Week 14, Sunday after Shanghai: Veterinary Medicine

Sosie took time for a brief and boiling shower, and then hair still wet, she began to perform surgery on Evee's mouth. It had taken.. hours.. so far, but progress was good. The poor geneshift was unconscious, tubes down her nose, clamps holding her mouth open, belly up. Sosie had tried to avoid putting her asleep for as long as possible, but there was only so much you do when there was bone growth to remove. The clear plastic mask that covered her face was flecked with blood and bit of bone. There were a selection of bloody tools on the table next to the doctor, and a bone drill in her hands. The small sections of fleshy tumor were discreetly placed in a bin next to the table.

To the sleeping wolf and the empty room, Sosie talked softly in Korean, "I'm almost done cleaning these burrs off.. I know it's taking a while but don't be mistaken, your soft palette was worse, and you hard palette worse than that. Also how many teeth do you even have, puppy? Eh, while I am here I may as well brush them. After.. you know.. I finish this chunk of bone."

The whirring sound of drill on bone continued. Sosie hummed to a tune to herself, swearing every now and then. "At least your tongue is finished, puppy."

**Evee had been a little unsure entering the lab. True it was devoid of any strong smells of pain or the sweet tang of blood, even The-Confused-Immortal's who was not exactly careful with hers but rarely managed to spill any. That intrigued Evee, but the place had not exactly been devoid of all scent. There had been the tiniest hints of chemicals, all flavours she was unfamiliar with.... the labs she had seen before had either been bigger or smaller, and Evee wondered what exactly those little vials would do to her. Sometimes she wanted to be a little stronger or able to chew through more of the metal plates, but she was content for her Alpha to make those decisions for her. Alpha decided how best she could help her pack and Alpha seemed to have a different way of... improving her abilities. When Sosie had put her Evee under she had wondered if she was getting another upgrade, and had briefly wagged her tail in excitement, hoping that whatever it was her new Doctor was going to do to her would please her fiery leader.

.... Evee dreamed. She dreamed every so often but rarely as vividly as this. The cold tundra of the land of snow and trees gave way to the all but overwhelming cacophony of the land of steel and noises. A bar bathed in blood lead onto a firing range, as she padded through it and within The-Inquistive-Eye was transformed before her senses into the Half-Man-Of-Words but he retained Beta-Of-The-Pack's ferociousness. As Evee swam through the ocean of scents that had become the land around her, she came across The-Wandering-Eye facing many metal men over a table laden with food she had made. Yet none of the metal men ate... and the Wanderer seemed to be growing colder with every second. Suddenly she stood and was the Eye no longer but Evee's Alpha. She grieved the metal men with her herald's of flame, yet it was cold that came to assail the metal men. They screamed in unearthly eloquence as they froze and did not stop when the process was complete. It sounded like music, a screaming symphony. Her Alpha turned to face her omega and Evee stretched/bowed low indicating her wish to play. Instead the mask of her Alpha ran off of the Face-Stealer, like pouring rain, and he walked away from Evee and into the city's streets. All in all, where-ever she was and whatever was going on, it was confusing. Resolving to find her Alpha and protect her new Doctor, Evee set off, pawing at the ever changing landscape as she passed by, intent upong sniffing out the scent trails of the two and perhaps hunting some rabbits for them once they had been located.**

Jaw now smooth of bone growths, Sosie gently replaced the skin and muscle, trimming any of the excess flesh that grew in response to the "wounds" Evee's body believed she was sustaining. It took a few minutes to close the wounds, double check the wolf's tongue, and removed the tubes from her now functioning noise and mouth. The veterinarian looked down at the wolf's twitching paws. "You dream too, huh? The drugs must be wearing off.. Good puppy." Sosie reached forward and stroked Evee behind the ears, and ran her hand down Evee's back. "Good puppy," she repeated, her voice slowing. "Though.. you're.. not.. fluffy." Evee's fur was patchy, rough, and her back was full of thick bristly hair and slightly damp skin. Everywhere were she sustained some damage was twisted and uneven and full of even more hairless and patchy. Sosie frowned, and reached up and gave Evee another friendly scratch. her voice raised to a baby talk in Korean, "Gemini made you to be a big scary monster, didn't they? They didn't want anyone to pet you and love you and think you were a cute puppy, did they? Because Gemini are evil monsters. Yes they are. Yestheyare. And we will destroy them. Yes we will. Yes we will!"

Sosie, confident the wolf would be asleep for a few more minutes, rigged up a wolf.. maw.. tooth.. cleaner.. tool, and quickly cleaned Evee's mouth, going back to humming.

**Evee walked out into the wilds of a forest she had only ever seen in dreams. As she padded low beneath the brances of the great trees the thorns and brambles of the undergrowth clipped her mouth repeatedly. Evee was not worried, one of her first treatments had made her regenerate and while it hurt, it brought her great comfort even when she faced the men of metal. It was not.... as she had been, but Evee did not mind, it was better than letting the tiny wasps or storms of fire singe her flesh forever. Moving quickly and quietly through the undergrowth Evee found a blue panther, it resembled Cat but was not... It didn't have metal. Evee could not remember if she had ever been without any metal and she shuddered at the thought, the idea of being unable to track as she could or crush and claw at her enemies any less effectively was not pleasant to entertain. She was Omega already, falling further was not an option. The panther moved strangely, it mirrored Evee's movements but not the way in which she moved. It was very clear the panther was much more nimble than she was. And it already saw her. What to do, what to do? Evee surveyed her surroundings while keeping one eye upon the panther, which for its part folllowed her head movements but did take its eyes from her. And then it split into two and began advancing on her. The two moved in perfect time and only stepped back when Evee stepped forward, but not as much as she would have liked. What to do?**

*Pinkie walked into the lab. She had not... wanted to see Evee put under or operated upon but had come to realise this for the weakness it was. If nothing else you could have learnt more about medicine! Pinkie wondered whether anything she learnt from watching Sosie operate on a geneshifted cyberwolf would mess with her understanding of human medicine. Sighing Pinkie stepped forward once more and faded in behind Sosie. She watched Sosie... brushing (?) Evee's mouth for a moment.*

...How is she doing?
You um, you said you would tell me about, Bell's hair when you got home. In between the... excitement and the ferry to Shanghai we never did do that. Can I still ask?

*Pinkie stared fixedly at the floor her normal sense of ease around Sosie at odds with the subject matter and.... recent events. Pinkie merely hoped Sosie would not take it to heart. She was very aware that her.. friendship with Sosie becoming precarious would be a dismal turn of events for all involved and though she did not know how to, Pinkie had resolved not to let that happen.*

Sosie pulled back from bending over Evee, not bothering to turn around and see if Pinkie was visibly there. It didn't matter. She would be there and listen regardless. The real question was how long she had been there. She didn't mind, though; Pinkie's presence didn't bother her, though it was easier to deal with if she didn't see her not being there. She dropped the tool on the side table, and smiled, lifting up the blood and bone and now slobber covered visor. Evee's mouth wasn't just repaired--it was pristine. The tumors were gone, the jaw line restored, and now already healed. Just a sleeping terrifying bio-looking monster.

"She's done, the poor gang-ah jee, tongue and jaw are healed, and unless something horrible went wrong but.. we can work on it. And they have cybernetic tongues now. So.. She'll be fine." She ran her hand affectionately down Evee's leg, and finally turned around. She smiled wider when Pinkie was visible, and a little more when she looked so.. awkward. What does she think she's asking me? So nervous. "Don't look so grim, Pinkie-yah, you can. There's nothing wrong with it. I need to, uh, clean up though, and.. it's kind of a long story."

She removed the dirty bits of tools, peeled off the long gloves, throwing them all in the bin with the bits removed from Evee. The visor went in too, then the top of her blood spattered scrubs. She was wearing a blue bra underneath, though the decorative berry pattern on the straps revealed its Multymeat origins. She heaved the bag of medical waste from the bin, tossing in anything else covered in blood, and hoisted it over her shoulder. "Kay, I am gonna throw this in the incinerator. But you should go to my room. It'll make more sense with pictures probably. Bell? Let Pinkie into my room. Now.. and whenever she wants, really." She smiled upward, and then at her friend. "Though, maybe you should stay with Evee. She should wake up any moment now. Mm, oh, I'll go find pictures and a shirt and be there in a minute."

Without a second look, she walked out of the surgery shirtless, in a seemingly good mood.

*Pinkie had leaned around Sosie as she spoke about Evee's condition in order to see for herself. She trusted Sosie implicitly she nonetheless inspected her Omega and sighed out a breath she had not known she was holding in. Evee looked like she had scarcely been injured. As the cyberneticist turned around Pinkie met her gaze and her brows furrowed slightly, Pinkie-yah? However externally Pinkie only nodded and waited as Sosie cleared up. Pinkie couldn't help but feel worried by the mention of pictures, any photos that had been taken of her Pinkie hadn't kept.*

Very well, I will be with you shortly.

*Pinkie watched her friend walk away with every sign of happiness and then turned to face Evee. She approached her, until recently, injured omega and knelt down next to her. Pinkie expression was impenetrable as she waited for her pack member to awake.*

**Evee felt as though her time was being taken away from her as the two advanced. Although she attempted to find their scent the two were curiously devoid of even a hint of scent, just as the grass and undergrowth were undisturbed by their passing. Evee knew she should find the creatures disturbing especially without her pack, but she did not feel it. Evee if she deflected the first of them she could not take them both down without sustaining injury and she did not feel like doing that again too soon. Outnumbered and the enivroment works against me but not them. Evee looked up at the trees around her and wondered to what extent that applied. As the twin panthers leapt at her in perfect synchronisation Evee brought her claw down with all her strength on the tree. The two felines winked out of existence as the trunk of the tree fell upon them and Evee realised she had been deceived. Looking around she found that whoever had done so had failed to take advantage of it, since no assault appeared to be oncoming; aside from the blinding light of the sun....

Evee blinked heavily as she awoke and took in her surroundings. The strange sequence ending in a jungle showdown already fading from her mind, Evee's eyes resolved the image before her into that of her Alpha. Evee leapt up and went to sit in front of Pinkie attentively wondering where The-Inspector had gone. Her tail began to wag as she realised that her mouth was no longer numb nor agonising.**

*Pinkie scratched her omega under the chin, grateful that she was once again able to do so and to Sosie for spending so much time on a creature she had been somewhat intimidated by. Pinkie smiled slightly at her wolf and then turned around walking out of the room. She paused in the doorway just long enough to turn back to Evee and speak a single command before proceeding to Sosie's room.*

Come.

Sosie closed the door of the incinerator with a bang, aware of the intense heat on her face and arms. She rubbed her temples briefly, and made her want back to her room a moment or two before Pinkie. She rifled around in one of her drawers to pull out a sweater, sliding it on easily. She kicked off her scrubs and found the artfully ripped jeans Ida had given her. She gave them a look.. Not bad. Maybe with some bright leggings on under it, hmmm. She finished dressing just as Pinkie and Evee entered. She smiled at both her friend and her doggy patient. "Hey. You might wanna sit down. It's a long story. There's some Nutribars in my desk, if you want."

She looked up at the mirror that hung over her desk, peppered with the plastic images. Most of them were news clippings, official photos, her badges and old cards... It was a busy patchwork of notes and mementos. Reaching under the sheets of plastic, she pulled out two small photographs. Both were on a clear plasticky paper and looked.. very beat up, though the images themselves were opaque and well cared for. The doctor reached up and unhooked a necklace from the mirror too, a fine cord which had half a dozen or so charms on it. She selected two metal bands, and closed the necklace, and hung it off the side of the mirror.

"So.. You wanted to know about Bell? And her hair? And why she looks the way she does?" Her voice was gentle. She looked tired. "The story has two parts," she sighed, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "The first starts.. oh, before I was an agent."

*Pinkie examined the seat by Sosie's desk and deeming it stable Pinkie sat down. Evee, torn momentarily between who to go and stand by and settled for Pinkie, but remained standing so the Sosie could scratch her back should the cybernetisict be so inclined. Pinkie drew a single neutribar from the desk. nodding gratefully to Sosie as her friend began speaking. Pinkie noticed Evee eyeing the bar hungrily and made a look at her omega, I will feed all of you soon, don't worry, well I suppose it is all food Sosie has paid for but you don't want to pick up bad habits Evee. Very deliberately Pinkie consumed the neutribar in front of her Omega without looking at the wolf. Sosie chose that exact moment to ask a question of Pinkie, it took her a moment of choking down her food for Pinkie to answer. She nodded stalling for time.*

Yes, I do. Right, this would be while you were with the... Harmony?
*Pinkie's eyes narrowed slightly* Bell knows this, yes?

*Two parts, two colours in Bell's hair. Then the other part took place in Krieg.... after the muse project? Pinkie's pose was stiff and she seemed slightly... wary about what she was about to learn. She blinked up at the.... regalia around the mirror and tried to make sense of the images and notes. Her gaze swept across each one quickly, analysing them. Two people in lab coats, train tickets, hair in various styles. Pinkie's turned back to Sosie after only a moment and almost imperceptibility bit her lower lip. Pinkie's head titled slightly and she finished her neutribar with a downward glance at Evee, to whom she gave a single pet on the head.*

The top door of Sosie's desk was as messy as the rest of her room had been; the effort that Bell had put into cleaning the room had not extended to the desk. In between the nutribars and various cybernetic tools were a handful of sealed paper envelopes and under them, a gray closed box. Sosie's eyes watched Evee too, amused at how.. domesticated she looked, begging for food. She sighed a little, and handed the two photos over to Pinkie. "No, this is before the Hand came into being. I only really stayed with them after I left Krieg. No, this was during those few years of my employement there when I thought Violet wasn't going to.. ..I thought she might even finish school." Sosie smiled a little. It had worked out well, regardless.

"And no, Bell doesn't know this." Sosie's voice rose, though she kept her eyes steadily on Pinkie. "Though I'm SURE she's LISTENING." She grinned a little more, and gestured to the first picture. It was a photograph taken at some amusement park, full of bright colors and sunlight. There were three people; two women and a man. Two FAMILIAR women and a man. Pinkie had never met Violet, or at least not for long, but she and Sosie looked so similar it was easy to place them both. They both looked so young. Violet looked like a teenager, chubbier and more awkward than she was, a few spots on her face, wearing a baggy sweater and baggier trousers, with long hair down to her chest. She was wearing glasses and smiling brilliantly. Sosie looked younger too, rounder faced and smiling, arm linked with the man's. Her hair was purple and done up in pigtails with a little fringe framing her face. She wore a tight cropped t-shirt--was it a Seoul Brawlers, one?--bare midriff, black skirt. Her cheeks were red with sunburn, and round bruises peppered her arms, neck, stomach, and all visible skin but the face.

The most striking figure in the photograph was the man. He was huge, tall and obscenely broad, easily over six and a half foot, with skin so deeply augmented it was a silvery gray. He was heavily, aggressively cybernetic; his skeleton was much larger than that of a normal person's--industrial skeleton?--with massive cybernetic limbs and insanely bright green eyes. He wore a black T-shirt with an orange heart on it, and battered jeans. One of his arms was around Sosie affectionately, and his hand was as big as her face. She looked like a doll next to him. His other arm supported Violet, who was sitting on his shoulder as if she was as weightless as a parrot. He was smiling too, bearded face grinning to reveal a mouth of metal teeth. He looked delighted and.. older. He was balding, and his eyes creased in delicate crow's feet wrinkles as he laughed.

The second picture was a close up.. sort of. The augmented man was there, held tilted back as he laughed, in a white collared shirt with a familiar ham logo just visible. He looked older close too, with only a few dark and gray hairs over his head. He laugh even looked loud in the photo. Next to him, reaching for the camera, was Sosie. She was making a happy but shocked face, brows raised and anger visible in her face, obviously trying to stop the picture from being taken. Her lips were pursed in mid-shout. There was a metal band on the thumb of her grasping hand, and her body was arched like she was climbing over a table. She was also in white--a dress it looked like--with gold ribbon wrapped around her forearms. Her hair was shaved into a slender purple mohawk, though the skin on the left side of her face was red and new, as if had been horribly burned and aggressively healed not too long before. It explained the mohawk, too; there was no way some hair would be growing any time soon on that scar. There were bruises on her neck and arms, too.

"That.. is my ex-husband, Jedrek Lu, though most people called him Brick, because he was thick as, well.." Sosie laughed a little, low in her throat. "I think he liked me because I was everything he wasn't. Small, fast.. smart." She smiled again, and it was a nostalgic, happy smile. "And, I think he liked me more, because at that time in my life, well, I was the only person he'd ever met who liked women more than he did."

Sosie folded one of her legs under her on the bed. "He was ex-Ai Jinn, came to work for Krieg for better pay and a chance at better cybernetics, and for someone to help removed his scars. We met during a mission; he went after smuggling rings and agents.. People who needed the big guns. Though, Krieg policy forbids intradivision relationships, so.. we spent a lot of time trying to get put in the same city at the same time. After three months of that, he asked me to marry him, and.. well, Violet adored him, and he was devoted to me, worshipped me, and I.. I liked him a lot. And he was so heavily augmented, it.. helped. Though I didn't really understand that at the time." She smiled a little sardonically, and grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. "That picture, with the mohawk, that was at our wedding. We were married for about a year and a half."

*Pinkie nodded.... she had sometimes entertained the notion of what she would be doing had things but been a little different. But not often. Pinkie narrowed her eyes slightly as Sosie teased Bell, That was somewhat childish, and if you haven't told her then of course she is listening now. Pinkie had taken the photos mechanically, almost without noticing or looking at them.... it hit her how surrounded she was by... things and images of Sosie's past. In the tiny bomb-building cybernetisict's room which was a monument to what she could accomplish, almost a shrine. Pinkie looked up into the eyes of her friend, who knew her and her past. Who had not pushed her away or even judged her at all. In these pictures, in the past, at least Sosie does look happy. Pinkie took it all in, Violet, that is Violet? Yes, Violet does look like she has bright things in her future there. Pinkie tried to figure out what the stuff in the background was, just to put off thinking about things. The... things behind them all used mechtronics some way beyond her, one or two incredibly simple.... they probably weren't at Kreig where ever they were. Pinkie regarded her own hair for a moment, its length was as much a easy disguise as it was an identifying feature. Sosie stood there smiling out of the picture out of her, Pinkie's jaw clenched, bruises plainly visible across her very much human flesh. Pinkie closed her eys for a moment as the plasma burns, the shrapnel injuries, the occasional cannon blast and of course the good old fucking fashioned bullets entry and exit wounds flashed across her mind. She shivered as more... recent injuries everywhere from prototype galvanic weaponry, to tank heavy weapons to the kill strokes of assassins played out upon the members of Oracle before her minds eye.

The need to throw up a shield was almost overwhelming, Pinkie countered it by pinching the bridge of her nose and forced her eyes back to the picture. Pinkie examined past Sosie once more then turned her attention to, at last, the figure in the centre. The man swelled with augmentations. If he was not an agent, all of the pain from those operations.... Pinkie would not have wanted to fight this man, he looked to have been a challenge for anyone. Pinkie could see why Sosie would be arm in arm with this towering figure. His eyes! Bell has his eyes. And it was all Pinkie could do not to touch her fingers to them. Pinkie brought herself to look at his expression and it was not his age that surprised her, no this man seemed genuinely happy. This man appeared to be one who would laugh uproariously in any situation and always have a smile barely contained on his face almost always, no matter what the situation. Pinkie had met a few men and women like that in her time and she had always been careful to thread a half circle around them and out of their way. Pinkie made herself take in the whole picture again.... and had to admit that they looked happy. The next photo... looked like some kind of business deal. Everyone sits around a table wears smart looking clothes and are more than prepared to bear arms should things not go their way.... but where are the people they are negotiating with? And why is Sosie? -It's their marriage. Pinkie's eyes widened slightly as she realised what the picture was of and a slight smile came to her lips as she thought that the photograph that Sosie had kept so well had been Violet's handiwork, probably to annoy her sister. Pinkie blinked a little too slowly and looked up at Sosie again.

Ex-husband.... he doesn't look that old and Sosie isn't one to give up on someone, so. Pinkie listened to Sosie speak about what he liked about her, and knew her to be reliving fond memories, whatever that actualy meant, and that she liked those things about him just as much. Everything he was not. Sound familiar Diana? Pinkie all but snarled at the thought. She controlled her face as much as she could, Sosie did not need to see her teeth right now. Pinkie's eyes narrowed slightly as she heard of... Lu's defection, that sounds familiar too. Then again, I guess there are only so many reasons people defect. Pinkie nodded when Sosie mentioned his augments helping. She had not realised Sosie had worked on Muse before becoming an agent but she supposed she shouldn't really interrupt. She had looked down at Lu thoughtfully when Sosie said he had worshipped her. Pinkie's slight smile crept back when Sosie said that it was there wedding photo, while it was the kind of thing people said Pinkie suspected she had known Pinkie wouldn't get there all at once. Pinkie realised that it was her turn to contribute once again. Brows slightly creased and a question plain upon her face, Pinkie, in a very quiet voice, spoke.*

You look... happy. So. I know that there is a social convention that says I should not just ask directly, but. What happened to him?

*Pinkie almost looked concerned as she met her minder's eyes and the tentative and slightly wary look about her took on a deeper expression. Pinkie's gaze was penetrating but not... unkind. Which was unusual, for most people anyway. She wondered what Bell thought of all this.*

Sosie watched Pinkie look at the pictures, voice far away and soft smile on her lips. At Pinkie's blunt question, her mouth broke into a bigger smile. It was almost exactly how she expected her friend to answer. She slid both of the rings in her hand on her thumbs, and she looked down at them for a second. Her fingers had known just how to put them on with practised motions, almost without her consent. It still felt natural, after all these years. She sighed softly, though there was still a distant smile on her lips as her eyes looked in her lap. "He died on a mission. Ai Jinn underground cybernetics lab. His division was fed false information, and they were overwhelmed. Standard divide and conquer tactics, or so they said. He was the last one left, took out 6 other agents by himself. Sliced two right in half." Her hands balled up, as if she holding knives. She brought her hands down, as if she was cutting someone down the center. "It was over two weeks before they identified his body. Some cultists found him and must have thought they hit the jackpot. He didn't even have an ID chip left." As she spoke, her smile faded, and her gaze found a point on the wall above Pinkie's head. When her voice fell silent, she looked down at the rings, and slipped them off in another familiar motion, and handed them to Pinkie without making eye contact.

The two bands were sized for Sosie's thumbs, made of a very light and strong metal. Each band had one very small stone in the center. One was blue, no, orange, now red. The other was black. Wedding rings. "He was a very.. nice man. Understanding. Funny. He laughed all the time. And back then I was much more.. shy. Quiet. He broke me out of my shell." The smile came back. "He even recommended me for the agent program, though, maybe he just wanted to me less.. fragile."

One of her hands reached up to her curls unconsciously, and brushed them out of her eyes. They immediately flopped back into place. "He liked purple. It was his favorite color.. especially on me. And he liked my hair short, even after I could have grown it back. I think he liked that it made me seem more.. predatory." She smiled again, laughing quietly. "He even gave me his Smork account, you know, after. He needed more food than you, even." Sosie's eyes met Pinkie's, and she seemed to come back to the moment. "He would have liked you, a lot. But, he did have a thing for heavy weapons users. Especially pretty agents." Sosie smiled wider, not mentioning that her late husband also had a thing for stone cold, serious bitches who were.. bigger in the hips. He just wanted to make them laugh... And he was good at that, too. Plus, pink was almost as good as purple.

There was a quiet noise as the door opened, revealing the slender frame of Bell in pajamas. The tiny replicant took delicate steps, and said a few words in Korean. A question. Her mother nodded, smiling wider, and tapped the bed next to her. "Yes, of course. Just ask Pinkie for them." Apparently Bell's resolution on the AV bugs wasn't enough to make out the pictures. Bell took a seat next to her mother, and looked at Pinkie. "May I please observe those pictures, Pinkie?" Her face looked impassive, but curiosity had moved her from her bed to Sosie's room.

Sosie put a protective arm around her daughter, though her eyes were still on Pinkie. "He was a great man. Gentle, affectionate, and.. very good to me. He.. means a lot.. Meant a lot to me."

*Pinkie's expression betrayed nothing. But the way her shoulders set and her pose shifted gave her away. Her eyelids narrowed as the variations on all the ways Brick's division could have met their ends, filling in the gaps Sosie had left in the tale with as many permutations as she could think of. There were a lot. Pinkie nodded with some satisfaction as Sosie mimed Brick carving someone in half. Yes, that is right. Make it cost them. As many as you can.... s-six, six agents all at once! Pinkie had already developed a protective instinct towards the man and an appreciation for him, which is why her head snapped to the side, her eyes shut tight as fast as they could and her hands balled into fists as Sosie described what the vultures did to him. Every last one, even what they could not use. Pinkie openly snarled, barring her fangs and her expression returned to the one she wore while in.... surgery. Pinkie saw that her friend was not looking at her and thought back to when she could not bring herself to meet Sosie's gaze. That her friend was so.... upset brought Pinkie back to something resembling calmness and perhaps concern.

Pinkie accepted the bands with a curious expression and rolled them in her fingers, her eyebrows raised as they changed colour. They detect cybernetics!.... perhaps the colour relates to the EMP tolerance? I really hope that cloak can mask cybernetics from these or else my cybernetics, all of them, are a real hindrance.... This one doesn't change. It's a VERY nice black. Pinkie's shocked expression cleared as she realised what they were for. She even smiled slightly a little nervously, that Sosie would let her hold these. Pinkie nodded as Sosie described his personality, it had definitely left a mark on Sosie, even after who knows how long or what that length of time even meant, it was plain to see in Sosie herself. An odd expression flowed briefly over Pinkie's face as the thought occurred to her. I can appreciate that sentiment.... but he does not seem to have been selfish, so that was probably not the only reason. Pinkie marvelled, internally, at how much Sosie had modelled herself on what he liked, and that she was happy to admit it. No not modelled, Incorporated. Sosie made those things a part of herself, even if she already exhibited them. Pinkie's actual smile graced her face at this point and she looked down into the photographs and metal(?) bands in her hands.

Listening to what Sosie said as she met Pinkie's eyes, Pinkie's face went blank instantly. It really was all she could do not to think about tying him up, with the knowledge that such restraints would only hold him if he let them and then her eyes widened, ever so slightly, as she realised Sosie thought she was pretty. Pinkie was careful to file that away for later examination too. Pinkie was brought back to reality by Bell entering and was not sure whether to feel grateful for it or not. Pinkie smiled at her slightly as she came in and handed the photos over without hesitation when asked. She also passed the bands back to Sosie, realising that she had fiddled with them a little. Her smile was back as she met Sosie's eyes and all signs of uncertainty had left her voice as she spoke again.*

No, it is clear he still means a lot to you Sosie and.... it sounds as if he should. Thank you for telling me that.
... So that's why purple, what about pink? If I can ask?

*Pinkie looked over at Bell, examining the little replicants face for her reaction. She wondered if Bell would share her thoughts on the matter with them when Sosie had finished her tale.*

Sosie made a face as Pinkie asked the last question, and then laughed quietly. She sounded.. happy, though she raised a questioning brow. "Of course you may ask. You already asked. That's why we're here. Now, let me just get to my computer.." Sosie got up form the bed, giving a sidelong glance at her daughter. Bell was looking closely at each picture, first one, then the other, and back again. She hadn't commended on the story, but she hadn't looked away from the photos either.

There was a soft sigh from Sosie as she moved, and looked away from her daughter. She slid the rings back on her fingers. Pinkie had admired them, and a familiar desire to explain them overtook her. She didn't believe much in marriage, really, but these tokens meant a lot to her. "..They're fluxium, you know. The gems. They change color based on subtle changes in electromagnetism around them. So, cybernetics do change them." She smiled. Fluxium was relatively well known, but Sosie wasn't sure if Pinkie knew, and besides.. "The black one 'broke' when exposed to an EMP grenade. The color changing element was destroyed.." She smiled to herself. "It took Brick weeks to propose. He carried them around with him even on missions... Thankfully, he was lucky enough to miss that grenade, but hit his bag. He was so mad that it broke one of the crystals he told me, and THEN realized what he had told me about.. I accepted them regardless." During the story she had moved into the empty seat, and began to search on her computer for files.

After a moment, she pulled up a picture. A picture of a pink haired, blue eyed, lovely but suggestively dressed young woman done in Shi Yukiro animation style. She clicked the next image, which revealed a photograph of a woman who looked remarkably similar to the drawing, with too-large-for-human eyes and delicate hands a feet. In fact she.. looked like a replicant. "Meet the mascot of the Muse project. CEO Krieg's very own personal toy."

*Pinkie rolled her eyes as Sosie got up. She had inquired only to ensure that Sosie was still fine with revealing these bits of history, whether personal or corporate, the right side of her mouth tugged up and to the side slightly as Pinkie thought about how hard it could... allow others to known such things about you. Even to speak at all, sometimes. Pinkie glanced over at Bell and wondered if things were not okay between herself and her godaughter, though the exact words were lost to her even in her own mind. The strange jewellery... fluxium composed wedding bands, had concerned Pinkie, although she had... more than a slight understanding of what they were intended to be used for. Except one of them did not shift, it was a fine piece but it would not be the equal of the other if it did not possess a curious property. They both possessed curious properties did they not?. A slight smile wormed its way onto Pinkie's face since she understood how important it could be and the difference it made, to take something on each and every mission you were assigned. However her cybernetiscist friend's tale of how she learnt of this Brick's intention to propose, well that level of almost artificial stupidity does sound familiar does it not?. Pinkie smiled slightly nonetheless, ignoring that voice in the back of her head. She considered how narrowly the grenade must have missed Brick, it unlikely to have taken all of his cybernetics offline but..... Pinkie barely suppressed a shudder as she considered what would happen if all of her cybernetics within were switched off at once.

The mask of Pinkie's face once again changed to a grimace, but only briefly and had reverted to her usual expression by the time Sosie pulled up yet another picture. Another piece of her past, pressed this time between code and pixels not paper and ink. Slightly harder to destroy. And yet it was still too real for Pinkie's liking. Her brows creased as she took in the image of the... women in white. In particular the flower in her hair drew Pinkie's attention, since she was unable to make head's or tails of it and it took Pinkie a moment to realise that it was a drawing, rather than a very poor image. Just as Sosie changed the picture in fact. To what was, as even Pinkie was acutely aware, was a model based off of the concept art from only a moment ago. They made a doll, they made her to be his doll. Pinkie could not have and did not even try not to snarl at this revealtion. The very idea that someone could be built to order and have for no other purpose, not even another function was anathema to her. Pinkie's shoulder's had risen like a wolf's heckles and she was about to stand, when she remembered where she was. Sosie's room, With Bell on the bed observing pictures, keepsakes, and here at least Pinkie felt they were safe. Mastering herself Pinkie gave the image on the screen a hard stare and when she spoke her voice was just about a whispher.*

....What was her name?

Sosie turned her head away from the screen, slightly shocked by Pinkie's violent reaction. While she disagreed with Krieger dealt with his private proclivities, she understood his urge. Unethical in the long run, but.. His strangely focused view had given her a job. Changed her life. opened her eyes. Allowed her to figure out her most private--"..We called her Rei, or Sakura. I know, slightly stereotypical, but the pink.." She smiled. "It seemed fitting, and in general, we were more focused on getting smooth arm movements, and less on names.. She's the first, but she's been.. very upgraded. Changed, over time. Krieger keeps her up to date. After muses went live, and he had her.. he sold all the production rights to Gemini." She shrugged. She didn't seem to hold much ill will against him, though her brows furrowed for a second. "And he has Rei. It's still her name now. As far as I know she is still alive and well, and.." A thought struck Sosie. "She's.. almost certainly ascended by now... Hm."

She shook her head free of the thought, as Bell looked up to watch both of her -parents. Her eyes were on them both as Sosie continued. "Before she was a replicant, she was a.. drawing. We were asked to make a mascot, a first prototype. We had some.. specifications Size, height, and.. pink hair. There were dozens submitted and mine.." She turned to look at Bell, with a little smile. "Was rejected for not being.. what Algernop was looking for. But I worked on the designs for years. Not really a shock that my first replicant was her, huh?" Her smile grew indulgent, as she was reminded of her success with Bell. Her eyes closed for a second, and then opened. "She sort of.. grew over the years. The skin, the eyes, the.. hair.. But the pink stayed."

The cyberneticist spun in her chair a bit, dark eyes watching Pinkie. She tapped her fingers on the desk, a syncopated little rhythm. "I loved the original muses, but they weren't mine. I mean, they were mine, but.. it.." She pursed her lips, thinking about it. "I designed, I drafted, I researched, I created. It was a collaborative project, but they weren't my.. children. Just my purpose. Bell's.. special." Sosie reached over in her chair to gently stroke Bell's head, a very soft, gentle look on her face. Eventually her eyes found Pinkie, and they were bright and happy. "Any more questions?"

*Pinkie frowned at the word stereotypical. I had always been one of those words that mystified her, she did not really understand the concept, since she did not know enough about people, much less what other people thought of people, to detect what a stereotype was. So when Sosie described it being second nature and something that they could have done something about Pinkie's confusion only deepened. The Muse project happened as a by product of her. So much of Sosie's life and they sold it to Gemini because Rei was all it was for. Pinkie could not even muster the energy to be angry, whether for the replicant or for Sosie. She caught Sosie's eye as the cyberneticisst mused over Rei's likelihood to have ascended and smiled internally, Sosie would act to free Rei and that most likely take them to Kreig's heart, where information, or the latest in replicants would also await them. Pinkie wondered what it was about Sosie's design that had not been what the CEO wanted. Pinkie did not think she had an equivalent experience to Sosie considering her first replicant, perhaps the first BIO Gemini had had her hunt? On reflection she had almost certainly hunted down more BIO's than Sosie had made replicants but it was not the same. You cannot make them, that is the difference. Pinkie wondered what it was about pink hair that had been so important.... Pinkie nodded as Sosie described her experience of the first nine, but her eyebrows raised and knotted slightly as Sosie described them as her purpose. The notion struck Pinkie as wrong somehow and she could not explain why. When Sosie turned to her again Pinkie had been mulling it over but the thought fled her and she was at a loss as to what to say. So Bell's hair is a testiment to the two things you have loved most, Brick and your work. It... is fitting and also her's alone. So that is something.. Outwardly though Pinkie only shook her head.*

No, I do not think so. And if our rules are still in effect I think I owe you several answers that I do not think I have kept from you. If there is anything you would like to know however, do not hesitate to ask..... What about you, Bell?

Sosie laughed a little, removing the hand from her daughter's face. "I know you'd tell me anything. That's why I trust you.. But.. I'll keep those owed questions in mind." Sosie smirked slightly, still looking happy and amused. Her eyes closed, and she leaned back in her chair. She was listening for her daughter's voice, or Pinkie's, very obviously aware.

Bell merely looked up, searching her mother's face, then Pinkie's, then the screen. She looked thoughtful, her hands still gently holding the pictures of her.. ..at least theoretical smismar inspirational? father. She stared at the picture on the screen, of the other replicant. After a long pause, she asked, "You made other replicants? How many? But.. And they are not my siblings?"

Sosie opened her eyes and chuckled, low in her throat. "Yes. My designs are used in all Muse replicants. I oversaw the personal production of ten whole replicants. I helped make and design many, many, many more. And.. no, they are not your siblings. They have preprogrammed psyche matrices on already formed and programmed brain cases. And.. I just.. made their bodies. Not their minds. And even those were made to specifications. Not.. mine." She gave a little look at her daughter, and then thoughtfully bit her lip. That sounded a little.. creepy. "You and your brother are a part of me, in a different but no less real way than any other parent and child. And I wanted you, very much. I always will. So.. no, none of the other replicants can compare to that."

Bell merely nodded at this response, taking it in, though her face relaxed into its dreamily angelic impassive look.

*Pinkie gave a half hearted smile at Sosie's words, keeping a frown from her face. She nodded at the owed questions and... wondered what Sosie would call them in. That and how Sosie might react. Pinkie was dimly aware that the chances of them being positive reactions were... slim. Pinkie was lost in her own world until Sosie mentioned working on a tenth replicant her head snapped over toward Sosie and then titled slightly. Rei, the mascot, and the nine originals. Come on Di. If it took you this long to work that out.... Sosie has made life at least twelve times now and helped with many more.... She has only raised two. And how many have you ended? Pinkie nodded again as Sosie reaffirmed Bell's situation to the little replicant. It dawned on Pinkie that even as her godmother, she did not have nearly the kind of relationship with Bell that would mean she could say such things. Especially not with..... And she would not want to hear them from you. The frown descended on Pinkie's face before vanishing almost as quickly. Pinkie walked over to Bell and stroked her godaughter's hair, once then twice, before withdrawing her hand.

Pinkie wondered what was going on in Bell's head and how it would feel to have a planned life. Not just a planned life, one where you were made more than human from the start. Would Bell appreciate agents weakness if she were to learn them? She does feel pain, even if it cannot knock her out, so yes she would. Except it is not that her life was planned, Sosie would not do that, it is that she knows Sosie..... Pinkie pinched the bridge of her nose and met her minder's eyes. A thought fought its way through the sea of Pinkie's mind to the surface of her consciousness and the would be assassin walked over to Sosie. Pinkie Knelt down next to Sosie as if to whisper in her cyberneticist ear and smeakered.*

You are a good parent Sosie..... How much of this does Dusty know?

Sosie's eyes were mostly closed slits as she watched Pinkie the death machine treat her god daughter with some tenderness. The mother smiled, softly, and then rolled in her chair and turned her seat to help convey Pinkie's illusion of whispering. She felt a little bad for her housemate; Pinkie had to feel.. at least slightly overwhelmed with all this information. Sosie bent lower, closer to her whispering friend, and smeakered back. "Some, not much. But this is mostly Bell's story... Though he did watch me make her, and he asked questions."

The cyberneticist shrugged once, and seemed unbothered, and looked down at the kneeling Pinkie. Mimicking Pinkie's own action, she gently stroked Pinkie's hair twice. Sosie did seem to feel.. more tender than normal. "He has his own story, and sometime, I'll tell him that, too."