Hey! Lady Lyre here! I played a demo of Psychonauts the year it came out and my brother and I fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to buying it until a month ago. I FINALLY found a copy of it at an EB Games in the mall while Christmas shopping. I didn't care if it was used, in fact, it was kinda a plus for me, it was cheaper that way, and so I got it for my brother knowing that he didn't care weather or not it was used either.

I beat the game I think on new years eve, and loved it! I looked up fics here on and was surprised how few there were! I would like to thank HotCrossPigeon, the author of Encroaching Darkness, for inspiring me and giving me the courage to write a Psychonauts fic of my very own! Power to ya, mate!

I also want to give a shout out to Digitaldreamer and Atrophy-Conception. You two are awesome writers!

Now, on with the show!

DISCLAIMER: bursts into hysterical sobbing and whips out hankie IT'S TRUE! blows nose I...I...I DON'T OWN PSYCHONAUTS! dabs eyes and sniffs wrings out hankie whew! I'm glad I got that off my chest!

Okay, I'm good. You ready now? Okay!

CHAPTER 1

It was a quiet day at Whispering Rock Summer Camp. Summer was turning quickly to Autumn and already it was cold enough that the children had to wear their coats. The leaves were already changing on the trees and falling to the grass, where Ranger Cruller was hard at work raking them up.

Aside from the fact that it seemed to be getting cold early this year, I must point out that it was a QUIET day at Whispering Rock. This was very peculiar indeed, seeing as Whispering Rock Summer Camp was a) a summer camp; which meant that children were usually running around screaming, laughing, and kicking a ball around and b) it was a summer camp for psychics; which meant that the children were usually running around screaming because there was fire on their persona, laughing at whoever was unfortunate enough to have been set on fire, or levitating a ball around.

But, as I said, today, everything was quiet. Campers didn't sport their usual happy faces as they silently trudged about the camp in their winter clothes. They would occasionally give a sad smile to their friends or the camp councillors, but otherwise, depression hung thick in the air. They weren't in the mood for playing or pranks or laughter and relaxation. Not today.

Sasha Nein, the pale skinned, dark haired, level headed, suit-and-sunglasses-wearing perfectionist was one of said camp counselors. He always held a cool visage and rarely let much emotion show, but today, to the trained eyes of the campers who had been around him and knew him well, there was a slight slump to his shoulders and a heaviness in his step. However much he hated to admit it, he was sad to see this day come.

His partner, Agent Milla Vodello was known as the cheerful, optimistic, motherly camp counselor who dressed in bright colors, loved to party, and spoke with a Brazilian accent. However, it was also a well known fact that she was also deeply emotional.

She wasn't quite her peppy self this day. There was a slight slump to her shoulders, her head was lowered slightly, and she had a sad look in her eyes. She could do little to hide her obvious depression, but even so, she flashed her sweet but today slightly sad smile and greeted the campers with her usual "Hello, darling."

This day was hard on everyone, but being as emotional as she was, it seemed to be hardest on Milla. Several students had pushed their own gloom away and approached her, doing their best to cheer her up. Everyone loved the spunky Brazilian woman and hated seeing her sad.

Coach Morceau 'Morry' Oleander was behaving strangely as well. He was having difficulty maintaining his usual scowl and an expression of sadness would show through. He peeked into the open doorway of the boys cabin. Coach Oleander gazed fondly at the boys as they moved about their cabin somberly. He found himself getting glassy eyed and smiling slightly. He abruptly shook his head and set his scowl back into place. He straightened up and marched stiffly into the room. He cleared his throat.

"Come on, you slow pokes! Move it! One, two! One, two, move those feet! Double time, soldiers! To the mess hall with you!" He growled, though with much less vigor than usual for the short, boisterous veteran psychonaut. The boys none the less picked up their pace and filed out the door one after another, casting sad glances at one another.

Dogan toddled out the door with a heavy heart, racing to catch up to the others who had joined up with the girls and were headed toward the bridge. He toddled up to Lili and whispered something to her which the other campers seemed to have heard as well. In response, they all stopped and turned around and waited fixedly for the last boy to exit the cabin.

Finally he trudged to the door, hat in hand, with an expression on his face that made one think he would never be happy again. He walked past Coach Oleander without even looking at him.

Oleander's expression softened and he laid his hand on the top of the boys head. The boy stopped and turned to look at him. The sadness that shone in the boy's normally sparkling, joyful, lively, innocent green eyes was enough to break Morrys heart right then and there. He blinked back tears and ruffled the boy's hair with an affectionate smile. The boy barely attempted to smile back before his head hung again.

"I told you it was bad." Dogan piped meekly.

"Oh, my god..." Elka said sadly, feeling bad for the boy.

"Poor Raz..." Milka said softly.

"He looks so...sad." Kitty said.

"I feel so sorry for him." Franke said.

"I've never seen our hombre like this before." JT remarked.

"Neither have I." Chops agreed.

"Seriously though...He looks like he might be sick to me." Bobby said, also concerned for the other cadet, though he would never admit it.

"Y-yeah. That might be it." Benny stammered.

"Yeah, he doesn't look like he's feeling too good." Nils said.

"What do you think, Mikhail?" Maloof asked.

"Think tiny boss may be right. Gypsy friend looks...beneath weather." Mikhail responded.

"Yeah, he is kinda pale." Elton said.

"I thought the same thing." Dogan agreed.

"Affirmative. Earth boy Razputin is displaying symptoms of the presence of harmful bacterial and or viral organisms within his body." Chloe agreed.

"Yeah. Seeing him like this reminds me of this thing that happened at school once. My friend's friend's girlfriend's brother's friend's cousin was sitting next to me when it happened, so if you don't believe me, you can ask him. I'll give you his number. But anyway, there was this time when this kid at school came in one day looking really pale and stuff and he was like swerving all over the place during my first period class. It was my math class and I hate math especially since the teacher Mrs. Hartman is really mean and scary..." Vernon droned. Everyone sighed and rolled their eyes.

"So anyway he came to school really pale like Raz is now and after the bell rang to go to second period which was gym and I also don't like gym because I cant use my powers like I can here and the teacher is mean too but it's funny because his name is Jim so we have gym with Jim for second period, but it was raining that day so we weren't going to be able to go outside. Instead we were going to stay inside which is even worse than going outside because we have to study boring stuff like nutrition when we have to stay inside..." Vernon continued. Phoebe elbowed him.

"Get to the point, Vern." She said.

"Okay so like I was saying the bell rang and we all got up to go to gym with Jim and he got up and he was all sweaty and pale and he started swaying and then he passed out right then and there in the middle of the floor." Vernon said. There were several loud gasps.

"He passed out?" Elton asked fearfully.

"Yeah, passed right out. Everyone started freaking out and our language teacher Mr. Burns who I think is really nice well he had to carry the kid to the nurses office because they couldn't wake him up and they called his parents and an ambulance too because he had a really high fever." Vernon said monotonously.

"What happened to him after that?" Quentin asked.

"He never woke up." Vernon said. A collective gasp rang out from the group and they all began whispering nervously.

"Yeah, he went into a coma and as far as I know, he hasn't come out of it yet." Vernon said.

"Oh my god, I hope Raz isn't sick like that! He's a pretty nice guy now that I've gotten to know him." Elka said. The girls nodded in agreement, save Lili. She only listened with half an ear and kept her attention on the pair standing outside the boys cabin; though she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Morry frowned, concerned by Raz's obvious and quite severe depression. He took the boy by the shoulders and pulled him around to face him.

"Front and center, cadet." He murmured. Raz faced him, but didn't look at him. Morry stepped up to him and tilted Raz's chin up and prodded him in the back to make him stand up straight.

"Eyes to the front, soldier! No slouching!" He said, making sure Raz was looking him in the eye before continuing.

"Straighten those shoulders!" He said, adjusting Raz's stance by pushing on his shoulders. Raz remained silent, but did as he was told.

"Now..." Morry said, but softer this time. "Look at me, Razputin. I want your undivided attention."

When he was certain he had Raz's full attention, he smiled warmly at the boy and locked eyes with him.

"Now I want you lift that chin up and hold that head of yours high and proud, son, because you're not only a soldier, you're a war hero. You are the youngest in history to make it to your current status. You are a psychonaut!" Morry said. Raz was completely speechless with shock and couldn't seem to move. Morry put a hand under his chin to make him raise his head and snatched his hat from his hands, shoving it down on his head along with his goggles.

"So you keep that chin up and you keep your head held high, just as you always do. Wear your decorations proudly, because you deserve them." Morry said. He cracked a big grin.

"And I am so proud of you." He said, his expression radiating pride. Raz's eyes got glassy and a timid smile broke out across his face. He straightened his posture and held himself powerfully and bravely and with confidence, just as any officer would. Morry reached over and hugged him. Raz hugged him back and sniffled slightly.

"Hey, there's no crying in the service!" Morry half-chuckled, a single tear of unmatched pride rolling down his cheek. Raz pulled away from him and resumed his stance, saluting to Morry.

"Sir, sorry, sir, but I could say the same to you, Sir!" Raz said with a watery smile. "Also, Sir, I don't believe that there is hugging in the service either, Sir!"

"That's right, soldier, so don't you forget it! There is no crying, hugging, sniffling, frowning, or smiling in the service!" Morry bellowed, his usual intensity restored.

"Sir, yes Sir!" Raz cried, saluting. Morry laughed gruffly.

"Ah, that's my boy! At ease, soldier!" He said, slapping Raz on the back with such force that he was knocked to the ground. His goggles were crooked and his hat was slipping off. Raz coughed as Morry pulled him to his feet.

"Sorry about that, soldier. You alright?" Morry asked holding Raz up as he regained balance. He coughed again and looked up at Morry.

"Yeah. I'll live." Raz gasped.

"Well, we'd better report to the mess hall. You're too skinny to miss any meals. We need to get some meat on your bones!" Morry said as they began to walk toward the other campers.

"You sound like Agent Vodello. She said the same thing to Sasha." Raz said.

"She's right. He's underweight..." Morry trailed off for a moment and suddenly picked Raz up experimentally.

"Damn, and you are too! Now I know why you wear the hat and goggles! They're the only thing weighing you down to keep you from blowing away in the wind! What do you weigh, kid?" Morry asked, setting him down. Raz donned a confused expression. He was about to ask a question when Crystal's words caught his attention. The other campers were all huddled together discussing something.

"Should we tell Agent Vodello?" Crystal asked. She, like all the other campers were too engrossed in their conversation to notice that the subject of their conversation was right behind them.

"No, she is depressed enough. We should tell Agent Nein!" Franke said.

"Yeah! Agent Nein will know what to do!" Clem said.

"About what?" Raz asked.

"What do you mean about what? Haven't you been...oh, hi Raz!" Benny said. Dogan suddenly started crying and flung his arms around Raz.

"I don't want you to die!" Dogan sobbed. Raz arched an eyebrow at him.

"Dogan, what are you talking about?" Raz asked.

"Dogan, calm down! Raz isn't sick. He's just a little depressed, that's all." Lili soothed.

"Yeah, I'm not sick. Who said I was?" Raz asked.

"We thought you were. You looked really pale." Elton said. Phoebe walked up to him and put a hand on his forehead. He suddenly found himself surrounded by the other campers, who looked on anxiously.

"He doesn't have a fever." Phoebe announced. Raz backed away from the group.

"Guys, I really appreciate the concern, but I'm not sick. Lili's right. If I am pale, it's probably because I'm just a little depressed." Raz insisted.

"Who isn't?" Chops said. The group let out a collective sigh. Morry sighed as well.

"As much as I hate this day, there is nothing to do but be brave soldiers and bear it. Everyone to the mess hall. Hop to it!" Morry said. Everyone slipped back into gloom as they made their way to the mess hall.

This day only rolled around once at the end of every summer. It was a day everyone dreaded. There was crying, gloom, silence and reminiscing and dread as they waited for everyone to be called to the mess hall.

Such a day signaled only one thing: this was the day all the campers returned home.

The campers filed into the mess hall one by one and picked half-heartedly at their breakfast as they recalled happy memories they shared with their friends over the summer and summers past. Raz blushed as the summer before this one was brought up and he was bombarded with more questions about how he managed to save the entire camp. After an hour, Milla, Morry, and Sasha took the stage. Milla turned on her microphone and called for the attention of the campers.

"Oh, my darlings, we've had so much fun together over this summer and each of you seems to get bigger and grow more powerful as a psychic every day! It's happening too fast, darlings!" Milla said, wiping a tear from her eye. There were calls of "Please don't cry Miss Vodello!" and "You'll make us cry too!" and "No matter how big we get, we'll always love you, Agent Vodello!" from the campers.

"Oh, Darlings, I love you all too. You make me so proud! But, as much as I hate for our time together to end, the busses will be arriving within the hour to take you home to your parents, and I'm so jealous of them! They are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful children like all of you! I'm going to miss you all!" She said. She had to stop to keep her crying under control. Sasha stepped forward and put his arm around her. He led her off the stage and got her a chair. He sat next to her and let her cry on his shoulder.

Lili let out a loud whistle.

"Yeah! When are you two going to get together?" Franke called.

"All right Agent Nein!" Nils hollered. Various cheers and whistles erupted from the students, including a rather loud "Get a room, you two!" From chef Cruller. Sasha blushed deep red and Milla was giggling at him through her tears.

"Now, now, children! Stop! Sasha is just trying to be nice!" She said. She began to laugh harder.

"Though I must say, Sasha, darling, that color red does complement your hair nicely!" She giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, fashion and tears and giggles and crushes." Morry said, taking up the mic. The students quieted.

"We don't have much time, so I better hurry up and say what's on my mind. I want you kids to know that I'm proud of every one of you for the progress you've made this year. You kids keep up with your exercises and I'd better see you back next year! You maggots have a long way to go, but you sure do grow on a coach." Morry said, trying hard to keep from going glassy eyed. There were various aww's and coos from the campers along with applause and several campers shouting 'We love you, coach!' or 'You rock, coach!'.

"Thanks, kids, for another great year at Whispering Rock. Stay safe over the school year, try not to set anyone on fire unless they really deserve it, don't drink do drugs, or smoke" Oleander gave a loud cough that sounded suspiciously like 'Sasha' before continuing. "and I'll miss you kids. Sasha, anything you want to say?" Morry asked. Raz and Lili jumped up and yelled "SPEACH!"

"Go on, darling!" Milla said, pushing him up onto the stage.

"Alright then. I'll be quick so you kids can say your goodbyes. I have to say that I was very impressed with your improvement and progress over this summer. If this keeps up, there will be quite a few more coronations for Milla, Morry, and I to attend. I'm sure Razputin will want to be there as well." Sasha said. Raz gave the thumbs up and smiled. Of course he was going to be there!

"I don't think there is a single one of you here today who isn't cut out to be a psychonaut. I hope to someday come to every one of your coronations. Until then, I am proud to call myself your teacher and proud to call you my students. I hope you all have a good year at school and look forward to seeing you all here again next summer. Milla, would you like to try again?" He asked walking quickly off stage to hide that even he was getting a little choked up.

"Okay. This time I won't cry. Like Sasha said, I hope to see you all get coronated into the psychonauts someday. I would love to help get you dressed up for the occasion and I'll try not to cry like I did at Razputin's coronation. I hope you children have a good year at school and don't hesitate to write me a letter if you ever need help or you just want to chat. If someone is bullying you and talking doesn't work, you have my permission to sock one to them and give them one more with love from Milla Vodello, okay?" Milla asked. The campers laughed.

"If all else fails I can always come out there with Sasha and Morry and kick a little ass." She added with a laugh. "No one messes with my babies."

"But I'm so proud of all of you and I will be thinking of you! Should I make the big announcement now, Morry?" Milla asked.

"My all means, go ahead!" Morry said.

"Okay, children! Listen up! You're all going to love this! When you return next year, Whispering Rock will be completely renovated! The Psychonauts have donated quite a sum of money for the renovations and they will begin tomorrow morning! We will have state of the art facilities and every camper will have their own room! How cool will that be?" Milla asked. All the campers started cheering and talking excitedly.

"Oh, don't cheer for me, cheer for Sasha! It was his idea! He got the grant and sat down with Morry and I and together we designed the layout and he'll be doing most of the renovating himself! Of course, he'll hopefully have a few other psychonaut volunteers to help him. It is a big job after all." Milla said. Everyone started cheering for Sasha. Sasha blushed and muttered something.

"Well, that's all we have for announcements. The busses should be here any minute. You are dismissed to your cabins to get your bags. Stay safe, have a good year at school, and remember how proud we are of you. We'll miss you!" Milla said.

A few campers stayed behind to give their counselors a hug or have a few last minute words with them. Also, a lot of phone number and address and email address exchanging was going on. Raz returned to the mess hall after grabbing his belongings to say goodbye to his friends. Phoebe was the first to ask Raz for his number. She thought it was strange that two people had started to ask him only to stop and walk away.

"Yo, Raz? What's your number and address, man? I'd like to keep in touch over the summer." Phoebe said.

"Actually, I don't have one." Raz said.

"Oh yeah, circus! I forgot. Guess I'll just have to come watch you perform to get the full story of any missions you get over the school year!" She said.

"Yeah, I guess so. If you give me your address, I can write to you, but you won't be able to write back. We go all over with the circus, so I get a lot of really cool postcards but nothing to do with them. If you get to come to the show, just tell any of the performers that you're a friend of mine. They'll let you into our caravan so we can visit. It gets lonely on the road." Raz said, he said the last part a little softer.

"Is that why you're so depressed? There aren't any kids your age in the circus?" Phoebe asked.

"No. Just the strong boy, and every time one of us opens our mouth to say something to the other, we wind up beating the tar out of each other. He hates gypsies." Raz said.

"All muscle, no brains, huh?" Phoebe asked. Raz chuckled and nodded.

"Sounds like my big brother." Phoebe snorted.

"Is he psychic too?" Raz asked.

"Yeah. He's already in the psychonauts. He thinks he's a babe magnet." Phoebe laughed.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah. I've got four sisters and five brothers." Raz said. Phoebe looked flabbergasted.

"A family of twelve? Wow! I thought one sibling was bad!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Actually it's a family of eleven." Raz said quietly. "My mother died five years ago."

"Oh, Raz, I'm so sorry!" Phoebe said.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Raz said.

"You think nine siblings are something? There are three sets of twins and a set of triplets in there." Lili said.

"Are you serious?" Phoebe asked.

"I told you Lili, there are only two sets of twins. My twin died, remember? But yes. Two sets of fraternal twins and a set of fraternal triplets. My twin Caspian and I were the only identical twins. He drowned when we were seven. Multiple births are actually pretty common among gypsies." Raz said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small photo album. The first photo had nine children in it, a tall man, and a beautiful woman. All of them had red-brown hair.

"These two are Bryson and Maria. They were just a month old when this was taken. They are one set of twins, then there are Sage and Elizabeth, they are twins too and they were three when this was taken, then there is Vera, she was six, then me and Caspian when we were seven, the triplets are Jennifer, Lyle, and Joseph, age 11, and my oldest brother Benjamin age 13 and of course my mom Sylvia and my father Greyson." Raz explained, going through the photo and pointing out each of his family members. Several campers had stopped to look at the photo as well.

"Wow, your mom was really pretty!" Crystal said.

"Yeah. She was really nice too." Raz said, tracing the woman's face.

"My goodness, Razputin, darling! I had no idea you had such a big family." Milla said, looking at the photo over Phoebe's shoulder.

"My heavens, darling!" She cried, her eyes widening.

"What?" Raz asked. Milla studied the photo carefully, then Raz.

"You look so much like your beautiful mother. Especially those green eyes. They are so beautiful, darling. Looking at this picture, it looks like you are the only one who got them." Milla said.

"You remind me a lot of my mom, Agent Vodello." Raz said. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Well darling, you know I'm always here if you need a mom." She said.

"Speaking of parents, I just got a message from your father, Razputin." Sasha said. He appeared to have just snapped out of some sort of trance.

"What?" Raz asked.

"He reached out to me with his mind. He said he may not be able to pick you up for a few days. The early cold actually brought on a snow storm and the circus is stuck where they are until the weather improves. Plus, most of the circus has come down with the flu and your father doesn't want you catching it. You'll be staying here until we sort out how to get you home." Sasha said.

"No arguments here!" Raz said, beaming.

"Aw, Raz gets to have all the fun!" JT said, handing a slip of paper with his address on it to Raz.

"Looks like the bus is here. Keep in touch, partner." He said.

"Yeah. Same here." Chops said, handing Raz his address too.

"Here's mine, Raz. If you go to Egypt, send me some pictures of the pyramids, m'kay? Egypt is really cool." Dogan said.

"Sure, Dogan." Raz said, giving the smaller boy a hug.

"I'll try to catch your show if you come near where I live. If we do see each other, you gotta come hang out and spend the night at my place; I mean, if you wanna." Dogan said.

"I'd love to. It'll be my first time spending the night at a friend's house." Raz said.

"I've got a bunch of good movies we can watch. It'll be a lot of fun. Plus, you can spend the night any night you want because I'm home schooled." Dogan said.

"Me too. Keep an eye out for the circus and swing by to see me. I'll definitely take you up on that offer." Raz said.

"I will. Bye Raz. Bye Agent Vodello. I'll miss you." Dogan said as he toddled to the bus with his luggage.

"Bye Dogan." Raz said, waving.

"Goodbye, Sweetie. You take care." Milla said.

"My dad knows where you are at all times, so I can come visit you whenever. It will still be nice if you could drop by my place sometime." Lili said, kissing Raz on the cheek and hugging him.

"So your dad is not only head of the psychonauts, but Santa Clause as well?" Raz asked. Lili snorted and elbowed him in the side.

"I'll see what I can do. Bye Lili. I'll miss you." Raz said, helping her with her bag.

"I'll miss you too. Send me lots of pictures." Lili said.

"I will. Bye Lili." Raz said. He was bidden goodbye by most of the other campers and waved as the bus departed. Lili blew him a farewell kiss, which he caught with a blush and put in his pocket.

"Sasha, darling, are you feeling alright?" Raz heard Milla's worried voice from outside as he made his way back up to the mess hall. Sasha was sitting in one of the chairs holding his head with a pained expression. Milla was standing next to him with her hands on his shoulders.

"You have been acting strangely for the past three days, darling. You aren't getting sick, are you?" Milla asked, feeling his forehead.

"I'll be fine, Milla. I just have a bad headache." Sasha said.

"You still have it, Sasha? You've had that headache for four days now. Hey, squirt." Ford said as he walked into the mess hall, ruffling Raz's hair. Raz smiled and hugged the elderly psychonaut before turning back to Sasha.

"Four days? Darling, why didn't you tell me?" Milla asked.

"Four days is a long time to have a headache, Sasha. Has it gotten worse?" Morry asked.

"And sonny boy, you'd better tell the truth, because I know when your lying." Ford said. Sasha sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Yes, it has gotten progressively worse." Sasha said.

"Do you feel ill at all?" Milla asked. Sasha shook his head and winced when a sharp twinge of pain shot through his head.

"Have you been sleeping well? You look exhausted darling." Milla said.

"I've been sleeping just fine." Sasha said.

"What have you been taking for your headache?" Ford asked.

"It's the strangest thing. I don't feel sick, but I feel like all the energy is just draining out of me. Nothing I take to stop the headache seems to work. Using my powers makes it worse and I've had this terrible feeling like I shouldn't try to use my powers at all or something bad will happen. When Razputin's father contacted me, the whole time I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, but I didn't know why. I know I've had this feeling before, but I can't place it. I feel like I'm missing something important. This isn't normal." Sasha said. It was obvious he was in pain.

"What do you think we should do, Ford?" Milla asked.

"For today, I think Sasha should take the rest of the day off and go lie down. If nothing's changed by morning, we'll swing by HQ and take him to a doctor. In the mean time, Sasha, if you feel like you shouldn't use your powers, don't. It's always best to follow your gut feeling." Ford said.

"You go and get some rest, darling. I'll make you some nice warm tea. That might help." Milla said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Raz asked. He suddenly found himself hanging in mid air by his ankle. He laughed when he realized Ford was messing with him.

"I'll take our little miscreant mininaut here with me. We'll be down in my sanctuary fooling around. Lets start by finding out why you're still at camp when the bus is gone, Hmm?" Ford asked, using his powers to tickle Raz's ribs. The boy squirmed and giggled.

"Okay, I'll talk! I'll talk!" Raz said dramatically. Ford stopped tickling him and thought for a moment.

"Wrong answer! A psychonaut would never talk! He would endure the torture until it killed him!" Ford said, tickling him again.

"Yep, I'm going to have to take this one down to my sanctuary for some serious interrogation. Come rescue him when you're done fussing over Sasha." Ford said, walking out the door and still levitating Raz in front of him. He would toss the boy and tickle him as he walked. Milla smiled as she watched them.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say Razputin and Ford were grandson and grandfather." Milla said.

"Yeah, well you and Raz could pass of easily as mother and son. You both have green eyes and Raz has brownish hair." Morry said. "He could just as easily pass of as Sasha's kid, the way Raz follows him around."

"I love Raz like he was my child and I know Sasha feels the same, though he won't admit that he's grown fond of Raz. Raz adores him. He wants to be just like him. I can see it in his eyes. And you would be the goofy uncle, Morry." Milla chuckled, putting a kettle on the stove and heating it with pyrokinesis.

"I wouldn't mind filling that role. He's a good kid." Morry said. "So, what do you think about Sasha's headache?"

"I know he had something similar happen before, but I'm still trying to remember what happened. One thing I do remember was that he was hospitalized for quite some time and that frightens me, Morry." She said softly.

"Hospitalized by a headache? This must have happened before I met you two." Morry said. Milla nodded and poured the tea.

"Yes, we were both new to the force at the time. We were still teenagers. They brought in specialists but they never did figure out what was wrong with him. He was in terrible pain and there was nothing I could do to help him. One day the pain got too intense for him to handle. It strained his heart and he had a stroke and nearly died." Milla shuddered and had to sit down to quell her shaking.

"My God..." Morry said.

"He went comatose for four days after that, but when he woke up, the pain had almost gone. He left the hospital a week later after he regained some of his strength." Milla said.

"That is bizarre." Morry said.

"It gets weirder. He seemed really depressed after he woke up. He wouldn't speak to anyone until two days after he left the hospital. He was terribly shaken up over something, but I don't know what. He never did tell anyone about it." Milla said.

"That's strange. Sasha keeps to himself, but if something were bothering him that much, I think he'd at least tell Ford about it." Morry said.

"Speaking of whom, I suppose someone should go rescue Razputin from him. I'm going to take this tea to Sasha." Milla said, giggling softly.

"I guess I'm going in then. Wish me luck. I hope I'm not to late." Morry said in a bored tone, all the while smiling with amusement.

"Good luck, Morry. You're the bravest man I know." Milla said.

"And you're the bravest woman I know. Just be careful if he's asleep. You know how he is." Morry said seriously.

"I will, darling. Oh, drat. It's raining!" Milla said, taking her coat off the rack and pulling it on. "I'll meet you down there in a few minutes."

Crickets chirping

looks around and twiddles fingers

So...um...chapter one. Yeah. What do you think?

Squeaks and hides under jacket

Don't hurt me!

Reviews appreciated as well as constructive comments! No flames please!