Dollhouse: The Land Between (Sierra)
For afterknowledge, who requested a fic based on this icon (by burgundy_shoes): 
, with the caption, She never signed her contract.
Title: The Land Between
Author: voleuse
Fandom: Dollhouse
Character: Sierra
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: They think you're dead but you're not.
Notes: Spoilers through "Epitaph One"
Her name was Priya Tsetsang.
Is.
Her name is Priya Tsetsang. She tells herself this, over and over, but she has trouble believing it sometimes.
(Topher had complete imprints for the others, recordings of DeWitt explaining what their contracts meant. DeWitt had contracts with their signatures. Everybody had contracts, except her. DeWitt had stammered as she paged through the file, muttered that it must be there, everybody had one. Topher had shrugged, and she almost didn't feel bad that he lost his mind half the time.)
She has them carve her name into her back. If she forgets, somebody can tell her again.
*
When her vision clears, she mouths the words automatically. Did I fall asleep?
There's a beat of silence, a sob.
She shakes her head and turns to look at Topher. She knows him, somehow. She can name him, and does.
He's shaking. She sits up, the chair moving smoothly beneath her. His hand is on the console of his computer, and the text is blinking.
system restore complete
Something is wrong. She remembers Nolan standing in the background, smiling. God, she hates that creep. Then she remembers guns, and an arm braced against her throat, and a needle.
Why is she waking up here? Where is she?
A woman clears her throat, and Priya turns her head.
"Do you remember me?" the woman asks.
"Where the hell am I?" Priya answers.
Pain trickles across the woman's face, then vanishes. "I will kill Ambrose someday," she says, carefully. Then she turns to Topher, hand raised. "Get Sierra a glass of water, please."
"Who's Sierra?" Priya bites out.
The woman dons a smile, and it looks like armor.
Priya clenches her fists.
*
An attendant hands her a tray, and she balances the weight in her hands. It is cool, but the food is not, aside from the guava. She turns her head, and Victor waves to her. She smiles.
When she sits down, Echo smiles at her. "Hello, Sierra."
"Hello, Echo," she responds. "Hello, Victor."
"Hello," he says, and ducks his head. He is nice, but shy. "There are pancakes for breakfast today."
"I like pancakes," Echo says.
"So do I," Sierra replies.
They eat in silence for a time, then Echo sets down her fork. "I'm going to go swimming now."
"I don't like swimming," Sierra says.
Victor looks up, and Echo pauses in her turn.
"Why not?" Victor asks.
She's smaller, and salt coats her tongue, chokes her. The lifeguard tugs her up by the waist, and they break through--
"I don't know," Sierra says.
"Would you like to paint instead?" Victor asks.
"Yes, I'd like that," Sierra says. Her frown eases away, but it doesn't matter.
Nobody sees her.
###
A/N: Title and summary adapted from Tom Lux's The Blister Test. Link courtesy of breathe_poetry.
, with the caption, She never signed her contract.
Title: The Land Between
Author: voleuse
Fandom: Dollhouse
Character: Sierra
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: They think you're dead but you're not.
Notes: Spoilers through "Epitaph One"
Her name was Priya Tsetsang.
Is.
Her name is Priya Tsetsang. She tells herself this, over and over, but she has trouble believing it sometimes.
(Topher had complete imprints for the others, recordings of DeWitt explaining what their contracts meant. DeWitt had contracts with their signatures. Everybody had contracts, except her. DeWitt had stammered as she paged through the file, muttered that it must be there, everybody had one. Topher had shrugged, and she almost didn't feel bad that he lost his mind half the time.)
She has them carve her name into her back. If she forgets, somebody can tell her again.
*
When her vision clears, she mouths the words automatically. Did I fall asleep?
There's a beat of silence, a sob.
She shakes her head and turns to look at Topher. She knows him, somehow. She can name him, and does.
He's shaking. She sits up, the chair moving smoothly beneath her. His hand is on the console of his computer, and the text is blinking.
system restore complete
Something is wrong. She remembers Nolan standing in the background, smiling. God, she hates that creep. Then she remembers guns, and an arm braced against her throat, and a needle.
Why is she waking up here? Where is she?
A woman clears her throat, and Priya turns her head.
"Do you remember me?" the woman asks.
"Where the hell am I?" Priya answers.
Pain trickles across the woman's face, then vanishes. "I will kill Ambrose someday," she says, carefully. Then she turns to Topher, hand raised. "Get Sierra a glass of water, please."
"Who's Sierra?" Priya bites out.
The woman dons a smile, and it looks like armor.
Priya clenches her fists.
*
An attendant hands her a tray, and she balances the weight in her hands. It is cool, but the food is not, aside from the guava. She turns her head, and Victor waves to her. She smiles.
When she sits down, Echo smiles at her. "Hello, Sierra."
"Hello, Echo," she responds. "Hello, Victor."
"Hello," he says, and ducks his head. He is nice, but shy. "There are pancakes for breakfast today."
"I like pancakes," Echo says.
"So do I," Sierra replies.
They eat in silence for a time, then Echo sets down her fork. "I'm going to go swimming now."
"I don't like swimming," Sierra says.
Victor looks up, and Echo pauses in her turn.
"Why not?" Victor asks.
She's smaller, and salt coats her tongue, chokes her. The lifeguard tugs her up by the waist, and they break through--
"I don't know," Sierra says.
"Would you like to paint instead?" Victor asks.
"Yes, I'd like that," Sierra says. Her frown eases away, but it doesn't matter.
Nobody sees her.
###
A/N: Title and summary adapted from Tom Lux's The Blister Test. Link courtesy of breathe_poetry.