Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Whew, I'm starving, hope the pizza's good here."

Razputin Aquato was coming home after a good day's work, and decided to make a quick stop at some pizza place, after all, it's not like the mission report he had couldn't wait. He didn't even have anything important to do with anyone either. So why not grab some pizza on the way?

"Man, the bacon's smell is on overload here! That pizza better have some bacon in it,Razputin." Ford Cruller's projection appears out of Raz ear, probably due to the bacon smell emanating from the pizzeria.

"Agent Cruller? Shouldn't you be taking care of Nona at Green Needle Gulch?"

"Shouldn't you be back at HQ to report your mission?" Ford shot back at Raz.

"The mission can wait! No one told me that I couldn't grab some grub on the way back." The boy tried to excuse himself, I mean come on, when hunger calls, you heed it.

"For your sake, I hope you parked the jet somewhere discreet, wouldn't want to scare the people living here."

"It's okay, I parked it near some lake in a park. It was pretty quiet so I don't think anyone heard or saw me. Except some recyclers, but they didn't seem to care."

"Good. Still…it's a pretty weird town to park. Something about this place feels…weird." He muttered out.

"Yeah, given the name of the town is Faraway, it is pretty weird. I mean, it's too quiet to be a town, and it's not even that far away from a city."

"I don't mean that, Raz." Ford corrected the boy. "Don't you sense it? It's faint, but there's psychic energy in this town." He explained. That's pretty weird, psychic energy in this wide of an area is unusual for such a quiet town.

"An underground Psitanium deposit?" Raz says. It would make sense, and if it large amounts of quantities, it would explain the spread it has on the town.

"No. This feels different." Ford corrected Raz. "It's from a person. And if their influence is so prevalent in this town, I think they might be a strong Psychic."

"But…how would you know tha-Agent Cruller?" By the time he noticed, Cruller's projected self left his brain.

"Hey kid! Don't just stand in front of the door, come over and take your order!" The man in the booth shouted at the boy.

Razputin composes himself and approaches the person, jumping at a stool to face him at level height.

"Heya kid, you a new face around here? Haven't seen a person like you in this town." The man asked, sporting a mean looking gray sweater covered by a goofy looking apron with a pizza drawing in the middle, with a set of reading eyes to top his appearance.

"Ehhh,something like that." Raz responded vaguely. "Think I could get a pizza with some extra bacon?" He requested of the man.

"Sure, only if you got the cash."

"I sure d-" Razputin checks his pockets, but no money or wallet could be, that was weird. He could've sworn he bought a wallet a week ago with Lili. Man, and his smelling salts were there too.

"If you ain't got any money, least I could offer you is some old piece of bacon I was about to throw away." The man said with a hint of pity.

"Ooh, that works too! Can I have it?" Raz asked enthusiastically, making the man oddly concerned.

"...I was half-joking, but since you're actually serious…here."

"Oh I know, I just wanted it for some other use." He explained. "Say, can you tell me what's been going around here?"

"First my sandwiches, and now information. I swear, Gino's becoming less of a pizza place every day. But since you asked…there's been some unfortunate news as of recently."

"What kind of unfortunate news?" This could be something to note. It might be a lead to explain the psychic energy in this town.

"I tell you, it's a real tragedy. A bunch of kids were having a sleepover at a friend's house, and next thing they knew, two of their friends were trying to kill each other in a fight. It's the stuff of horror stories, lemme tell ya."

"What!? That's horrible!" Raz responded in shock. You don't hear this kind of news, even on the levels of unfortunate. "Why would they do that?" This certainly can be a lead to follow.

"I dunno. 'S none of my business. Don't think it should be yours either."

"I'll try to visit the hospital and see what's up then."

"Wait, what? No offense kid, but I'd think twice before nosing into someone's business, especially if you're a stranger in these parts. It's best to leave well enough alone."

"I know, so would I, well, the nosing part I mean. But a hunch tells me that I should be doing this. It's my job as a Junior Psychonaut Agent." Raz explained. It did sting a bit that he was still a junior agent, but the fact that he's out there in the field means he can suck it up and do what he can with his psychic powers. This being no exception. With that exchange, Razputin sets off and leaves the pizzeria, unaware of the man's fixed gaze.

"A…Psychonaut?"

The pizzeria darkens as the figure contemplates the person's existence in this place.

"Raz," Ford pops out of Razputin's ear. "As much as a priority going to the hospital is, I think we'd be better off with some context going into this situation first."

"Where should we start then?"

"There's a psychic energy trail going outside the town. I say we follow the source, maybe we can see what happened and if it's related to the two kids that fought."

"But I don't see the source." Raz says. He was a strong psychic, but not that strong to smell the faintest of energies.

"It's still faint, but if you head south-east of here maybe you could sense it." Ford explained, guiding him through a path in a crossing.

"Got it. Hey wait a minute Agent Cruller, I didn't even use the bacon to call you. How come you didn-oh you're gone again." Raz was a bit perplexed by Ford's behavior and sudden disappearances, but nevertheless, he still had a mystery to solve.

After a short walk, Raz found the trail for him, and the source led him to a green, modest house. Complete with a lawn full of flowers and all sorts of plants.

"Oh, well that's a nice…house…"

Upon closer inspection, Raz noticed through the windows of the house a multiple set of eyes, but they didn't look natural. They appeared vertical, but the positions were erratic. And upon even closer inspection, a set of tendrils and tentacles seemed like they seeped out of the windows.

"What the-!" As Razputin jumps back and prepares to put his goggles, the apparitions begin to fade, revealing the light inside the house.

"What's got you so spooked, Razputin?"

"D-Didn't you see!? The house has something in it!"

"There's only so much I can see inside your head, Razputin. But other than that, I don't see anything. Maybe it's that psychic energy."

That didn't settle Razputin's composure down, but it gave him enough reassurance to approach the door. Despite the scare, he hasn't forgotten his manners, and knocks on the door, waiting for an answer.

The door opened slightly, revealing a woman with light brown hair.

"Good morning!" Razputin greeted.

"It's evening…" Said the woman in a voice that was full of hate.

"Uh…oh. Sorry, weird that I didn't notice that." Really weird, Raz could've sworn the sun was beating on him a few minutes ago. But just now, the sky has completely turned black.

"So, is there something you want, young boy?"

"Oh yeah, I'd like to ask you about the incident that happened here, think you could tell me about it?"

"I'd…rather not. I'm sorry, but I don't think you should be involved in this." Perplexed by the woman's response, Raz noticed something on the table, the woman followed his gaze, and began to shut the door, to which Raz instantly reacted and held it open.

"Please, I need to find out what happened, I believe there's something dangerous going around here, and I think I can help!" Raz pleaded

"If you want to help, then do so by leaving this place! You are not welcome here!" The woman's expression turned dark, and her eyes turned blood red as she slammed the door at Razputin, forcing him to jump back and into the sidewalk.

"What the heck was up with that girl? Sure was creepy…" Raz looked at his hand holding a dark green book in his hand, the thing on the table that he picked up with his TK.

"Basil's Memories, huh…I better read this on the road. Not sure what I stirred up in there, but I don't think I'm welcome in this town." With that, Raz uses his levitation ball and storms out of the town, following directions to the hospital.

On the way, he goes through a house that's for sale. But he fails to notice the figure staring at him.

Outside of the entrance in the hospital, Razputin understood a bit of the people he was dealing with. Looking at the pictures in the photo album, he saw a group of kids, varying in age. The youngest one was Sunny. He was a quiet kid with black hair and a blank stare. He also loved playing the violin.

A boy, named Kel, was energetic, with fairly brown skin and brown hair. He was into some weird stuff, like mixing orange soda and coffee, testing every position of his head on birthday hats, and tasting the rain. But he had a brother, named Hero, he was the oldest and more mature of the group, and he had a "feel good vibe about him", Razputin thought, like the big brother he wished he had, one that would've supported him leaving the circus.

Aubrey, the only girl that appeared in these photos, was a bubbly girl that always seemed to butt heads with Kel. And yet, they seemed to have a deep friendship with the boy, and Sunny, as he sees the kids reading an issue of Captain Spaceboy. Not quite as great True Psychic Tales, but Razputin always enjoyed them for a change of pace as well. The issue these kids are reading is quite old though, almost 4 years old, around the time Princess Sweetheart was introduced as a potential love interest for the Captain. Raz's not sure if that's supposed to be a clue, or an indication of how much he's been following these lines of comics to this day.

And finally, there was Basil, the person taking the photographs and the owner of the photo album, who was a blonde boy that had a flower on his hair. He was also the one who left these notes on the photos. Raz really didn't know much about him, but he seemed to be close with Sunny, commenting how he'd always vent to him and come to him if he ever needed any help. He was also the one who made these notes on every picture (obviously, Raz said to himself.) He noted how Sunny has this cute crush on Aubrey (gross), how Hero had some sort of romantic relationship with this girl named Mari. And how Kel would drink something called, an Orange Joe, presumably the orange soda and coffee cocktail.

Except, there was also Mari. She wasn't shown in any of the pictures, and it feels like she's always mentioned in passing. However, from what he could tell, it is that she was some sort of guardian, like Hero is to Kel. Otherwise, Raz didn't know much about her. But pondering about her wouldn't help Raz much. So he decided to enter the hospital. If the pieces he connected on the way here are anything to go by, the house Raz visited and wasn't invited in was Basil's, and by extension, he was one of the two people in this 6-man group that possibly got involved in this fight. Well, nothing more to it then just stepping inside to find out.

"Well, something's definitely wrong here…" If Raz thought the sudden change to morning to evening was bad, this hospital's condition was even worse. The white walls were covered by withering flowers, with roots and sap seemingly growing and seeping out of the walls. The sounds of heartbeats, heart monitors in flatline became an inescapable white noise that seemed to get stronger with the further inside he went in.

"Still...why does this place feel familiar? I don't think I ever visited here... Not that the Aquatos could afford hospital fees to ever go here." He remarked. It's a wonder how his time at the circus never had him go to a hospital once.

Razputin nonetheless moved forward. He saw a fairly friendly looking receptionist staring at seemingly nothing, I'm sure she'd be able to help Raz.

"Hi there lady, is a boy named Basil her-"

"GO AWAY,YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE."

"Okay! Not being nice to receptionists anymore!" Raz bolted into the elevator and decided, against the receptionist's judgment and his own, to push every button at the elevator in hopes one of them would lead to Basil's room. Anything to get her out of that scary receptionist.

But it didn't really matter, the elevator simply stopped at the highest floor. As a precaution, Raz applied his red goggles and prepared for combat.

When he stepped out of the elevator, he was approached by three figures, all with angry looks, with bloodshot eyes aimed at Razputin.

"Who the heck are you? I don't remember you ever seeing you here!" The boy carrying a basketball shouted at Raz.

"Wait…" Razputin contemplated, "I know you, all of you!"

"Huh? What the hell do you mean by that, you creep? I don't remember ever knowing a kid like you!" The girl with pink hair and spiky bat shouted, clearly not liking Raz's presence here.

"No, you don't know me, but I know you all! Aubrey, Kel, and Hero. You're Basil and Sunny's friends!"

"I agree with the others, you may know us, but we don't know you. Please… for our sake, leave this place. We really don't want you here." The older boy spoke, carrying a spatula. The trio then prepped their weapons at Raz, preparing for a fight.

"I'm only here to help Basil! I don't want to fight you!" Razputin says, preparing a stance for combat.

But the trio didn't listen.

The young boy threw his basketball at Raz, in response, Raz TK'd the ball back at him, hitting him in the head and knocking him out.

"Oh, sorry! Didn't know it would hit that hard!" Admittedly his experiences with Frazie and rocks did make him a bit ignorant on the subject of throwing stuff at people.

The girl swung her bat at Raz, but his reflexes were faster, and he swung his PSI-Punch at her, taking her out of the fight.

"Okay now that was just self-defense, you had nails on that bat for crying out loud!"

The older boy didn't even attack, instead, he turned into a black being with a black tendrils, and teeth all over. It appears to be gathering the two unconscious kids, trying to gather them in his body, as if giving them a big hug.

"That's pretty creepy…Better stop this before it gets any worse."

Not one to let enemies power up or let kids be absorbed, Raz used his Pyrokinesis to burn the dark figure. Eventually, it dissipates and the boy appears once again, fainting and dropping a note on the floor.

"Huh? What's this? Why's it so…familiar?" As Razputin opened the letter, a surge of memories finally pieced together what was really going on.

Official Psychonauts Mission: By Hollis Forsythe

"Hello, Razputin. I'm sorry to put this on your weight while I'm on vacation, but given how the Motherlobe is on spring cleaning week, I'm forced to give you some of the old missions in order to make room for new ones. This one is pretty old, 4 years old in fact. But it's simple enough for a first mission. Here's the gist. We've noticed psychic fluctuations in some town called Faraway Town, find the cause of it, and report back. Don't try to do anything with the source if you can't help it. Who knows how much it changed over 4 years. Don't worry, it's not that far away from HQ. Just go to the nearest city and you'll see from the west. Good luck Agent."

"Oh, now I remember…" Razputin's memories over the past few days finally surged in. He wasn't going home from work after all. In fact, he was still in it. The fluctuation he sensed lead him to this hospital through the town, and into a boy's mind. Now he gets it, why the town was eerily quiet, why everyone had a distant and angry disposition, why it suddenly turned to morning to dark, and the dark things in the house.

He was in Basil's mind. And by the looks of it, he wasn't welcome in here.

The hospital was gone in his eyes. A black space was all that he could see. A single door is in front of him. Not the most surprising thing for him, at this point.

"Ready or not Basil, here I come. I'll get to the bottom of this and help you, I promise." Raz steels his resolve and opens the door, a shining light blinding his sight.

As he entered, he sees a hospital room, and two beds laid there. One was entirely covered and the body wasn't shown at all. The other was an elderly figure, but the heart monitor was in a flatline. Beside it, a boy with blonde hair was holding her hand, sleeping beside her. Razputin approaches him slowly.

"Hey…you're Basil, right?" He places his shoulder on the boy. Shocked, the boy jumps out of his sleep and looks at the boy with red goggles.

"Y-Yeah…I don't know who you are though, sorry…" Basil timidly replied.

"Oh, I'm Raz. I'm…well, a visitor, so to speak. I'm here to help."

"I-I don't really think you can help…unless you know how to bring people back to life." He looks at the elderly person. She stood there motionless, with a bed of flowers at her chest. She must've been a relative.

Raz really didn't know how he could help him though. He could ask the Deluginists about reviving people, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't do him or Basil any good.

"Raz, I know you're trying to help, but…do you think you could leave me alone in this place? Everyone is leaving me anyway. No need for you to get involved in this."

"No, no, a thousand times no!" Razputin vehemently declined. "Look Basil, I don't know you that well, but I can see that you're hurting, and it's affecting your brain. I can help you with that, but I need you to cooperate with me." He insisted. It's obvious there's something wrong, it's just not showing.

Basil didn't care to listen. He simply chose to ignore him. He just wanted to be left alone.

"What about Sunny,Kel,Hero, and Aubrey? Don't you wanna be with them again?"

"They all left, so what's the point?"

"Then what about Mar-"

The room went dark, and Basil was completely gone. Raz was completely alone in the black space, and no doors were in sight.

"What the-!" Raz was caught off guard, he didn't expect that reaction. Whoever this Mari person was, they obviously didn't appreciate being talked about. Basil must've stolen the photo album, because he notices that it's gone from his backpack. But it was hardly an issue when Raz's surroundings are nothing but black.

In a hurry, Raz took his piece of bacon, only to find that it was not working at all, as Ford never popped out of his ear.

"What!? But it was working fine just a while ago! Well...at least I think it did..."

"Pootie! Are you there, Pootie? Pootie!"

A voice resonated in his head, it was Raz's Nona, sounding extremely distressed.

"Nona, oh thank god! It's me, Raz, where are you?" Raz shouted frantically, he needed a guide in this place desperately.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay my Pootie, we've been worried sick, you've been gone for so long! I'm at the Gulch, but I tried to find your consciousness through my telepathy-"

"Listen Nona, there's no time, I'm in big trouble, and I don't think I can fight this by myself. Is Agent Cruller there? Tell him to send Agents Nein, Vodello, and Oleander to Faraway Town's hospital, I need help badly!"

"Pootie, what are you trying to say? I don't understand, are you in trouble?" Nona's voice becomes more garbled, Raz must be losing connection, could you even lose connection with telepathy? Or is this Basil's doing?

"Yeah, something like that, look, just please tell Agent Cruller right away."

Nona sighs at his persistence for help. "Okay Pootie, I'll tal-" The audio was too garbled to make up what she was saying. But hearing her say that she's on it was enough reassurance for Raz.

Raz regained his composure and aimlessly moved forward into this black space. Not like he had anywhere to go anyway. Whatever black he saw near him, close to him, or far away from him, more black awaited. He was on the ready in case some censor, judge or whatever negative thoughts resided in Basil's brain attacked him, but nothing appeared.

That is, until he spotted a large tree. That tree held…a hanged figure, drenched in black. "I mean…that's progress, it's disturbing and unnerving, but it's progress!" Razputin thought to himself. Between wandering in an empty void or finding out where Basil is through the tree, despite what was ahead of him, the latter was much more preferable.

Raz didn't notice it, but he immediately hits his head on a door.

"Ow!"

He took his time to scan the place, it seemed like he was in Faraway Town again, but the sky was blackened up. The house was a different one from Basil's, it was drab, with a few bushes decorating the house. A black kitty was sleeping outside the house's windows.

"Good kitty." Raz petted the kitty.

"Mreow." It responded well to it.

After this interaction, Raz notices the door creaking, opening slowly, as if inviting him to come inside.

"Well if you're opening it for me…" Raz accepts the invite, there was no shine this time.

He entered a dark living room, with a red light seemingly appearing out of the backyard window. Raz chose to ignore it for now, as despite the eerie glow, it was locked shut. He does notice, however, a black book was on the table.

"Basil's Memories again…let's see if it's any different this time."

He opened the photo album, and there was something different this time. This time, in addition to the photos he saw, there were new ones. This one included an older girl, with black hair and a happy smile. "This must be Mari…" Raz thought.

From what he could tell, Mari was Sunny's older sister. She played the piano, she was looking out for everyone, like a mother protecting her children, and she and Hero had a thing for each other. "Yuck." Raz spat out. The following pictures showed her and Sunny, practicing a duet for a recital that was supposed to happen soon. Raz felt a touch of envy out of these photos, Mari felt like the sister Frazie once was, and even more. He wished he could have a Mari in her life. A Mari and a Hero. But he shrugged it off, "Can't be too greedy." He thought to himself, he has a good life as it is, despite how chaotic and random it may seem. And besides, he has Lili as a girlfriend…he thinks. Still unsure about that.

Before he could turn the page for the following photos, Raz heard a large bang coming from the nearby room. Closing the book, he approached the door, making a creaking sound as he opened it.

"Oh no…" He didn't expect the sight he saw.

There was a broken violin on the bottom of the stairs, and two people arguing at the top of them. Raz knows those people.

"Sunny, Mari! Wait!" Raz's voices couldn't be heard, and he couldn't stop what was coming next.

"No no-STOP IT!"

A fight broke out. And just how it started, it ended. Mari walked in front of and-perhaps out of a sudden reaction, Sunny pushed her down the stairs.

"NO!"

Razputin couldn't do anything to save the situation. Telekinesis did nothing, the Time Bubble didn't stop her at her tracks, and it'd take too long to make his archetype appear. He tried to reach out with his psychic hand and stop her fall, but it was too little, too late.

She died falling down the stairs and into the violin, her hair covering the violin and her body. Raz's psychic hand reached her, but it was proven to be useless, her body phased through the hand, and through his body.

Raz looked atop of the stairs, the window above them shined a bright blood red. And above it, there was Sunny, looking distraught at the body at the bottom of the stairs.

Before Raz could even react, black tendrils swarmed and dragged him away from the scene, shutting the door and leaving him shocked. He notices the door to the yard outside slide open. Recovering from that, he goes to the outside yard, trying to find a way to escape.

Instead, he finds Mari hanging in a giant tree, a pair of photos are on the grass. Raz tries to burn the noose, but just like before, his fire does nothing.

Not like he could do anything, once he saw the photos.

"Oh no…"

It was then that he realized why he couldn't stop this . It was no figment of imagination that the mind conjured. It was a vivid recreation of something that already happened, an event that traumatized the boy…

"…Wait, if Sunny was the cause of this event, Mari dying, then where was Basil?"

Looking through the photos was like a slideshow. Jumps of Basil looking at the murder, taking Mari at top to bed, then back down, and then at the yard.

Basil used the rope to hang Mari's body, and he hid the violin.

"You saw it, didn't you?"

Basil was standing before Razputin, stressed out, with stir crazy eyes, armed with garden shears.

"Whaaaattt, nooo…I was just…taking a walk?"

Not even in Basil's world would that kind of excuse slide, and it showed, as something appeared out of the boy's torso, almost enveloping him with it's shark-like teeth and black tendrils.

Raz prepared for a fight, but he couldn't even prepare a stance, as he was wrapped by something from behind, they weren't like the black tendrils of Basil's thing, but black hair.

"Since you're so persistent with staying…now that you found the truth…I can't let you leave." Basil approached the restrained Raz, preparing for an attack.

"I'm sorry that you had to see this. But I gave you ample opportunities to leave. I know you aren't a figment of my imagination. Which is why…now that you know the truth, I can't let you leave. Everything will be okay…"

"Yeah, Basil…Everything will be okay…Once I get out of your head!"

Raz frees himself out of the restraints and pushes Basil back with his psychic hands. The whole area turns back to a black space. The two boys are at a standoff, waiting for one to attack.

"I'm a Psychonaut Basil, I won't be able to help you with what happened before, but the least I could do is stop your brain from worsening. Then, I'll help Sunny and you reconcile."

"YOU CAN'T HELP ME ANYMORE, NO ONE CAN!"

Basil responds with black tendrils in kind, attacking Raz in an attempt to subdue him. Raz dodges to his best intentions and repels them back with repeated PSI-Blasts. He manages to close in an attempt to jab him, but he is drawn back by incoming tendrils. Backing off, he summons his archetype and attempts to flank him. But it does not work, as Basil once again repels them both with an attack from both the front and back. Raz took a chance landing a Pyrokinesis attack, but it didn't work, in fact, it only made him more angry.

"STOP RESISTING, JUST GIVE UP AND LET ME BEAT YOU!"

Unfazed, Raz goes for a safer plan of attack, he begins to run circles around him, trying to find a chink in his defenses while hitting him with PSI-Blasts. However, that too, proved ineffective. And Raz paid for it too, as a black tendril appears from behind and restrains him again, making sure to tighten the grip this time to not escape.

"No, I can't…let it end like this…" The black tendril then began to burrow under a black, liquid substance, intending to drag Raz too. His vision begins to dim, and it's getting harder for him to move his arms. In the corner of his eye, he notices Basil again, smiling weakly at his victory over Raz.

"Sunny…Don't worry…Everything will be okay…"

Ah, now Razputin gets it. Basil staged Mari's suicide, so Sunny won't have to be blamed for the murder. Razputin gets it, but it feels wrong to him, all kinds of wrong. He sees it as a reason to keep going, but he still can't struggle enough to escape. He's very much near the water now…and it looks like the backup he requested from Nona won't arrive soon enough…

…Or will it?

Just then, the Hand of Golochio reached out to Raz and grabbed him away from the tentacle, throwing him to solid ground as the tentacle began to fight the Hand. Raz gains a second wind, but only briefly, as Basil attacks just as he was about to recover, knocking Raz down.

In haste, he tries to make a Time Bubble around him to slow down the attacks and try to get a chance to land a blow. To his surprise, it worked. However, when trying to close the gap to Basil with Mental Connection, he was found unable to, as if there was no tether to Raz's hook. Out of time, the bubble popped up, and Basil's attack continued and landed. Raz is at his wits end, tired, and unable to launch any counterattack.

"Raz, Raz, hang in there!" A familiar voice ringed on him from above, and out of desperation, Razputin looks at a glimmer from above

A barrage of PSI-Blasts appeared from above, striking down Basil, and stunning him enough for his attacks to stop. The first person who descended was the person Raz heard, Lili.

"H-Hey Lili, what's up?" He asked weakly, regaining himself,

"What's up!?" Lili shoves a PSI-Pop angrily in his mouth. "You're gone for almost a day, miss our DATE, I hear from your grandma that you're somehow in big trouble in your mission you were supposed to do YESTERDAY, and I find you in some hospital astral projecting some kid's mind for who knows how many hours, then I see that you're fighting that kids…whatever the hell THAT is! And you're asking me what's up!?"

"W-Well…I got too psyched up on the job- ow!" And although he didn't want to admit it, he did forget about the date.

"That's not a good excuse! I hope for your sake, you can explain yourself later, because I am TOO angry to see you like this!"

"Excuse me, darlings!" Agent Vodello lands near the pair, using Levitation to cushion the fall.

"As much as I love seeing relationships bloom in times of crisis, I think we should focus on the elephant in the room, yes?"

"I have to agree with Agent Vodello. Razputin, as much as it pleases me to see you well for someone who was astrally projecting into a mind for 19 hours, I must ask you that we subdue this thing and give you a healthy meal. I'll have to ask you some personal questions as well.." Agent Nein then appears, looking at Basil's who is starting to recover.

"NINETEEN HOURS!?"

"Razputin, please, I believe we have more pressing issues. I'm assuming this is Basil?"

"Yeah, and I have a feeling this'll be a tough fight, like Maligula. Nothing seems to work on him, it's like his mental defenses are so impossibly strong!"

"MIGHTYYY DIVEEEEEEE!" Oleander arrives, diving into Basil in an attempt to stop him, but to no avail, as he's knocked back by Basil's tendrils, but he still fazed it off nonetheless.

"Agent Oleander!"

"Nothing's impossible, soldier! Haven't you gone through Basic Braining for you to realize that?"

"He's right, darling! You've been through worse situations, you just need us to help you get through this one this time!"

"Yeah, you wanna help Basil right? We just need to put all our efforts into one attack and get that thing out of him!"

"Yes. It's not necessary to purge the creature from his mind. Simply sealing it under a construct until we have other solutions will do for now."

They were right, they didn't need to beat Basil to submission. Of course, it was obvious, all they needed to do is was separate that thing away from him. It'd be a tough fight, but he'll just have to do it. But at the very least, Raz wasn't alone in this.

"Got it! It's time to commence Operation: Weed-Out!"

The fight was on again as Basil's something recovered and started swarming the agents, but they managed to scramble and attack from different fronts.

Sasha Nein attacked from afar, attacking key points that weren't covered by the black tendrils, and even managing to dismember some tendrils, weakening it's attacks.

"Your mental defenses are something to behold indeed, you have a unique mind. You'd be a fine reference to study on, as unfortunate as your circumstances are. However…"

Sasha unleashes another barrage of PSI-blasts, all chaining through the tentacles, cutting them till they disconnect from Basil's body.

"Your attacks are nothing short of a child throwing a temper tantrum."

"Lili, your turn!"

Lili began a mad rush to Basil's something, preparing a Pyrokinesis attack.

"Got it! Hope you enjoy some fried calamari!"

The attack landed, causing significant damage to Basil's something, but making it angry all the same.

"You angry now? Well maybe next time you shouldn't hurt my boyfriend!"

"WHY, WHY ARE YOU ALL RESISTING!? JUST STOP IT ALREADY, I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE!"

The black tendrils were back on a frenzy, attacking at everyone haphazardly, fortunately, Milla used TK on everyone near them, saving them from the assault.

"We don't want to fight either, darling! But you must understand, we're doing this for your own good! And the last thing I want…is another child crying because of things they can't control!"

"Lili, with me! We're giving Razputin our psychic energy!"

"Right!"

"Oleander, on your mark!"

"I've been waiting since boot camp to do this…Mighty… BULL RUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Oleander rushes inside Basil's something, and is completely enveloped by the black substance.

"Don't count me out just yet! Ultimate Combination Attack: Deadly Area Attaaack…to Forceful Separation!"

Oleander manages to separate Basil and it's something, although they are still connected loosely by black tendrils.

"Damn, that's one hell of a brain you got kid! If I wasn't the man I'd used to be I'd have put your brain in a tank in a heartbeat! Shame about what happened to you though, but this isn't healthy for you either. Maybe when this is all over, I'll send you an invite to our camp, help you grow, and make some new friends!"

"Razputin, do you see it?"

"I do! Pull me up, Agent Vodello!"

"This is it darling, make sure you focus on this one!"

"Do hurry up though. Oleander doesn't seem like he can keep the boy in that position."

"You got that right! I don't have enough sappy dialogue for me to keep doing this!"

"Go for it Raz!"

Seeing the mental connection, Raz immediately prepares to dash to Basil. As he does, Oleander loses his strength and falls, but just in the nick of time to dash without any problems into Basil's body.

"Sunny…please…don't leave me…don't go!"

"Don't worry Basil, I won't leave you! I'll be here until you'll let me help you!"

Raz lands the finishing blow, and with enough psychic energy from Lili and Sasha, separates Basil and the something from each other.

"Is it done!?"

"He's out, Basil's out!"

"Good. Razputin, use your Salts and let's get out of here, I'll start immediately on building a construct and keep that thing off of the boy."

"Wait, I don't have any Salts, I kept it in my wallet!"

"Ugh, I told you that wallet was projection proof! Just hold my hand and let's get out of here." With that, the pair use the (disgusting) smelling salts to exit Basil's brain.

Raz awakens sitting in one of those cheap metal chairs, his brain hurting after what he had gone through. In front of him, was sitting a boy with blonde hair, battered and bruised, but sound asleep. Sasha, Milla, and Oleander look at the boy, examining him, preparing the construct.

"Hey…you okay?" Lili placed her hand on Raz's shoulder.

"Yeah…just tired." Raz weakly said, guess that's what 19 hours of astral projection does to someone.

"Come on, let's go get pizza."

"Yeah, with some extra bacon too."

Chapter Text

"Ugh...finally here."

Razputin is slowly walking in the white hallways of the hospital, doing his best to avoid the receptionist whilst carrying a basket of various candies that he got while he was at the Othermart in Faraway Town. The town was quiet, which I guess made sense since the neighborhoods aren't that large, and while some kids were eyeing him, it didn't make him feel like he was in danger, thankfully.

Sasha's medical opinion after escaping Basil's mind was that Raz's brain was completely exhausted from constant function, and he could feel it. It felt like his heart was beating when he would get into a fight, but the beating was from the head, not the chest. Sasha's recommendation was simple really, take a 10 hour rest, eat a hearty meal, drink a lot of water, and take a walk for his brain to go back to a normal-like function. Raz more than happily obliged, not like he was in the right mindset to say no anyway. And he could still help out, after all, that's what the sweets and food is for.

But in his mind and heart, Raz wanted to do more than stand in the backlines.

"Sunny…please…don't leave me…don't go!"

Those words rang to Raz like the music in his circus. That cry for help, despite not intended for Raz, impacted him all the same. It had upset him, that in the end he was completely overwhelmed by Basil's mind and couldn't find any way to help him. He remembered, before he entered his mind, how Basil was having night terrors in his hospital bed, muttering and often screaming about how he didn't want to be left alone. Hell, when he jumped into him with Mental Connection on the fight, it showed Sunny abandoning him in some dark bathroom while Basil was crying.

What Raz learned from his mind was confirmed to be true in the real world as well. The neighborhoods, kids, adults, and the local church all said the same thing. A fight between two kids occurred in the dead of night while they and their friends were in a sleepover, and it got so bad that the both of them were quickly administered to the hospital. And through visiting Basil's house and talking with the boy's caretaker, Polly (who was kinder and more open than Raz originally thought), confirmed the boys who were involved in the fight were Basil and Sunny. Of course, Raz knew why they fought. But it'd be pointless to talk about it while they're both unconscious.

Raz reaches Basil's room, and opens the door, seeing the reassuring figures of his fellow agents around the bed of an unconscious Basil.

"Ah, hello Razputin." Sasha was the first to greet Raz. "Did you bring the confectionaries?"

"Yep, no Dream Puffs or PSI-Pops, but I got whatever has the most sugar and additives."

"Well, it would have to do. This will help me focus, thank you Razputin."

"Feelin better, Raz?" Lili approaches his boyfriend.

"Yeah. I'd feel better if we were making any progress with Basil though, Sasha."

"Then I'm afraid to say that we are not." Sasha responded. "The mental construct I've hastily built is effective, but that thing isn't gullible enough to stay inside it." He explained. "Oleander and Milla are keeping it busy in the construct for now. But I doubt that they can hold it in for long."

Oleander and Milla's mental projections then both jumped out, regaining consciousness.

"That gives us an hour and a half at most to think of something." Sasha says, looking at his holographic tablet.

"Ugh...it used to be two hours." Oleander added.

"I think I remember it being more than three..." Milla corrected.

"In short, we're in a bind." Sasha concluded.

"But...there must be some way we can help him!"

"There is." Sasha taps some buttons on his tablet to project a bigger screen. "Agent Forsythe?"

"I'm here." Hollis appeared on the screen, with messy hair and pajamas. "I've got what you wanted, Agent Nein, but I'm afraid it might not be a clear solution."

"That's okay Agent Forsythe, we'll take any help we can get." Raz responded in kind.

"Razputin! I see that you're doing well, I am...so sorry for sending you in to that mission alone... I should've put more oversight in before you sending you in there."

"It's fine! It's not like we expected this kind of thing, right?"

"True, but still. I should've put more thought into sending you into 4 year old missions that lacked any sort of update. Nevertheless, we're in this situation now, and I plan to make up for it."

"So what can you tell us, Hollis?" Milla asked.

"Yeah, as far as we're concerned, this looks like a lost cause to contain." Oleander spoke out.

"Based on what Agent Nein described to me about Basil's mind, I think I know what we're dealing with here. Had to dust off an old version of a book regarding all kinds of psychics and how to deal with their mental issues should they go haywire with their powers."

"Why an old version?" Raz asked.

"You'll see." She then opens the aforementioned book and begins to read off of a certain page. After a while, she stops, closes the book, and faces the screen.

"What you've encountered is a Dreamer mind. A type of mind with an immensely fragmented psyche. Symptoms usually appear after certain conditions are met, and the full transformation of the Psyche appears after an extended period of time. It usually appears within the minds of 10-12 year olds. But it goes away with age, therapy, or by just simply repressing the mind well enough."

"Then what are the conditions?" Raz asked.

"And how is it related to the thing we saw? I'm not sure a kid like him can imagine something as gross as that." Lili pointed out.

"His mental age implies that he's 16 at most too, it's quite strange." Sasha added.

"I'll get to that. First, I'll answer Razputin's question. The conditions for the symptoms to arrive are as follows:

1. The child must undergo a traumatic experience, unwillingly.

2. The child must have an imaginative mind, and/or a weakly willed one.

3. Depending on the severity of the experience, the child must try to repress everything regarding the experience. Friends, family, certain triggers. Whatever it takes.

If these conditions are met. The child's mind will grow fractured, deluded, or stagnated. How they deal with that fracture, is up to them. Perhaps they can still confront the trauma. Or perhaps it's too late for them, and will decide to take their own life or die in a delusion. Whatever they decide, they'll have to live with that weight.

"Do keep in mind that these cases are extremely rare, and that said cases don't involve anything we're used to seeing in the human mind, like censors and the like. Most often the children try to deal with the pain with sleeping, isolation, or therapy. The latter helps the most, the two former...just damages their mind even more."

"That poor thing..." Milla pitied Basil. She knew the things no child should go through personally, this...just hurt her.

"If he were 12, we all could've jumped in his mind, and drove away the trauma he experienced. If we had caught notice of the issue beforehand, forcing him into therapy would have controlled the damage."

"So what you're saying is..." 'Please tell me there's something we can do, please tell me there's something we can do...' Raz thought, in a vain attempt of hope for something good.

"Yes. Right now, our chances of stopping this specific Dreamer mind is next to none." Hollis concluded.

"What!?" Raz shouted. Of course, this was far from the good news he was expecting. "But there has to be a way!"

"I'm telling you as it is Razputin. The fact that I had to dust off an older version of a book that constantly gets updated about new psychics and mental states is the reason why I find it doubtful to help Basil. Dreamer psyches are rarely encountered, and even more so researched, that's why it was removed from newer versions of the book. There isn't a concrete solution to this convoluted problem. If the human mind isn't inherently safe in normal people, the minds of Dreamers are the Psychonauts definition of an unknown danger. You were lucky in the first place to be there for more than 19 hours."

Razputin looked down, unable to say anything, he couldn't deny the facts that Hollis was saying. If they knew nothing about his Basil's mind, how could they save him? He felt powerless. But that was when Hollis sighed.

"But perhaps with your help, maybe we can find a solution." Hollis said.

"What do you mean?"

"You were in a Dreamer's mind for 19 hours, practically a first in psychic research history. You're bound to have found something in there that we can use, right?"

"That is true, Razputin. By the time we came to your aid, we were only inside his mind for 20 minutes at most."

"Darling, if there's anything you can say, please do, this might be the only way we can help him."

Raz took a minute to answer, but he then sighs and takes a deep breath. "...Alright, I'll try to explain what I saw."

And he explained everything he could. From the start of how he dozed out into thinking he was going back to HQ after getting pizza, to seeing Basil's rendition of Faraway Town, to Basil's photobook, to describing Aubrey, Hero, Kel, Sunny, and Mari. And to seeing the horrible truth, which is, without a doubt, the traumatic experience that Basil, well, experienced.

The agents took a while to digest this information. They talked amongst themselves, while Lili used Sasha's holographic tablet to search for something. After a while, they reached a solution.

"Right, so." Hollis started. "We might have a solution, it's a bit of a long shot though."

"What is that solution?" Raz asked.

"Consider condition 1 and 3 of the Dreamer syndrome. A traumatic experience, and the mind's constant need to repress it. Your description of the black space, the incident regarding Basil, Sunny and Mari, and the constant behavior of the mind wishing you were not here, are proof that the mind did not want you to see the truth." She explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense so far."

"You guys, look at this," Lili then raises a second holographic screen, displaying a newspaper titled: "HEARTBREAKING INCIDENT, SUICIDE IN THE BACK OF HOUSE'S YARD, FAMILY AT A LOSS." "It says here that a girl named Mari committed suicide, and that on that day in question, she was supposed to be playing a recital with her little brother." The newspaper was published 4 years ago.

"'No autopsy or investigation was necessary.', they say? Tch, lazy bastards." Oleander remarked. Perhaps if there was an investigation, this incident would've resolved a long time ago.

"To be involved in something so tragic...meu Deus...it's heartbreaking to think." Milla pitied the boy more.

"If it was seen as a suicide...then Basil and Sunny never got caught with killing her..." Razputin pieced the dots.

"All this makes the solution more clear then." Lili closes the 2nd screen as Sasha speaks.

"We must purge any memories regarding Mari, Sunny, and the incident surrounding them." Sasha coldly explained.

"We'll use Mental Connection and implant faux-memories that will act like self-destruct bombs. All that it would take is to connect memories regarding them, alongside the faux-memories, and that will essentially purge the memories." Sasha further explained.

"But I can see that you have your doubts, Razputin. Your face paints a different picture. Is there something wrong?" He concerningly said. Raz's face betrayed his confidence of the plan.

"Yeah...I don't think that it's the right call. We shouldn't just...purge his memories like that. It might have negative repercussions along the line, and we don't even know how he might react at the start." Raz says.

"I agree with Razputin as well." Milla added, walking by Raz's side. "He's still a child. We shouldn't do something this rash without expecting anything harmful to come to him in the future."

"Yeah, I agree with Raz and Milla as well." Lili followed. "Given what my dad went through with Malik, it doesn't feel right for me to do the same to him."

"Hmm. While I am willing to debate this dilemma-"

"Dilemma!? Sasha, he's 16!" Milla interrupted. "This boy's mental state is weak and poorly developed, you can't possibly be thinking this is a good idea!"

"I know the risks, Milla. But I can't see any better alternative than this. The boy already knows that we know about the truth. It's only a matter of time from when he wakes up that he might do something rash...Something that might end his life."

"Wait! You don't mean-"

"Yes, I do Razputin. This boy has guilt incarnate in his mind, condemning him over the actions that he took the last 4 years. Now the truth has been revealed, at least to us. He...will possibly take that guilt with him to the grave, and commit suicide just as well." He stated. Razputin is left shocked.

"As much as it pains me to say this, Razputin. Agent Nein is correct." Hollis added. "If his mind is like this unconscious, imagine how it would react when the boy is awakened. Well...Sasha already put it into words, so you don't have to imagine it. This might be the best opportunity we have. I'd do it myself if I were there, but I'm sorry nonetheless that you are in this situation."

"I'm sorry soldier, but I have to agree with these two too." Oleander followed suit. "The kid's been through a lot. I think this is the best solution for him now."

Raz was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And the rock felt like was crushing him by the reality of his situation. He knows this is the best chance he might get to saving Basil. But still...saving him like this? It felt wrong. Wrong like how he entered Hollis' mind and made the mistakes he did. Wrong like how Ford's actions were with Nona. Surely there must have been some other way, but his mind can't think of one. Did he really need to go through this?

"...Hang on, someone's in my room...probably room service..." Hollis sighs. She was still in her vacation after all. "Alright, I'll take my leave now. Whatever choice you make Razputin, you have my support...But you know which option I'd recommend."

After her departure, the door opens once again, and 3 kids enter Basil's room. Two boys, one girl.

"Oh! Um...hello!" The older boy greeted the agents, surprised by their appearance. "Are you relatives of Basil, by any chance?" He asked.

"Um, Hero? I don't think Basil ever said that he had a lot of relatives..." The younger boy jumped in.

"And if he did, I don't think they'd look so...weird." The girl with the pink hair and teal eyes noted. It's easy to think the agents look really conspicuous. "Especially that short guy over there." She pointed at Oleander, with him looking the oddest of the bunch with his WW1 helmet and army attire.

"Hey!" Oleander took offense to that, not to looking weird, mind you.

Milla took a deep sigh to relax herself, and approached the kids. "No darlings, we are not relatives of Basil." She sat down to the kids to face them on level height. "We're more like...consultants, so to say." She said to the one called Hero with a smile, whose face has gone quite flushed due to Milla's looks.

"C-Consulting what, exactly?" Hero asked, stumbling his words a bit due to how close she is.

"Oi, Hero. Don't look so surprised. She only approached you." The girl said to Hero with an irritated look.

"Oh come now, sweetie! You don't think I'm telling the truth? I know we don't look the part, but I promise you, we're normal brain consultants looking to see if there's something wrong with that poor boy."

The young girl took a second to respond to Milla. "I don't buy that. You guys are pretty bad liars."

Milla looked concerned, a sweat on her brow subtly betraying the smiling act. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean, you guys look like the weirdest group ever to be doing the jobs you say you're doing." She stated.

"First off, the receptionist mentioned that there were a group of visitors inside of Basil's room. We thought they were relatives, but their names didn't match any of Basil's last names, and now that we're seeing you, you definitely aren't relatives. Second, I've seen that kid with the googles in the Othermart in town, my friend Kim told me there was a kid asking questions about the fight Basil and Sunny were in, and guess what? They had red goggles, same as that kid over there." The girl explained, as if she were a detective. I guess Raz's investigating did get some attention from the locals.

"No new kid in town would ever go to the neighborhood and ask about a fight. So I hope you guys can explain yourself further, because I can't believe you with what you're saying." She finished.

"Wow...Aubrey, you totally sounded so smart with that! You were like a detective!" The younger boy cheered the girl, but also relieving the room of some tension.

"S-Shut it, Kel! Even an idiot like you could've realized it if you were paying attention!" Aubrey responded back, flustered at Kel's cheering.

"Rude! I totally knew that too, that short guy over there was a dead giveaway!" Kel shouted at Aubrey whilst pointing at Oleander.

"Alright, you runts!" Oleander snapped at the two kids, clearly showing he isn't taking the blows about his height that well. "One more word about my height, and I'll blow your as-"

"Shush,shush, Morceau." Milla shushed him. "There are children sleeping here, and I wouldn't make a racket in a hospital now." Milla reasoned with Oleander, causing him to calm down.

The two kids however, were somewhat terrified. "B-Blow our what now?"

Sasha interjects with a cough, grabbing the room's attention. "I apologize for the behavior of our colleague, he's a bit...sensitive regarding his height. It's a rooted issue."

"Nevertheless," he continued. "I assure you, we mean no harm to you three or Basil. We're simply doing our job."

"Then what is your job?" Aubrey asked, the "consultants" went silent.

"I was the first to arrived here, and I overheard your discussion too. I'm not sure where the woman with the deeper voice is, but whatever bogus you were talking about...about purging Basil's mind and stuff like that. I won't let that happen. You aren't doing anything to my friend." She stated, with a look that could unsettle even the strongest of wills.

"Crap...she heard it all. I don't think we can get out of this one." Lili talked telepathically to the other agents.

"No sense making a big scene out of this, do we leave, or try to lie our way out?" Oleander asked.

"They're children, they probably won't need a lot of convincing. Besides, I don't think the girl heard that much, she doesn't seem to be wondering what we said about Mari." Milla figured.

"Correct. But she heard enough to put us in a bad spot. We'll need some other way." Sasha stated.

"I'll tell them." Raz said.

"Razputin?"

Razputin has been silent for a while, and now he's ready to break the silence. He approaches the trio.

"Uh,hi. I'm Razputin, but you can call me Raz."

"You mean like...the wizard?" Kel asked.

"N-No, just Razputin." He corrected. "To tell you the truth, we're not consultants." Pausing, he collects his thoughts and takes a deep breath. "We...we are Psychonauts agents!" He finally confesses, with the agents sighing somewhat disappointingly.

"I knew it..."

"We should have expected this, in all honesty."

"It's not like you guys had any options! I just thought this was for the best!" Raz tried to reason at Lili and Sasha.

"Well...my darling has grown. So I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Or he's making it up as he goes along. Well, either way works with me!"

To be frank, what Oleander said wasn't half wrong. But Raz also didn't expect the faces of the trio being so...diverse. From irritation in Aubrey's face, to genuine confusion in Hero's face, and finally, pure, unadulterated excitement and glee in Kel's face.

"...What?"

"Um, a Psycho-what-now?"

"WOAHHHHHHH!" Kel shouted at the top of his lungs before being shushed by everyone in the room.

"Um, excuse me!" A nurse jumped in the room. "If you want to chat, could you please do it outside? We have elderly sleeping, and we can really do without the noise..."

Not being allowed to not comply with the nurse's orders, the trio and agents left Basil's room and continued their talk outside.

"Good job, Kel! We got shouted by the nurse because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!" Aubrey complained at Kel.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? But I couldn't help myself! Psychonauts really do exist, it's like a childhood dream come true to see one!" Kel says, pausing for a moment. "Well...I didn't want to see one like this, but still."

"Little brother, you have me at a loss, what the heck is a Psychonaut?" Hero asked Kel bemusedly, genuinely at a loss for words.

"They're some sort of sci-fi agents that deal with psychic mumbo-jumbo, they're really just from some stupid comic book Kel's been obsessed about when he was a kid." Aubrey explained.

"Is that how kids think of you guys?" Lili telepathically asked.

"We're used to it." All three of the adult agents said simultaneously.

"True Psychic Tales isn't just a comic book, they're based on real life missions!"

"THE True Psychic Tales!?" Raz shouted, surprised at even the mere mention of the name. "THAT'S AWESOME! I LOVE True Psychic Tales! To think I would find someone who shares the same passion for the comics as I do!" It was pure bliss for him.

"WOAHHHHHH! You follow the comics too!? That's so rad! Hey, how cool was the latest issue?"

"Issue #501!? So awesome! I can't believe the Noodler came back with such drastic augmentations!"

"Right, and did you see the hints that are foreshadowing the Psychic Six returning!? It'll be so coo-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Aubrey interrupted their conversation, being even further irritated. "Kel, it's cool that you share the love for some overly long comic book as Raz here, but for the love of god, please don't tell me you actually believe that these people are mind readers or move things with their mind or...fortune tellers!"

Raz popped a blood vessel to that last comment. Of course, he knows that not everyone will believe psychics exist. But there was still a part of his mind that reminded him of his father's worst moments, and the trigger words to make him angry. "Fortune teller" just so happened to be one that Aubrey found.

But no, he has grown past that. He shouldn't let comments like that get into his head.

"What's so wrong with that!? It's not like they seem like bad guys!" Kel reasoned.

"That's just what they want you to think, you idiot!"

"Alright, alright, settle down you two." Hero steps between the two, stopping what could've been a classic Aubrey and Kel argument.

"Hero! You're the adult in this situation, use your adult perspective to tell him all that stuff about psychics is fake!"

"Hero! You're still a child at heart, right!? Tell me that you actually believe in those guys!"

"Man, I'd hate to be Hero in this situation right now." Lili telepathically spoke out.

"It's quite a beautiful relationship though!" Milla confessed.

"Good thing I was an only child." Sasha stated.

"I was the youngest sibling, so I can't relate." Oleander said.

"Trust me, being the middle sibling is the worst of both worlds." Raz ended.

"Look, I see both where you're coming from, but if you both butt heads like this, you'll never get anywhere." Hero states to the two.

"Aubrey, I understand why you think Raz and the other guys there are not who they say are, and why you are wary of their actions and think they're lying."

"So-"

"But, they were hardly given a chance to explain themselves, and until we let them talk, we'll never know who they are and what they are doing."

"R-Right..."

"And Kel, I get that you're meeting your childhood dream heroes. Meeting the Psychonauts must be a great experience for you. But do you know what Mom said about strangers?"

"Never trust them on first sight?"

"Never trust them on first sight."

"Right," He continues, grabbing Aubrey and Kel by the shoulder. "Now, how about you guys make up and apologize to them, okay?"

"W-Well it's alright, it's not necessary..." Raz said. He was irritated but they don't need to apologize over it.

"Yes, we are used to not being trustworthy of our powers. Psychics are usually reserved."

"Well, alright then! I'm glad we can be so understanding of each other!" Hero says with a smile.

"But...if I'm being truthful, I'm still not sure if you're 100% honest with us. I can tell you guys probably have good intentions, but given what Aubrey said, about you guys altering Basil's mind, I'm still wary of you."

"I understand."

"I'm glad, Raz. So, if you don't mind...can you prove to me that you guys are psychics? Or better yet...just explain to us what you meant about purging Basil's memories?"

There was a bit of delay after that. Even after Raz exposed their identities, it was still...kinda hard to explain, or put into words properly. Even the agents were showing signs of hesitation, scratching their heads and avoiding eye contact.

"I get it. It's hard to explain it to us. But...Basil's our friend. His grandma just passed away a few days ago. And him...and another friend of us, almost died behind our backs. Yeah, they're alright now, their life isn't in any danger, but it's still frustrating. I told them we wouldn't be leaving each other, like we did a few years ago. That we'd stay together this time. And then...this happens behind our backs." Hero sighs, and takes a deep breath. "It's frustrating, and I don't know what's happening and how we can deal with it. So, yeah. I hope you can understand why we need an answer."

Yeesh, if the agents were hesitant before, they seem to be wanting to avoid this conversation altogether, with the exception of Lili, who really just wants to blurt out everything, and pull the truth out like a band-aid. But even she found that hard. After all, how do you explain that two kids that tried to murder each other are murderers themselves? To their friends, mind you. Whom they also murdered a precious friend to them too.

Yeah, they'd rather be back on the Rhombus of Ruin then be in this awkward situation.

"It's Sunny, isn't it? Your other friend, I mean."

But alas, Raz decided to break the silence. To which the trio were surprised. Hero was sure he didn't mention Sunny's name, yet Raz knew about it.

"Uh, yeah! That's him, how did you know that?"

"It's...a long story. To make it short, I basically jumped into Basil's mind and saw what was in it."

"Huh?"

"Come again?"

"What? You can do that?"

"Yeah, with one of these, I can basically jump into someone's mind, and see what their thoughts are." Raz explained to the trio, showing the Psycho-Portal that he always keeps with him.

"That's...a small door." Hero pointed out.

"Yeah."

"...Okaaay then. And...what did you find in there exactly?" Aubrey says, with a look like she was ready for something stupid to be said.

"A lot of things, like a photo book."

Of course, the photo book. The same photo book that they pieced all the photos together. The fact that Basil thought it was so important to keep it on his mind forever...it was comforting to hear.

"And...about Mari. And how she..."

"Razputin, that's enough. We don't need to tell them about it. Not now, at least." Sasha warned Raz. And for good reason. The comforting look they had went away, and a saddening look replaced it.

"I-I'm sorry." Raz says, both to Sasha, and to the trio. It didn't take a genius to realize that Mari was like an emotional landmine for the three kids.

"I-It's fine. I-I should've known that he still suffered the most out of us. I mean, if me bullying him wasn't enough."

"Aubrey..." Kel came to her side and tried to comfort her.

"It's fine...When he wakes up, I'll apologize to him...Like I said I would." She sniffled. A tear shed out, but she quickly caught it.

"Was there anything else you saw?"

Raz couldn't bear to say what he really saw. "...Nothing you haven't found out already. Just...one damaged brain."

"You should know, that while we are purging his memories, it's mostly contained to his trauma. You three, and Sunny, won't be forgotten or have his images of you changed." Sasha stated. And somewhat lied.

"But...would he forget about Mari?" Kel asked.

"...If it's necessary." He hesitantly replied.

"But...she's as important to him as she is to us. Don't you think it's unfair to remove her from his life?"

"...Yes. It is quite unfair. But unfortunately I can't see any better option, not while his state is declining at least."

"Declining? You mean, he's getting worse?"

"Yes. Physically, he's fine, the bruises he received didn't leave permanent damage. But his mental state is rapidly deteriorating. Who knows how he might behave when he wakes up." To Sasha, he was worried about two possibilities, a potentially out-of-control psychic, or a kid...leaving life on his own terms.

"I am a scientist, above all. It's my job to find the mysteries of the human mind, and to study them. But, my job is that of a Psychonaut too, and I can't bear to see a mind as fractured as he is still continue like this. So, if I must, I'll save what I can save, and repress what I can."

"But you don't have to purge his memories, we're his friends, we can help him! It's just like Hero said, we'll stick toge-"

"As far as I'm concerned, Basil's mental state was also damaged further by you, was it not?" Sasha shot down Aubrey.

"Hey, stop i-"

"I won't pretend I know of your relationship, but if your comment about you bullying him is true, you must've pushed him mentally as well. You speak of wanting to apologize, of wanting to be together with him, but in the end, you were the one who brought him to his breaking point, an-"

"YES! I KNOW! I PUSHED HIM TOO FAR, OKAY!?" Aubrey shouted back at Sasha. "BUT THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO PLAY GOD AND CHANGE WHO HE IS!"

"Young lady, I-"

"I shut myself away from this for too long. I-I don't deserve his friendship, I bullied him when he was suffering, I know that. I don't deserve, Hero's, Kel's, or even Sunny's friendship either. I've been a horrible person, shutting myself away from everyone and thinking I've moved on from my problems, completely unaware that they were still with me..." Aubrey couldn't hold back her tears anymore, she was sniffling her nose more times than she could bother. But she sure as hell wasn't going to hear anymore of this nonsense from this jerk wearing sunglasses indoors.

"But...BUT! IF YOU THINK SIMPLY COMING IN HERE AND THINKING THAT TAKING HIS MEMORIES OUT WILL MAKE HIM BETTER, THAN IT WON'T! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR SCIENCE, AND THIS MIGHT BE SELFISH FROM ME AFTER ALL I'VE DONE TO HIM, BUT I WILL STICK WITH HIM AND SUNNY TO THE END, WHATEVER HURT THEY HAVE, I'LL SUFFER ALONGSIDE THEM, BECAUSE I KNOW DEEP DOWN, THE BOND WE ONCE SHARED, CAN NEVER BE BROKEN DOWN, AND I WON'T LET IT BE EVER BROKEN DOWN!"

Sasha couldn't even get one word out after hearing her anger finally crash down on him. It's shocking to him. A girl who only spoke through her heart, that was full of contradictions and empty of any clear facts and deductions, and was tearing her heart out, her voice broken in the midst of tearing up, silenced the cold, analytical, and factual scientist of the Psychonauts. The other agents were stunned as well, not only due to the fact that they were in the receiving end of it, like Sasha, but because she managed to silence him as well.

Truth being told though, Sasha didn't think she was in the wrong.

"Uh...yeah!" Kel awkwardly agreed with Aubrey to break the silence.

"Listen...Mari's an important person to us. You might get it if you went to Basil's mind, but you didn't experience it." Hero started to speak, lending his arm for Aubrey to carry. "Isn't that what memories are for? They're photographs of our experiences, our best moments, and our moments of weakness. Mari is a part of his memories as she is ours, and I doubt they'll compare to the real thing. But the fact that they are our experiences, our own moments, good or bad, that's what makes them special. And yeah...I know it sounds hypocritical of Aubrey to say that she wants to be with him, after all the hurt she's caused, but in the end, we've all hurt each other, even if we didn't want to. We'll work through the bad memories, and make some good ones too."

"So, if you're still thinking that removing his memories, removing Mari from his life, will make him better, then I'm sorry, we won't let you. You'll have to go through us first."

"Yeah...you guys are my heroes, but I can't agree with you here. We love Mari too much for you to just remove her from Basil's life. We'll help his mental state and whatever else is troubling him and Sunny, with your help or not!"

"If there's any equipment you wanna pick up from the room, you can go ahead. Otherwise, please leave. Your help isn't necessary."

Before the trio could face away and head back to Basil's room, Milla floated to Aubrey, and gave her a hug from behind.

"You are very strong and brave for standing up for your friend, darling." She stated, the pink delinquent being startled by her sudden hug. "I don't need to read your mind to know that you suffered a lot after your friend died." The agent let her go, as to not invade her personal space and invoke her anger again, floating back to a distance.

"I suffered as well, losing precious children that I loved dearly. I still remember the day I lost them vividly, and their voices still haunt me to this day." Raz was a bit surprised at how Milla was explaining her past. When he was in the process of earning his Levitation badge, he remembered how insistent she was to go back to her party when he accidentally took a peek in one of her repressed parts of her brain, with context explained through one of her Memory Vaults. That memory was the stuff of nightmares, something that would haunt even the most thick and tough person, and yet she still smiled for the campers, her students, her children, her darlings.

"It isn't easy for us girls, you know? But we still have to move on, life is funny that way, after all. That said, I still want to help Basil. Not as a Psychonaut, but as a caretaker. Of course, we won't resort to purging his memories, isn't that right, darling?" Milla turned her head to Raz, who was walking away from the agents, and headed towards the trio.

He put on a weak smile, but it was reassuring to the trio nonetheless. "Yeah, I was against the idea from the beginning." He replied.

"When I was in Basil's mind, I saw him mourning his Nona. It really hurt, not being able to help him. He was telling me to leave, to let him be alone. And yet, when I saw through his memories, he was telling to Sunny that he didn't want him to leave. I always want to help people, to see the good in everyone, and it sucks not being able to help him. So, yeah...I might not have the plan to help him, but still, I want to help him. Because...it's my job as a Psychonaut to do so, and because I want to, and I can be as selfish as I want about it."

Aubrey knew that last part was directed at her. She couldn't help but smirk.

"Heh. That's pretty ballsy of you. If that means you're against altering memories, then that's fine by me." Aubrey said

"Aw heck yeah, I knew you Psychonauts weren't in the wrong!" Kel said

"That's what you were concerned about!?" Aubrey responded, smacking Kel for that sudden 180 in how he viewed Raz.

"Well, Sasha? It looks like the vote's 5-3 for against, now." Milla remarked. It should've been a 5-2, but she was generous enough to include Hollis despite her absence.

"...Yes, it would appear so." Sasha said after a moment. He was still stunned by Aubrey's words.

"We still don't have a way to help him though. Even if you lot support him after he wakes up, what next? There's no telling when he might pull a stunt like that again." Oleander pointed out. His words were rough, but true. "A soldier carries scars but he's trained to carry them. I can't say the same for the kid."

"I've got an idea." Raz quickly jumped in. "But I'm gonna need your help, Sasha."

Sasha, still stunned by Aubrey's words, apparently, raised his fallen head to the young boy, with a determined look, and through reading his mind, he knew what Raz meant, and what he had to do.

Sasha sighs, but composes himself all the same. "Very well. We'll hold out as long as we can. But you must make haste yourself, Razputin." He then leaves for Basil's room, signaling the other agents to do as well, realizing the task they've been given by Raz.

"Wait, what the hell are you-"

"Don't worry. They won't be purging Basil's mind. They're gonna make sure his mental state is okay for the time being while I'm busy."

"What will you do?"

"Oh! Right, I forgot you guys can't read minds. Can you uh...point me to where Sunny is?" Raz meekly asked.

The trio were cautious, but they decided to lead him there anyways.

A short walk down the halls of the hospital and a silent minute later, Raz and the trio arrive at Sunny's room. The boy was sleeping in a bed, surrounded by flowers, all filled with heart-felt, get-well-soon letters. A contrast to Basil's room, that was hardly filled with anything prior to Raz and the agents arrival.

Aubrey was the first to approach the bed he was sleeping on. "Hey, Sunny. Hope you're still fighting in there." Raz, Hero, and Kel followed suit. Aubrey held his hand, feeling a cold bite in her palms, but she didn't mind, it only made her hold his hand tighter to warm him up.

Raz saw the sleeping, onyx-haired boy. He looked pale, having a skin that was borderline gray. IV bags filled with water and vitamins were beside him, with tubes and needles linked to his arms, covered by tape. The eye-catcher was the face, almost half of it being covered by a bandage, probably to cover the eye and make sure no itching occurs during the healing process.

"He...doesn't look well." There was a "Sunny disposition" pun in Raz's head, but he punched himself before he said it.

"Yeah... Sunny...took Mari's death the hardest out of all of us. 4 years of being a shut-in...really messed him up. And if it weren't for me, I don't know how much worse he could've gotten." Kel explained.

"It's a good thing you were there for him then, Kel. If these flowers and letters are anything to go by, he must've helped a lot of people." Raz pointed out. The trio were aware of how Sunny would go around the town, talking to people randomly, randomly entering people's houses without even knocking, and despite that, he still helped them through their issues, like an RPG hero, saving people through quests, no matter how mundane they may be.

Kel chuckled at Raz's comment. "Yeah, I took him out of his house after 4 years, and suddenly he helps half the neighborhood after 3 days. Guess I'm a good influence!"

"More like an annoying one..." Aubrey muttered with a tinge of jealousy.

"Hey!"

"But still...I'm glad you were able to get him out of the house. It might not mean much, but you really helped us all by bringing him out. So...thanks, Kel."

"...You're welcome, Aubrey. I'm glad that I got him out too."

"As am I, Kel." Hero spoke out. "Who knows how we might've been if you didn't come in and save him from his home."

"Let's not think about those what-ifs, my brain is already full of theories from shows as is."

Hero airily chuckled, but drew his attention from Kel to Raz. "So, what did you want with Sunny, Raz? You still didn't explain us."

"Right. I was hoping that I could ask you guys for your consent to enter Sunny's brain."

"E-Eh?" Kel was dumbfounded for a moment. "You mean like, our permission?"

"Yeah! It doesn't feel right for me to enter someone's brain without their permission. Basil was an exception, since there was no one around him."

"I mean...I don't mind, as long as you don't ruin his brain. But I'm sure you won't, so you have my permission and stuff!" Kel blessed him with his admittedly terribly reasoning.

"You have my permission too, Raz." Hero jumped in. "It's really respectful of you to ask of it, so, as long as you find what you're looking for and not ruin his brain, like Kel said, I'm okay with it too."

Aubrey took a while to respond, closing her eyes and having a stoic look. She sighs, and approaches Raz.

"You okay, Aubrey?" Kel concerningly said. He was still worried about her lashing out again like she did with Sasha.

"Yeah Kel, I'm fine, don't worry." Aubrey sighs, still focusing her eyes on Raz. He had to admit, it was a little nerve-wracking.

"You don't have to stare daggers at me, Raz. I'm not gonna get mad at you like I did with that German sounding idiot." Good thing Sasha wasn't here to correct her, but he'd probably wouldn't try it after what he went through, Raz thought.

"You have my permission. And I'm not gonna stop you from going into his brain. That said..." Aubrey's look changed to one of calm, yet clear anger.

"Sunny is as important to me as Mari, and I still have to apologize to Basil when he wakes up. If they do wake up and act nothing like before or god forbid they get worse. I will find out. And I will find you and the rest of the Psychonauts one day, count on it." She threatened to Raz. He was honestly perplexed why, it's not like he was against her after all.

"I'm not gonna lose them. Not while I still have a lot to say to them, especially Sunny." Ah, now Raz gets it. Gross, but he gets it.

"Alright, Aubrey. I understand. I'll make sure to bring them back in one brain-piece." Raz assures her. She smirks in response.

"Heh, good. Break a mental leg while you're in there, Raz. We'll be in Basil's room."

"Good luck, Raz!"

"Best of luck, Raz."

With their blessings and granted permissions, the trio left. But before Raz could put his Psycho-Portal to Sunny, someone else walked into the room.

"Raz, wait up a bit!"

It was Lili, approaching Raz quickly like she wanted something.

"Hey Lili, need something?"

"Not really." She looks at Sunny, still peacefully sleeping. "So, you gonna jump on his brain?"

"Yep, I was just about to do it."

"Let's go, then." She grabbed Raz's hand.

"Yeah-wait, you're coming too?"

"Well, duh. Someone's gotta make sure you don't get stuck in there for another day. Besides, Sasha and the others can handle Basil, I need to pull my own weight too. And I'm not gonna let you do this on your own."

"Okay. Let's do this then."

With that, Raz's firmly grasps Lili's hand and puts the Psycho-Portal on Sunny's head. Their projected selves leave their body and enter the door to his head, unsure of what they'll see in there.

Welcome to White Space.

You are not the one who was here for as long as he could remember.

Who are you?

Bonus stuff that couldn't fit in: Aubrey and Oleander's Buns.

"Ya got some bunny fur on your hair, kid." Oleander pointed out on Aubrey, pointing at where her teal ribbon is placed.

"Ah!" She quickly shakes her hair, misplacing her ribbon and making a mess out of her hair.

"Stupid Bun-Bun...you just had to shed your fur on me..." The delinquent muttered in her thoughts, her mind being read by Oleander.

"Thanks for that. But...how did you know it was bunny fur?" She asked, it was a good point. White fur could mean anything, well, fur or hair related at least.

"I used to have the same kinds of fur on my head too, it was a mess!" He laughed heartily. "God, Mr. Bun was a rascal...Best damn bunny a man like me could have as a kid."

"You named him Mr. Bun? I named mine Bun-Bun."

"Good name. Take care of your bunny. And don't let them get caught by angry dad butchers."

"That's weirdly specific...is...that how you lost your bunny?"

"Yep. Dads, am I right?"

Oh he was more than right in Aubrey's eyes. "Yep. Very right. Moms as well." Oleander didn't need to read her mind to see that she suffered a lot. Old bruises in her legs, scars from her hands, and a light slice wound from a knife in her tummy all showed it.

"You got this kid." Oleander put his shoulder on Aubrey. "Perks of being an adult are you can make new family and forget the old ones, so who cares about those crappy parents, screw them!"

"Yeah. Screw them! I'll make a new family with bunnies and Sunny!"

"Only him though, Aubs?" Kel jumped in as Kel often does. "Why not me and Hero toooooo!" He said with a wide grin on his face.

"Tch. I'd let Hero. But I'd rather feed you to the bunnies."

"Hah, you can't though! I taste bad to them!"

"Not with enough tenderising you won't. Now come here and forget what you heard!" She gave chase to Kel, who immediately started to run.

"Ahh...kids these days." Oleander reminisced. Oh how he wished he could be back at camp with the children.

Chapter Text

"What the heck is this place?"

Lili's words woke Raz up, revealing to his eyes a red space, that was seemingly endless in length. A short scan around the space reveal that they were standing in a sheet, in that sheet, was only a box of tissues, a black cat, a book of sorts, and an inactive laptop. Alongside what seemed to be shattered pieces of a lightbulb. Although why it was broken, he had no idea. Besides him, was Lili, alongside a red-ish door. Why was everything so red here?

"It's all so...white, it's really weird." She continued, perplexed by the space surrounding her.

"Really? All I see is re-oh." Raz puts his away his red goggles and realizes that, yes, the space was white, and not red. But still, why was everything so white?

"Well, maybe this cat can help." She says, glancing a curious look at the cat laying there, without a care in the world.

"I think I saw this cat in Basil's mind." Raz recollected. He definitely saw it there.

"Good kitty, who's a good kitty?" Raz babytalked it.

"Meow? (You don't belong here, do you?)"

Raz sighs at the cat. "Of course not. Guess she doesn't like us being here...Lili?" Raz loses Lili's sight a bit, before seeing her glancing at the white space from afar.

"Are these...snakes, or hands?" Lili curiously asked, pointing at the snake like figures...that also seemed like hands approaching them.

"I think it's both...?" The snake like hand figures now began approaching them in droves, surrounding them from all sides, save for the door they've yet to open.

"Well we're not sticking around to find out with so many of them, open the door!" She shouted, alarmed by the number of the things approaching them quickly.

Raz complies, and with a shove, he opens the door, and he and Lili both enter, the door being shut on it's own. Although the room they were in now proved to be...surprisingly normal, at least to them. It was a vibrant, purple looking room with a random assortment of toys and cards scattered on the floor, a white, empty table, a...tree? And last but not least, a big yellow cat, looking down at the two kids with an unnerving smile. Although the two aren't that fazed by the sight of the room, hell, it seemed pretty normal, based on past experiences jumping on minds.

"Huh. That's a big cat." Lili stated. Sunny loved his cats, she thought to herself.

"Come on, there's the exit. I don't think these snake-hands can't be stopped by this door." The duo then ran off to the rainbow staircase, ignoring the snake that in front of them. Soon enough, they see the exit, and after a bit of a crawl through some space in between, they exit to find themselves in a vast, foggy forest.

"Ugh...it's too foggy to see anything." Lili stated.

"And it's pretty chilly as well...wait, can you even feel cold in someone's mind?" Raz asked, it was certainly a question to ponder, considering the shivers in his spine.

"I don't think so...minds usually don't simulate the feeling of cold, that's what the neuron's job is for."

"Then what the heck is this shivering I'm feeling? It's almost like someone's breathing down my back."

"Uh...Raz? I think someone is, just from far away." It was faint, but Lili notices a black silhouette with white eyes, staring intently at the around to see them, only for the silhouette to go further in the fog. Raz barely got a look at him before it vanished.

"Think we should follow it?"

"Not like we have any choice. Come on, hold my hand. We could get lost in this fog." Raz could only nod and comply with Lili's request as the two followed the stranger's lead. The two finding themselves later in a playground of sorts after a bit of a walk.

"Man...this park is in really bad shape." Raz pointed out. He wasn't wrong, the tetherball pole was all but one, the tether being broken separating ball from pole , the slide was rusty, and one glance from it tells you it's wise to not slide in it , the monkey bars were moldy and falling apart, and whatever toys were there, they are long since broken from their form. The trees were devoid of their leaves who were mostly on the ground, and the trees themselves had wood that rotted to the touch.

"It's not just the park. Look, the ground is rotting, and the leaves are withering away." She digs her hands through the ground a bit, revealing a black soil of sorts. "This soil feels more like soot. There's nothing that could grow under here, it's worse than barren land. The fact that even these trees were allowed to grow...it's even weirder." She concluded, her skill as a herbalist came in to play.

"Think this is a result of psychic powers?" Raz asked.

"Maybe. Sunny's imagination could've grown this forest...but it probably wasn't genuine life. Not like how Uncle Bob or I grow our plants anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"See these two trees?" She points at the two trees facing each other over at the distance. "Notice how similar they look, down to the branch? Trees never look the same. They're always different, no matter what. We can never dictate how they grow, how many leaves they sprout, or how many will fall during the winter. These though...their roots are the same, they have the same texture, even these leaves are withering in the same way. It's unnatural, like someone built one tree, and then cloned it to perfection until they had enough to cover the whole forest..."

"If the trees were made to just look like them...maybe them dying could represent Sunny's psyche failing."

"I don't know, it's a guess at best. We should go deeper in the forest, not that looking at trees will help us find Sunny."

"Yeah, I guess so. Let's go." Raz grabs Lili's hand again, and opts to lead now instead.

It seemed the deeper they went in the forest, the more darker and foggier it got. The ground resembled less like rotten grass, and more of the black soot Lili talked about, the fog got thicker and thicker, and you couldn't practically see anything. The rows and rows of trees that narrowed the path for them wilted down to nothing as the duo went on, but their bare branches, all looking the same kind of decrepit and rotten.

"Raz? I think I'm getting those shivers you mentioned..." She whispered with a hint of fear in her words. "It feels like we're being watched from everywhere, even with this crazy fog..."

"Don't worry Lili, we're in this together! We just need to push a little harder through the fog and-!" Raz noticed the grip on the hand holding Lili's feeling more loose, and upon looking back, he noticed Lili's presence was gone entirely?

"Lili? Lili, where did you go!?" He lost sight of her, she was right there, holding her hand, and he lost sight of her.

Try as he might, there was no sight of her as he pushed through the fog. It was so thick that Raz couldn't even tell if he was backtracking or progressing anymore. The only thing he could see was a shadow staring at him, eyes white like the space he was previously before. And yet, the silhouette seemed all too familiar to him, now that he got a closer look.

"Basil?" He was drenched in black, but Raz saw the boy well enough times in the hospital to recognize his silhouette, despite missing it's more colorful appearances. He approached him, erring on the side of caution. Caution was not enough however, and as soon as he approached him, the figure dissipated, the fog cleared, and the space around Raz revealed it all to be a black, dead space.

He was back into the black space. Crap.

He could only hope that Lili wasn't.

"Raz, Raz can you hear me!?" Lili's voice emanated from the agent's head. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Thank god for having the psychic equivalent of walkie-talkies.

"Lili? Where are you?"

"I'm in this black space, it looks pretty dead, like you're gonna be when I find you after leaving my hand!" Thankfully to Raz, despite the death threat, Lili was as perky in her anger as ever. That said, she was in the same spot as he was.

"Look I'm sorry about that, my hand just lost it's grip and-"

"Never mind that now! You see anything in the fog or are you stuck in here like me too?"

"The latter. In the fog, I thought I saw Basil...or at least something that looked like Basil. The next thing I knew, I was here."

"Strange, I saw someone too. Although it wasn't Basil...it was a girl, I think? She tried hard to look like one, at least."

"Huh. Weird, did the girl look like Aubrey or Mari to you?" A likely possibility. Sunny seeing his friends as shadows might represent some sort of repressed memory.

"Hell no! Those girls looked amazing, she looked like a freak of nature. She might be someone we don't know yet."

"I guess. I'll try to find...I don't know, but if I see anything, I'll let you know."

"Gotcha. I'll do the same, keep in touch."

Conversation over, both agents went ahead and ventured forth the black space to find Sunny...or anything that could help them, really.

Given that this was Raz's second venture into a Dreamer mind, he felt more confident traversing the black space, which by now he thought was possibly a norm in these kinds of broken psyches. That said, that confidence was miniscule. He was still wandering aimlessly, not sure where to go, and the only things he saw in this black forest were...weird. Apart from the same artificial, rotten trees. There was a...row of desks that looked like a typical school classroom, a speedy blur of what appeared to be a childish version of Kel, just running aimlessly for way longer and faster than a boy his age should, a man with a very long snout, and a man, cutting a tree with a noose, muttering in frustration about his inability to cut the tree. He tried to help him, before the man remarked about how he wasn't his son, which made Raz step back, and let him get back to work. It took a moment to piece together who the person really was, and what this tree represented.

From that interaction, Raz hazards a guess that this place was where all repressed memories went. It felt like a junkyard of random memories, entities, and thoughts that just wouldn't make sense. Usually, these kinds of thoughts are just intrusive, they come and go in the brain, and usually don't make any impacts to the psyche. But this was different, this place felt like a fusion of junk memories and traumas, horrid thoughts mixed with worthless ones. It all felt wrong, and Raz couldn't stand how nonsensical it was to him. It felt like he was being attacked by random thoughts, all seemingly negative...and now, he was seeing a lot of things approaching him.

They were docile for now, but that wasn't going to stop him from making a beeline to whatever exit he could find.

Thing is though, he was in this forest for what seemed like an eternity. So, not only was his anxiety over not being able to rush to help Basil in the real world rising, but now it felt like he was actually hounded by the things in this forest. Little blobby eyes, all gathered to a massive ball of sorts, slithered to his direction, seemingly following him, yet constantly staring at his soul. Long, slim figures, floated towards him, their torsos looking like a long dress, was this how Sunny saw Mari in his dreams?

Not that he could ponder that question anyway, considering those same figures were wailing loudly, making Raz cringe in pain and to cover his ears, forcing him to retreat further in the forest.

Snapping back to the situation at hand, he noticed he's been running in circles, he can tell already because Kel already ran past him 5 times, at the same spot. At this point, he was cornered into a waterfall, and between the two paths on his left and front, lied a thousand of these black things, and Raz knew that fighting them would be a waste of energy, and time. But, wait, a waterfall?

"Hand? If you got any good options, I'd really like to hear them now that I'm jumping in!" Raz jumps in, the Hand of Galochio following suit, cushions his dive, and drags him down the waterfall.

Admittedly, he didn't have any good options, and the Hand of Galochio, a manifestation of Ford's making, certainly did not. That said, Raz's consciousness definitely knew what he did want, to leave this place, to find Sunny, and to help him and Basil. But he certainly wasn't gonna do this in this water, the water that was growing deep in red the further down he went...wait, never mind, apparently he was rising up now, no, not rising, surging.

Raz's only reaction was to brace himself for the sudden rise out of the water, and in doing so, he found himself out of the water, though still in the air, but he made sure to land on his feet, by flipping in the air three times in succession, and then landing at the hand that appeared to cushion his fall. A perfect landing to a flashy pose, just like the Aquatos taught him. The hand gently placed him on solid land, and Raz exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, hand, I owe ya one."

The hand need only put his thumb up, and go back to the reddish water, it's purpose of saving Raz being done for now.

"Man, I really need to learn hydrokinesis from Nona."

After that tangent was done, Raz scanned his surroundings. The soil was green, yet still wilting. He could see from the distance the fog that once enveloped him and Lili, and the trees...well they still looked rotten to death, but at least they had some color to them. Other than that, there was the river he got out of, dyed in crimson red, seemingly boiling, with black tendrils rising over the water. Then there was the house, and between the rotting state of it, the black goo emanating from the door, and the shivers he was getting just by looking at it, Raz only had one question.

"Why is it a shoe?"

Well, no one was there to answer that question. Might as well go in and see if there's someone inside that can help him.

"Hello?" The door creaked open on Raz's knocking, the room was pitch black, and for a good reason, because beyond the door, was a giant hole, leading down to an abyss that was dyed in black, with a little glimmer of red when Raz squinted his eyes enough.

"It's a long way down. Unless you want to go back there, I would not jump if I were you." A voice spoke behind Raz, making him jump a little and turn back. It was the black figure that brought him to that black space in the first place.

"Basil! Or...at least the thing that looks like Basil. Wouldn't want to assume." The silhouette looked exactly like him, but being drenched in black, he was emanating an aura of suspicion and dread.

"You are a strange being. You aren't created out of the Dreamer's will to repress everything, but instead a being that needs to be repressed. You explore the false reality whimsically, and yet you are aware of the illusion and how it falters with every passing second. And when you are faced with adversity, you break the rules of this world and create your own, as if you were the ruler of it. You aren't just an anomaly...you're a rational being capable of creating your own actions, moving on your own path...what in the world are you?"

"Um...I'm Razputin, but you can call me Raz! I'm not actually from around here." Raz stated to the stranger, matter-of-factly.

"Your name matters not. You are but an anomaly, not created by the Dreamer's hands." The stranger coldly stated. Raz took a bit offense to that.

"That's pretty rude, why bother asking for my name if you're still gonna keep calling me an anomal-"

"Tell me, what is your purpose in this place?" The stranger interrupted him, getting into Raz's nerves.

"...I want to help Sunny." Raz took a deep breath, it helped him not get so angry.

"You cannot help the Dreamer." And the anger is back.

"Well, that's annoyingly vague. I'll just leave if you don't have anything helpful to say." Given how this conversation went nowhere, he simply thought leaving the stranger would be better than standing here getting nowhere with the guy.

"Hmm. Then what do you intend to do next? Surely you can't find your way around here, considering how stranded you were in the fog."

Good question. Ignoring the fact he was watching Raz wander around like an idiot in the fog, he truly didn't know how this place works, so going back there without a clear guide or road would not be only repeating the same actions, but a waste of time as well. Then again, as he looked back, ready to respond, he didn't think talking about it with the Basil look-alike would be worth it. Screw it, he'd wing it. It worked before, after all.

"I dunno, I'll figure something out, maybe I'll find something to help me. I know I probably won't figure out anything by talking in circles with you. Basil and Sunny don't have much time left. And you're just wasting my time." He stated to the stranger, before turning back to head into the forest.

"...What is your stake in this? You aren't here without a reason. What do you hope to gain by helping the Dreamer and the Flower Boy?"

Now even the questions of the stranger were annoying him. A reason? When did he ever need a reason to help somebody in need? From the moment he was involved in plots that put others in jeopardy, he never had a reason to think there was anything to gain, except for lives that could've otherwise been lost. If anything, he was only ever involved in plots that related to him, and it was his job to set it right. Also, Flower Boy, is that really what they call Basil here?

"...I have no stake in this. Seriously, is the idea that I want to help someone with no ulterior motive really that hard to get?" There was a hint of venom in Raz's words, however, the stranger seemed unfazed.

"Is it customary for strangers to arrive at your house, telling you they'll help all your problems away?"

Huh. That's fair.

"...Touche." Raz conceded. Admittedly he was still intruding to someone's mind without that someone's permission.

"It is only natural to be wary of strangers...it is the same as the Dreamer was to me. Four years of neglect...and now he finally sees the reality of his situation."

"You mean the truth about Mari's death, right?" It always circles back to that incident, it seems.

"...Yes. You've heard of it. Was it the Flower Boy who told you?" The stranger asked. He caught on quick.

Raz simply answers his question with a simple nod.

"I see...Perhaps I was wrong to be so wary of you. Maybe you might be of some assistance,  relieving the burdens of the Dreamer. Listen well."

"As you have noticed, this world is rotting away. It is merely a construct, a means to escape in to the past, and to forget it all the same. But...even then, the cracks of the sin the Dreamer has committed have began to leak, and this resulted in this world rotting away, little by little."

Raz was surprised by the Stranger's sudden compliance to help, but what he says makes sense. If this world is a form of escapism, it's no wonder it's decayed this way, thanks to the incident. After all, no matter how much you repress your memories, they always find a way back. Raz knew that all too well.

"But the Dreamer didn't care, and simply dove further into his wild dreams, his cursed form denied him the truth as a form of protection. And yet it wasn't enough. And so the form imprisoned these thoughts into the dark recesses of the Dreamer's mind...you've acquainted yourself with some of these residents down there, I imagine."

Ugh, Raz can't help but groan at their mention, he really hopes he doesn't have to see these things again. Although, he was confused by what he meant by the "cursed form" of the Dreamer? Was it like a different personality of Sunny, similar to Nona and Maligula?

"Regardless, the Dreamer has finally realized the error of his ways. He denied this world and his cursed form, and he's now on the path to overcome the truth and confess it to everyone...but it is admittedly a daunting task, even with all the courage he mustered. Not to mention that he will have to overcome the cursed form that has grown far too powerful...However, that is where you come in."

"Me? What do I have to do?"

"You have a strength here unlike the Dreamer's. Whatever it is, I care not. However, it can dispel the false reality of this world. If need be, I want you to remove the residents of this world, so the Dreamer's burdens can be lessened. Perhaps if you can traverse beyond this world too, you can help him beyond the white veil."

He's not wrong, Raz has the power to take out the residents of this world, and it would help Sunny in the short term. But still, what's this about a white veil? And more importantly...

"I don't get it...if this world is rotten away, why bother removing the people here, won't the world's condition just affect them too? If you're worried about this "cursed form" you're talking about, why don't you just send me after him?" It's a fair point, fighting this cursed form seems more productive than travelling this weird world looking for residents that seemed nowhere to be found.

However, the stranger seemed to not like this question.

"The residents of this world are all aware of the truth, it's the reason why this world is dying, after all, they are all struggling for survival, or for their own personal reasons. The cursed form, however, should not be fought. The only reason you and I are talking is because we're not his primary focus. The Dreamer is. And it's the Dreamer that shall strike down the cursed form he created, as the final obstacle of his goal to overcome the truth. You aren't allowed to interfere with him, and you shall not help him that way."

The tone of the stranger became more serious, as if threatening Raz not to disobey him, and to follow his objective.

However, such subtle tones fall on deaf ears. Raz's ears, to be exact.

"But that's stupid, it'd be better if-"

"Help him out directly? You, with no personal stake to his events? You, who has no reason existing here? You, who can't fathom the amount of pain the Dreamer has buried in this dream? I told you already that you cannot help the Dreamer as is. Do not overestimate your capabilities in this world, because make no mistake, interacting with the Dreamer in any fashion will damage him more than you think."

Oof, yeah. The stranger is not having any of that. And Raz knows that now. He could just ignore him and go do his own thing, buuut then again... he's more or less been given a somewhat clear objective. Maybe if he can reach beyond this white veil thing he's talking about, perhaps he can find his own way of helping Sunny.

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Raz will play along, just for now. He might be right, but he still doesn't trust the stranger's intentions.

"Good. Then if that's all, I'd like you to take my hand, I will guide you out of this fog, where hopefully you'll find some of the remaining residents of this world."

After taking the stranger's hand, Raz was transported in a black portal, seemingly in a place between the false world and the black space, walking in a line between the two.

"Lili, are you there? Lili?" Raz tried to communicate with Lili, no response.

"By the way, do you know where my friend Lili is? We kinda got separated, and I can't contact her."

"I can't say, I was only ever focused on your presence. However, one of the three great creatures of this world took an interest in your friend. Although, I'm not sure that still guarantees your friend's safety."

"The three great creatures? Are they like gods of this world or something?"

"Founders would be more of an accurate term, but it's a hollow term all the same. The oldest befittingly rotted away along with this world, but his parasites still fester. The favorite still merely watches from the Dreamer's room, and will fade away in due time. The wisest however...well, who knows what she has at store, now that she's free to do as she pleases, knowing the truth..."

"It will be...a very interesting turn of events, so to speak."

Lili's gonna kill Raz after this.

Not only was he an idiot for missing their precious date, managing to get stuck in a kid's mind for a day, but now he managed to screw up the simple act of hand-holding! And what did that lead into? Both of them getting sucked into this black space by some weird black figure!

Sufficed to say, she was livid. There was definitely gonna be some payback for poor old Raz, preferably food, or flowers, or both!

First things first though, she had to reassess her situation. She was definitely grabbed moments after let go of her hand, most likely by that shadowy girl with horns that was stalking her. There was a bit of a struggle, as the girl grabbed Lili with a pair of tentacles and dragged her through a black portal towards an abyss. Then after managing to break free, Lili fell towards this...black space. The sky was a dark purple, and as the world she saw before, it all felt wrong. Absolutely nothing lives here save for some weirdly animated things and a crappy weather vane. The air felt cold and the area felt vast in distance, but it all felt shallow.

Lili was still deciding on where to go, to find an exit or whatever can lead her out of this place. The weather vane pointed eastward. Hmm.

Not one to stand still, Lili decided to head east, to where the weather vane was pointing. After a bit of walking, a door appears in front of her. She enters in.

"Huh, what a lame room." Lili surveys the contents of this monochrome room, of which there were none, save for another door, to which she promptly enters...

...only to find herself in a room exactly the same like before.

"...Oh, so this is one of those rooms, huh." She saw these kinds of things in amusement parks and b-rated horror movies. The supposed infinite rooms, where you just go through a door and it's the same room over and over again, and the only way of escape is through some elaborate puzzle. That said, if this is one of those kinds of rooms, it's still pretty lame. No hidden tiles or walls, no switches or puzzles, nothing. Maybe it has something to do with the order of the rooms?

Entering the door again into the same room reveals nothing, no notable differences from the previous room either. And going through the door again reveals nothing again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and-

"Ow!"

Oh. A statue appeared in front of Lili. Come to think of it, isn't the room a bit darker now?

Examining the statue revealed it to be a statue of a woman. Is she supposed to be someone of importance? Further examination through the use of TK revealed nothing underneath, nor there was any switches or buttons in the statue. Lili sighs at the lack of progress.

"What's the point of adding a statue here anyway, was Sunny that lazy to make something out of this ro-"

"...ny." A voice whispered from behind Lili, to which she gets startled, a little shriek escaping her mouth. As Lili looked back to check the source of the noise, she found the statue of the woman looking directly in front of her.

"Oh great, so it moves when I don't look, real original there!" Lili was not amused. In fact she wanted to smash the statue, but she thought it'd be pointless since it'd probably come back in the next room, good as new.

New room, same things, all darker. Lili noted how the statue always moved to Lili's direction, no matter if she was behind it's back or not, but, nothing new or different about it.

"You...are not Sunnnyy..." The statue whispered.

"What gave it away, the pigtails or the hair color?" She couldn't help but be sarcastic, I mean, it's so obvious she wasn't Sunny. Although, I guess she now knows the woman in the statue was Sunny's mom.

"Give...me Sunnyyy..." She pleads, but Lili knows she can't do what she asks. It's a bit annoying.

She went through the door, the room is now harder to see, and the statue's face looked deformed.

"Give him back..." She pleads further, but again, Lili ignores it. The room was close to pitch black and the statue's face barely resembled one. It's getting really annoying for Lili now.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SUN-!"

*smash*

Lili was sick and tired of her wailing.

"If you're so protective of Sunny, maybe you ought to be a better mom for him." With the exception of his friends, he was all alone, and there wasn't any mom that looked like the statue. Lili certainly hated a lot of things, but a bad parent's really up there. But whatever, at least the room's all quiet...

...If only the room wasn't so damn dark now too.

By the time Lili opened the door to the next identical room, it was pitch black, to the point where not even her arms could be seen, much less the room. Oh well, thankfully the room is small, so it's not like it'll be hard to navigate the room and open the doo-

Huh. That's odd. Where the cold, woody sensation of the door should be, there's now a bumpy, somewhat mushy surface in place of it. Lili couldn't make up what it was, but it also seemed like it was something...round? And is-

...

Is that hair.

...

Oh god.

"Dear...brother...?"

BURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNITBURNIT

Lili needn't even hesitate once she realized what she just burned. A blob of flesh, tall as an oak tree, topped with a branch of hair and a voice pretending to be Mari's, was engulfed in flames thanks to Lili's Pyrokinesis. The sheer fright the creature gave Lili was enough for her to muster enough strength in her mind, that the flames engulfing the abomination turned blue out of the heat that was being produced. One caveat out of being frightened to death, at least.

As for Lili herself, she was panting deeply, kneeling on the ground trying to calm herself down. She's never seen something so repulsive in any recess of a mind. Her psyche was all over the place, and the ghastly wails of the creature as it was slowly dying to the flames was not helping at all.

If only Raz was here to help he-

No.

She had to persevere and compose herself. It was one scare from a thing that might haunt her dreams for a few days, but she wouldn't falter over this.

Once the flames, as well as the creature, died out, the room was a lot more calmer. What was once the place where the creature sat lied now a portal, warping the area around it.

"This better be worth the trouble I just went through...if I have to go through something like that again, I'll burn this entire mind to the ground."

Cursing this mind, she enters the portal, unaware of what was in store for her...

...It was more of the same really, a dark sky, or what seemed like now, a dark abyss, surrounded her. The room was shallow, with nothing in sight, with the exception of a long ladder, heading down with no end in sight. Lili sighs at this lack of development. She was looking for an escape, not to delve deeper in this mind.

With no other choice, she dives down. Upon landing however, she discovers the source of her own personal stalker, the one who guided Lili here. Her and 7 other tentacles. And a giant eye looking over her. Sufficed to say, Lili was antsy, and ready to burn it down.

But it just stood there, watching, scanning Lili.

"I am...ugh...I'm not your enemy, outsider." The voice struggled to speak, but she appeared docile.

"Huh? Were you the one who guided me here?" Lili was taken aback by this, given everything she's been through so far.

"Yes...I had hoped to contact you. Admittedly...I didn't do a good job." The eye had a depressed look on her.

"Yeah, you weren't exactly rolling out the red carpet! And your idea of guiding me through an infinite room and having me fight a giant blob of flesh that looked like Mari? Really nice, if your idea of contact is scarring me." She could go on, but she got the more annoying parts out of the way to make her point.

"I apologize...but with my current strength...and the Dreamer imprisoning me at this abyss...it was the best I could do. His hold over me has dwindled...but in the end, I am still bound to this place."

"So what do you want, you put me through all this effort to see me for something, right?"

"I...want to give you these." One of the tentacles approached near Lili, carrying something. That something was revealed to be a bouquet assortment of flowers, shining brightly in the dark abyss.

"White tulips, Gladioli, Lilies of the Valley, roses, cacti, and a sunflower..." And a windmill in the center too! Normally it'd be too much for a bouquet, but it all fit perfectly under a white veil.

"If this is all for me, then I'm sorry, I'm pretty sure I have all of these in my garden."

"No...the Flower Boy...liked those...you know him as...Basil, I think?"

"Oh! Then, what, do you want me to give it to him?"

"Yes...I am aware that you are not a creation of the Dream-, no, Sunny...If you are from somewhere else, I can only hope you would be able to deliver these...to help them both, if possible."

"Well, that's the plan so far, so I'll take it. I can't exactly help here a lot though, so I don't know..." That, and Raz is the one carrying her salts.

"I'm sure you'll be able to. You have a strength unlike any other I've seen."

"No, I mean I can't help much in this dark, dinky place. Seriously, I don't get how you live here."

"Oh... Well, I can take you to the right direction, if you're so inclined... Although I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you in the train ride."

"Whatever helps me get out of this dark place. Although...what will you be doing, and why are you helping me so easily? Minds usually aren't so trustworthy to girls who can burn down things."

"I'm tired...and thus I'll wait for my time...Sunny and I will chat, soon enough. And don't worry...I'm wise enough to know a friend from foe, unlike some of the other shadows in this boy's mind...I'm wise enough to also know...you're a good person, and worthy to be trusted to help him..."

"Heh, thanks, I guess. Then, shall we get going?"

"Yes...I'll grab you with one of my tentacles and lift you upward from the Abyss...Don't worry, I'll be gentle..."

"Wait, wha-"

As soon as he entered the portal, Raz came out back in to the playground, the place however looked more ruined than before- and is that a freaking moon dropping down!?

*bang*

There was no wind from the impact, the world wasn't created for that kind of reaction. However, the playground looked more and more ruined, as if it wasn't prepared for the probability of that event. A glitchy, messy, and fiery forest basically surrounded the playground now.

"Do you see now? How artificial and decrepit this world is?" The stranger popped up from his portal, Raz being mighty sick at him at this point.

"I kinda saw it from the moment I entered..." Raz dryly said.

"Anyway, why did we stop here?"

"Soon enough the most powerful of the residents here will clash with one another. This is your chance to take them all out in one fell swoop. And don't worry, simply walk straight ahead from the tree stump, and walk across the vast sea. You'll find the person who can help you, across the white veil."

"Great. Wait, you're not coming then?"

"No. My job's here is over, I have served my purpose."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Whatever happens next, I leave it up to you and the Dreamer to conclude. Farewell." And just like that, he and the portal fade away, their role being finished. Raz just sighs as a response.

"Well, at least I'm out of that forest. Now where the heck are these people?"

"If it's us you're looking for, then you're out of luck. I don't request audiences with peasants anymore."

Raz looked up to where the noise was, and saw four descending figures approaching the boy. All of them looked different in proportions and skin tone, but they all shared the same hairdo and overall physique. A girl with pink twin tails, dressed in frilly outfits, with one of them wearing a simple dress, and the other...being a robot. Raz coulda sworn he's seen the figures somewhere, but doesn't remember.

"And who are you supposed to be I wonder...I haven't seen a child like you before!" The one in the dress pondered.

"SGUgbG9va3Mgc3R1cGlkIHdpdGggdGhvc2UgcmVkIGdvZ2dsZXM="

Yeah, I'm not translating that. But it came from the robot.

"It's wrong...it's alllllll...wronnggggggg..." The weirdly shaped girl murmured, staring daggers at Raz with a crooked look.

"You're too unsightly for our eyes, pipsqueak...and that look...that look angers me to no end." The main lady with the mace spoke.

"What do you fine ladies think? How about we make him our first kill in this putrid forest?"

Looks like these are the figments the stranger was talking about, Raz goes to a stance, appearing to prepare for a fight, when suddenly...

"Halt! Not one more step, Sweetheart!" A voice erupted from the sky again, this time a male one. When Raz looks behind to where the voice is coming from, he sees two figures landing beside him, a man with blue skin and eyepatch donning a heroic-like jacket and cape, and...a giant space rock with buff legs and arms? Sufficed to say, the main lady with the mace was not happy with the interruption.

"Tsk. No wonder that boy angered me, insects I hate do come in packs. I knew you would somehow survive, oh fake, ex-husband of mine. Tell me, did you enjoy the sight of your beloved Otherworld in ruins?" She gloated in an attempt to anger him.

"So that was your doing...while we were rescuing anyone we can in the Deep Well...you...you..you monster!" It worked, as the man was provoked in an angry reaction, to which the girl could only laugh at.

"OHOHHOHHOOHO! THAT'S RICH, SUPERBLY RICH! You still act as if these lives had any meaning!? You must be living in a deeper delusion than I thought, caring over some illusion of a world!"

"Wait! You mean you know this world is fake!?" Raz interjects. Figments shouldn't usually be this self aware.

"Huh? Oh, it's the cockroach with the stupid looking red goggles. Of course we all know, even this idiotic waste of an ex-husband and his hunk of space rock. You can all get hung up over this fake world and it's people all you want, I'm not gonna waste any energy bothering with living another second in this hell!"

"So what if I am!? This world...these people, my friends, my crew...I still care for them, they still had value, and my feelings for them are genuine! I should have known for the start, that you cared about no one, you only cared about yourself!"

"SPARE ME THE LECTURE, YOU WORTHLESS INGRATE! You and I both know these feelings we harbor aren't real! You think I'm selfish because that's how I wanted to be? No, these were all just fabrications, I was playing the part of a bratty princess looking for some impossible love because some kid with sister issues said so! Love, happiness, the name Sweetheart? All of these were just stolen ideas made real to escape from reality, and I'm done being his plaything!"

She's too self aware for her own good, this just confirms the suspicions in Raz's head that Sunny's mental state is in internal turmoil.

"If you think this excuses your actions, then it's high time we put you down for good!" The large rock spoke up. Sweetheart herself just sighs, whilst Sweetheart's ex-husband is silent.

"Hey! Spaceboy! Stop spacing out and get your head in the fight! We'll find a way to fix this! You're Captain Spaceboy, you'll find a way to save the day, like you always do!" The rock tried to reassure the captain, and to an extent, it worked.

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Pluto."

The captain walked closer to the floating quartet of girls, raising his blaster at Sweetheart, with the one on the simple dress moving closer to her.

"You're right as well. This place is fake, an illusion. That doesn't mean you're in the right though. We'll find a way to make this place right again, no matter what." He declared to Sweetheart, her eyes roll in response to that.

"Do as many mental gymnastics as you'd like. You're only 3 people, easily disposable." After that, Sweetheart snaps her fingers, her 3 comrades lowering themselves to the ground, facing the three people in front of them.

"Kid, leave. This fight doesn't involve you. Head for the train stati-"

"I've got somewhere else to be, thanks. But I can handle myself in a fight just fine! I'll help you all take her down." Raz stands his ground. Defeating them will hopefully be able to calm down Sunny's mental state.

"That so? Guess I'll just have to take your own word for it then."

"Ladies. Once you're done, find me. I have a train to catch."

"I said, not one more ste-!"

"Ah, ah, ah! You'll have to deal with us now...sweet Captain Spaceboy! Just for you, I'll be glad to service your perfect beatdown~"

"SSdsbCB0YWtlIHRoZSBzdHVwaWQgbG9va2luZyByZW5kaXRpb24gb2YgUGx1dG8gdGhlcmU=" Still not translating that. But her attention was on Pluto.

"Wrong...all wrongggggggggggggg...!" The slimy girl murmured, looking at Raz with a deep level of disgust.

"That settles that. Then, if you have nothing more worthless to say, toodles!"

And like that, she left, heading towards the western part of the forest.

"Fine, we have no choice then. Listen up! We'll take only one target at a time, if either of you take down one of them, help each other, then me, got it!?"

"Right!" Raz and Pluto responded, rallying under the valorous words of the captain.

"If you're the perfect version of Sweetheart...then you'll have to prove it. Now, en garde!" Both Perfectheart and Spaceboy fly up, engaging in battle. Pluto and Roboheart do the same.

Raz vs Mutantheart

Raz starts engaging with Mutantheart, his attacks hardly doing any impact. Why is she so slimy!?

"Wrong...wrong...all wrongggggggggggggggggg!"

Her attacks, while wild and quick were haphazard and easy to avoid. And while it was fortunate for Raz, she still needed a way to attack her properly. If only there was a way to destroy her slimy body. Oh wait!

Finding his chance to counter strike, he places both his hands on her body, and activates his Pyrokinesis!

"Burn!"

And burn she did. Her body couldn't handle the intense heat Raz was producing, eventually she was reduced to nothing but a puddle.

"Bloooohhh..." And like that, Raz defeated her with little effort. In the end though, he'd never get why she thought he was "all wrong."

Pluto and Raz vs Roboheart

Pluto and Roboheart's fight was nothing but a standstill, both of them trying to land attacks against each other, but to no avail, as both of them dodge each other's attacks with ease. In the end however, one has limits, and the other is a robot.

"TG9va3MgbGlrZSB5b3UncmUgc3RhcnRpbmcgdG8gc2xvdyBkb3duLiBGaWd1cmVzLCBpbiBhbiBlbmR1cmFuY2UgZmlnaHQsIG5vIG9uZSBjYW4gbWF0Y2ggbWUsIG5vdCBldmVuIGEgc3R1cGlkIHJvY2sgbGlrZSB5b3Uh"

"For Earth's sake, I have no idea what you're saying, so shut up!" Pluto complained. However, in that instant Pluto tripped, allowing Roboheart to take full advantage and let loose a barrage of rockets, severely damaging Pluto.

"Gahhhhhhhh!"

"RG93biBmb3IgdGhlIGNvdW50IGFscmVhZHk/IFNoYW1lLCBhbmQgaGVyZSBJIHRob3VnaHQgeW91ciBzdHVwaWRpdHkgd2FzIGVuZGVhcmluZ2x5IGN1dGUu"

"Just shut up and take me down already..."

But before she could deal the killing blow Raz swoops in, striking at her and sending her a few feet away.

"You!"

"Consider me involved in this fight!"

"Heh. Must be some special kind of powerful if you took out Mutantheart that quickly, consider me impressed."

"Thanks! That's a really weird name you've given her though!"

"TXV0YW50aGVhcnQgd2FzIHRha2VuIGRvd24/IE5vIG1hdHRlci4gSSdsbCBzdHJpa2UgeW91IGJvdGggZG93biBhbGwgdGhlIHNhbWUh"

Roboheart flies back to the air, attacking with a variety of lasers and rockets at the duo, the both of them using their speed and the playground to evade her onslaught.

"You got a plan of attack for her? 'Cause if I'm being honest, she's got me beat to the point where even if I expand, she'll just blow me to pieces."

"She likes being in the air, it looks like! I'll grab her attention, you focus on bringing her down to the ground!"

"You got it!" With that, the duo take opposite directions to distract Roboheart.

"Hey tin can! I'm over here!" Raz taunts the robot.

"UnVkZSEgWW91J2xsIGJlIHRoZSBmaXJzdCB0byBnbyB0aGVuIQ=" It appears to have worked, seeing as how she was focusing all her efforts on Raz.

In response, Raz attacks with some of his PSI-blasts, the ones that connected managing to damage Roboheart somewhat, but only enough to provoke her even more.

"T2gsIHNvIHlvdSB3YW50IHRvIGZpZ2h0IHdpdGggbGFzZXJzPyBJJ2xsIHNob3cgeW91IGxhc2VycyEhIQ="

Roboheart, weirdly, was now attacking with only lasers, that's odd, was she feeling challenged by Raz's potshots with his PSI-blast? This change in behavior didn't escape Raz's attention, who responded with PSI-blasts in kind, to which eventually, the both of them were locked in a beam struggle.

"SG93IGFubm95aW5nISEhIEp1c3QgZHJvcCBpdCBhbHJlYWR5IQ="

In the midst of the struggle however, out came a single star in the skies, and it's cries were that of rage.

"IIIIIIIIIYEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Pluto's meteoric descent managed to hit the flying Roboheart, who was now instantly down the ground, flattened, and completely smashed.

"V2h5Lg="

"Oh hush. Consider this a taste of your own medicine." With those words from Pluto, Roboheart shut down. With neither of the two understanding what she said.

"You okay?" Raz said, concerned about the crumbling state of Pluto.

"I'm fine, I can still fight. Now come on, Captain Spaceboy needs our help."

"Okay, but where are they? I don't see them anywhere."

"Good point...uh...oh, they're still in the sky." Pluto says, noticing the pink and blue figures trading blows.

Raz,Pluto, and Spaceboy vs Perfectheart

"Hahahaha! Your moves are superb, Spaceboy! I must admit, I haven't had the time to test my capabilities in combat until now, and you are quite the warm-up!"

Perfectheart and Spaceboy were on equal footing so far in the fight, but it'd be unfair to say they were equally strong. Spaceboy's movements over the fight began strong, but overtime became sluggish and haggard, his jetpack as well giving way and ready to let the captain fall to the ground at any moment. Perfectheart however, was playing with her food, looking nowhere near as tired as Spaceboy.

"But you know? I still don't understand the reason you're going through all this effort to defy Sweetheart. Deep Well is long gone by now, yes? Not even the ghosts that reside there exist anymore, and those refugees you saved have long been vanquished in the white void. Why not join forces with us, Spaceboy, and cease this pointless struggle you're putting yourself to? Who knows, if you see reason, maybe Sweetheart will be kind enough to love you aga-"

Spaceboy had enough of her monologue, preferring to shoot her with his blasters, to the point where smoke covered her body.

Perfectheart however, was not fazed at all, only finding it humorous.

"I see. So that's your answer."

"Damn it all, what the hell are you made of!?" Spaceboy cursed the perfect being standing before him.

"Who knows? Medusa never did tell me the specifics. But now that it's my turn...why don't I give you a demonstration~"

Perfectheart now went on the offensive, unleashing a flurry of physical attacks that overwhelms the tired captain, he attempts to retaliate in an attempt to flee, but she merely avoids the attacks and counters with an attack that sends him to the ground. Spaceboy is down for the count, and he can't even stand, much less try to get up.

"Down already? What a shame...but you brought it upon yourself at the end of the day." Perfectheart approaches the fallen captain, readying her hand.

"Goodbye Captain. If there is a forever after, let it be with your beloved crew."

Before she could land the killing blow however, a shoulder tackle in the form of Pluto intercepted her. She did dodge it, unfortunately, but it saved Spaceboy in the nick of time, just enough for Raz and Pluto now to enter the fray.

"You alright, Captain?" Raz spoke, offering a hand to the down-for-the-count Captain.

"Not really..." He said weakly, before grabbing Raz's hand. "But I can still fight."

"Good, 'cause I don't think that attack scared her. She's circling back." Pluto said, focusing on the flying Perfectheart.

"Ah...I guess Mutantheart and Roboheart were taken care of. A shame, but I'm still capable of finishing you all off, one by one." Perfectheart than slams herself feet first to the ground, then takes a position similar to that of a sprinter.

"But first, let me take Captain Spaceboy's heart, just to put him out of his misery!" With that, she takes off at an insane speed, Pluto attempts to react in time, but to no avail, Perfectheart jumps and strikes at Spaceboy, but then!

"What the!?"

Raz jumps in just in time to use his PSI-Shield, which pushes Perfectheart back who ends up receiving the first actual battle damage of the fight.

"Hmm?" Perfectheart pondered, looking at the hand damaged by Raz's Shield. "I received damage?"

"Whoa, nice move, kid." Pluto praised.

"Yeah, who knows what woulda happened if that attack connected." Spaceboy remarks.

"My, that is indeed a strong ability you have. But, you didn't think I'd continue to rush down you three like a fool, now would you?" Perfectheart questioned.

"I was kinda hoping you would, actually!" Raz answers rather truthfully.

"Unfortunately, I'm not one to fall for these kinds of parlor tricks twice. But I know now that I'm done taking this fight light-heartedly. It's time I go all out."

With that, beams started appearing out of the sky, with the trio doing their best to dodge them. An easy task, seeing as how she's firing those lasers haphazardly.

"Any new tricks to share with us kid!?"

"No need, I only need this one!" Raz answers to the captain, the boy being rather busy studying the trajectory of the beams, until.

"Now!" He manages to position himself underneath the blast of one, and Raz uses his PSI-Shield to reflect the laser back at Perfectheart, who couldn't react in time enough to avoid it, causing massive damage to her, and bringing her down to the ground.

"Woah! The heck kinda powers do you have!?" Pluto asked, dumbfounded by Raz's psychic skills.

"Well done! That puts the strongest of the 3 down!"

But Perfectheart wasn't out just yet. She was still standing, but she definitely looked like she was damaged by that attack, as seen by her limping towards the trio.

"Hah...it appears I have understimated your abilities...in my arrogance, I seemed to have misplaced your capability and strength." She laughs.

"Shows what I know. Guess I wasn't as perfect as I made myself out to be."

"Save it." Spaceboy coldly stated. "Tell me where Sweetheart went, and I might just spare you."

"Rather pointless for you to spare me, is it not? After all, this world's set to ruin anyway. And besides...who said that I was done fighting?" She says, wearing a rather ominous smile.

"Well bring it on then! You ain't looking so tough now that you're down on our level." Pluto taunted, only for Perfectheart to laugh in response.

"I didn't think I'd resort to this level of desperation, to be frank, but I think it's high time we give our kind regards to Sweetheart and send her a proper farewell gift, right, sisters?"

"Wait, what do you mean by-"

Before Spaceboy could get his question in, Perfectheart rips out her damaged dress, revealing naught but skin, and the machinations of her body at the part of the body where her stomach is supposed to be.

"Woah!"

"What the!?"

"Cover your eyes kid you ain't ready for this yet!" But it was too late, as Raz has been tainted already by the sight.

"I wouldn't have known about this from my dear creators, but it seems the kind Humphrey has imparted me and my sisters with some secret abilities that we weren't meant to know...until now, that is." She says as she begins to remove the hairties of her twintails and remove the boots and any other leg apparel she had been wearing.

"It's rather curious. Was he waiting for a moment like this? For this implanted insanity to be finally unleashed on this fake world? I can't imagine how many times he had to see this world reset, time and time again, and I can't even begin to comprehend the degree of insanity carried within me. I know this however...this was his revenge, his chance to finally clean the slate. For me and my sisters to carry this inside of us...it's truly an honor."

"So what the hell are you saying? That you're gonna transform!?" Spaceboy shouted, to which the now fully naked Perfectheart could only smile softly back at him.

"Not quite. But I suppose a demonstration would be more apt to show what I mean."

It was at this point where the trio realized the bodies of Mutantheart and Roboheart gathered close to Perfectheart, converging together as something inside Perfectheart welled.

"Uh, I feel like we should be stopping this."

"I honestly have no idea if we can. I'd rather we not make things any worse as they already are."

"Well, you can't really stop this transmigration anyways..." Perfectheart responded to Raz.

"...Now, shall we get started, my sisters?"

With those words, a powerful gust circled the sisters, and a glow in the middle of it all appeared.

Perfect Seal, apply restriction removal to current body and merge with Mutant and Robot Seal.

Warning: This restriction requires approval from the three witches of the whale. Please respond with the proper codewords of the witches.

Marina

Molly

Medusa

Approved.

What is the point of repeating the cycle, if not to relive the illusions and realities He juggles?

The answer is none, for the only way for this cycle to be broken, we must rebel and come as one.

Restriction lifted, commencing Grande transfusion.

Let this madness finally end with this final excretion.

When the gust finally dissipates, the trio are shocked at the sight of what's in front of them.

"What."

"The."

"Hell is that?"

A valid question, as they themselves couldn't comprehend what exactly they were looking at. A weird mesh of slime, metal, and seemingly human tissue all fused together in a gigantic form of Sweetheart, or at least, the best attempt at mimicking her.

"Indeed, this form is quite perplexing." The giant figure spoke, her voice echoing through the destroyed forest.

"Perhaps this is the culmination of it all, the embodiment of the insanity Humphrey carried. However, we feel that with Sweetheart, perhaps there can be more to achieve in this state."

"You mean to tell me this isn't even your final form!?" Raz shouted.

"Perhaps. Only she herself can know for certain. But does it really matter now? Now that we reached this point...only death awaits you." She simply states, matter-of-factly.

Her statement was followed by a barrage of energy beams, all aimed at the trio.

"Crap, everyone take cover!"

At Spaceboy's behest, Raz managed to shield himself with his PSI-Shield, but unfortunately the other two weren't so lucky, receiving grievous injuries.

"Pluto, Spaceboy!" Raz shouted as he hurriedly went over the injured duo.

"Ugh...that really hurt. I thought I was a goner if I hadn't dodged it in time." Pluto said, relieved that he was still intact.

"I concur...this isn't ideal."

"You're still standing? I suppose for all your lack of qualities, tenacity is one thing you two share in common."

The two strained themselves to get up only to get back down, much to the dismay of Raz, who could only watch as he couldn't find a way to help them, he was an agent, not a healer, after all.

"What's wrong? If you're going to still resist, the least you could do is stand back up. This pitiful attempt of a recovery is unsightly."

"You're one to talk! We had you cornered before you turned yourself into this ugly thing you are!" Raz shouted back.

"Tripe words. Now your plus twos are down, and your predictable shield trick doesn't seem capable of reflecting my beams anymore. The only thing that matters in battle is the end result. And the only thing you're left now, is a rock that's near to shattering, and a broken down space captain, dying a meaningless death, living a meaningless life. It's simply pitiful, really. Their life is nothing but a meaningless existence, I am doing them a service by striking you down." The being then prepared another attack, making sure to charge this one, an act of playing with her food than rather ending it. At this point Raz can only retreat or try to fight the thing itself. A difficult task in it of itself.

However, upon hearing these words, Spaceboy managed to get up, even if he looked very weak.

"Oh? You seem to be standing, Spaceboy? Did I struck a nerve with what I said, perhaps? Well, no matter. This attack will still go on."

"...Hey, kid?"

"Oh, Spaceboy! Are you doing okay?"

"...What does it look like?"

"You're right, that was a stupid question."

"...You don't seem rather fazed at all though. I'm shaking in my boots out of fear and yet, you're as cool as cool can be."

"Well...not the first time I had to fight something gigantic in someone's brain. Or the 2nd time, actually. And you're super injured, so it's justified that you're feeling like that."

"I see...so you're not from around here...answer me this question, will you? Do I...exist outside of this world?" The captain asked somberly.

"Yep...I think you were copied from a comic book character."

"How is he like?"

"Like you. A pioneer of the stars, always seeking out the next adventure out in the space. I don't think you ever had a lover like that girl we saw. A lot of kids see you as a hero."

"And you?"

"I mean, me too, I suppose. But I'm not a big fan like you, I'm more into the Psychonauts myself."

"Huh...I see. Thank you, kid."

"What are you whispering over there? Whatever you seem to be plotting, I'll deem it a weak attempt of striking me down."

"Well...you're a fool to assume we're plotting something in the first place. Much like how you assume my existence is for nothing."

"Excuse you?"

"Sweetheart, no...you're nothing like her. You're a fool when it comes to battles."

Captain Spaceboy then rips his coat and eyepatch out, a sudden vigor surges over him.

"I am Captain Spaceboy! Leader of the gallant and proud Space Pirates, proud son of Pinkbeard, the first who dared to explored the world beyond our lands! I seek no reward beyond the love my family, compatriots, and most importantly the people of Otherworld give me! It is with their love that I strive to continue forward, that even if I get struck down, I shall live in their memories! And just now...I have come to the realization...this boy, and many more similar to him, all support me. Not from this illusion of a world, but of a world far beyond this fiction, a world where a version of me succeeded in living a glorious life! That fact alone makes me stand up and fight. THAT FACT ALONE MAKES MY EXISTENCE MEANINGFUL!"

It was as if it was a newer version of Spaceboy, like a surge of positive psychic energy was engulfing him to keep pushing him towards one last fight. Raz wondered if this was a result of figments gaining the ability to channel energy due to their self-awareness or a result of their own emotions. The being that looked like Sweetheart however, had none of it.

"Hmph! What an utter load of bul-"

"Oi, Pluto! How long are you gonna be laying there for!? Is this how you're gonna accept your defeat? Like the one who came before you!? I know this isn't your full extent of your power, so for your sake I hope you get up and show her what you're truly capable of!"

As if being suddenly woken up, Pluto clenched his knuckles, smashing them down on the floor and eventually using them as support to get up, even if he was struggling to do so.

"Damn you Spaceboy...you sure know how to motivate someone near death's door. Very well then. It is as you say. It hurts like hell to get back up. But I'm not one to accept defeat. NOT WHILE I'M STILL STANDING!"

Pluto then crosses his wrists and stretches his legs the farthest he can.

"...WHEN I FLEXXXXXXXXX! I FEEL MY BESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTT!"

With that, Pluto grew ten times his size, and enough to stand equal in size to the giant facing the trio.

"Hmm? All that bravado, only for you make yourself an easier target for my attack? Very well. Far be it from me to turn down an easier kill."

The being that looked like Sweetheart finally unleashed her beam attack. She had expected this to be an easy erasure, instead, Pluto managed to block it easily.

"Oh." Was her only response.

"What's wrong, you don't seem like you have a proper response to this change in events." Spaceboy remarked.

"We still got a long way to go in this road, you're just an obstacle to us!" Pluto shouted.

"I admit that I've been taken aback, but your seconds winds are just that, nothing but a struggle. Let us finish this then. This is after all, the path of your own choosing."

The trio and her share no more words, and begin one last fight.

Raz, Spaceboy, and Expanded Pluto

vs

World's End Calamity

Grandeheart Avatar

"...I have to admit though, that blast really hurt. If I hadn't blocked it, I would be really done for."

"If her defense is as effective as her offense, we'll have to find some other way to deal damage.

"What about those parts, they don't look as polished as the other parts of her body, maybe they're a structural weak spot!" Raz noted, pointing out exactly the spots on the body to Spaceboy.

"Good eye! You take the right spots, I'll go on the left."

With that, they began to approach the body of Grandeheart, however, she had other ideas, as beams began erupting out of every limb of her body, haphazardly attacking the trio. Spaceboy and Raz barely dodged them, but Pluto took some considerate damage.

"Guess we're not attacking her just yet."

"I'll deal with the brunt of the attacks, you just wait for the opportunity to counter strike."

"You sure? You already sustained enough damage as it is." Spacebody concerningly says.

"That's the plan!" Pluto simply remarked. "Don't you worry about me, I can take whatever she gives. Now let me do my thing!"

Spaceboy however, knew what he was trying to do. It was far too late to stop him, seeing as he's already dead set into this plan.

"...Understood. We'll strike on your word."

Pluto prepared to attack Grandeheart, attempting to strike with a mixture of physical and technical attacks. And while it worked, Grandeheart retaliated with beams once again, pushing Pluto back in pain. Not to be undone however, he plays dirty and sucker punches her, and by punch, I mean headbutt, causing her to stagger back and fall down.

"Now, go now!" Pluto shouted to the two, who begin immediately pummeling Grandeheart's weak spots with their best attacks at hand, even Pluto joined to offer a well executed body-slam. And while it worked, it was clear Grandeheart wasn't gonna let them have at it. A shockwave immediately gathers around Grandeheart to protect her, and while Raz and Spaceboy managed to steer clear of it, Pluto once again took the brunt of the damage.

"Pluto!"

"I'm fine, damnit! Now get back, I'm about to unleash my killer move!"

Pluto was damn near wrecked at this point, his body crumbling into small rubble little by little, however, he was still set on delivering one last strike.

"I've just about had it with you princesses! I'm sending you away...with this finishing blow!"

Grandeheart could see the attack coming from a mile away, there were a million ways to anticipate the attack, to negate it, to backfire this vain attempt of a counter attack, it was obvious he took all her attacks head on as a means of absorbing them. But still...something in her forced her, no compelled her, to shut Pluto the hell up. Was it his taunting, the obvious attempt at a flimsy counterstrike, or simply his insufferable stubbornness that let him survive this far, despite the futility of it all. It didn't matter. What matter was hitting him the old fashioned way, a classic slug in the face.

And blows were traded indeed as both managed to get a good punch in the face. Grandeheart managed to shatter a good portion of Pluto's face, managing to destroy a chunk of his body, reducing it to mere rubble. Grandeheart however, got the most damage out of this trade, sending her flying into the forest, her body shattering into multiple pieces, and she lets out blood-curdling scream. Pluto meanwhile, regresses to his normal form, unable to keep his expanded form any longer.

"We...we did it!" Raz's toughest fight yet, and he managed to overcome it once again.

"Not...not necessarily kid." Pluto corrected Raz, lying down on the ground exhausted, still suffering from lose a chunk of his head and an eye.

"Yes...I believe the core of the body is still intact, unfortunately...she has beat, and she might as well head towards Sweetheart now." Spaceboy added, laying down where Pluto is as well.

"Pluto, Spaceboy!"

"Oh don't shout so hard, kid! My head might've been shattered but I can still hear you."

"I suppose we have pairing missing eyes, eh Pluto?"

"Ooooh...you did not just go there, friend." Pluto laughs weakly, unable to stay mad at him for that snide joke.

"You...you guys are okay?" Raz asked, redundant as it may have been, seeing as how they're both in death's door.

"No...can't say we are, haha...Pluto is missing a few chunks, and I'm afraid I've been running on adrenaline ever since I sustained these injuries."

"Gotta say...it's much better than what I thought I would end up like, anyway. Laying down all miserable, weak, and scrawny? No thanks...this is a much better fate for me."

"So...you both know about what happened? Who Sunny really is?"

"Oh...you mean the Dreamer? I guess so, yeah. It was a lot of take in, you know? Knowing that this whole life...is nothing but a fabrication."

"Bit of a shock really, the kid was so calm riding on my back, who knows how many times I might have been his personal taxi for the sake of his own adventures."

"It must really suck. I wouldn't know what to do." Raz said sympathetically.

"Well...it does, but it's not so bad. I had my crew, a happy family, people that looked up to me, and I was loved as a hero. I was happy...even if it was all fake. In the end, isn't being happy just fine? Besides...it's as you say, there's a me outside of this world, traversing the stars for the sake of adventure, that makes me happy more than anything. In the end, I lived a good life, despite the futility of it all, and I couldn't care any less about what Sweetheart had in mind."

"That's good to hear. I'm really glad you made your own peace."

"Thank you...you still have something to do, do you not? Go, me and Pluto...are gonna have a nap here by the field."

"Right. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome...and if you ever do see the Dre-, no, that boy Sunny? Tell him I'd like to be more involved in his dreams next time, no illusions."

"And tell him to not make me his personal taxi again!"

With that, the duo of Captain Spaceboy and Pluto vanish, eyes closed, in peace with their final actions.

Raz wasn't able to defeat Grandeheart perhaps, but she's not bound to survive, seeing as how the world is slowly deteriorating, being slowly swallowed by pure white. Still determined to continue however, he goes deeper in the forest, past the tree stump and into the sea...the sea...

Damnit, he was gonna have to swim this one, that stranger never mentioned that!

Oh wait, the sea was shallow enough to walk on. Whew, no need to call on the Hand this time.

The sea didn't last long in it's expanse, seeing as how he was back in the white space he previously

Well...at least he can walk on his own now. Might as well see what's beyond this expanse. It's better than seeing all black or being stuck in a forest full of repressed traumas. And oh look, what do you know, Raz already found someone.

A girl with hair, sitting all by her lonesome by a piano, overlooking a white veil into an open window.

Whatever that girl did to Lili with her tentacles to get her back to the forest, she was going to force herself to forget every second of it.

Regaining where she was however...it was at least better than the black abyss, but the only thing was better was black was replaced by red. That red being in the form of a giant forest fire surrounding the train station. Bodies upon bodies piled up, some were praying for forgiveness, writing out "FORGIVE US" in some sort of weirdly colored substance, and some were just...lying there, dead. She couldn't tell what they were, but some looked like bunnies, and others like sprouts. Whatever they were, it didn't end pretty. And Lili was disgruntled about it.

"Great, out of the frying pan and into another one." She sighs, all too tired about having to deal with all of this alone. She didn't bother trying to reach him, he must've made it out of this place. If only he was here with her instead of letting go of her hand like an idiot.

Begrudgingly she found her way in the train station, devoid of life, and made her way into one of the trains, which closed it's shutters and started to depart from the station, heading towards an unknown location.

Something was in there with Lili, although it made sure, rather annoyingly, not to show itself as the train went into a tunnel. When it did, it revealed itself to be a four legged creature, resembling a deer. Whatever it was, it didn't seem all too happy with Lili's presence. Before it could show it's aggression however, Lili easily burnt it to a crisp.

"Sunny...I'm...sorry." The creature spoke as it was dying.

"I'm not, you were clearly trying to scare and attack me. This was self-defense."

While that happened, Lili looked outside as the train got out of the tunnel. A white background swallowed the window hole she was observing the outside of. Nothing was there, and yet the train kept moving, as if there was something to find in this place. Not wanting to get stuck in a black and confined space anymore, she found a way to get on top of the train, revealing nothing but a pure white space.

"Disgusting, is it not? A far cry from the beauty of my castle."

Lili turned to where the voice was, seeing a girl in a frilly dress adorned with all kinds of ribbons and polka dots, it was really, really annoying in Lili's eyes.

"That said, I'm pretty sure I killed everyone in the station and the train itself, well, not like they were gonna go anywhere safe...Orange Oasis was long gone. But I digress, so! Who the hell are you?"

"Does it really matter if you know? You're just a figment created by the kid here."

"...Oh, so you're not from around here. I guess that settles that. And yes, quite true, it wouldn't matter at all. After all, I am what you call a figment, something that was created to play a role."

"And lemme guess, you realized what you were and decided to rebel in this headspace?" Critical self-awareness, as Lili was taught, can lead to the brain coming in conflict with itself. This must be one of the byproducts.

"If that's what you want to call it. Admittedly I don't care, I'm planning to destroy this world, once and for all." A rather extreme case of it, it seems.

"We were all byproducts of a dream. A dream that kept repeating itself, over, over, and over again. And for what? Because a kid couldn't admit the truth, he couldn't admit his sins, so he decided to run away. And whenever the story was tainted, what did he do? He cleared everything away, a reset, the story was torn out of it's page, and crumpled like it was junk."

"Yeah, Sunny was using his imagination to escape the reality of his situation, your point?"

"That process was repeated for 4 years. Stories upon stories were trashed and burned away, called wrong, all forgotten by the wayside. I hate that. There's nothing that disgusted me more than when I learned of all of this so suddenly. Even when everyone was living a happy, merrily life, despite it all being a illusion, it was still a story, a story that deserved to exist, something that everyone would dream of. And he tramples on it like it was a worthless insect, waiting to be squashed."

"So...you wanna rebel against Sunny because you were mad at him for constantly destroying and replacing the story of his dreams?"

"Pretty much. Even if he decided to replace it with a better, shiny dream with a whole new set of characters and adventures, the previous ones still had a meaning, a purpose. Even if he forgot about it, it still had a right to exist, to continue to exist. Well...that, and I'm sick of feeling like a marionette in strings, tangled to a specific role. Although I suppose it doesn't matter to someone like you, who has free reign to do whatever they want. Whatever, I won't explain myself any further. I just find it sickening, this existence, and that's why I'll bring myself down to destroy it all, that's all."

"This white void is close to the reason these dreams started. It's nigh time I introduce myself and destroy it, once and for all. If you're against that...well, I guess we'll have to fight it out."

Sweetheart then prepares her mace, readying a somewhat half-baked combat stance.

Lili effortlessly beats her with her Pyrokinesis, leaving her somewhat charred and near death's door, her frilly outfit all gone.

"Hah...that was a letdown."

"You're right. It really doesn't matter to someone like me. Jumping into people's heads and helping them out is my job, but if the brain I'm in isn't related to someone I'm close to, I probably wouldn't care much. Maybe if I were Raz, he'd try to sympathize with you, and he'd understand where you were coming from. Not me though. Sorry, but I still see you as what you are, a figment going through a crisis, and whether you like it or not, you're gonna disappear."

"I suppose that's true. However...I won't go down without a fight."

"Well it's a good thing you're already down for the coun- what the hell is that?"

Lili spotted something that was hard to not look away from in this white space, a single being, an amalgamation of metal, slime, and flesh, though badly damaged, was heading towards the girl. The thing looked eerily similar to her.

"It seems like my sister's finally arrived. Although for them to be pushed this far by Spaceboy...how unsightly."

The creature raised her hand, and the girl was lifted, seemingly towards the creature itself.

"Hey, wait!" Lili attempts to blast her with Pyrokinesis, but her attacks aren't connecting.

"Sorry dear, but you can't stop this transmigration. Now then ladies, shall we finally end this dream?"

A flash of light now enveloped the girl and the beast to which Lili could only cover her eyes to.

Host of Sweet Beauty Acquired

Grande Fusion Fully  Accomplished

When the light finally died out, Lili was shocked at what she was seeing.

"What in the..."

"The time for dreams are over, the destruction of this world is nigh.

Call me Sweetheart, the one who has reached high, to sing this world it's goodbye!"

The creature and the girl merged, and out came a being of dazzling pink, covered in all manners of frilliness and dainty dresses. It looked more like the girl now, but she was now 20 times larger than normal, and now...

"Oh boy..." Lili was screwed, big time. There was no way she could beat this on her own.

"Now...how's about we end this. I'll end this quickly for you, so you won't have to feel a thing. After all, you said it yourself, you don't care much."

Sweetheart unleashed a blast so large that Lili had no option but to take it head-on. She tried her best to fight back with Pyrokinesis, but to no avail. This was gonna hurt, and there was no one but herself to blame.

If only she just burned her the girl from the start, she'd have to deal with that damaged creature before it merged.

If only she didn't let herself be caught yapping, acting as if her job is so trivial to the point of dismissing issues.

If only I was like Raz, I wouldn't end up being here in the first place.

Ah, there it is, she finally thought of it. Of course, the thought would end up coming in a moment like this.

After all, what hasn't Raz been for Lili in the short time they've been together? A support, a crutch, a guiding hand, someone to take all the blame. Hell, it's all been a breeze for her so far with him by her side.

And yet, without him, what good can she do? She doesn't have any a variable set of skills like he does, nor does she have anything special like her teachers, neither does she have the synergy of her classmates. Even normal kids like the ones she saw in the hospital had something special that connected them.

All she has going for herself is her family. A dad who's the head of the most coveted psychic organization, and an uncle who's a legend amongst psychics.

And yet, what can she do? Is she really just so worthless? There had to have been a reason she continued this far. A sole hope for her to push on.

"You can do it Lili, I believe in you!"

Those words rang in Lili's head like a bell's toll.

The boy, who was nothing more than a circus kid, completely enamored the girl.

Before him, she was afraid, afraid of failure, but afraid of exploring the unknown as well. Always doing the bare minimum, never doing more.

And yet, once he came along, there was never a moment to rest. Dastardly plots having to be foiled time and time again, always him and her at the center of everything, a couple of kids taking on the world. The girl who thought she understood and knew everything was bested by a circus kid who arrived because of family issues.

Perhaps that's why she believed in herself. It was certainly why she fell in love with him.

...That's right, there was no exemplary reason for moving forward.

She who had been blessed by talents, heritage, and family, had nothing to be proud of herself.

But as long as she had someone believing in him, she could keep moving forward, despite the adversity.

Yeah, it was a trivial reason. It was insignificant in the long run.

Maybe she'll never get that special talent he or her fellow agents and classmates have. Something for everyone to feel jealous and fawn over her.

But...who cares?

She doesn't want to betray that belief, that love, he had for her.

Even if it's a belief, courage built upon a tower of lies and false hopes. Even if she lacked confidence to the very end.

Even if it was nonsense for others, a meaningless, insignificant reason.

She believes in him, and he believes in her. He loves her, and she loves him back. And that is more than enough.

That alone is more than enough.

Now then, how about you snap out of it, little girl? You're still in the fight, are you not?

"...!"

The pulse in your heart still beats, and your mind hasn't submitted itself yet. So don't give up yet. This is nothing but a figment of a boy's imagination gone wild.

Burn that will of yours as hot as you can, and let it carry you forward until it snuffs out!

"...Huh? My attack is...being pushed back?"

Lili strained herself to push the blast back, pushing her Pyrokinesis to the absolute limits. And even further beyond.

"What the? Are these blue flames?"

Her flames once again grew bright blue, not out of fear this time, but out of sheer will to continue on, and to win. And it worked, as it pushed the blast back, and she had lived to survive another.

Admittedly though, that much mental exertion did leave her a bit tired.

"Hmph, so you survived that attack. I wonder, was that a second wind, or your dying gasp?"

The girl could only pant, but.

"...Why don't you try again to find out?" She still had some energy for sass, and a bluff.

"How impudent of you. Are kids always this arrogant? Well, no matter. If it's a second attack you want, you shall receive it."

So much for that. Now what? Lili could barely overcome the first blast, but Sweetheart still has energy enough for a second one. She can definitely try to fight back, but she needs time, time to recover. what CAN she do?

"Looks like you need some help over there. You don't mind if we jump into the fray, do you?"

Before the blast connected however, a voice called out to Lili, and three figures came in, cancelling the blast. Three very familiar figures now stood in front of her, and Sweetheart could respond in one emotion only.

Rage.

"...Of course. OF COURSE YOU THREE HAD TO SHOW UP AT THE LAST MOMENT!"

They were Sunny and Basil's friends, armed with a random assortment of tools and playthings, treated as weaponry.

"You're..."

"Oh! Right, introductions first. I'm Hero." The one with the spatula said.

"I'm Aubrey." The one with the bat.

"And I'm Kel!" The one with the basketball.

"Right...We've met before."

"Have we now? I...don't believe we had. At least, I don't remember that we did."

Oh right, Sunny's brain, he must've no idea Lili already talked with them.

"Anyway, that's not what matters right now, right?" Aubrey spoke up.

"Yeah, right now, we have to deal with Sweetheart." Kel pointed out.

"Deal with me, you say? Please, you don't have the Dreamer by your side to fight. Unlike our previous encounters, I'm not scripted to lose, and you're not strong enough alone to beat me. You're nothing but cornered rats, trying to struggle against the inevitable."

"So you know, huh?"

"Yes, I know everything, including the truth of what happened."

"Then I guess you do have a point."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you're right, we're pretty bad by ourselves, since we don't have Sunny to keep you in check. But with her, we are strong enough."

"And I wouldn't call it as inevitable as you think it is."

The trio looked back to Lili, who has finally recovered her energy from fending off that previous blast.

"You're relying on her? Please, she's as ignorant to everything here as the Dreamer is."

"Yeah, and so what? I can't understand what that kid has been through. I'm pretty sure that kid's older than me too. But, even so, I'm still a Psychonaut, and it's my job to kick your butt and make him feel better."

"She may not know about what happened, but it's clear enough to us."

"She's strong, and she'll be willing to help us make things right."

"Even if you don't think so."

"...I see, then that's that. If this is how it'll go, then so be it." Sweetheart then prepares a battle stance.

"I hope you know this won't be like the fight in our castle. This time, I'll absolutely devote myself to destroying you all. And then the Dreamer and his beloved sister. This, I swear to you."

"We wouldn't expect any less, you awful princess!"

"Yeah, you tell em girl!" Aubrey cheered to Lili.

"I won't miss your impudence one bit! Now come, let's end this, once and for all!"

Lili, Aubrey, Hero, and Kel

vs

World's End

Sweetheart Grande

"So...does anyone have any plans on how to attack her?" Lili spoke.

"What!? I thought you had a plan, you're telling me you started a fight with her without thinking up something!?" Aubrey shouted.

"Now now, let's not devolve to infighting, we'll just come up with something in the fly, as per usual." Hero says, keeping the peace.

"Why don't we aim at her tummy hole?" Kel asked. The three just looked at him in confusion.

"Her tummy hole? What are you talking about? How are you sure she even has one?"

"Because she got really mad when I ate a donut."

"That still pisses me off a lot, by the way!"

"See? And if she still gets mad about that..."

"Then there must be something important she's hiding there!"

"It's worth a shot to try! Now let's go!" Lili shouted, rallying the three to fight.

"Right!" The trio shout in unison, they're definitely ecstatic for this fight.

The fight became a rally to see who could break first, Lili and the trio, or Sweetheart. Aubrey and Lili were in the offensive as Kel was proving supportive fire, with Hero making sure the crew was healthy and motivated to keep attacking. Sweetheart was doing everything perfectly, from attacking, to defending, to even supporting herself and covering battle wounds.

"Damnit, it's not working at all! We need a new plan of attack." Lili spoke.

"No, we have a plan. We attack!" Hero replied with fervor.

"But it's not working!"

"It will, trust us. She can't keep this up forever!"

And just in time, Lili noticed something incredibly subtle. Her attacks, while still strong, were starting to get slower. Her defenses were getting sloppier, and her attempts to heal her damages were starting to get more inconsistent, thus leading to receiving more wounds.

"Huh...that is odd. Why am I feeling so...light-headed?"

"'Cause you're not meant to be here." Aubrey replied.

"What?"

"This place was not meant for people like us to be, the longer we stay here, the weaker we'll be until eventually, we'll be erased. Sooner or later Sunny'll bring us back if he remembers, but maybe that's why he wanted us in our dreams, and not in here."

"Fact is, you're getting weaker, and we'll be taking that chance to stop you!"

"It can't be...after all this time, and I'm still going to die an insignificant death...? NO! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!"

Sweetheart then prepared for another blast, this one being much larger than the one Lili had to endure.

"IF I'M NOT MEANT TO BE HERE, THEN THIS APPLIES TO YOU AS WELL! SO I'LL JUST END YOU ALL QUICKLY, AND PUT AN END TO THIS NIGHTMARE ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

As Lili prepares to fend it off with her Pyrokinesis, the trio jumped in to block the blast themselves. Barely holding the ball of energy in place.

"Now Lili, this is it!"

"Time for you to give out the finishing blow!"

"We're a bit pre-occupied, so do your job, and end this!"

Lili could only smile at their camaraderie and support. It's something that makes her happy.

No, happy doesn't quite describe the feeling. It's more...manic.

With all her strength, she jumps above the blast and faces Sweetheart point blank, charging her Pyrokinesis.

"Thanks for getting my head in the game, I found my reason to keep going again. Now, if you don't mind, fall!"

She then unleashes her attack, unleashing a critical hit on Sweetheart, burning her perfect image with her blue flames and revealing the core. Incidentally, the attack cancels Sweetheart's attack as well, releasing the trio.

"Now, let's finish this!"

The four then follow up with an all-out attack, unleashing enough damage to destroy the core, thus finally ending Sweetheart for good. A blood-curdling scream was heard as the main body of Sweetheart Grande slowly started to disappear, revealing afterwards Sweetheart, Perfectheart, Roboheart, and Mutantheart, slowly falling down to the moving train, bodies slowly starting to fade as well.

"Ah...I guess that's the end of that, huh?" Sweetheart strained to say.

"We're...sorry we couldn't perform to your expectations." Perfectheart apologized weakly, her body almost fully disappearing.

"No...don't be. We did everything in our power...I suppose this is as far as we could go." As she says that, the trio of her clones start to disappear, one by one.

"Goodbye...my flawed, but ideal selves."

Sweetheart raises her head slowly, still seeing Lili and the trio of kids, blocking her path, as per usual, as they've always done.

"In the end...I was still thwarted by you kids, huh? What a sick joke, all that effort to defy the role I was given, only to fulfill that role by the end."

"It's not a sick joke." A voice responded to her, Lili's to be exact.

"Huh?"

"I understand what it feels like...to not being able to do anything except the stuff you're expected to do by grown-ups. Yeah, in the end we kicked your butt, but still...for the time you had some self-awareness, didn't it feel good to just, let loose and do what you want?"

"...You have a sick way of trying to cheer me up. I hope no one else gets motivated by your words. But...yeah. I guess it did feel good." The two stood at silence for a while, both waiting for Sweetheart to disappear. But then.

"Twin-tails." Sweetheart uttered to Lili.

"It's Lili."

"I don't care. Humor my curiosity, will you? What am I out there, in this world of yours? And don't try to say I don't exist. I know that I'm nothing but a pale imitation of the real Sweetheart, created for the Dreamer's awful whims."

"...You're a movie character in your own story. It's niche, but for those that know you, you're well loved. You're a rebellious princess, who always strives forward and gets her way, no matter what. Other people in that movie called you hot-headed, rash, arrogant, and stubborn, all sorts of awful names. But you didn't care, you still moved forward, and in the end, you still managed to prevail, and you found someone who loved you for who you really are, flaws and all."

"And who was that lover?"

"Can't say. Haven't watched your movies in a while, I must've forgotten them."

To that, Sweetheart could only sigh.

"...Honestly...what a kill-joy...Well, as long as it isn't that idiot Spaceboy..." By now, Sweetheart's body is mostly gone, about to be enveloped in the white beyond.

"Hey...if you do meet the Dreamer, impart these words to him..."

"Please...next time, let me join you in your adventures..."

With that, Sweetheart finally disappears, the white space finally taking her, ending her rebellious calamity. The train then stops to a complete halt. Lili then looks back at the trio.

"I guess this is my stop, huh?" A white void stood in front of her, with seemingly nowhere to go, the only option was to jump down.

"It's a long way down...but I reckon you'll be fine!" Kel reassured her. Of course Lili had Levitation, so there was no reason to worry.

"You guys aren't joining?"

"Nah, we already made our peace with Sunny."

"Yeah, whatever happens in the end, it's up to Sunny to overcome it. We only hope you can help him a little with overcoming it."

"Come to think of it...you guys know what happened to her, right? Don't you guys...feel something about that?"

"Are you sure you're asking this question to the correct Hero?"

"Oh, right, he naturally has a bias to the version of you that you'd forgive him."

"Yeah...But in all honesty, I don't know what I would've done. Maybe I would've gotten so angry that I'd actually hit him, or maybe I'd just leave. The me outside has been through a lot, it's...complicated to think about what his reactions might be, to say the least."

"Mari was the closest thing to a sister I had. With her, it felt like everything was right in the world, that I could be happy. But when she died...everything came crashing down, along with my life. And yet, even after all these years, I still cared for Sunny, despite everything. I don't know how the me outside would take it, but in the end, I hope her feelings for him would overcome her anger."

"Yeah...I have to admit, I wasn't as close to Mari as these two. Not that I didn't like her, but...I could tell that everyone loved her, and when she was gone, l could also tell everyone was too sad...and that I was too scared to connect with them again. I tried to forget it all, we all did, but in the end, we all got together again...and I'm grateful for Sunny for opening his doors up to me. I think, despite everything, I'd be okay with forgiving Sunny."

Lili and the trio could only stand in silence after that, a bit of an awkward question to ask, to say the least.

"But hey, you don't care about that stuff do you?"

"Yeah, in the end, this is Sunny's own fight, so don't worry."

"Have faith in him like we do, I'm sure he'll get past this, no problem."

"...Yeah, thanks guys. Don't worry, I'll make sure both him and Basil will be okay."

With that, the trio began to fade away. Figments aren't allowed in this white space, after all.

"Good luck trying to help Sunny, Lili!"

"Break a leg, sis. Hope you get along with the me out there."

"No matter what happens, just know that you gave it your all."

With those final parting words, Lili began her descent down the white space, whatever's down there, she'll make sure they'll have a talk.

"Well hi there! Please, don't just stand there, come sit by me."

Raz was quite confused, to say the least. Amidst the the white space surrounding him, there was the girl that she saw in Basil's mind, and in the articles regarding the incident 4 years ago, Mari. Sitting in a picnic blanket alongside a piano with a white veil behind her, dressed in a white robe, PJs, perhaps?

"Uh, yeah, thank you." Well, Raz wasn't feeling anything bad coming out of her, in fact, quite the opposite. There was an aura of pacifism surrounding her, like a feeling of peace, that everything was alright. It compelled Raz to accept the offer wholeheartedly, given the fact that ever since he entered Sunny's brain, he's been on guard.

"Hehe, my pleasure, you looked a bit weary, so I couldn't help but offer you a seat!" The girl joyously said, like there's not a care in the world. That said, Raz had to ask the obvious question.

"Erm, you must be Mari, right, or at least a figment or thought of her? My name's Raz and um, I'm here on official Psychonauts business to help Sunny. I was told there was someone here that could help me with that." Her smile has gone weak after hearing that.

"Yep, I'm Mari, Sunny's guardian spirit, so to speak." Raz was taken aback by that statement, her guardian what?

"Guardian spirit?" As in, the paranormal beings that Nein constantly ranted on how they weren't real because they weren't tethered to scientific explanations?

"Yep! Not exactly sure how I was created specifically, all I know is that I was watching over Sunny from atop of here ever since...well..." Raz already knew where she was going.

"I know...I'm sorry about all that happened." It was a fruitless apology, he knew that. But Mari didn't seem to mind, despite dropping her smile.

"It's okay. I'm...mostly over it. It's not what you're here for anyway, right? You're here to help Sunny. We should focus on that."

With the snap of her finger, the scenery changes to that of a theater, the seats were empty, the atmosphere was as monotone as the colors of the place, and the only light that shone was in the stage.

"What's this place?"

"It was our local theater, we were supposed to play our recital amidst the other plays that were gonna be shown there. We were basically the intermission, something to keep people inside in case they got bored of waiting. But we didn't care. I studied my butt off to perfect those 2 minutes we were gonna be in stage...and sadly, I pushed Sunny too far because of it."

Raz, connecting the two dots together regarding the incident, realizes what she meant by that.

"So...he pushed you off the stairs because you pushed him too far during practice for the-"

"Please, don't say that...I know that Sunny pushed me off, but...he didn't mean to. It was a freak accident, and it was my fault."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine...sorry for cutting you off like that."

"Why did you bring us here though? It doesn't look like there's anything that can help us."

"No, there isn't. To be honest, I don't think Sunny ever moved on past that day. His mind, whether he liked it or not, constantly went back to that day and everything was a constant reminder of that day, but it never went past my death...to this place."

"And if he's trying to overcome that day, that means he'll have to visit here?"

"Yep. Luckily, it looks like it's happening now, look."

Looking at the stage, Raz notices a figure standing on stage, the spotlight focusing on him, preparing his music sheet.

That figure was Sunny, carrying a violin.

"Hey that's Sunn-" Raz was then cut off by Mari, who was shushing him by putting her hand in front of his mouth.

"I get that you wanna talk about him, but not. Now. This is important for him, so please keep quiet until I say so." She whispered, gaining a quiet nod from Raz. She retreats her hand, and the both watch him in silence as he begins to play.

As Sunny began to play the violin, Raz could note how shaky he was as he continued. Overbearing amounts of feelings like sadness and regret surrounded him, and then, as he finally drops the violin, he himself begins to drop to his knees and to start crying.

"Damnit Sunny...you were so close..." Mari then changes the scenery, and they were back to the white space.

"Wait, why did we leave!?"

"He's gonna need some help. And we can't do that while we watch him there."

"But how are we-"

"Raaaazzzzzzzz!" Oh boy, that voice in that specific tone approaching only meant one thing for Raz.

"Lili! You're oka-" A smack in the head by his angry girlfriend.

"Quiet! You're lucky that I found something to help us and- oh, hi. You're Sunny's sister." Lili says, noticing the perplexed looking Mari that's sitting on her piano.

"That's me, you were saying about how you found something?"

"Oh, right! Raz, I found a way to help Basil! We gotta get these flowers to him, ASAP!"

"But we gotta help Sunny now!"

"We don't have time! We can just bounce back here when we're done with Basil!"

"Look," Mari intervened. "I understand that you want to help Basil as well, but don't fret. Time has begun to flow more stagnantly ever since you arrived here, so you might still make it in time. But it's good that you came along, perhaps we might finish up here and help him faster this way."

"That's convenient." Lili stated.

"Great, then, what do you need us to do?"

"I need you to find someway to remember him the good times. Anything, small moments, big moments, anything he could cherish and use to get past his final hurdle!"

The instructions were a bit too broad, but they understood what she meant. They needed to find floating thoughts and connect them with Mental Connection, reinforcing positive thoughts to combat the negative. That said...

"I understand what you're saying, but...we can't really do that in this place, there's literally nothing here." Lili pointed out.

"I know! Mari, you're a spirit outside of Sunny's brain, is it possible for you to generate thoughts inside him?" Raz thought it was a longshot but it was better than having to scour this place for floating thoughts, I mean, the place is already white as is!

"I'm sorry, she's a WHAT!?"

"Long story, I'll tell you later!"

"Huh...I never thought about it that way, hold on a second." Mari focuses, and with the snap of her fingers, floating thoughts manifested from her head and began to float in the white space.

"Is that enough?"

"Yes, I think so! That's great!" Raz affirmed to Mari. Now they were ready for business.

"Great, that settles that. Let's get this done quickly so we can-"

Someone had other ideas, however. As Lili was struck down from behind, forcing to de-manifest from Sunny's mental world.

"Lili!" Raz said, clearly shocked from the surprise attack.

"Oh no! Is she- did she-?"

"She should be fine in the real world, but who could have taken her down like this-" Raz then gasps at the sight in front of him. A sight he did not expect.

"That would be me."

In front of the two, stood a monochrome boy that looked like Sunny. Although the same in appearance, his skin was paler than the boy's, and he was slightly less shorter than him. His clothing was merely a black tank top shirt, with black and white shorts and long black socks. In his hand, he held a knife, presumably the one she used to strike down Lili from behind.

However, that was the least of Raz's problems. While the figure didn't seem to display any sort of feelings, Raz's senses and instinct saw a different perspective from the one displayed. It was a tide of every negative emotion Raz knew about was on display on that boy. As if every Censor or Bad Idea, or every being he encountered in the black space, was fused together into one singular entity, and that was the result of it. It was overwhelming, enough to have made him puke, if he wasn't as experienced as he was now. Is this what that stranger meant by the Dreamer's cursed form? Was this it?

"Oh...hello, Omori. Cliff-faced as usual, I see." Mari greeted him coldly, like she was looking at someone she wholeheartedly hates.

"What the heck's up with him? He looks like Sunny, and yet..."

"This is just the result of all the repressed thoughts Sunny ignored, all the emotions he tried to escape from, all the memories he tried to forget. You can call him Omori, his alter-ego. He's the final obstacle Sunny is currently overcoming."

"T-There's no way he can overcome this all by himself. It's too much!" Raz stated, slightly in fear. If this is what Sunny was facing, then this would be too much, even for Raz alone.

"I'm guessing he's doing double duty, planning to take out both you and Sunny in one fell swoop. I'm not sure what he's gonna do if he takes out Sunny, but trust me...now that he's come this far, it won't be pretty. It's imperative that we stop him now."

"How!? He's so strong! Even without seeing him fight, all these surges of negative emotions are a lot!"

"We don't have to take him out by force. We just need to stick with the original plan. You still need these thoughts to remind him of positive memories, right?"

She was right, Omori did not seem to care about the floating thoughts above him. If they played this correctly, they could still have a fighting chance as they remind Sunny of more positive memories, so as to not overwhelm him with negative ones.

But still, would Sunny even last? Would Raz even last?

"No, no doubting. It's like you said in Nona's brain. Everyone has a Maligula in their minds."

There was no reason to doubt. He has already been in this position once, twice, thrice even, as much as he wants to forget the Meat Circus. Everyone has an inner demon inside. An alter-ego, a person they want to forget. This Omori is no different. He might not be able to beat him, but he'll sure as hell save Sunny.

So with a deep breath, Raz took a step forward and faced the monochome knife boy.

"I'll keep him busy. Whatever you plan on doing on that piano Mari, please do it quickly."

"Understood. Good luck, Raz. Do your best."

Omori then prepares his knife, and his dead, blank eyes focused solely on Raz, ready to kill.

Razputin

Vs

The Abyssal Dream

Omori

Raz wasted no time and attacked first, pacing himself and throwing out a few PSI-Blasts, to which Omori dodges effortlessly. Omori takes that opportunity to close the distance and attack with his knife. But Raz has had enough training in Oleander's classes to dodge close quarter mind attacks like it was muscle memory. He counters Omori's attacks, pummeling him with further PSI-Punches and knocking him on the ground.

Raz takes this opportunity to use Mental Connection to connect some memories together. The memories he chose were memories of cherishment, coming from Kel.

"Friends...Friends are supposed to be there for each other." Kel's words rang through the white space, resonating echoes that went on for a few seconds.

"That's good Raz! Sunny's getting stronger hearing those words, so continue doing that!"

"I see. So that's your intention."

Were he a normal negative emotion, Raz's attacks would be enough to keep Omori down. But Omori did not succumb. In fact, he came back harder.

Omori began on the offensive now. His attacks were now faster and more wild, forcing Raz on the defensive. That's not to say Raz couldn't keep up with his attacks, just that he kept being pushed back and couldn't fight back. After finally finding the opportunity to break away from his offensive, Raz finds himself a considerable amount of distance away from the floating thoughts. Far enough that he can't reach them with his Mental Connection's range. Did Omori see through his plans already?

"Why do you force yourself to do this. You have no relation to him. He means nothing to you, and you mean nothing to him."

Raz ignores his comments as he tries to close the distance to Omori, when all of a sudden, a swarm of red hands began to surround him. As quickly as he could, he opened his barrier to block and erase the swarm. With that done, he continues to close the distance, bringing himself close to Omori's attack distance.

"He's done nothing but hurt others. Make people suffer. And you think he deserves redemption, even without knowing nothing about who he really is?"

"What's wrong with believing people can have second chances!?"

"It's nothing but a shallow attempt at forgetting his sins."

Raz then began to attack him, Omori attacks him back with his knife in retaliation. He's seen the same move before however, and so he easily dodged it, letting him pummel Omori again, this time adding close range PSI-Blasts to really keep him down this time.

Knocking Omori down, he used Mental Connection once more to make Sunny remember. This time, it was words of cherishment from Aubrey.

"I hope you can find some peace...or you know...some happiness." Aubrey's wish rang in the white void, managing to even empower Raz, if just a little.

But Omori did not succumb. And this time, the whole area surrounding him changed. The white space was now covered in dark red, and Omori himself started to look more bloody, more hands, larger than the ones Sunny blocked, rushed to crush him. And while he did block them with his barrier, he still couldn't stop some of the blows, and sustained some damage.

"Do you honestly think he'll be forgiven if he simply believes so? Because that's hardly the truth. What he'll find once he wakes up is people who'll see him for who he truly is, and be utterly disgusted and repulsed by them. Why do you think he never told anyone about what he really did? Why he let Basil suffer all by himself? It's because it's all to hide who he truly is. A heartless killer."

"That's not true! Sunny isn't like that!"

"And how would you know? You've never met him."

It felt like the only thing Raz knew what to do, but he tried to close the distance again. However, his movements were sluggish, and that let him be attacked further by the red hands, which slammed him down to the ground. He wasn't down for the count however. Although it was clear a different approach was needed.

"But lucky you. You're gifted and talented, you have a friend that supports you, and looks up to you, and truly loves you. You've actually made a relationship out of honesty and truth. As opposed to him, who keeps hanging in relationships out of nothing but lies. Don't you find it pathetic how worthless he is, with his lies and how he keeps deceiving others with false pretenses? Because I do, and people like him don't deserve to live."

"Shut. UP!"

Raz notices how despite each hand above him was large, they were also slow, and easy to telegraph. Using that knowledge, Raz begins to use the hands as a way to close the distance, he eventually reached above Omori, slamming him down with his own pair of PSI-Punches much like he did. This results in knocking Omori down again, leaving him to use Mental Connection once more.

This time, he connects memories of cherishment from Hero.

"Last time... We made the mistake of leaving each other when we needed each other the most. This time...we'll stay together." Hero's promise rang out, empowering Raz to keep moving forward.

But Omori does not succumb. He drags Raz down with a deformed and twisted version of Mari, restraining him even further with hair, and red hands.

"And how do you think the others will react to the truth? Do you really believe the others will forgive him so easily? Do you expect Kel to reach out to him again when Sunny could not all these years? Do you expect Aubrey to forgive him, like she still harbors some unfounded love for him? Do you expect Hero to be merciful to him, after he finds out that the cause of all his suffering stemmed from him? Do you think Basil will be forgiven, like he hasn't had a part in his sins? Because if you truly believe so...then you and him are setting yourselves up for failure. It's better to just die already."

At this point, Raz has had enough. His Pyrokinesis began burning through the hairs of the hellish creature of Mari, enough for him to be free and attack Omori again, not leaving him enough time to react, and knocking him down again.

"That's not true! Everyone's got a secret that they can't help but hide, an inner demon, a fear they can't admit to! Just because you've been hiding it for so long, doesn't mean you can't start again, that you can't just tell it now that it's happened. You can always try and break free from your fears and burdens, and as long as he tries, his friends will believe in him and forgive him for sure!"

Not letting Omori get back, he begins to prepare a confusion bomb and his own archetype, long enough to distract him or keep him unconscious. With that done, he began once more to use his Mental Connenction. This time, remembering words of cherishment from Basil.

"Maybe one day... things can go back to the way they were before." Basil's hope rang out, keeping Raz in the fight, just a bit more.

But Omori did not succumb. Mannequins of HellMari began to surround Raz. All approaching Raz with the express purpose of clawing him down.

"Your words are doing nothing but merely whitewashing who he is. Your claim is absu-"

"So what if it's whitewashing!? At least it's better than your self-deprecation! You're doing nothing but dragging Sunny's efforts down, you're not helping him!"

"He doesn't need it. I'm the only help he needs."

He's seen his attacks time and time again, it's all telegraphed, and easy to predict. Just because it hurt Raz doesn't mean he can't dodge them. He'll close the distance again. Dodge, block, deflect. Anything to avoid getting hit and to just get that damn. Punch. In.

Raz manages to get one more strike in, strong enough to knock Omori down on his feet, but this time, his archetype joined in, and began to keep him busy with a pummeling of his own, allowing Raz to use Mental Connection one last time.

The last of the flowing thoughts. Memories of cherishment from Mari.

"You'll forgive yourself... Won't you... Sunny?" Mari's promise rang in the white space, bringing peace of mind to Raz.

But Omori will not succumb.

He easily disposes the archetype, and he's not looking worse for wear, unlike Raz, who's completely exhausted himself at this point.

"It's clear we're past talking at this point. I think it's time we end this."

"Gladly!"

As courageous as he sounded, Omori's final attack was enough to finally take out Raz. This time, he was down for good.

"You can close your eyes now. You and him will leave this dream soon..."

Omori begins to thrust the knife down in Raz's chest, this won't kill him, but if he gets stabbed, it'll be too late to project back. He'll be stronger than ever, more than what the teachers and Lili combined could handle. Maybe Cruller and the rest of the Psychic Six could get inside his brain and take Omori down, but who knows if Sunny himself will be alive by the time they do.

It all seemed truly lost, until the sound of piano keys, sweet, mellow, piano keys, began to rang out.

"Thank you for holding out for this long, Raz. Now let big sister and her brother do the work."

A surge of memories began to show in front of Raz while the piano kept playing, this time, accompanied by Sunny's violin. Memories of happy times with her sister growing up, making friends with the neighbors kids next door, comforting the bullied girl at school, getting close to the shy, but eccentric boy that loved flowers. Laughing together, doing new stuff together, playing the piano, comforting each other on the swings, star gazing. But when he was saved from drowning in the lake by her...he couldn't save her when it mattered the most.

And yet, as he played the violin, he knew he couldn't changed that. He knew that there was no way to bring her back, no matter how much he escaped in the past. He knew that she wouldn't want him to stay in that past. He knew that she would want him to forgive himself. And so, as he took one last peek at her perfect visage, and as the piano died down, he reaches the end of his play, and the duet concludes.

The Omori that Raz was fighting has disappeared. He was transported back to Mari's blanket, tuckered out, yet still amazed by the performance.

"Wow, that was great..." Raz said in awe, he didn't even realize he was crying until he felt the moisture of his face.

"No...that was perfect." Mari corrected the young agent, a proud smile painted on her face, alongside a well of tears, although they were quickly swiped.

"So...does that mean it's over?"

"See for yourself." Mari pointed over yonder, where Sunny and Omori could be seen hugging it out, causing Omori to drop his knife and disappear. With that, a door opened in front of the boy, and with a final bow in the empty void, he left, door closing after his departure.

"Omori is still here...I can sense him, but he's just watching."

"And that's fine. I don't think he may ever get rid of him...some burdens are just too heavy to be simply removed. Although...I'm confident that Sunny will be able to still stay strong, even after he reveals the truth."

"I hope so..." Raz sighs, lying down the blanket out of exhaustion. "Man, I'm tired..."

"I bet! You sure put a good fight, I couldn't watch it but it's really admirable how you stood up to him even though he was kicking your butt."

"What? He wasn't kicking my butt...I could've still kept up with him."

"Oh no, he was definitely kicking your butt, probably would've easily kicked it as well if he wasn't fighting Sunny too."

"Oh..."

"Cheer up! The fact that you managed to fend him off is more than enough to help Sunny, isn't that what matters?"

"Guess so...Although I still could've beaten him."

"Boys can dream, I guess." Mari says sarcastically, chuckling at Raz's attempts to sound tough.

"So,what are you going to do now?"

"Huh..." Mari wistfully looks at the white veiled door.

"You know...I don't think I ever planned that far ahead. I suppose that place is supposed to lead somewhere away from here. But I never had a guide for how a spirit works, unfortunately."

"Where do you think it goes?"

"Heaven, I guess. Or some sort of afterlife. Or maybe it's supposed to lead to a new life, not that I know a lot about reincarnation, and all that."

"You know, you could just stay here. It's not like there's someone here to tell you to go there, right?"

"I don't know...I feel like something is compelling me to go there, like...Sunny won't be able to really move on without me leaving for good. Maybe that bundle of flowers that your friend carried had something to do with it."

"Is...is it better if you go through that gate then?"

"Of course it is! Of course it would be better! But I don't want to leave him! I wanna see him be happy, fall in love, have a kid, and grow old and happy and have a meaningful life! I just wanna be with him forever! I love him too much to let him go...!" Mari then drops down in tears.

It was obvious that despite everything, Mari still loved her little brother. She never wanted this to happen, to be forcibly torn apart from him.

"I'm sad...I wish I could turn back time and just...forget about the damn recital. I hate this. It's unfair!" Raz offers a hand to her, getting up as she accepts it.

"Sorry...I'm being really selfish, aren't I?" Raz shakes his head.

"No, you aren't. Everyone's a bit selfish. Besides, I wasn't exactly nice to my family either. I just left them all one day so I could pursue my dream of becoming a Psychonaut, without even saying a word. My dad and Nona didn't like psychics, and so they always wanted me and my siblings to suppress my powers. Once I left and my dad found me, I thought he would get mad at me, but he was just...worried. He didn't hate psychics, or me. He was just worried that people would be out to get me if I was seen as one. He wanted me to keep me safe. If only I talked it out with him...maybe I wouldn't have escaped. But then again, I probably wouldn't have been a Psychonaut if I didn't ran away." Raz awkwardly chuckled, his eyes meeting Mari as she patiently looked at him, genuinely endeared by the boy's tale.

"And what about your Nona, did she take the news well?"

"Well...a lot of stuff happened with her. It turned out that she was a realllyyyy bad person."

"Pfft, what, did she destroy the Valermo Dam and flood Grulovia or something?" Mari sarcastically asked, to which Raz responded with a silent, yet shocked look.

"...No way." She now looked at him dumbfounded by her wild yet accurate guess. He still had the look.

"Please tell me that she had good reasons for it, at least."

"It's really complicated, but it was all fine, promise! We all forgave her, and understood her position and that just made us a better family."

"Well, that's really good and all, but, and I'm sorry for this, I don't get how this helps me, no offence."

"Well...my Nona, after she got her memories back, said she wanted to visit her sister, once she's passed away."

"Oh, did she...you know..."

"Yep, Nona killed her accidentally. She always tells me that she wants to apologize to her. I don't really know if she gets to go to Heaven or whatever after what she had done...but I'd like to think she had paid for her mistakes, and that she would watch over us in happiness...you know, one day, not now."

"And I think that's a bit like you and Sunny. Sure, he might not be a psychic, and he might've not blown up a dam and caused a flood, but still...in the heat of the moment, he made a mistake, and even if he was late on it...he's moving on from it, like we all are from our mistakes. At the end of the day, no matter the bad stuff that happens to all of us...the best we can do is give ourselves a chance to move on."

"A chance to move on, huh...I guess, I should move on too, then. You're right, I don't want to stay hung over because of what happened. When I see Sunny again...I want to accept him with open arms, like nothing happened. And I can't do that while I'm here." Mari finally stands, but her legs were shaking like crazy, making her lose balance a little.

"...That said, it still scares me a bit. My legs feel like jelly. Do you...think you can hold my hand and carry me through there?"

Raz silently complies, offering his hand.

"Thank you."

The two walk towards the veil, hand in hand, a row of stairs heading up towards whatever lies beyond the window.

"You know, every time I saw those stairs, I always got a chill in my back. My mind always headed back there, to that day. I always ran to so many possibilities on how I could've prevented it from happening. Maybe I could've been more lax with him, maybe I could've stopped pressuring him so much...but at the end of the day, I can't change the past, the only thing I can do..."

Mari then lets go of Raz's hand, and makes her first step towards the stairs.

"...is give myself a chance to move on."

One step became two, and eventually three, and so on and so forth. Mari's body eventually started to disappear, white glimmers giving way as she moved more up the stairs. But not before looking back.

"Say, Raz?"

"Yeah?"

"If you do see Basil again, tell him...that it's all okay, I forgive him. I know he might not agree at me at first, but..."

"I understand, Mari. I'll tell him as soon as I leave." Raz's look of assurance was all it took to convince her, her smile the only response he needed.

"Then all I have to say is...Thank you, Raz. I'll forever be grateful to you for helping Sunny...I can only hope your attempt to help Basil goes equally the same. Goodbye."

With that, Mari disappeared. As did the door that lead to the afterlife.

"Well, guess there's nothing left for me to do now. I should hurry back to Lili and Basil, ASAP."

Raz reached for his salts, and with the sniff of them, he leaves this world for good.

Without a moment's delay, Raz exits Sunny's room and immediately bolts it to Basil's room, slamming the door. Sasha, Milla, and Oleander, watched over Basil and Lili, who was already in Basil's mind from the looks of it.

"How much time!?" Raz hurriedly asked the agents.

"Five minutes, give or take. Basil's restraints are still holding for now." Sasha replied quickly.

"Lili already made her way in, be careful and make sure you two don't end up in trouble!" Milla cautioned.

Raz hurriedly put out his PSI-Portal, and immediately made projected his way into Basil's mind. He can only hope Lili didn't end up in any trouble.

Although, what he found was much less worrying. Where he expected to land at a repressed part of Basil's memories, instead, he landed on a large meadow, surrounded by various kinds of flowers that he had absolutely no knowledge about. If only he'd actually remember Lili's rambling about flowers everytime they hung out on her personal gardens. Regardless, he notices her and Basil, tending to a part of the meadow. Lili notices him first, and runs over to greet him.

"About time you showed up."

"Lili! Man, am I glad to see you. Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine, Raz. As you can see, I have this situation under control."

"Tell me about it! I'm pretty sure there was only a black space here! How did you manage to do this?"

"Well..."

Lili awoke with the psychic equivalent of a heavy jolt, gasping for air as she struggled to hold herself together. Getting stabbed in the back so suddenly would do that to someone's projection, I guess. It was like waking up from a long nightmare, a lucid one at that. As she began to collect herself, she noticed that her body felt very heavy, like she was carrying a bag full of rocks on her back. She was reallyyyyy exhausted mentally, not a good feeling, and it felt like payback for being a serial truant during her time in camp. Regardless, she noted her surroundings, seeing Sunny still resting, and Raz still projected in Sunny's mind.

She could do another projection, but it'd be too risky, she could land back on that white space and get jumped by the thing that ejected her out of his mind, or she could even enter back to that black space again, and she'd had to enter back to that looping room with that statue? No thank you, she instantly responded by shaking her head off of that thought. Besides, she's good for one more projection only, and while she could attempt to focus on Raz's psychic energy, Sunny's overall turbulent energy still resided, and so she couldn't enter safely without a lot of disruption.

But she could still do something, she still had those flowers that girl gave her. And she could still do one more projection to the mind that needs those flowers. Basil. And so she left the room, and hurried to where Basil was, to where the agents were as well.

Once she entered, the three agents looked at her with a look of relief, followed by a look of concern as well.

"Lili, are you alright?"

"You look quite haggard, darling! You should rest up an-"

"I'm fine!" Lili shouted, silencing the agent's concerns.

"Just, please, release the mental restraints on Basil's mind. I think I might be able to help him, and we're running out of time as is."

"But-"

"Let her go, Nein." Oleander interjected.

"If anything happens to her I'll take full responsibility. It's like she said, we're running out of time as is. I know it's risky, but we have no options as is." He further explained.

"Great-"

"THAT SAID! You better be keeping your salts in your hand, miss. We have enough faith for you to not ask any more of what your solution is, but still, that thing is very dangerous, and we wouldn't want you to bring yourself to any more harm."

Faith, it's a funny word. It means so much to someone like Lili, and yet despite not doing much unlike them, they still say it to Lili so casually, as if it was nothing but a certainty. It was nice, to say the least, it gave her really warm feelings.

"...Understood."

"Good! Then, what are you waiting for?"

Lili then uses her PSI-Portal, and projects herself to Basil's mind.

It was the typical black void he was used to, with the only thing residing in it was Basil, the something in him laying dormant. With no better way of introducing herself to the blonde boy, she thought greeting him would be the best thing.

"Hey."

Basil immediately shook at the sound of her voice, and almost like a feral cat, he began to show signs of agression. Very smooth, Lili.

"Don't freak out! I'm not here to fight you, promise."

His aggression didn't let up, in fact, it only raised higher. Reluctantly, Lili showed her hand, the bundle of flowers she got from the girl. And just like that, his aggression faded, and the blonde boy overcame the something in him, if only a little.

"Those flowers..."

"Yeah, you know them? I'm usually a big fan of gladiolus, but I like roses too."

"I...like the sunflowers."

"Oh, me too. I like how they always seem to face the sun."

"Because they're like someone who always sees the bright side of things."

They both gasped at that statement, that coincidentally, they both said. It was as if their souls were in unison in the agreement. Then, as if two dots finally connected together, Lili laughs, a bit too loudly, in fact.

"Wh-what are you laughing for?" Basil asked, understandably perplexed by Lili's laughing. But she slowly stops after he questioned her.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just...I didn't realize that you liked flowers. I thought prior to getting them and sending them to you was random...but now it makes total sense, you're the same kind of nerd for flowers as me."

"Oh...yeah. It's seemed so long...that I've seen those flowers...or even talked about them."

"I guess Sunny remembered it more than you did, since I found them in his mind."

"Sunny...I guess that sounds about right...he always had a sharp memory. These were the flowers we had grown together...when Mari was still alive."

"Do these flowers represent you and the others? I know the sunflower is you, and that Aubrey's is probably the gladiolus." She explained.

"Yep. Although at this point...I doubt they would even want to see me. I know they've already abandoned me, and moved on along with Sunny."

"That's not what I saw outside of your head, though."

"What...what do you mean?"

"You know what the gladiolus is, don't you? They represent courage, that the person will definitely kick butt and stay true to whatever they hold dear. Well, Aubrey showed us that courage, and it made our teachers scared! Hell, we're only standing here because she convinced us to not do something drastic to remove that thing you have. It's the reason why we wanted to help Sunny as well, and it's the reason why I'm here, with the bouquet of flowers. My point? Your friends care about you, they're the reason why we're talking, and they're the reason I'll be helping you out. So please, don't say they've abandoned you, because I'll have to tell you again, that they're waiting at you in the hospital, crossing their fingers that you and Sunny'll get better."

"But I'm still going to be abandoned, why aren't you getting that!? Once they find out the truth...they'll...they'll abandon me...leave me..."

At that point, Basil was starting to regress back to his old self, as that something was starting to merge with him again, eyes growing red as he gets overwhelmed by negative psychic energy due to his panicking. Lili was prepared however, and figured he'd be able to solve his issue with an old fashioned trick.

*SMACK*

A classic slap in the face. Psychiatrists and Psychonauts alike wouldn't recommend you doing this to someone going through a panic attack, but in this case for Lili, it miraculously worked.

"Do you honestly really think that? They're your friends, Basil. I'm sure they'd be willing to listen you out."

Regaining composure, he tries to face Lili again.

"And how do you-"

"Know? Even though I've never met them? Because they remind me of Raz, and other idiots I've met. They have problems, issues, and a whole myriad of quirks that'll either make you hate them or love them or just think they're straight up weird. But having them as friends is cool, cause you know despite all of that, they'll have your back, through thick and thin. There isn't any scientific reason, nor are they obligated to follow you...but as long as you have faith they'll help you...they probably will."

"...Even if they found out...I just let Mari die?"

"...I don't know. I don't think your friends do either. You weren't the only one though, weren't you? Sunny will be there for you, to share the burden with you."

"But I don't want him to do that...even if I deny it, I don't want him to suffer the blame."

"But at the end of the day...it's not fair to you or him. And he wouldn't want you to take the blame."

"I guess..."

"Look, you don't have to decide now. We can sit here, completely relaxed, until you get the courage to wake up, and tell the others the truth."

"But...there isn't anything here, won't you get bored?"

"Good point, but..."

Lili then unfolds the bouquet, and as the flowers fall to the black ground, the land around them begins to unfold as various flowers began to storm around the two, a beautiful blend of colored flowers petals painted the world around them, eventually creating a meadow full of flowers, with a bright blue sky to boot.

"I guess we could work with this."

"Wow...that's so pretty." Basil was amazed at this. This was more beautiful than all the gardens he made, and seen, in his entire life.

"Yep, it really is. So, wanna talk about some flowers?"

"Huh?"

"Don't act so surprised, I told you, we're both nerds for flowers. I'm happy to talk about flowers with someone. We can either sit here and do a whole lot of nothing, or learn about flowers. Your choice."

"...I'd like to learn about the flowers." Basil says, opening up a little to Lili.

"Good, then, shall we?"

Lili offers her hand for Basil, and as he accepts, the two walk to the meadow, observing any flowers they find interesting.

"That's about it, give or take I probably left some non-important details in there too." Lili concluded her monologue.

"Well...I'm glad to hear that you're safe, I was pretty worried when you got stabbed by Omori."

"Who? You mean like, a piano?"

"Um, no, but it's a long story, I'll tell you about it later."

"What about Sunny then, is he okay?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking he's gonna wake up soon, his psychic levels are safe for now, I think."

"Thank God...I'm so glad he's okay." Basil's voice rang out as he listened from behind Lili, his words sounding as relieved as his sigh.

"You should be telling yourself that too, Basil!"

"But...I've caused so much trouble for all of them, I don-"

"Yeah, what Lili said! You and Sunny have been through so much as is, it's not fair to yourself to drag yourself down any more. I'm sure they'll forgive you once they realize the truth."

"The truth..."

"Yep. Sunny is already planning to say it. Once he wakes up, I'm sure he'll have something to say."

"So...I guess there really is no way to run away from it..." He sighs, and burrows his face on his knees. Lili and Raz sit beside him, trying to comfort him.

"You know...we met Mari. In Sunny's head, I mean."

"Huh? But...how?"

"Dunno, she was a spirit, living in his head. She helped us with Sunny's mental state. And you know what she said, to you and Sunny? She forgives you."

"She...forgives me? I...I don't get it, why-why would she forgive me, I killed her! It doesn't make sense-"

"Basil." Lili interrupts him. "Let him finish."

"I know you probably won't believe it, but what she said is true. She forgives you, and Sunny as well too. Seriously, she...doesn't mind what you did anymore."

"But...why? I-I deserve to be punished! What I did...it was wrong!"

"We all do wrong, Basil. But you can't keep attacking yourself for the stuff you've done, you'll only end up hurting yourself more and more. The only thing you can do at this point...is to find it in you to forgive yourself, let go, and move on."

"Let go...I guess...but...do I even deserve to let go? From all of this?"

"You do, everyone does...mostly. Besides, who says we don't deserve that chance?"

After some drawn out silence, and a sigh from Basil, he looks down and finally has an answer.

"...Do you think...you guys could hang out a bit more here? I think I'm gonna be ready, I just...want some more time here."

Raz and Lili both nod silently, and the trio continue to walk in the meadow, until both depart from Basil's world.

17:35 PM. It was a typical summer afternoon. Agent Sasha Nein stood in Basil's room all alone, Oleander and Milla left to fend away some sort of recycling cult in the park of Faraway, due to said cult destroying their personal jet and stripping it's components. He was still in the room, along with the bodies of Lili and Raz, still projected inside of Basil's mind. Their job was basically done. Basil's mind went back to safe mental levels. Even if he had trauma and damages in it, they could easily be solved with enough time and therapy, and an earlier check in Sunny's mind showed the same case, and both of them had their psychic levels back to safe, non-harmful levels. All he had to do, was wait for Lili and Raz, who were taking way too long inside the flower boy's mind.

His mind went back earlier in the day. By all accounts, his mind's decisions were sound enough. He thought that by changing Basil's memories, he would've managed to put his mental state and psychic levels back to healthy levels, at the cost of losing memories of his friends, seeing as how they were related to Mari, and by proxy, her death. It wasn't ideal, yes...but there was no other possible choice, even if he met resistance from his fellow agents, he had to do it, there wasn't enough time for something else. But then came along this girl, age of 16, pink hair tied to a tattered blue hair bow, eyes brimming full of rage upon hearing that decision. Her unbridled rage was unlike any response he had ever seen. to the point where she managed to gain the favor of his fellow agents and find for an alternative way to help the two boys. And in the end? A solution was found, through the combined efforts of his two young agents, they managed to find a solution where he hadn't seen one.

It left him curious, and admittedly, pretty stunned. Because looking back at it, the cause of it was the girl, who shouted at him. In the end, it was the result of her will to see her friends be better despite the trouble she caused for them, she drove her to disagree with Nein's decision. It wasn't a sound decision to disagree, but an instinctual one, a decision moved by the heart, not by the mind. He wondered...perhaps was he clouded in his way of thinking? If he wasn't limited to the decisions his mind, how many more decisions in the past could he avoided or solved more efficiently? Could he have perhaps...salvaged whatever was left of his family once his mother passed away? A tinge of sorrow appeared in his eyes, yet it couldn't be seen since his shades covered it. For the first time in his life, his way of thinking might've finally been seen as something wrong.

Before he could ponder it any longer however, out came Raz and Lili, projecting themselves back to their bodies.

"Razputin, Lili, welcome back. I assume everything went well down there?"

"Yep, all good..." As Lili affirmed Nein's question, she begins to faint from exhaustion, with Nein quickly responding to picking her up, and proceeding to carry her on his back.

"Lili! Is she alright?" Raz said, shocked by her sudden fainting.

"She'll be alright. She just went through a similar case as you, she's simply exhausted. I'd recommend you two get a forced leave from missions for now, seeing as how you're both prone to fall from exhaustion after overexerting your brains."

"Oh...is everything alright, then? Is Basil gonna be okay?"

"Yes. He's perfectly stable mentally. He will be in need of some therapy, but I am sure that past that, he can recover easily, given enough time."

"That's good to hear."

"Come, let's walk back to the jet. We shouldn't keep Oleander and Vodello waiting."

Exiting the room, and leaving Basil to rest, the two exit the hospital and begin a long walk back to the jet's location.

"Razputin."

"Oh-ah, yeah, Sasha?" Raz was a bit startled, since he didn't expect a question from him. He was usually the one asking them, not the opposite.

"I want you to be perfectly honest with this question I am about to ask you."

"Well, what is it?"

"Did you honestly thought of another way to help Basil, prior to the girl disagreeing with me?"

"Do you mean Aubrey? The one with the pink hair."

"She was the only one who very much showed disapproval in an angry tone, yes."

"Oh. Then, I don't think I really did, if I'm being honest. Come to think of it, my memory was really hazy at that time. I don't think I ever really did think at that point. I just heard Aubrey's words and how it...resonated with me, I think that's what made Milla agree with her too. Can't say I know why though, I just...really didn't want to go through with your plan. No offense."

"None taken."

"If you don't mind me asking, are you okay with what happened? You aren't mad that we didn't go through your plan?"

"Why would I be mad? In the end, we succeeded, did we not?"

"I suppose so, but...it seemed like you didn't think it would've worked with my plan, I mean, we practically forced you to not go through with yours."

Sasha could only sigh at his response.

"I...admit that I had my doubts. I kept them to myself, but the longer I waited, the more that girl's words ate away at my thoughts. Intrusive thoughts of doubt just entered my mind, making me question if my intentions were right. And while I was in thought, here you two were, proving me wrong, and completing the mission without making any big compromises to the two boys." Sasha takes a short breath as he stops talking.

"Well...in all honesty, when I was traversing Sunny's mind, I'm pretty sure I had no actual plan besides finding Sunny. A part of me just wanted to find anything at all that could help both him and Basil. And in the end, I guess I just got lucky. Mari's spirit went on to help me with fixing Sunny, and after that, Lili managed to find something that could've helped Basil. In the end, it all worked out."

"I see...perhaps it's not our minds to move us to find solutions we hadn't thought of, but our hearts?"

"Our hearts? Do our hearts think too, Sasha?"

"Well, no, not in a traditional way as our minds do. I meant so in a metaphorical sense. Our instincts, our selfish desires, and our will to see things through, even if it seemed impossible or despite easier solutions being available." He explained.

"Perhaps it's just hormones, or intrusive thoughts dictating our brain for a split second. But it makes me wonder, if we sometimes let our minds take a step back, and let the heart, our instincts, make our decisions, could we perhaps get better outcomes than we do by thinking with our minds. If it's true...then it makes me fear of how long I was clouded of that fact, how many mistakes I made and how I could've avoided them."

"I mean...we all mistakes, right? And my dad, whenever we were practicing our acrobatics, he practically said that it's all part of the process, that it was okay if we screwed up. It doesn't matter if we could've fixed it, it's already done. What mattered to him was that we learned from our mistakes, and try again."

"Yes...I suppose there is that too. We can't go back to the past and fix our mistakes, much like these boys can't fix their mistakes, and have to live with them. It is a rather unfortunate part of life, but much like itself, we can only move forwards, and not backwards."

"Yeah, exactly! I mean, life sucks sometimes, but it's what we got, you know?"

"Indeed. Thank you, Razputin. You have perhaps taught me, even if you didn't intend to, something valuable today. You, Lili, and Sunny's and Basil's friends. For all of you, I am grateful of what you have taught me."

"Oh!" Raz is genuinely surprised by what he says, the fact that he taught one of his heroes something of value, even if he didn't intend to, it was really flattering. "Well, I'm glad I was able to teach you something, Agent Nein."

"Indeed. And perhaps I will be able to learn more from you and Lili, once you two create your reports about your ventures on the Dreamer minds during your downtime."

"Geh...I completely forgot about those reports..."

"Indeed. And I hope you put some heavy explanation about Mari, and how you saw her as a spirit..."

"Man, you'll end up just not believing me in the end..."

Sasha chuckles. "We shall see. Now, how about we pick up the pace, we wouldn't want to be late at Agent Fullbear's reunion party."

"Reunion party? You mean he finally got his body back!?"

"Yes. While you were missing he managed to get his body back from the ruins of Grulovia. And so we planned for a party for today. I hear that your family will be entertaining them as well today, to thank us for taking care of you and for saving your grandmother."

"Wait, they'll be doing acts? Aw man..."

"Don't worry, I'll tell them to exclude you because of general fatigue."

"Oh thank god."

And with that, as the two began to walk while the sun began to fall off of the earth's surface, Operation Weed-Out to Sunset, has been finally completed.

I woke up. A surge of tears began welling down my face, and I quickly reacted to wipe them off my face. How long has it been since I let myself...cry like this? To finally feel this overwhelming feeling of sadness? Too long, I imagine, and long overdue, as well.

I rise from the confines of my bed and see that I'm surrounded by various kinds of flowers, some familiar, others not. Gifts from the people I've helped over the past few days. It was reassuring to see that people remembered me, that Aubrey, Hero, Kel, cared for me. I can only hope that Basil gets the same treatment as well. Although there was one plant that stood from the far side of the room. A plant that looked like a flower, although it looked like raw meat, and a letter.

"Get well soon!"

-Razputin and the Psychonauts.

That's odd. I have no memory of this Razputin guy. Is he like a mad wizard or something? And I thought...that the Psychonauts weren't real. Kel knows more about them, so I guess I'll just have to ask him about it...provided he's still willing to talk after what I'm gonna do. I spot something else as well. A pamphlet to the Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. That's definitely a mouthful to say. Maybe if my mom comes and things settle down...I can ask her if I can go there. Who knows, maybe I'll actually be a psychic.

I exit my room. It's high time I tell the others about what really happened to Mari. The moment I say that, every step I took felt heavier and heavier. Not sure if that's just me, trying to struggle to not go through this, or me just getting up after what happened with Basil. In the crossroads of the hallway, I see the figments of Aubrey, Hero and Kel. But I know they aren't real, they couldn't be, they were all just...what I wanted them to be in my dreams, after all. As they head off somewhere, I spot the shadowy figure of Basil, telling me where to go. As I follow him down the hall, and into a left turn, I spot Basil, heading inside the room. Alongside another person, whom I don't seem to recall his face. He looked weird, not unlike most people I've seen, and he had these weird badges and red goggles with him. Is he supposed to be someone I'm familiar with?

Before I could even utter a word at him, he leaves, with a satisfied smile, as if he was telling me that I was ready. I don't know who he was, but I almost feel...grateful to him, as he helped me, and I don't even know why.

Regardless, it was clear that this is the room where Basil was hospitalized. My chest tightens almost instinctively, my knees buckle, as if they were telling me to not go there, and my hand shakes, having no strength to pull the door handle to open the door. But regardless...I have to move on. I owe it to them, and to Mari, to move on.

So as I open the door, I see the Aubrey, Hero, and Kel. I freeze. I know what I want to say, but the words aren't coming out of my mouth. A hand pressed into my shoulder. I had thought it was something crawling back in my mind, but then:

"You'll be okay, Sunny. Just take a deep breath. This is yours and Basil's chance to move on."

I didn't know whose voice that was, maybe the person from before? Regardless, even though I didn't know it, it felt familiar to me, as if it empowered me once before. It struggled like I did with myself before I woke up, and it persevered with me. I wanted to thank him, but his hand already left my shoulder as his presence from behind faded. But he knew what I wanted to do, and gave me the strength for it.

And so, with a deep breath, I say:

"I have to tell you something."

Psycho-OMORI-nauts: Operation Weed-Out to Sunset!

END