Prologue

There was always one thing you could count on, no matter what happened in your life; that things never went as planned. It was a long journey... first you watched your Rick become ash then got dumped into another dimension with another Rick. Finding out what happened became a bitch, not to mention learning about your true powers and what they meant for you. Men could manipulate you once you let them in... so far, all ended up falling in love or becoming family. And speaking of family... you hid a huge adulterous affair from your husband! Once your bond with him (Mack) was released, his doing by the way, you remembered what he truly meant to you and that there was another level to your bond with him. But things just seemed to get worse. A fucked up version of yourself, multiple Ricks, a new family and ways to save everyone. You needed a vacation. You got one for a week. But, in the end, like everything else in your life... the shit hit the fan. The same fuckers who killed your husband came for you and your new Rick. You thought they were a thing of the past. You thought they had stopped following you. Boy were you wrong. And now, through all of this pain, through all of this self discovery, you find yourself falling again. Worse, you are falling without the slightest idea of where you are headed. The last thing to come to mind are the events played out before you fell. Then your mind goes silent. The memories stop. Who were you again? Oh, that's right... Tess. But what else? There had to have been something else right? Nope.

Chapter 1

Dive Bar

"Whoa! Are you alright girl? Dude… totally looked like you fell from the ceiling… Need to lay off these drugs man…" A disheveled young man held out his hand and you took it, standing up on uneasy feet. He bounced away, banging his head to the drum beat echoing off the walls. You could feel the beat of the drums and bass as it reverberated through your body. Closing your eyes, you follow the beat to its source; a three person band on a rickety stage. You know you're in a dive bar from the smells penetrating your senses; drugs, cigarettes, body odor. This place didn't look familiar though. Looking around didn't help much either. Bodies were packed in the small area listening to the screeching of the lead singer. Everyone was either buzzed by drugs or alcohol. There was one way into the small bar and that was through the mass of people at least ten feet long. You don't remember coming in… what did that guy say? He said you looked like you fell from the ceiling… but there is no whole or crack. Trying to remember only brings a green haze. The music is helping to keep you calm and rational as you decide to just sway to the melody as it sweeps you up and back towards the stage.

A man in ripped, black jeans and a light blue, low cut tank top looks down at you, bass in hand. His eyes are adorned with thick black eyeliner, his (light blue?) hair spiked up, as his black lips make a kiss motion. The sounds of screaming women invade you as you look back to the audience to see the wave of women crowding the stage. The bass takes over for a solo as its player walks around the stage, flaunting his slim figure with pelvic thrusts and entertaining the girls by curving out his tongue. You roll your eyes as you look over the other band members. The lead singer is a… bird man? He looks like a guy but with feathers instead of hair and massive wings trailing behind him. He wears no shirt and shows little muscle structure. The drummer was a… cat? That was all you could think of; an orange cat. Large enough to reach the drums and kick. He played with a ferocity while he focused on his drum sticks. You noticed a tail as it flicked behind him, almost scaly with a tuft of orange fur at the end.

Behind the group was a tattered black fabric with words in red paint; The Flesh Curtains. Strange name, but you couldn't remember them. You start to think of how you must have gotten here. The thought of a drug addled brain comes to the forefront. I wonder if I took too much… that was the only thing to account for the memory loss. You shake your head and decide to let it ride out. Enjoy the band and the atmosphere and obviously the person you came in with will help you get home. No way had you come to this place to get this blazed without a backup plan. That calmed the mind as you turn back to the stage to view the lead singer take over. His voice was a strange combination of screeching out higher notes and cooing out lower tones that left shivers down your spine. The drums were on beat with every tempo change; the faces from the drummer were outstanding to watch. Then there was the bassist. He was… different. From what you could tell from the crowd's reaction, he was viewed as a sex symbol by both men and women. You could hear multiple cat calls asking him to do all sorts of things to their body… and his name was Rick. You close your eyes at the name. Your balance is off as you start to sway, the bar scene around you turning green as you fall. Always falling…

When you open your eyes the first thing you notice is that the music was no longer playing. Rubbing the back of your head, you look around the small dressing room to see two of the band members. The one named Rick was nowhere to be seen. The cat looking one jumps over to your side of the couch.

"Whoa, easy there. You squanched out on the floor back there. Rick wanted to bring you back here. You've been squanching for a couple of hours now. We were worried, but Rick said it was a minor concussion." He turns your head as you feel his paws search through your hair. "Where's the squanching wound? You were bleeding! What the squanch?"

"Perhaps it is due to her being from another race. Remember Squanchy, she is not human because of her blue blood. It is most likely that her race heals faster. Most beneficial to you." The bird man looks to you softly. It was hard to imagine that the screeching singer on stage that held so much emotion was the same man in front of you. His voice was monotone and even, almost soothing. You watch him as he sits closer, handing you a cup with hot liquid in it. As you look into it, he responds, "It is not poison if that is what you are thinking. It is a concoction that I give to Rick when he wakes up from having a long night of drugs and alcohol. It will help with the headache."

"Thank you…" you pause, not knowing what to call him.

"Birdperson." He replies matter-of-fact.

"Birdperson?"

"Yes, Birdperson."

"Okay… thank you Birdperson." What an obvious name, you think. Must be hard when they all get together from his race… You smile slightly as you take a sip. The drink was sour but you could feel your headache start to disappear. You look over at Squanchy who was watching you with such intensity. "Expect me to grow another head?"

"Hope the squanch not. It's just… weird. Rick was adamant about bringing you back here to squanch." He looks you up and down. "Not his usual squanch either." Jumping off the couch, Squanchy walks out of the room and yells Rick's name. The man in question walks in, no shirt on and his hair a mess of disjointed spikes sticking out from all angles. He obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed… or woman from the looks of it. Rick reaches behind him and pulls out a lace bra from his pants and sits next to you, not bothering to zip them back up. You can't help but glance downward for a second, just to see if there was underwear on. That second was all it took for Rick to chuckle darkly, causing you to look up into his eyes which held rich amusement.

"Glad to see you're up babe." His voice was a bit gravely and caused a heat to rise within you. You pass it off as indigestion.

"Thanks. Can't really remember what happened." You rub the back of your head as Rick takes a look, whistling and making a comment about healing fast.

"You were watching the show and then I saw you fall. Jumped off stage to grab you. We pay rent for the stage… the cleanup would have been a fucking mess." He takes a swig from a silver flask then hands it to you.

"Should I be afraid of diseases?" You ask coyly, smiling at the gesture.

"Fuck babe… you wanna drink or what?" He winks as you take a swig. The whisky burns the back of your throat as you fight another thought that something is not right. "Yo, girl… focus on me. You're fading again." You look to Rick and focus on his eyes. The room starts coming back into focus.

"What the fuck?"

"What's your name?" Rick holds on to your shoulders.

"Tess."

"Where are you from?"

"I don't know." Your breathing starts to increase.

"What dimension?" Rick asks slowly. The room spins again.

"I don't…" The room goes black.