Go Ask Alice... (Part 2 of ?)

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Summary: Find something to hold onto - Skinner & Anna have found Mulder & Scully, and along with the horrors of what their captors have done to them, Anna must make a hard choice. (HERE THERE BE MAJOR ANGST!!!!! MulderAngst, ScullyAngst, SkinnerAngst, and a little AnnaAngst thrown in for good measure)

Thank you's: Thank you to MulderAngst and all of you wonderful writers & esp. Susan Proto who inspired me by writing the 'Abah' series!

Disclaimer: You know it's coming, and here it is! ALL of the characters, names, descriptions, places, etc. (except Anna & Austaur who belong to me) belong exclusively to Chris Carter and 1013 productions.

"SHIT!" Skinner cursed as he ran for the door, knowing, even before he got there that it was futile. He turned slowly and in the dim light saw Anna fall back against the wall, her face a mask of concentration.

"I'm ok" Anna answered, regaining control. Her mind flashed with images of the last time a line had slipped out of her control. When she opened her eyes, Skinner was directly in front of her, concern etched in his features. "Really, check on your agents."

Skinner walked back over to Mulder & Scully who, and, after a moment of panic, were asleep. He tried unsuccessfully to wake them. He startled as he felt someone behind him before he realized it was his niece.

"Not yet. Help me, I need to make sure they are ok." Skinner said, hefting Mulder over to her and positioning Scully on the floor before him. Anna lay Mulder down, carefully laying his head on the floor and stared at him.

The healer in her catalogued his injuries; scrapes, abrasions, bruises, whip marks? Shit. She took his hand and looked up his arm, squinting in the dim light. Injection marks. Bastards. Having done the best she could, she moved over to Scully.

"How is he?" Skinner asked as Anna moved to sit beside him, leaning over Scully. She took a few moments before answering.

Anna sat in silence as Skinner moved around the room, trying to find a way out. She looked over in surprise as both Mulder & Scully began to wake.

Mulder came to consciousness quickly; he moved suddenly reaching out across the floor.

Scully? Scully's gone. She was here, what have they done to her? ScullyScullyScullyScully...

"Scully?" He called in desperation as he began sliding across the floor searching for Scully, who was laying just a few feet away and making no acknowledgement of his desperate call. Skinner watched in horror as the realizations sunk in.

"Mulder!" He called, the utter helplessness of his agent and friend breaking through his shock. "Mulder, it's ok. She's right here."

"Sir?" Mulder whispered as Skinner's hand grabbed his shoulder and held it, despite Mulder's pull to release it. Scully was awake and sitting up at this point, and the minute she saw the anguish on Mulder's face she was there beside him, hands caressing his face and holding him tightly. She watched Skinner warily.

Oh Mulder, I am so sorry. I am here Mulder, shhh. Is it true? Is that really Skinner? Who is the girl? It's ok Mulder. Calm down.

Anna's stomach lurched as she realized what exactly had been done to them, and why. She looked over wide-eyed at Skinner.

Skinner looked over at his niece like she was indeed crazy. Anna returned his gaze directly.

"If you take away their ability to communicate..." She began, trailing off as she glanced back at them. "She doesn't believe it's really you. Can you get her to believe you? I will talk to Fox."

"Mulder. He hates to be called Fox." Skinner replied dully as he takes a deep breath and holds out his hand to Scully. Her gaze shifted from Anna to her Assistant Director and then to Mulder before taking it and leaving Mulder, who immediately started to panic again. Scully began to turn back, but Skinner took her face in his hands and forced her to watch him speak.

"I am Skinner. I am Skinner." He said over and over again quietly, carefully watching her face. Anna moved over and held Mulder's hands as she whispered to him.

"Mulder, I know you don't know me, but Scully is fine. She is with my uncle, Walter Skinner."

"My name is Anna. Mulder, can you see me?" Anna frowned as he shook his head. "It's ok. I understand."

"Yes Mulder, it's me. We will get you out of here." Skinner replied. As to how, I haven't the slightest idea.

Anna sighed as Mulder put his head in his hands and cried quietly. It wasn't long before Scully was at his side, holding his head and comforting him. She stood up and walked over to her uncle.

"I don't know." Skinner replied, leaning heavily against the wall. "They are asleep again. Are you sure you're ok?"

"I think I know a way out of here." Anna said quietly, avoiding his question and trying not to wince as the thought entered her mind. She looked over at Skinner.

Skinner continued to watch her and Anna bit her bottom lip and turned back to stare at Mulder and Scully. They need help. Austaur will kill me though, if I don't die before we get home.

Anna braced herself against the wall for support and closed her eyes. The agents had begun waking up a few minutes ago, and not knowing how long they were going to be conscious, she wanted to hurry. Mentally, she followed the line of energy she was holding down to the pocket of energy she knew would be there, the node. She hesitated as she 'looked' into the massive ball of energy, pushing her fears and doubts to the back of her mind. She had never tried this, though she knew it worked, in theory. I hope my uncle doesn't freak...

"Uncle, when I say move, you have to go." Anna said, straining as she divided her attention momentarily to address him. "Austaur should be able to help you, be careful about taking them to a hospital."

Skinner eyed her wearily. What the hell is she doing? She is talking like she...won't be there. ANNA?

"Anna! What are you doing?" Skinner yelled at her, his ears popping as the air in the room began to compress.

"Trust me!" She whispered as she diverted all of her attention to the task at hand. Skinner watched her body pull taunt as she dove into the energy node and directed it through herself. The room brightened as a gateway opened at the end.

Anna remained silent as she worked, but her entire body screamed in pain as she directed the energy into a doorway they could use to get home. As she finished laying the groundwork, her control faltered momentarily and she blanched, terrified.

"NOW!" She screamed, her eyes opening as she watched Skinner pull the agents through the gateway and into safety. Fighting every instinct in her body, she forced herself into movement and threw herself into the gate, the energy she was precariously controlling slipping from her grasp.

As they disappeared, the light in the room faded and there was silence. Outside in the hallway voices began chattering excitedly as they neared the room.

Austaur looked up from the book he was pretending to read, the tingle at the back of his neck was the only warning he had before the earth lurched sideways.

He watched as the gateway opened and Anna's uncle and two other people spilled out onto the floor, and looked up just in time to see Anna appear behind them. He watched in horror as she lost her hold and the gateway collapsed, sending all of it's energy back into its creator. Anna screamed in agony as the energy coursed through her like an electrical current. Then the silence fell.

Skinner had turned in time to see what had happened to his niece, and Scully, following his lead, watched in abject disbelief. For a heartbeat, no one moved, then there was chaos. Suddenly the room was filled with people, some of them clamoring around Mulder & Scully, the others staring in horror at Anna.

Mulder had his head over his ears and was rocking back and forth on the floor, lost somewhere within his tormented mind. Scully remained motionless, torn between trying to find the strength of her doctor's nature to go to the fallen girl and comforting her partner. Skinner stared as Austaur ran to her, and after a moment, looked back at him.

"You have your agents. Take them to your hospitals and leave this place!" Austaur glared at him as Skinner hesitated. "Go!"

Skinner looked up at the clock for the fourth time in an hour and sighed, pacing the waiting room. He sat down in the hard plastic chair and sighed, placing his head in his hands. He didn't want to think about what had happened and he didn't want to think about Anna, so he pushed it all to the back of his mind and tried to focus on what could be taking the doctors so damned long.

Skinner glanced up, then practically leaped out of the chair to stand in front of the doctor.

"Well, considering. We placed them in the same room, as you requested, and considering what I know about the situation that placed them here, is the most logical action from a psychological standpoint."

The doctor nodded. "I will walk you up. They are very weak, malnourished and dehydrated, which you probably knew, and it will take some time for them to rebuild their strength. As far as their recovery time, that is what will take the longest. The bruises and abrasions, though they look bad, should heal fairly quickly.
"Agent Mulder has a few cracked ribs, and a nasty concussion, but those too will heal in time. We have him on a mild sedative."

The doctor stopped in front of a room and turned to face the Assistant Director in full seriousness.

"The cause of Agent Mulder's blindness and Agent Scully's deafness is unknown. We have found several as of yet, unidentified substances in both of their blood samples. We are trying to isolate and identify them, but the process is slow going. They could be the cause, but..."

"That seems to be more psychological in nature, though right now there is no way of telling."

"I see. Thank you doctor." Skinner said, waiting until Dr. Speares had turned to leave before slowly pushing open the doors.

Skinner closed the door and walked into the room, a small hiss escaped his mouth as he saw the condition his agents were in, and his heart lurched to the floor. In the stark light of the hospital, their abuse was painfully evident. A wave of guilt slammed down on him and he almost physically shook with its oppression.

With some surprise, he noticed both Scully and Mulder were awake, Scully was staring sadly at her partner, not yet aware of Skinner's presence, and Mulder lay very still, his glassy eyes squinted as they tried to see.

Skinner cleared his throat and smiled as Mulder turned his head towards him, followed quickly by Scully who looked to see what had caught Mulder's attention.

"I think I need to get you a permanent office here, Agent Mulder." Skinner said, forcing the smile to remain and walking over towards Scully. Scully smiled up at him weakly as if to say 'thank you'.

"Agent Mulder, for a man who graduated from Oxford your vocabulary is amazing small." Skinner joked and was rewarded with a small half smile. Suddenly his smile faded as he watched Mulder abruptly fall asleep, and looking down, he noticed Scully had done the same.

He stood there, puzzled, as his mind struggled with this bizarre behavior. He glanced up at the clock as he reviewed his memories. Something here was important...

They may have taken away their ability to communicate with each other by speech or even sign language, but they have become...

His mind seized on memories and pulled them together, adding pieces of the puzzle from other sources. Hostages, prisoner of war camps, Mendelee.

Conditioning! They have been conditioned to...ok, think logically. Their sleeping patterns have been altered severely. What for? Sleep deprivation? Maybe, long term alterations. Oh God, not what for, what ELSE has been done to them? Why?

Skinner sat in the chair between the beds and tore off his glasses as he tried to think. He was asleep before his hand reached his lap.

Not Scully! Don't touch her you bastards! What are you doing to her? STOP! SCULLY!
MULDER!

Oh Scully, no, not you. Not you.
Mulder felt the needle as it tore into his skin and removed his ability to fight. Helpless, he lay looking up at the men in silhouette as they bent over him, moving the needle closer to his eyes...his eyes...

Mulder awoke with a start. His hand moved over his eyes, but the darkness remained. The images in his memories turned to memories of sounds and hurtful touch, but the memories remained, as did the darkness.

Mulder moved his head towards the voice; the voice was a lifeline for him to focus on and help him fight the vortex and vertigo in his head.

He struggled, slipping, until the voice returned and he grabbed it. Almost physically he lurched into reality.

"Agent Mulder? Are you alright?" Skinner sounded worried. Suddenly, a strong hand rested gently on his shoulder.

"Sir, where...am...I?" Mulder struggled to force the words out, breaking into a cold sweat as he clipped each word trying to speak a complete thought.

"Virginia Medical. You are safe here." Skinner added, wiping the sweat off of Mulder's forehead.

Mulder felt Skinner sit back down and lean onto his bed, grabbing his hand. The action was so reassuring that Mulder couldn't stop the tears from welling up.

Mulder shook his head and bit down on his bottom lip trying to focus while he continued.

"Scully...I...couldn't...stop them." Mulder finished the last two words in a rush and the grief raged through as he sobbed.

Skinner was very quiet as he sat there and let Mulder cry it out. He was beginning to understand. He glanced up in time to see Scully who was trying to sit up and move over to Mulder. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand firmly and pressed down, shaking his head. She settled back down in the bed and looked up at him, her eyes shining.

Skinner sat there, holding his two agents together until the hour struck and they passed out into oblivion once again.

Ok, go easy on me, this is my first submission! ;)
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