A/N: Bear with me on this chapter. It's a doozy, for multiple reasons:

1. It's very experimental - I tried out some things that haven't been seen before and might not be seen again. We're in a world of writing, ideas, and creativity, so why not have fun with it?
2. My sickness came back and slowed me down a bit, on top of leaving me incoherent awhile. Here's hoping it didn't affect the chapter too much.
3. It's freakin' Vernon. I had to juggle writing a character known for boring people without making it too boring itself XD

I'd like to think it came out well, all these in mind, but I'll let you guys decide for yourselves. Either way, it's definitely the most varied chapter yet! So without further ado, let's pay a visit to Whispering Rock's resident Storyteller.

Thanks to DiLithiumDragon, SandrC, and IronTiger26 for looking it over!


The endless flap of a million fluttering papers guided Frazie on her descent through the tome.

Freefalling wasn't a new experience to her. She'd had many shows where she'd taken a nosedive from high above, making the audience gasp in shock and awe... but there was always something to catch her. A trampoline. A trapeze. Her family. Here, soaring through a tunnel of flipping pages and stray words, her skirt billowing and her ponytail trailing behind her, she had no idea where she'd end up.

She at least had enough faith in how these minds worked that she wasn't about to smash face first into the ground. Frazie held her arms close to her sides and took a steadying breath - just in time for the ride to end.

Her velocity slowed. Up ahead, the paper funnel opened up, spitting her out onto solid ground. Frazie flipped and landed on her feet, pausing to see where she'd ended up.

Wherever it was, it had an organized, refreshing air to it. Someone decided to combine nature and civilization together into some sort of lounge where trees and ferns rimmed a long lobby. It was pretty normal on the ground floor, sporting a spread array of seats and tables... but up above, platforms floated of their own agency, carrying even more seating areas underneath a ceiling of criss-crossed beams and glass. Various signs marked the exits, and Frazie read a few: 'Agents', 'Mailroom'... the 'Noodle Bowl'?

Good thing she'd just ate, or she might be tempted to find out how filling a mental dinner could be. Though before she could ponder if one could sustain themselves on literal brain food, a sound above drew her attention.

Looking up, a small parchment unrolled to each side. She might not know where she was, but she at least knew the title of the book now.

True Psychic Tales: A Ver-y Special Edition

She scratched her head. Where had she heard something like that before? ...Oh, right! True Psychic Tales. That was the name of the comic books Raz always snuck around their parents. She'd always thought he was a massive dweeb for it, not to mention reckless. Admittedly, though, she was viewing the Psychonauts a lot differently lately.

Before she could dwell on that thought anymore, however, a voice rang out from one of the alcoves.

"Rouse everyone in the Motherlobe. We have an urgent situation on our hands."

The Motherlobe. Clem and Crystal had said that's where all the Psychonauts stay. Did that mean she'd ended up in Psychonauts HQ?

Or a mental approximation of it, anyway. Frazie would be very concerned if the real one had a big statue of Vernon like this one did. Which, by the by, would make for a great hiding spot while she listened in.

Frazie crept behind the tacky centerpiece while the voices headed her way. A man and a woman stepped into the lobby, garbed in the most over-the-top trench coats she'd ever seen and donning pairs of sunglasses indoors. Hands in pockets, they had the lobby to themselves as they stopped to talk, blissfully unaware of their uninvited guest.

"We've gotten reports of the Environ-mentalist at work in New York... and telekinetic readings off the scales," the woman explained.

"The ecoterrorist?"

"That's the one. He's stolen a device that amplifies his mental reach and power twentyfold. It normally takes immense energy and concentration to move things telekinetically in a complex way, but he's animating golems of trash from landfills across the city by the dozens. Fully autonomous. We don't have much time before he unleashes his army of garbage on the city."

The man slammed a fist into his palm. "He's going to turn mankind's wasteful habits against us. It's as on the nose as it is dangerous."

Frazie tapped her chin as she eavesdropped. Huh... that actually sounded kinda interesting. Was that the kind of stuff that went down in Raz's dorky comic books? ...He can never find out she was intrigued by the concept.

The man was lost in thought a moment, before looking up with determination. "We need to grab our top agent and get out in the field, pronto."

He pointed towards the statue, and Frazie ducked behind it long enough to make sure he was pointing it out instead of her. Would she have to tail these guys? Get a sneak preview of what Psychonauts actually did out on missions, beyond the camp? Deep down, the thought was exciting.

But she'd forgotten just whose mind she was in.

The woman suddenly grabbed her partner by the coat and shook him. "Are you mad?! Think about the fallout from the state if we barged in unannounced! If anyone or anything gets hurt, we'll get sued!"

The man slapped his forehead. "Agh, you're right! We need to take the proper precautions. Fill out the paperwork to cover all possible litigations and blowback. Calls to the local authorities and governor to let them know this is a psychic matter and to not interfere. And we haven't even called a meeting and formulated our battle strategy! What was I thinking?!"

"You weren't!" the woman quipped. "Come on. We need to get to work right away. Get everyone on the paperwork, pronto! The sooner we cover our bases, the sooner we can save the city!"

The two ran off, leaving Frazie absolutely baffled. Bwah? Hadn't they said this situation was urgent? Why were they fussing with the small details and delaying the action? She really hoped this wasn't true to life - but if anyone was going to make a story focus on the boring part, it'd be Vernon.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"GAH!"

Frazie jumped when another worker snuck up on her, this one a less goofily dressed lady sporting regular business wear instead. "Didn't you hear them? We need everyone working so they can start the mission!"

The only thing more ridiculous than the direction this story was headed was being forced into it. Frazie quickly shook her head. "I think there's a misunderstanding here, miss..."

"Yes, there certainly is!" The worker stepped behind her, pushing her towards the far part of the building. "You're off task! Now, let's get you into uniform and back to the offices. It's not Casual Friday yet."

"But-!"

Her protests fell on deaf ears as she was marched deeper into the Motherlobe.


Frazie huffed, tugging at the incredibly tight collar of her suit with a finger. Her family might not have had the opportunity to try out all kinds of clothes, but that didn't mean she couldn't be picky when she was stuck in this asphyxiating death trap.

Now seated inside a cubicle in her new clothes, the employee that'd kidnapped her dropped a fat stack of documents atop her desk. "There you go! You're behind schedule, but if we hurry, we can have our agents legally protected before the villain destroys more than a fourth of New York."

Frazie blankly stared up at her from her office chair. "Or! Better idea here, bear with me..." She clapped her hands together and tilted them her way. "You guys just skip the paperwork, and head out on your mission now. Eh? Let's save all of the city."

The woman stared right back. Then, she burst out laughing. "Hah! Oh, that's a good one. It's like you want us to get sued!""

She turned to leave, and Frazie reached after her. "Wait! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

The worker laughed harder on her way out. "Fill everything out! Sign and date, make sure everything makes sense, come on, this is beginner stuff! You're a riot."

"I..." It was pointless. She wasn't listening. Straight from the circus to a desk job... ugh, she'd skipped a few steps somewhere, hadn't she? And she didn't even want to be here.

With a groan of frustration, she surrendered, snatching the topmost form to look it over. "Form 107CCX... Substitution of Cognitive Jurisdiction request... reference clause 37H... what does any of this mean?!"

She tried her best, she really did. She was fluent in English and Grulovian... but technical jargon and bureaucratic lingo were like another language entirely. Five minutes later, she was resisting the urge to tear her hair out as she flipped through paper after paper, desperate to find just one she could understand.

"AGGGGGH!" Someone in the cubicle next to her shushed her, and Frazie fumed to herself while she tried skipping halfway down the stack. "This is all so-...!" She paused when something drew her eye, stuffed deep into the files. "...Confusing?"

It was another merit badge - a figurative one like the one in Maloof's mind at least, the patch barely feeling corporeal as she picked it up in her fingers. Sporting multiple shades of green, it featured a perplexed face weighted down by multiple question marks.

Frazie studied it, thinking. If it was anything like before, she just had to absorb the knowledge it held, right? All she had to do was...

Wait, did it just move by itself?

In her grasp one second, gone the next. Frazie's eyes widened as the pin jerked out of her fingers. While she'd been lost in her thoughts, some kind of tiny creature had climbed up on her desk and snatched her new find right out of her hands.

A tiny green gremlin sneered up at her, a smug smirk on its face and a crownlike tuft of hair on its head. While she gaped at it, it blew a raspberry at her, lifting the badge overhead as it leapt to the floor and scampered away.

"Hey!" Frazie pushed herself up, sending papers flying when her hands hit the desk. "You little runt! Get back here!"

Frazie darted out of her cubicle and down the hall, giving pursuit. The thief was small, but quick on its feet, laughing at her the whole time she chased it across the office. It vaguely reminded her of all the times she had to chase her younger siblings around the circus when they were toddlers… except this was ten times as obnoxious, with something on the line.

It was only a matter of time until she caught up, though. She was gaining on it... but the longer their chase went, the more she realized something was wrong.

The little goblin wasn't so little anymore.

It was like the creature was growing with every step. It hadn't even reached her knee before, but now it was up to her waist. A moment later, she noticed it was almost as big as her as they skirted a corner. By the time she could almost catch it, it was huge.

The monster stopped abruptly, making Frazie plow into it. "Hey...!" When the thief turned and leered down at her, though, her indignation quickly became fear.

Knowing it didn't have to run anymore, the monster flipped the patch into its mouth and swallowed it whole, sneering brazenly down at her. She took a few steps back, the beast matching her stride for stride as it flexed its new, huge arms.

Ego

The longer it goes unchecked, the bigger it grows.

As if the goliath wasn't bad enough, Censors poured out of nearby offices to join the fray, and for once, their default look actually fit the scene. Less fitting were a few more little goblins popping up along with them... and they'd become as big as their brother if left alone.

The other Egos were already growing. Already learning from her first mistake, Frazie ignored their big bro and the legion of lawyers, leapfrogging the rushing Censors and honing in on her newest foe while they were still manageable.

Their smarmy attitudes cleared right up when they had someone focusing on them while they were small. The first squeaked and tried to run, only to end up squashed flat as Frazie brought her heel down on it. A quick sweep of the leg knocked the other couple into the wall, where a single psi blast each finished them off.

They weren't so tough when she got them fast. Perhaps even weaker than the Censors, whom she dispatched with the efficiency she'd come to learn by now. Some pyrokinesis here, a fist to the face there, they were hardly a threat anymore. She still had to duck away from their stamps and keep from getting overwhelmed, but with a quick psychic split, her legs kicked out and blew the last couple away with mental energy. Piece of cake.

An easy fight... until Frazie found a massive monster looming over her, the girl crying out in surprise. The grown Ego was very much a threat - and not happy she'd wiped out its crew.

It lifted her bodily, its claw around her neck, because her constricting collar wasn't bad enough already. With a roar, it slammed her down on the nearest desk and dragged her along, knocking pens and coffee mugs to the floor.

It flung her roughly off the end. She tumbled, crying out when her back slammed into another table. Glancing up in a daze, she caught a worker peering over the edge with fearful eyes.

"You guys are Psychonauts! Kinda!" Frazie snapped. "Why aren't you helping?!"

"We don't have Motherlobe invasion defense paperwork!"

"Oh my GOD!" With a frustrated growl, Frazie strained with all her might to hoist the desk with her mind. The gap between the Ego and her was dwindling, and time was short. To her relief, the coworker yelped and backed away as their table started to float.

It didn't move fast, but she didn't need fast. She just needed it to fly, hurling it with a grunt after she'd gotten back on her feet. As it flew across the room, the Ego cackled, bracing itself to catch the heavy projectile with ease. Lifting it overhead like it was nothing but a paperweight, it prepared to throw it right back.

It just hadn't been expecting her to light it up with Pyrokinesis after it had caught it.

The creature howled and dropped the burning wood - right on top of itself. Its eyes bulged as a hundred-fifty pounds cracked down on it at once.

It crumpled, stunned. Frazie kept the heat coming, incinerating the brute along with the desk. As the flames spread, the creature opened its mouth to roar at her with its dying breath - but instead, it hiccupped, gagged, and spat out the patch it'd swallowed before collapsing.

"Eeeeew." As the Ego shrunk and faded away, Frazie told herself she wasn't going to touch this thing. Instead, she opted to lift it with her mind, holding it as close as she was willing. Ignoring the smell, she shut her eyes and focused on the badge.

Energy radiated off it, flowing into her, simultaneously expanding her mind and jamming it.

Her face scrunched up, trying to process it all. It felt like she was learning and forgetting at the same time. This power's very existence was a paradox, and yet once it finally settled in, everything clicked. Looking down at her hand, she saw she'd conjured a little green question mark in it. Curious, she held it in both hands, fiddling with it. "What the heck do you do...?"

There was a pop as she pulled the dot off it. "Eh? Oops." Frazie tried to put it back together, grunting futilely as the two parts refused to rejoin.

And then, they exploded.

Frazie held her head, wobbling to and fro. All of a sudden, it was like her brain had fogged over and left her adrift in a sea of nonsense. She had no idea what was going on anymore.

ErrRRRgggHHHhhh. Why was the room spinning? What was she wearing? Where was she? This wasn

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Frazie shook her head, hard. Take a swim? That dangerous thought snapped her out of it. Her head cleared, and with it, she realized she had a scary new tool on her hands.

Or a useful one.

That one worker she'd stolen a desk from was still watching, likely wondering how much more paperwork this little scuffle just created. Curious about something, Frazie decided to take a load off their mind by making another grenade and tossing it at their feet.

The worker shouted as it exploded, the blast leaving them wobbling in a daze and gibbering about the lack of bacon in the cafeteria. Frazie promptly grabbed their shoulders and looked them deep in the eye. "Great job! We're all done with the paperwork now. We can get on with the mission!"

"W-w... we are?" the employee stammered, struggling to maintain eye contact. "But didn't we start less than an hour ago...?"

"Nope!" Frazie assured them with a pat on the back. "Full work day. Take some time off. Tell the others." The worker still seemed lost, but slowly nodded, going along with it. And speaking of the others... Frazie popped another question mark, pointing at a nearby cubicle. "Hey, you! Catch!"

Not long later, the entire department was either stumbling around or just coming out of their confused haze. But there was one thing they all shared - they were convinced they'd done their job now.

On her way out of the offices, the worker that'd originally brought her back here barged in, aghast. "What are you-"

"Here, hold this for me," Frazie interrupted, shoving a question mark in her hands. She walked past, the explosion popping off behind her. "And tell our top agent we're good to go!"

By the time she was back in the lobby, it seemed the word had spread around the Motherlobe. The two overly dressed agents were back again, conversing in hushed tones in front of a large door. "I've never seen the clerical staff work so fast..." the man murmured, sounding unsure.

"They must know how urgent the situation is." His partner reached for her forehead, looking towards the upper reaches of the building. "I'll let our top agent know we're ready to go."

All was quiet as she sent a silent telepathic message up above... and then, with a hiss, the wide entryway behind them slid open.

Out strolled a regular-sized Vernon, his own trench coat trailing behind him as he strutted out with all the undeserved swagger in the world. "Ahhhh... I didn't think we'd be going so soon. Our fellow Psychonauts really outdid themselves this time. They deserve a nice break... but the real reward is that they're helping us save the Big Apple."

"Very wise, sir," one assistant said as they followed him towards the elevator.

"And with minimal legal ramifications!" the other chipped in.

Together, they headed out on what would no doubt be an exciting mission. Frazie wouldn't be joining, though - she was content knowing she'd actually pushed the tale on to the good part. That might help him organize his stories a bit better.

Satisfied, she watched them depart, and then made an exit of her own back into the tome that'd brought her here.


Frazie popped back out near Vernon's ear-ie campfire once again, noticing that her suit had somehow been swapped out in transit. Frazie sucked in air now that her regular outfit was back. Finally, she could breathe unrestricted again.

The second thing she noticed was Vernon's workstation starting to move on its own.

The sagely Vernon was still at work weaving, but the shelves around him started shuffling around, books and spools pulled out by unseen hands and rearranged as his take on storytelling adjusted itself. When it finally stopped, it was just a bit neater than before.

Vernon grabbed for some more thread and eyed it curiously when it wasn't the material he was expecting. Finally, he shrugged, working with what he had.

Progress. But there was still a ways to go before his technique was refined, his plot threads were organized, and he could weave a tale that wouldn't put someone to sleep. Leaving him to his work, Frazie headed for the next pedestal and cracked open idea number two.

She climbed on up, dipping her legs into the pages and slipping in like she was lowering herself into a pool. Another trip through the paper passage later, she landed with a grunt on solid ground.

Massive walls of dirt bordered the wide area on all sides, enshrining what looked like some kind of old mining town. Rickety wooden shacks lay densely packed around the basin, with some higher plateaus farther in holding yet more facilities. An eerie wind blew through the valley, making doors creak to and fro under a dark cloud-filled sky. The place was big, abandoned... and eerily familiar.

Unable to shake that feeling of faint recognition, Frazie walked up to the nearest building, squinting up at its sign: The Shaky Claim Saloon.

...Wait a second.

She'd only heard that name an hour ago, and yet hearing it again was already making her blood freeze with fear. Last time she'd seen this place, it'd been completely submerged.

Oh, no.

Stay calm. She might've been transported back to a time when the sunken city was still dry, but that didn't mean anything, right? Vernon just wanted to take a look at it before it'd been flooded. Simple.

Then, another scroll popped into existence, sinking Frazie's hopes with the newest title: Survivor of the Great Flood.

Oh NO.

A story about a lone townie getting caught in their city's destruction? Interesting. Being the lone townie? It'd be a nightmare even if she wasn't cursed to die in water.

Which she freakin' was.

Sorry, Vernon, but this story was going to remain untouched. Frazie spun on her heel and ran, sprinting back to the tome to make a quick exit...

SPLOOSH!

But it was too late. Just before she could dive back in, a waterfall crashed down on the book from up above, quickly pooling and spreading out around the pillar. Hitching a breath, Frazie looked up to see a large truck perched on the edge of the cliff, depositing gallons and gallons of water into the basin. It was the first of many. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of government-marked vehicles were backing up all around the valley to dump their payloads.

Soon, a nonstop cascade of water poured down all around the canyon, new trucks backing in to replace any that ran dry. Her heart hammering in her throat, Frazie jumped and waved, praying she'd get anyone's attention. "Hey! Someone's still down here! ...HEY! QUIT IT! STOP! PLEASE!"

It was no use. They were way too high up, operating on the assumption the entire town had already been evacuated. To be fair, it had been... they just didn't expect a psychic visitor to jump into a recreation of the town's flooding, nor could they hear her over the cacophonous roar of countless waterfalls.

She gave up when the water started to tickle her toes. She jumped back like she'd been bit, trying to keep her breathing steady as her eyes flicked back and forth. Not good. Really not good. The water was pooling on the outskirts of town and flooding inwards, quickly gaining ground. She had minutes at best before the empty dirt paths were completely submerged.

She had to get to higher ground. Frazie stumbled over her feet in a panic, managing to keep upright as she raced the flood further into town. If she could get to one of those inclines that led up to the higher tiers, she'd be alright...

But it was a fool's hope. A rush of water crashed down on the path ahead of her, making her skid to a stop. There was no way forward, no way back.

Nowhere to go but up.

Quickly scanning the surrounding buildings for a way to climb, any way, she spotted another signboard jutting out over the street. She ran for it and jumped onto its pole, spinning overhead again and again until she picked up enough momentum to launch onto the building's rooftop.

Not a moment too soon. The streets below were completely soaked, and in seconds, Galochio would come calling. With no other choice, Frazie grit her teeth and kept ascending, hopping from building to building until she'd jumped up the tallest one on the street, even jumping up the water tower perched atop it until the ground was far, far below.

It was hopeless. She was as high as she could get without swimming farther into town. Obviously, that just wasn't going to happen. It couldn't happen. She was stuck, gazing fearfully at the rapidly rising floodwaters starting to creep over the roof of her building. All she could do was watch her impending doom creep closer.

But from up here, she could also see there was something strange in the water.

Besides Galochio, of course. That jerk was down there as expected, waving up at her almost sadistically, knowing it had her this time. But next to it, bobbing on the tumultuous waves, was a potential savior.

Literally, the word savior. Big black letters floated together, as if the dictionary itself sent her a life raft. It wasn't the only one, either. All around her, the water was full of all sorts of clumps of letters and fragments. 'Soaked', 'Damp', 'Drenched', 'Tsunami', 'Whirlpool'... and many, many more where those came from.

It was an honest to goodness flood of words.

"I really hope those are solid..." Frazie whined to herself, already knowing what she had to do to survive. Peering over the edge and rethinking her life's choices, she took a step back before leaping from her perch, falling down towards the closest word she could reach.

"Oof...!" The letters bucked and heaved with the force of her landing, but held together. Breathing a sigh of relief, Frazie glanced down to check what term she'd ended up on as it sloshed a bit under her feet.

'Drown'. Well, that was reassuring.

Wobbling a bit, Frazie worked to steady herself on the world's most unmotivational surfboard. She'd spent her whole life perfecting balance, surely she could learn this in a timely fashion, right? Well, she had to, or things would get unpleasant real fast.

It took a bit, but finally, she found her footing. She wasn't going to be doing any sick tricks with her raft anytime soon, but with a little telekinetic push, she could guide herself across the water and not have to worry about toppling in.

The flooding wasn't stopping anytime soon, but at least she was safe for now. Looking at all these waterlogged words, though, an idea came to mind.

Maybe if she cleaned these up, that'd clear up his vocabulary a bit? Part of his problem was talking himself in circles describing things in similar ways. If she could get him to realize less words could still get the point across...

It was worth a shot. With one arm helping her balance, the other tapped her temple while she charged up her Psi Blasts. Directing them at a nearby cluster of letters, her target exploded under the force and fell to pieces. She turned and fired a honed shot at a lone 'Wave', cutting through the word like butter before its halves split apart and sank. She was getting better at sharpening her shots.

The constant lapping of water against her float still filled her with dread, but she could manage this. She'd clear up enough stray sentences to fill a book of its own, and she'd be on her way. Easy.

Until a light bulb whizzed right by her head.

The surprise threw her off balance, making her pinwheel her arms to readjust herself. "What the heck...!" If the sudden attack hadn't tipped her off that she wasn't alone, the sudden crackle of shrill, almost electric laughter did.

She wasn't the only surfer anymore. A couple more manned words swerved in, ridden by... blue bunnies from hell? The creatures would be almost cute with their pointed ears and stubby bodies, if not for their jagged red teeth, the piercing eyes, and the veins flickering all over their bodies. Rows of bulbs stuck to their backs - no points for guessing who'd just tried to dome her.

Their mouths opened wide to spit more glass loogies at her. Wide-eyed, Frazie gave her ride a quick shove to get her out of the line of fire. She ducked one projectile, swerved around another, and threw up her shield to let the last one smash harmlessly across her face.

The bulby bunnies exchanged a glance - and then started firing at her footing. If they couldn't hit her, they were going to sink her ship. Permanently.

"Hey, hey! Oooooh no you don't!" What goes around comes back around, her Psi Blasts ringing true as they blew the bunnies' boats to kingdom come. The critters cried out as they fell into the drink, evaporating like cotton candy, their lingering energy briefly arcing across the surface.

Oddly enough, it was slightly refreshing know she wasn't the only thing in the mind that'd immediately die if it touched water. But only slightly. More rabbits were surfing in to replace their fallen comrades, and she knew this cleaning mission just got a lot more challenging.

She wasn't going to make it if every jerk and judder of her board threw her into a panic. Trying to ignore the growing ocean around her, Frazie planted her feet firmly. Harness her focus. Ignore the fact that one wrong move would get her killed. Deep breaths. Just treat it like any other death-defying stunt. She could do this. She had to.

Show time.

Her body practically contorted into letters itself as she twisted her way out of the next round of fire. Their shots were big, they were scary, but they were slow. By the time she'd dodged them all and the next set was on the way, she was already on the move.

Looping around the following barrage, she bore down on the bunnies, making the closest ones squeak in surprise. Just before they collided head-on, she swerved, jutting a foot out to punt the unlucky creatures into the water before sailing on by.

While she dealt with them, the farther foes fired a wide spread that would almost certainly hit her. Channeling her inner daredevil, she gripped her board with her mind and jumped.

It rose with her, carrying her over the line of bulbs. On her way down, she returned fire, blowing another couple bunnies away before she splashed back down.

She just had to alternate between shooting the baddies and the debris. That was the key. Whether Frazie was destroying stray words or ridden words, she was gradually declogging Vernon's vocabulary all the while. She was a one woman battleship... demolishing a bunch of electric bunnies and chunks of text. Hmmm. It sounded a little less badass that way.

But showmanship wasn't the goal here. Survival was. And with every threat she blasted to oblivion, her odds of making it through this were increasing.

She soon cleared up the last of the critters, giving the monster a rough telekinetic shove into the water and finally allowing herself to catch her breath. By now, she was the only living thing on the surface, and most of the words had been destroyed, too.

Now that the action had died down, she realized the basin was close to full. The town of Shaky Claim was long washed away, sunken down below to be forgotten for decades until a couple campers happened to stumble on it.

But not all of it.

Off in the far distance, she could barely make out the highest peak of one of the town's spires. One lone building had survived the flood, perched high enough on the peak to escape the rest of the city's fate.

It was hard to discern, its silhouette dark against an already shadowy sky, but Frazie could make out a large building still standing firm on its tiny remaining patch of land. Twisted towers craned up towards the clouds, making the place look all the more ominous. And at the very top, a large rimmed dome sat above it all, almost like Saturn.

Or a brain.

The brief glimpse of the tower in her dreams flitted through her head - completely unlike this, and yet somehow familiar. Like a moth to a flame, she was drawn to the island, steering herself closer. She had to find out more.

She wouldn't get the chance. The water had filled in, but it hadn't settled yet. She suddenly lurched as a wave rocked her, throwing her off balance. "WhoooOOOOOoooOOOAAAAH...!" Another hit, leaving her wobbling on the edge.

It was over. She fell. But not into the water - into pages instead. The book that'd brought her here was dislodged by the flood, sent floating up to the surface to catch her and send her to safety.

A fortunate twist of fate, but one that ferried her away from her goal.


The darkness of the lake was soon replaced by the darkness of Vernon's void.

"Oompf!" The book spat Frazie back out on her face, spraying droplets all over the place. A second later, it closed tight, cutting off the flow. Immediately, Frazie pushed herself up and leapt for the book, cracking it open again. She had to get back in there and find out more about that tower.

For her efforts, she got a torrent of water in the face. "FFBBFBTBTBT...!" And along with it, the Hand of Galochio, wiggling and writhing as it tried to grab at her through the flooded portal.

Frazie slammed the book back shut, breathing heavily. "Alright. Okay. Can't go back. Lovely."

Backing away from the tome, she about faced and sighed. Looked like she wasn't learning anything just yet... but on the bright side, Vernon's materials were rearranging themselves again. With less word bloat muddling his messages, his station was almost in prime condition. Rows of books and threads sat organized by color, though there were still mismatching chunks. With a little bit more messing with the way he told his tales, he should be able to weave a story well enough that he could just tell her about the tower himself back in the real world.

Wringing some water from her shirt, she headed towards the last pedestal, calling out to Vernon as she went. "How goes the project?"

His work wasn't anything to write home about just yet, but from where she stood Frazie could see some marked improvement in his pattern. The knits were neater, less garish, and he was at least using the same fabric across the board now. "My muse whispered in my ear and got me to start over on a new weave... and I think it's a good one. How goes the collaborating, my fellow wordsmith?"

Frazie sucked in a terse breath as she twisted the last bits of water from her hair. "It, uh... it goes." Frankly, she'd had no idea how hard - and dangerous - helping someone tell a story could be. But that might've just been because she was doing it the Psychonauts way. "You know you've got a bunny infestation in here, right?" she went on. Him, Coach... her own mind. There were a lot of bunnies all around lately. What was up with that?

"Bunnies?" The sagely Vernon looked up from his latest work to stroke his beard in thought. "Ooh... those are Bad Ideas. They can't all be winners, not even mine. Like my story about two wayward lovers who meet at a pastry bake-off, but one likes cake and one likes pie. A pair meant to be, with their taste in desserts colliding. I called it 'Rhubarb'd Hearts'."

Apparently even Vernon had a limit, and it involved concepts flakier than the crusts they were about. Frazie cringed. "Yeah... put that one back in the oven," she murmured, cracking open the last tome. Bad Ideas... did that mean she had one lurking around her own head, and Coach had a ton? Their rabbits looked so much different, though.

She'd think about it later. For now, she had one last idea to check out.

Pushing up onto the pillar with a handstand, she hopped off her palms down into the pages for one last ride through the tunnel of a thousand papercuts. Somersaulting all the way down, she unfurled when she felt herself slow and drop out of the other end.

Landing with a flourish, she stood tall to admire her surroundings... and gasped in awe.

Rolling plains of green sat under an almost crystalline sky. The only thing that gave away that the blue expanse wasn't real were the thin cracks that raced across the clouds, the way the sun looked like it was on the other side of a mirror. Despite apparently being indoors, the land flourished with vibrant trees spread out far into the horizon. A misty arc of energy hung far in the distance, like a one-color rainbow, hanging over a town made of marble. The air itself felt charged, invigorating... magical.

The scroll that suddenly popped in front of her and unraveled to give a name to it all: The Caverns of Verdantiya.

It was beautiful. It almost felt like a gift to be able to see it in person, rather than just hear about it from its creator.

Little did she know she was going to be hearing a lot more about it than she'd anticipated.

The scroll closed and disappeared with a boom, making Frazie jump. It wasn't an explosion, though... it was a loud voice echoing over the fields, its owner unseen. "Hail, newcomer."

Frazie glanced back and forth, then offered a little wave to thin air. "Hi...?" Spotting no one, she cleared her throat. "Whooooo's there?"

"I am the Narrator," the voice boomed again. "Here to welcome you to-...!"

"You don't gotta tell me, I read the title."

"-Verdantiya," the voice carried on. "An underground kingdom where pure magic has infused the cave walls with life and purpose. The leylines that arc over the country fuel this power, leading to the creation of cities like that one over there, the grand town of-"

Frazie put up a finger. "That's all very, uh, interesting, but I think I'm just gonna go and see it for myself...?" she called upwards, hands on her hips.

"-Rudavil, whose primary exports are lumber and crystals. Their architecture is hand-crafted from materials from the local quarry, their fields have a mole problem, and the mayor is currently having an affair with-"

"Lalalala I can't hear you! No spoilers!" Frazie yelled, walking off with her hands clamped over her ears. Even as she ignored him, though, the Narrator droned on about every little bit of exposition that could be gleaned from this brand new world... and all before someone would get to see it in the story itself.

He wasn't stopping anytime soon, either. After a few minutes of walking, he was still raving about the economy of the city three towns over. It'd all be lackluster to read about already, but being stuck here forced to listen to it booming all around you, it was unbearable.

Trying to tune him out, she looked around for something to distract herself with. And right off the beaten path was just the thing... another memory vault, also trying to hide from the loud and scary Narrator.

It almost seemed relieved when Frazie gave it a quick rap to knock it out. Far more intrigued by its contents than the neverending lore buzzing around her, Frazie pulled out the photos within to study.


Paper Boy

Vernon's fingers trembled slightly, the boy reading the newspaper passage again. "Is this...?"

"It is," his father confirmed, smiling softly to himself as he stroked his stubble.

When his dad had called him into his office to show him something, Vernon's mind had been abuzz with possibilities. An interesting report from the newspaper his father worked for. A new recipe his mother was trying out. A new friend for his dog, Lady.

Not a single one of them was as incredible as the truth.

His father had indeed handed him one of his papers... but it wasn't just any story on one of its rear pages. Staring back at him in black was one of Vernon's own stories, one he'd made in English class and gotten an A for. Nothing extravagant... just a retelling of the day he'd spent with his grandpa on summer vacation. But here it was, forever immortalized in ink.

"What do you think?" his father prompted. "I had to pull a few strings, but I thought it was worth it to let everyone see what a good job you did."

Unable to look away from the passage, which he would go on to frame and put on his bedroom wall later, Vernon's lips split in a wide grin. "I don't think I could have dreamed of anything better... and I have some really, really weird dreams sometimes."

His father laughed, turning back to his typewriter. "Keep up the good work, and maybe you'll end up getting your stories in the paper every week."

"Just like you?"

"Just like everyone in our family."

That finally drew Vernon's focus away. Vernon knew his dad was a successful news writer, and his grandma a famous author, but it went further than that? "What do you mean?"

His father paused before his fingers hit the keys, instead motioning for Vernon to come climb on his lap. The kid did so, and his father reached past his current project to grab a book off his desk shelf.

It opened to show a family tree, spattered with all sorts of pictures from the past. Clippings, excerpts, snippets of text ranging back centuries were plastered beside every photo. "As far back as we've managed to look, the Tripes have had storytelling in our blood, in our minds. When the printing press was invented, your ancestor immediately got to work putting his ideas on paper. Before them, we've been spreading our tales by word of mouth for generations. There's a lot of history in our tree, son... and you're the next branch of it."

Surprised, Vernon pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You." Chuckling, his father put the book back and set him down. "Just keep working hard, and some day, people will be talking about your accomplishments."

Settling back on the ground, Vernon was left with a lot to think about, the clack of the typewriter pinging alongside every thought.

He had creativity in his heart and talent in his genes. It was no mere coincidence he'd gotten into the paper... it was fate.

And if he wanted it to happen again, he'd need to step it up. And he reeeeeally wanted it to happen again.

Already, his mind was racing. What if he went bigger? Grander? Focused on every little detail, leaving no gaps or room for misinterpretation? Long stories, epics, ones you'd be reading for weeks straight. Each idea was taller than the last. More and more ways to extend his talent to the next level... for better or worse.

Leaving his father to his work, he ran off back to his room, paper under his arm. He already had ideas for his next story about his walk with Lady. He just needed to remember how it'd gone down... he went left at first, and then they'd stopped to watch the beehive? And then one stung him, and then they went right and saw some flowers? Ooooh, he had to write this down.


Vernon's next story was five times the length of the first. The one after that, a dozen. Bigger, longer words. More intricacy, more detail. He wanted to make his family proud, to live up to his heritage by making the biggest story of all.

The results were... mixed. Before, he could entertain some of his fellow students when they gathered at recess. Now, they were always busy whenever he wanted to get their attention. It was a strange coincidence.

His English teacher had been leaving a lot of gentle suggestions lately, prompts to go back to his older style, to focus less on the fine details and focus more on telling the story. Clearly, the teacher just didn't understand his incredible storytelling ability. What did they know? It was Vernon who'd been in the newspaper, not them.

Seated in his own desk, Vernon frantically scribbled away on his next idea... by page seventy, he'd just about finished the intro.

He had a legacy to live up to. And he planned to.

Frazie sighed. Oh, Vernon. You had something good going for you.

And he still did. These three ideas of his she'd seen were proof the boy was creative underneath the monotone monologuing. But somewhere along the line he'd substituted quantity for quality when it came to getting his point across, and boy, did it show.

Hopefully she could get him back on track - because she sure as heck wasn't going to stick around and listen to him until she did.

The echoing voice had finally quieted down by the time she'd finished. Freed from the exposition dump, Frazie stood again, ready to see this strange new world for herself.

"-Also there's a dragon plaguing the kingdom in the castle to the east! It's currently locked in a stalemate with an ancient hero!"

Frazie winced. "Thank you, Mr. Narrator." Alright. Castle to the east. Well, that was as good a place to start looking for things she could fix as any.

Her path in mind, she set out, drinking in the scenery the whole way.


Now that she wasn't being harassed by the Narrator anymore, the trip across the countryside was rather pleasant - especially compared to the boring officework and terrifying flooding of the previous tomes. She could ride on her levitation orb and enjoy the refreshing wind in her hair, the faux sunlight on her face.

'Pleasant' didn't exactly mean 'peaceful', though. The usual mental bogeymen haunted her quest - Censors in knight armor, Regrets buzzing from above, sludgy pools of Doubts and now Bad Ideas backing them up on the regular. By now, though, they were all old hat. She left defeated baddies and smoldering puddles of incinerated goop in her wake as she traveled across the land.

She passed by ancient cities of gears and machinery, floating islands adrift by their own means, and all other sorts of interesting sights, but they were just pit stops on her adventure to the east. Soon enough, after exploring and fighting her way across the kingdom, she finally spotted gleaming bricks looming in the distance.

Like you'd expect from your typical fairy tale, a majestic castle stood tall, moat and all, its drawbridge lowered and awaiting visitors... so they could be promptly repelled by its two scaly, bipedal guards

Rolling to a stop at the edge of the planks, Frazie balanced on her ball and addressed them. "Dumb question, but is this where the dragon and the hero are fighting?"

Hissing, one guard clanked its axe and shield together threateningly. "Who do you think you are, calling us so cassssually? Arrogance! Begone!"

"One intruder'ssss already ssslipped by!" his friend rasped. "We won't allow a ssssecond one!"

"Sounds like a yes to me. Present for ya." Ignoring their indignant glares, Frazie conjured a confusion grenade and dropped it before her as she rolled on right between them.

"Sssstop!" they cried, ready to chase after her... before the mark clanking to the ground gave them pause. They stared down at it, perplexed, right up until it blew them sky high.

"RAAAAAH! WITCHCRAFT!" Frazie snickered to herself, hearing the guards fumbling and tumbling into the moat behind her. All alone now, she popped her sphere to explore the darkened chambers properly.

It wasn't long before she found a spiral staircase heading upwards, and the sound of voices up above. Well, one voice... going on, and on, and on in a deep yet mellow growl. Determined, Frazie started her ascent, each stone step bringing her closer and closer to the castle's peak.


Not gonna lie, I keep wondering how much of Vernon's brain could apply to my own. Am I roasting myself? I'm having an existential writing crisis. But at least it's a fun one!