001 ;; [ HOLO ] ;; arrival

[echodimpression]

”Echo, would you like a treatment?”Echo looked up, lowering her paintbrush and giving a small acknowledging nod before getting up from the floor; letting her handler lead her upstairs to the imprint room. She felt the pain in each imprint; the added memories becoming part of her already collective mind. At first it had been hard to sort through

Comments

[visual]

[machinesgoping]

No way. That's about all Topher could think. Still, though, he had a sort of duty to Echo, didn't he? And maybe she was an excuse to rebuild the system. He'd been wondering if he could, here.

"Hey - Echo? Pick up the phone thingy on the pedestal. I'm not in the room, but you should be able to see me."

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"Topher?" Echo looked around, figuring that the piece of technology she'd seen must have been the 'phone thingy'. Like Topher said, she could see him. Which was good, she hoped.

"Is it time for my treatment?" There was something next to the phone, something which was familiar: one of the imprint wedges. Setting the phone down for a moment Echo picked it up and turned it around in her hands, reading the name: Caroline. Her wedge had come with her? That wasn't the only strange thing going on right now, or lately.

[visual]

[machinesgoping]

"Heyyy there... No, not really. We're not at the Dollhouse, so I can't do a treatment here."

Mmm, that was possibly too blunt. They needed soft.

"Yet. I'm working on it." Not technically true, but he would start as soon as she'd been settled into a room. "But so far you're the first one here. Now, you need to pick up - is that an imprint wedge?"

He wasn't actually asking her, but he got closer to the screen and enlarged it to see more clearly.

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

Echo understood that regardless of how he'd put it. There was no Dollhouse or a chair, which didn't sound good but currently she was in no position to do anything.

"It has a name on it." Turning it round so that Topher could see Echo picked the phone back up, keeping it in her hand as she watched his face.

"This place doesn't look nice." A caged in space that didn't look like it lead to anywhere definitely wasn't nice.

[visual]

[scares_crows]

Crane's eyes almost glowed as he turns on the visual feed. Such an innocent expression, and yet eyes so deep. He wanted to know more.

"What sort of treatment, my dear?" he asked softly.

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

This man was definitely not someone from the Dollhouse, but Echo had expeted that long ago.

"They help me to be my best."

Re: [ holo ]

[scares_crows]

"I see." Crane's expression telegraphed curiosity with the intensity of a lighthouse telegraphing danger. "May I ask how they do that?"

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"They take you to a room." There wasn't a lot that Echo, blank Echo, knew other than going to the room, sitting in the chair and falling asleep for a little while.

"It's peaceful but sometimes it hurts." More than just sometimes.

[visual]

[likeajoan]

Upon spotting this particular transmission on her tablet, Buffy's first assumption was that Faith was just acting really weirdly for some reason-- it wasn't exactly unusual here in Taxon, after all. Maybe a glitch or something?

"Umm... Faith?" She ventured, frowning slightly.

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"No, my name is Echo." Echo knew that she'd definitely never met this person before, not on any of her engagements and she'd never been called Faith. As Caroline? She didn't know, but the name would still be odd.

[visual]

[likeajoan]

"Oh." Cue a lot of scrutiny/squinting directed at the hologram, and Buffy wondering if she needed to maybe get her eyes tested.

"My bad, sorry. You just look a lot like someone I know-- and when I say a lot I mean practically identical. As in, twins." She shook her head, still uncertain. This was a pretty abstract glitch, if it was one at all-- which she was beginning to doubt. "Did you just get here?"

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"I don't have a twin." Not that she knew of anyway. Caroline? Maybe. "Yes. I was supposed to have a treatment."

[visual]

[suckmychest]

Though first glance might have a human mistaking this young woman for Faith, Eric could tell the difference between them. Posture, gait, facial expressions - it was easily detected. Or at least it was for someone with vampire eyesight (much better than 20/20).

But the resemblance was still striking.

"Treatment for what, miss...?"

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"To help me be my best." Judging just by the look of this place, Echo expected people other than those in the Dollhouse to be there. Probably more from outside than in.

[visual]

[suckmychest]

"An ambitious goal," he mused. Eric eyed her carefully, almost sizing her up. "If I may ask, what exactly does this 'treatment' entail?"

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

"You're taken to a room with a chair and you fall asleep for a little while. It's peaceful but sometimes it hurts." More than sometimes and Echo could feel and remember all of the pain.

[Visual]

[semimuscular]

"A treatment?" Wash repeated, frowning slightly.

That was unusual. The majority of people asked to go home or attempted to escape. Or, at the very least, wondered aloud where they were. He'd never seen anyone take things as calmly as this woman seemed to be doing.

Wash usually did his best to help the new arrivals understand what was going on, but, since Zoe's disappearance, his heart hadn't really been in it. His heart hadn't really been in very much. It was only curiosity that got the better of him here.

Brushing his dinosaurs off his tablet, which had been casually discarded in the cockpit, Wash picked it up to get a better look.

"You aren't going to find many treatments here. Although that really depends on the treatments you want. We do have a resident doctor."

They'd had two, but Simon was ... gone, now.

[ holo ]

[echodimpression]

Echo turned when she heard the voice, the one that hit her straight away as Alpha. It couldn't be, how did he get here? She was just in the Dollhouse and now... had he brought her here? Kidnapped her again? This time she would be ready for him, but there was no one to protect her; though if it was Alpha, and how could it not be, Echo was not going to give him the advantage.

"A treatment helps me to be my best. I like my treatments." And all the while her head was screaming to just ignore him.

[semimuscular]

Wash, blissful in his ignorance, gave Echo a cheerful sort of smile. This would be difficult to explain, but he'd spent several months living on a ship with River. The pilot was certain that it would be manageable. Difficult, but manageable.

Besides, it was also the right thing to do. As long as it didn't get him arrested or grounded, Wash was very fond of doing the right thing.

"That's good. Good for you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Has anyone told you where you are?"

Part of him hoped someone already had, so he could skip the unpleasant explanations and return to the small talk.

[echodimpression]

"No." Alpha knowing something was never hopeful though he wasn't acting like Alpha; he was only displaying one personality: either he'd sorted something out or this wasn't Alpha. Which seemed strange.

"My name is Echo."