Pleasant sunrays reflect off Sarah's lustrous pink hair and mask. Her golden accents on her rose colored baroque dress glistened in the sunlight. Sarah fluttered her black designer fan near her face, cooling her immaculate fair skin from the midday heat. Floral perfume reached citizens' nostrils as they double-glanced at her while she walked past them. Sarah smirked as housewives rolled their eyes and glared as they reel in their husbands while they oggle her cleavage.
Sarah hummed a delicate tune as she followed Alice and Rusev down sandstone sidewalks. Her eyes drifted towards the PRIME statues towering over Augustine's infrastructure. Prismatic rays of light reflect off skyscraper windows while birds perch on power lines. Elm and Pine trees cast cool shadows through Empire Park.
"So what is this Emily of Leonore like?" Rusev asked as they ventured into the park.
Sarah's heels clicked on cobblestone paths as she gazed at the trees. Her face soured, then she rolled her eyes. "She is a walking existential crisis," Sarah grumbled as they stopped under an Elm tree. "Can't stand that fucking bitch."
"Hopefully, you keep your feelings to yourself if Elijah and Rachel manage to bring back Emily," Alice said as she sat down on a wooden bench. "I am not carrying you around if you lose your marbles again."
Sarah huffed as she gripped her fan while embers flickered from her eyes. "I can't wait to roast that freak of nature like a rotisserie chicken for making a fool out of me."
Alice smirked as she crossed her legs. "You will have your chance in a couple of days...in the meantime, we need to do some reconnaissance."
"We could hit up the PRIME hotel? I have a few associates who owe me favors from when I performed there," Sarah suggested.
Alice shook her head. "No...Lex is most likely anticipating that," she replied.
"We could just wait for the others?" Rusev suggested. "If the rules don't apply to Emily, why not just use her?"
"A terrible idea if you've seen what she could do," Sarah grumbled.
"Agreed, rules for us, not for her," Alice replied as she stood up. "We don't know what would happen to us if we orchestrated a plot against other chosen that could cause harm. The ENGINE might consider that a violation even if we didn't do it."
"So what do you have in mind, Alice Vonevermoor? This is your stomping ground after all," Sarah asked.
"We play dress up," Alice flatly replied as she gestured towards the business district nearby.
Sarah laughed and then pointed at her pink mask. "Love the idea, but you forgot one tad detail."
Alice shook her head. "Not to worry, I have costumes and masks stored at my studio," she explained.
"Wait, really?" Rusev asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Assassin and spy by trade. I never took on my original appearance when I was on the job," Alice explained, then looked at Sarah's hair. "We're going to have to make a quick pit stop and get some hair dye, though."
Sarah's mouth dropped. "I beg your pardon?"
"Nobody walks around with pink hair."
Sarah rolled her eyes, then sighed. "Fine....but we're making a trip to my vacation home after all this is done. I have some pink hair dye stored there for emergencies."
"What's your natural hair color anyway? Rusev asked.
"That information is classified, darling."
"It's really not that serious," Rusev jested as he rubbed his hair.
"Your ragged mop top ain't either," Sarah mocked as they started to walk.
"Is she always this mean?" Rusev asked as they walked down an alley.
"Very much so," Alice replied as she led them through a market district.
National news was broadcast on television in every business. Citizens purchased quick meals from street food vendors on their way to work. Salons washed hair and business tailors dressed customers in the finest nationally approved outfits. The scent of croissants, deli sandwiches, and waffles lingered in the air as they passed a series of restaurants.
"Wait here," Alice instructed as she entered a salon.
"Absolutely not...I am going to pick my hair color," Sarah insisted.
Alice sighed. "It's not that serious."
"It is if you have to re-do your hair and certain pigments are a pain in the ass to wash out."
"Fine...what color do you want?"
"How about a mauve or a grayish pink?"
"That's literally still pink," Rusev interjected.
"Fine....ash blonde. Not golden or dirty blonde....ash blonde."
Alice shook her head and then walked into the salon. Sarah fluttered her designer fan as she stood in front of the shop. Her eyes traced over the citizens as they navigated the market district. She flipped her hair, then looked at Rusev's outfit.
"Are you from Tyrial?" She asked as she turned towards him.
Rusev nodded. "Yeah, from the Klings."
Sarah's face turned sour. "The Klings, huh...the ENGINE has a habit of picking chosen from the ghetto."
"Maybe if some people didn't kick the ladder down when they climbed up, there wouldn't be any ghetto's," Rusev rebuttaled as he crossed his arms.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Oh, great...not another overlooked by society chosen."
"And that's exactly why Tyrial turned on you when you changed up your music style. You forgot your roots. Sold out because you wanted to fit in with Leonore and Augustine."
"I needed to expand, sweetheart. Different culture, different taste in music."
"And you lost touch with your fans."
"And what do you know about fans!? I sold out arenas and headlined national television," Sarah growled as she fluttered her fan harder. "Then along came a spider who-"
Heavy bass reverberated on Sarah's chest as she dropped her folding fan in a sudden gust of wind. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the ENGINE. Its mulberry eye cracked open as its infinite gears churn amongst the now mulberry clouds. Alice stormed out of the salon, covering her face from the dust and debris as the reverb pounded on her chest.
"What the fuck is happening!?" Rusev yelled as he covered his face as strong winds rattled the business windows.
"She's back," Alice replied as she gazed up at the eldritch machine, focusing on something several districts away.
Dread clawed down Sarah's back like cat claws ripping flesh. Her body trembled as memories of being thrown like a ragdoll flooded her nervous system. Sarah's eyes widened as shrapnel and debris cracked car windows. Her legs felt like jello as she struggled to stay upright, clinging onto a streetlight for support as ominous bass thumped through Augustine.
"Let's go check it out," Alice insisted as the wind died down.
"Are you crazy!?" Sarah screamed as she picked up her folding fan from the ground. She then wiped the dust out of her pink hair.
"Don't tell me you are scared?" Alice mocked as she wiped the dust from her black tailcoat jacket.
"I'm not scared....just concerned about a repeat of Corwood," Sarah mumbled.
"Wait, Emily caused this?" Rusev asked with a raised eyebrow.
"More than likely. The ENGINE tends to observe her, and we don't know why," Alice explained as citizens pointed up at it. "Are you coming or not?" She asked Sarah as she turned her head.
Sarah sighed as she closed her eyes and composed herself. "Fuck my life...fine!" She yelled as she followed Alice and Rusev.
A pillar of smoke swirled towards the sky as Apache helicopters flew towards where the ENGINE was observing. Sarah's heartbeat raced as car alarms blared in the distance. Her eyes dilated as a helicopter exploded in a ball of flames before crashing into a skyscraper. Bent automobiles tumbled down roads before colliding into parked vehicles and business windows.
Sarah's face turned pale as they reached the epicenter of the commotion. She breathed through her mouth as she saw Emily walking through dust and debris. The once proud PRIME statues lay in ruin behind her. Smoke and flames swirled towards the heavens, turning the sky into a grayish mulberry blue hue. Her eyes trailed up towards the fractured mulberry wound in the sky. A woman wearing a skin-tight mulberry uniform drifted near the fracture while a chiseled man wearing a black and blue outfit floated next to her. The man's cape fluttered in the wind as he gazed down at Emily.
"Who in the fuck is that!?" Sarah asked as she stared up at the two individuals flying in the sky.
"They are not chosen," Alice replied as she pointed at their face which had no masks.
"Are they conduits?" Rusev asked as they took shelter behind a building.
Emily stared up at the two caped strangers with her hands in her oversized hoodie pocket.
"Are you the one who killed Solar Woman?" The caped man asked as he flew down to the ground.
"Solar woman! Who the fuck is that?" Rusev asked.
"Shut up!" Alice said as she peeked her head around the corner.
Sarah crawled toward Alice, then gazed at Emily, then her eyes drifted past the pillar of smoke. Elijah and Rachel shook their heads as their eyes met. "What a shit show, and why isn't the ENGINE doing anything?" Sarah grumbled as she watched the woman wearing a mulberry outfit descend.
Emily sighed and shrugged. "She asked for it," she flatly said, then looked at the woman standing next to her. "Oh yeah, I remember you. Ether Witch, right? Why are you following me?"
Ether Witch scoffed. "You intruded on our universe, killed our friend over waffles," she growled.
Emily nodded, then looked at the caped man glaring at her.
"My name is Gamma man. A member of the Ether league," Gamma man introduced as an aura of pure radiation swirled around him. "By cosmic law, we are here to bring you-"
"Are you done?" Emily groaned.
Gamma man lips quivered as he balled up his fists.
"Go home....I don't want to hurt you. I got bigger issues to deal with than whatever the fuck this is," Emily said as she turned her back towards them and started to walk away.
The ground erupted into a crater as Gamma Man rushed towards Emily faster than the eye could see. Emily grabbed Gamma Man by the face just as he reached her, then slammed his face into the concrete. Her eyes glowed a violent mulberry as she bashed him down with one foot. A frown formed on her face as she looked at him squirming underneath her boot.
Emily then looked at Ether Witch. "You come over here," she instructed as Ether Witch's body froze up as Emily levitated her towards her.
"Let me go!" Ether Witch screamed as she tried to will her body to move.
Emily rubbed her forehead, then glanced around the city block, and then sighed. "Great, got to fix all this crap," she grumbled as she grabbed Ether Witch by the face, then slammed her to the ground as well.
She looked up at the ENGINE, then down at the Ether Witch squirming in her grasp. Her eyes glowed mulberry. "I didn't kill Solar Woman....she just died in an accident," Emily said as she telepathically altered their memories.
Gamma Man and Ether Witch stopped squirming in Emily's clutches as their eyes went white. Emily lifted her foot off Gamma Man and then let go of Ether Witch. "So how did Solar Woman die?"
"She died in an accident, "Gamma Man and Ether Witch said in unison with a blank stare.
Emily nodded. "Good, now go home.....oh wait, everybody else will still remember. So now I got to erase all their memories," she muttered to herself, then rubbed her hands through her hair. Her right eye begins to glow like the sun as she looks at ⱤɆĐ₳₵₮ɆĐ.
"₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₳ⱤɆ ɎØɄ ⱠØØ₭ł₦₲ ₳₮! ɎØɄ ₲Ø₮ ₳ ₱ⱤØ฿ⱠɆ₥?"
"ł ĐØ₦'₮ ₩₳₦₮ ₮Ø ₭łⱠⱠ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₳₦Đ ł ₵₳₦'₮ ₮ɆⱠⱠ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ł ₳₥. ₴Ø ₴₮Ø₱ JɄĐ₲ł₦₲...ɎØɄ ₳ł₦₮ ₮ⱧɆ ₳Ʉ₮ⱧØⱤ, ł ₳₥. ₥₳Ɏ฿Ɇ ɎØɄ ₴ⱧØɄⱠĐ ₩ØⱤⱤɎ ₳฿ØɄ₮ ₩ⱧØ ₳Ʉ₮ⱧØⱤł₦₲ ɎØɄⱤ Ⱡł₣Ɇ ฿Ɇ₣ØⱤɆ ɎØɄ JɄĐ₲Ɇ ⱧØ₩ ł Ⱨ₳₦ĐⱠɆ ł₮!"
ⱤɆĐ₳₵₮ɆĐ
National news was broadcast on television in every business. Citizens purchased quick meals from street food vendors on their way to work. Salons washed hair and business tailors dressed customers in the finest nationally approved outfits. The scent of croissants, deli sandwiches, and waffles lingered in the air as they passed a series of restaurants.
"Wait here," Alice instructed as she entered a salon.
"Absolutely not...I am going to pick my hair color," Sarah insisted.
Alice sighed. "It's not that serious."
"It is if you have to re-do your hair and certain pigments are a pain in the ass to wash out."
"Fine...what color do you want?"
"How about a mauve or a grayish pink?"
"That's literally still pink," Rusev interjected.
"Fine....ash blonde. Not golden or dirty blonde....ash blonde."
Alice shook her head and then walked into the salon. Sarah fluttered her designer fan as she stood in front of the shop. Her eyes traced over the citizens as they navigated the market district. She flipped her hair, then looked at Rusev's outfit.
"Are you from Tyrial?" She asked as she turned towards him.
Rusev nodded. "Yeah, from the Klings."
Sarah's face turned sour. "The Klings, huh...the ENGINE has a habit of picking chosen from the ghetto."
"Maybe if some people didn't kick the ladder down when they climbed up, there wouldn't be any ghetto's," Rusev rebuttaled as he crossed his arms.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Oh, great...not another overlooked by society chosen."
"And that's exactly why Tyrial turned on you when you changed up your music style. You forgot your roots. Sold out because you wanted to fit in with Leonore and Augustine."
"I needed to expand, sweetheart. Different culture, different taste in music."
"And you lost touch with your fans."
"And what do you know about fans!? I sold out arenas and headlined national television," Sarah growled as she fluttered her fan harder. "Then along came a," Sarah growled, then her eyes widened as deja vu crept down her neck like hot wax. She bit her lip, then glanced up at the ENGINE, then at Rusev.
"Call me crazy, but I sware we talked about this before," Rusev said as he rubbed his hands through his curly hair.
Sarah's eyes drifted towards the ground, then she forced a thin-lipped smile.
"Did you get Deja Vu?" Alice asked as she exited the shop with a bag of hair products.
Sarah sighed as her face turned sour. "Guess we know who is back."