The Copy: Project 863

Reunion

(Olivia's POV)

I woke up with a pounding head. I was laying down on a couch in.... Orange? Am I dreaming?  No, everything was too real. I bolted upright. Pain shot back into my head. I felt arms wrap around me, I opened my eyes to Woods and Sam.

"Hey," I said. Then I realized that I wasn't wearing the mask anymore. "I missed you guys."

Involuntarily, a tear rolled down my cheek. "I- I- I missed you guys," I squeezed them tighter,"So, so much." We sat there for, I don't know how long. I was happy. I missed it. I missed this place. I missed them. I asked them where the rest were. Matt was with his family, Bailey had gone home.  Ben had removed my mask. And yes, we. Were. Free. 

"Why did you guys stay?"

"We were worried about you," Sam explained.

"So, is Ben really your 'friend?'" Woods said skeptically,

I thought for a second."Yes. We have a lot of shared experiences." I shuddered,"None of them good." He nodded silently. He clearly still didn't trust Ben. I couldn't blame him. Woods had been hurt by things Nelson had done while controlling Ben, and Matt.

We ended up just talking for a while, and then we went to sleep once more.

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I woke up, less startled this time. Matt and Bailey were watching me, Sam and Woods must have left. 

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" I slightly scared them, they hadn't realized I was awake.

"We wanted to make sure you slept," Bailey said with a kind smile. I stood up and walked toward the exit of Orange, trying to get to Red, when Matt stopped me.

"Are you limping?"he said, horrified.

"Yeah," I responded,"Nelson, broke my leg."

I could sense Matt's anger boiling over.

"Matt," I put my hand on his shoulder,"look, I know how you feel. I wasn't your fault. You had no idea what was happening." He sighed, knowing I was right. I knew he wouldn't let it go. He would continue to feel guilty.

Bailey touched a hand to my forehead,"You're burning up!" That was strange, I didn't feel hot.

"It's probably a side-effect of the serum," I assured them,"I'm fine."

"Well THATS not true." Matt insisted. Bailey moved to take my coat and sweatshirt, despite my protesting. They started to stare at my arm. "Olivia...."

I brought myself to look at the Syntec symbol etched into my arm. It made me angry, and scared. I wanted to scratch at it until it was gone. "I-" I didn't know what to say. I collapsed back onto the couch, my head in my hands. They stayed silent, still horrified by what they saw. I called Sam and Woods, why not show all of them at the same time? In a few minuets, Sam and Woods were here.

"Olivia?" Woods asked,"Is something wrong?"

"Well, that's for you to decide." I let my arm drop to my side, revealing the tattoo. Sam gasped. Woods didn't seem surprised. 

"Did- Did you do that?" Woods asked weakly.

I laughed,"Of course not. It happened when I wasn't exactly consci-" Woods suddenly wrapped me in a hug. Joined then by the others. We stayed like that for a while. 

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I had been living regularly for weeks. I was finishing some editing for the 863 episodes that I wasn't there for. But, unfortunately, I also had to edit the episodes I was in. It was terrible watching the film. I swallowed my fear and continued my work. 

In those few weeks I learned that Matt didn't remember anything Nelson did. I found it strange since I was present and forced to watch and remember what happened. It was nice doing regular work for a change. It all changed when one day, Ben came to the studio.

He was in the front common room, pleading with whoever was at Blue Base to let him see Matt when I walked in.

"Where's Matt?" He was breathing heavily and he was covered in what looked to be soot and dirt. Something was wrong. I told him to follow me and we went to find Matt. Along the way we picked up Bailey and Sam. We found Matt and Woods eventually found us.

"Now that we're here," Matt said,"What happened?"

"You all need to make sure your family or whatever you care about is safe," Ben demanded,"I went back to my RV to get some stuff when I heard a ticking. I got out as soon as I could. They planted a bomb there."

Matt turned away immediately to call Amanda. Sam, Woods, and Bailey called their family and whoever else they were close to. 

"Don't you have anybody?" Ben asked me when he saw that I made no action to call anyone. I shook my head. I was an only-child and I wasn't close to any of my family members. I used to be close to my grandmother, but, I don't see her anymore. 

"I suppose I should make sure all my stuff is still there." I said as I left to my car. Ben was following me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting you go by yourself." I raised an eyebrow, but I ultimately let him come. 

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We arrived at the apartment complex after around 20 minutes. Nothing was on fire. I walked to my door and realized it had been kicked in. Inside everything was trashed. Most of my belongings were gone, including whatever clothes I had. In place of where my clothes usually were, was a stack of black garments.

I wanted to punch something, or someone. They did this. They want to act like they still own me. I kicked my overturned desk chair. They will pay. I don't belong to them. I won't give in to this game. Goodwill probably has some cheap stuff that will do. I saw a note that was placed on my desk. 

                  "This isn't over. Be ready."

Short, threatening. "They're planning something." I called the rest of the team, I told them I was okay and I told them what happened. This wasn't the end for Syntec, and it sure as hell wasn't the end for me.