A/N: There's one grown-up left to turn to, but will he be of any help? Are there any campers left besides the girls? Is Sugarcube okay?! Read on to find out.
Another thanks to IronTiger, DelithiumDragon, and SandrC for helping!
Rung by rung, Frazie climbed the ladder back to the surface with a heavy heart. Outside the psychoisolation dome, the late afternoon light crept further downward, a tinge of orange on the horizon as the sun began its final descent over an unnervingly empty camp.
At least Lili was still alright. The girl ran up to rendezvous with Frazie after she hopped down from above. "What happened?" she demanded, gesturing down the path. "I was just getting the balancing thing down when Sasha went running past!"
Frazie inhaled sharply through her teeth, rubbing the back of her neck while she recounted all that'd gone down. "Aboooout thaaaat... something came up. I finally convinced him we weren't just trying to stir up trouble. I even went back into the dream and learned something huge!" She promptly deflated. "...Annnnnnd then Sasha ran off on 'urgent business' before I could tell him."
"Ugh." Lili threw her hands up. "Are all the campers going missing not urgent enough?! What could possibly be more important than-"
Frazie cut her off with the chilling answer. "Milla might be in danger."
Lili froze. She might not be the best at getting along with (or even tolerating) people, but it was impossible to not like Milla. And if she was in trouble, Sasha might be as well soon enough. "We can't just sit here and let them get brainnapped, too! We need to help them!"
"We will," Frazie promised. "But we can't just rush in like they did. Especially since they don't even know what they're up against."
"A lake creature and a dentist with a pepper shaker?"
"Worse." Frazie knelt down, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Coach is in on it. He's in charge. And he's stealing everyone's brains to pilot psychic tanks with and take over the world."
"...Wha?" Coach might not be as beloved as the other counselors, and Lili might've been firmly on Frazie's side since Milka and Elton first reappeared, but it was still a hard revelation to swallow. A ridiculous sounding one, too. But Frazie was deathly serious, and Lili knew she had no reason to lie. She punched her palm. "That traitorous little...!"
Lili wrung the air, no doubt wishing it was Coach's non-existent neck instead, but finally dropped her arms with a groan. Venting frustration could wait - there was only one thing worth focusing on now. "How're we gonna stop him?"
"I have an idea," Frazie claimed. A very old, very weird plan, but a plan nonetheless. Ford might be acting strange, but he was still one of the best Psychonauts - or so he claimed. She just needed some time alone to go find him... and a head count of who they had left under their belts. "Lili, I need you to gather any remaining campers you can find back up at the cabins. I'll meet you there in a bit, alright?"
If there were any remaining campers went unsaid. The odds were against them... but try telling Lili that. She had a defiant fire in her even before everything went down, and this action-packed threat was just another obstacle to overcome. "Alright! We're going to gather everyone we can and kick his butt!"
Frazie really hoped the kid was right, and not just hopped up on adrenaline. "We're going to try, anyway. Just be careful out there."
Lili waved her off, well aware of what to do by now. The fire in her still burned, the excitement of an actual psychic emergency pushing her on. Lili wasn't going to let the most interesting thing at camp in a long time be ruined by something silly like global domination. "I'll be right back!" she called, running off.
Frazie waited until Lili was out of sight. The instant she was gone, she looked for the nearest flat stump, found the button to pop it open, and dived inside.
Her friend might not know it... but there was one final person they could turn to. A last resort.
At least the cart ride underground was less scary on a third go-around. Especially when there were far more concerning things on the surface to worry about.
Frazie knew she'd arrived when the hum and beeps of advanced technology echoed down from up above. One rough ejection later, she vaulted out of the tunnel into the janitor/chef/boatman/ranger's lair. The one that, unlike Sasha's, was a true and guarded secret.
Her first trip here had been full of surprise and awe. This time, she headed straight down the path to the chamber's center, more interested in the cave's owner than anything else.
Ford stood across the room, staring at the monitors swirling around his platform - pictures of a man in a bathrobe, more news reports from around the globe, and many, many cameras focused on the camp. He didn't look her way, but it was obvious he knew she was there from the moment she'd arrived. "I take it you've got some news for me, missy?"
"Uh, yeah!" Frazed paced over the hunk of Psitanium in the floor, talking in a nonstop whir as she tried to recount the many things she'd learned that day. "Some sort of giant lake monster has been swallowing the kids whole and taking them to an abandoned asylum out in the middle of the lake! A crazy dentist doctor has been making them sneeze their brains out so he can harvest them and put them into giant psychic tanks to take over the world with!" She took a moment to take a deeeeeep breath. "...And Coach is the one behind it all!"
Unseen to her, Ford's wide stare grew briefly wider. Yet, he simply shut his eyes and exhaled a very unsurprised sigh. "I didn't want it to be true... but I was startin' to suspect Oleander'd gone rogue. I just didn't know far gone he was. Tanks...?!"
An uncomfortable silence hung between them, one that Frazie broke first. "Well... I didn't just come here to fill you in. Milla's in trouble, and Sasha will be too, since he ran off to help her before I could inform him. Which means..." She pointed at him. "You're the last adult here that can help us."
With surprising speed for someone his age, Ford whisked around, shaking his hands. "Oh, no, no, no! Someone's gotta stick around and watch the brainless buggers, make sure they don't wander off into a bear den, ya know."
Frazie could've swore his already bug-eyed expression was even wider... more panicked. But it was hard to focus on that when his response left her indignified. Her jaw hung in brief disbelief before she jabbed her finger closer. "Lili can do that! Or me! We've been rounding them up all day! You know what we don't have experience with? Stopping a psychic madman!"
Ford's eyes flicked down at her hand before he reached to slowly push Frazie's accusing gesture away. "Well, everyone's got to start somewhere. If you want to see what being a Psychonaut is really all about, now's a prime opportunity. I'll help ya get your footin' as much as I can."
Was... was the trained agent, no, one of the TOP agents, trying to push off a monumental task on someone who didn't even know the organization existed a week ago? Before, she was irked, but now she was mad.
And she was putting her foot down.
"Help?" she snapped. "You've been the exact opposite of helpful all day! Every time I approached you, you acted like we'd never even met!" An unusual flash of surprise flitted across Ford's face, just angering her even more. "You say we're working together to get to the bottom of things, but Lili and I have done all the work!"
It would be comical, the way Ford tried to back away from the teen... if the situation weren't so serious. "Settle down, settle down," he insisted. "Psychic abilities aren't just skill and energy, they're emotion. Last thing we need is you sparkin' up a fire down here...!"
Frazie ignored him, continuing to advance until she was up in his face. "You said you wanted to protect the kids? Well you're doing a terrible job of it! There's a difference between having faith in me and expecting me to keep everyone safe by myself! So quit hiding and get your bony keister out there!"
Ford's gaze flicked frantically back and forth between her angry eyes and the finger pointing off towards the exit. Finally, he sighed in surrender... but not in the way she'd expected. "I... I can't, Frazie."
That diiiidn't exactly calm her down any. "What do you mean, you can't?! You're a founder of the Psychonauts or whatever! You've got the skill!" She gestured around at the beeping machines around them. "You've got the tech! You've got a giant tunnel system and too many disguises for your own good!"
For a moment, he was silent. Then, he seemed to deflate, his eyes trailing to the floor. "They're not disguises, Frazie... they're personalities."
Her arms drooped. "...Huh?"
Pulling away from her, Ford suddenly seemed even older than he already was as he paced around the platform, looking everywhere but at her. "I know the two of us haven't really seen eye to eye..." And it was kinda hard to, given how spaced apart his were. "But it's because I haven't been entirely upfront. I reckon I can fix that now."
He stopped, right in the center of the huge stone beneath them. "My mind was fractured into fragments in a battle years ago. Each one with its own desires, memories, and ideas of how to pass the time. Me, yet not me. I haven't been whole in a long, long time." He tapped his foot against the glass. "The only place where I can really be myself again is right here, where you see me now... on top of a solid chunk of pure Psitanium. It's the only thing that can keep my broken psyche held together for a time."
It explained a lot... but it was so incredible, it almost felt like a cop-out to get out of doing anything. But when he finally turned to face her again, he looked dead serious. "The truth is, I simply can't help. As soon as I step outside this cave, there's nothin' I can do. And if Sasha and Milla really are out of commission... you're the only person here who can do something."
Frazie's gut wrenched. Part of her actually kinda-sorta felt bad for this shell of a man stuck living underground because he fell apart anywhere else. The other part was absolutely terrified at the prospect of a couple rookies being the only thing standing between a megalomaniac and the world. Especially since she was one of those rookies. "Well... you can call in the Psychonauts to help, right? ...Right?!"
"They marked me unfit for service forever ago, Frazie. I've been operatin' out here completely off the record because they'd shut me down if they knew about it. Anything I told 'em would just be labeled the ravings of a lunatic. Sasha and Milla were the only ones that still had faith in me..." He tapped his forehead, frowning. "And I can't reach them anymore."
She felt an odd sort of kinship with him that moment, knowing both of them had or would have their valid claims dismissed. But that shared second of sympathy didn't do much more than make it clear this situation really, really sucked. "So... it's just the other campers and I against the world, then."
"I wish it weren't... but them's the breaks." Ford shook his head - then glanced down at the glowing crystal pulsing below them. "I might actually be able to do something to help... but it'll take time. And we don't have time! You're going to need to head out there and do what ya can for now. Here, I got something for ya that'll help."
Frazie was expecting some sort of weapon, or gadget, or even some sort of secret psychic technique. Instead... Ford pulled out a funnel and dropped it in her hands. Her face scrunched up in complete confusion. "...Whaaaat's this?"
"In case you need to get a brain back in someone's noggin on the go."
She quickly pieced together the very unpleasant mental image he was suggesting. "Ew. Ew." Frazie dangled the tool away from her like some dirty laundry before, reluctantly, stowing it away for later. "Thanks, I guess?"
"Psychic business ain't always pretty," Ford told her. "But it needs to be done. Now, I know there's a lot riding on you right now... but I wasn't just blowing hot air when I said you had talent earlier. If anyone here's got the grit and wit to throw a wrench in this whole brain-theft hullabaloo... it's you, Frazie."
She wasn't sure how true that was... but the fact one of the greatest Psychonauts had resounding faith in her helped steady her nerves a little. Despite the massive weight on her shoulders, she nodded. "I'll do my best."
"Sometimes, that's all any of us can do, kid." The poignant moment came to an abrupt end as he jerked a thumb off towards the entrance. "Now go on, git! Ain't no time to lollygag. Morry could be setting up the last things he needs right now!"
Frazie jumped to attention, sprinting back the way she'd came. "Right, right! Going!"
She felt him watch her all the way until she'd jumped back down to the cart. Even once she'd powered it up, the fast-paced ride couldn't distract her from the constant buzz of her thoughts.
Her idea had been a bust. She'd gone in expecting a secret ally, and walked away with a funnel.
Looked like it was up to the younger folks to save everyone.
It was just her, Lili, and whoever else they could scrounge up against an entire conspiracy. The whole way to the cabins, part of her wondered if she should've just stayed with her family, let the proper Psychonauts handle all this.
The other part knew that she might be the only one left that could keep this from spiraling out of control.
Frazie landed on her feet after another forced stump ejection, dusting herself off. Things looked bleak, but she had to stay calm. Now was the absolute worst possible time to freak out, as much as she may want to. Just... focus, take a breath, and head to the cabins to see if Lili had managed to succeed in her task.
To her immense relief, Lili hadn't just made it, she'd found campers. Not many, but still... beggars couldn't be choosers. Frazie arrived in time to catch Lili rolling her eyes at the blond girl sitting on the girl's cabin steps, with Dogen spacing out off to the side.
"You said the boys were hanging out up here," the seated kid griped, arms crossed. "I need to be making sure Chops isn't trying to keep J.T. away! And keep an eye on Nils... to make sure he's not bothering some poor girl."
"There's more serious things going on than your stupid boy troubles, Elka," Lili retorted.
"My pajamas itch," Dogen chimed in.
Lili gave him a perturbed look, then sneered. "Yeah, that does sound more serious than anything Elka's ever dealt with."
Before the prissy camper could retort, Frazie stepped in. Lili breathed a sigh of relief and jogged to meet her. "Thank goodness - I was about to let her wander off again," Lili spat under her breath, side-eying Elka. "I rounded up everyone I could find. So... what was your idea?"
"My idea was... uh..." Frazie couldn't just explain that she'd hoped to recruit a secret Psychonauts agent... and she definitely couldn't reveal why that plan had been a bust. "Ah... my idea was for us to stay indoors and figure out what to do from there? That way, nothing can sneak up on us."
Lili didn't seem impressed. "...That sounds more like the build-up to an idea that an actual scheme."
"But it's still a good one, right?"
"I guess."
So long as Lili wasn't questioning where she'd been, Frazie was content. Ready to address the newcomers, she clapped her hands together. "Listen up! Elka, you're not going to find anyone because there isn't anyone. Something's been snatching campers left and right, so you're going to stick with us if you want to be safe."
Dogen wasn't hard to convince at all - or at the least, he didn't disagree, just scratching his hair absently. Elka, though... "Who put you in charge, lady?" she snapped in a hoity tone. "And why should we believe you?"
No one gave her authority, technically... but there was always the tried and true trump card. "I'm the oldest person left in camp, so you have to listen to me," she asserted. Her older sibling tricks could come in handy.
"That's...!" Elka scoffed. "Whatever." She didn't seem convinced... yet something passed through her eyes, a small gloomy glimmer that kept her quiet. At the least, she had no reason to wander off if her boyfriend and ex really weren't around.
Finally, people were actually listening to Frazie. Thank you, age card. "Glad we've got an understanding. Now, come on. Everyone into the cabin." Night was falling, a monster was prowling... it was time for a sleepover, and a plotting session.
Dogen had some qualms, though. "Mom said if anyone caught me in the girl's cabin, I was gonna be in big trouble."
Frazie hummed with thought. "Well, we're giving you permission."
"Okay. Is it true girls wear special hats on their chests?"
...She wasn't even gonna touch that one. "Leeeet's just head inside," she replied, ushering the kids into the cabin. "And leave the girl talk to us. I'll join you guys in a sec."
She ushered the kids inside and shut the door, turning away. Before she could join them, there was one more thing she had to check in on.
Sugarcube.
Thankfully, the lake creature was after little brains, not little horses. The tiny pony still sat completely content in Sugarcube's corner.
Frazie knelt beside her, running her fingers through the filly's mane. It perked up and whinnied affectionately, getting a smile out of its owner. Frazie spoke to her, making sure to keep an eye on the cabin while she did so... but really, she was talking to herself more than anything.
"Whatever's going on across the lake, it's nothing good." Her eyes drifted off towards the beach. "When I came here, I just wanted to hone my powers and find something to make my family accept me. And now I'm in the middle of a mass kidnapping, and I'm the only one who can do something about it! Before, I was terrified what my family would say when they showed up. Still am, really. But now... I'm starting to get worried I might not get to see them again."
For a moment, she was silent. Then, she slapped her cheeks. "No, no, I'm going to be fine! We're going to be fine. I'll get everyone back, punch Coach in the face, and come back to give you lots of treats, alright?
"Speaking of..." Still having some carrots leftover from yesterday, she offered a couple to her pet. Sugarcube had no idea what any of that meant - but it recognized 'treats', so it whinnied giddily, chomping them down. Frazie rubbed her little head, chuckling. "Attagirl."
...And then Frazie felt a faint tickling at the back of her mind.
"Yummy..."
Frazie's jaw hung open, watching the horse finish its snack. "...Did you say that?"
The critter looked up at her, and she could feel all the warmth and love of their bond emanating from the small critter's brainwaves. "Yes! Thank you, Fwazee~."
Holy shit, a talking horse.
...No, its mouth wasn't moving. She was reading her thoughts. Lili could speak to plants, and Frazie could speak to animals.
Suddenly elated, Frazie lifted the pony up and squealed, forehead to forehead. "I can't believe I can hear you! I wanna hear everything you have to say... and have a little talk with you about chewing on my shoes."
It was a short-lived excitement, once Frazie remembered what she was distracting herself from. "...It'll have to wait until I've dealt with Coach, though," she sighed. Putting the pony back down, she stood up and headed for the cabin. "Sit tight, okay girl?"
"Okay~." With this new revelation and a bit more confidence in mind, Frazie stepped inside to join the remaining campers.
"What if you told Coach you changed your mind and wanted to join him? He'd let you in close, and then you can knock him out!"
"But couldn't he read my mind and realize I'm lying?"
An hour had passed. Crickets sang in the darkness outside the cabin, and their brainstorming was going less than swimmingly. As it turned out, holding a strategy meeting when you didn't know your target's defenses and turf wasn't very productive. Especially when their third voice of input wasn't the most helpful.
"What if we just asked Coach to stop being mean?" Dogen suggested.
Lili and Frazie shared a glance. "No."
"What if we asked really nicely?"
Frazie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This wasn't going anywhere, and every second they wasted here was another second closer to victory for Coach. She didn't want to risk rushing in and getting wiped out like Sasha and Milla, but it was looking more and more like they'd just have to go in blind.
It was a distressing idea... but not as distressed as their fourth member was.
Frazie glanced off towards the bunks. Elka had parked herself in her bed as soon as they'd entered, completely uninterested in helping. Each time Frazie looked at her, though, she just seemed more and more rattled. She'd gone from biting her lip to wringing her hands, and now she was full on rocking in a ball against her headboard, mumbling to herself.
Lili had noticed, too. And while she couldn't care less about Elka's problems... the girl was starting to get creepy. Standing up, Lili headed over to check on her. "What's gotten into you, barbie?"
Elka kept staring into space, another flash flowing across her eyes. "Oh, Nils...! We never even got the chance to make up, set our differences aside, and start planning for the wedding...!"
Her response wasn't helpful... and not really a response, either. Lili snapped her fingers by Elka's face. "Hey!"
Still lost in her little world, Elka suddenly grabbed her head. "It's coming...! It's coming...!"
It would've been a good excuse to slap her, but Lili opted to just shake her like crazy instead. "Elka, get a hold of yourself! You don't even get this worked up over Nils! How do you even know something's coming?"
"Because I can see the future!"
"Oh." Lili's eyes bugged out around the time she and Frazie both realized what that meant. "Oh."
It was coming. Now.
...And Elka didn't intend to wait for it.
The girl threw Lili off, bolting for the door. "I'm getting out of here! If you weirdoes want to get eaten, be my guest, but I'm not sitting where that thing is headed!"
"Elka, wait!" Frazie called.
The cabin door slammed open, letting Elka run out into the night. The other three chased after her, trying to get her back in before something happened.
Elka had a good lead, though, already at the bridge by the time they'd crested the path. She stepped out onto the planks...
And screamed as something coiled around her foot. Some sort of appendage lied in wait just before the path ended.
Frazie, Lili, and Dogen screamed as Elka got yanked right into the chasm. ...And then screamed again when she reappeared over the edge.
But that was because she wasn't alone.
The beast was already here. And it was ugly.
The creature pulled itself up over the cliffside, holding its prisoner aloft. Elka dangled from some sort of lure above the creature's huge head. Massive, misshapen lumps of fishy flesh covered its scalp, sharp claws and teeth jutting from its monstrous maw and webbed fingers. The creature towered over all of them, looking like a sick amalgamation of bear and fish, its unsightly form barely contained by metal plates attached here and there all over its body.
The beast studied them all through huge, glowing eyes. And then the campers screamed one more time for good measure when it dropped its captive straight into its mouth, swallowing Elka whole.
The only thing keeping Frazie from hurling was remembering the creature wanted them alive, not dead. Elka was fine inside it... grossed out, no doubt, but fine.
None of them were gonna be fine soon enough, though. The beast let out a ferocious roar and stomped towards them, intending to add to its collection.
The campers booked it - well, most of them. Dogen stood his ground, staring blankly up at the monster bearing down on him. Thankful for the easy prey, it caught him with its antenna, hoisting him up to see eye to eye.
The boy just glared, completely unphased. "I told you I was gonna do this if you bothered me again."
This time, it wasn't the kids screaming. Frazie and Lili stopped running when the beast suddenly roared out in pain, grabbing its head. It stumbled, trying to open its mouth to throw the kid in, but only able to howl in agony instead.
Unable to take the metric ton of psychic pressure in its head, it finally let Dogen go, continuing to writhe and groan until the boy finally stopped his assault.
Without his tinfoil hat, Dogen was a force to be feared. Frazie gaped at the spectacle, suddenly far more scared of Boole than Frankenfish. "What?! You saw it before?"
"Yeah." Dogen lifted himself up off the ground, glancing their way. "It tried to pick me up earlier, but I told it I'd pop its head if it didn't let me go. So I tried, and it started screaming, and it let me go, and it ran away."
It turned out history was repeating itself. As soon as the mental anguish faded, the monster let out a fearful whine and jumped down the ravine.
The trio ran over to the side to see it land, the ground quaking underneath it before it fled off towards the lake.
"It's getting away!" Lili shouted.
"And it's got Elka!" Frazie pointed out.
"Right, that too." Lili ran for the bridge, motioning for them to follow. "Come on! We can't let it escape!"
Frazie picked up Dogen, keeping the little psychic nuke from having to waddle behind them as she chased after. "Let's go! We need your back up."
"Okay. I like helping."
Lifting him up to rest on her shoulders, the girls sprinted across camp, desperate to make it to the shore before their target did.
They were too late. Right as their feet hit the sand, they spotted the monster diving into the lake with a huge splash.
But all hope wasn't lost. "The bathysphere!" Lili shouted, heading for the dock.
Knowing this wasn't the time for her fears to hold her back, Frazie swallowed her hydrophobic nerves and followed her friend all the way to the rusty dome.
It was already a tight fit before they had a third crewmate, but the three managed to squeeze inside and shut the door so Lili could drop them into the water. As they submerged, Frazie barely caught the shadow of the creature disappearing behind Galochio's mitts.
"Oh, no you don't!" Lili touched her temples and shot them forward, the three of them giving pursuit in their makeshift telekinetic submarine.
They raced through the water, going as quick as they could. But try as they might, a clunky iron sphere couldn't beat a fish in a swimming contest. "We're losing it!" Frazie shouted, adding her telekinesis to the mix. They went faster, but it still wasn't enough. "Dogen!"
The boy shut his eyes and focused, grunting with the strain... right before they ROCKETED forward.
"WHHHhoooooOOOAAAhhhh...!" The girls clung to the sides of their ship as Dogen's incredible power shot them across the lake like a rocket.
Maybe a little too fast.
A loud groan rattled through the bathysphere, followed by a ping. A bolt shot off, then another, leaving just enough of a gap in the hull for water to start pouring through.
Frazie yelped, immediately clamping her hands over the leak. "NO NO NO, NO MORE HELPING."
Dogen obliged, and they decelerated back to a standstill. Lili got them moving again, slower, but with much less risk of drowning.
It was hopeless. Without the extra speed boost, the creature had already gotten away, disappearing into the murky depths.
But Frazie knew where it was going... and also how to find it.
Holding one hand over the hole, the other wiped itself off on her leg before fishing Vernon's crude map from her pocket. She flipped it open, holding it flat against the other wall. "We can still catch up to it! We just need to get a bit higher and find out where we are."
Lili took them up, and the three of them counted the landmasses around them. With a little deduction, they finally figured out where to turn and sailed off that way.
Fortunately for them, Vernon's mind really was a steel trap. It took time, but at long last, another landmass appeared right ahead of them. Lili took them in for a landing, guiding them up and onto the shore.
As soon as they breached, Frazie promptly flung the door open, spilling out onto land. Partly because oh god oh god get away from the water, partly to check if they'd ended up in the right place.
They'd ended up on a small sandy peninsula, dotted with reeds and pebbles, with a towering cliffside up ahead. And while it was hard to see from where they were... dark, twisted towers rose up into the sky overhead, peeking over the ledge.
Thorney Towers.
Lili and Dogen stepped out on each side of her, admiring the view as well. "Whoa." Lili breathed, in awe at the spooky sight up above. "...But where's that giant fish?"
"Maybe it got scared and ran somewhere else?" Dogen suggested.
Frazie opened her mouth to respond... only to whip her head around when a loud splash crashed behind them. "Look out!"
The creature reemerged at their rear, shaking the ground with its roars. It'd hid out of view until they'd beached, waiting to ambush them. Frazie grabbed the kids and jumped away right as its sharp nails tore the air in front of them.
"You're a bully!" Dogen shouted, starting to concentrate again. The creature went to swing once more, but just like before, it cried out and clutched its head as explosive pressure pounded at its brain.
Frazie set the kids down and joined in, channeling all her energy into the creature's head. "Come on! Bring it down!"
Together, the three of them flooded the monster's mind with raw psychic energy, overpowering it and bringing it to its knees. Its roars grew quieter, its body shaking and trembling as it struggled in vain to fight off the overwhelming psychic assault. Soon, it was left growling and grunting in desperation, its fight growing weaker... until suddenly, something happened.
Something inside the creature's mind seemed to snap, its eyes going wide, in surprise rather than fear. It stopped struggling, mouth agape, breathing steadily. It wasn't dead, nor knocked out, it'd just... surrendered.
That wasn't adding up. "Hold it, hold it! Something's wrong." Frazie set a hand on each of the kids, halting their attack. "It's not fighting anymore?"
The creature untensed as the metric ton of pressure in its head finally relaxed. Rather than get up and attack again, though, its beady eyes slowly locked onto them. To their shock, a deep voice creeped into their thoughts.
"...Where am I?"
The three of them shared a concerned glance. Choosing herself as the ambassador between man and fishkind, Frazie cleared her throat. "Uhhhh... we're not entirely sure, either. All we know is it's an asylum on the lake. And you were, uh... trying to kill us."
The monster blinked back surprise. Finally, it stood back up on its feet, the sand shaking with each step. "I apologize. I was not myself. There was something in my head... all I remember is a doctor, a lab... but it's gone now. You have freed me, children."
Lili tapped her chin. "I guess we overloaded whatever controlling implant it had in its brain?"
"You mean this thing was never working for Loboto?" Frazie asked.
"Not willingly, at least."
"It is true," the fish spoke in their heads once more. "I have no reason to hurt you humans. If I've been doing anything harmful... it was not my choice. You gave me back control, and for that, I am forever grateful."
In just an instant, the creature that'd been haunting camp all day was on their side. A bit too late to undo the damage it'd been forced to cause... but it might be able to patch it up just a tiny bit. "Well," Frazie murmured, "they've been making you kidnap children and bring them here. You've got one in your stomach right now. Can we have Elka back, at least?"
Alarmed, the fish clutched its belly. "One moment." Its face contorted, starting to gag, pounding its chest.
The humans recoiled as the beast retched, spitting up an old toilet instead of a little girl.
"Ew," Lili gagged. "Potty mouth."
The creature kept trying, spitting up more assorted junk, but that was all it had in it. "It seems I have already given the child away. I am sorry, little ones."
Frazie sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "It's fine. We need to go rescue all the other campers, anyway. What's one more...?"
"I would still like to atone for my crimes." The creature pointed out a strange object it'd spat up, which Frazie (very reluctantly) retrieved. It was a curved fish skeleton, its tailbone plucked and narrowed down to a thin point. "Blow this horn if you ever need my assistance. I can ferry you across the lake should you ever require it, faster and safer than your vehicle did. I am at your service."
Useful... but there was a stark downside. "You want me to put my lips on this thing?!"
"That is its intended purpose, yes."
Grimacing, Frazie promptly wiped the bones off on her sleeve. "Eugh. I will keep that in mind. ...Is there anything we can, uh, call you?" Lake creature just didn't roll off the tongue.
"You may use the name my people gave to me," the monster replied, turning to walk back into the depths. As it sank beneath the waves, it called out one final thing. "Linda."
And then, it was gone. The three of them were left alone on the shore, clutching an old fish skeleton.
"She's a nice lady," Dogen said.
She really was. Frazie was starting to regret almost imploding her mind. But what was in the past was in the past... and their future looked pretty grim.
They turned back to the cliffside as one, where the old asylum awaited them atop the pillar. Stowing the horn away for later, Frazie peered up to see the ringed dome at the tip of the towers looming way up in the clouds. Loboto's lair.
Three of them against a mad doctor, a crazed soldier, and whatever other horrors lurked inside.
Fun.
ATTENTION: THIS AUTHOR NOTE IS IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE TO READ IT!
Hopefully people aren't too disappointed we're not visiting Lungfishopolis - I thought it'd be a neat idea that Dogen's better grasp on his incredible powers could keep him from getting snagged, and also help the girls deal with Linda's brain implant another way. It also means the boi gets to join the asylum crew, and keeps us from retreading old ground!
Now then... here's the thing. I actually had multiple ideas for how the asylum could play out, and I want YOU guys to decide which way we go! I've got several options here, ranging from the quick and painless to the long and unique... just vote for what you want to see in the comments! The next chapter might take time since I need to see what wins and adjust accordingly, but I'm super excited for this final stretch and hope y'all are too.
A. Frazie visits the inmates' brains just like in canon and they're glossed over, basically summing them up with some key unique moments shown. This would be the short and sweet option, boiling down the entire lower asylum into one chapter, but there's still room for new interactions to be seen. Honestly, this option will likely be incorporated no matter who wins - the inmates are just too important to cut out and it'd feel awful if their problems went unfixed. Still, if you're picking option A, you're basically saying you want only option A.
B. Frazie finds a way to finagle her way into Crispin's head, and maybe Sheegor's as well. This is the trickiest option, because I'm still trying to think about how you can sneak into mentally shielded brains, but it's certainly possible. This option is most in tune with all the new stuff I've created over the rest of the fic, featuring a new world or two involving pre-existing characters.
C. Frazie meets new patients, encounters new worlds, new problems. This is the option for those who really want to take things off the rails and push 'new content' to the limit, but would require y'all to trust I can come up with brand new characters that are interesting in both personality and mentality. I've already got some cool ideas for several inmates, and if this loses I might just do them anyway in a separate fic, but if you want it to be canon (to the AU anyway), you pick this.
D. All of the above? The 'I hate the author and want the asylum to last FOREVER' option :P
Remember, vote below! And by all means, let me know what you've thought so far! Thanks for sticking around this long!
