Time for the second to last mental world, one of art and bullfighting. Let's get to it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this.
DM77's Psychonauts Chapter 24
Black Velvetopia Part 1
Nigel was making good progress on getting the pieces for his disguise to fool Denzel Crocker he was Dr. Nefarious, he got Sally's trophy for a claw and Ratchet's blue straightjacket for the body, now he just needed something to resemble his face to fool the steward's poor eyesight.
The one who can help him was the remaining patient of the asylum El Toro but having already seen what troubles him, Nigel wasted no time, he gets out the Psycho Portal and chucks it onto the artists forehead as he was building his house of cards.
"Hmmm. What is this? Are you working on a abstract piece?" El Toro asked as the door opens, Nigel adjusts his shades and his mind is pulled into El Toro's "Nice use of colour…" He then goes dazed.
As we enter El Toro's mind we enter a black velvet like room with all sorts of colour. Nigel finds himself in a central plaza area and sees in the middle El Toro working on large oversized playing cards building a tower. Nigel also funds his body changed to match the style of the world
"That's an impressive house of cards you're building there." Nigel said after approaching.
"And still…not high enough to reach the sky, and free her from her prison." El Toro said and motions to the sky where a sun like eyeball was and in it was a crying woman who has brown skin and brown hair wearing a fancy blue dress.
"Who is she?" Nigel asked him.
"I only know that she is beautiful, perfect, and sad." El Toro explained "All day she cries rose petal tears, and I can do nothing to help her because my creation…lacks something. And it will not stand against the bull."
"What bull?" Nigel asked looking around worried.
"Bullmon." El Toro told him and points to a poster depecting a silloette of a bull in a cape with blue angry eyes.
Just then said Bull comes right out of it, Nigel sees it is a bull wearing blue and gold rimmed armor with a red cape with a symbol representing hope on it. Bullmon then runs around the plaza creating a tornado that knocks down the house of cards before running off away.
El Toro begins to rebuild the house of card and tells Nigel "Somewhere along the way I feel that I lost something important, but I do not know…"
Nigel looks at the cards and sees what is missing saying "I think it's your queens. You want me to go look for them?"
"Bring me any cards you find!" El Toro tells him getting more excited "I must complete this tower!"
"Yes, uh—ummph!" Nigel lets out as Bullmon comes out of nowhere and bashes into him. The boy hangs onto his horns sitting on the bull's head as they both go through a painting of a city street.
They come out of a poster of Bullmon and rushed down a yellow pathed street, they pass a window where inside was a muscle bound man in a red bullfighter uniform. Then in a green pathed street they rush past a brown furred black spotted great dane known as Scooby-Doo, wants to cross but scared when Bullmon rushes past. In a purple pathed street, Nigel spots a queen of diamonds card hanging by a lightning themed bird picture.
On an orange street Nigel is flung off into an alleyway and lands by a grey and black furred wolf in a green jumpsuit known as Blitzwolfer. The doorway Nigel came grom shirnks down and falls onto the ground now a painting.
"Oh dear, are you alright" Blitzwolfer said going to the painting and picks it up "Poor little fella!" He examines it "Hmm, a little nick on the frame…" He sets it on an Essel as Nigel groans coming too "Perhaps I can cover that up with a price tag or something.
Nigel after recovering looks at Blitzwolfer and approaches him and asks "Hey, have you seen any REALLY BIG playing cards around here?"
"Now that takes me back." Blitzwolfer said with a smile "Poker night with the guys…Man, I miss those dogs."
"Uh-huh. So, the cards? You know where they are?" Nigel asked
"Oh right. Well, I do know about these four lost queens…" Blitzwolfer said thinking "But that's all, can't do much with four queens, can you?"
"Those are exactly the cards I need! Where are they?" Nigel asked.
"Forget about it! They're guarded by some pretty nasty characters." Blitzwolfer told him "Not to mention Bullmon. You're better off just hanging out here and turning your head just a teensy bit to the left."
"I think I hate that bull a lot." Nigel admits sighing
"Oh, trust me. You'll hate him even more as time goes by." Blitzwolfer tells him "When he first trapped me in this ally, I thought he was only mildly annoying."
"What do you mean trapped? Are you a prisoner of art just like El Toro?" Nigel asked.
"I'm a prisoner of that stupid bull!" Blitzwolfer told him. "I don't want to get goard, so I hide out in the alley, like a…like a low-down dog!"
"Okay, promise me you won't take this the wrong way, but you ARE kind of a dog." Nigel points out.
"Yeah, but I'm an alien werewolf! I should be stalking pray and getting in fights to be alpha! Seeing the world! And finding more things to paint than just this junk!" Blitzwolfer explained "Which is all for sale, by the way."
"Hey, how do you get out of this alley?" Nigel asked looking around.
"We're trapped in here, son. Art is our only escape." Blitzwolfer tells him.
"Is that like a metaphor? Or do you mean that if I take one of these paintings I can use it to get out of here?" Nigel asked him.
"If you TAKE one of these paintings I'll be forced to bite you on the leg." Blitzwolfer tells him "If you BUY one, it could help you get out of here. They're magic."
Nigel nods and looks at the paintings on offer, one was the alley way entrance Huckleberry picked up after it turned into a painting, the other was a Rose. Nigel takes the Alley way entrance portrait as it cost nothing and hangs it back up and it opens the way up.
"Nice! Now I can get El Toro's cards!" Nigel said smiling.
He begins to move through the street ducking between alleys to avoid Bullmon and uses balconies and walls in the alleies to move between them. He faces Bob-Ombs and Micromangers both regular and buff ones but soon finds a bear themed painting with the queen of clubs floating by it but then a muscle bound hand grabs the card and pulls it s it is in place of the painting.
"Hmmm…looks like I can jump into it, alright then." Nigel said and leaps into the picture.
Nigel soon lands ontop of a large version of the queen of clubs card but looks around to find the area was set up like a wrestling ring. There were a crowd of people cheering and holding up signs
An unseen announcer says "Introducing fresh from the Thrilla in Manilla, Gothem…." Nigel looks to a stage entrance "Bane the Ox!"
Emerging from it doing poses Muscle bound man resembling a luchador but he has green pipes attached to him, also on his mask were two ox horns. He goes down to the ring and towers over Nigel and said, "Wake up, little man, time to go nighty night."
"I AM awake." Nigel points out
"Good, because it is bedtime for you, snack-size." Bane tells him.
"What are you talking about?" Nigel said confused.
"You will fight me for my card, correct?" Bane asked punching his fists.
"Well, I AM looking for some cards." Nigel said nodding.
"Then, small fry, I am afraid the Sandman is going to bend way over to reach you because you are so awefully itty-bitty and then…" Bane began to say.
"All right, I get it." Nigel said sighing "Just shut up and let's go."
"Then I will shut up, but only so I can enjoy the microscopic spectacle of your attempts to make me shut up." Bane said smirking.
The bell dings and Bane attempts to hit Nigel, who dodges and using his levitation ball proceeds to hit him with it by rolling doing some damage. Bane then charges Nigel who uses Shield to block knocking him onto his back and gets a hit in. Nigel repeats this until Bane is knocked out.
"Eh, eh-eh. Eh, eh, eheh!" Nigel said doing the mocking dance Nelson did before. "Ha! Sleep tight, oxen."
Just then the arena shakes and begins to shrink down to the size that Nigel was able to pick it up, he smile he has one of the four queens, only 3 to go but first best get this one to El Toro.
Nigel comes out of the picture not on the street before but in the central plaza where El Toro was working on trying to build his house of cards tower. But of course not making progress due to Bullmon repeatedly knocking them over.
Nigel once it was safe approaches him and handing over the card said, "Here you go El Toro."
"Perfect! One step closer…to her." El Toro said smiling taking it then adding it to the collection cause several club cards to form the bast making them study and resistant to Bullmon's stampede "Please, boy, I must have those queens!"
Nigel nods and jumps through the Bane panting.
Nigel emerges back where he was before going to confront Bane and keeps going ending up in the red street. He ends up in an alley and across the path of the street he sees the queen of hearts on a fiary tiger themed picture and a red claw hand grabs it and pulls the card into place.
Before going to get that card, Nigel heads down the alley and after clearing some Micromangers finds another dog themed painter this one a blue furred dog with a hat, a red bow tie, he was Huckleberry Hound.
"Hey, I saw another dog man selling art up the street. Are you guys a chain?" Nigel asked him.
"Ah, you met my compadres." Huckleberry said smiling "When we were young art dogs we would run wild in the streets together. But now…" He sighs.
"Why don't you guys just make a run for it?" Nigel asked.
"You couldn't understand." Huckleberry said shaking his head "Bullmon imprisons us all. Art is the only escape. And today is the only day…that it's going to be this cheap. All these prices go up tomorrow because of tourist season."
"Hey can you fight bulls? I have a bull problem." Nigel said to him.
"Sorry. Artist here. Delicate hands" Huckleberry tells him. "And anyway if you are talking about Bullmon, well…There is of course only one man who can handle that much bull."
Nigel wanting to know asks "Who CAN do it? Who can fight Bullmon?"
"I speak of none other than Gustov Inglrante…the infamous Matador playboy." Huckleberry tells him. "Alas they would never ask him to help. Not in a million years!"
"Why won't they ask Gustov to help? Is he expensive?" Nigel asked confused.
"No, because what happened between him and El Toro. Quite a scandal." Huckleberry states after looking around to ensure no one was listening.
"WHAT? What happened between Gustov and El Toro?" Nigel asked eager to know.
"Tragedy. Betrayal. Art. Love. Pain. Nothing you want to know about." Huckleberry said simply.
"COME ON! Tell me! What's the big scandal?" Nigel asked.
"Listen, I deal in truth and beauty, not dirt." Huckleberry said but then adds "But…Maybe if you had bought some art…then I'd have to come up with some small talk while we're making change, and, you know…"
Getting the hint Nigel looks at what is one offer, another rose painting and a guitar painting. Nigel takes and puts the Guitar painting. He then said as he puts it into his backpack "Okay, I bought some art. Now give me the dirt on Gustov."
"Mmmmm…hmmmm." Huckleberry thinks then said "Okay, here's how I heard it. Years ago, when El Toro was a world-renowned painter, he was commissioned by Gustov to immortolize him in black velvet. But while he was sitting for the portrait, Gustov met El Toro's beautiful wife. Who was known other than the top Flamenco dancer Beutania!"
"He seduced the dancer, and the two ran off together, leaving El Toro with the unfinished painting…" Huckleberry continued to recount. "…and a broken heart. Since then, El Toro thinks of nothing but the treacherous pair…and since then our streets have been ruled by…Bullmon!"
"Whoa. That's a great story. You should do a painting about it." Nigel said amazed.
"Yes, that's what we need around here. Some paintings of Gustov and bulls, yeah. Good idea." Huckleberry said sarcastically.
"I think that Gustov sounds like a jerk." Nigel said thinking.
"Ah, he gets an unfair rap because of his looks." Huckleberry said "As a hound I know how hard it is to be resented for your fine looks. It's like being forced to wear a golden robe with a diamond 'kick me' sign on the back."
"Must be tough." Nigel said.
"Eh. I work it out through my painting." Huckleberry said shrugging.
Nigel hurries over and jumps into the fiary tiger painting to face it's wrestler.
Like Banes the arena was on the queen of hearts card and a crowd cheer as Nigel awaits his opponent.
"Introducing, fresh from an astonishing victory at the Alolan league…Incineroar!" The Annoucer calls out.
Nigel sees emerging from a flaming tiger stage entrance a red and black bipedal tiger Pokemon with a fiary belt. He makes his way to the ring and again towers over Nigel.
"Yow, What's that smell?" Nigel said holding his nose.
Due to being a representation of someone El Toro knew, Incineroar could talk as he said in response "That smells like fear, boy!"
"Yeah…No, I mean that fart smell." Nigel tells him.
"That's fear! RAWRRR!" Incineroar lets out.
"No! I'm talking about an actual smell." Nigel explained to him "It's like if stink bombs laid eggs and then those went bad."
"That's sulfar. I am a fire type Pokemon, kid." Incineroar explained.
With that settled the fight began Nigel uses his levitation ball attack trick while dodgeing Incineroar's AOE fire ground attack and fiery punches and the Pokemon goes down after a while and Nigel does the mocking dance.
"Soon they be calling you Inceameow as they drag you out of here." Nigel mocked as he laughs at his own joke "Hey, are you awake? Did you hear that?"
Soon the arena shakes as the queen of hearts card shrinks down and Nigel picks it up. Two down so as soon as he gets this to El Toro they'll be halfway done.
Nigel soon exits out into the central plaza and said "Geez, I can STILL smell that guy!" He goes up to El Toro who was on the card platform and hands him the card saying "This one was a real pain in the butt to get."
"Perfect! One step closer…to her." El Toro said and takes it and uses I and all the heart cards form into place half finishing the tower. "Please boy! I must have those queens!"
Nigel nods and gets back to it jumping through the Incineroar portrait. But still he has the mental worlds version of the story for El Toro's struggles, but what is the real story, he also finds it strange he hasn't found any mental vaults yet.
Two cards down, two to go. Time to track them down but also try and figure out the truth behind El Toro's inner turmoil.
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