The trip over to the campground took at least 90 minutes of running, levitating, and telekinesis assistance before we got to the area we wanted to, that being a cliff face that was overlooking a large camp site, as well as a campfire in an area full of carved logs. And we hid out in the brush while we heard Coach Oleander speak to the others.
"From this day forward, you are all psychic soldiers. Paranormal paratroopers! Mental marines who are about to ship out on the adventure of your lives! This is your beachhead, and THIS is your landing craft!" Oleander spoke like a drill sergeant, me seeing that Queepie looked at it in confusion.
"He's very loud," he frowned.
"Don't worry, he's just making it sound awesome, yet dangerous," I said.
"For those of you who pass, you will become international secret agents of the mind. In other words, Psychonauts! The rest of you... will DIE!" he said, me then facepalming myself as Dogen then cried out loud and Mirtala looked concerned before I spoke to her.
"Don't worry, guys, he's doing it to try and toughen us up. We're not in THAT much danger. It's not like they're going to blow us up if we happen to fail training," I said to Queepie and Mirtala's minds, them sighing in relief.
"I don't wanna die!" Dogen cried out before Lili spoke.
"Oh hush, coach. I've been coming here for 3 years, you don't need to say the die thing at the end every time," Lili said, me smiling at her as I then tried to go into their minds... and I smiled at how I was able to go into all of them to learn who was who, their likes, dislikes, why they were going to camp, and even a big secret for one of the lesser children of the group.
Yeah, you know Milka? The queen of invisibility? She wasn't Milka at all! I looked in her mind and saw that, even though she was half there and half invisible, she was in the same situation I was. Her mind showed she was 39 years old, and she was born as a little girl in the form of Milka. And I could see her true name as clear as day, which I ended up doing a big mistake as Oleander introduced Sasha and Milla as being the other counselors.
"Connie!" I said in shock, me then gasping and covering my mouth as everyone in the group immediately heard me, which Frazie then frowned at me.
"You dummy, now they know we're he-HEY!" she shouted as she then got her body picked up, followed by Queepie and Mirtala, and then me being last, me hiding all of my thoughts from all of the teachers as they put my siblings down first in front and center and I then saw they were trying to go into my mind.
"ACK! I can't get a read... I think the name starts with an A... Can't... get... in!" Oleander growled before I then landed on the ground with barely a sound, using temporary levitation to do so.
"Please don't eat us, lake monster!" shouted Elton, me smiling and shaking my head no.
"My name-" I was about to say.
"Starts with an A!" Oleander frowned before I spoke.
"Is Lucas Zelinsky Aquato," I said, that making Connie/Milka gasp and then turn completely visible from me saying that. "But you may call me Luke Psiwalker," I smirked, which Frazie then spoke after.
"Uh, hehe... sorry for crashing the party, but we wanted to join in on this movement, too," Frazie said, which Sasha Nein looked at her and my group with a frown.
"You do realize that you've broken into a secret government facility filled with powerful psychics, right?" he asked.
"I know, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to learn how to turn invisible and lift even more than I already can!" Queepie smirked as he then demonstrated by using his telekinesis to pick up all the other campers and have them hover in the air for a bit.
"Ack! O-Okay, I get it, you proved your point, put me down! I don't do well with-" Kitty was about to finish before Queepie cut it and the group then landed on their butts... and Kitty faceplanted into the dirt. "Heights... jerk," she frowned.
"Hmm... very impressive feat of telekinesis. Unfortunately, there are rules. You'd need to get your parents permission, sign some forms-" Milla was about to say before I then did something else. I went to none other than her and grabbed her and put her in my storage in my mind, the group gasping at that.
"Milla! Where did she go?!" Sasha asked before I then proceeded to let out three other things from my mind. The first thing was a bucket of chocolate-covered pretzels, then a bag of marshmallows, and then, Milla, who I'd given something to her from my personal mind storage in the form of a small pendant with a piano on it.
"There she is! Where did she go, though?" Maloof asked in confusion.
"Uh... I was just in a place that was filled with the most gorgeous colors ever... and tons of different items, some food, some being money, jewelry, even an entire refrigerator... and I saw a whole slew of doors that led to different parts of a mind... HIS mind," Milla said, pointing to me specifically, which the others in the group looked at me in shock.
"You... you mean... he used mental storage? On a real human? And nothing bad happened?" Oleander gawked, me smiling and nodding.
"All of us specialize in something, and we want to join this movement without our parents' permission. Because we're here to help others," I said as Frazie nodded.
"Back home, we're thought of weird, dangerous, or creepy. We're rejected by others for our talents, our skills, our minds. We want in so we can not only learn how to control our powers, but also prove we can help others, too," she said, me then finishing.
"Because if we don't help the world, then who will? We're here to not only learn, but to protect and to serve," I smiled, Oleander tearing up by the end as Mirtala then jumped over and started to take some marshmallows from the bag.
"Please let us stay? If you do, we can finish the night with some marshmallows on sticks," Mirtala smiled, which the campers then immediately sided with us.
"Please, please, please, please!" they said over and over before Oleander spoke.
"Get these soldiers a bunk, right this minute. And let's enjoy some marshmallows and choco pretzels!" Oleander said, everyone in the group cheering afterwards. And after enjoying the treets (with me being the rebel and sticking a cooked marshmallow on both sides of a choco pretzel), we were then shown to the cabins and I saw that there were just enough beds to house everyone, with the only issue being that one of the girls in my group had to share a bed with the boys' main cabin. And after heavy debate, I managed to convince them to let Milka join in. Why did I choose Milka?
"I've been waiting to see you for ages, Connie... but I never expected you to be like me," I said, her then turning invisible from embarrassment.
"I uh... I'm sorry for being so shy... I look nothing like I used to... and I don't have nearly as good of psychic strength as you, Luke..." she admitted, me smiling as I sensed she was right in front of me, which I held her invisible hand and she then made only her hand visible.
"I promise, Connie, that I will not let anything happen to you again," I said, her smiling at me and giving me an invisible hug and a kiss, which the others looked at in confusion, specifically Frazie. But it was Chloe who spoke first.
"Um... so, you say her name is Connie, right? But her name on the list of campers is Milka Phage," Chloe said, which Connie then spoke after.
"It's complicated... me and Lucas were in a different time, a different universe, both of us almost 30 years old. And then, after a freak accident, we get reborn into these new bodies in this world... and both with the minds we had as adults, but trapped in newborn babies," Milka said with a quiet voice.
"That... honestly sounds scary, not going to lie," Lili Zanotto admitted.
"It was actually scarier for me and my family, because Luke was able to speak telepathically from birth. And my parents aren't the nicest when it comes to psychics, even more so with our Nona," Frazie said with a giggle.
"Hehe, that does sound creepy... so, we ready to get to bed?" Mirtala asked, us nodding as all of us then went to the bunk beds with me laying myself in the bottom of one of the boy's bunks while Connie got in the bunk above me. Queepie then got into a bunk below Benny the Nose, who looked at him from above and smirked.
"Hey, just lettin' ya know, I've got my eye on you newbies, and so does Bobby," Benny smirked at him as I then smirked at Queepie forcing him to go back to his bunk and tucked him in tight so he would leave him alone.
"Don't interrupt my bedtime," Queepie complained in his adorable voice as we then got a message from Coach as he came in.
"Okay, rookies, early to bed, early to rise! Once tomorrow hits, we'll get up bright and early for Basic Braining. Sleep well," Coach smirked as we then finally fell asleep, me smiling as I was about to enter into my very expansive dream world... and then I saw that it got interrupted by Ford Cruller appearing in front of me.
"Okay, this is definitely a very advanced mind for sure," he said, me looking at him and seeing that my mind looked like it was before, bright and colorful with numerous spots inside of it hiding my personal secrets and life experiences.
"Yes, it is. And no, I don't want you snooping around in here, mister," I said, him chuckling at me.
"Still, gotta keep your mind shut from the others. You're in a place filled with other psychics now, so gotta keep those secrets hidden at all times. But before that, I wanna teach you about how to raise your ranks," he smirked as he then showed off four different items. "This small green eye is what we call a Psi Core, which you can buy at my shop at any time you wish. Then, you'll often find these Psi Cards floating all over camp, which is kind of like a small scavenger hunt experience. Combining a Psi Core and at least 9 Psi Cards together will net you one of these special Psi Challenge Markers, which can raise your Psi Rank exponentially! You may also find spare Challenge Markers around the campgrounds, but they're quite tricky to reach. And finally, I'm willin' to give you my last four cobweb dusters if you fork over all the arrowheads in that bag I see over there," Cruller smirked as he pointed to the big sack of them.
"I accept, and then I'll give the other three to my siblings," I smirked as I then forked over the sack and Cruller then gave me the four different dusters with a smile.
"Okay, now about the Mental Cobwebs, you can find these in some minds that block of certain parts that can't normally be accessed. If you collect the cobweb with the duster, then you can turn 'em into Psi Cards in my sanctuary. But that's only allowed after you finish Basic Braining, Luke boy," Ford smirked, me then responding by tossing a small spoon at his head.
"I told you not to snoop around, Ford, and you snoop around," I pouted.
"Ah, hogwash. You caught me, I guess. Welp, guess I'll just have to learn more at a later date. And remember, keep your mind sealed. Some secrets are better left untold," he said, me nodding.
"And that goes for both of us. Hint," I said, him grumbling after before leaving my mind... and when that happened, I happened to hear a voice.
"Hey, can I join in this dream?" I heard Connie ask as she happened to appear in my mind from out of nowhere, me seeing that, much like me, she was a full-grown adult in the mind and not a kid version of us mixed with the character we'd become the role of.
"How'd you get in here, Connie?" I asked, her smiling at me.
"I'm not just good at invisibility. When I appeared in this world, I found that I also specialized in dream hopping, mental projection, and my favorite, levitation. I can actually fly as good as Milla, but she said I needed to stay grounded until I got the merit badge, camp rules... stupid, isn't it?" she asked, me smirking at that.
"Still, it's awesome that you can do that much. I can only use levitation temporarily, and only to slow my descent right before a tall jump. But my other strengths are mental storage, mind reading, telepathy, and telekinesis," I smiled.
"We have so many different skills shared together... that's amazing, isn't it?" she smirked, me nodding at her.
"Yeah... I'm just surprised you were combined with Milka Phage, and I was combined to be Razputin... looks like I'm the only one who got an official name change, though, since I was able to retort at my birth," I sighed.
"I was, too, but it was only after I'd been taken home, and I'd fallen asleep... I went into my new mom's dreams and told her what was going on, but it took a bit more convincing before she agreed to calling me Connie instead of Milka... but she's SUPER lazy, so she never got the name change to be official," she admitted.
"Anyways, we still have about three hours of dreaming until we wake up, so how's about we go ahead and have a trip down memory lane?" I asked, me then opening the door that would lead us to a Disneyworld castle, which Connie gawked at.
"Disneyworld?... I'm so happy!" Connie giggled as we then went into the Disney portal and we proceeded to have fun on the different rides at Disney... and better yet, NO LINES! We had so much fun riding the Slinky Dog Dash, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, 7 Dwarves' Mine Carts, and the best ride at Disneyworld, Rockin' Thunder Mountain, which I modeled after the Magical Racing Tour racetrack, which was even more awesome from the insane speeds we drove at as we competed for first place! And Connie managed to reach first before me. And after she got her own special photograph from the free picture house, we then saw we had only 5 minutes.
"Okay, we've had a lot of fun, but it's time to wake up. We'll continue our date later, okay, sweetums?" Connie smirked at me.
"But of course, Connie dear," I smiled as I gave her a kiss and a hug before we then finally woke up, with her going back to her mind beforehand. And when we woke up, what was it to?
"GET UP, LAZYBONES! TIME FOR BASIC BRAINING!" Coach shouted into the PA systems before then playing a trumpet tune, all of us in the cabins groaning as I then got up and saw that Queepie was holding a pillow over his ears.
"Ugh... need more beddy time," he groaned.
"Sorry, but we're in training, remember, Queepie?" I said, him groaning after. "If you get out of bed, I'll give you a chocolate cookie," I smirked, him then immediately jumping from the sheets and getting ready, me then responding by giving him a cookie that was his absolute favorite. An Oreo cookie with chocolate chips, it being a soft version as opposed to the crunchy ones, since his teeth weren't done developing yet.
"YAY! Omom nomom.." he smirked as he ate it, Connie giggling at him.
"Your new little brother is super cute," she giggled at me.
"Do you have any siblings since arriving to this world, Connie?" I asked, her smiling.
"Two, but they're not the nicest ones. They ignore me most of the time because they're 15 years older than I am," she admitted to me.
"Still, your mom and dad are bound to be good people, right?" asked Kitty, her nodding at that.
"Mom is super nice, but also very lazy. My dad's a working man at a hospital and the only other psychic in my family besides me... and he loves me a lot... just last year, he got me a new game system, the V-Cube, for my birthday," Connie smirked.
"No way! You got the V-Cube?! Those are super expensive! Awesome graphics, too!" Franke gawked, me smiling at that.
"I wish I could get a V-Cube, but my momma said it'd be a bit dangerous," Dogen said, me looking at him with a smile.
"Oh, speaking of, you're Dogen Boole, right?" I said, him gawking at that.
"Y-Yeah, I am! How did you know?" he asked.
"I actually skimped out from my family circus yesterday to get here. And during my psychic fortune telling services, I got a visitor. She asked if her kid would be safe in camp, him having a powerful mind and a sweet personality. And I assured her that the kid would behave no matter what, as he's never lied once and he's never intentionally broken a promise. Oh, and he's wearing a hat made of metal, much like all the boys in his family line," I smirked.
"Whoa... you met my momma? She's not worried about me, is she?" Dogen asked, me shaking my head at that.
"She was at first, but I convinced her that you'd be safe, especially since I promised that I would keep you safe from harm. Oh, and before we go to Basic Braining, I need to give something to my siblings," I said as I gave a cobweb duster to Queepie, Mirtala, and Frazie, the trio looking at me and the machines in confusion.
"What are these, big brother? Is this like ghost dusters?" Mirtala asked.
"Those are cobweb dusters. You use them when visiting someone's mind to sweep up mental cobwebs, which are formed to hide certain parts of the mind from intrusion. It'd be wise to use them as soon as possible and, after you finish Basic Braining, you can exchange them for Psi Cards from Ford's sanctuary," Lili said with a smirk.
"Yeah, I saw an old man explaining that stuff in my dreams... it was so weird, he was asking strange questions, too. Like, 'what's your preferred psychic power' and 'what's your favorite food'?" Frazie complained.
"Aw, don't worry about that. That's old man Cruller, and he's crazy almost everywhere at camp, EXCEPT for his underground sanctuary. Only there is where you can talk to him with no strings attached. Trust me, I've been coming here for 3 years in a row now," Lili frowned. "Now let's get to Coach's class. We don't want to be late," she said, us then going up the treehouse and seeing that Bobby was blocking the way.
"HEY! Pay the toll to pass, newbies!" he sneered, me smirking at him as I then simply held out my hand, showing it had three dollars. And right before Bobby grabbed the cash, I switched it in my hand with something else, which he then learned the hard way what it was. "DOOW! What the hell?! Did you just SHOCK me?!" he asked.
"Hehehe! That's your first lesson, Bobby, the granddaddy of all pranks. The joy buzzer," I smirked, pointing out that I'd got the hand buzzer on my hands.
"I don't get it," he growled.
"You don't have to get it, because it was funny, heehee!" Mirtala giggled as she then cartwheeled into the room and we then went in as Bobby growled.
"You twerps are gonna PAY for that! First one to beat the Punching game 5 times WINS!" he growled.
"I'm game for that bet. Loser eats mom's cabbage casserole," I smirked.
"Oh no! We gotta win now!" Frazie joked as we then went to coach, and he frowned at us.
"You're late, rookies! Come in here and give me 20," he frowned as he then opened his Psi Portal and we then entered it, but I did so after putting on my sunglasses. Why sunglasses? Because goggles were for nerds. There, I said it!
