Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stumbling around a dark forest, running into towering trees and through merciless bushes, he had to admit something. He had NO IDEA where he was.

How the HELL did he get here?! Where was he? And oh, his head! It hurt so much! But why did it hurt so much? Where... was he? How did he...? What was he even doing before he landed up in the forest? Was this a forest?

Pain crashed over his head with the force of a speeding truck. With a yelp, he fell to his knees and dug his fingers into his hair. His head! Ohhhh, mother of all that is unholy, my head. Owww my God....

He forced himself up, swaying on his feet. He didn't know anything right now. His head felt too messed up. Thinking... ohhh, thinking was a nightmare! He knew he had to keep moving, though. But... where was he going? He knew he had to warn someone, but who? How did he know where he was —

"ERK!" The pain in his head worsened. Right. Stop asking so many questions. Not while his head was full of scrambled brains soup. He just had to trust that wherever he was going was close. He began stumbling around again. He had to... make it. He had to get there. Wherever it was. He had to — I have to —

He tripped over... something. He wasn't sure what. A tree root, a rock. Didn't matter. His head still collided with the ground regardless. As if his head hadn't hurt enough already. His eyes felt like they were boiling in lava. Suddenly... this spot seemed... like a really appealing... place to... take a... nap....

"— over here!" a voice called out. It somehow sounded fierce, but also panicked.

"Where?" another voice asked. This one had a strange rasp to it.

"Here!"

Footsteps. Someone was running through the forest. Two someones. Yelling and calling to each other. Getting... closer. He felt a sudden wave of anxiety and adrenaline. Not from him, though. He saw a light behind his eyelids. Was that his imagination? Ohhh...

Tired....

He passed out just as he heard the raspy voice say, "Oh my God. It's a kid."

Oh crap. Oh. Crap.

He didn't feel much of anything as he wandered over to the small form on the ground. He crouched down beside it, hands trembling. This was a kid. This was a kid. A child with black hair. A child in a gray sweater. A child that was unmoving.

A body.

Still.

Lifeless.

Dead.

Gone.

Too late. His entire body began shaking, something in the depths of his mind rearing its ugly head. Tears began welling up in the corners of his eyes. I'm too late. This is all my fault, isn't it? If I was faster... I could've... I-I could've....

A hand rested on his shoulder. He forced himself to look away from the body. Up at her. "Did you—" he croaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Did you...?" He trailed off this time. He ended up settling for gesturing at his head.

She shook her head. "It's a bit obvious."

He tried to smile. It didn't last. His heart... ached. His shoulders sagged. The thing in the depths seemed to lash out. She tensed, letting her hand fall by her side.

"You didn't even check if he's alive, did you?"

"I —!" He started. He hadn't. He honestly hadn't. "Well, um...."

"Raz." Lili crouched down beside him, placing the flashlight on the ground, grabbing his face in her hands. "I love you, but you're an idiot sometimes. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, well —" Raz cut himself off. He honestly had no comeback to that.

Lili scowled at him. "Always check if someone's dead. Because they might get up and PSI-Blast you into a freezer and lock you in there until you're so blue a shrimp could only see it."

Raz's brow furrowed. "That's specific."

Lili let his face go, picked the flashlight up, and stood. "Check the body, cyclenut."

Fighting down the urge to say I'm a Psychonaut, Raz returned his attention to the body. On closer inspection, it turned out the kid was breathing. His breathing was heavy, though, like his body was trying to remember how to breathe while unconscious, but he was still breathing.

And that meant he wasn't dead.

Raz relaxed. Okay, good. The kid was alive. He wasn't too late. The kid was fine.

But who was he? How did he get here? Raz hadn't gotten anything from him yet. Not any sort of psychic signature... nothing. Was this what it was like trying to listen to his thoughts at a distance? Everything was painfully silent. Which would make sense, since the kid literally just passed out. But... was he okay?

Perhaps more on instinct than anything, Raz tentatively reached mentally out to the kid's mind.

Jagged, blistering pain clawed back at his brain.

Raz tried standing up, only for his legs to disagree with this plan and stagger back, before he finally crumpled to the ground. There was a burst of surprise and panic from Lili as she dropped the flashlight. Raz forced himself to pull his thoughts together. It felt like trying to put broken puzzle pieces back together. Something wasn't right. Something was wrong, and—

"Raz!"

Lili practically dragged him onto his feet. He stood there, dazed for a second. Lili snapped her fingers in front of his face; Raz shook his head, as well as his daze off. "What the hell happened?" she asked. "Are you okay? What was that?"

"Something's wrong."

Lili squinted up at him. "I'm... going to need context, Raz. What does that mean?"

"It's just... the kid's head. It feels... wrong." He scratched his neck. "Something... something tried reaching back, but... it hurt. A lot. I've never felt anything like that."

Lili shuddered. "That's... unsettling," she said. She pointed the flashlight at the kid (hadn't she just dropped it? Oh, she probably picked it up while he wasn't looking). "Anything else? Maybe a name or...?"

"Not... really," he admitted. "That was all I got."

"Jeez."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What do you think we should do?"

Lili made a face at him. "I don't know, Raz," she said. "Aren't you Razputin Aquato, Mister Greatest-Psychonaut-Ever? Can't you think of something?"

He winced. Ouch. Just... ow. "I dunno, maybe you've got a better idea. Because... I trust you." He shrugged, lowering his voice. "Besides, it's youngest, not greatest."

Lili barked a laugh. "Oohh, really now? That doesn't sound like you at all." She knocked on his forehead. "Helloooo! Who's up there and what did you do with Raz's brain!"

"Hey!" Raz pulled his head back, though he was smiling. Sure, greatest Psychonaut ever did have a nice ring to it, but he couldn't really say that he was the greatest. It wasn't his official title, after all. "Can we focus, please?"

"Fine, alright. We'll focus." Lili knocked on his head again. Raz scowled, rubbing his forehead. "Okay, for real this time."

Chapter Text

Voices. Too loud. Way too loud.

"...think he's..."

"...who..."

"...did Agent..."

"...how..."

He curled up under the covers, putting his hands over his ears. His head... still felt terrible. But he felt like he could think, mostly. Not with all these voices around, being way too loud. Couldn't they just be quiet for a little bit?

Wait, hang on. These voices... weren't here before, were they? So who—

The blanket was tugged off his head. His eyes shot open. Something pink and purple and red and white filled his vision. "Hey, I think he's awake!"

With a shriek, sat up and backed away from the colorful... thing and into the wall. Only, there was no wall behind him. He realized that too late, as he toppled off and began to plummet.

HE CLOSED HIS EYES AGAIN HE KEPT FALLING WAS HE WAS GOING TO DIE WAS HE ABOUT TO CRACK HIS HEAD OPEN OH GOD OH N—

Before he hit the ground, something caught him. Technically speaking, nothing truly caught him. Not in the physical sense. He cracked an eye open. He'd been caught upside down. There were three boys about his age crowding around. One had two fingers pressed to his temple. Bright red hair and pale green skin. Without really processing what he was about to say, the first thing out of Finn's mouth was:

"Are you Christmas?"

The boy blinked. "Uh... no?" The boy let Finn fall to the ground. "I'm... Kalio? Opelis. Kalio Opelis." His brow furrowed as Finn got to his feet, brushing his beloved sweater off. "And... um. You're... uh."

Kalio circled Finn like a vulture, squinting so hard he nearly thought his eyes were closed. He tugged at Finn's sweater, getting so close that he was blurry. Finn had the draw the line at letting Kalio pick at his gloves, but overall, he just felt... uncomfortable. What was he even doing?

"Impossible," Kalio muttered. "How are you doing that?"

"Huh?"

Kalio knocked on Finn's head. "Your brain! I can't get anything from it! Nothing! At the most, I can get confusion, but I can't hear or feel anything else!" he exclaimed. "How are you doing that? Even I got something from Agent A —"

"WHAT." Finn felt like he walked into an alternate universe. "You can read minds?!"

Kalio balled his hands into fists. "Holy hellhole, Corpse," he barked. "Is your head actually just empty? Get with the program! Of course I can! Why else would I be here?"

"Is that actually his name?" The colorful thing Finn seen had climbed down and walked in front of him. It was actually just another boy with pink skin and purple hair. His sweater made him look like a candy cane. How wasn't he overheating in that thing? "That's just awful! Who'd name someone Corpse?"

"Uh, no," Finn piped up. "It's not. My name, I mean."

"Then what is it?" the pink kid asked. "Can't be worse than Corpse, right?"

"And how the hell didja get here?" This was the last boy, who looked like a dog someone turned into a human. (Wait, weren't there four before?)

"I'm Finnegan," he said. "Finnegan Bravado. But, uh... just Finn works." The dog-boy made direct eye contact with him. "And, uh... I'm... from Ohio? I think?"

Kalio shook his head. "Alright, I guess that's enough," he said. "Let's leave the dead body alone. Come on, Snout." The dog-boy winced at dead body, but still followed Kalio out of the... cabin?

What.

Finn rubbed his chin. Cabin. A bunch of other kids. Cabin. Kids. Cabin, kids. Oh crap, this was a camp, wasn't it? A camp for what? A camp for who? How did he get here? Judging from Snout's reaction, they didn't know how he got here, either.

"Hey, so." Finn practically jumped five feet into the air. Right. Pink kid. Nearly forgot about him. The pink kid cleared his throat. "I'm uh... I'm Chason, um... Mamton. I know, I know. My parents couldn't pick between Jason or Chase, but friends still call me Chase anyway. So. That sucks, huh?"

Finn politely nodded, before deciding to return to more pressing matters. "Where are we?"

Chason tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Finn blinked. What? "I... mean I don't know where I am? So I'm... asking you?"

"Do you know how you got here?" Chason asked.

"I...." Finn placed a hand against his forehead. There were alarming gaps in his memory. He didn't know how he got here, why he was here, and what this place was... he knew he was supposed to warn someone about something, but not what that warning was. Other than that? Nothing. "No. I don't."

Chason frowned. "That's weird," he noted. Obviously, Finn refrained from saying. "What do you remember?"

"Pfft. That's easy," Finn said. "I remember blue and orange. I remember that I have parents. I remember what color the sky is and what color the grass is. But most importantly, I can remember the Psy —" He froze, something clicking in his mind.

Nuh-uh. No way Jose. He wasn't.

Finn grabbed Chason's shoulders. "This isn't. Is it?"

Chason leaned back, looking uncomfortable. "Is what... what?"

"This place!" Finn let Chason go and clapped his hands together, trying to keep them from shaking. "That... camp place! Is it —"

"Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp?" Chason finished. Finn eagerly nodded. "Uh... yeah. I guess so."

Yes! Finally! One mystery solved! And he knew what it was, too! A training facility for psychic kids that was somehow still operational after two crazy incidents in the past! The kids were usually picked out by the Psychonauts, which was this rad international psychic agency or something, and... well. That's all he remembered. He was pretty sure he could try to remember more, but it'd probably fry his brain into a crispy little egg, so he'd rather not.

"I know where I am!" Without thinking, Finn gave Chason a quick hug. "I know where I am!"

"Uh... g-good for you?" Chason said.

Finn backed up, throwing his arms into the air. "WHOO!" He was giddy. Was he giddy? He was so giddy. It felt good to actually know something right now. Sure, there was still how he got here and why, but at least he knew where here was! "Man, that's great! That's really great!" He ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, I nearly thought I died for a second there, but this is great!"

"Um... cool?" Chason said. "Hey, so, um... I can't. Get.... anything from you, either. Like, I can usually feel emotions and stuff, but the most I've felt from you was confusion. So, um... are you psychic?"

"Well, I mean... I think so!" Finn shrugged. "Can't remember!"

Chason looked at Finn as though confetti was falling out of his ears. "You can't remember?" Finn shook his head. The pink boy dug his fingers into his hair. "So you didn't know where you were, don't know how you got here... and you can't remember if you're psychic?"

Finn nodded. "Yep, sounds about right." He held his hands up. "I know how it sounds —"

Chason gripped Finn's shoulders, digging his nails in. Ow. "Do you know what happened to you at least?" He shook Finn. "Why can't you remember? What don't you know? What happened to your brain?!"

"Hey, easy!"

Both Chason and Finn froze, turning their attention to an impossibly tall man in blue with gangly limbs, evidently being lead by the fourth boy who'd been here. He couldn't tell what kind of haircut that was, but it felt more like the man had just brushed some of it to the side and let it whatever it wanted. It was definitely, for sure, a rusty red color with lighter streaks running every which way. For some reason, Finn felt like he'd seen this man before somewhere.

But I'm pretty sure I'd remember seeing someone with skin that yellow.

As for the boy? He wasn't worth noting. Looked like he could be Snout's cousin, though.

The man put his arms out, forcing Chason and Finn a part. "Don't shake people around," he told Chason. His voice had a strangely familiar rasp to it. Where have I heard that voice before? "He might explode, and you might explode. If you haven't guessed, we don't want anyone to explode. You got that?"

"Yes, sir," Chason said. "Sorry, sir."

The man nodded. "You can leave now," he said. "I'd like to talk with our mysterious friend here." Chason merely gave a quick nod and ran off. The man hardly moved. "That goes for you too, Mount."

The boy — Mount, Finn guessed — grumbled under his breath, and left.

As soon as he was sure no one was eavesdropping, the man spoke. "So! Finally awake, huh?"

"Uhh... I guess so, sir," Finn said. "Um... how long was I out for?"

The man shrugged. "Three days," he said. "It's good that you're up now. Two campers wanted to set your hair on fire."

"Oh," he said. Setting hair on fire... that was pyrokinesis, then. Right? That was a thing? Unless it wasn't, then nevermind. "Sorry, sir. I guess."

The man shook his head. He crouched to be at eye level with Finn, holding his hand out. "Just Raz is fine."

It was almost like someone had kicked a ball at his head.

"NO!" Finn exclaimed. He backed up, clutching his head. The man blinked, startled. I know this guy! "Oh my God! No way! Oh my God! You're Agent Razputin Aquato!" He suddenly couldn't stop giggling. That was probably the worst way in the entire world to introduce yourself to your favorite Psychonaut. But it didn't entirely feel real.

The man smiled. "You've heard of me?" That didn't feel like a question. He sounded weirdly pleased about it.

"I know all about you!" Finn said. "I think!" He gestured at his head. "I know who you are at least! You're the youngest Psychonaut ever! Probably one of the greatest Psychonauts who ever lived!"

Aquato definitely knew all this, but Finn had to say it out loud. "According to one issue of True Psychic Tales, which one I don't remember, you saved the world three times when you were thirteen!"

Aquato's smile became strained. "Well, no, not really," he said. "I was ten."

Finn felt like his brain imploded. "You were WHAT."

The Psychonaut shrugged. As though that explained anything. Like who felt the need to change Aquato's age in the comics, or even why. Well, at least Finn knew that now.

"What about you?" Changing the subject. "You clearly know who I am. But I have no idea who you are."

"Oh, um...." Crap, play it cool, Finn. Don't mess this up. "My name is Finnegan! But everybody calls me Finn."

Aquato's eyes glossed over. He looked like he was trying to force his smile to stay on his face now. "That's... cool."

Yep. That was awful. Definitely, completely awful. This was the first episode of How to Ruin Your Hero's View of You with Finnegan Bravado. And in episode two, I'll puke on his shoes!

"Say," the Psychonaut finally forced out. "Little buddy."

"Finn."

"Right. Finn." Aquato stood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Crap. Finn messed things up. So embarrassing. "Care to tell me why we found your body in the woods?"

Was that another corpse joke? Finn thought to himself. He furrowed his brow. "I was where?"

"Wh —" Ohh, there was that look again. The same is-that-confetti-falling-out-of-your-ears look Chason had given him. "You don't know?"

Finn scratched his head. "Well, I mean... I remember running into trees and bushes, but...."

"You have no idea." Aquato let out a small laugh, as though he had no idea how he'd gotten into this situation. "None. No idea whatsoever. You somehow broke into a highly classified, remote government training facility, and you don't know how."

"I know it sounds crazy!" Finn said. "But I really don't know how I got here! All I know is that there was something I was supposed to say to someone, but I can't remember what it was! Or who I was supposed to say it to!"

Agent Aquato shrugged. "It probably wasn't important if you can't remember."

Finn opened his mouth, but then closed it. He... has a point, he thought. I shouldn't worry about it. "Yeah. You're right. It was probably nothing." He felt like he was forgetting to mention something. What was it? Was it about... wearing? That was weird. What did wearing something have to do with anything?

Oh, well. That probably wasn't important, either.

Chapter Text

"You can't remember if you're psychic?"

"Not really."

"Have you even checked?"

Finn shrugged, doing his best to keep up with Agent Aquato. He wasn't entirely sure how this conversation had started, or where Aquato was taking him, but he guess he'd have to go along with it. "I would love to. But, like... it's as you said. I've been asleep for three days. My parents're probably losing their minds right about now. So I wanna go home before I do anything else."

"Hmmm...." Aquato made a strange face. "So you didn't run away to become a Psychonaut."

"What?" Finn nearly stopped in his tracks. "Of course not! I would never!"

"I didn't say you did."

"You literally just did!"

"Yes!" The agent raised a hand. "Okay! Got me there. Technically, I did just say that. But I'm not accusing you. Alright? I'm just saying you didn't do that." He put his hands in his pockets. "Ruling it out as a possibility."

"Oh." Finn felt himself relax. "Not that I have anything against the Psychonauts, but I don't think anyone would run away from home to become one."

Aquato nodded. "You're not wrong," he said. "There's nobody sane enough to do that. No one in the entire world."

Finn nodded to himself... then walked into the back of Aquato's legs.

He's stopped, came an obvious, unhelpful thought. But why did he stop? That was a good question, actually.

In front of them was a girl with dark hair covering her eyes. Her skin was yellow, much like Aquato's, but darker. There was a freaky eye on her shirt, and a bracelet with a strange purple rock in it. How could she even see? Was this... a goth? She certainly fit the bill. Where did she even come from? It was almost like she'd appeared right out of thin air!

"Uh, hey!" Aquato said. "D-Delialo." He cleared his throat. "What can I —"

She pulled something out of her sleeve and held it up to the Psychonaut. A pretty little yellow rock that kind of looked like a marble on a thin black chain. A necklace. "It shines in the golden light of dawn," the girl said. Somehow, her voice was raspier than the agent's.

"Aha." Aquato scratched his neck. "That's... nice, Delialo. But can it wait? I'm kind of in the —"

"Perhaps it'll help you feel less blue." She took the agent's hand, placing the necklace in it. "A splash of sunshine to your azure parade."

Finn shifted his weight from foot to foot. He just felt weird standing here. Like he wasn't supposed to witness this. This Delialo girl kind of freaked him out. But he couldn't help but wonder. "Uh... wh-what kind of stone is that?"

Delialo's neck practically snapped as she focused her attention on him. His heart felt like it was in his throat, just waiting to leap out and leave as fast as it could. What was she thinking? Could psychics read minds? Oh, what was he saying, of course they could. He already knew that. He could feel her intensely staring at him through her hair.

"One should not mess with threads one does not understand. One should be close with the water in the shape of one's hand."

Her voice was low and full of what felt like venom to Finn. For some reason, it reminded him of a haunted house.

"The light burns bright in the water's eyes. Thine power lays beneath a cobweb of lies. The treasure gifted to thee with is nothing more than false gold. And thou shall one day be faced with a creature born of cold."

Finn blinked. He yelped as Delialo was abruptly nose to nose with him. He swore he could see three bright lights in a triangular shape under her thick hair. But that was probably his mind playing tricks on him.

"He who arrives to the shack in shambles is he who brings the utmost deadliest form. His fate tangles with the water, the lightning, and the fire, together summoning the final storm. Tune into the story the water may tell, lest I see thou in the deepest pits of hell."

Finn gulped. "That's cool, but that's not what I —"

"She'll be in the maze of empty glass cages," Delialo interupted. At least her voice wasn't haunted anymore, and she gave him his personal space back. "His dam isn't strong enough for the booming thunder."

Aquato almost pointedly cleared his throat, reminding them both of his presence. "Okay! That's... a very nice poem. Very... vague. As usual. But there's... probably a meaning somewhere in there."

"Little turnips should always stay away from the water."

Aquato's whole body tensed. His fingers curled around the necklace, clenching his fist so hard that his whole hand started shaking. Finn definitely remembered reading something about his strength, so he was surprised there wasn't any indication he'd just broken the stone. "W-what did you say?" Aquato almost sounded like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs.

"The crow has already said her piece, Razputin," Delialo said. Finn's eyes widened. Was she allowed to call him that? "She must fly until she's needed again. So until then...." She bowed with one arm stretched out behind her and the other folded into her chest. "Don't listen to what the storm bringer says."

And with a blink of an eye, she was gone.

Aquato let out a breath, shuddering. "Oh, wonderful! That's just what I needed today," he said. "Ominous advice. Huzzah hurray, happy day." He lifted the necklace over his head. The small yellow stone thumped against his chest.

"Should you be wearing that?" Finn asked. "I mean... after all that? That Delialo really... freaks me out."

Aquato shook his head. "She's harmless," he said. "A bit creepy, I'll admit. But she's definitely harmless. Let's keep going."

Finn merely nodded as they continued on their way. Agent Aquato was the expert here. And he hadn't steered Finn wrong yet. So he's probably right. That girl's creepy, but she's not dangerous. She was just a bit weird, was all. Nothing wrong with being a little weird. But the poem was definitely getting to him a little. The final storm? Seeing Delialo in hell?

Who's the storm bringer?

Finn pursed his lips. He really didn't want to think about Delialo anymore. OR that poem. He might as well change the subject, right? And what better than a question he knew he'd always had? "So... how did you become a Psychonaut?"

"Oh." Aquato rubbed his chin. "Well, easy. It all started when I ran away from home."

This time it was Finn who stopped in his tracks. Aquato managed to keep a straight face for ten seconds before he doubled over, erupting into a sudden fit of laughter.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Finn demanded. He's not poking fun at me, is he? If so, that wasn't very funny. It was the exact opposite of funny.

Aquato waved a hand dismissively, as though Finn knew what meant. Finn frowned, though he still followed after the Psychonaut as soon as he recovered from his laughing fit. God, I've only known Agent Aquato for ten minutes, and I think I'm starting to hate him.

(Maybe? He's still really kinda cool, though.)

"Do you know if your parents are psychic, at least?" Aquato asked. Another subject change. "Or did you forget that, too?"

"Well...." Finn furrowed his brow and thought about it. "No, I mean... they're not... no. They're definitely not." Well, that was easy to remember. Now, if he could remember whether or not he was psychic, too, that'd be great. The one important thing about himself and he couldn't even remember. God, that was annoying. Like, could it be any less easy?

Maybe he could ask his parents. They would defintely know, right?

Aquato hummed. "Well, it's not entirely out of the question."

Finn flinched. "Excuse?"

"That you're psychic!" Aquato said. "Some people just so happen to be born psychic, even when their parents aren't."

Oh. Finn stifled a laugh. God, nearly thought he read my mind for a sec. Something about having his mind read made him... uneasy for some reason. He did like his privacy. He couldn't remember if Aquato was one of those psychics, though.

Finn rubbed his arm. "Speaking of... being psychic, how would I check to see if I —"

Aquato suddenly let out a cry of shock, his sense of balance seemingly giving out. Finn let out a yelp, rushing forward, holding his arms out. Before he could even get close, the Psychonaut caught himself, though it looked like he was trying — and failing — to do the splits. Which probably would've been funny if that hadn't spooked him so much.

"Sir?" Finn piped up.

"I'm good!" Aquato said. He stood straight, brushing himself off. "It's all good! I tripped. That's all."

Finn immediately relaxed. Okay. He was okay. Nothing was wrong. He'd only almost tripped. It was okay. Aquato hadn't steered Finn wrong yet, so. What was Finn even trying to do, anyway? He was way too small to catch someone Agent Aquato's size.

Finn couldn't find it in him to ask what he'd been trying to ask before. What was he trying to ask? He couldn't remember. It didn't matter, then. Though he just couldn't bring himself to speak up. And it looked like Aquato was done talking himself, since he stopped asking questions as well.

Ultimately leaving Finn to his thoughts.

This is... definitely weird, isn't it? I mean, this is so cool, too! I can't even believe it! But... I'm probably here for a reason, aren't I? Though, honestly... if I can't remember, I definitely don't think it's important. I mean, if Agent Aquato says it's not important that I can't remember why I'm here, then I have to take his word for it.

Something... about Delialo's poem is absolutely freaky, though. I mean... she just kind of... is? She just... it sounds like she speaks in riddles! I can't even be sure that they're riddles. It just makes no sense to me! It's just making my head spin! Agent Aquato doesn't seem overly bothered by her, either. Which means that she's most likely harmless, as he's said, but it... isn't stopping her from giving me the creeps!

And what about that necklace? It's definitely pretty and shiny, but Delialo avoided the question! She just launched into that freaky poem! Does it even mean anything? I mean, poems just kinda all sound like a load of garbage, but... what's going on here? What does it mean? Why am I here?!

I hate not knowing anything! I want to know! What's the rock? What's the poem? What's going on? Why's this happening to me?! WHY me?! Why can't I remember? I want to remember! But it just... hurts! I hate this! I wanna punch someone through a brick wall!

His mental screaming came to a halt as a new thought came to mind. Hey, wait.... is punching people through brick walls a psychic power?

That's what they're called, right? Psychic powers? No, aren't they, like... PSI-Powers? Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's what they're called. Is punching people through brick walls a PSI-Power? If it turns out I'm psychic, would that something I could do? Punch people through the wall with my mind? That'd be crazy. I wanna send someone through a wall. That would be so cool.

Wait... why am I thinking about that? Wherever Agent Aquato's leading me has gotta be important! Focus, Finn!

Chapter Text

In all his years of being a Psychonaut, he'd never seen anything like whatever the hell was going on with Finn. That kid's brain was truly something else. Which made Raz worried.

Untrained psychics weren't very good at masking their thoughts, especially from stronger psychics, but that wasn't why Raz was concerned. Finn seemed fine on the outside, mostly. But his brain? Nothing got in, nothing got out. Except for confusion and fear, but other than that? Nothing.

(Is that what trying to listen to my thoughts feels like?)

Raz didn't know the kid. Everything else, what with him being unable to remember if he was psychic in all, was definitely concerning. But the most concerning thing was the blistering, clawing pain Raz had felt trying to check if Finn's mind was okay. He had never felt anything like it before.

And I'm not even sure if I got out unscathed! Raz thought. I'm worried that did some damage. I seemed fine, but now....

A small tug on his pant leg pulled him out of his thoughts. "Yeah?" Raz said, almost on instinct at this point. "What's up?"

Finn, once again, was confused. "Where are we going?"

Oh. Hm. "Technically, we're not going anywhere."

The fog of confusion around Finn worsened. "W-we're not? But why —" He flapped a hand around, as though his brain had lagged behind his words and needed to catch up. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Raz shrugged. "I thought you'd run off at some point, to be honest."

"Wha — uh — you — huh —" Finn suddenly winced, stopping in his tracks to place a hand on his forehead. He swayed as though he could fall over at any moment. He let out a little groan.

Oh, that was VERY worrying. Raz took a step toward Finn, a hand outstretched. "Hey, buddy. Are you alri — AGGH!"

His head suddenly went light. He felt... really dizzy. Something was buzzing in his ears. He stumbled, resisting the urge to double over and cradle his head in his hands. Ohhh... my head....

What did that kid's brain do to me?

"Sir!"

Apparently having recovered lickety split, Finn rushed forward, craning his neck to look at Raz. He somehow looked smaller than he had a second ago. I swear he reminds me of someone, came a sudden thought.

"Sir? Agent Aquato? Are you okay?" the boy asked.

Raz shook his head, though it only seemed to make the dizziness worse. His stomach flipped upside down. The world looked orange and green for some reason. He closed his eyes until it passed. "I'm... fine. What about you, bud? Are you good?"

Finn waved a hand dismissively. "That's just kinda been happening," he said. "If I think too hard, my head gets real messed up. Like, worse than it already is. I... I can't remember when it first started happening, but... I'm sure it's nothing."

Okay. That was suspicious.

Raz crouched down to be at eye level with the kid. "What do you remember? Before getting here, I mean."

Finn held a hand to his chin, though not quite touching it, looking off into the distance. Ohhh, that was a very familiar gesture. Have I seen that before? The kid shook his head. "Well, I don't remember anything really unusual, but...." He furrowed his brow. "I do remember a lot of blue and orange, though. And... something about... water, I think?"

"And that's it?"

Finn nodded. "Yup! That's about it. That's a bit fishy, isn't it? Ohhh...." He put his hands to his temples. "This is gonna need psychic investigating, isn't it?"

Oh. Raz stood up, suddenly cold as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Oh god. He turned on his heel, hurrying off as fast as he could. Please oh god no. Don't do this. No please not to him.

"S-sir?" Finn said. He hurried after Raz. "Y-you're... you're really pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

"How old are you?"

"Wha — huh?"

Raz's shoulders started shaking. "How old are you?" he choked out. Please be at least a year older... don't be —

"Ten. I-I'm... ten, sir." Raz felt his heart drop. No, no, no, nooo. This is EXACTLY what I was afraid of. "Sir? Please, can you tell me if —"

"Finn," Raz forced out. "Please. Stay quiet. I...." He thickly swallowed, his throat painfully dry. "I-I need to think."

Finn, to his credit, didn't question him. Thankfully, his brain was already painfully quiet, so Raz didn't have to worry about that. It didn't help with Raz's nerves, though, who was already seeing disaster unfolding behind his eyes.

No, no no... please let this be a coincidence. Please just let this kid go home. I don't need this, he doesn't need this. No, no... just let this be paranoia. Please I don't NEED THIS.

Everything lined up way too perfectly. First, he and Lili sensed panic and fear in the woods, only to find an unconscious child. Whose brain was weirdly hostile towards Raz's. Then, he slept for a few days, and when he woke up, it turned out he couldn't remember whether or not he was psychic. And now, Delialo's recited another one of her weirdly vague poems, and it turned out Finn's mind was a lot more fucked up than Raz expected.

Which meant that Finn might be at the center of this whole thing.

But he couldn't. He had to be wrong. It had to be a coincidence. He had to be reading into nothing. Because if something happened....

Raz set his jaw. He clenched his fists, determination boiling in his blood.

It won't happen. I won't let it.

And if it did, he was going to be livid.

Chapter Text

'LILI.'

The voice came out of nowhere. It was impossibly loud, angry and rattled around in her skull. It was so sudden that she let out an involuntary shriek, nearly toppling off the docks and drawing the attention of at least three nearby campers.

Once she realized who it was, she clenched her fists. 'Raz! Next time you do that, I swear you're gonna bur —'

'LILI.'

Lili's eyebrows raised, her anger disappearing as soon as it came. She knew this voice. She hardly ever heard it, but she knew it. 'Uh-oh, the someone's-about-to-die voice. What pissed you off this time?'

There was silence, but she could tell he was trying to calm himself down. Too angry to properly speak? Wow, someone really must've made Raz blow his top off. It had to be one of the campers. It was honestly about time that one of them actually got on his nerves. Maybe it was Kalio. Or perhaps one of the Hale twins.

Those three certainly annoyed her the most.

'We're sending him home, Lili,' Raz eventually told her. 'He can't stay here. If he does, something bad's gonna happen, and —'

'Context, Raz!' Lili snapped. 'We talked about this! I need context. Who's this "he" you're talking about?'

'The kid! In the woods!'

'He's awake?' She crossed her arms, glaring into the water. 'Took him long enough.'

'His name's Finn, apparently,' Raz went on. 'Anyway, he woke up, and there's... well. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm gonna lose my mind if he doesn't go home NOW. I think something's going to happen, Lil. Everything's lined up in a way I don't like, and I've got a really bad feeling this kid's going to be involved somehow.'

'Don't you think you're overreacting? Some kid in the woods isn't going to be the next Razputin Aquato, y'know.'

'I KNOW —' Raz cut himself off with a growl. After another minute of tense silence on his end, Raz eventually continued, 'I know that. I didn't say that, though. Oh god, what if it is though?' There was a burst of panic through the link, and a feeling of something dark spilling through. 'Oh no no no, it can't. I can't. No. NO. If it is, I'm gonna... someone's gonna....'

'Die?'

'Well, I was going to say burn, but yeah, basically.'

Lili shook her head, lightly amused. 'So?'

'Huh?'

'I don't think you're contacting me without a plan, Raz. So what is it? What big, crazy adventure are you about to rope us into?'

'I'll... tell you when I see you,' Raz told her. 'First order of business, though. Have you seen Dee?'

For some reason, that made her bark a laugh. 'Oh my god. You're actually planning on roping them into this?

'I don't see why not! He missed out on the best summer of your whole entire life, remember? I think he has the right to at least be involved this year.'

'Yeah. You're probably right. But no, I don't know where he is. I haven't seen them all morning.'

'Typical. Well, I guess that's the second order of business — finding Dee.'

'Raz, you know that's not gonna happen. No one ever just finds them. He finds you.'

'Ominous and unhelpful! Thanks, Lili!'

Lili gave the water a wicked smile, even though Raz technically couldn't see it. 'No problem, Raz. I'll see you soon.'

Chapter Text

The plan was simple. Find Dee, go to Lili, get in contact with Finn's parents, and send the kid home as soon as possible.

Sure, Raz was probably overreacting. But after everything that happened to him when he was Finn's age... well, Raz believed he had the right to blow this out of proportion. Because, at this rate, if his paranoid mind was correct about Finn basically being Razputin Aquato the Sequel, he was going to lose his goddamn mind.

Three or so days of nonstop chaos when you're ten doesn't do wonders on the psyche.

Especially when you hardly slept throughout that whole experience.

And as far as he was concerned, Finn wasn't even psychic. He might not be. He couldn't detect any PSI energy or anything! The chances that Finn wasn't psychic at this point were high, but then again, the reason he couldn't get anything from the boy was probably from the blistering pain that effected Raz's mind, and it was keeping him from knowing anything.

If they had enough time, they could probably look into that. But speaking of the kid.

Finn, bless his heart, had somehow managed to keep in stride with Raz the whole time. He didn't need to. In fact, he could've wandered off. Raz would've gone and looked for him after finding Dee, but Finn had apparently decided to latch onto him like a confused little leech.

Okay. Maybe not a little leech. But you get the point.

The kid definitely knew Raz was looking for something, but hadn't been told. It was better to know nothing when you're meeting Dee for the first time. It just made for a better understanding for who Dee was when you didn't know about them. You just had questions when you did know about them beforehand.

At least, that was what Dee told Raz once.

Lili wasn't wrong when she said no one just finds Dee. Trying to find their aura was like a needle in a haystack. Their head was about as tough as Raz's, and when you did get lucky enough to get in there, you never heard their thoughts. All you got was... colors. All in all, the whole thing made it very difficult to find Dee. It was horribly inconvenient, but it was, sadly, very true. Sometimes, Raz got lucky enough to find them. It wasn't guaranteed, but he did, occasionally, find Dee.

...not this time, apparently.

The air was full of static. There was a blur of yellow and blue in the corner of his eye. Finn let out a startled shriek, which was all the warning Raz had. He lifted his hand over his head, but wasn't quick enough. Someone slapped him in the face as hard as they could.

"AHH —" Raz held his nose. The blur, who turned out to be a certain someone with blue skin and black hair poking out of a large stocking cap, gave Raz a toothy grin. Raz glared back. "Gettin' reaaaaaaal sick of that."

The other merely shrugged. "That is the only reason I get out of bed in the morning," he said. "Dogen says hi, by the way."

"Yeah... thank you," Raz growled. "Ow, jeez... I think you broke my nose."

"Well, it'd be an improvement." The blue gremlin finally seemed to notice Finn, who was latched onto Raz's leg as though it was a teddy bear, shaking like a leaf. "Ohh! Look who's finally awake!" Their grin faltered as he looked the kid over. "Man, being awake does not do wonders for your skin."

Finn's shaking only intensified. "Wh-who are you?" he asked. His voice was terribly small and frightened.

The gremlin took a bow. "The name's D'artagnan!" he said. "If that's too hard to remember, you can call me Dart. Almost everyone does. This guy over here calls me Dee." He began moving closer to Raz, which prompted Finn to release his leg and back away. Standing beside Raz, Dee threw an arm around his neck and leaned into his side. "We're cousins."

"No we're not," Raz immediately said.

"Okay, maybe not biological cousins," Dee amended. "More... in spirit." He placed a hand over their heart, as though it was supposed to demonstrate something. "Ain't that right, cousin?"

Raz scowled. "You called me Pooter Scooter."

Dee pushed Raz away with an annoyed growl. "Man, you don't let things go!"

Raz groaned, rubbing his forehead. The headache was coming back. He was already starting to regret this. "Okay, listen —"

Dee suddenly reached out and grabbed Raz's necklace, giving it a sharp tug as he held it up to their face. Somehow, Dee managed to twist and wrap the chain tighter around Raz's neck. In the corner of his vision, he could see Finn going bug-eyed. Raz let out a strangled noise.

"Hmm." Dee stared at the smooth yellow rock, narrowing their eyes. He turned it over in their fingers. He didn't seem to notice he was unintentionally strangling Raz. "That looks... familiar. Where have I seen this before...."

After a second, their eyes lit up. "Ohhh, I know what this is."

"You do?" Finn said, almost awed. "What is it? Can you tell me?"

"I mean, I think I know," Dee said. He shrugged. "I don't know my rocks outside of the psychic variety. I'm not a rock expert. But I can tell you that this one's completely harmless. And definitely not a psychic rock. If I remember correctly, this looks like it could be yellow jade, based off this chart on yellow rocks I saw once."

"Whoa. That's... so cool."

Dee scoffed. "If you say so, little man. Anyway, I know I said harmless, but this rock's small enough to swallow, I'd say, so it's a potential choking hazard. And speaking of choking hazards —"

Dee finally let the stone go, the chain ceasing its attempt to murder him. Raz inhaled with a sharp gasp, his lungs swelling with air. He clutched at his throat. Somehow it didn't feel like he was getting enough.

"Not for childern under the age of four," Dee said. "May contain small parts. Keep it out of your mouth."

"I'll... keep that in mind," Raz said. "Anyway, if you're done. Do you think I can talk now?" 'It's important, Dee,' he added.

Dee placed one hand on their hip, waving the other with a dramatic flourish. "You may." 'Lay it on me, Poot Scoots.'

"Great. Thank you." 'You will die.' He glanced at Finn. "Hey, bud? Is it alright if... Dee and I talk without you here?"

"Ohhh, it's important stuff, eh?" Dee said, unbelievably smug. "Can't let little ears hear us?" 'I don't see why you're sending him away, it's not like the kid can hear this... or can he? He's psychic, right?'

'It's... complicated.'

Finn let out a little oh noise. "So... uh. What am I supposed to do? Do I just... leave? Where do I go?"

Raz clapped his hands together. "Buddy, listen. You're only five."

"Ten."

"Five. Go...." Raz waved his hands around. "Do kid stuff or something. Just... have fun. Alright? Just try not to worry, and... go. You're probably gonna be here for a while, so...."

Finn blinked. He took a step back, seemingly uncertain if Raz was being serious. After a second, he took another step back. Once he appeared absolutely certain Raz wasn't going to say anything, the kid turned on his heel and ran off somewhere. Presumably to find a match or something. Maybe even mess with Kalio or something like that.

As soon as Finn was out of earshot, Dee whistled. "'Go do kid stuff,'" he said. "Not... your best material, but they can't all be winners. I thought you were a counselor, though."

"I'm going to set you on fire one of these days," Raz said.

"That's nice, Poots," Dee said, particularly unbothered by that statement. "So! Little ears are gone. I wouldn't say we're quite in private. More out in the open, but close enough!" 'You can talk now. Or... whatever this is.'

'There's something up with that kid, Dee.'

Dee's face went blank. He stared off into the distance. 'Someone peed on his brain.'

Raz's whole brain stopped for an entire second.

'Dee... this is serious. There's something... wrong with Finn. With his mind. It seems like something's just... wrong. He told me that he can't remember when it started happening, but apparently, and this is what he said, his head gets real messed up when he thinks too hard. "Like, worse than it already is."'

'It's probably fine. I mean, my head hurts when I think too hard, too.'

'He doesn't remember if he's psychic.'

Dee's brows shot up. 'You're joking.'

'Nope.'

'Really!'

'Yep.'

Dee gave a disbelieving laugh. He rubbed their face, shook their head, and exhaled through their teeth. 'Ohhh, that's interesting,' he eventually said. 'That's weird. That's so interesting. I mean, not knowing if you're psychic is one thing, but being unable to remember if you're psychic? Seems like some form of amnesia, but hell if I can remember which one. Selective amnesia?'

'I... don't think that's a thing, Dee.'

'Yeah... maybe. How much does he remember? Or doesn't remember. Just if he's psychic?'

'Apparently, he doesn't know why he was in the woods. He didn't even remember being in the woods until I asked him about it, but even then all he remembers running into trees. Says the only unusual thing he remembers BEFORE that is, and I quote, "a lot of blue and orange."'

'Okay, MAN,' Dee said. 'That could mean anything. I mean, brains! They're just up there, doing stuff. For all we know, Finn saw some really boring painting and all he remembered what the colors are. But, OHHH.' Dee did a little stomp dance. 'FORGETTING IF YOU'RE PSYCHIC. Not knowing how or why you were in the woods! Messed up BRAIN that gets even more messed up!'

'Trust me, that's nog even mentioning the pain that claws at your brain you try reaching out to his.'

'WHAT. WHAT? Okay, that's REALLY weird. No one's brain just does that. I get mental defenses, but what in the goddamn? Something's clawing at BRAINS?'

'You're telling me!' Raz ran a hand through his hair. 'I'm pretty sure it did some damage, but don't quote me on that.'

'Damage?' Dee squinted. 'Can you elaborate, pretty please?'

'Well. Uh.'

'I don't trust that.'

'Listen, it's probably nothing, so let's not worry about it.'

'RAZPUTIN.'

'It's fine! Y'know, I'm pretty sure we're just looking into nothin —'

'Oh, save it. Welcome to the Psychonauts, baby! We're here to help! Now tell me what's up before I quote you to Lili so we can break your legs together.'

'OKAY! Alright! Fine!' Holy CRAP, Dee usually wasn't this insistent. 'It's just dizziness. It's not so bad, the most that happened was losing my balance a couple times.'

"...you lost your balance," Dee said, evidently shocked into speaking out loud. "You're an acrobat."

Raz dragged a hand over his face, pulling his lower eyelids down. He was starting to develop a headache.

"And you lost your balance." Raz opened his mouth, prompting Dee to lift a hand up, effectively interrupting him before he could say anything. "Twice."

"It happens sometimes!" Raz said.

Dee pursed their lips. He stuck a hand in their coat pocket, fishing around for something, using the other to push their cap down over their eyebrows. A wave of panic and surprise burst in Raz's chest when Dee took out a comically small door with dark blue and neon yellow stripes.

"Don't," Raz said. The other lifted the door up. "D'artagnan. Don't." Dee took a step closer, raising it up even further. "NO —" Raz grabbed Dee's wrist, pinning their arm to their side. "NO!"

"I just wanna check! Just in case!" Dee said.

"And I screamed twice for no!" Raz said. "Consent wasn't given, Dee! You didn't even ask."

"Can I —"

"NO."

Dee grit their teeth. The door hovered up out of their hand, wooshing back into their pocket. Raz released their arm. Dee grumbled under their breath, rubbing their wrist. "Jeez. Misplace your beloved stamp, Poot Scoots?"

Raz pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "You're making it very hard to like you right now."

Dee didn't say anything, but he imagined that he was pushing their hat back into its usual position right about now. Raz barely kept himself from shaking his head. He forced his eyes open and pushed passed them, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"C'mon, we gotta find Lili. We're getting in contact with the kid's parents."

"Wha — huh —" There was the sudden buzz of electricity in the air before Dee appeared in front of Raz. Neither stopped walking; Dee was doing it backwards. "I thought... we already did?"

"No. We didn't. For some reason, the bastard campers decided, with Dogen popping off to the other side of the goddamn planet and you hiding in the outhouse, that it's about time I stopped sleeping properly. I'm supposed to be taking it easy this summer, not lose out on SLEEP." Dee blinked. Raz barely stifled a sigh. "The bastard campers got worse."

"Naturally."

"There was a plot to set someone's hair on fire."

"But of course."

"The Hale twins were behind it."

"I'm not surprised."

Raz shrugged. "I think they've stopped now, for the most part," he said. "I'm pretty sure that some of the other campers are now planning get on my good side."

Dee cackled. He was walking beside Raz now, falling in stride with him. "Oh my god, that's amazing. Trying to get on your good side? What've they tried to do? Clean your funky red sunglasses?"

"Well, actually! It's only been Delialo. She gave me a necklace and the creepiest poem she's ever recited yet. Though that second one might've actually been for Finn." Raz clutched at the yellow jade. "Unless there's a sinister reason for this, I don't think there's anything much to it."

"Delialo? Oh, nononono! There's definitely a more sinister reason. Last time she did something nice for me, she said something about 'leaning into the light of those thy trust.' I don't know what she's up to this time, but I'm more than certain it'll be worse than wanting to see how many squirrels fit in a giant stocking cap."

"Probably wants to see if Chio can launch live deer across the lake. But the thing is Chio doesn't actually know how to launch deer across the lake."

Dee furrowed their brow. Slowly, he turned their head to him, eyes wide. "Is that what last year's unexplained meat piles were?"

Raz gave them a wide grin.

"Jesus Christ in handbasket hell," Dee said. "What the actual HELL, Raz! Oh my god, the implications... you basically traumatized yourself! Why, though! Why do that! Oh my god... WHY DID YOU KEEP DOING IT? There were like... five piles, dude. Why did you KEEP doing it after the FIRST one landed up in a deersplosion?"

"I tried launching them all at once."

"...aaaaand now you know why I hide in the outhouse."

Chapter Text

The whole layout of this camp was driving him to scream. At least, it was the want to scream.

As soon as Agent Aquato gave him the go-ahead, Finn bolted to try and find Chason. Of everyone he'd met so far, Chason was the only other trustworthy person he could think of. Even if he'd only known everyone he'd met so far for approximately a minute or two. Chason seemed to know what he was doing, at least, so that was something.

And sure, Finn had always kind of wondered what Whispering Rock was actually like. As far as he remembered, anyway. He wasn't sure how he knew about the camp, but holy CRAP. They did not warn you for anything about this place, like how it worked, how it looked, and most importantly, that running around the whole camp felt like running in circles, especially when you can hardly remember where any place in the camp actually was. Buildings or otherwise. And that was while he was still on ground!

There was a lake, though. Finn could definitely say there was absolutely, one hundred percent a lake there.

Which just so happened to be where he somehow managed to find Chason, when he began wondering where he would be if he was a pink kid in a candy cane sweater. This was also probably the biggest relief of the day so far. One of them, anyway. Nothing could hold a candle to knowing where he was.

Chason was somewhere on this funky bridge thing (at least, that was what Finn thought it was) for some reason, and just seemed to be staring off into the distance, somewhere into the lake. He seemed really, REALLY focused on the water.

"Hey!" Finn skidded to a halt before he could crash into Chason. The pink kid's head whirled to look at him. "Hi! Holy crap." Finn doubled over, hands on his knees, panting.

"You good?" Chason asked.

"Oh... yeah... y-yeah," Finn replied. "It's just... I've been running... around in circles. For an hour! This place is... crazy!"

Chason shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, you kinda get used to it for a while. Just, y'know... don't go wandering into the woods without a buddy."

"Wha —" Finn forced himself to stand straight. "Why?"

Once again, Chason shrugged. "There's some spooky psychic entity in the woods. Showed up a little while after you did. We can't go in the woods alone because it might kill us."

"How's going into the woods with a buddy going to do anything about that?"

"...huh." Chason put a hand under his nose, brows furrowed. "They didn't tell us why, actually. But I think it's because they want us to keep an eye on each other? Or... maybe it's because we're supposed to warn each other if we see anything? Or maybe to help each other if something goes wrong? But that... most of us are kids, how does...." He trailed off.

In order to pick the conversation back up, Finn prepared his next question. "What about the psychic monster? What is it?"

Chason shook his head. "We don't know," he admitted. "No one knows."

"Not even Agent Aquato? Isn't he, like... one of the strongest psychics the Psychonauts ever had?"

"He is, for sure. But he doesn't know, either.. I mean, I'd feel a lot more better if he did know, but hey! Pobody's nerfect!"

Finn pursed his lips. "Nobody's perfect?"

Chason dropped his gaze to the ground, hands on his hips. He sadly shook his head. "Oh, you innocent soul."

There was no time to unpack what that could mean. So for curiosity's sake, he thought he'd ask. "Do you know anything a girl with hair over her eyes? Who talks in riddles, and is just super creepy?"

Chason wheezed so hard tears sprung to his eyes. "Ohhhh, noo-ho! I take it that means you've met the Watching Crow!"

"The... the what?"

"That's what we call Delialo. She calls herself a crow a lot, and she's just everywhere you're not expecting," Chason said. "Like she's watching you. Most of us can't read her mind either, it's kinda creepy. I think Aquato has, but he doesn't wanna talk about it. Kalio probably has, too, but no one's ever asked, so I'm not sure how willing he is to talk about it."

So I never want to hear about Delialo again for as long as I live. "Who else do I need to worry about?"

"Oh, mostly everyone," Chason said.

Oh.

"There's the Hale twins, Jackson and Forest. F-O-double R-E-S-T. Points that out every time. They are really into pyrokinesis. Look at them funny and they'll set your hair on fire. They are almost always together, and they will pummel you into the dirt.

"Then there's Snout and Mount... cousins. Those are their last names, and they act a lot more like brothers. I think Snout's the older cousin, and he is super overprotective of Mount. They're not really mean, exactly? But if you mess with one of them, you're bound to face the other's wrath. They like hanging out with Kalio a lot. Speaking of.

"Kalio's not that much of a threat, physically. Verbally, he'll slit your wrists before you even utter a peep, so try not to get on his bad side. He's really big in listening to people's thoughts and clairvoyance. I heard he even read Aquato's mind once, but both of them act weird if asked about it. He seems to like you, though, so I wouldn't worry much about him."

Finn thought back on his earlier encounter with Kalio and blanched. THAT'S how he acts when he likes someone?!

"The last two you should probably worry about is Iris Ego and Emma B. Difficult," Chase went on. "They make their full names clear every time you talk to them, and if you're like 'oh yeah I know already, don't have to keep saying it,' you're doomed. Iris will levitate you to the sun, and Emma will freeze you and then break you into pieces. But they've been hiding recently, so you shouldn't have to worry much about them."

"There's only nine campers here? And most of them are dangerous. I see." The verdict was in — Chase was the safest person here to hang out with. "So. What's up? What're you doing out here?"

Chase crossed his arms, looking out at the lake. "I'm just waiting."

"For?"

Another shrug. "A fish."

"Oh." Finn stared out at the lake, hands on his hips. A gentle breeze that smelled distinctly of pond scum fiddled with his hair. "Fish. The lake is full of those. Just... fish. Slimy and... scaly. Fish. That... swim."

"This fish is very majestic and noble, trust me," Chase said. "Her name's Linda. She's my friend."

"Okay. Scared now. But I'll take your word for it." Huh. Chase was one of the safest campers to hang out with, but after that... did he actually want to hang out with him?

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Chase piped up. "What's up with the gloves? I mean, like... but...." He shrugged. "I dunno."

Finn clasped his hands together, flexing his fingers. Alright. Fine, cool. Talk about the gloves. "Th-they, um... sensory. They help with sensory... issues. There are things I find feel icky to me, and I don't wanna touch 'em, but I have to? So I wear these to help with that."

"Oh, that's nice."

It was Finn's turn to shrug. "I guess so." He sniffed. "I should probably go. I might be needed."

"Oh. Um... it was nice meeting you," Chase said. "I dunno if you're gonna stay longer, but... I wish you were. You seem nice."

Finn's heart flipped. "You too! Um... maybe I'll see you again one day. See ya!"

As Finn walked off from the weird bridge thingie, he thought he might've heard Chase whisper, "I hope I do."

"Hey! Hey!"

Finn stopped, turning his head to see a familiar someone with green skin and red hair running over to him. He stopped in front of him, heavily breathing and panting. "Oh, uh, Kalio!" Finn said. "This is a surprise."

The nosiest mindreader couldn't speak until he recovered from the effort from running. As soon as he did, he heaved a sigh and said: "I heard you were asking about that psychic entity."

Finn furrowed his brows. "How did you —?"

Kalio tapped his head. "I'm almost always listening in, Corpse," he said. "I can't really help that. Chase didn't exactly tell you everything about that thing. Mainly because he's not aware of everything the way I am." He gripped Finn's shoulders, staring him dead in the eye. "So for as long as you're here, don't be alone. Never be alone. Always stay within the campgrounds. As long as you're with someone, it won't go after you."

Finn's chest tightened. "How do you know that?"

Kalio glanced around. "Promise me you'll let me tell Agent Aquato this myself," he eventually said. "I'm not sure what's going on with him right now, but he just feels... off. I can't tell what's wrong or why, but I think it might be because we kept him awake for three days in a row, and he's feeling the burn now."

"I-I... uh, promise, I guess," Finn said. "I won't say anything."

Kalio nodded. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I know that thing's been taking campers, because Iris is missing."

"Huh?!" Finn could hardly believe it. "But Chase said they were hiding!"

"I hate to burst your bubble, but that's what everyone thinks," Kalio said. "I know that they're missing because I haven't been able to sense their aura in two days, and last time I did, there was a sudden surge of psychic energy and then poof! They were gone!" He shook his head. "I feel bad for Emma, honestly, and I'd never usually say that. Iris was her closest friend."

Kalio sighed. "Then again, Iris is also Delialo's friend, and she had to watch them get taken in front of her."

"Wait, you're saying Delialo saw the monster?!" Finn exclaimed. Somewhere in his head came the thought: Delialo has FRIENDS?

"I think she did, but I can't be completely sure," Kalio admitted. "I just know that I could sense her with Iris, and then she was running back to camp. However, if she did see the entity, she's too shaken and confused to talk about it. Her mind doesn't even make sense. It's among the three most strangest brains I've ever tried to listen to, or have listened to." He patted Finn's shoulder. "Don't worry, Corpse. You're number one on that list."

"Thank you?" Finn tried. "But, wait. If Delialo saw the monster, and Iris got snatched... why didn't Delialo get snatched, too?"

Kalio shrugged. "My current working theory is that it only noticed Iris."

"What about that... Emma person?"

"Oh, no, she's definitely hiding," Kalio said. "After what happened to Iris, she refuses to even stand outside. Hell, I think she's gonna go home soon."

Finn nodded. That was kind of sad. Poor Emma. But, wait. "Hey, if you can sense people, do you know what the psychic monster is?"

Kalio shook his head. "Well, it's certainly not Linda. She usually stays in Lake Oblongata until she's needed."

Finn felt both cold and scared. "Wha-wha — huh?"

Kalio just looked Finn over, then smirked. "Unofficial mascot. You'd like Linda, I think. She's very noble among her people."

"I am intimidated," Finn noted out loud.

For some reason, that got Kalio Opelis to start laughing, even though Finn didn't think it was so funny. He felt his face heat up, and it stayed heated up right up until Kalio essentially escorted him to Agent Aquato.