poly_chromatic | ⚘ [ fringe event #1] || arrival

Entry tags:

fringe - olivia dunham

⚘ [ fringe event #1] || arrival

Astrid, I need you to check for all reports of unexplained, mass disappearances within the last 24 hours. Not just livestock-- any sort of unexplained disappearance. Start with stations in Boston, then expand out toward Maine and Pennsylvania. I'm heading over to the farm right now.

Astrid? Astrid? Can you hear me--

[ The line suddenly cuts off. ]

[ A moment is all it takes for the world to change. The cacophony of the busy mid-day City has replaced the quiet privacy of Olivia's room, as she's pushed and shoved through a busy crowd. A man slams against her shoulder, nearly knocking the laptop underneath her arm to the floor. A woman runs into her heels. Her first instinct, amidst all this confusion, is to place her hand on the grip of her gun. A reassurance that wherever this is, she'll be ready for any sort of attack--

Olivia sidesteps the crowd, turning a full circle as she looks for those foreign, yet familiar markers: the twin towers, the floating Zeppelin - except what she expects isn't there. This isn't the alternate world, this is another world. Instead, she finds her eyes trailing across the gilded poles of that polychromatic carnival, that bubbling liar's fountain that decorates the square. It's like she's stepped into an amusement park. ]

Where the hell am I?

[ooc: Both action or network responses are welcomed. ♥ I will try to stagger the action threads so that they make sense chronologically. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, um, hang on, I have to do the math.

[A pause]

It was about three years ago? A little less? He wasn't here long. A few months.

But that's.... impossible— ~~Unless it was another Walter Bishop. Walternate? Another Walternate?~~

What was he like?

He used to call me Bobby. I basically made sure he ate more than chocolate pudding and cotton candy.

Actually once he called me Buddy. That was strange.

That sounds like Walter.

[ A Walter Bishop, at least. One that's closer to her own. But the thing about Walters - they're all geniuses. ]

Is his lab still here? If so, can you take me to it?

Sure I can, but it's probably really dusty. I haven't been by in a while.

God I hope that fungus didn't grow and eat it's way out of the petri dish.

Hazmat suits are an option. [... ] Really, they are.

[ Getting out of here is her #1 priority, and yet... ]

Before we go, why don't you tell me more about this place?

Yeah.

This place is sort of a dumping ground for a bunch of different universes. Like, hundreds, probably. People show up and some stay for a few weeks but most months, and us unlucky few stay years.

How do they get here in the first place? Crossing over into another universe doesn't exactly sound like it'd be easy, especially if you never mean to come here.

Who's keeping you here, Billy?

People say that the deities do it but I'm starting to think it's mostly just accidental.

Who are the deities?

They're in charge. Sort of. Mostly they stay out of what we do, but every few days there's a curse, and it's probably their fault.

Curses? Deities? This is starting to sound more like a fairytale than just an alternate dimension.

I have a lot more questions. You have the time?

Sure. I'll put Gene out to pasture and head back into town.

Do you see like...I don't know, a Carousel?

I see it.

I'm the blonde with the badge. Black coat.

[About ten minutes later, Billy shows up. It would have taken him longer but he teleported nearby and started walking. The City is making him seriously lazy when it comes to walking]

Hello?

[ Olivia's situated herself by one of the carousel animals, all too unaware of how menacing even the most innocent aspects of the city can be. From hearing Billy's voice, she doesn't know exactly who to expect, so when a kid shows up (Sorry, Billy), she can't help her slight surprise. How did he get stuck here? ]

Billy Kaplan.

[ She steps forward to greet him, extending a hand. ]

Olivia Dunham.

[He moves to shake her hand]

Hi, it's nice to meet you. Sorry about the bad situation.

Gosh, you're tall.

You don't have to apologize. We're stuck in the same situation.

[ She can't help but smile just a little at that. ]

And you're younger than I expected. [ Subtract three years. Really, Walter? Don't you think hiring Billy was a little irresponsible? ] You were Walter's... lab assistant, I take it?

Oh, yeah, it's complicated. I mean there's sort-of time travel involved. Anyway, I wasn't his lab assistant as much as I was the guy who made sure he ate.

Anyway, uh, so. Questions.

Knowing Walter, I'm sure it was more than that.

[ Olivia slips both hands in her pocket, which means she's taken a hand off her gun. ]

What do you mean "time-travel?" [ A beat. ] Or let's start from the beginning: we're in some pocket universe, and we've all been pulled here by some... outside force. You can't typically leave or come on your own will. Meanwhile, you're subjected to "curses."

What are they exactly?

Yes.

The curses, they can be anything from enviromental like...I don't know, the City turns into a jungle - to personal, like the time I turned into a cat.

And how exactly do they work? Is it— science? Or something else?

[ Despite all that she's seen, there's no mistaking that touch of incredulity in her voice. Even Fringe science has logic to it, as out there as it is. Boys turning into cats and cities turning into jungles should belong in a movie.]

It is in all likelihood magic.

[ Have Olivia stare at you for a very long second. ]

Isn't there a saying-- magic is what science has yet to explain?

[He's just staring back]

I'm probably the worst person ever to say that to. Although maybe there is a scientific reason I can bend reality.

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