001. video

[olympicgrade]

I've seen my fair share of weird things, there's no denying that, but this place? [ She shakes her head slightly in disbelief. ] It's a pretty large pill to swallow. I guess I can't really argue with the fact that we're, though; if we could, I imagine a good portion of you wouldn't still be here. [ "A good portion" because she knows about Stockholm Syndrome. ] So if it's alright, I'd like to ask you all a couple questions.

First: how long have you been stuck here? Second: if you could go home, would you? Why or why not? Third: how long did it take for you to accept that this wasn't some sort of dream? And forth: is there anyone here who has heard of or, even better, is part of Fringe Division, or am I all by my lonesome? [ She offers a friendly, though perhaps a bit uncomfortable and stressed out around the edges, smile before she ends the feed. ]

Comments

video;

[dunhaming]

[ Oh. Now this is... Different. No one said that you could show up after you were already here. If. If... Unless... Altliv's brain is working furiously. It's her but it's... not. She can recognize herself, as clearly as making a face in the mirror. This is not a mirror. So close and yet. Not.

Oh. My.

This is about to messy. So, so messy. And at the same time... she's excited. It's Olivia. She likes Olivia. Maybe this time she has a chance to heal the animosity faster. She knows what's happened, the future for Olivia. And she, herself, is coming from a place of understanding and (sort of) friendship.

Finally she starts up the video and is grinning. Sort of an "uh, okay" grin that she's sure the other woman will understand. ]

Hi there.

video;

[olympicgrade]

[ Olivia's dealt with plenty of weird, inexplainable, complicated, messy things but she's fairly certain that there's nothing in Fringe Division's history that could prepare her for this. After all, the Olivia from the other side isn't supposed to be a carbon copy of her; she's supposed to be different in ways that are noticeable.

Not... this.

And it's certainly not helping convince her that this is real. Especially with the memories of Peter - the hallucination of Peter - so fresh in her mind. ]

Hi. [ What else is she supposed to say? She's actually at a loss for words right now, which Lincoln would probably be astonished by.

But wait! She might be remembering how to English now. ] I thought they said the cloning facility had been destroyed.

video;

[dunhaming]

[ Oh god, she's so unsure. Shaken. It's a bit heartbreaking. Altliv's resolve to let her regain her true self naturally almost shatters. Olivia, who is so strong and in charge and on top of everything, is unsure. Hesitating.

She hadn't thought about this part. Seeing every second of the pain she inflicted on Olivia. Now that she knows what they did was wrong... So badly she wants to go back and change it. Undo the harm caused on the way to their truce and unification.

But she schools her face away from the regret and summons the fun that she's going to have with her alternate self, returning the smile to her face. ]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was. [ Shrug. ] Crazy things happen here. Now, I'm going to take a wild guess- and correct me if I'm wrong- but your name is probably Olivia Dunham.

video;

[olympicgrade]

[ Her shoulders stiffen slightly and even though she's still pretty shaken up about this, Olivia manages to get her expression under control. Her jaw clenches for a brief moment and then her face is smooth. Mostly. There's an apprehensive edge to her, something that could probably be read as a warning more than anything else. ]

Lucky guess. [ Yeah, that's not what her tone suggests. ] It's yours, too, isn't it? [ Half question, half statement because she's already 99% certain she knows what's going on.

Of course, she's completely wrong, but she won't discover that it's him til chapter three that until later. ]

video;

[dunhaming]

How'd you know? [ Sassy, slightly sarcastic. Lighter than Olivia. For a second she can't imagine holding the smile and the fun any longer, and then she remembers that this is her fault and for Olivia, faultless in this, she has to be strong. ]

Well, as someone who arrived not long ago myself, I can say I know how weird it seems. But! As far as I can tell it's real enough. And I think you can imagine how thoroughly I've checked. [ Raised eyebrow. Challenge her on that one, she dares you. ]

video; 100% encrypted

[imaginate]

[Who's worried about this? He is. The video flicks on to him looking extremely concerned. The cloning facility was destroyed. But he watches, they both read as Olivia to him. If the other one's an imitation, she's a pretty damn good one. Still. Can't hurt to ask.]

Olivia?

[Is this something we should be concerned about?]

video; 100% encrypted;

[dunhaming]

[ Can everything stop getting worse? Like, now? ...No? Thanks for nothing, universe. There's a short debate on whether she can trust him with this. And then she thinks about the map, and how he was friends with Astrid, and the paintings, and... She trusts him. How could she not?

Turns the feed on. She looks calm and professional with just a tiny fraction of "I am 170% done with this" showing through. ]

I'm calling a meeting with Lincoln and Astrid to fill them in, you should attend. The bottom line is: roll with it. For her sake, just believe Olivia is who she thinks she is.

video;

[coneofsilence]

[ u m . ]

Liv, think we've done this part alread--

[ Which is when he notices that Liv... another Liv, supposedly the Liv that's been here, has just chimed in.

U M . ]

...So this is new. Sort of.

Usually you're color-coded.

video; 100% encrypted;

[dunhaming]

[ Okay, 170% serious business time. ]

Okay, long story short? Just roll with it. Believe exactly who she says she is, don't doubt her. Too much. Give her realistic responses, but don't think about it too hard. We need to call a meeting so I can explain what's happening. It's... complicated.

video; 100% encrypted;

[coneofsilence]

[ excuse you, what in holy what now, and that is exactly the expression he's giving you rn qurlfrond. ]

Is there a reason I wasn't cleared to know about the third version of you?

[ He's perfectly aware of the 'we had an Other Side Olivia thinking she was our Liv with us for however many months and only learned about it after she was gone' situation, but he... isn't really anticipating time shenanigans here. Seriously, fuck time shenanigans. So that's just leaving him pretty confused and sort of butthurt at the Secretary right now, as he's assuming there's something else he hasn't been filled in on. Again. ] The hell is this, Liv?

video; 100% encrypted;

[dunhaming]

[ UGH WHY IS THIS SO HARD. ]

It's Olivia. Just... Her time isn't the same as ours. She still thinks she's me.

[ And because its Lincoln she lets some of the guilt and regret show through.

But seriously, fuck the Secretary. Hindsight is 20/20 and she was very complicit in this, but all around it was a dick move on his part. ]

video;

[olympicgrade]

[ The relief at seeing Lincoln's face - familiar and comforting and she should feel bad for the grin that tugs at her lips for a moment but she doesn't - fades a touch at that last part, replaced by confusion. ]

What do you mean, "usually"? [ Read: THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. ]

Re: video;

[coneofsilence]

[ And now that's he's been given the heads up... there's a short pause here, where he honestly looks totally lost on what to say to her, before his expression breaks and he smiles, shaking his head.

Esentially, she's his Liv right now. As much as she knows. And knows that Liv wouldn't be able to take him acting weird towards her. So. ]

I mean last time there was Blond Liv and Red Liv, and now it's two Red and you're both my Liv. [ This tone something joking and mock-long suffering ] So I'm pretty sure this turtle has it out for me or something. Teaming up without Charlie to run distraction isn't fair, you know that, right?

video;

[olympicgrade]

[ She wouldn't, which is why the smile and the "Woe is me" tone has her grinning again despite herself. ]

Trust me, it wasn't intentional. [ If she had any say in the matter, she wouldn't even be here, let alone be here twice. And she still hasn't figured out how that's possible. ] I'm sure you'll survive it somehow, though.

[thewaythatiam]

[ Astrid DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS?????!?? She's looking. A bit uncertain. ]



...Hello Agent Dunham.

video; 100% encrypted;

[dunhaming]

[ Altlivia is jumping on everything right now. Jfc, what a crisis. She is in serious work mode. ]

Agent Farnsworth? Everything she says is true. I'm going to call a meeting- without her, she can't know- to explain what's going on. But for now just... roll with it. Please.

video; 100% encrypted;

[thewaythatiam]

[ The relief rolling off her is almost palpable - at least someone knows what's happening. ]

Yes ma'am.

video; 100% encrypted;

[dunhaming]

Can you be at my apartment, Fire 2B, within an hour or two?

[ Which is a little more like "be there unless there is something really freaking urgent happening" but Astrid will know that. ]

[olympicgrade]

[ A bit uncertain on Astrid's face is similar to WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK THIS IS ALL WRONG written in bright, glowing letters on someone else's face.

So yeah, Olivia's looking a little concerned (and confused), even as she offers a brief smile. ] Agent Farnsworth, [ goes along with a brief nod in greeting. ] Looks like they've got most of the team here. [ Plus an additional her, which doesn't make any sense... ] How long ago have you been here?

[thewaythatiam]

[ Astrid showing emotions is how you know you're screwed. ]

Yes. We are only missing Agent Francis.

[ She's calmed down a little by this point. She's still confused, but at least Agent Dunham - the other Agent Dunham - has promised to explain later, and that's enough for her. ]

I have been here approximately five months cumulatively and 20 days since my reappearance.

[olympicgrade]

[ Pretty much.

The change, noticeable as it is to someone who (thinks) she's been around Astrid for quite some time now, is definitely interesting. But she's not really sure what caused it. Maybe Astrid just got better control of herself... ]

Reappearance? You went home? [ Obviously it wasn't by choice otherwise Astrid wouldn't have come back, but that's still really interesting information. ]

[afirewithfashion]

I've never heard of the Fringe Division. I'm sorry.

[As for the other questions...]

I've been here a few months now. It's still hard to accept, at times. Some days more than others. [Strange how much easier it is to talk to strangers about this.] But I wouldn't go home.

[olympicgrade]

[ She smiles and shakes her head. ] Don't sweat it. [ Turns out there's a bunch of her team here, anyway. Including herself. ]

Really? Do you mind if I ask why?

[afirewithfashion]

I'm glad.

[He hesitates before answering. Not because he doesn't want to share. Finding words is still hard, even with someone he's never spoken to before.]

I think I'm dead. It's likely that I am. But if I'm not, going home would mean returning to be tortured.

[olympicgrade]

[ And any trace of a smile on her face disappears with that, shifting instead to something much more concerned, even if she doesn't know him. ]

I definitely don't blame you for wanting to stick around, then.