the entire circle lined with all kinds of doors. Some open, some closed, all leading places she couldn't even imagine. "Is this really my mind?" she wondered aloud. "Blue isn't even my favorite color."
"That's because it isn't your mind," Sasha's voice replied in her head, making her jump. "As I said... this is the Collective Unconscious, the astral plane where all of mankind's unconscious minds are linked together. This is only a tiny fragment of it, but you should be seeing representations of all the minds in the general vicinity. Campers, us counselors, and anyone else nearby."
Frazie's gaze swept over the doors. So all these were someone in or around the camp? Curious, she walked over and tried one of the closed ones, grunting as she pulled hard. It didn't budge an inch.
"You're still a beginner, so many of your mental connections haven't developed yet," Sasha quipped. Well, that would've been nice to know a second ago.
Leaving the door alone, she stood on the edge of the circle, calling up towards wherever Sasha's voice was coming from. "Alright... so if this isn't my mind, then where is it?"
"One of these doors should be yours," he explained. "All you have to do is find it."
Find it. Simple enough. Frazie started pacing around, cracking open any unlocked doors she saw. One opened into the familiar cartoony vibrancy of Dogen's mind, and she promptly shut it again before anything had the chance to blow up in her face. The next revealed a land of heat and sound, and Frazie was relieved to see Phoebe's mind still in good condition. After that, she popped her head into the next one long enough to see Clem's safety bubble was still gradually reclaiming the land around it.
There was only one door left. But was it really hers? It sure didn't look like it.
This one was constructed of thick metal planks, her own hair accentuating the top of the frame and tall towers jutting out around the rest of it. A couple torches lit the frame, their flames not producing any heat. At a glance, it looked... gloomy. And she was anything but that.
Still, she had nowhere else to go. So, taking a deep breath, she stepped up to it and headed inside.
At least the first room looked more like she'd expected. Another void, with the Aquato circus wagon in the center of it all. It filled her with a profound sense of fondness mixed with worry - a joy to see something familiar again, and yet she couldn't help but fear that her family would jump out of it at any moment.
"What can you see, Frazie?" Sasha questioned in her head, pulling her from her thoughts.
"It's my family caravan," she answered, approaching it. No spontaneous angry, betrayed Aquato ambushes, thankfully. She ran her fingers over one of its wheels, the wood feeling exactly how she remembered it. "It's where I've spent my whole life. Annnnd it's currently on its way across the state to come kick my butt."
"The carriage is hostile?"
"What? No, I didn't mean this one, I meant the real one, with my family and... never mind." She left the wheel, glancing up at the dilapidated door set into its side. "I'm going in."
Cautiously, she reached up to crack open her second door in a row. Static crackled on the inside, and knowing from Dogen it was likely harmless, she stepped through it. Her body tingled as she passed through the waves, and on the other side...
...Was a lengthy row of steel bars.
"What the?" Her path halted, Frazie tried to back up, but the path had already been replaced by a dismal brick wall. "What?!"
"Frazie!" Sasha spoke up, sounding concerned. "What happened?"
"I'm in jail?!"
"Pardon?" She could hear Sasha hum with thought. "...You don't happen to have a criminal history, do you?"
Frazie wished he could see the death glare she was shooting at him right now. "No! What the heck is going on?"
She could practically feel Sasha shrugging on the other end. "Not a clue. The mind is a complex, fascinating thing. Sometimes it sends you to wonderlands you could only dream of. Other times, it puts you in a cage."
"Har, har." Frazie placed her hands on the cell door, trying to shake it loose without any luck. "Well, what does it mean? How am I going to review the dream from here?"
"I can't answer that first bit - you'd have a better chance of figuring it out than I. But if you want to find what you saw, you're going to need to get out of there. I suggest looking around."
Real genius plan, Mr. Nein. With little other choice, Frazie did just that, scouring the walls with her hands in search of anything out of place. Not a thing. She was well and truly stuck in an empty block. Frustrated, she sat down to think, arms and legs crossed and her brow furrowed. Trapped in her own mind, even if it didn't feel like it belonged to her. What was a girl to do?
Wait for help, apparently. Her head tilted back up, noticing something outside her cell. The instant she stopped being alone, she was aware of it. Her visitor stood out brightly, stark white fur contrasting heavily with all the doom and gloom outside her container.
It was a rabbit, yet clearly not at the same time. Its proportions were all wrong. "Huh?" Frazie got up on her knees and crawled towards it, steadying herself against the bars. "What are you doing here, little guy?"
That's when she noticed it had a set of keys in its mouth.
Her eyes snapped to them. Every part of her wanted to yell for it to bring her the keyring, but she didn't want to startle it away. "Heeeeeey!" she said quietly, doing a poor job curbing her eagerness. "I could really, really use those. I'll be your best friend forever if you share," she pleaded, extending her hands through the bars.
The critter looked up at her fondly, tilting its head. It seemed to like her.
...But it didn't like her that much. After a moment, it spat the keys out on the floor and bounded away, stopping and looking back at her expectantly.
"Grrr...!" The bunny just lost out on a best friend forever. Still, she could make this work. Reaching out with her mind, she gingerly picked the keys up, hovering them over to her hand. "There we go."
"Something the matter, Frazie?" Sasha checked in as she freed herself.
"There's a rude little rabbit in here," she explained as she stepped out, shooting the creature a look. The critter just looked back at her innocently, wiggling its tail, still hoping she'd follow it.
Pocketing the keys just in case, Frazie looked up when Sasha hummed again. "Curious. An unfamiliar animal entity is often a sign of a primal fear or memory. I suggest you follow it... it could lead somewhere important."
Like the tower she'd seen. With a sigh, Frazie begrudgingly forgave the bunny for its egregious sin. "Fine. Lead the way, BFF."
Squeeing, the rabbit hopped off, and Frazie walked after it. The area outside her cell wasn't any cheerier than the inside. She was surrounded by dreary walls, covered in water droplets and moss, lit only by the glow of dim torches. A dark sky hung over where the ceiling should've been, but she had no chance of reaching it. The walls were so high, she couldn't get up even with Levitation.
It was like she'd been whisked to the bleakest castle in existence. Or at least its dungeon.
As unsettling as it was, it was at least consistent. Consistency quickly flew out the window, though, when she came across chunks of meat lying all over the place. Huge slabs resting along the sides, flanks and filets hanging from the walls by hook. Now it wasn't just unnerving, it was weird. "You're sure this is my brain, Sasha?"
"Positive."
She clearly needed a therapist, in that case. Trying not to dwell on what this all could represent, she focused on following her guide. It was somewhat comforting, watching his cheery white form hopping along a place that'd otherwise be entirely constricting.
They walked in silence. More cells lined the walls, but they were all bare. Her gaze shifting back and forth, she wondered how long she'd have to follow her new friend.
After a time, something strange popped up on the path. A bright beam of light shone down, and the bunny passed through it undeterred. Unable to go around it, Frazie followed after, humming with thought. Did this place really need two different light sources? Even if she appreciated something a bit more effective.
Bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
The instant her foot touched the glowing ring, an alarm blared. Her head whipped around, unable to see where it was coming from - it was like it was surrounding her, roaring from every direction. Her gaze rose to the sky again... and she gasped aloud.
There were a couple gargantuan watch towers on each side of the path, towering over the walls. They gleamed down at her, their lights travelling to focus entirely on Frazie. And their design stood out in a way that shook Frazie to her core. They looked a lot like...
The pounding of footsteps stole her attention. On both sides of her, dozens and dozens of censors poured out of nowhere, stampeding down the hall with stamps held high. Regrets soared down from above, and Doubts pooled around her feet.
She was surrounded.
"Uhhhh... Sasha?!" Frazie called, panicked.
"Frazie, what's wrong?"
"Get me out of here, now!"
He didn't need to be told twice. One second, the army of goons was inches from beating her to a pulp. The next, she felt herself being jerked away up into the sky, both sides colliding into nothing as she escaped back to reality.
Frazie bent over, falling to her knees on the lab floor, sucking in breath after breath. In an instant, Sasha was by her side, clutching her shoulders. "Frazie! Frazie, what happened?"
Once she'd recovered from her near-death experience, she shook her head. "Baddies were everywhere! I tripped some kind of alarm. There were watchtowers, and they..."
"They..." Both towers had a dual set of lights, looking a bit like glowing eyes. One tower, bearded, a thin crack over one of its beacons. The other, sporting curly eyelashes and a voluminously wide nest of hair. Both of them glaring down at her. "They looked sort of like... my parents."
That gave Sasha pause. He let her go, offering her a hand up as he pondered. "Tell me... do you have a troubling relationship with your family?"
Frazie took it, thinking carefully about how to respond. "Well, we've got our problems. Everyone does. And they're the reason it took me so long to get started with psychic training. But I definitely don't hate them!" She crossed a hand over her heart, as if the very idea hurt her. "I love them. My entire family is precious to me! So why are they...?"
Sasha tapped his chin. "A potential representation of them stifling your psychic growth, perhaps? Of course, like I said, the mind is complex. It could mean any number of things. Possibly even more than one."
"I guess..." It made sense, but what it meant didn't matter. Everything she'd seen had been troubling, and she really didn't want to think about it any more at the moment. But there was one more thing she was wondering about in particular. "There was also a lot of... meat?"
Sasha looked at her strangely, but simply paced back to his computer. "I was picking up some psychic interference, but I can't pinpoint from where yet. An unusual element you can't trace to yourself is typically a sign of brainwaves overlapping."
"So you're saying, like... my mind was mixed with someone else's?"
"Precisely."
Frazie shivered at the thought. Who had she been paired with? Lili? No, that couldn't be it. And did that mean the prison aspect wasn't hers, either? She really hoped so, but if that wasn't hers... then what part of her brain was?
Frazie figured it'd be better for her sanity to suppress that line of thought for now. More importantly... the mission was a failure. "I couldn't keep following the rabbit..."
"That's quite alright." Sasha rested his hands on his console, likely typing in notes and data to assist with his little experiment. "If it truly wanted you to follow it, it's likely still waiting for you. We can send you back in once you've worked on your training a little. I can think of a few tricks that'd help you make it past that particular obstacle."
"And you're going to teach me them now?"
"In time, Frazie. In time." Reclaiming his mug, he sipped his drink. "There's no need to rush science. We can revisit it later today and see if we make progress."
"Uggggh." You could definitely rush science when her stay here was on a time limit and lives were possibly on the line. But regardless, this whole excursion had been a bust. She still had no idea where the dream came from or how valid it was, and all she'd learned was that something in her head was very, very wrong.
It was time to shelve the Tumbler for now. If she was lucky, maybe Lili had figured out where Maloof was while she was gone.
At least she had something else she could work on. She headed for the stairs, ready to go find her. "Alright, I'll come back later." As she climbed, though, a thought came to her. "Hey, Sasha?"
"Yes, Frazie?"
"Can you do me a favor? At least try to reach out to Coach?"
His typing stopped briefly. "If that will put you at ease." To her relief, he pressed a finger to his head. At least he was willing to do that.
"Thanks." Satisfied, she ran up the rest of the stairs. It was time to reconvene with her friend.
After she'd left, Sasha reached out, honing in on Coach's distant mind. "It's been awhile, Oleander. Status report?"
In his mind, a response blared back. "Working on it!"
"It's been a day, Oleander. Surely picking up a couple children shouldn't be this difficult?"
"Ah... it isn't, normally, but theeeey're... in a cave system! Wandering this maze has been one big headache."
"Hmm." A suitable enough excuse. "Would you like one of us to come over and assist, then?"
Coach's reply was sharp and instant. "No! No, no, no. If I can navigate the trenches, I can handle these tunnels! Just... errrr... it might take me a few more hours. Half a day, at most."
"I see." The kids brainwaves were still doing fine. They must've found some sort of sustenance, and he had no reason to distrust his coworker. Still... if things took too long, it might be best if he or Milla headed over to lend a mental hand anyway. He'd bring it up with her later.
Frazie didn't have to go far to find Lili. After exiting the GPC's barbed wire corral, she spotted her friend standing at the crossroads across the river, looking frantically in all directions.
The instant she spotted Frazie, she shouted out to her. "Frazie!" The two met in the middle, and Frazie could see the girl huffing and puffing up close.
"You ran here?" Frazie noted, crouching a bit to look at her. "Did you find Maloof?"
Lili sucked in one last deep breath."I didn't just find Maloof!" she exclaimed, gesturing off towards the lake. "I was down at the beach when I spotted him and Mikhail up on the bridge leading back to the cabins. I was about to chase after them, but then I saw... I saw...!"
"You saw?"
Lili shook her head sharply, her pigtails bouncing with each movement. "You need to see it for yourself."
"I do?"
"You do!" Lili snagged Frazie's hand and pulled, grunting. Frazie let her tug her along, hopelessly confused. "I moved them to the Lodge!"
"Them?" Frazie wondered what she could've meant... and then it clicked.
Them.
"I brought them here after I found them."
In a small side room attached to the dining hall, a cozy little television room was arranged. A big set sat in the corner, with a bunch of beanbag chairs and other seats scattered around so all the kids could gather up for a movie night.
At the front of the comfy pile, Milka and Elton sat, attention locked firmly on the screen.
At a glance, you'd just think the two kids were a young couple enjoying some cartoons together... except for the part where they were drooling all over themselves and staring off into space. Frazie dropped down, giving Elton's shoulder a shake. "Hey! Cabin boy! Anyone home?"
"Haaaackey saaaaack."
His head lolled lazily to the side, and Frazie felt her stomach twist. Now it was certain... it hadn't just been a dream, it was a recording. Their brains really had been blown out.
Even Lili seemed a bit off-put as she drummed her fingers together and explained. "Right before I ran after Maloof, I heard something splash behind me. I turned and these two were just... walking out of the lake together! They wouldn't respond no matter what I did. Not even when I gave Elton an Indian Burn!"
Frazie winced. Yeah. If that didn't provoke a reaction, they were 100% brainless. For a moment the two girls sat in silence, thinking, while the two zombies reclined and flapped their lips soundlessly. Finally, Lili spoke. "So what do we do now?"
"Now?" Frazie stood up again, reaching down to tip a leaning Milka back into place. "Now, we need to get to Maloof and get to the bottom of this ASAP!"
"Yeah!" Pumped up, Lili waved for Frazie to follow, and she did just that. "To the cabins! Let's get him!"
"Non-violently, of course?" Frazie clarified as they jogged out of the building.
"Riiiiight. Right, right."
The rope bridge clattered and shook as they charged across it. At the far end, a couple girls were standing guard.
One of them lifted a hand. "Stop right there! They need to pay the Psitanium tax, don't they, Franke?"
"We don't have time for this!" Frazie snapped right back. Giving them no mind, she reached the far side of the bridge and leapt high, soaring overhead and twisting down behind the kids.
Lili? Lili just plowed through them.
"Ow!" The redhead shook a fist at her as they ran past. "Don't you ever lay a hand on Kitty again!"
"I've always wanted an excuse to do that," Lili muttered under her breath.
With nothing else to stop them, the duo made it back to the sleeping area. It was mostly empty, all the other campers having spread out around the rest of Whispering Rock. But if they listened closely, they could make out quiet chatter and thudding noises coming from the boy's cabin.
Lili and Frazie looked at each other, sharing a nod. Without a word, they stepped up to it and cracked open the door.
Inside, Maloof and his accomplice were at work. Maloof pointed out a bed at the upper half of one of the bunks, and his friend nodded. He extended a hand, encompassing it in an energetic glow, and grunted. Frazie's eyes shot open when the bed straight up cracked and ripped away from its sibling, the bunks split apart as the upper one was placed gently on the floor.
Frazie had just enough time to spot a notecard marked 'Bobby' labeling it before Maloof picked it off and tore it in half. Normally she'd be more than okay with someone sticking it to the bully, but it seemed a bit over the top when the older kid started ripping its headboard off, all while Maloof sat back and observed.
"Whaaaat are you two doing?" Lili asked, drawing their attention.
The two boys spared them a glance, then promptly went back to work. "We're making a desk for my new office," Maloof answered off-handedly.
"Are you supposed to be stealing people's beds?" Frazie added.
"Are you supposed to be in the boy's cabin?" he shot right back. "Do you have a point?"
Frazie didn't appreciate the attitude... but she wasn't here to bicker, she was here for information. So, she shook her head. "Not really. But I do have a question."
"Maloof not have time for interrogation," the older boy answered for him in a thick Russian accent.
"No, no, let's see what they have to say," Maloof interrupted with a hint of intrigue.
Lili looked up at Frazie, knowing she was the one that'd wanted this. Nodding, the older girl stepped forward, addressing him. "I know you saw something happen to Milka and Elton at the lake yesterday. Care to share?"
"Hmmmm." The young boy eyed the ceiling, lost in thought. "Could I share? Yes, I very well could. But will I? No."
"...What?" Thrown off, Frazie spoke again. "Why not? Those two could be in danger!"
"That's no concern of mine, now is it?" Maloof scoffed, ignoring her to focus on the construction of his new furniture. "The kids at this camp are cruel. If a couple of them have an accident... that's the grown-ups problem, not mine."
"This is serious! There could be lives at stake."
Maloof rolled his eyes, but finally looked her way again. "Very well. If it's that important, I suppose you'd be willing to part with a hundred thousand Psitanium arrowheads for it?"
Frazie's jaw dropped at the insane amount. "I don't have that kind of money!" She leaned down to whisper to Lili. "Those count as money, right?"
Maloof immediately lost interest in her. "Then I suggest you head outside and start digging around."
Why the heck was every kid at this camp trying to shake people down?! Bunch of little thugs. Well, Frazie wasn't going to stand for this highway robbery.
"You know I'm older than you, right?" Frazie pointed out, cracking her knuckles. "And not a bad psychic, either. What if I just gave you a telekinetic wedgie until you spilled the beans?"
So much for non-violently. But to her credit, she'd said that before the boy put everyone at risk by keeping critical information to himself. And to his credit, he didn't so much as flinch at her threat. He answered calmly and coldly.
"Then I suppose you'd have to speak with my associate first. Mikhail?"
"On it, boss."
His assistant looked up from the former bed to turn to Frazie. She just crossed her arms, unimpressed... for about five seconds. When the boy lifted his fingers to his temple, she let out an 'oof' as a surprisingly powerful telekinetic grip squeezed down on her.
Mikhail yanked her up as easily as if she were a little doll. She twisted as easily as one, too. Lili gaped in horror as the boy jerked Frazie's limbs in wild directions, curving her backwards into a circle and looping her own arms together. Frazie cried out as her body cracked a few times and hissed in pain, teeth grit, unable to do a thing in his grasp. It was incredibly lucky that she was flexible as heck, or this would hurt five times worse than it already did.
"HEY! Let her go, right now!" Lili ran over to wail on Mikhail's chest, but he didn't even flinch. He just gave her a brief enough look to let her know if she kept it up, she'd be joining her friend.
Maloof didn't seem in any hurry to listen to Lili's complaints. But finally, he shrugged. "Very well. Mikhail, drop her. I believe she's learned her lesson."
"As you wish." Frazie was flooded with sheer relief as she felt her body loosen up. It only lasted a second, though, because next thing she knew, she was being flung out of the cabin.
"GAH!" She landed in a heap, moaning painfully. She'd already been plenty sore from getting twisted around without the sudden impact making it worse. Lili ran out to her, kneeling by her side, while the two boys watched from the cabin door.
"Let that be a lesson to you," Maloof called. "When both parties are psychic, the playing field's even."
"Will be happy to teach more if you return," Mikhail tacked on. "Will show Telekiliminator next. Much, much worse."
Just the thought of something worse than that made Frazie break out into a cold sweat. While Lili worked to get her back on her feet, the other kids slammed the door shut. A loud thump rang out from the cabin, and by the time she'd finally sat up properly, Frazie could see they'd levitated an entire bunk in front of the door.
Rubbing her aching arms, Frazie groaned. "That could've gone way, way better..."
Lili patted her back sympathetically, making her wince as she touched a knot. "For what it's worth, you were pretty kickass back there, Frazie." She pursed her lips. "Up until the point he made you a pretzel, anyway."
"Thanks. Now my dignity hurts only slightly less than my spine."
Frazie had felt bad for the kid before. Now... he was kinda a jerk. And that was putting it mildly. Climbing back to her feet and cracking her back, she stared at the hut in deep thought. How were they going to get to him?
She sure as heck wasn't going to dig up the entire camp looking for Psitanium. That request was completely ridiculous, even if she wasn't on a strict time frame. No... they needed to think outside the box.
And Frazie had an idea. "Well, if he's not going to share what we need to know... I guess we'll just have to take it instead."
"That didn't go so well, like, five minutes ago," Lili pointed out.
"Well, this time..." Frazie pulled out her Psy Portal, giving it a flip. "It's gonna be an inside job."
Lili's eyes lit up with devilish delight. "I love the way you think. But how are we going to get it on him?" she asked, pointing out the barricade.
"Goooood question. There's gotta be a way..." They'd have to figure it out themselves, though. Crouching low to keep hidden, Frazie motioned for Lili to follow, and the two crept around the cabin exterior.
It didn't take long for Frazie to notice the windows were a great opportunity. They were composed criss-crossing meshs of metal that formed a sturdy fence, but lacked any sort of glass. if she squeezed, she could wedge her Psy Portal riiiight through one of the holes. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered to Lili.
"Oooooh yeah."
Letting her mind take the little door from her hand, Frazie peeked through the window, waiting for the right moment. The boys were hard at work trying to turn the ripped-off frame into table legs, oblivious to the girls still lingering around.
Frazie only had one shot. If they caught her... she didn't even want to think about what the Telekiliminator was like. So, concentrating as much as she possibly could, she levitated the door through the grate, waited, and...
Fwip! She tossed it at the back of Maloof's head, praying with all she had that it'd work. The boy barely seemed to notice as it latched onto him and flipped open, spilling light.
Jackpot! Frazie offered Lili a quick high five, and the girl gladly took it. "You with me?" she whispered, gesturing to the door with her eyes.
Beaming with glee, Lili bobbed her head. "Yes! This is so exciting!"
Exciting... and dangerous. Frazie had a hunch Maloof wouldn't give up the info without a fight.
But without Mikhail in the picture, they at least stood a fighting chance. The girls focused together, honing in on the open portal, minds grasping out to latch onto it through the wall.
One by one, their consciousnesses floated up out of their bodies. Seamlessly seeping through the holes in the windows, their energies swirled around each other as they dived together into the depths of Maloof's mind.
Now entering:
Maloof's Mafia Metropolis
What the heck is up with Frazie's mind? What dangers lie in store in Maloof's mentality? And what on earth is Coach doing? ...Wait, we know that last one. But there's still many mysteries afoot, starting with the first brand new mental world of the day! Second, if you count the fresh twist on the Brain Tumbler Experiment.
