When You're a Mystery Kid

The Initiative

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here.

Raz paced restlessly up and down the corridor of the Psychonauts HQ. Occasionally, he would shoot a glance at the metal door with the Psychonauts symbol emblazoned on it as he passed by it, stationed in the middle of the corridor. Beyond that door is a meeting room commonly used only by Psychonauts High Command, if they ever need to discuss matters of extreme importance and secrecy. So, being told to 'standby and wait for further orders' outside of it made him understandably agitated.

Lili was also there with him, given the same orders as Raz by her superiors. While Raz opted to pace in an attempt to calm his nerves, Lili sat on a metal bench near the meeting room door, clasping her hands together and staring daggers at the floor, deep in thought.

As he passed by Lili again for the umpteenth time, Raz paused in front of her, and sighed.

"Are you sure we didn't do anything wrong?"

Lili looked up at Raz, then back at the floor again. She rubbed her hands together, considering the question.

"We shouldn't have." Lili started slowly, still wracking her memory even as she answered the question. "We've been stuck with desk duty ever since we were pulled from our posting at Gravity Falls. The worse we could have done was misplacing some documents. I don't think that would warrant... this."

Raz started tapping his foot rapidly, an adequate substitute from his endless pacing. He began searching through his memories as well, for something, anything, that would explain why they were summoned.

"What if the document were super important? Like, top-secret, highly classified stuff?"

Lili looked back at him with an expression usually reserved for when he said something stupid. "Documents like that won't even get into our hands in the first place."

"Then why are we here?"

"I don't know, Raz!" Lili suddenly exclaimed. "My dad tells me a lot, but he doesn't tell me everything, okay?!"

Raz took a step back. Lili breathes out a long sigh, deflating, looking away with a hint of regret on her face.

"Sorry. This is just-"

"It's okay. I know."

Silence hung between them. Eventually, Lili stared off into empty space again, going back to her thoughts. Meanwhile, Raz resigned himself to a few more rounds of restless pacing.

He only managed two and a half before the silence is broken by the sound of an opening door.

For a split second, he thought it was the meeting room door opening. He thought it was finally time for their questions to be answered. However, he quickly realized the sound came from behind him, not beside him. The only door in that direction is the entrance to this corridor.

He whipped around, and his jaw hit the floor.

"Guys? How are you-?! What are you doing here?!"

Lili stood up from her seat, but stayed silent. Just looking at her expression, it's obvious she is just as surprised as he was.

As she marched up to the psychic pair, eyes a mix of stoicism and confusion, Coraline replied, "I was hoping you'd have the answer to that question."

Raz could barely believe his eyes. Standing in front of him is Coraline Jones herself, in the flesh. Someway, somehow, she's here, in the Psychonauts HQ. What's more, marching up behind her, following her, are Wybie, Dipper, Mabel, Norman, and Neil.