Zilch Origins – A Psychonauts Story

Bobby Zilch climbed out of his seat as soon as soon as the plane touched down. He had been called up as a Psychonauts Intern. Apparently, Raz and Lily had actually put in a good word for him as he had been on a waitlist to get called into headquarters. Maybe little Razputin was not such a bad guy. Bobby had gone through a lot in the past few months. He had been trying to better himself. Not surprisingly, getting kidnapped and having his brain removed had been a life-changing experience. Like many of his fellow campers, he had needed to take some time to recover both emotionally and mentally. His powers had not worked right away but they came back with time. He had spent a lot of time getting his head straight and shedding his bullying tendencies.

A lot of credit for all of this was due to Chloe Barge, Bobby’s girlfriend. Bobby had developed an intense crush on Chloe, allowing himself to be a little vulnerable around her. Chloe seemed uninterested, focused instead on investigating her alleged extraterrestrial origins. In the end, Chloe agreed to date Bobby if he stopped bullying the other kids. He had agreed immediately and left bullying behind him bit by bit. Stopping being a bully felt really good after a while and Bobby started to feel better about himself. He was ready to focus on being a Psychonaut.

Chloe climbed out of the pilot seat. She still wore a helmet which she did whenever she was in public. Bobby had been able to coax her to take the helmet off in private. It was not a bad idea to still wear it for missions.

“Here we are,” Chloe said. “Back at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. How does it feel?”

“I don’t know,” Bobby said. “A lot of different emotions. A lot of really scary things happened here but I wouldn’t have met you or figured out my powers without being here.”

“I’m still surprised that they only sent two interns on this mission,” Chloe said. 

“We know this place and it is probably not any more dangerous than it was normally,” Bobby said. “But I have a feeling that they’re not far away and that this is a test.”

Chloe nodded. “Everything is a test in the Psychonauts,” she said. “We should probably go over mission parameters really quick. Dr. Caligosto Loboto DDS has escaped captivity at Psychonauts headquarters an escape only witnessed by Razputin Aquato. Loboto was one of two villains responsible for the Thorney Towers incident. He was later used by Gristol Malik in an effort to destroy the Psychonauts.”

“Right,” Bobby said. “But we know from mission logs in the Rhombus of Ruin and Agent Nein’s interrogation notes that Loboto regrets his actions. He’s somewhat reformed. Maybe.”

“And there was that other thing that Razputin mentioned that Loboto said,” Chloe said. “That’s why we’re here. Loboto said that he was returning to camp because he left his child here.”

Bobby sighed. “I get it,” he said. “Loboto and I kind of look like each other. We have the same skin color, the same eyes, and the same body type. There’s a lot of similarities.”

“Do you think he could possibly be your father, though?” Chloe asked, trying to be tactful which Bobby knew was tough for her. “Is there a world where that’s true?”

“I don’t know,” Bobby said. “My mother went quiet when I tried to bring it up and I wasn’t about to ask my dad. I don’t think he’s my father.”

“But what if he is?” Chloe asked. “Can you still bring him in with me?”

“Honestly? If he’s my biological father then I want to capture him even more,” Bobby said. “But if he was my biological father then that means he still stole my brain and your brain. He also left me in the dark for thirteen years.”

Chloe nodded. “And that sucks,” she said. “I understand how that feels.” She momentarily looked up at the ceiling of the plane as if she was looking at the stars. “But Loboto is also insane. He barely knows what he is doing sometimes. Somebody drove an ice pick into his brain.”

“Yeah, it’s complicated,” Bobby said. “But we don’t get answers here on the plane. Let’s move out. We have a nutjob to find.”

Tags: A to Z, A to Z Blogging Challenge, Bobby Zilch, Fanfiction, Fiction, Psychonauts, Z, Zilch Begins