sixthiterationlogs

Entry tags:

Open!

WHO: Sara Lance
WHERE: South Village Fountain
WHEN: January 2
OPEN TO: All/anyone who wants to greet an annoyed Sara
WARNINGS: None, will update if anything changes

Unfortunately, she was no stranger to finding herself underwater and having to swim for it. At least whatever was going on this time was a little more pleasant. No underwater currents, no storms, no ship wreckage falling through the water. She could have sworn she'd even felt a little bit of a push upward. She had no idea where that came from, but that was a problem for at-the-surface-Sara. Or maybe not one she'd come back to at all.

Sara broke the surface with a gasp. She'd hadn't maxed out her breath, but Sara was more than relieved to feel oxygen fill her lungs even if she'd only been underwater for seconds. Traumatic history, assume the worst, etc. What she never would have assumed or expected to find herself in, a fountain had not been on that list. At least it was just a fountain. She hoped. No more dips in magical waters for her.

As quickly as she could, she swam to the edge, pulled herself out and dropped right to the ground, not even attempting to be graceful as her but hit the ground.

The surroundings were unfamiliar. She had no idea where she was, or how she got here. As far as Sara could remember, she hadn't done anything to mess up on the Waverider and end up time scattered. But it had happened before, and it could happen again.

Black scrubs, a backpack, and some weird smart watch she definitely did not own. A quick tug and examination told her that it was not coming off easily. A tracker, maybe? All of this was puncturing a hole in her time scattering theory and really making her wish she'd stayed in bed with Ava today. "Gideon, what happened?" She expected to hear the ships AI in her ear whenever she called for her, which was usual as long as the connection wasn't damage. A swim in the fountain shouldn't damage it. But Sara already knew she was going to find the earpiece missing when she reached for it. "Son of a" Sara made an annoyed noise in her throat, and then stood up slowly, remaining cautious.

No ship (that she could see), no contact, probably no crew. Not even her usual outfits and weapons. What the hell was happening to her now? "I am not in the mood." she stated out loud, in case the people responsible were listening. If she found them, whoever 'them' was, there was going to be hell to pay. It might have sounded more convincing if she wasn't already shivering from the cold.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hawke may or may not still be hungover. There was a distinct possibility. She partied harder than she had in a long time at that weird little illusion event, and while she remembered everything that happened, that didn't get her headache away. She drank a lot of water, but felt like going outside and keeping active were the best ways to push past it. She did look a little green around the gills, so to speak.

She decided to do a fountain sweep. Either someone was there, or she'd sit next to it and breathe through the hangover. She had a blanket with her she could put around herself instead. But she did see someone crawl out, and so it was time to try and remember the 'welcome to the madness!' spiel she'd been perfecting. "Hello there!" Wow was she always so loud. Get it together, Hawke. She had her dark hair braided and was in very simple clothing, her usual attire when she wasn't dressed for hunting instead. "I've got a blanket for you."

The approaching woman seemed friendly enough, but that didn't guarantee anything. Sara watched her approach, trying to read her for anything that might sound off threat alarms. She did her best to look as casual as possible, but damn it was cold. A waterproof jacket would have been more appropriate than scrubs.

"...Thanks." That wasn't expected. Either she was part of this, or people showing up in the fountain happened frequently. Who walked around with a blanket just in case they met someone in Sara's situation.

She was grateful for the blanket, and she took it and wrapped it around herself as tightly as she could manage. But it definitely wasn't the first thing she wanted to hear. "Appreciate it, but it's kind of random you'd happen to have a blanket just in case." The woman had to see where Sara was going with this. "Can you tell me what the hell is going on?"

Hawke really wondered if sticking her head into that fountain would be helpful or not. It wouldn't be the first time she used that form of sobering up. But focusing on the needs of someone else was a great way to get distracted. "Oh, it's not random, it's very planned." She took a quick look of the woman in front of her, a sharp eyed scan that made a few mental notes and put them aside. The scrubs color in particular was noted, although she didn't know if anyone figured out black yet.

"I really need to write an introduction note. Follow me, let's get to the inn where there's a fire." Hawke waved at her and started walking in that direction so she could follow, keeping a respectful distance until Sara decided how she felt about strangers. "I'm Hawke, with an e. Some mysterious entities we have yet to name or understand brought us all here. We're kept within this alien space, it's a cute little village all things considered. Most of the time we're left to survive day to day on our own, although some areas have this thing called electricity, which I never saw before now but most people know."

She was from the section of folks who came from non-technology based worlds. While it meant they knew much more about creative projects, it actually might be why she had more basic survival skills at her fingertips. "Sometimes they do bizarre things to us, like put us in a giant party with different clothes, of which I'm still recovering from because it was ... yesterday? The day before?" Hawke smiled apologetically. "My mind's a bit cobwebby because of it."

Not exactly an answer that made Sara convinced this woman didn't have something to do with this. Very planned? Her caution level went up a few notches. "You were expecting me to come out of a fountain?" Couldn't they come up wit ha less abrasive arrival?

A fire sounded good to her though, and better than standing out here. Hopefully, she wasn't walking into something worse, but maybe this woman could at least give her some answers, even if she was part of this. She started following, keeping a slight distance. It sounded like she actually wasn't behind it, but people could say all kind of things.

"Alien captors and electricity aren't new to me." It wouldn't be the first time she had been in a place with little to no electricity. But it was good to know some places have it. "The whole village doesn't have it? Which parts do?"

A party with clothes. Sara didn't love huge parties, but there were worse things to do to people. Any pains from parties would hopefully come from the amount of alcohol people chose to drink. Though then again, the last time she had been abducted by aliens, they had placed her in a party that had been pretty damn crushing. Was she in some sort of simulation again? "Anything worse than parties that I should be aware of?"

"Mmm, I was expecting someone to come out of the fountain. It happens every once and awhile, we have a system where people volunteer to go look for any newcomers. With a blanket in tow." Thus why she had one at hand. Hawke felt like she was usually more on her game than this, so she resolved to get her energy back and be a more decent guide for this newcomer. "The arrival is terrible! I almost drowned when I came in."

Hawke didn't mind her keeping a wary space between them, that was perfectly reasonable. "Some houses and most of the major buildings. The inn, there's a schoolhouse, a hospital set up. I don't know how some houses got it. My housemate's been working on it for awhile, to no avail." She never had electricity herself so she was fine with that, but he seemed quite disturbed on the matter.

They got to the inn right then and she pulled open the door for Sara. Inside was warm and bright, with a very homey feel and smell of meat in the air. As it was mostly what they could eat. "Worse than parties, well, yes. There's wild beasts capable of doing interesting things. Moths that make you lose your memory, frogs with paralysis juice on them, cats that get you drunk when you pet them. There are seeds that can make you move fast but it'll get you sick. There's just the day to day hazards of making certain everyone is fed and not freezing. Half the village almost died from an illness, because there is no magic healing here or advanced medicine."

She wasn't sure she would use terrible as the word to describe her arrival. Yeah, it sucked, she was annoyed. It was a hell of a lot easier than the other times she had almost drowned. But she didn't need to share that. "It will never be my choice for a wake up call."

If some houses had it, why couldn't they all have it? Was there not enough material to go around, or was it an issue of skills, and people keeping it to themselves? Sara could go without electricity, she'd just become use to it. There was no doubt she could go back the other way too. Thank you, League Life. "At least it's available if people really want it, I guess."

Super. No health care. Sara made a mental note not to die for the millionth time. Some of what she was saying should seem a little weird, but it was nothing too far off from what she was use to. Sara could deal, she just didn't want to. "Sounds fun. Has there been any attempts to leave? I've got things to do that are a bit more important than whatever this is. I don't take kidnapping well."

Hawke really had no idea how only some of the locations had electricity and others didn't. Reyes explained how it worked in the first place to her, so it seemed like they should be able to replicate it, but not so much. "There are rooms right here at the inn if you want to crash, and at least it is warm, has plenty of food, and electricity." So there was good incentive to stay there. "Or you can literally walk into any open house and claim it. That's what I did." And no one stopped her.

Hawke considered the question seriously, sitting on the top of a table at the inn for now. "If there have been, no one's gotten far enough. There's been exploration up past a few days walk I think, maybe up to a week, but no one's found the edge or more civilization. We seem very isolated here. If anyone made it farther past there, they haven't come back to tell anyone abut it." So the land in question did extend a reasonable amount away, far enough to make traveling outside of it very difficult.

"We really have no idea what their intentions are. There are scientists and those sorts here trying to make sense of it, a lot of talk about the multiverse and theories about clones, which I suppose are when people just replicate you using science, an folks think that's what we are." Hawke was hugely skeptical of that herself.

She would stay at the inn for now, but probably just for one night. Her own space sounded better, even if there was no power. "Easiest way to get a house I've ever heard of." Though she was less than thrilled about any of it. "Maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow."

Sara listened very carefully, trying to get an idea if it was worth the risk. It wouldn't be so uncommon to not come across a civilization for days if they were on foot, and in some unknown location, or planet, or where ever this was. If she could hunt, she could likely survive. Assuming she knew what was out there that she might have to face. There was a good chance she didn't.

"Clones and the multi-verse are all very really, and that's pretty much one of the last things I wanted to hear." She believed her, Sara didn't pick up any signs the woman was lying, but that sure as hell didn't make her feel any better. "If we were are clones, that would definitely mean no one would have a reason to look for us. Or it's just a theory to make us all shut up and deal."

Hawke pointed toward the books of notes and information nearby. "That's always here. I suppose villagers all put in the information as they learned it, so it has general ideas of what's happened so far and some animals and plants to look out for. You can also use this ...." She lifted her hand up to point at the bright yellow wristband she had. "To talk to people. Which is brilliant, although I know most people think that's an every day thing, but we had to send letters that took weeks or months to get places or send a raven, so it's wild to me. Anyway you can write messages or talk to it." She was fairly certain it was magic but everyone said it's science, so that's fine.

"I don't think we are. That theory came around because of the bunker." Oh boy Hawke was not prepared to explain all of this on a hangover, but oh well, that's how these things go. "There's this underground area that people say appear to be like a science lab." Hawke herself was not from a world where these were options, so it was clear she's still uncertain how to describe it. "There were lists of people and they were called different iteration numbers. Some names are on there multiple times. So that made people think we're clones, and those were our former selves." That was what was explained to her, but she was skeptical, and she still sounded very skeptical.

"But people come out of that fountain severely injured, as if plucked right from their time of death or injury, and it seems odd to me to clone someone and then injure them the exact same way before putting them out. It doesn't ring true to me." But Hawke was far from the smartest person in this village. She shrugged. "But I'm not a scientist or one of those brainy sorts. I'm a mercenary and a hunter."

So whoever was in charge was going through all this trouble to put them into towns with little to no technology, but still left them connected to each other at all times. They'd lost the point of a more simple life, as far as she was concerned. Even if this would make some things easier. "This is close to some things I'm used to in my...world...time, whatever." If it couldn't help her get the hell out of here, she wasn't that interested at the moment.

"Is that bunker around here? Can people get into it?" She wanted to know everything she could about this place, and know where she needed to find anything. A bunker with potential clone evidence seemed like someplace worth checking out if only to draw her own conclusions.

She had a point, but Sara wasn't sure she agreed. "Maybe. But people are assholes, and whoever put us here is clearly not an exception. No reason not to leave us injured. Especially if we were injured just before showing up here and remember it happening." She'd be even more skeptical if she ended up here and healed after getting hurt. That fountain didn't seem like another pit.

At last Sara could relate to her work background. "I'm not a scientist either, but I'd rather know as much as I can, I guess. I'm Sara. Ship captain and...well, I guess kind of a bounty hunter. Thanks for bringing me here."

"Oh good, that'll make things easier for you than some of us completely separated from familiarity." Hawke managed all the same to cheerfully get through it. She was very adaptable and quick to jump into the things she understood, while leaving the rest to other people.

At least this part she knew for sure. "Yes, you can get to it. Either you walk a few miles out to the entrance, or you can take this bizarre thing underwater. You go up to the lake nearby, you should see a little creaky boat. What in the world do they call it ...." Hawke thought about it for a moment, because really, these terms are too modern and confusing for her. "A pod? When you are in it, you're completely encased like a protection bubble, only underwater and it brings you directly there." It was difficult mixing her knowledge of magic to what they were talking about, but it got there in the end.

"If you do go down there, it's possible you'll see someone stuck in a tube. That's the interesting thing." There were many interesting things, honestly. "A person just shows up in one, and you have to push buttons to have it open up, and supposedly if you don't do that, that's when they end up shot into the fountain." Hawke hadn't personally witnessed it happen, but the trusted sources who told her she believed. "Which I suppose supports the theory of the science thing. Or magic. Magic or science. Whatever one you believe in."

Hawke smiled at her. "Nice to meet you! You should talk to Finnick sometimes, he's a former sailor. We were talking about finding a way to get a ship on the water or at least a better boat."

The advantage to having both a box and a backpack to your name, and every few worldly possessions, was that Reeve could easily make his way across town with everything he owned in a single trip. His path led him through the fountain park as a means to cross town in less steps, which means he was approaching as the young woman he had not noticed started to shout.

Good news, he didn't stumble or drop anything. But it really was a near thing.

"Which mood would that be?" he asked as he approached, carefully shifting the balance of his box full of papers and drafting materials. "Because shouting seems to be your current mood."

"I wouldn't call it shouting." she was just as careful as he approached, "Is shouting even a mood?" Sara didn't shout or yell very often. If she did, it was never a good sign. "I'm planting myself firmly in the category of annoyed. Really annoyed." Also, cold. But that wasn't a mood either.

She turned slightly, looking around her surroundings to see if anyone else was approaching, but always kept him in her peripheral vision.

"Maybe it's just me, but I think annoyed is pretty justified considering I just woke up underwater in a randomly deep fountain." Sara turned to look back at him. "What is this place?"

"The South Village. Specifically you're in the fountain park, a bit south of the inn. You're new then..."

He wanted to take his things to his new home that he had picked out that morning but... well, needs must outweigh wants.

"If you would be so kind as to come with me? The inn has a nice fireplace, some towels, and places where you can change into dry clothes. It may be a more comfortable place to make yourself acquainted with your new home."

"Yeah, you know that doesn't exactly tell me much of anything, right?" America? Was this America? It had to be someone recently because of the watch, but she wasn't exactly getting modern vibes from her surroundings either.

Sara quirked an eyebrow, but didn't move to follow him right away. A fireplace and dry clothes sounded great. But she could also be walking directly into more trouble. She wasn't armed, but it wasn't crazy to want more information before following a stranger. Even if she wasn't helpless. "Tempting, but also kind of sketchy. Who are you?"

Lets not even get started on the whole new home bit. She'd unpack and deal with that once she had a better idea of her situation.

"My name is Reeve Tuesti," he offered, pausing to turn and bow to her but without putting down his box. "I'm from the world of Gaia, and was brought here, much like you, against my will. People arrive here, often by means of that very fountain, and no one knows how to deliberately leave this place. All I can say is... I may get this wrong I heard the phrase from a young friend of mine. 'You're not in Kansas anymore.' Whatever Kansas is."

Please, it is cold outside and he has no gloves. Might they perhaps move inside just enough to let him warm his hands by the fire while he explains? Surely that much is by no means too much to ask.

Against my will. So she was kidnapped. Yes, that was obvious. But this was one of the most unique ideas of a holding cell or prison she'd ever encountered. It might have been a prison, but she was in a spacious one. The scrubs might as well be an orange jumpsuit.

"It's a State. Part of the United States of a America." If he was from another world, like he said, he might not know what the USA was. But maybe he did. She hadn't held down a lot of conversations with...was he an alien?

She didn't like it, but she resigned herself to follow him. Maybe she'd end up in a fight, or maybe she'd get the feelings back in her hands. Either option was better than standing here and freezing. "You said you were brought here against your will, and other people arrive through that fountain. How many people?"

"Ah, Steph's told me about that place. It has an Internet," Reeve said thoughtfully. If there was a connection to Steph's version, that meant this young woman was connected to 'Earth'.

Interesting how many more Earthers they had than, say, Thedasians or the like. Reeve himself was the only one here from his world of Gaia, but he made do. At least this woman would have people who understood her to some degree.

"I have not read the latest census. More than fifty, less than a hundred I think. I cannot be sure. Sometimes people arrive. Sometimes people disappear," he continued as he led her to the nearby inn. It took little time at all to climb the stairs and then he was faced with the awkwardness of juggling his box to try and get the door open again.

Whoever Steph was, Sara didn't bother make any correction about the internet. "It does. Does that mean this place doesn't?" It had to have something, if these watches were going to monitor them. Assuming that was what they were for.

Too many, either way. How had no one noticed this happening yet? The Time Bureau, Gideon, anyone? But she as missing now, so her team would look for it. "What happens when you try to escape? Just walk away?"

Sara stepped forward to open the door for him, since her hands were free. Plus he would walk in first and she wouldn't have him at her back. "With that many people missing you'd think others would come looking. There hasn't been a rescue attempt yet?"

"This place has a network, sort of like an online communication service. Both real time and asynchronous. Text, video, audio."

Escape? The very idea earns a sad laugh from Reeve as he heads through the door. It is a nice question, what if they went and just walked away? But from all he has heard and read that is not possible. More than that, no one is coming for them.

"There are people who have been here for years, so don't bet on a rescue attempt. What is more, our resident astrophysicist has found that no one recognizes a single star in the sky, or anything. We aren't where we were, and our goal is to make with that what we can."

He moves toward a table near the fires and puts his box down. "It is warm here. Let me go and get a towel or two. Then you can head up to one of the empty rooms to change."

"And how do you access that? Is that what this thing is for?" She held up her left wrist with the thing that looked like a fit-bit. None of his answers were making her feel any better, and she was not about to just believe him on his word either. There had to be some way to deal with this mess. There was always a way. It might not lead to the best results, but it was better than nothing.

So they had to be far from Earth. The Waverider was also a spaceship, but she doubted the crew would think to scan so far out for it. Shit. "You're saying everyone here has just accepted being a prisoner and is trying to build some sort of community around it?"

That was insane.

Sara nodded when he said he was going to go get towels, and watched him go before turning to look at the fires, moving just a little closer to the warmth. She'd escaped from plenty of crap situations before, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

"That is indeed what the device is for," Reeve agreed. "From my understanding most people find it highly intuitive to use, even though the format is not always consistent.

Sometimes one had to accept that there aren't nearly as many answers as you want. Reeve had been forced to face that in his life and had learned to be... slightly more accepting of situations beyond his power. Sometimes it was the end of the world and you had to let someone else save the day.

But to say they accepted being prisoners? Hardly.

"The community is forced people, though some of us have adapted to it. I've been here less than a month and feel I am settling in. There is nothing I can do at this time about being a prisoner. So instead I work with others to make our survival easier. Like building a barn."

With that he went off and headed upstairs. Gathered a few towels from the supply closet and came back down to offer them over to her.

"Here. Room twelve, at the end of the hall upstairs, is clearly marked. You would be able to change in there. No one uses the room. I know because I was just in the process of moving out."

Highly intuitive probably just meant it was really good at recording everywhere you were and what you did. There had to be some people who had tried to take it off. Maybe she could track them down and see what hadn't worked.

She got what he was saying. Sort of. But it was far too early in the game to just accept that she was just stuck here. But needing to support a community, she got that too. "This whole town is kidnapped people then? Most things you have, besides this backpack, you guys made?" What kind of experiment was this?

Sara was going to assume that she got this room for free unless there was cash in the backpack. By the sounds of it, there were also other places for her to stay too since she was being directed toward his recently vacated room. She held those thoughts in her head and the took the towels with a nod. Sara could worry more about this in a few minutes when she was dry.

Following Reeve's instructions, she headed down the hall until she came to room 12. Sara didn't care much to examine the place for too long. Again that would be later. Instead, she got out of her wet clothes as fast as she could. Upon opening the backpack, she found some basic but dry clothes to change the wet ones out for.

It was less than ten minutes later and Sara was leaving the room again, her backpack still there. If this really was a community, her bag should be safe. She couldn't imagine anyone would want to take it anyway. "Thanks." she said to Reeve as he came back into view. "I'm Sara, by the way. Thanks for taking me to this place. You said you found somewhere else to live?"

"Some of what we have we find. Other things come to us. I woke up one morning to a cardboard box filled with paper, pencils, and other drafting material," Reeve admitted. So it's sort of hard to say how everything got here. He's not been around for more than a month. His knowledge is mostly what he has picked up from others or the records.

But with her heading off he goes silent and settles down by the fire. He can wait here for a little bit before grabbing his box and heading to his house. Doesn't have to wait, but he will. It is courtesy.

When she comes back down he smiles at her over his shoulder. "Reeve. It is a pleasure to meet you. And yes, I found a house this morning I'll be moving into. There are a decent number of houses that are either not full or empty entirely. Well, of people."

So their captors gave them random gifts, probably to try and keep them happy and calmer rather than making them irritated and rebellious. "Are you some kind of designer? Architect?" The first thing she would want as a gift was her weapons back. She was more than a little irritated that they were all gone. Sara was almost always carrying something.

She moves toward the fire once again, hovering by it but not taking a seat. "Good to know, I'll check those out tomorrow." It didn't look like there was a lot of light in this place. Better to see a place she could claim in the light. "How does this place work for food? Does everyone hunt for their own? " she could do that if that was how it was going to go, but she wanted to know how the basics worked in this town before she got started. She also didn't want to do anything to piss people off.

"Architect indeed. And city planner. Among other things, and it's all rather complicated in my history, but for now, for here... I'm an architect."

He looks to the fire, rewarming himself before he heads back out.

"The inn rooms, and kitchen, have electricity. Not all houses do. So that is an advantage here. There are those who make food here for communal meals here at the inn. Otherwise you cook yourself. There is a butcher, who will process meat those who hunt brings there. There's a greenhouse and I hear rumors that there is process toward a farm down south. And if you're any good with fishing, there's something like that too."

There are plenty of chances here. It's about findin yourself. Or so he thought.

"Probably handy in a place like this." Was that part of it? Choosing people with specific skill sets?

Simple. Very simple. Kind of like their times in the wild west. If electricity can be at the inn, it could eventually go to the houses, right? "Simple enough." She'd need to make weapons for hunting though. Also doable. She just needed to get herself situated so she could both survive, and look for a way out of this place.

"I appreciate you bringing me here. It's a hell of a lot better than freezing my ass off out there for longer than needed." she didn't want to keep him if he had places to be. She had her own plans to make as well. Though she needed to sort out her thoughts, which were a mess right now. "

"Just handy enough," Reeve shrugged. Fact of the matter is that he did not know for certain that he would be useful for long. Two or three projects out of the way and then what would he do? There was no guarantee there would be tasks for him. He wasn't as useful as a farmer or a smith or anything like that.

"It was my pleasure to help," Reeve answered as he stood. "The fact is that lately I seem to find myself all but tripping over new people. As I was provided with assistance upon my arrival it's only proper to offer such back as well."

The statement kind of made her stomach turn. With more and more people arriving you would think someone would notice. Someone would come to find them, or someone would be able to find a way out. Almost nothing was impossible, she had come to discover. That couldn't change now.

"Not everyone would think that way." she said with a shrug. "Hopefully I didn't distract you from something too important."

"Just moving to my new house. And given how close we are to the fountain, it's not an issue at all," Reeve smiled. "Soon there should be people coming by to make lunch. Be sure you get a bowl of stew. Eating right is important."

He moves to reclaim his box. "Would you be so kind as to open the door for me again?"

A bowl of stew. She was really going to miss Gideon, the Waverider and being able to have whatever she wanted. She new it was important, but Stew was never really on her list of things to go for.

"Sure." she went to the door to hold it open, taking a deep breath as the outside air hit her again. It was more soothing when you weren't drenched in fountain water. "Enjoy your new house. Hopefully no other new arrivals end up stopping you this time."

Peggy's not sure who 'Gideon' is supposed to be, but she's acutely aware how very much she shares the woman's opinion of the whole situation. It's been ages since she's dredged herself out of a fountain, but she knows that there are a slew of other things that have her fed up.

"Don't worry, you're in good company," she assures, reaching into her bag to find the towel she'd brought when she'd seen the alert of a new arrival coming. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone pop up and be ecstatic and if I did, I'd be far more concerned."

She extends the towel to the young woman, offering her a sympathetic smile.

Right accent, wrong voice. Sara turned to look at the red-head approaching her. Immediate no-nonsense vibe, but definite confidence. Sara watched her carefully and curiously.

"You never know, there might be some recreational fountain divers out there somewhere." she responded, taking the towel with a small smile. "On that note, what's up with waking up in a fountain? It's been a while since I've had a wild enough night to wake up in a fountain."

"If there are, I've yet to meet them," Peggy feels rather confident assuring her. She can't help her wry smile as she thinks about the people in her life who could easily say they've been in a fountain before. "I'm not sure you'll like it any better, but you were in a tube. You sort of..."

She makes a gesture here, an upward motion. "You shot up into the fountain, and were released. Sometimes, people can get to you in time to prevent that, but I wasn't so quick this time around, I'm afraid."

"A tube. People can't just get out there? The fountain is a bit dramatic." It wasn't her first time being shoved into some sort of tube, assuming that was true. "Why was I in a tube?" It seemed like a good place to start, leading right into what the hell is going on? and Who do I have to kill?.

Sara looked around the village she had suddenly found herself in while she tried to towel herself dry as quickly as possible. "Where the hell is this place?"

Peggy's not so sure this is a conversation she wants to have in the chill. "How about we go inside the inn and I can tell you. Whether you believe me or not will is up to you, but I'd rather do it in the heat," she says, perhaps more of a plea than a suggestion.

After all, the inn is only steps away and that's probably the best place to unleash all revelations upon her, including the part where they just might be grown clones.

She didn't hate the idea of the heat, so Sara nodded in agreement. "As long as I can get some answers to what the hell is happening, sure." she'd head to the Inn. She didn't have any money to stay there, assuming there was none in the backpack, but if this woman thought they could go there, then sure.

A million possibilities were going through her head about what this could be. It wasn't her first time being kidnapped, ending up in a different time, or even ending up on an alien space ship. This looked like it might be option two, but then the tubes sounded more option three. She didn't like any of it.

"Are you the welcome committee?"

Peggy begins the walk to the Inn, wishing that she could trust the new people, but she glances back every so often just to ensure that Sara is both coming with her and hasn't decided to simply make for the wilderness. Once inside, she's happy to see that it's warm and she gestures to the chairs.

"One of them, I suppose," Peggy admits. "There are several of us who monitor both the bunker and the fountain. Some people aren't strong swimmers and besides that, everyone comes up with questions." That implies she has answers, and though she has more than before, she's not pleased that she doesn't have all of them.

After all, she's always liked to know the whole situation.

As she follows behind, she makes note of where they're walking to, what's in between the fountain and this Inn, and does her best to get a handle on her current surroundings. It's nothing that makes her hopeful.

"Well, yeah. I'd be more concerned if people didn't have questions." They shoot anyone into the water, even if they can't swim. Whoever was in charge did not give a damn if they lived or died.

"Any speaking of." Sara continued as she looked around the inn. "I've got more than a few myself." The Inn wasn't anything special, but when you were freezing and had no idea where to go or what was going on, it somehow brought her a small sense of relief. "What is this place, why am I here, and who the hell do I have to go through to get out?"

Peggy doesn't have any liquor left, which is unfortunate. She might have to see about finding Sam's stash of tongue-stripping "alcohol" (because it's closer to paint thinner, she believes), but she'll hold off until Sara really demands it.

"It's a village, we're unsure of where, and the best that we can estimate, we may well be clones of our former selves or part of some experimentation. That, we don't truly know," she says. "I've been here over two years and I've been trying to find a way out the whole time. It didn't help that apparently we were in a simulation for a year of it," is her unhappy addition.

Simulations and clones. Her face remained blank through the entire explanation, her mind working to process what she was hearing. Clones, experimentation, and simulations were not new to her. But always escaped experiments and simulations. Sara never thought she'd get any closer to the clone club past dating one. "Clones. But that could also be a lie, to make us give up?" If Sara was on the Waverider, her crew wasn't going to come looking for a clone they didn't know about it.

"What happens when you just...walk. Walk out of town and keep going?" Did they end up back here? Was there someone guarding the outside area of the town?

"It might be. There's a list of versions of us, how many times we seem to have been through this," Peggy admits. She doesn't bring up that there were many of them that had died in those other versions. She's still not sure if it's more comforting thinking that a version of her is out there or to think that she's the only survivor.

"You can absolutely keep walking. You'll hit a border eventually. Water," she provides. "We used to have someone who tried to sail, but she never made it far enough away and our technology is rather primitive," Peggy admits. "You're more than welcome to try. Honestly, I still go out every few months, in the hopes that this time, I'll find something new."

That sounded about right to her. She knew there was a list of Ava's somewhere, and how many times different clone versions had died without even realizing it. "Clone club. Great. Exactly what I never considered happening to me."

It was good to know she could travel, that there didn't seem to be anything tapping them here, other than a lack of any other civilization. "I might just do that eventually." She'd need to gather supplies first, which could take time. "The tech does seem weird, but I guess I'm used to weird." This whole situation was aggravating and inconvenient more than anything else. "Is there anything I should be aware of in this place? Kidnapping people and throwing them all into a town can't exactly spread harmony and fuzzy feelings for everyone you live near."

"Oh, there's a list," Peggy notes, and glances around the inn for where she knows they keep the notes, bringing the book of records back over with her. It's not so heavy that it gives a gratifying sound when it thuds against the table, but it's not small. "Flowers and beasts that have strange effects, threats we've had to face."

Sometimes, Peggy thinks they've been placed in one large maze and they're expected to somehow navigate their way through. At least she's survived this long. "There is an animal that can make you warm and fuzzy," Peggy deadpans. "If that's what you're after."

Sara arched an eyebrow as a book was brought over and dropped down. Sara was already having regrets. There was a reason she had nerds to do research, or Gideon who just knew most things on her team. "...right. I miss my AI." she says with a sigh, looking at the documentation. She should be use to this, she was former League after all. Sara had become spoiled.

"Not unless you mean it makes an excellent warm and fuzzy winter coat." Animals there were basically drugs. Cool. "So what do we do around here for supplies? Is it every person for themselves? Trade? Is there currency in effect?" How did she go about getting useful supplies, and making herself useful?

Peggy's able to make an educated guess what an AI is, but she gives Sara a rueful smile, seeing as she only ever had herself or Mr. Jarvis to sum up what they were dealing with, so for her, this is hardly different than her usual nice.

"Well, I suppose you could try and skin it that way, but it would take a lot of them," she notes, and it would likely cause an outcry. "People try and look after one another. No one expects payment for goods, so long as you're helping, somehow. I wouldn't say we lock anyone up, but it is frowned upon to sit about and do nothing."

"I don't do well with sitting around and doing nothing, so nothing to worry about there." she said with a shrug. "So I guess I'll do my best to not step on anyone's toes and see what I can do to help out."

She didn't know what she would do exactly. Hunting, maybe. Maybe there was a patrol around the community for protection. There had to be something useful in her skill set. "Is this what you do here? Greet new fountain victims and keep them from freezing?"

"Three days of seven," Peggy agrees. "Check the fishing traps, the snares, and work to stay alive." She thinks that if Sara doesn't want to sit still, there will be plenty that she could do, but she doesn't want to start assigning tasks immediately to her.

"If you ever want to push at the boundaries and go exploring, keep me in mind," she does offer. "Perhaps you'll be the one to find the loose screw that gets us out of the cage."

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