A/N: The end of this chapter marks the beginning of True Psychonauts Excellence (I hope.) With a bit of darkness thrown in for good measure, of course. And please don't kill me for the chapter ending, 'kay?
(Mad props to Tyraa Rane for putting up with my insanity while I wrote this! XD)
Chapter Five: Cheap Shot
Five Psychonauts were gathered together beneath the town of Cedar, Kansas, standing in the central control room. They were standing around a lit table, where a map of Pinecroft Academy lay before them.
Sasha's voice broke the heavy silence. "Very well. Two teams of four. Myself, Agents Vodello and DeLucion, and Razputin."
DeLucion frowned, narrowing his eyes at Sasha. "Whoa, wait a minute. Why the hell are we bringing a kid with us? I don't mind working with you two, but this isn't a training exercise."
Ford chuckled. "He's had plenty of training, and his expertise is in recovering hostages…Much like yours is getting exiled from one of the most powerful nations in the world and burning people alive. Just trust our judgment." He shot a knowing look to the young man. Sasha, for the life of him, could not understand why Ford was antagonizing the boy. He noticed this type of behavior in his old friend while the agent was giving his report. Was he trying to prove some sort of point?
The young agent's back stiffened. When he spoke, his voice was tight with anger, though it still held a note of respect. "Sir."
Larry, if he was bothered by Ford's needling of his agent, hid it well. "That sounds reasonable, Nein. Agents Meads, Zander, Neverhome, and Rage will make up the other team. However, I do have one question…" He watched the German man closely. "Why don't you bring Oleander with you? As Agent DeLucion said, Razputin is still child, gifted though he may be."
The Whispering Rock Psychonauts looked among each other for a few moments. Milla spoke, her voice quiet. "Morceau requested to serve as backup in case both of our teams fail. He said it didn't make much sense sending in everyone at once."
Larry tilted his head to the side slightly, but nodded. They weren't telling him the whole truth. "Of course… What of Miss Zanotto?"
"She stays here with Oleander and Iceclaw." Sasha thought for a moment and then dryly added, "Her anger alone at having both her boyfriend and father kidnapped would be sufficient to rescue us. If not turn the entire tri-state area into a blasted wasteland." Most of the others seemed to agree to that statement.
Another long silence, broken by Ford. "Just so you're all aware, I'm not the one that's gonna tell her she can't go."
Ten minutes and three games of Rock, Paper, Scissors later, Sasha gave a defeated sigh and went to go find Lili. Milla found him half an hour later inside his room, smoking two cigarettes at once and muttering darkly in German as he repaired a singed jacket.
Finally! An official mission! Well, if you ignore the fact that we're basically committing treason at worst and insubordination at best…Raz was almost beside himself in his excitement for his first almost-official mission for the Psychonauts—one where he was supposed to help rescue the Grand Head, no less! Assuming nothing went horribly wrong, they'd be heroes! Maybe even get mentioned in the next issue of True Psychic Tales.
Such thoughts followed the young boy as he, Sasha, and Milla followed Agent DeLucion up above ground to an uneven, cracked parking lot. The sun had gone down only a few moments before to be replaced by the dark night sky, and the sound of cawing crows echoed across the parking lot. DeLucion stopped next to one of the cars and shuffled through his pockets, pulling out a set of keys and approaching one of the cars.
"...This is your car?" Raz stared at the...well, there was no other way to describe it--abomination of mechanics and modern transportation that sat before them. It was old, that was for sure. A rusted Buick from the 50's sat across three parking spaces in the Shaded Glen's parking lot, it's formerly white paint chipping off, with rust marring the small amount of paint that wasn't buried beneath dirt, grime, and bird droppings. It was missing three hubcaps, and the remaining one seemed ready to pop off at any moment. There were dents and scratches covering the whole of it.
"Yep! Screak's grandpa built that car. Amazing how it still works, eh mate?" A cheery agent, tanned with spiked blonde hair smirked at Agent DeLucion—or Screak as the other agents called him--before pulling himself into the driver's seat of a bright orange Jeep. Raz had never seen him before, though he guessed from the man's accent that he was from Australia. There was another agent alongside him, the one with the heavy metal band shirt under his jacket. He snickered and jumped into the passenger's seat.
Screak ignored the other agents, focusing instead on wrenching open his own door. After a full five minutes worth of struggle, Sasha sighed, walked over to the younger agent, unlocked the door via telekinesis and then opened it for him. He then very calmly went and sat in one of the back seats. Milla, looking amused, joined him.
Raz grinned at Screak.
"Just get in the damn car."
Raz jumped into the passenger seat. DeLucion moved into the driver's seat, started the car, and began the long drive to Pinecroft Academy.
The silence in the car lasted for three miles.
"So, what's the plan? Levitate in, turn invisible, and subdue the guards? Incite a revolt among the local rodent population? Dogen said squirrels were good for those kinds of things. Ooh! How about we--"
"Dear god, someone please make it stop." Agent DeLucion--or Screak, as the other agents called him--had his arms crossed above his head in a defensive position, leaning against the steering wheel of his car. Raz had been asking questions almost nonstop since they left the Shaded Glen.
Sasha finally spoke up from the backseat. "Calm yourself, Razputin. We have a plan, and you will need that energy in order for it to work."
Raz turned around in his seat, and Sasha was struck with just how young the Psychonaut truly was. With his goggles strapped across his head—sans helmet, that thing was just tacky—his messy brown hair sticking out in all directions, and the unbridled excitement in his eye gave him the look of a child going on his first family vacation. You never would have guessed that he was a government agent embarking on one of the most important missions in Psychonauts history. Raz gave him a toothy grin before turning back around. "Got it, Agent Nein!"
Sometime later, Screak pulled the car off to the side of the road, bringing it a stop and killing the lights and engine. He counted a full ten seconds before Raz's questions began.
"So…what're we doing?" Raz was looking out of the window at the trees that seemed to have intertwined their branches with one another to form a sort of leafy tunnel over the two lane road. The occasional hoot from an owl or croaking of a frog could be heard over the constant chirping of the crickets.
"Waiting."
"For what?"
"A distraction."
"…What kind—"
"SPICEGIRLS ROCK! YEAH!" A bright orange Jeep, not unlike the one they had seen back in the parking lot, shot past them. It was full of a group of agents Raz had seen but not been introduced to back in the Shaded Glen, only they weren't wearing their uniforms. In fact, if Raz hadn't known any better, he would have suspected them to be nothing more than a rowdy bunch of college kids. Then again, they seemed to be like that even with their uniforms on.
"That kind of distraction." Screak started the car. "This is your show, Nein, Vodello. Me and the kid will be back-up for you two. I've got a radio to Nick and the others, so just give me the orders and I'll pass 'em along, alright? Assuming they aren't suicidal or stupid, we'll listen."
Sasha quirked a brow. "Very well...When will we know if your team has taken care of the guards—"
"Hey, asshole! This is Skin-n-Bones! Guards are gone. You can come up now."
"Answers that question, then." Sasha said, growing less certain of the Shaded Glen agents by the moment.
Screak pulled the car back onto the road and sped down a short distance to the open, rusted gates of Pinecroft Academy. It looked the same as it did in the picture, save that there was now a long streak of tire marks that ended beneath the ungodly bright orange Jeep. The Jeep was empty, though the engine was running and the headlights were on. Screak did a better job of hiding his vehicle—parking it off the side of the road once more, just past the gates, hidden in the shadow of a crumbling brick wall. It was eerily silent.
Sasha was the first one out of the car and, after adjusting his sunglasses (Raz could never figure out how he saw at night with those things on), turned invisible.
Milla followed suit, sending a tendril of thought towards Raz. Follow our lead, darling. We don't have to worry about our psychic signatures being picked up, thanks to Agent DeLucion's team.
Raz blinked, moving out of the car and turning invisible. Surprisingly, he could still see Sasha and Milla—or their auras, actually. He had once read that psychics were capable of hiding their auras from certain people, yet allow others to see them plain as day. It was one way the Psychonauts were able to bring down particularly stubborn foes; one agent would stay visible and distract the target while the other agent turned invisible and psi-blasted or restrained the unsuspecting opponent. Sasha's aura was a cool mix between green and blue, steady and constant, whereas Milla's was a vibrant combination of pink and purple, swirling around and shifting to the beat of unheard song. Screak's was red, and throbbed in time with his heartbeat, brimming with anger.
Raz couldn't help but notice that both Sasha and Screak's auras were not…well, pure. Sasha's was pale around the edges, with tendrils of darkness threading in towards the center. As he watched, the tendrils wormed closer towards the center of Sasha's aura, but were suddenly shot back, where they slowly began to repeat the process. Screak's was the same, although the darkness in his aura was a swirling mass instead of stationary veins. He made a note to ask Sasha or Milla about that later; right now they had other things to worry about.
Sasha's voice entered his mind, his aura arcing upward to lightly touch the top of his head. There was a similar 'link' between Milla and Sasha, though it was thicker, and their auras actually melded together in one section. The tendrils of darkness that were present in Sasha's aura didn't reach that particular section of his aura. We do not have much time. Razputin, you and Agent DeLucion will act as rearguard for us. If we end up getting separated, don't panic. If you cannot reach us, then do your best to escape without the enemy seeing you. Stick to the shadows.
Raz nodded, then remembered he was invisible, and thought back to Sasha. It was sort of weird at first; kind of like threading a needle through a complex web. Got it!
The four of them passed through the rotting wooden door, to find themselves inside a hallway covered in dust and debris, with the occasional fluorescent bulb flickering on and off along the ceiling, broken glass along the floor reflecting the uncertain light. Children's drawings covered the walls, the paper yellowed with age and exposure to the elements, most torn, some burned. A few of the walls sported glass cases with sports trophies held within, or awards from the state for outstanding performance in some academic pursuit. The air was stuffy and smelled of rotting wood and paper. It was just as silent within the walls of the building as it had been outside. As far Raz could see, there was no one around.
Sasha took the lead, weaving through the hall with an almost eerie grace that Raz had witnessed back at Whispering Rock; he didn't so much as walk as glide across the floor, stepping over fallen doors and shattered glass with equal ease. Milla followed close behind, mimicking his steps with her own style. Raz made sure to keep pace with them both, and he could actually feel Screak's aura behind him. It was like the heat of a fierce fire, and the closer he was, the more intense the heat. For some reason, Raz didn't feel completely comfortable with the strange Psychonaut covering his back. It just didn't sit well with him.
They weaved through the halls dilapidated halls of the abandoned school together in silence. Sasha apparently knew where they needed to go, since he moved with little, if any, hesitation. He led them away from the main halls and towards the back of the building, stopping them all in a T shaped hallway some short distance away from a heavy steel door with the words BOILER ROOM printed across in bold letters. Raz noticed a strange, luminescent picture of a fox above it, barely noticeable at first. A psi-marker, only different from the ones he was used to seeing back at Whispering Rock. Milla moved to the side of the door, and readied a confusion grenade, its sickly green color clashing with the vibrant purple of her aura. Sasha stood away from the door and pressed two fingers to his temple, his voice entering the others' minds. According to the most recent reports, Truman is being held beyond here in the basement. Unfortunately, we do not have an exact location. Razputin, you're going in ahead of us to find the best route and, hopefully, find Truman. DeLucion, form up on me; Raz cover Milla while we secure the room beyond.
For what was essentially the Shadow Man's base of operations, Raz noticed that there wasn't all that much in the way of security. He suspected that could have been because of Screak's team, but shouldn't there have been more of a resistance? They just literally walked through the front door! Sasha, what if this is a trap?
Then we handle the situation accordingly.
That is so not helpful. Raz thought back sullenly. Sometimes Sasha gave you good answers; other times, you had to beat it out of him. Luckily, Sasha had a partner who was actually capable of communicating on a level most people could understand—Milla spoke to the young Psychonaut.
That is what the grenade is for, darling. Make sure no one sneaks up behind us, okay? Sasha gets fussy if a plan doesn't work out.
Now that was much easier to understand! The young Psychonaut had a feeling that Milla had been paired with Sasha for the sole purpose of translating Sasha-speak into layman's terms. That, or Ford had a really sick sense of humor and wanted to see what would happen if you put opposites together. Raz decided that it was a mix of the two. Ford was just twisted enough to do that.
The door popped open easily enough. There. Razputin, go. If something goes wrong, do your best to get out of there. If all else fails, scream. Good luck.
And with those words of encouragement ringing in his ears, Raz jumped ahead of the group and into the darkness beyond.
Back in the Shaded Glen headquarters, Lili was pacing back and forth impatiently. It truly hadn't been very long since everyone left for Pinecroft Academy, but it certainly felt like hours. It didn't help that she was stuck with the most annoying people on this planet. The girl turned to shoot a glare at the others currently gathered in the room. Larry was leaning back in his chair, frowning at one of the main screens thoughtfully, and twirling a pen around his fingers. Some nameless agent sat in the corner, muttering to himself and drinking from something that she suspected was a hip flask. Another agent sat next to him in silence, brooding, and occasionally looking over to glare at Oleander and Iceclaw who had begun a game of Waterloo nearby. Ford was watching Oleander's game closely.
"Aha!" Oleander slammed a small wooden soldier into a space on the game board, causing all of the other pieces to pop up and fall over. He gave a wicked grin to the much taller man across from him. "Try and get out of that one!"
Iceclaw stared at the board in thought for a good five minutes. Which eventually grew to ten minutes. Then fifteen…
For some reason, this annoyed Lili even more. She stomped over to the two, grabbed one of Iceclaw's pieces, and then proceeded to utterly destroy Oleander's army, piece by piece, until his stronghold was left defenseless, where she dropped the piece directly in the center of it. The piece was a simple peasant child. Satisfied, Lili went back to pacing.
The two Psychonauts stared at the board. Then at her. Back at the board again.
"I…what the hell just happened?" Oleander stared at the board in confusion. "That strategy was flawless! And she destroyed it with a kid?" He had the vague feeling that he should find that ironic in some way.
Iceclaw just grinned. "Best two out of three?"
"You're on!"
The two began to reset the pieces—each one in the exact position as they had before, Lili noticed with disgust—but were interrupted when the door flew open. A young man charged inside and sharply saluted Larry, who was staring in confusion at him. "Sir! You have—"
It was at that exact moment that another agent walked inside. He was short man, the same size as Oleander, though he didn't seem to be bitter about it. He also looked damn good in his uniform. "Hey, Shadow Man just sent us a message." That was enough to gather everyone's attention. Larry quirked a brow at the second agent. "Here, let me show you."
The second agent walked over to one of the consoles and switched the screens on the main walls to images of the dorm area that DeLucion had shown Lili and the others only a short while ago. The halls were empty, and the doors were bare, just as Lili remembered them. She could see her own guest room door, next to Raz's and Milla's.
Larry stared at the screen. "What, exactly, are we looking for?"
"This is what the hall looked like five minutes ago. This," he pressed another button, bringing up another image. "Is what it looks like now."
As they watched, a bright flash of light obscured the screens for a brief moment, sending all of them into a mess of rolling images and static. Once the images stabilized, the reason why the second agent had come in was made abundantly clear.
Outside of the door of every Psychonaut that had left for Pinecroft, there sat an arrangement of flowers and a small card. As they watched, more appeared, each time the screen going fuzzy and then focusing back on the doors until there were roughly three outside of every door. Once the third flower arrangement appeared outside of the last door, the agent zoomed the camera in on every card. All of them said one thing: Sorry for your loss.