{Losing memories begins and ends with the senses

[myheadisaprison]

Eway/Wonderland-verse PSL with hypoxic
{The Beginning}

Comments

{W-2!Cisco & W-1!Fitz

[thisismadfreaky]

[He and Fitz had been working for....a really, really long time to do this. To actually go....somewhere. Wherever it was they were going. Did it matter any more as long as it wasn't there? That, he thinks, is the important part. Anywhere was fine, as long as it was elsewhere.

And he thinks maybe he found it.

Cisco stands in the middle of the lab, certainly in different clothes than Fitz saw him in seconds ago, spinning in a half-circle before his gaze lands on his friend.] Why'd you move everything?

[hypoxic]

To make room for the portal. [It's an absent murmur; Fitz is too busy watching the data compile upon Cisco's return.] I told you that cramping it any further would cause items to travel with you.

You took longer than we'd intended. Did you find anything interesting?

[thisismadfreaky]

Right... [He tips his head slightly, but he decides it makes enough sense, so he doesn't press it much. Instead, he goes to look over Fitz's shoulder. None of it really makes much sense, does it? But that's the way of things. No sense makes sense in Wonderland.] How much longer

Hmm... I don't know... [He pulls away from hovering over Fitz's shoulder and stares at him, squinting. Something was different. Or maybe Cisco was different. He had traveled somewhere else, after all.] I'm not sure I remember what I was looking for.

[hypoxic]

Nearly a minute longer. We'd discussed minimizing risk by being spatially aware.

[But he trails off as he gets a better glimpse of the dazed look on Cisco's face.]

....Your pupils are dilated. Did you hit your head? There could be a concussion.

[thisismadfreaky]

[There's a word in there he isn't catching, and he's squinting, trying to figure it out when he notices Fitz looking at him.]

What? [Absently, he reaches up to touch the back of his head. Ah, the power of suggestion.] No, I don't think so.

[hypoxic]

We should probably check you out nonetheless. Here, sit down.

[He pushes a chair closer to Cisco and urges him into it.]

You remember what month it is, yeah?

[thisismadfreaky]

[He feels fine, but if it will make Fitz feel better, he'll let him do his little checks. He can be fussy about things like that sometimes.]

Well, no... we stopped counting awhile ago. Are you sure you didn't hit your head?

[hypoxic]

That's... Not true.

[And it's worrisome that Cisco would say that.]

What about other recent events? You know where you are, what's been going on?

W-1!Cisco in W-2

[hypoxic]

[Events are going to happen, and hard. But this one has rendered the landscape positively Victorian. It's a pastoral landscape, mostly, with mushroom fields to the east and a cartoonishly long tea table to the west, where the tea serves itself. Most residents find themselves either dressed in a decidedly Alice-ish manner, with powder blue suits and dresses forced upon them. Some seem affected in a deeper way, fitting other Wonderland tropes more completely. Ray, for example, couldn't seem to find a reason to be full sized, preferring to lie among the mushrooms and smoke heavily. Caitlin had woken with the head of a rabbit, and couldn't sit still for very long without fretting about how late it was getting. And Barry had been stiff, repeating to Cisco that he had to paint roses no matter what questions were asked. Other human-animal hybrids went about their days as if they'd stepped out of a storybook.

Fitz approaches Cisco outside the checkerboard fields, nodding his head in greeting.]

It's this one again. Seems like we've been getting this one a lot lately. Maybe the queen's putting finishing touches on people who don't have any non-Wonderland memories to chew up.

[thisismadfreaky]

Yeah it is. Has been for...a really long time now.

[Cisco frowns a little and shrugs.] There was something with rabbits recently. One of those holiday ones. Everyone woke up with a plastic egg with something inside of it. I got this. [He holds up the necklace he's wearing, which has a cross on it. It didn't mean much to him, but he wore it simply because...it was his.] Not sure why, though.

[hypoxic]

[His lips press together. Cisco's hurt. Cisco's badly hurt.]

We ought to have Jemma give you a full checkup as soon as she gets back to the lab. Perhaps crossing dimensions has scrambled you a bit...

[thisismadfreaky]

[He shakes his head, smiling in a very unconcerned about the situation sort of way, patting his friend's arm.] You're fretting for nothing. I'm fine, Fitz. Promise.

[hypoxic]

I promise you, Cisco, you aren't fine. You're just confused. We'll take some scans and make sure it's just bruising on the brain and nothing more serious than that.

[This is his fault. He pushed the issue before Cisco's powers were ready for it.]

[thisismadfreaky]

[Cisco stares at him for a long moment, yes, very, incredibly, deeply confused. But for all the wrong reasons. But it all sounds very important to Fitz, so he won't fight him.]

If you insist. [He shrugs a little and, since it seems that he's done until later when he can see Jemma, Cisco spins in a slow circle in the chair.] What do we do between now and then?

[hypoxic]

[This. Is. Terrible. But he needs to keep Cisco awake and engaged for the foreseeable future at least.]

Well. ...Cisco. Why don't you tell me a bit more about your experiences while you were away. Do you remember anything about what happened -- where you visited?

[thisismadfreaky]

You keep saying that. Like I left here. But I didn't. [He pauses in his spinning when he's faced back around to look at Fitz again and tips his head.] This is the other place.

[thisismadfreaky]

This.... has happened before? [Cisco asks, tone confused at that implication because he definitely didn't have any memory of anything like this happening since he's been in Wonderland. He's also deeply concerned about how casual he's being about the idea of the Queen doing anything.] Why are you so okay with this?

[hypoxic]

You're babbling nonsense... Do you even hear yourself?

[He'll need to set up an MRI. Do they even have the right equipment to manage that?? ]

[thisismadfreaky]

[If he hears Fitz's concern, he certainly doesn't acknowledge it.] What were we doing before? Where were we trying to go? Do you remember? I haven't remembered for a long time, and I didn't think you did either, but you seem different.

[hypoxic]

It's just an event, Cisco. [It's not even a bad one.] They happen sometimes. Maybe they're happening all the time and we just don't always know it. Oh, there's tea!

[He'll breeze past Cisco and move toward the tea tables, thoroughly unconcerned about the setting.]

[hypoxic]

[It hurts to hear. Cisco's powers must have backfired horribly this time.]

We've been trying to go home, Cisco. It's been our project for years now.

[thisismadfreaky]

[He laughs a little, like that's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard.] What are you talking about? we are home.

[hypoxic]

[There's a crash then, as he loses his grip on what he'd been holding.]

It's mindwiped you. Wonderland always pushes back. Oh dear...

[thisismadfreaky]

I know, that's not.... this one, though? This Event in particular has happened before? [But it doesn't seem like Fitz is very interested in answering his questions and now he's on a quest for tea. Great. Okay, then. He's following after him.] Fitz. Focus. Something about all of this isn't right. You know that, don't you?

[thisismadfreaky]

[His eyes widen a little at the crash, but otherwise he seems mostly unphased. Well, other than being confused, but that's his new default setting, isn't it?] You worry too much. You know, I've always said that. You're gonna worry your head right to dead, you know that.