Two women sat across from one another in a small restaurant that sat in the corner of a busy market plaza. Tall, curvy, muscular. Golden-tan skin. Long, curly, golden hair. Long and floppy fur-covered ears. Heart-shaped faces, full cheeks, prominent cheekbones, button noses, and golden angel-like lashes. The two women were identical in facial features and physical build, yet even the least attentive passerby would sense a distinct difference between the two. An off-ness in the comparison.

Those who were more aware of the flow of the world and the nature of reality would find that one of the women was simultaneously more real, and more otherworldly than the other. While the other woman was more down-to-earth and mundane. In simplest terms, it was like seeing a thing in its truest form, and seeing the rough sketch of a thing. Most who came to this realization would likely fall into despair, as they realized that theirs was a world of rough sketches.

Josephine Holst nee Irvine sat eating with her tank-sister, Lorelai “Laura” Irvine. Today had been a pleasant “do nothing” day. A “Whatever” day. A day of shopping for trivialities, eating good food, and talking about the good old days. The two had actually just come from a burlesque stage-show, and were now indulging in a dessert-focused second lunch.

“Ha, I can’t believe there were people running around with their crotches legit on fire,” laughed Jo.

“Mhm, I’m guessing some of the performers either had elemental blood, or gene-mods for elemental resistance,” said Laura.

“Sounds about right. Either way, it was funny as hell to see,” said Jo. Dipping a cinnamon-crusted sweet-potato fry into the ice-cream sundae that topped the slice of pie she’d ordered.

“What really impressed me were those shapeshifter trapeze artists who could swing on their you-know-whats…I didn’t know those came in prehensile,” said Laura.

“Heh, ‘I’ did,” smirked Josephine.

“Huh, what do you mean? Are you saying…”

“Maaay…be. Maybe not,” said Josephine, her eyes narrowing. A blush entering her cheeks as she ate a spoonful of pie. Savoring the mixture of warm pastry and fruit, and cool refreshing vanilla ice-cream and dulce de leche ice-cream.

“No way! Are you for real?!” said Laura.

Josephine pulled her neck in. Her blush grew more vibrant.

“Um, let’s just say if pudding came across a genie-like in that old joke, it was a good-natured one that split the difference and gave him both a small pianist and a long whatsit…” said Josephine.

“Tch, well now you’re really making me jealous sis…For real though, how dexterous are we talking here?” said Laura.

“Er, well, I wasn’t joking about him being able to use it to play piano…Plus, we were both a bit drunk back at the time, but I'm pretty sure it can sew....” said Josephine.

“Alright, now I’m half intrigued, half-convinced your pulling my leg, and just a little grossed out,” said Laura. Eyebrows bouncing up and down.

“Nhm…Believe what you want then. I don't even know why I’m telling you thi-...” said Josephine. Shrugging and taking another bite of pie, before suddenly leaping over and knocking her sister and the table over.

A fraction of a second later, the area where the table had been exploded in a green flash. The people around them screamed and ran for cover. The green flashes was followed by a bloom of green smoke that turned into green bushes and ivies that spread across the plaza, like fire over a field of dry grass. The green bushes and ivies bore yellow-white flowers that possessed a certain sickly sweet scent.

The sudden attack magic was followed by a blare of noise. A harsh train-whistle-like sound that would have simply been painful for the average person to hear, but to the two tank-born soldiers’ ears there was fast-shifting, yet fixed, cadence and nuance to it that they’d have recognized anywhere. This was a sound they’d literally grown-up hearing.

The sound had followed them since before they were finished gestating in the tanks, and up until the day the Mirsadan government gave the order for their lab to be decommissioned, and all of the tank-born “assets” to be scattered and dismissed. It was the control tone. Normally played at a much lower, much softer volume, it was a bit of auditory-code that was made for the express purpose of overriding their mental defense and making them compliant for indoctrination, reeducation, and the giving of commands.

“Shit! Dream-Bloom ‘and’ the control-tone?! Someone’s definitely trying to put us the fuck down!” said Laura. Shaking her head and slapping herself to fend off the waves of dizziness. Noting with a sense of perplexion that her sister didn’t even look phased. The other woman simply glaring into the distance.

“Do you think it’s the dog-catchers?” said Josephine. Arms crossed. Her ears tilting, and rising, as she used her keen sense of hearing to locate their unseen assailants.

“I don’t know…Maybe…if so, why now?” said Laura. Panicking. Wondering if she’d been betrayed, since technically she was part of the city’s security team.

“Tch, it doesn’t matter…Oi, you on the blue rooftop three blocks done, you guys behind that bank, and you guys heading this way in those armored vans, and armored personnel-carriers… I don’t know who you’re working for, or why doing this, but out of good will to my former mother-land, and you, who would technically count as former comrades, let me warn you now that you’re making a very big mistake,” said Josephine. Her voice carried clearly across the entire city. Reaching every ear within the city, despite the fact she was just speaking normally. Her aura spread across the city causing catastrophic eddies and waves in the localized aether flow.

Josephine closed her eyes and leaned on all her other senses to observe the distant assailants. She was disappointed to find that after a few moments of hesitation, the various squads and teams continued to move towards the plaza. Sighing, she spoke once more, and her aura intensified, directly incapacitating all the soldiers. Killing a few of the dog-catchers who were in the vans and apcs, as their vehicles crashed due to their driver’s incapacity.

“I don't know whose terrible, terrible, idea this was…But I’m afraid that the consequences for this are going to be far worse than any of you expected…” said Josephine. Feeling a sense of pity, and wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to let the men and women who’d been attempting to abduct her and her sister, arrive so they could die good clean deaths, then live with what was coming.

*************************************************************************************************************

“D-, Darling,…If you can. Maybe go a bit easy on them?” said Josephine. It was later in the day. She and Ellis were sitting next to each other on the couch. Ellis leaked a cold killing intent that got more intense and chilly with each passing second. As expected, Ellis had known the very moment she was in, and out of peril, and as expected he was quite incensed once he found out what had happened.

Ellis sighed, placing his face on his palm and muttered something about the world almost seeming determined to bring out the villain in him. Jo couldn’t help feeling worried. He often said cryptic things like this. She knew enough about the time between now, and the brief period where he’d disappeared to know it had something to do with the life he’d lived while he was…away. It was only in moments like this where all joy, and all light-heartedness, drained from the man.

This made Josephine feel a bit annoyed herself. She didn’t like seeing her husband this way. She liked seeing his inner-monster, but she didn’t like seeing it come out this way, and she definitely didn’t like seeing Ellis hurt. Now Josephine couldn’t help wishing she could throttle whatever politicker, or bureaucrat, was responsible for today’s mess.

“Hon?... Say something will ya?” said Josephine.

Ellis sighed.

“For you…I’ll try not to burn the whole damn place down…But still, this has to be answered for…” Ellis. Refusing to budge on the matter.

“I know,” said Josephine. Sighing. She’d been aware that someone might eventually do something stupid one day, considering that she and each of her siblings were basically still considered high-end military equipment. Yet, she’d still held hope that she and the nation that birthed her wouldn’t end up sitting at opposite ends to one another.