-Twenty-Five Days-

A Psychonauts Christmas Fanfic by Digitaldreamer

Day Ten: The Invitation

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Trelalalala...have absolutely nothing to say, other than thank you all so much for all the reviews last chapter. Because of you all this fic has already nearly hit fifty! So thanks a lot!

Right...onward!

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Drywell, Missouri was an average sort of place. It was too big to be a town, but too small to be a city,with worn down shops and apartment complexes spanning across the horizon. It had its middle-class areas, but for the most part the entire place had a run down, broken sort of feel to it. However, even with all that, to many it was home.

It was through one of the slightly more run-down neighborhoods that a young boy was currently running, nearly slipping on the ice and snow that covered the sidewalks, his arms flailing out wildly, eyes wide with terror. Chasing mere steps behind him was a group of burly looking ten-year old boys. Some had various scrapes and bruises, some had rips and tears in their clothes, but they all looked tough. And who was at the front of this little gang?

None other than Bobby Zilch.

"Come on, get him boys!" The red-haired boy cackled.

The others all gave snorts and guffaws of agreement. They were all strong in their own right, but they all gladly followed Bobby. Though actually they were sure some of them were actually stronger, it seemed whenever anyone argued they suddenly found themselves lifted in the air by an invisible fist. They weren't entirely sure how their leader had done this, but they were a bit too afraid to ask. Thus, they all followed Bobby's orders without argument.

Hey, as long as they got to knock some teeth out, they were good.

The boy they were chasing let out a cry of terror. "L-leave me alone!" He stuttered out. "I haven't done anything!"

"You can't escape your weekly beating, Timmy, you should know better by now!" One of his pursuers sneered.

"Yeah, that's right! Now come on, I think it's time you and my fist got reacquainted!" Bobby said, reaching out a hand to telekinetically pull the boy over.

Unfortunately for him, he was so busy focusing on this that he didn't realize where he was going, and the afro-haired boy found himself running smack into his own family's mailbox.

CLANG! Went the mailbox.

PLOP! Went Bobby as he fell back into the snow.

"Boss!" Exclaimed his gang, skidding to a stop and gathering around him. Timmy paused for a moment as well, apparently concerned.

"Boss? Are you okay?" One boy asked.

Bobby let out a groan.

"Ooohh, you're gonna get it now, Timmy!" Another boy exclaimed, turning and glaring at the thing, pale boy. Timmy let out a squeak of terror and turned to run, several of the boys chasing after him. The other gang members set to helping their leader up, brushing the snow off of him.

"Are you okay, man?"

Bobby let out a groan, then elbowed the one who brushing him off in the ribs. "I'm fine!" He snapped, then paused, glancing at the ground.

There, laying in the snow, was a letter. Not just any lettered, it had the words "To The Parents of Bobby Zilch" printed on the front, along with the insignia for a certain secret government organization.

Bobby's brow furrowed and he knelt down, picking up the letter. He then tore it open and pulled out a folded piece of paper, eyes narrowing as he began to read it.

"To The Parent(s)/Gaurdian(s)of Bobby Zilch,

Seasons greetings from Psychonauts HQ! We hope that you and your son are doing well. As a PsyCadet, we also hope that he has been practicing his powers, as practice does make perfect after all.

This letter is to inform you that your son has been cordially invited to the Headquarters of our Agency in New York City to spend the holidays. We hope that this will be an opportunity for fellowship and fun, as well as a chance for them to meet the agents that they may join the ranks of in the coming years. This will also be a chance for him to reunite with any friends he has met over the summer.

We hope to see you there!

Warm Regaurds,

Tessie"

The afro-haired boys brow furrowed. "Tessie?" He muttered. "Who the Hell is Tessie? What a stupid name."

However, the strange name aside...this was interesting. He hadn't seen anyone from camp since that summer...he couldn't help but wonder how Benny was doing. Not to mention it would be a chance to sock that goggle-headed dork a good one.

And then there was Chloe, the only one from camp who wrote him...well, aside from those two cheerleader dorks, but he always made a point of burning those. But even so, the space cadet always wrote him, asking how he was doing, if he had listened to her at all, and talking about how her experiments were going. He never wrote back...but she kept sending them anyway.

She probably wouldn't have been too happy if she knew what he was up to.

"Hey, Bobby!" His gang members broke him out of his thoughts, causing Bobby to blink and look up to see that they had finally caught up with Timmy and now held him between them. The pale boy himself looked positively terrified, shaking in his snow gear.

"We got him, Bobby!" One boy crowed.

"Come on, lay it on him for hurting you!" Another cried out.

"Yeah, do it!"

Bobby glared at Timmy for a moment. Then, without warning, he socked the one holding the boy in the face.

"Gah!" The gang member released Timmy immediately, clutching at his bleeding nose. The other gangmembers let go in surprise, causing to fall to the ground. The pale-faced boy gaped up at Bobby in confusion, cringing as the blue-skinned boy scowled at him.

Bobby stared at him for a moment. Then he knelt down, grabbed Timmy by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. He then spun the boy around and shoved him away. "You better be glad that it's Christmas, dorkface." He sneered out.

Timmy stumbled forward a few feet, then glanced back at Bobby, blinking in confusion. Bobby scowled. "Go on, get!" He snapped. "Don't think this is me bein' nice or anything, I just got better things to do! I'll get you double next time!"

The pale-faced boy blinked again. Then his face lit into a small smile and he turned, running down the sidewalk towards his house.

Bobby's gang members all stared in confusion, baffled. They then all looked to Bobby, faces shocked. "What the hell, Bobby? Why'd you let him go!?" One demanded.

Bobby scowled, turning and shoving his hands into his pockets. "I already told you jocks, I got better things to do." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"But...but...you never--"

The afro-haired boy turned to glare at his little gang. "What was that, snotface? Would you rather I gave you his beating instead?"

The gang members all gulped, shaking their heads in unison.

"Good. Now get outta here. Find something else to do until New Years." Bobby said as he headed towards his small, run-down house.

Silence for a few moments.

"What? Why?"

Bobby's eyes narrowed. He then spun around, slamming his fist into the face of the one who had spoken, eliciting a yelp of pain and a loud 'CRACK'' before the boy tumbled to the ground. Bobby stood over him, panting, then turned to the rest of his gang. "Any other questions!?"

The boys all shook their heads.

"Good." With that, Bobby stomped up the rickety steps of his house and slammed the door behind him.

He had packing to do.

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To Be Continued...