#penelope delucca

[bathtubinkitchen-moved]

Lobobo and Shegor friendship and love moments

[wholegrainporkndbeans]

Rare paper drawing :00

[that-weird-skeleton-bastard]

psychonauts furries part 9

the last two Thorney towers residents :P

[technovillain]

all rested up and working on that acute polyphobia-- penelope delucca realizes she's forgotten exactly who she is :(

[bcdrawsandwrites]

Day 9: Scar reveal / Interrogation / Presumed Dead Characters: Sheegor, Truman Warnings: References to abusive relationships, depictions of anxiety Summary: Sasha, it turns out, was not strictly allowed to hire people on the spot, and Sheegor realizes her employment must be cleared with the Grand Head of the Psychonauts. Which is... fine. She's not worried or anything. Or missing Mr. Pokeylope. It's fine.

Sheegor wished Mr. Pokeylope were here.

She also wished she could have done her hair better.

She hadn't exactly had the luxury of being able to do anything with her hair in a long while—it wasn't like they had a lot of usable hair products in the asylum, and it was a miracle she managed to keep it clean at all. Miss Vodello had offered to style her hair for her, but she'd refused—Miss Vodello had been more than kind enough to take her out shopping before they'd arrived (much too kind, and she didn't want to wear out that kindness so quickly), so she could get a nice, clean outfit and new gloves. (The gloves felt so nice—she loved her mittens, but she could move her hands more freely in these, and they felt so comfortable.)

Suddenly realizing she had been wiggling her fingers in her gloves again, she put her hands down firmly in her lap, sitting up as straight as she was able.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zanotto took a seat on the other side of the table, and straightened up some papers. "Soooo Miss... Delucca, is it?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, only to cover he mouth when Mr. Zanotto leaned back in surprise. "I-I mean, yes, Mr. Zanotto! Um..." She wrung her hands anxiously, her gloves squeaking in the process. "Um... you can call me Penelope if you want, or... or Sheegor."

"Sheegor?" he repeated, brow knitting.

Feeling her stomach beginning to tie into knots, she shook her head. "I mean! You don't have to call me that! I mean—c-call me whatever you want!"

Mr. Zanotto frowned at her, and she winced. But he went on: "Well, Miss Delucca, as you know, Agent Nein is not technically supposed to hire people on the spot."

Sheegor shivered, nodding. Oh yes, Sasha had admitted such to her before they'd left, and she hadn't stopped thinking about it since.

"We're fortunate that I have to be the one conducting this interview rather than Hollis." The man chuckled, and Sheegor wasn't sure what that meant. "I'm sure she'd love this situation if she heard about it first."

"U-um..." Sheegor swallowed. "Wh... what did you need to know?"

Mr. Zanotto chuckled again, shaking his head. "Of course, I'm sure you don't want to waste too much time with this."

Wait—did she hear that right? Did he... think this was a waste of time? That she was a waste of time?

"So, let's get right into it!" Settling back into his chair, Mr. Zanotto held up the short stack of papers in front of him. "Let's see... So you're applying—or, well, Sasha offered you the job—for lab assistant." He looked up at her with a raised brow. "Why do you think you're qualified for this job?"

Sheegor gave a start—was that an interview question, or was he really questioning her? (Why couldn't Mr. Pokeylope be here...?! He would know what to do!) "I-I... I am qualified, sir! I really am!" she replied, gripping the edge of the table. "I can work really, really hard!"

"I'm... certain you can," Mr. Zanotto said, leaning back. "But could you give me some specifics?"

"Um—I—uh... I-I did a lot of work before! I'm really, really good with brains!" She tried to smile at the man, but quickly took note of his shocked look. "I-I mean—I don't have to do anything with brains! I'm not going to steal any! Oh—I mean, not that I've stolen brains before, that was just Dr. Loboto, but I don't work for him anymore, and um—I mean—!" The blood drained from her face, and she clamped her mouth shut.

"It's all right, Miss Delucca.” Though Mr. Zanotto's expression seemed to be very clear that it was not all right. "Perhaps you can tell me about some of your other previous work history?"

"Um... uh..." She wrung her hands, looking left and right as she tried to remember. Work history—she worked for Loboto for so long, but before that she'd worked... at the Asylum? But should she say that? Maybe he wouldn't want to know she'd worked at Thorney Towers—there was a reason it had closed down, after all. And before that she'd... been a patient there, and before that... she... she didn't remember, but she'd worked somewhere, probably, right?

It took her a moment to realize she was staring down at the floor, her hands gripping her head. Frantically she sat back up in her seat, looking Mr. Zanotto in the eyes, but he looked so horrified—of course he was, she couldn't even tell him her work history. This was a disaster—

"...Miss Delucca," Mr. Zanotto said slowly. "You should know that this is just a formality."

Sheegor took a shaky breath, trying to fight back the sobs that choked her throat. "Y-yes..." she squeaked with a little nod. "I understand..."

"There's no need to be—"

"I know, I know!" she cried. "There's no need for this..." Sniffling, she backed away from the table. "I'll tell Mr. Nein that I wasn't hired."

To her surprise, Mr. Zanotto stepped out from around the table, holding up a hand to stop her. "Wait," he said, and she stepped back. "Miss Delucca—or, would you prefer I call you a different name?"

Looking away, Sheegor wrung her hands. "I... um... you can call me whatever you like."

"But is there one you would like to be called?"

She couldn't wrap her head around why he was asking this, and the question itself made her head hurt. "I-I don't know. I think... I like..." Her voice went quiet. "...Sheegor?"

"Then that's what I'll call you." Mr. Zanotto went on: "Sheegor, when I say that this is just a formality, I mean you've already got the job. I trust Sasha's judgment—most of the time, anyway—and I just wanted to make sure we have all the paperwork, and that I can tell Hollis that we've conducted an interview so she'll be happy."

Sheegor blinked, looking back at Mr. Zanotto, who was staring at her with a look that was still definitely not happy—a look of... concern?

He sighed, glancing out the window and down at the atrium. "Sasha told me that you've been working for Dr. Loboto—"

"Not anymore!" she cried, shaking her head. "I never want to work for him ever again! I-I can't, anyway... now that—"

Mr. Zanotto held up his hands. "I know, I know. He told me about the hostage situation and that you'd had... a rough time under his employment."

"Y-yeah..." Sheegor admitted, looking down, only to stomp her foot. "He was so mean to Mr. Pokeylope! And to the patients, and to the brains, and—"

"And to you," Mr. Zanotto finished.

The rage Sheegor felt quickly drained, and she looked down at the floor. "I... um..."

"This will take some getting used to, I know, but here, you won't be treated the same way you were under his employment. We want you to be happy, as well as safe."

She looked at him again, and he looked so... serious. Like he really meant what he was saying. It was like... Mr. Pokeylope.

Were there really that many other people... like that?

Sheegor stared at Mr. Zanotto for another long moment before slowly nodding. "...Okay, Mr. Zanotto. I hope you're right."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Welcome to the Psychonauts, Sheegor."

[whistlingstarlight]

Random little story about the Thorney Towers residents, mainly Sheegor/Penelope. Set when Fred is still Chief Orderly.

(Fair warning the orderlies do not always treat the patients very kindly, and there are mentions of electroshock therapy)

Sparking Friendships

The asylum frightened Penelope. The gloomy hallways, the cold looks from the orderlies, the treatment equipment. She'd been admitted to the asylum by her family due to her severe fear of... well, almost everything, and the new environment only added to those fears.

They treated her with exposure therapy mostly. Forcing her to get uncomfortably close and personal to the things that frightened her, not giving up no matter how much she sobbed, begged and pleaded to be allowed to leave.

The electricity scared her most of all. It hurt, it left her confused and disorientated, and if it was meant to be making her less scared then it had the complete opposite effect. She found herself flinching just when the lightbulbs flickered.

The art therapy was alright, at least. Mister Teglee, one of the other patients, helped her with her paintings. She knew he was admitted due to obsessive compulsions and anger issues, he'd said as much, but he was endlessly kind and patient with her. Turtles, she liked painting turtles best. She wasn't scared of those.

They'd allowed her a small, plush turtle toy, a rare treat at the asylum. She clutched it tightly now, sitting on a bench in the garden. It was fairly quiet now, but how could she be sure it would stay peaceful? Gloria sometimes came into the garden, and she could be... unpredictable.

She squealed and flinched back at a sudden clunk from beside her. One of the orderlies had parked a wheelchair beside her, Crispin Whytehead slumped in it.

"There you are, dearie, you can sit with Inmate Delucca here." The orderly's tone was falsely bright and cheery. Demeaning.

Penelope hated how the orderlies talked to Crispin, on the rare occasions they actually did. They talked down to him like they were talking to a child. It wasn't fair, she thought; Crispin was mostly unresponsive, yes, but he was still a grown adult.

They hurt him with the electricity too. She'd overheard Chief Orderly Bonaparte talking about it, an attempt to 'stimulate his brain activity'. She didn't understand how shocking her was meant to calm her down, but get Crispin more active. It didn't seem to be having the desired effect for either of them.

"H-Hello, Crispin." She squeaked. The small man didn't answer, but she noticed a visible relax in his tensed shoulders.

"I-It's sunny t-today. Th-The flowers are looking nice, the p-pansies have started b-blooming. They're purple a-and white and yellow."

Crispin's eyesight was quite poor. She didn't need to overhear anything to know that; there were milky-blue patches forming over his pupils. She wasn't sure how bad his eyes were, whether he could see the flowers she was describing, but she figured it couldn't hurt to talk. He was one of the few people here that didn't frighten her.

She kept talking for a while, describing anything she could see; inmates and orderlies walking by, the other flowerbeds, a scraggy crow that landed on the high wall of the courtyard. Occasionally, Crispin made small noises she could only assume were responses, so she kept talking. He wasn't completely unresponsive, like some of the orderlies seemed to think.

She paused, glancing over at her friend. Were they friends? She hoped so, she'd never really had a friend before. She frowned slightly.

"They need to wash your hair." She murmured softly, taking note of the greasy sheen of the man's hair. Penelope's own hair had gone white long ago, wiry from the electroshock therapy.

"Inmate Whytehead, Delucca!" Chief Orderly Bonaparte loomed over them.

Penelope couldn't tell if Orderly Bonaparte scared her or not. He was usually quite nice, often willing to listen or try something new, but sometimes... sometimes he wasn't so nice. Not when he hurt them with the electricity.

"Come on now, you need to be elsewhere. Delucca, you've got an art therapy session now. You're making progress there, I hear. That's good."

He jerked Crispin's wheelchair back a little too sharply, setting off whilst another orderly came to escort Penelope to her next session.

[britishsass]

I'm thinking about Sheegor and Fred being friends again :) it just makes me really happy to think about them relying on each other.

[aquato-family-circus]

Lipo doc apparently says that sheegor's name is Penelope delucca

Interesting 🤔

[technovillain]

I kno sheegor doesn’t have much going on with her but maybe if u had any ideas for her mind 👀?

Answering this way later but it's been on the backburner of my mind... Think it would be funny if her mind was like. A brain farm.

Since her life working under Loboto is an endless search of trying to find suitable brains, I think her being a farmhand with an endless list of tasks in her own mind would be a fun analogy. Like a big open field full of "brain plants" growing, the farmhouse we can't see inside of but that's where the yelling comes from (Loboto's voice), a barn full of weird mechanical cow-things (like the brain tanks). She has to get the "feed" to the "cows" (brains to the tanks) but the field is plagued by a giant swarm of locusts (those darned flying anxiety bugs!) At the edge of the farm is a comically enforced fence for a farm. Through the fence you can see a sprawling field with a beautiful lake in the middle, full of turtles that call out to her to join them for a swim. The whole mind would have a very home-y comforting vibe to it if it weren't also an oppressively hot summer day. It's like...her entire brain is overheating. I am personally a believer that despite her meekness and anxiety, Sheegor harbors a deep-seated rage. She wants to go ham, go crazy, go apeshit.

So yeah. I kind of headcanon all of this because she grew up on a farm and takes great comfort in it. Sheegor lives in a constant state of trying to go to her happy place, only to find it scary and tainted by her fears and anxieties, not to mention the fact that she is trapped. Also a "Penelope Delucca" truther, and think that she was probably called Penny growing up.

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Bad Things Happen Bingo card. Various prompts are marked with a half-brain (prompt requested but not filled) or full-brain (prompt requested and finished) symbol, while the “Who Did This to You?” prompt specifically is marked with a full brain symbol. /end ID]

OKAY! It’s been a while, but here’s my third fic for my @badthingshappenbingo​ challenge!

I am currently NO LONGER OPEN FOR REQUESTS. I have enough to work on to get a bingo! I MAY decide to reopen prompts later if I want to keep going after finishing these fics, but for now, requests are closed!

This request comes from @i-am-but-a-beta-fish​! I spun it a bit different from the original prompt but I hope you enjoy! Thanks to @jaywings​ and @of-science-and-stars​ for beta-reading!

Also a quick note--this fic takes place in the same ‘verse as most of my other fics. You don’t need to have read those to understand this, though (just know that Loboto’s hanging around the Motherlobe for reasons).

[ID: A Psychonauts fanfic banner on a black-to-gray gradient background. On the left in white text it says “Prompt #3: Who Did This to You?” On the right are two animated figments overlapping each other: a gray-blue broken chunk of a stone wall, and a red blood splatter in front of it, the blood appearing to besplattered on the side and on the “floor” in front of the chunk. /end ID]

Prompt: Who Did This to You? Characters: Razputin Aquato and Linda the Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata (and also Mr. Pokeylope, Sheegor, Ford Cruller, Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, Caligosto Loboto, Otto Mentallis, and (briefly) Hollis Forsythe.) Warnings: Blood, injury, (SPOILERS: broken bones, implied animal abuse, amputation)

---~~~---

It started with a scream from Sasha's lab.

Raz, who had been on his way to check in on Loboto's progress for that day, took an abrupt turn toward the agent wing instead, barreling into the lab on his lev ball. Apparently Milla had had the same idea, as she was there as well, both she and Sasha hovering over a very distressed Sheegor. Papers were scattered across the floor around where the lab assistant stood, and she was covering her face in her oversized gloves, sobbing uncontrollably into them.

"Miss Delucca, please calm down and tell us what's going on," Sasha demanded.

"It will be all right, Penelope," Milla said, crouching closer to her and placing a comforting hand on her back. "Please tell us what's wrong, darling."

"What's going on?" Raz asked, dismissing his lev ball as he approached the group. Is Sheegor okay? he added to Sasha.

She just started screaming, Sasha replied with a concerned frown. We've yet to determine the cause.

Putting a hand to his chin, Raz pondered what might cause Sheegor to act like this when a thought struck him. "Sheegor, is it Mr. Pokeylope?"

Sheegor lifted her head, giving a tiny nod before she broke out into another wail, burying her face into her hands once more.

"What’s wrong?" Raz edged in closer next to her. "Is he hurt?"

"It's—it's not him," Sheegor finally gasped, pulling her hands away. "H-he's scared, but he's... it's...!" And once again she broke down into sobs.

"Scared?" Raz's brows knit in consternation. "I don't think I've ever seen him get scared. He's the one who took down Loboto the first time!"

Sasha and Milla exchanged glances. "It must be serious, then," Milla said, and Sasha nodded.

"Is there something dangerous at the camp?"

"I—I—I think there w-was..." Sheegor replied.

"A security breach," Sasha said, and he and Milla immediately began marching out of the lab. "We'll see to this immediately."

Raz nearly turned to follow them when a soft voice stopped them all in their tracks:

"No."

Turning around, he saw Sheegor staring directly at him. Though tear stains marred her face, her eyes were clear. Without warning, she lunged forward, grabbing Raz's hands.

"She wants you."

With a terrible yank, they were gone.

—~~~---

Raz gasped, stumbling in the sudden cold and darkness. The wind whipped at his trench coat, and cold water crashed against the sand, illuminated by the moonlight above. Whipping his head around, he spotted Sheegor next to him, and just past where the stood was the ruins of Thorney Towers.

He had barely a moment to register just where he was when a burning psychic blast struck him square in the chest, knocking him off his feet. "Oof!" he grunted, crashing backwards into the sand. "What the—"

Seeing another psi-blast aimed straight for him, he rolled to the side, while Sheegor gasped in horror.

"Hang on, Sheegor, I'll take care of—"

"MR. POKEYLOPE!" she shrieked, charging further down the shoreline.

Jumping to his feet and keeping a hand against his chest, Raz followed her to find the turtle in question standing by the water, feet braced against the sand and eyes shut tight. The only indication that he was aware of his surroundings was the green psychic energy that formed in front of his forehead, preparing to shape into yet another psi-blast. Before it could manifest, Sheegor scooped him up into her arms, and he gave a start.

"B-baby...?" he stammered, finally opening his eyes.

"Mr. Pokeylope, it's me!" Sheegor cried, tears stinging at her eyes. "We came as soon as we could!"

It was hard to read an animal's face to begin with, let alone a tiny snapping turtle's face in the moonlight, but Raz swore he could sense a faint smile from Mr. Pokeylope. "W-what took you so long, honey?"

"Okay, this is very touching, but seriously, what are we doing here?" Raz demanded, stomping up to the turtle. Sheegor pulled him away protectively. "You said there was danger. What's going on?"

Mr. Pokeylope drew his head back, his normally-smooth voice shaky and thick. "I-it's Linda."

The words Sheegor had said before teleporting Raz struck him, and he charged past Sheegor further down the shoreline. "Where is she?! Linda, where are—"

Raz darted around a huge chunk of rubble, possibly a former wall of the old asylum, and skidded to a halt.

Lying halfway on water and halfway on land was an enormous, lumpy mass, heaving in shallow gasps. A shiny trail of dark liquid in the sand led up to it, and it took a few moments for the shock of the sight to give way to horror as Raz realized just what that trail was.

"...Linda?" he gasped, his legs feeling numb as he willed himself closer to her.

The mass turned slightly, and a gleaming yellow eye, half-open, stared back at Raz. Come closer, Razputin, she said, her lungs heaving all the while.

Raz stepped around to face her from the front, and his stomach twisted at the sight of an enormous chunk of debris immediately next to the mutant lungfish, pressing against her head and pinning her right arm. With a horrified gasp, Raz put one hand on his temple and stretched his other hand outward, manifesting a TK hand that grasped the chunk of rock. It was heavy, which was to be expected, and he clenched his teeth, eyes narrow and hand trembling as he finally lifted the rock off of Linda's arm.

Linda's whole body gave a jerk, her eyes bulging before shutting tightly, and a low moan emanated from deep within her. Thank you, she gasped, though even her mental voice was strained.

Meanwhile, Raz tossed the debris into the water and away from the fish. "How are you feeling now?"

I am in pain.

The simple statement hit him hard in the gut, and he wrapped his arms around himself.

A high-pitched gasp made him turn his head, and he saw Sheegor covering her mouth, glancing between him and Linda and looking like she might burst into tears all over again. Feeling something nudge his foot, he looked down to see Mr. Pokeylope staring up at him pleadingly.

"Can you help?"

Raz faced Linda again, looking her over: two nasty-looking gashes marred her side closer to the beach, probably the cause of the blood trails, while her right arm... He had to move slightly into the water to see it, but when he did, he immediately looked away, nausea surging through him. Though her limbs had never looked natural, even in the moonlight he could see that her arm was bent at multiple very unnatural angles.

Turning back to Pokeylope, he shook his head and put his hands on the sides of his helmet. "I-I can't do anything about this but..." He thought of sending for Compton—he was good with animals, but how well could he handle the stress of this situation? But then if not Compton, then who…

A thought struck him, but he hesitated; getting him involved in something like this could end badly, and Raz had grown a bit more hesitant to speak to him as of late. Could there be someone else…?

As he thought it over, the ground trembled beneath him as a deep moan rumbled within Linda’s throat. Mr. Pokeylope nudged his foot again, his eyes darting between him and the dark blood on the shore.

Raz steeled himself, and he looked at Sheegor. "Ford Cruller," he said. "Can you bring Agent Cruller here?"

Sheegor perked up and gave a serious nod. The beach seemed to flash around her as though illuminated by distant lightning, and without another word she disappeared.

While Sheegor left, Raz took another moment to look Linda over, and then inspected parts of the beach again. He spotted the two chunks of cement that had caused the gashes on her head, thanks to the dark stains upon them. "You guys probably shouldn't be hanging around this place," he remarked. "It doesn't really seem all that safe."

Mr. Pokeylope stomped one of his feet into the shallow water with an indignant splash. "This wasn't an accident."

A bolt ran up Raz's spine. "It... wasn't?"

Before the turtle could answer, there was another flash, and suddenly Sheegor and a very bewildered Ford Cruller were standing on the beach, the former grasping the latter's arms. Ford, while in his Psychonaut uniform, was also wearing a pair of slippers, indicating that he hadn't exactly been on-duty when Sheegor had summoned him. He blinked once, twice, looked at the ruins before them, then shot an accusing glare at Sheegor.

"What in sam hill am I doin' out here?!" he cried, yanking his arms away and looking about ready to smack her. "I already came out here with Lucy, and I wasn't plannin' on goin' on a retreat with some other woman!"

"I'm sorry, Ford," Raz said, stepping toward him, and Ford snapped his head in his direction, his bushy brows raised. "I couldn't think of who else to ask for help. And we really, really need it right now..."

When Raz looked back at Linda, Ford followed his gaze, and Raz could feel the anger that radiated from his old mentor slowly fade.

"...I see," he said, arms falling to his sides. "Been a hot minute since I've had ranger duty—or camp nurse duty, for that matter—but I'll see if I can't sort this out. Let's see what I still have in the cabin." With that, he popped out of existence in a rush of green psychic energy and a brief scattering of sand. Raz and Sheegor watched the spot he'd stood in, occasionally looking back at Linda every so often to see how she was doing; her eyes were still shut, and her breathing still shaky.

It was only a moment before Ford popped back onto the beach, now carrying multiple first-aid kits and, bizarrely, wearing a nurse's cap. Noting their stares, he shot the others a look. "What? If I'm gonna act as a nurse again, I gotta look the part."

"So long as you do something!" Sheegor cried, and Ford rolled his eyes.

"Was thinkin' of just hangin' out back at the lodge," he muttered, striding up to Linda and frowning. "Can you hear me, Lumpy?"

It is Linda. She opened one eye a fraction to give him a look.

"Right. Just gonna be lookin' this over." As he opened one of the first aid kits, Ford hovered up into the air until he was level with the top of Linda's head. "If you're good, you'll get a psi-pop when I'm done."

Wonderful. With a deep sigh, Linda shut her eye again.

At first Raz watched Ford get to work, but when he started cleaning the wound, Raz winced and crouched down closer to Linda's face. "Don't worry, Ford's gonna take care of you." I hope, he added in a silent, guarded thought.

"He'd better!" Mr. Pokeylope snapped. It was strange to see him so aggravated, especially when he'd been calm and silent on the night Loboto had tried to make soup out of him.

"Shhh, Mr. Pokeylope." Sheegor scooped him up, even as he continued to glare at Ford. "Let him work! These people are nice. Not like the doctor."

Any other time Raz might've pointed out that Loboto was starting to do better now, but this was neither the time nor the audience for it. Thankfully Linda took them off the subject: I... I am grateful for your help, Razputin.

"Yeah, and not for the help of the old man actually cleanin' your wounds," Ford muttered, and Linda let out a tired rumble in response.

"This... really wasn't an accident?" Raz asked, dreading the answer. Up above, Ford stopped muttering, one of his eyes briefly skewing toward them.

Slowly her eyes opened to slits, both of them trained on Raz. No.

Flinching, Raz sat back on the beach, a sickness stirring in his stomach before it began to burn, the heat making his way to his face and his hands, which clenched at his side. He stood up, looking her in the eye.

"Who did this to you?"

"A trespasser!" Mr. Pokeylope cried, squirming in Sheegor's grip. "A low-down fool—!"

"Trespasser?" Ford finally turned his full attention to the people standing below. "Who? How?"

Linda drew in a deep breath and let it out in a groan. A young human... older than Razputin, yet not fully grown... He came here from the other side of Lake Oblongata, on a boat...

"A... teenager?" Raz said, brow furrowing, while Ford hummed in thought.

He tried to make it to the camp, but stopped first at the ruins... there, Sam and I intercepted him.

"We wouldn't let 'im pass," Mr. Pokeylope said as Sheegor patted his shell.

We did not wish to hurt him... only for him to leave. But... Linda paused, drawing in another deep, hissing breath.

Mr. Pokeylope was hissing as well, his eyes narrow. "He attacked us."

Sheegor let out a soft gasp, hugging the turtle.

He attacked me, Linda said, looking at Mr. Pokeylope for a moment. He did not see you.

"He... he made the debris fall on you?" Raz frowned up at the ruins. "How did he—?"

He was psychic, like you and I.

"So that's it," Ford said, perking up. "It was one of them dang hooligans! They think just 'cause they came here as a kid, they can just stroll on up to the campgrounds to cause mischief or relive nostalgia. Hmph!" With a grunt, he went back to his work, now cleaning the other wound on Linda's head. "Only the counselors are allowed to do that."

"So it was... a former camper," Raz said, then shook his head. "They came here and did... this to you?!"

"Told you, I like this guy, baby," Mr. Pokeylope muttered to Sheegor with a grin.

Razputin. Linda opened her eyes a fraction wider, focusing on Raz and bathing him in the yellow glow. Did you not do the same to me, when we first met?

Raz gave a start as the memories of the air bubble and the fight in Shaky Claim came rushing back. Meanwhile, a series of short snaps erupted behind him as Mr. Pokeylope abruptly changed his tune, chomping his beak in Raz's direction. He looked back at the turtle, then at the lungfish, holding up his hands and giving them apologetic looks. "I—I'm sorry, Linda, I shouldn't have—"

I was under the control of Kochamara at the time. I do not fault you for defending yourself.

"Yeah, but this guy wasn't defending himself!" Raz cried, gesturing out toward the blood-splattered chunks of debris. "You weren't gonna hurt him!"

No. But I do not fault him for defending himself, either.

"What—?!" Sheegor cried, nearly dropping Pokeylope. "B-but he—!"

Meanwhile the anger drained from the turtle, who looked at Linda with shock and sadness. "Linda...?"

"What do you mean you don't fault him?" Raz demanded, stomping his foot into the sand. "He tried to kill you!"

It is dark here, and I am a frightening sight. Slowly Linda shut her eyes. He is not to blame for acting in fear.

"But... but he shouldn't have been trespassing!" Raz held his hands out imploringly. "You can blame him for that, right?"

"Maybe," Ford spoke up, glancing over his shoulder, "but you ain't one to talk about that, mister circus runaway."

"Huh? But—oh." Wrapping his arms around himself, Raz looked away. "Yeah, but... I... I wasn't trying to cause trouble, at least. But he—!"

It is done, Razputin. There is no need for anger now.

"Well you're free to think that, honey," Mr. Pokeylope said, squirming until Sheegor finally set him down. He marched up to where the lungfish lay, his movements short and furious. "But if I see 'im I'm gonna bite 'im a new—"

Without opening her eyes, Linda raised up her good arm and flattened him into the sand with her fin.

Pokeylope grumbled, but relaxed, nuzzling into her hand. "I'm sorry, Linda," he sighed. "This got me all worked up."

Raz couldn't deny that he felt much the same; in spite of Linda's words, he still shook with emotion. "But it's... it's not fair."

"Yeah?" Ford eyed him. "When's life ever been that way?"

"Huh?" Raz looked up at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"I..." Sheegor stepped forward, tugging at one of her gloves. "I think Agent Cruller means that things really aren't fair, most of the time." She wandered up to where Mr. Pokeylope sat beneath Linda's fin, and crouched near them, putting her own hand over Linda's. "But that's... that's why we should care about others. For when it's not fair." Hesitantly she glanced back up at Ford. "Right?"

Ford shrugged. "More or less. Somethin' around that, anyway."

"Oh, yay!" Sheegor clapped her gloved hands together before placing one back on Linda's fin again.

Raz looked around at the others before heaving a shaky sigh. "I think I get it," he said, sitting beside Linda's good fin as well and placing his hand on it. He rubbed the slimy appendage, trying not to wince at the slime that got on his glove. "But... I hope you'll be okay, Linda."

Finally she opened her eyes, giving him a look full of a warmth that he wouldn't have thought her capable of. ...And I as well, Razputin.

After exchanging a worried look with Sheegor, Raz turned his gaze upward. "How's it looking, Ford?"

"Well she's got more lumps than Otto puts in his tea," Ford grunted. "Makes the stitching harder than it should be. But she should be all right once that's done."

The tension dropped so quickly from Raz' shoulders that he nearly fell over backwards. "That's a relief!" he cried, only to pause. "...Wait, what about her arm?"

Ford paused in his work. "Arm?" Frowning, he hovered over Linda's head to peek over at her other side. "Now you're telling me she's also got a—ohhh."

As quickly as the relief had come, it vanished, leaving a chill in Raz's chest. Shakily he rose to his feet, walking over to Linda's other side. Ford was standing in the shallow water, staring at her mangled arm. "There... there was another rock that had crushed it," Raz explained, keeping his gaze on Ford and fighting to avoid looking at the arm again. "I got it off her, but..."

After taking a few moments to walk around the limb and shine a flashlight on it, Ford reached down to try grabbing it. When Linda let out a deep, pained grunt, he straightened his back, shaking his head. "I'm a jack-of-all-trades, but this one's a bit beyond my abilities."

"No!" Raz cried. His stomach dropped and tears stung at his eyes as he ran up to Ford and grabbed his sleeve."Please, Ford, you've gotta do something, you can't leave her like this!"

"Why do I gotta do everything?" Ford snapped, yanking his hand away.

Before Raz could get over his shock, the sound of sand rapidly being slapped at with tiny feet preceded Mr. Pokeylope charging out from under Linda's fin and up to Ford, chomping on one of his soggy slippers. "Thath' why!" the turtle grunted, beak firmly latched onto the fluffy rabbit head.

"Hey!" Ford kicked off the slipper, sending Mr. Pokeylope flying.

With a horrified shriek, Sheegor caught the turtle, then shot Ford a glare to rival the ones she gave Loboto. "Don't you dare be mean to Mr. Pokeylope and Linda, you, you—"

"Would y'all stop and listen?" Stomping a soggy sock into the shallow water, Ford gave each of them a look. "If you want her to get better, we gotta move her."

"Wait—move her?" Raz looked quickly between Linda and Ford. It took a moment for the gears to click into place. "Y-you mean... take her back to the Motherlobe?"

I am in no condition to swim, Linda protested, eyeing Ford.

"Good thing that ain't what I'm askin' you to do." Heading back onto the dry land, Ford approached Sheegor and, without looking away, yanked his missing slipper away from Mr. Pokeylope and slid it back onto his foot. "You. Gonna need your help with this."

"M-me?" Sheegor stammered. "What do I have to do?"

Ford fixed her with a hard gaze. "You gotta think real hard, because if we screw this up, things are gonna get real messy."

Swallowing, Sheegor hugged Mr. Pokeylope close to herself. She looked to Raz, then Linda, then down at Mr. Pokeylope, who nodded to her. "...Okay. What do I have to think about?"

"Tell me," Ford went on. "What part of the Motherlobe do you know best?"

Raz had already guessed what she would answer before her face lit up.

—-~~~---

There was a brief, ear-splitting shriek; several surprised shouts; a frantic snapping; a deep, guttural croak; and a shockingly loud thud-SPLAT as everyone abruptly found themselves in the middle of Sasha's lab. Raz was clinging to Ford's leg for dear life, Mr. Pokeylope was snapping his beak and scrambling his legs as he tried to stay atop Sheegor's hump, and Sheegor and Ford stood with their hands on either side of Linda, who now lay in the middle of the floor, dripping slime, mud, and lake water.

Sasha, Milla, and Hollis, who had apparently been in the middle of a heated discussion, all stared at them. A cigarette fell from Sasha's lips, the color draining from his face.

Silence hung over the room.

Ford put a gentle hand on Raz's shoulder, and he gave a start, letting go and stepping back. With a casual hum of approval, Ford nodded to the other agents in the room. "Well, that's that. I'll leave you to it," he said, and strode toward the exit, his bunny slippers slapping wetly against the pristine floor and leaving mud tracks behind. "I'm goin' to bed."

All eyes were on Ford, but he said nothing more, and the door slid shut behind him. Everyone's gazes turned to Linda, and then, slowly, to Raz.

"...Agent Aquato," Hollis said, with a practiced, slow calmness that held back a burning exasperation and anger. "What is the meaning of this?"

Raz held up a finger. "Right. So... I can explain."

—-~~~---

"To start, move your left arm, please," Otto said, glancing up from his clipboard.

A low grumble filled the lab as Linda raised her left arm. After a moment, she subtly scratched at the large stitches that now adorned her head—as subtly as a giant mutant lungfish could do so, anyway.

"Uh-uh, Linda, the nurses said not to touch those," Raz said, crossing his arms.

...You are correct, Razputin, Linda said, drawing her fin away.

Linda still sat in the middle of the lab, which had been scrubbed as clean as it could while housing a giant, mucus-covered fish. Otto stood directly before her, while Raz sat off to the side on the exam table to watch, his feet kicking over the edge. Sheegor sat beside him, holding Mr. Pokeylope in her lap, who watched eagerly. Sasha was nowhere to be found, having decided for a "change of scenery" by switching spaces with Agent Mentallis during Linda's recovery.

The lab wasn't the most ideal place for it, but moving the giant lungfish wasn't an easy task, and with her multiple injuries it was ruled that it would be best for her to stay here for the time being. It had been a long few weeks as some of the healers at the Motherlobe treated Linda's wounds and performed some alarmingly necessary surgeries, while Sheegor and Mr. Pokeylope brought her food and water every day. All the while, Otto had been taking measurements and preparing a new invention, which they were now, finally, testing out.

"Very good!" Otto said, smiling as he checked something on his clipboard. "You can lower that now."

With another low grumble, Linda lowered her arm, resting it on the floor.

"Good job, baby," Mr. Pokeylope said, cocking his head. "You're a natural."

Waving the turtle off, Linda let out a low chuckle.

"Now... can you raise your right arm?"

Linda hesitated.

"Take your time."

Linda's gaze turned to Raz, who gave her an encouraging nod. Shutting her eyes, she concentrated... and with a series of mechanical whirs, her prosthetic limb raised up from where it had been resting at her side. The leather strap that attached it to her tugged gently at her body, while the shiny gray casing reflected the multicolored lights of the nearby consoles as it moved upward.

"It worked!" Raz cheered, jumping up from his seat, and Sheegor let out a high pitched woo! next to him, holding Mr. Pokeylope up in the air.

"Wonderful!" Otto cheered, grinning as he stepped closer to the limb. "Fantastic work!"

It feels... strange...

"Oh, that's perfectly normal! It's not exactly made of the same stuff as your old limb, after all." Reaching out, Otto knocked his bony knuckles against the casing. "It's metal—stainless, of course—with some rubber between your fingers there. Try wiggling them!"

Opening her right eye, Linda stared at her right hand, where a transparent rubber was stretched over the metal claws, forming a fin. After taking a moment, she twitched each finger once before slowly wiggling them, watching the clear material stretch between the digits.

"Good. And how about the other fin?"

Like her left arm, her right bore a smaller fin on one side of it, this one equipped with rubber webbing as well. With a bit of concentration, she managed to flex it.

"Excellent! You're well on your way to mastering your new limb."

Linda flexed her fin and claws a few more times before lowering her arm, sighing. It is... very different, she admitted. But... Her eyes gleamed. Perhaps I can... explore the waters outside soon.

"Don't go too fast," Raz said, walking over to her right side to look the limb over. "You'll still want some practice with that."

She turned to him, and he could hear the amused smile in her voice. I do not think I shall drown, Razputin.

"Uhhh... yeah, good point." Raz scratched the back of his neck. "It really does look like you'll get the hang of this soon, though."

"Absolutely," Otto agreed, patting the side of the mechanical limb. "With practice, it'll perform better than your old one!"

With a quiet rumble, Linda jerked her prosthetic limb away. She held her right fin with her left, staring down at it and feeling the artificial webbing.

Frowning, Raz rubbed his chin, then perked up. "Oh! Hey, Agent Mentallis, I know you wanted to just keep things simple today, but... since there really shouldn't be too much danger, how about we take things for a test drive?"

Linda looked up, and Otto gave a hum. "I like the idea, though I haven't alerted Ford yet. Not to mention, is our dear lab assistant up to the task—?"

"Woah!" Mr. Pokeylope scrambled his limbs to stay on the examination table as Sheegor abruptly disappeared. He looked around, then let out a chuckle. "There's your answer."

A few moments later, Sheegor re-appeared in a flash of light, holding Ford in front of her, as though she'd just grabbed him from behind. This time he was wearing an old suit, and appeared to have been in the process of straightening a bowtie when he'd been snagged. He stood still, eyes wide.

"Ah, good to see you, Ford," Otto said with a raised brow. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything important."

Ford shot a glare at Otto. "I got a date with Lucy tonight!"

"Good, so it wasn't anything too dire."

Raz covered his face to hide his laughter.

Before Ford could protest, Otto went on, "We're moving ahead with... well, moving our subject. Would you mind...?"

Looking back at Linda, Ford heaved a sigh. "All right. But does that other young lady got the spot figured out?"

"Sure do!" Sheegor, who was still holding Ford, chimed in. "I can show you!"

"Now wait—"

The two disappeared with another flash of light.

Otto chuckled. "He is going to be ranting about this tonight."

With another flash, the two returned, Ford looking even more frazzled than before. "All right!" he cried, waving Sheegor off. "All right! Let's get this over with." As Sheegor stepped away, he pointed a finger in her face. "And never do this to me again, you hear?"

"Okay!" Sheegor nodded cheerfully.

"Do... we have to teleport with you?" Raz asked as Sheegor and Ford went to either side of Linda.

"Nope! You can meet us outside," Sheegor said. She pressed her gloves against Linda's right side, while Ford pressed his hands against her left.

"Got it. C'mon, guys!" With that, Raz hurried toward the Otto B.O.N., TKing Mr. Pokeylope into his messenger bag as he did so, and Otto followed directly behind. Moments later, they emerged out in front of the Motherlobe. "Where'd they go...?" Raz squinted in the evening sun, gazing out over the flooded quarry.

"Oh, Sheegor and I picked out a real nice place," Mr. Pokeylope said, popping out of Raz's messenger bag, his front feet hanging over the side. He pointed the toe of one of his boots out over the quarry. "Should be right over..."

"EEK!"

"AAAGH!"

Thud-SPLAT.

"...there."

On the tiny nearby island, a few startled goats fled from the two people and the giant lungfish that had abruptly appeared where they'd been grazing. Sheegor quickly recovered, and while Ford looked somewhat shaken, he stepped back, patted Linda on the side, then shook the slime off his hands. "All right, enough of that," Ford snapped. "If you wanna move Miss Lumpy again here, find someone else skilled in teleportation."

Raz, meanwhile, hurried over to the island. “Thanks, Ford.”

"Don't mention it," Ford shot back. "If you do, I'm teleporting you straight into the lake." With that, he disappeared.

You humans are very kind, Linda remarked. ...If abrasive.

"Well, that's Ford for you," Otto said with a chuckle as he stood at the edge of the Motherlobe’s platform.

"And now you're outside!" Sheegor exclaimed as she pulled Mr. Pokeylope out of Raz's bag and hugged him. "Isn't it nice?"

With a quiet rumble, Linda reached out with her left fin to touch the surface of the water, and shut her eyes. It is not Lake Oblongata... but I am glad to be near the water once more.

"Would you like to take a swim, then?" Otto asked.

With a start, Linda pulled her arm away, and looked over at her prosthetic fin, turning it this way and that.

"I did test that in the water, and it won't rust. It'll propel you just like your old arm did, hypothetically. Why not try it out?"

Linda took a few steps closer to the water, then hesitated, glancing over at Raz. He patted her side. "You'll be okay, Linda. You said you can't drown, right?"

That is not what I fear, but... you are right. Shutting her eyes, Linda stepped into the water, dipping just beneath the surface.

Raz, Sheegor, and Otto all watched eagerly, while Mr. Pokeylope urged Sheegor to set him down. He marched over to the surface of the water, looking down into it and tilting his head. "You doin' all right there, baby?"

After a few moments, Linda emerged again, grasping one of the large rocks on the island with her good fin. It is... quite different...

"Have you had any trouble moving?" Otto asked. "If there's anything wrong, I can take it back to the lab or to my workshop to fix it."

No... I believe it will merely take... getting used to.

"Ah. That's how it is, or so I'm told."

"You've just gotta practice," Raz said. He sat cross-legged at the water's edge, and placed a hand to his temple in concentration. A hand rose up out of the water, giving Linda a thumbs-up before descending again. "I've been doing that with my hydrokinesis, too. It took me a while to get the hang of it."

I see... Linda looked down at the water, then over at her mechanical fin, rumbling softly in thought.

"If you're up for it, let's see some more!" Otto said, waving Linda toward the water. "Go on and give it another go."

Linda said nothing, but after a moment complied, dipping back into the water. Mr. Pokeylope joined her this time, diving in and swimming alongside her.

Raz watched them from the shore, moving to lay on his stomach and rest his chin on his arms. It was a bit difficult to see them with the water distortion, but her swimming looked a lot jerkier than he remembered. Granted, he remembered watching her swim several months ago, and he'd been more focused on not dying at the time. "Well, she's... definitely swimming in there."

"Yep! Mr. Pokeylope looks like he's having fun, too." Sheegor stared down into the water, smiling fondly, only to give a start. "Oh—! Mr. Mentallis, since Linda's out of the lab now, does that mean—?"

Otto perked up. "Ah, yes! I should be able to swap with Sasha to get my workshop back. I'm sure he'll be happy to have his old lab back again."

"Oh no! I'll need to go clean that up!" Sheegor wrung her hands, looking anxiously between Otto and the water. "T-tell Mr. Pokeylope I'll just be back inside!" With that, Sheegor disappeared in a flash of light.

Frowning, Raz looked back at Otto. "Is it okay to switch places again, though? What if this needs more work?"

"I can easily do any necessary adjustments back at my workshop! The trouble was just moving Linda out of Sasha's lab. As that problem has passed, there should be no issue with resuming our usual stations."

"So..." Raz looked back down at the water. "Are you sure this is gonna work?"

"No, not especially," Otto replied with a shrug. "But that's why we're testing it. Already though it's been doing quite well."

"What's been doing quite well?" a new voice piped up from a short distance off.

Raz jumped up from where he'd been sitting to find Loboto storming out from the Motherlobe. "Loboto! I didn't think you'd be coming out here—"

"There you are! I've been looking for you!" Loboto cried as he approached, only to balk before coming closer to Otto. "Well, not you, but I've been looking for my son!"

"Daughter," Raz corrected, deadpan. "And she's not really your daughter."

"Oh, phtttbbt." Loboto waved a claw, sticking out his tongue. "She's my kid and I'll call her what I want! But the problem is, she's not anywhere! Or... not in the lab, anyway."

"How do you know that?" Otto asked with a raised brow. "Weren't you strictly forbidden from the lab for the time being?"

"No."

Raz winced, looking between Loboto and the water. "I'm pretty sure you were—"

"Nope, not anymore!" Loboto strode closer to the edge of the platform, still keeping his distance from Otto.

"Oh? Did someone give you permission to go there?"

"Yes." Frowning (as much as he could frown), Loboto put his hands on his hips. "I did!"

"I... didn't think that was how that worked," Raz remarked.

"It does when you have kids!"

"But you don't—"

"Where is she, anyway? You'd think a lungfish that large would be easy to spot."

As if on cue, Linda broke through the surface of the water, holding her prosthesis in her left fin. It is still a strange feeling, she remarked, but perhaps I will— She looked up, locking eyes with Loboto. Oh.

Loboto's loupes twitched this way and that as he took in Linda's appearance before he gave a gasp of horror. "Linda!" he cried. "What happened?!" Stumbling forward, he fell off the platform and crashed headfirst into the water, only to scramble back up onto the island that Raz occupied. Linda and Mr. Pokeylope both glared at him from the water.

"It's okay, Cali," Raz said hurriedly, holding up his hands. "She's fine! Otto and Sheegor and I have been keeping an eye on her and she's doing okay, now."

This didn't stop Loboto from stepping as close to the water's edge as he dared, staring at Linda's prosthetic limb before looking down at his own. "I see," he murmured before his face brightened. "She's becoming just like her old man!"

A number of bubbles appeared around Linda's partially-submerged face as her eyes narrowed further. Without a word, she spun around and dipped into the lake, only for her tail to surface and slap down against the water, creating a wave that struck Loboto directly, knocking him off his feet with an undignified squawk.

"Teenagers," Loboto coughed, pushing himself up on his arms, while Raz hurried up to his side.

"Sorry, Cali," Raz whispered as he helped Loboto to his feet. "Now's not... really a good time."

"It's fine, it's fine, she'll come around," he muttered, brushing some of the water off himself. Sighing, he made his way back toward the Motherlobe. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find Morris so I can borrow his blow-drier again..."

As Loboto left, Raz looked back into the water. It was harder to see Linda as the sky grew darker, but at the moment, he got the impression that she didn't want to be found.

—~~~---

When Linda failed to surface again some time afterward, Otto decided they'd done enough testing for the day anyway, and retired to his workshop to inform Sasha that they'd be switching back. Raz waited a bit longer before heading back to the Questionable Area to where his family was stationed. Even after dinner, though, he couldn't help but wonder about how Linda was doing, and so later that night he found himself hopping through the nearest Otto B.O.N. and out in front of the Motherlobe.

He did not see Linda's lumpy silhouette against the quarry, but he did spot something else distinctly out of place: a long, tube-like object sitting on the shore of the nearby island. Actually, no, it seemed to be two tubes jointed in the middle, with a long strap, and... fins...

Heart jumping into his throat, Raz charged out toward the island, landing on it roughly and kneeling down to get a closer look. It was absolutely Linda's prosthetic limb, though now it bore a few scratches in the metal. His mind raced, trying to conjure up what on earth could have caused that. Was it piranhas? Were there piranhas in the quarry? He hadn't seen them before, but then, he'd never swum in the quarry before, or... anywhere, ever. What if piranhas had chewed on Linda's arm? What if they'd attacked her? What if she was a prey animal to predators in this environment? What if they'd eaten her?! What if her arm was all there was left, and they'd spit it up onto shore, and, and—?!

Razputin.

Raz gave a start, realizing only when he scrubbed at his face that he'd been crying. Looking around, he spotted Linda sitting on one of the nearby logs, her eyes glowing at him from the darkness, her tail wrapped around her side and dangling into the water. He wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there, whether he'd just failed to notice her or if she'd only just surfaced, but he dismissed his earlier panicked thoughts and leaped over to the log.

"Linda! I'm glad you're..." He trailed off when he realized she was now staring out at nothing. At her side he could see the scars from where her arm had once been, and looked back at the prosthetic limb sitting across from them. "...Did it fall off?" he asked. "I can help you put it back on, and we can tell Otto tomorrow so he can—"

No.

Frowning, Raz waited for her to continue. When she remained silent, he heaved a sigh, sitting next to her. Now that he was a bit closer, he could hear the tiny snores of Mr. Pokeylope sleeping at her side.

As they sat, Linda raised up her hand near the stitches on her head. Raz thought she might scratch at them, but instead she simply felt around them with the smooth side of one of her claws. It took him a moment to realize that they weren't the scars from her injury, but from where the metal plate on her head had been removed.

"Does it still hurt?"

...Yes. Linda's eyes closed. In many ways.

Raz wrapped his arms around himself, biting his lip in thought as mulled something over. He took a breath. “You forgave me, and that guy that hurt you,” he said slowly. “But not—?”

You and he acted out of self-defense. Linda opened her eyes again, their yellow glow reflecting against the dark water below. He acted out of self-interest, and malice.

Well, he couldn’t argue with that, but… He kicked his feet as they dangled over the edge. "He's different now, you know."

Yet I remain unchanged.

Though she did not move her mouth, her words were biting.

Raz winced. "I'm sorry, Linda—"

You have nothing to apologize for, Razputin. But his change in behavior does not change my circumstances. And I do not wish to be reminded of my connection to him.

Realization dawned on him as he looked back out at the island and remembered what Loboto had said earlier. "Ohhhh." His eyebrows raised, then furrowed in thought, and something struck him. "Y'know, I get it. When someone does something that... changes you, it doesn't really stop hurting even when they change."

Linda hummed in quiet agreement.

"But you don't have to stop doing things that... can help you."

Her humming stopped, and the yellow reflections in the water shifted to the side as she glanced away.

Raz put his hands on his knees, gripping them. "Ford... he did something that changed me, and my entire family. But... he also taught me a lot, like telekinesis." Straightening his back, he turned to face Linda. "That stuff reminds me of him, but... without that, I wouldn't have been able to help you."

The quarry was silent save for the ever-present crickets and the lapping of water. Linda drew in a breath and released it in an enormous sigh. ...Perhaps you are right, Razputin. Her tail swished in the water, the waves distorting her reflection. I do not wish to be like him... but I do not wish to sabotage myself, either.

Raz thought of bringing up the fact that perhaps Loboto could make things up for Linda, but held himself back; there would be time for that another day. They all had enough to deal with as it was.

"You'll get it figured out," he said instead. After a moment, he reached out and placed a hand on Linda's side, careful to avoid the scars.

...You are a true friend, Razputin.

With an embarrassed laugh, Raz shook his head. "I'm just doing what a Psychonaut would do."

Linda let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. That too.

[britishsass]

Li-Po Document info

Looking through the Li-Po doc post-Psychonauts 2 is crazy man--

Here’s a few highlights of things that were not contradicted nor talked about

Ford has a brother! (No name was given but I’d like to note that he had a brother.)

He was grand head of the Psychonauts, and his second head took over after him. After them, it was Truman

Grand Head is elected.

Boyd was an only child. Then his mom had an affair with a single father of 14 kids, his mom remarried, and suddenly he was one of 15. 

Boyd dropped out of highschool.

Also, his dad was a milkman. So all of his searching for the milkman could be a sort of searching for his dad. 

(Related: That’s why I headcanon he takes his dad’s last name even after his mom remarried.)

Gloria’s mother is named Estrella. Her manager was named Loman, and he was the reason that Gloria went to Hagatha Home. Loman also was the reason that Gloria never got those letters.

Estrella found out that Loman was a prick and wrote a book about how awful he was. She then picked up Gloria at age 18, and they went on tour.

Gloria was placed in Thorney Towers because she had a panic attack about being high up after what happened to her mother 

Sheegor’s name is Penelope Delucca. 

There’s a whole lot on Elka Doom’s family history. No other camper has any info (Except Raz and Lili but that’s not the point)

Oleander is the youngest of 3 kids. Eagle, Rock, and Morceau.

He’s also a mommy’s boy.

Raz got his goggles out of the back of a comic book.

[britishsass]

I don't mind you writing your alternate continuation of the DWC AU. I look foward to what you write!

I kept you waiting a while-- But don't worry, it was for good reason!

The Circus Repeats

Summary: After getting the performers out of the Dark Woods Circus, they sent some of the agents back to take it down. It didn't work. Now, months later, there seems to be something familiar nearby...

(Word count: 2813. TW: Human experimentation, blood/mild gore, the whole usual list for this au. Main characters: Hollis, Boyd, Gloria, Edgar, Caligosto, Fred)

As Hollis swished her glass of grape juice, she couldn’t help but sigh as she skimmed over the old files again.

The same handwriting, with little swirls and flourishes throughout. The same little smiley faces and extra words that didn’t really add anything to the information. Here, it was like home, especially after so long without contact with the owner of the handwriting.

Fred was missing. Same with Gloria, and Edgar, and Caligosto. The rest of them had been at the Motherlobe when the failed mission had happened.

She was supposed to be looking over them. She was supposed to be helping them. And yet they were gone, and she was still there. She hated it every day.

“Miss Hollis, Miss Hollis!” Two voices chorused at once. She turned to face the duo, finding Raz and Lili in her doorway.

“Hello, you two. Is something the matter?” She forced a tight smile for them as they stepped forward, taking her hands in their two hands. It had been months since she had first met them, and yet it still felt strange to see the Siamese twins most days. If anything, she felt sorry for them and the state they were stuck in-- Though she doubted they would ever complain about having a playmate that would never leave.

“Mr. Boyd says he found something!” Raz started, only for Lili to take over.

“He wants you to go talk to him!”

Most likely, another false positive. She wouldn’t doubt it, especially with Boyd’s paranoia, but it was better to at least check. There was always a chance that he could be right, after all.

“...Alright, you two, but don’t forget to go to sleep afterward. It’s getting late, after all--”

“Okay, Miss Hollis,” they chorused. They still pulled her along, guiding her to the Nerve Center. Agent Cooper was already waiting, pushing his hat out of his face every time it dared to drop down and cover his eyes as he looked over his conspiracy board.

“Good luck, Miss Hollis!” Lili cheerfully said.

“Good luck, Mr. Boyd!” Raz added on. With that, the two ran off, already excited just to run around a bit more.

Mostly everyone else was already there too. Agents Delucca, Oleander, and Cruller were nowhere to be found, but that was relatively normal. Penelope was always busy with taking care of Otto and Caligosto’s experiments when they weren’t there, Ford preferred looking after Lucy to thinking about their recent losses, and Morceau… Well, he was always looking for an excuse to spend less time working and more time with the rabbit he had been given by Sam a few months back. Especially now, with the heavy mood looming over the Motherlobe.

That left her with Agents Cooper, Zanotto, Fullbear, O’Pia, Mentallis, and Boole.

Otto sat close to Compton, who himself was incredibly close to Cassie, and she had an arm wrapped around her friend. Bob and Helmut, as always, were so close that it was impossible to even fit a sheet of paper between them, holding hands like they would lose track of each other if they didn’t. That left just her and Boyd without someone to hold onto, and they both knew that they were missing the same people.

“So, Agent Cooper-- I hope you have good news this time.”

“Yes! Correct, good news, right.” Boyd pushed his hat up once more, finally managing to hit a spot where it wouldn’t fall back into his eyes. “I found a trace of their psychic signatures!”

“You did?” Bob asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes, I did. They’re weak, but it’s still there. And according to what I found in the newspapers and notes, there’s been reports of a circus around the same area too. Therefore, if we put together that and our lost colleagues, then we can assume that they’re in the circus, and it’s the same one we’ve been tracking down!”

“...Don’t you think it’s a little… Y’know… Coincidental? It’s been months.” Otto sighed, getting up and walking to the other two who were still standing. “It’s only a trace. It could be anything-- Someone else, a really strong flamingo, a completely normal circus. These things happen. It might not even be--”

“Hey, Otto--” Bob interrupted. “What would you be saying if Ford was missing.”

“...point taken,” Otto admitted, and he returned to his chair. “The thing is, we shouldn’t get our hopes up that much. If it’s not them, it’s just going to crush you two.”

“I--” Hollis started, her face burning at the suggestion. “Those four are some of our best agents. If there’s any way we can get them back to the Motherlobe, I would rather attempt.”

“And what if it’s a trap, Agent Forsythe?” Cassie suggested. A quiet fell over them.

She had a choice to make. Risk it to find them, or risk them to stay safe. She tossed the two opportunities around in her mind, weighing the pros and cons.

“...We should keep some agents here, certainly. I’d say… Only a few people are needed to get those four out.” She spoke slowly, working through it aloud as she tapped her cheek. “...I’d say two. With someone else watching over it all.”

“I’ll do that,” Otto volunteered. “I’m better at being the eyes in the sky anyways.”

“Then the two agents on the ground--”

“I’m going,” Boyd declared. “If it’s a trap, I’d be the first to know.”

Hollis sighed. “...Agent Cooper, are you sure this is a good idea-- Your involvement with those four--”

“Means that I know them best and that I’m willing to do everything to help them get out. Listen, Agent Forsythe, I know I’m not the best agent here by a long shot, but I need to help them.”

There was a long quiet as everyone looked among themselves, hoping for a second volunteer so they wouldn’t have to go without their usual partner. Bob and Helmut were out of the question, since Helmut’s state since the battle made Bob unwilling to leave his side for even a second. Cassie and Compton were options, but no matter what, she was worried about how Compton would fare without someone there. Besides, they had more than enough food-- He had already stress-cooked enough over the past few months. They didn’t need more. She could send Morceau, but that would lead to him and Boyd arguing or starting fires on accident-- More collateral they didn’t need. Penelope was an option, but it was more likely to have the two of them calling for help the instant anything changed. Ford was on his day off, and above all, they couldn’t send the children or Sasha or Milla-- Not after the horrors they had already been through thanks to that monster. That only left her with one other person she could send with Boyd.

“...Then I’ll go with you,” Hollis finally answered.

~

“This is Teacup. We just arrived on site. How are we looking, Lightning Rod?”

“Looks all-clear from here. Blue skies. Not many stars,” Otto replied. Even though it was unlikely anyone would hijack their connection, they still used as much code as they could. Blue skies meant he had a visual of the circus, and the stars were the number of people. Not many. Good, less people who could be in danger.

“Do you see the leader?”

“I’ll be looking. No luck yet, though. But I do see Stagelight down there. It’s not looking good. Calcium, you holding up?”

“Uh-- Yeah. Doing okay,” Boyd managed to get in. “...Just a bit worried about what we’re gonna find.”

“Any sign of Palette, Musket, or Excavator?” Hollis added.

“Not yet. Give me time.”

“Got it. We’re headed in.”

She cleared her throat, then started walking to the place they had found. Already, she wasn’t sure she trusted anything there, but it had to be something. If Gloria was there, then maybe, just maybe--

“Come one, come all, the Circus is open! Come see the performances of a lifetime, the delight and terror of the freak show! Tonight is our final show here, so it’s now or never!” a voice called. Boyd took her shoulder, recognizing the sound as well as she did.

That was their man. The horrible ringmaster.

“Lightning Rod, we’ve got a visual,” Hollis mumbled.

“That quick? He’s in the open… Any signs of a trap? Or is he overconfident?”

Boyd scanned the area quickly, using clairvoyance to bounce between viewpoints as he kept his eyes mostly forward. His face didn’t betray a single one of his thoughts.

“...No signs of a trap. Not even inside. He’s either cocky, or… Something’s wrong… But what would be wrong? And he couldn’t overtake us-- He only got the others when they were split up to look for him…”

“Then we won’t split up, Calcium. Let’s go.”

Hollis walked to the ticket booth, and she pulled at her purse, putting on a little smile. “We got these tickets before-- Guess it’s time to cash in!” She handed over a pair, and rocked on her heels, purposefully acting ditzier than she was. Playing stupid was always a safe bet. Everyone underestimated that. The ringmaster glanced them over, and then waved them along with a broad grin.

“Welcome to the show!”

Hollis’s skin crawled, but she didn’t let her disgust enter her expression as she helped pull Boyd across the boundary and into the circus.

“So. We find the others, and get them out. Who should we look for first--”

“Well, Stagelight’s on her way. Any pollen allergies?”

“What--” Boyd started, his eyebrows furrowing, before he saw a shape walking towards them, dressed in green. Or, rather, entangled in greenery-- Vines, flowers, and leaves burst through her skin, and she wore a dress that didn’t leave much of the damage hidden-- It left her legs to show the roots wrapping around, her arms to catch the rays of moonlight. Her eyes brightened at the sight of them as she danced through the crowd, and she rushed to meet them in the crowd. A large flower had overtaken a third of her head-- A giant rose, it seemed-- but she still smiled at them, setting hands on their shoulders. She leaned in, as if using them to balance herself.

“Help Edgar first. He can get them out.”

Gloria’s voice was merely a rasp, but she spoke with intention before drifting away again in the crowd, the freak for them to ogle as they walked between acts. There were currently four tents set up in the main area: One green, one silver, one red, and one white.

The green was wrapped in vines, akin to the ones that tangled with Gloria’s messy hair. The silver was designed like machinery, with cold, hard edges. The red was stained with darker patches, as if the person there had dared to defy. The white, though, was clean and clear, like there was no one there. Though the red had a sign that declared “The Bull Man” off-limits for the night, Hollis and Boyd ducked through the curtains, finding it rather empty except for a cage and a rather large, familiar figure inside.

Edgar turned slightly at the sound of footsteps, preparing to try to chase them away most likely, but when he saw them, he stopped.

“Boyd?”

“Ed!”

Boyd ran to the edge of the cage, sticking his arms between the bars to take Edgar’s hands. Edgar took them in seconds, stepping into the light to do so.

Two messy horns had been grafted onto his head, and he moved his head to avoid letting them touch the bars. He smiled, holding tightly to Boyd’s hands.

“It is… good to see you again.”

“You bet it is! Come on, we’re going to get everyone out of here. Do you need a key, or--”

“No.” Edgar stated simply, and he stepped back. “...You’ll want to move, though.” Boyd did as told, and Edgar pushed up the sleeves of his own circus uniform. He set his hands on two of the bars, and pushed.

One second. Two seconds.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Hollis asked quietly.

Edgar kept pushing, until finally, he could slip through sideways. Boyd didn’t waste even a second before hugging him tight, holding him close to himself. Edgar had to specifically turn to avoid the horns hitting his partner.

“...I missed you, Edgar,” Boyd murmured.

“And I you. The others-- It’s after sunset, isn’t it? They must be performing by now…”

Boyd drew back after a moment, not wanting to admit it. “Yeah. Can’t we get them out before the performance?”

“No. If they-- If we vanish beforehand, then… That monster will come for us.”

“Monster?” Boyd’s eyes grew wide.

“The ringmaster,” Hollis assumed. Edgar nodded. The three were quiet for a moment.

“...Stay here until it’s over. It’ll only be a few hours, I believe.” Edgar settled in on the floor, picking up a stick and setting it alight for only a second. He had enough ash at the end to draw with, at least, so he continued a work on the floor that looked as if it had taken days.

“Wow.”

“Please don’t step on it. It might not be my best work, but it’s what’s keeping me going.”

“Lightning Rod-- We found Palette. Gonna wait for it to clear out before getting Excavator, Musket, and Stagelight.”

“Got it.”

The others waited, checking outside every little bit until the crowd died down just a bit more. As soon as there was almost no one, Edgar set the stick down, and he held the curtain up for the others to leave out another way before following. Though his horns got stuck, Boyd helped him to free himself before they hurried to the next tent: The silver one.

Machinery sat in almost every free space, but they still recognized the person in the chair at the center. The same giant grin, the same brightly discordant eyes. Caligosto stood slowly, his knees squeaking--

Metal.

His legs were metal.

“Hello, hello! I was wondering if someone would come. You know, I asked for a fish tail-- I thought it would be nice, since fish are my friends, but would you believe it, he said no-- I’m ready to leave at this point. It’s been fun. But I’m getting bored, and I don’t get a fishtail-- I bet Morry would’ve gotten a fishtail if he asked for it.” Caligosto, chatty as ever, strode up to them, his footsteps a bit too loud as he gestured with his claw and hand. “But he said that I had the metal hand, and you can’t mix aesthetics-- I’m going to give myself a fish tail when we get back!”

“...Happy to hear you’re okay, at least, Caligosto,” Hollis sighed. “We still need to find Gloria and Fred, though. We saw Gloria earlier--”

“I’ll go tell her,” Edgar volunteered. “You three go find him.”

He was already running off by the time that they could open their mouths, a tiny bull tail swishing in his wake. Caligosto waved, and he jauntily led them to the curtain, opening it for them.

The tent for Caligosto read simply “Meet The Human Machine!” but it seemed excited enough for its purpose. Since the green was obviously Gloria’s, that only left one last option…

Hollis walked to the white tent, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at the sign. All she could do was walk in.

The figure in this tent was bloodied and beaten. His body was wrapped up in a tight ball, and he didn’t dare look up at them. Hollis hurried to his side, sitting beside him, and stuck a hand out to touch his--

Wing.

Oh.

Fred finally pulled one of the matted, bloody messes away from his face, looking at the others, and he glanced them all over.

“...a… are you really… Here?”

“We’re here, Fred. We’re getting you guys home.”

“I… I thought… I thought it was just a dream. That you guys were never coming.”

Fred managed to extract himself from himself, and he stood on shaking legs, wings fluttering to keep him on balance. Hollis was the first to take his hand, leading him outside even though he stumbled a few times, patchy wings barely helping to keep him up as he desperately tried to stand upright. Edgar and Gloria joined them before long, as well.

“We’ve got everyone,” Hollis said. “Let’s go. Quickly.”

“Performances are over… Now.” Gloria noted, pointing at the first rays of sun peeking over the horizon. “We can leave. Please.”

The six hurried towards the jet, everyone piling aboard. Hollis took the pilot’s chair, while Boyd checked everyone over and made sure that the door closed properly before takeoff.

“Lightning Rod, this is Calcium. We did it. We’re coming home. All of us.”

...Hope you enjoyed it ^_^ I enjoyed writing it, since, well, angst is my specialty. I spent ages going back and forth on whether Fred should be up and at 'em or completely shattered, and... Well, you can tell which one I chose.

On the other hand: I'd try to draw them but I am, as we are aware, lazy /hj

[britishsass]

Dark Woods Circus AU Chapter 7: Family of a Circus

Saturday 2PM, a week had passed, slowly and slowly the performers have gotten accustomed to the Motherlobe, but two were much quicker. Raz and Lili were heading to see Sam, they only knew some of the agents. They were the youngest of the performers, and they were very much fond of the agents they had met. They also found some comics of the psychonauts, one featured Fred and Hollis where they fought the Noodler.

“Miss Forsythe is so cool!” Raz told his friend and other half. 

“I know right! And besides Mister Bonaparte does look like Papa and Mama. Just a bit shorter.” Lili giggled. 

“And Mister Teglee, his drawings are so pretty!” Raz responded. 

“Don’t forget, Mister Cooper, he’s funny!” Lili responded. 

“What about Miss Gouten? She’s shiny looking!” Raz asked. 

“And Miss Delucca! She talks to animals!” Lili responded. 

“Of course there’s Mister Oleander. He’s strong!” Lili told her half. Both of the two giggled and met Sam on the way there, and noticed two figures. One was a blue skinned child wearing a blue jacket and a green hat and also had a similar height to them, the other was a much lighter blue skinned boy in the shape of an egg and wore a red jumpsuit and had a tinfoil hat.

“Raz! Lili! How are you guys?” Sam greeted. 

“Doing good! Who are those two?” Lili asked. 

“Oh, those guys are my friends.” Sam responded, “This kid is Dart, short for D'Artagnan, he’s Agent Loboto’s son.” she pointed to the hat wearing kid. “And that one is my brother Dogen.” she responded to when she pointed to the smaller child. 

“Wow… do they live here?” Raz asked. 

“Yeah! Do they live here?” Lili asked as well. 

“Sort of… it’s like a hotel.” Sam responded. 

“Hotel? What’s that?” The two heads asked. Oh right. They’re from the circus. So their vocabulary is a bit small. 

“Well… a hotel is like a home that you stay in for a bit, you stay there for possibly for vacation or you just want a break.” Dart answerd. 

“Oh! Like the Motherlobe!” Lili pointed out. 

“Kinda. Anyways, where are you going?” Dart asked. 

“We’re going with Sam, to see Mister Loboto use his hydrokinesis!” Raz announced, that made Dart a bit embarrassed. 

“Hydrokinesis? Sam can I talk to you in private?” Dart pushed Sam to a different area.

“Sam, you do realize that my dad’s ability… is very… well… it needs some work.” Dart told the girl. 

“Yeah I know, but they are the youngest and most impressionable. So just let them see your dad’s work.” Sam reassured. 

“Alright fine, but last time he did that, he gave Lucrecia PTSD, it’s a good reason why he’s not allowed to bring water or any liquid to her.” Dart responded as he headed to see Dogen, Raz, and Lili. “Alright then, let’s see my Dad’s work.” Dart reluctantly told the three. The five children then headed to see Agent Loboto.

When they entered his office, it was a bit messy… there were bottles of water that were burst open. His own water cooler looked like a blown up balloon. And to top it off, Agent Loboto and Agent Delucca were trying to plug in holes. “Dad! What the heck is going on here!” Dart asked in shock. 

“Oh hi Dart! Daddy is a bit busy now! Can you get some plugs?” Loboto asked. 

“Yeah… sure.” Dart said as he used a green psychic hand to grab a box filled with plugs. 

“Mister Loboto? We heard that you do hydrokinesis. Can we see it?” Raz asked. 

“Of course! Sam can you get a glass of water?” He asked the girl. 

“Ok then, I better get an umbrella as well.” Sam responded. So Dart plugged in every hole he can, and Sam got an umbrella. 

“Sam isn’t it bad luck if you open an umbrella on the inside?” Penelope asked. 

“Yeah, I just want to carry it. Loboto likes it because he thinks it’s cool.” Sam responded. Penelope couldn’t help but shrug. So the two-headed clown sat on the only dry chair, while the others sat on some parts of the floor that are dry.

Agent Loboto focused his energy on the water, which then formed a watery like hand… and then it fell. “Well… on the bright side at least it didn’t blow up.” Sam told Dart. Dart was relieved that it didn’t happen. 

“Yeah, but Dad, Agent Forsythe said that your powers… could need some work.” Dart whispered. 

“But Dart! You’re papa’s has amazing powers!” Lili reassured, 

“Yeah! And he’s funny too!” Raz responded, the two heads then laugh leaving Loboto very uncomfortable. 

“Yeah… funny.” Loboto spoke. 

“Hey Raz, let’s tell mama and papa. They would love to see Mister Loboto’s powers.” Lili told her other head, 

“Yeah! That would be fun!” Raz giggled, that made Loboto’s eye twitch. 

“Hey, I think he needs a break from the laughter.” Dart told them, 

“Oh don’t worry about me Dart, you’re father just needs to get a drink—“ his father was interrupted when he tripped himself. Where some of his hair revealed a bit of a scar. 

“Look Lili! Mister Loboto’s hair has a boo boo!” Raz pointed out, 

“He does! He does!” Lili replied. The two then laughed which made Loboto snap.

“Alright! Alright! Alright! I get it! Just… just shut up!” Loboto snapped, and left. 

“He’s gone.” Dogen spoke. This made the children confused. 

“Miss Delucca? Did we do something wrong?” Raz asked. 

“No… but, you triggered some… memories.” she told them. 

“Oh… we’re sorry for scaring your papa Dart.” Lili apologized. 

“No, it’s my fault. I should’ve told you in the first place.” Sam told them, “Agent Loboto had uh… a very difficult family life.” Sam told the two. “He was a child born with psychic abilities, and his parents hated him because of that. In fact, they went to the extreme and basically tried to get a lobotomy.” Sam continued. 

“What’s a lobotomy?” Raz asked, 

“It’s a type of surgery. It’s best not to look in to it.” Sam told the two headed clown. 

“Yeah, dad nearly lost his psychic abilities, but he actually saved himself by using his abilities. Despite the fact that he nearly had a massive cut in his head.” Dart told the story. 

“But thankfully, he knew how to stich himself back together. And went into hiding… that’s how Ford met him, he was hiding in the gulch.” Sam continued, 

“Yeah… kind of weird right?” Dart asked. 

“So… Mister Loboto got a boo boo from an experiment just like us?” Lili asked. 

“I’m afraid so, but he wasn’t the only one with awful parents. His partner Agent Delucca also was in bad shape. She was sent to Thorney Towers because her parents thought that she was crazy.” Dart pointed to Agent Delucca. 

“Yeah! People thought that I was dead, but I’m alive!” Agent Delucca responded. 

“So the point is… some people consider us as freaks.” Dart told them, 

“So… why don’t we make a gift for him to feel appreciated?” Sam asked. 

“Ok!” The two clowns spoke in unison.

The five children and one agent went to find Agent Loboto. The only person who knew where Agent Loboto can be is in the heptadome, thankfully someone was there to help. They head to the campsite where they saw a waterfall that goes upwards. “Linda! We’re going to need your help!” Penelope asked. 

“I’m on it… and who are the children stitched together?” Linda spoke telepathically, revealing herself to be a giant and mutated lungfish. 

“Is that Linda? She looks pretty!” Lili spoke. 

“Yeah… that’s Linda, my dad’s failed experiment. He wanted to make a fish big, but then… that happened.” Dart pointed out, 

“Hey Linda, have you seen Agent Loboto, he might’ve ran away here.” Sam asked. 

“I have… he’s heading to see Lucrecia, Edgar is also there painting the scenery.” Linda spoke. 

“Perfect, we might need to ask Edgar first.” Sam thought of, 

“Well… what are you planning on doing?” Linda asked, 

“We’ll show you.” Sam answered as each of the five get on.

When they got there, they asked Edgar for some paper and a some crayons, Edgar obliged and gave the two headed clown some paper to draw on. And after that, Sam, Dart, Dogen, Penelope, Raz, and Lili went to see Agent Loboto. 

“Hi Lucy… how are you doing?” Sam greeted. “Oh… I’m good. Cagliosto is over there.” Lucy responded as she pointed to Loboto getting a bottle of water. 

“Hi dad.” Dart greeted. 

“Oh hi Dart! And you two… what do you have there?” Cagliosto asked, 

“We wanted to apologize for making you feel bad, so we made this for you!” Raz and Lili spoke as they show him the drawing. The drawing was an image of the circus performers, the psychonauts, Hollis, Sam, Dogen, and Dart. 

“Aww… I’ll keep it!” Cagliosto spoke with some tears in his eyes. This made Dart smile, that decided to join in, as well as Sam, Dogen, and Penelope as well. And out of the distance, Sasha and Milla watch the hug pile. 

“They are quite unique though aren’t they?” Milla asked. 

“Indeed they are…” Sasha responded.

Nice to see you again, anon– Don’t forget to take breaks and take care of yourself. This installment was really, really sweet– Thank you for such a nice little story! ^_^

[britishsass]

Dark Woods Circus AU Chapter 4: Escaping the Circus

Saturday 12 AM: the plan has been settled. Find the performers, bring them to the motherlobe to know more about them and make sure that they are all right… but one problem, where was the circus? That was the question, but thankfully Agent Delucca had the ability to speak to animals. So she brought Fran to join.

“Ok then Fran, here’s the deal. When you find that circus tent. Pinpoint your location to us. Got it?” she explained. The bird nodded. And flew off, it was actually quick when Fran returned. The bird told Penelope that the Circus was in the Questionable Area. A tourist spot. AKA, the perfect place to have a circus. So now the plan was in acton when they arrived there.

“Musket, this is Teacup. Is everyone ready?” Hollis asked. 

“Yes, what’s the plan?” Fred answered. 

“Fran has located where the circus is, I want you and the others to escort all of the performers and place them in the CPD. If there is anything off, please bring it in.” Hollis explained. 

“Got it.” Fred replied. As the CPD landed. Each of the Seven Members then got off the CPD and each of the splitted. Fred, Gloria, Boyd, and Edgar entered the circus tent. Oleander, Loboto, and Penelope stayed outside and explored the forest.

“Why did we do this at night?” Penelope stuttered. 

“Relax soldier, everything is fine.” Oleander tried to encourage. 

“And if we fail, we’ll all die.” Loboto responded. That made Penelope shriek. 

“I’m kidding.” he responded. The three (or rather two men.) laughed, but unbeknownst to them eyes were watching them, and planned for an attack. In which Loboto was pinned by a beast. And that beast was the lion-centaur.

“Who are you!” The lion centaur asked. 

“Ca… Caligosto Loboto!” Loboto freaked out. 

“What are you doing here! Are you planning on a death wish?” she threatened. 

“No! I just want to help you! Please don’t hurt me!” he cried. 

“Yeah, and I’m a princess.” she sarcastically responded. 

“Please! I’m being true!” Loboto responded. 

“Yes, the man is being true.” a monotone voice spoke, revealing to be Milla and Sasha, this made the lion centaur looked worried.

“Mr. Nein, Mrs. Vodello, I just trying to protect us!” she quickly responded. 

“I know… but it’s alright. We heard his screams darling.” Milla responded. 

“Yeah, we’re going to bring you to a safe haven.” Penelope responded. 

“Safe haven? You mean we’re going to leave?” the lion centaur asked. 

“Look kid, Agent Delucca just stated you guys are going to leave this place.” Oleander responded. 

“Very well, but some of us are scared of leaving this area.” Sasha told the three agents. 

“I’ll go get my friend.” the lion centaur said as she left and returned carrying the mermaid. “Come on, let’s leave.” she told the mermaid, to which the mermaid nodded. The four circus performers then followed the three agents to the CPD. 

“Teacup, this is Bullet. 4 performers have landed on the CPD. We’ll wait for the others.” Oleander spoke. 

“Got it, I’ll tell Musket.” Hollis responded.

Meanwhile with Fred. The four examined the circus tent. They saw how messy it was… “This is worth seeing? I highly doubt that.” Edgar said as he looked around. 

“Yeah, and look at that!” Fred said as he pointed to the hanging corpse. 

“A corpse? How will that get any attention?” Gloria responded. 

“Teacup, this is Musket. We saw something horrible.” Fred telepathically told Hollis. 

“What do you mean?” Hollis asked. 

“It’s a corpse. Dressed up like a clown. We need to bring that corpse to the Motherlobe and examine it.” Fred responded. 

“Very well, also Excavator, Hunchback, and Bullet have found some performers. They are others that are inside.” Hollis explained. 

“Place the corpse in the CPD.” Hollis ended. Fred obliged and used his telekinesis to hold the corpse and carefully place the dead body in the CPD. 

“Alright, it’s in the CPD.” Fred responded to himself.

The others had to explore the circus. Edgar took the left side, Boyd took the right side, and Gloria took the center. Edgar saw the three prisons and one featured the two headd clown. They were busy looking down and drawing in the dirt.

“Excuse me, are you one… or two of the performers?” Edgar asked, the two headed clown looked up. 

“Yes! We are one of the performers!” the male head joyfully said. 

“Uh huh! We’re the two headed clown!” the female joyfully answered as well. 

“I see, well… do you want to leave this area? You can stay someplace safe.” Edgar asked. 

“We would!” both of the heads responded. 

“But… will Papa and Mama be there?” the male head asked. Edgar looked saddened, did these two children have parents? 

“I guess so… you can meet them in the CPD.” Edgar responded as he held the child or children’s right hand.

For Boyd, he was the paranoid one of the group. It was even worse if he had to do it alone. That was when he saw two eyes and heard a growl. Revealing to be the teen in the straitjacket. “Nice kid…?” Boyd tried to respond but was attacked. Boyd tried to get the teen off of him. But to some avail. He eventually was safe, when the straitjacket wearing teenager tired himself out. “God… this kid is crazy.” Boyd whispered.

Now for Gloria. She heard singing in the ‘Practice Room’ but it felt like the singer was crying. She entered and saw the singer named Liz. “Are you ok?” Gloria asked sweetly. 

“No… I’ll die here.” Liz responded solemnly. 

“They killed her.” the diva continued. 

“You won’t die… You’ll be ok.” Gloria tried to cheer up. 

“Stop lying. You’ll abandon me. You’ll kill me. Just like her!” Liz screamed. This caused a noise to be heard. “I’ll die now.” Liz told herself. Gloria had to do something. She had to get Liz out of there. So she had to do something… she saw a crack in the ground and summoned a vine which opened the cage. 

“Let’s go.” Gloria told the girl. Both of them ran. Followed by Edgar and the two headed clown, and Boyd and the captured teenager. The six (or seven.) then boarded the CPD, and they saw the remaining passengers two of which is what the two headed clown knew.

“Papa!” 

“Mama!” the two children ran to hug. 

“Oh you two! Are you ready for out first time leaving the circus?” Milla told the clowns. 

“Uh huh! And is she joining us?” the female head pointed to the clown corpse. 

“Of course, she’s just sleeping.” Sasha reassured the children. That made the agents frown with fear. Sleeping? Did the adults lie to their children that the clown is sleeping but not dead? 

“Anyways… let’s go!” Fred stated as he started the CPD’s engine that went to the Motherlobe.

I want you to know I actually started crying when Liz and Gloria were talking. Like, literally.

[britishsass]

Dark Woods Circus AU Chapter 3: The Circus's Mystery

Friday 4 PM. A day has passed since Sam was in the forest, she woke up in the Motherlobe in one of the dormitories. She saw her grandfather Compton, the lesser head Hollis, and the grand head of the psychonauts Ford Cruller.

“Good, you're awake.” Ford spoke, “By the way, Lucrecia says thank you for the food.” he continued.

“Thanks, sorry I got lost,” Sam responded.

“It's alright, but we clearly need to think about Oleander's suggestion,” Hollis reassured. “Though, I do wonder… why were you found in the forest?” she asked.

“Fran wanted to eat a worm,” Sam responded.

“I see… but was there a circus involved?” Hollis asked.

“Yeah, in fact. I got a weird poster to a circus and… honestly, the performers were sad.” Sam responded. “I think they need help.” she continued. Compton looked at her worried, this was the first time Sam was worried about someone…

“Sam, who was in the circus,” Compton asked.

“I barely know, but there was a girl who was named Liz,” Sam answered.

“Very well, I'll tell the others about what you saw,” Hollis said as she, Compton, and Ford exited.

It was a long walk to the Nerve Center for meetings, that was when she meet someone familiar. He was tall, he had light yellow skin, short black hair, he wore a blue and white striped shirt, a multicolored jacket, long green pants, and blue sandals. That was Fred, and he was very dreamy… “Ah, Agent Bonaparte, I wasn't expecting you,” Hollis stated trying to stop her blushing.

“Well, I wasn't expecting to run into you, I thought you were going through the tunnels, they are a bit quicker,” Fred responded,

“Well, as much as they are quicker, they are unsafe. Last time Agent Lodlock nearly broke a bone when in the tube.” Hollis spoke.

“Yeah, anyways… are you heading to the Nerve Center? I was just heading there, do you want to join me?” Fred asked, which made Hollis very happy.

“I'll oblige,” she answered. “And after that maybe we can go on a date,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” Fred asked confused.

“Nothing!” Hollis quickly responded. She had feelings for Fred, but she is unable to tell, or rather, she just doesn't feel like telling at all. That's how she feels around him, she dearly loves Fred a lot, but she tries her best to not acknowledge them.

When they arrive at the Motherlobe, everyone was there-- Ford Cruller, the rest of the Psychic Seven and Fred (who was with her the whole time, and other agents as well.), a tall blue man with a robotic arm was known as Agent Caligosto Loboto, a short soldier was known as Agent Morceau Oleander, a woman with long flowing red hair was called Agent Gloria von Gouten, a muscular purple man that was like a wrestler was named Agent Edgar Teglee, an agent who was dressed as a security guard was named Agent Boyd Cooper, and lastly an agent who was small and a bit hunchback, her name was Agent Penelope Delucca.

“So what is this about, Grand Head Cruller?” Edgar asked.

“Well, as you all know, Sam Boole was found in the forest.” Ford spoke, “But… what she saw was something horrible… it was a circus, but something was off with it.” Ford continued.

“How off? Like 'Broadway-Off' or just… 'Unnerving' off.” Gloria asked,

“Unnerving, she doesn't know much, but one performer was named Liz.” the Grand-Head responded. All of them were confused, they haven't ever heard of a circus since… well, it was complicated.

“Sooo… what does the circus contain other than 'Liz'?” Oleander asked.

“We're unsure… but we'll have to find out more,” Ford stated as he placed his elbows on the meeting table. “Anyways, meeting adjourned." All of the agents left except for Hollis and Ford.

“So about Fred…” Ford spoke to Hollis, which shocked her.

“Ford! I just find him as a friend… who is a boy.” She spoke.

“Hollis, I can read your mind. You like him, and you're worried that he won't like you back, is that what I'm guessing?” Ford tried to cheer her up.

“Alright fine, yes I have a crush on him… I just found him so… handsome, I mean helpless when he was at Thorney Towers.” Hollis spoke.

“Well… maybe I can get Gloria to help.” Ford persuaded.

“No thanks, I think I can handle it, and besides we have a circus show to learn more about.”

It was a while for the circus to be known, until Fred found some evidence of it existing. “Grand Head Cruller! I got news!” Fred shouted as he ran to Ford's office.

“Agent Bonaparte, what is it about?” Ford asked.

“Boyd printed out something he found. It was a digital copy of a poster of the circus Sam went to… but it's much different.” he continued. Ford looked at the printed poster, and read some of the words.

“Children that society abandoned, restlessly creeping out… Agent Bonaparte, this doesn't sound perfect to advertise a circus.” he responded in disgust. “This circus clearly just enjoys people suffering. Was there any more evidence?” he asked.

“Yes, apparently the Circus doesn't perform on Saturday, so we have a chance to find the performers.” Agent Bonaparte responded.

“Very well, Saturday at Midnight we will find the circus. I'll send in Agents Gouten, Teglee, Cooper, Loboto, Oleander, and Delucca to join you.

“Got it!” Fred answered. Now they have a lead, now the plan has been set. The circus is about to begin.

Oh, heck yeah! Off they go to save the performers! I'm excited to see how that goes-- Besides, it's bound to be exciting to see them all working together. :)

[britishsass]

The idea of Penelope taking the role of Dr. Loboto will be funny, pure goblin energy from her.

The vibes I get from this is that she's just... She's trying to get her pet fish back safely, so sure, she'll do the crazy stuff. Besides, they're paying her, so why not! She's not actually mean to the others there, but she can be a bit overbearing. Dr. Delucca is a lovely lady, just... A little bit strange. Not that we don't love her anyway, though.

Her assistant is likely gonna be Fred, so... Dr. Delucca and this freaking stick man who still jumps if someone looks at him wrong. He's a lot more afraid here, but he's sticking around because "I can't just leave the others-- I'm- I'm one of the last few orderlies who stuck around, so I'm trying to help where I can, even if I might not understand-- But she's getting money for food and we're running low and I know it's not the best move but I can't leave and--" and on and on because he rambles when he's panicked.

Dr. Delucca does tend to be a lot less comedically inclined than Cal, but she's still trying to keep the kids calm and quiet as she tends to them. She does crack a few jokes, but it's more clear from the start that she doesn't really want to do this stuff to people, but it's the only way to get money for the patients and well, sometimes you have to bend the rules a bit, right? Might leak a bit into the same comedy after awhile if I do include the same "moral compass" thing. I'd still make her an actual orderly there, but... Well, she's likely a bit less kind over time. And someone took her darling Linda! How mean :( She just wants Linda back, and the patients safe, so of course she'll do as she's told just to make sure Linda is safe.

(I still need to work out a lot of things, but thinking on this... D'ya think Cal was being paid? What would he even need money for?)

I thought it'd be suitable to show it more in the light of "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" here, even if it's more "needs of the patients outweigh the needs of others" instead. I really like Penelope as a character, and I want to make sure to keep her somewhat in character here, even if she is in a different role. So she's trying to get her pet lungfish back to safety, and to help the patients, and to not be hurt by the mean people who are paying her to do these mean things.