(Untitled)

[heads_i_lived]

Mickey hears everything going to hell behind her, she feels Snake shoving her and Schreber through the portal, and she feels herself letting go of him. There's a feeling of vertigo, followed by the feeling of falling and spinning at the same time, then the feeling of hitting the ground hard

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[not_seacrest]

Ryan bounds down the stairs in a t-shirt and pajama pants, Jack not too far behind. "Mickey?" He throws open the door. "Mickey! Thank God, you're back!" He pulls her in and hugs her gently, worried she might be hurt. She certainly looks like she's been through Hell.

Jack watches the two with a relieved smile. "Rashid said you might be back soon. We were so worried, Mickey."

[heads_i_lived]

"Ryan, oh thank god, you're alive," she says. Mickey hugs Ryan back, practically leaning against him. "I - there is no way anything I'm about to say will make any sense," Mickey says. There's black ichor on her, and she's exhausted.

"I was worried too. You have no idea. I - I need to sit down."

[not_seacrest]

"Of course I'm alive," Ryan replies, confused. He gently helps her over to the chair behind the counter. "Are you hurt? We woke up one morning and you weren't-- uh, what are you wearing?"

Jack looks over Mickey, concerned. He's been injured enough times to tell that she's favoring one side for a reason. "When we couldn't find you, I contacted Rashid. After some scrying, he concluded you were trapped in a dimension that we couldn't access."

[heads_i_lived]

"I was - I was worried. I thought you were stuck where I was..." Mickey gets into the chair and sinks down.

"Rashid was right. There were these... these things, called the Strangers. They kidnapped people, they... they changed our memories." she shudders. "I was this Irish girl named Shirley Flynn. I sang at bars at night, except it was always night in that city. The Strangers, they didn't like sunlight. Or water. I..." She rubs her head, hard. "Everything is just... Oh god, Ryan, Jack... I got chased by one of those things, but it was different. It had... tentacles coming out of it's head."

She rubs her temples hard, shaking.

[not_seacrest]

"How did they change your memories?" Ryan asks, horrified. Jack isn't as shocked, but he does look concerned. He's familiar with the occult, but aliens are a little out of his league.

"But... you remember who you are now, right?" Ryan adds.

[heads_i_lived]

"They... took them out with these needles. I met this man, Schreber, he said that they'd forced him to do it... he walked with a cane and had a wheeze. I think they tortured him. They -" Mickey pauses, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a syringe.

"I... I remember who I am now, yeah," she says. "Some things are still fuzzy. It's just..." she shakes her head. "I remember waking up and thinking I was Shirley Flynn, and that I needed to buy milk and groceries. Then, after I did that, I went home and read a bit, then I was headed to the bar. I stopped in this automat thing, talked to some people. Everything was... normal, at that point. I thought I was somebody else, I didn't know either of you..."

She winces as she turns to look at Jack. "I... think I might have to go to the hospital. I took a couple of hard tumbles..."

[not_seacrest]

The name doesn't mean anything to Ryan. He's never seen Schreber in the Nexus. He jumps a little when she pulls out the syringe. "Holy crap, that's huge. And they stuck that in your head?" He starts looking her over worriedly again.

Jack gently pats Mickey on the shoulder. "One of us can take you. Do you want to change first? It's a lovely dress, dear, but I don't think you'll be able to explain the alien blood."

"Let me help you upstairs," says Ryan, offering his hand.

[heads_i_lived]

"Yeah. Yeah, they did... That glowing stuff is... someone's memories." she shudders, remembering the doctor and his daughter, the huge needle, the fear...

Mickey takes Ryan's hand. "Thanks. Yeah, I... I need to change. As nice as this dress is, I can't wait to get out of it..."

[not_seacrest]

Ryan frowns uncomfortably. "Do you think we need to put that in The Vault?"

He helps Mickey upstairs, to her room, while Jack follows behind, intending to make some tea. "I'll wait here, while you change."

"You should change, too," Jack calls up. "Unless you want to drive to the hospital in your pajamas."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He looks sheepish for a moment, then heads into his room. "I'll meet you back out here, Mickey."

[heads_i_lived]

"I don't think it's cursed," she says. She rubs the back of her neck. "It's important, because it's someone's memories, you know?"

Mickey can't help but smile at Jack's words. "It would be kind of awkward, I gotta admit," she says.

Her room has never looked so familiar and welcoming. It's a bit painful to move around, but she doesn't really care. It's good to get back into her clothes. She sighs in relief.

[not_seacrest]

"But not your memories, right?" He looks down at the syringe. "Should we return it to someone?"

Ryan huffs. "I'll have you know that these are very stylish pjs," he calls down to Jack before shutting his door.

When Mickey's ready, she'll find Ryan waiting outside her door, in jeans and a t-shirt. "Ready? I'll take you to Memorial. Hopefully it's not too busy right now."

[heads_i_lived]

"No, obviously not. I'll try to see if I can find the guy in the Nexus, see if he can figure out where they came from..."

Mickey is wearing comfortable clothes, mainly so she can move around easily. "Yeah, I'm ready. And it's the middle of the night - I really doubt it will be."

[not_seacrest]

"Well, you never know, around here." He gently takes Mickey's arm and walks with her down the stairs. "We'll be back... y'know, when we're back," he calls out to Jack before they walk out the door.

He unlocks his car's door and holds it open for her. "So, uh, how did you get out of there?" He had kept an eye on the Nexus but hadn't witnessed a mass exodus.

[heads_i_lived]

Mickey feels a bit grateful when Ryan gives her his arm. She's thirsty, hungry, and is planning on sleeping for ages when she gets back home.

"Don't make anything explode while we're gone," Mickey calls to Jack. "I'm too tired to clean anything up."

She waits for Ryan to get into the car before she starts to explain. "There was this... tunnel. Schreber, this man named Dovev, and I got into this cart thing. We went down into this... pit, below the city, where everything was controlled. We were attacked, but we were able to damage this machine that the Strangers used. It made this... portal, thing, open. Dovev shoved me and Schreber at it, and then... I was here."

[not_seacrest]

Ryan listens while he starts the car and pulls out onto the quiet street. There are a few other cars on the road. Even in the middle of the night, Chicago is busy. "Did you know the Dovev guy? Was he from the Nexus, too?" He frowns at the mention of the machines. "That must be how they kidnapped you in the first place, by opening up a portal." He slams the heel of his hand onto the steering wheel, irritated. "Damn. I thought our place was safe from that sort of thing."

[heads_i_lived]

"He seemed familiar. I can't place where, though, but I know I hadn't met him before that." She looks out the window, feeling very tired and lost.

"I bet it's how they got us. Do you think that TC could put up wards for that kind of thing?" she closes her eyes, shivering. She feels violated.