A/N: Yeah, I know not a lot has been going on in the story lately, but try to bear with me. We'll get to the good stuff in the next chapter—an actual mission and, after that, a visit to the mental world. There'll be a lot more humor, too. Please tell me what you like and dislike about this story, alright guys? Any suggestions are more than welcome.

Chapter Four: Beneath the Shaded Glen

As the jet's engines began to slow and cool--emitting a high pitched whine in the process--the door was pulled open by a rather large man in a heavy work suit. He stood at an even six feet, his heavy frame packed with bulging muscle. His black hair was cut short--buzzed, actually--and emphasized his small eyes. In short, he looked like the poster boy for drill sergeants. The heavy door was secured open, giving everyone full access to a short ramp beyond it. He stared at the group gathered within for a few short moments before growling at them.

"Alright. You're landed. Get out so we can refuel and check this flying tin can over." With that said, he turned and left.

Raz blinked. "Um...thanks?"

Larry shook his head. "That's Agent Iceclaw. Don't mind him. He's like that to most everyone."

Oleander gave a wry grin, jumping out of his chair and stretching a bit as he walked towards the door. "I kinda like his style."

Milla stood up and stifled a small chuckle at Oleander's statement while Sasha snorted. "You would."

Once everyone made their way out of the jet, Larry gave them a tour of the facilities, introducing them to a few workers on the way. Raz noticed that the layout was similiar to Whispering Rock's--at least underground. They had a rapid transit system that was considerably larger than the one back at the camp. It had several cars instead of just one, and larger cars so that three or four people could ride together in relative comfort. They rode through one of the tunnels to stop just outside of a very secure door. On the way, Ford cycled through a few of his personalities before settling back into his original one. The older Agent shook his head, muttering.

"The psitanium's not as strong here..."

Larry gave him an apologetic look. "No, it isn't. There is a sizeable concentration of it in the next room, though its reach outside is somewhat lacking. Combined with the rock you've strapped to your back, it should be enough to keep you..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Ford gave a sardonic chuckle. "Sane? Bah, there's nothin' you can say to offend me, Larry."

"Right, well...Everyone, if you would follow me..." He pressed his hand into a panel next to the smooth doors, and a mechanical voice spoke as a light above the door turned from red to green.

Welcome home, Agent Williams.

Inside was a wide array of very expensive, very sophisticated looking consoles and several large monitors facing them from the wall. It was all very sleek and modern, and kept immaculately clean. The floor was a smooth surface that gleamed from the soft lighting around the room. The sound of machines whirring created a steady background noise for the conversation being held within. Two agents sat in front of the consoles, speaking to each other in quiet tones that quickly turned silent at the group's arrival. They both stood and snapped to attention, saluting Larry then--with some hesitation--Sasha, Milla, Oleander, and Ford.

Raz noticed that they didn't even look at him. Just to the others...even though he was wearing his uniform! What did he have to do to prove himself to these people? Frustrated, the young Psychonaut walked inside with Lili, crossing his arms across his chest. Lili, for her part, just seemed bored, if a little peeved at everyone's attitude towards Raz.

"Impressive." Sasha had moved further in, examining one of the consoles and tapping a few of the controls with one gloved hand. The computers here were of a better quality than the ones he had back in his lab. Perhaps Agent Williams would be willing to part with one? Something to ask the man later.

"Thank you." Larry had an easy smile on his face--a permanent fixture it seemed--as he waved at the two agents. They both stood at ease. It seemed the man ran a tight ship in his base, something that Oleander hadn't failed to notice.

Milla just shook her head. The room was very utilitarian--no decorations, no style to speak of...It was all very boring. "Agent Williams, you said you had information on Truman's kidnapping?"

"Indeed. Agent DeLucion, report."

One young man, no taller than Larry, with dark hair black hair that almost seemed blue if it was caught a certain way in the light, stepped forward. There was small scar across his right eye--small enough that it was hard to see from afar, but large enough to see up close. His eyes were a strange yellow color and almost seemed lupine. His uniform was slightly rumpled, and he carried a rather large knife sheathed on his belt. His shoulders were tense and stooped forward as if he expected to be attacked. Everything about him hinted at a subtle anger.

"As of yesterday when the disappearance of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts was reported, our squad noticed suspicious activity--"

"We don't need all the nitty gritty details, kid. Get to the point." Ford was beginning to wonder what they taught today's Psychonauts. Was it a requirement to be longwinded? He'd have to talk to Truman about that when they got him back.

The man stiffened, and his eyes narrowed, but he saluted Cruller. "My apologies, sir. The short version, then. We found the terrorist commonly referred to as the 'Shadow Man' due to his ability to manipulate darkness, hidden in an old elementary school along the outskirts of town. We have several confirmed reports of his appearance and continued stay there."

Sasha scratched the bottom of his chin in thought. "Alone?"

"No, sir. There are several others with him, many of them known terrorists on our wanted lists. A few reports included the description of a man that matches Truman Zanotto's, though those are unconfirmed. One report even indicated a child was present, as well."

"A child?" ask Milla, looking concerned. The abilities of a psychic in unstable individuals such as those that tended to be terrorists often led to severe emotional trauma for their victims. That a child was in their custody…

He nodded. "We weren't able to determine the exact age of the boy, but we're guessing he's no older than seven years old. A hostage, perhaps."

Milla's voice grew tight. Raz could only imagine what exactly was going through her mind. "And why, exactly, haven't you done anything to rescue him or Truman?"

He bent down to tap a few keys across the console, bringing up a picture of the front of an old, dilapidated school. One of the doors was hanging off of its hinges, most of the windows were boarded up or shattered, and the yard in front of the building was choked with weeds. Every few moments he hit another key, showing the elementary school and the shadowed man Raz saw in Cruller's nightmares. In one picture, the man had turned directly towards the camera and--with the top half of his face in shadow--gave a sardonic grin.

"Because," The man continued his voice dry. "He's aware of our presence."

"Well, that scraps any covert ops you guys had in mind." Oleander shook his head.

"Not necessarily." Agent DeLucion pressed a few other buttons, bringing up a map of the area surrounding the elementary school--which was helpfully labeled 'school' in the center of the map. Landmarks were shown and highlighted, the ground's elevation was measured, and even the temperature and dew point were listed in the corner of the screen. "He's set himself up. The school he's holed himself up in was a boarding school--Pinecroft Academy. One of those places where the elite send their children, away from the 'untouchables', so they can grow up to be pompous assholes like their parents."

Sasha quirked a brow at the man's words. He didn't seem to be holding back any prejudices. Nor did he seem to be as rigid; he was still stooped forward, but his shoulders were not tensed as they were before.

Raz tilted his head a little. "What happened to the school?"

A wry grin formed across the man's features, as if the fact that the school closed gave him some sort of pleasure. "Extortion. The dean was stealing money from the school. Once he siphoned enough off of the rich kids and their parents, he skipped town. Latest report says he's on a private island somewhere, living the life of a billionaire. The school's been closed down ever since. The city couldn't afford to tear it down, so they just left it out on the outskirts of the town. It's been rotting out there in the woods ever since."

He adjusted the screen to focus on the roads that led to the academy. "Believe it or not, that works in our favor. He's isolated himself, holed up in a place he's unfamiliar with. His forces are small and somewhat disorganized from what we've seen. The rest of my squad is currently gathering more information. When they return, we'll have more information--enough to form a plan. We should have enough manpower to handle anything he throws at us. Maybe." Finished with his report, the young agent looked to Larry before slinking off back to his own console.

"Well, that's the whole of it, friends. I'm sure you're all aware that becoming involved in this will mark you as rogue agents, and possibly kidnappers in our own right due to Ms. Zanotto's presence. " Larry looked around at the others. He had taken a seat near DeLucion, noting their reactions to the information given to them in silence. "Of course, it's up to you if you want to participate, but your presence will definitely increase our odds of a successful mission."

"Well, of course we're going to do this." Ford was still standing. It simply took too long for him to sit down and get back up again. If it was one of his floating chairs, he would've been all over that. If he tried to sit down, he probably would have fallen asleep through the report anyway. "Sort of goes without sayin', you know?"

The others all nodded their agreement, murmuring amongst themselves. Larry smiled. "Excellent! Until then, you're welcome to all of the facilities here. We'll have an area set up for you, Agent Cruller. Agent DeLucion will show the rest of you to your rooms."

Agent DeLucion proved to be more taciturn and withdrawn than Sasha. He went through the motions of showing each of them their rooms in a mechanical fashion. Staying silent throughout most of it unless he was asked any questions. And with Raz around, there were plenty of questions aimed towards him.

They were currently walking down a hallway towards a set of doors that led to the guest rooms. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts for the most part. Except for Raz, of course.

"Hey, Agent DeLucion?"

A sigh. "Yes?"

"Why do you carry that big knife around?" He pointed at the large blade.

The Agent answered with a question of his own. "Why do you wear those goggles?"

"They make me look cool. And Sasha won't let me borrow his sunglasses."

"And they become a part of your astral projection, do they not? Anything you carry on your person tends to 'follow' you into the mental world. Sometimes a situation calls for a weapon other than those equipped within your mind." He hoped that would satisfy the child's curiosity enough that he would be able to show them to their rooms in silence.

No such luck. "Oh. How'd you get that scar?"

The man's back stiffened slightly. "I was on assignment in Australia. One of our contacts there got careless. Most of my squadmates carry scars from that encounter as well."

Raz was silent for a few moments, and then spoke again. The best way to learn was to ask questions, after all. "Hey, why is this place called the Shaded Glen?"

"Back when the city was first founded, Traces of psitanium were found everywhere around here. Trees, ground, even in the water. The animals were affected. Some of them went mad, and started attacking the villagers. The more vicious attacks occurred here--or above us, actually. Folktales started, cautionary tales that said to keep away from the shaded glen and its inhabitants."

"In other words, a perfect place to set up an outpost for the Psychonauts." Sasha spoke quietly. "A psychoactive resource, tales to keep the curious away, and a remote location."

Agent DeLucion nodded, falling back into his comfortable--and preferred--silence. It didn't last very long.

"Um. Are those guys part of your squad?" He pointed down the hall, where two agents, each young men, and each of them waving frantically waving at the young agent. One of the two, a short blond boy with the jacket open on his uniform to reveal a heavy metal band t-shirt beneath, sprinted towards DeLucion.

DeLucion gave another, longsuffering sigh. "Yes. That would be our intel group."

"Hey, Screak! We got it! That asshole's goin' down!"

After the others left the room, Ford watched Larry closely. "Alright, drop the act. You're entirely too cheery right now—which means you're hidin' something."

The other man sighed, seemingly shrinking into his chair. "Agent Nein's reports. Are they true?"

Ford tilted his head, eyeing the man closely. "Of course they are. Sasha wouldn't say something unless he's researched it to death first. Even then he'd research his research to make sure his sources are good. He's anal about things like that."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Larry muttered, massaging his temples. He seemed to have aged ten years. He glanced over to the other man who had been present in the room during the debriefing. "Sam, could you leave us alone for a moment?"

The agent stood from his post, gave a shy smile to Larry, and left the room. Once the door was firmly shut, Larry looked back to Cruller. "In his notes, Agent Nein said it was possible for people to be manipulated by this Spiral. That they get trapped inside their nightmares for days at a time and when they finally awaken, they're terrified. Claim they keep being trapped inside some shadowed labyrinth."

Ford nodded. "Yes. There've been reports about this sorta thing happening throughout Psychonauts history. Lost a few agents to it, too. Damn near lost Sasha to it a few years back."

"Agent Nein's partner…" A thoughtful pause. "He's never told Vodello, has he?"

Ford shrugged. He preferred not to speak behind his agents' backs, and as far as he was concerned, that was Sasha's story to share. They were good people, and some of the best friends an old multiple personality disorder victim could have. Not that many people would put up with someone's delusions like that for as long as they have. "Get to the point, Larry."

"What happened to him, I think it's happening here. On a larger scale."

"You think some of your agents are having nightmares like that?" That would definitely complicate their plans, and possibly put them into extreme danger. Sasha had once suffered through a nightmare intense enough to blast a wall down on top of Oleander.

"Some of them, yes. Mostly I think it's affecting the town. People…they've gotten mean, Cruller. Violent crime is up; reports of insomnia are running rampant, suicides have doubled, and half of the town has checked into the local asylum. It's not the psitanium—there simply isn't enough of it here to cause that kind of behavior." He sighed. "It's gotten so bad that we can't send our empaths out anymore. They refuse to even set foot into crowded places. And it started getting worse when we tracked down Shadow Man."

Ford was silent for several long moments. "You think the town is going insane?"

"I think our Shadow friend is responsible for it."

Cruller's mind was running a mile a minute, and his thoughts focused on Raz and Lili. If the Shadow Man ever found a way to enter their minds, things could turn ugly very fast. Lili had been complaining of nightmares since before Oleander's bid to take over the world. Raz had the same nightmare as Lili. And Oleander…well, his nightmares had driven him to acts that he would likely never forgive himself for.

Larry leaned forward, looking at Ford. "This man is the most dangerous criminal in the history of the Psychonauts, Ford. He's probably been planning this for years. And now we're all that's standing between him and the rest of the world. Those are not good odds."

The former Grand Head thought on this for a long while, his eyes focused on the light blue screen that still had a map of Pinecroft Academy on it. He thought of a young boy, with a set of goggles strapped across his head, who single handedly rescued the brains of his classmates and teachers, and finished a scavenger hunt on top of all of that. He smiled. "Nothin' we can't handle. Now, what're the burgers like around here?"