[i]"I give you your life, Liu Ban," the recording of Mom says. "It is worthless." Molech tears at his beard and weeps, bitterly. The Pallas Rex lies defeated. If it were appropriate to have Mom portrayed by an actor, she'd have her foot on the statue's throat. Instead, in the midst of the Ceronians who have victoriously taken the bridge, there is a spotlight, and the impression of movement caused by shadow filters. Then the lights go out, and the curtains fall. Five minutes to the next performance.

Redana applauds. Bella doesn't. But Redana smiles for her anyway. "Wasn't that great?" It was. It was phenomenal. And one day, she's going to do something just as big. How could she be content to stay in Mom's shadow forever? No, when she gets to see the stars, she'll do things that make this, this grand drama of betrayal and hubris, seem small! Just you wait, universe! Redana's coming to get you![/i]

***

"I give you your life, Liu Bei! Ban! Liu Ban!" Nailed it. Redana (her eyes red and puffy for some mysterious reason) lifts her head and looks down the spear. Yes. That's definitely a spear. She pats it, gently, so that Alexa knows it's okay not to spear whoever this mad machine hermit is. "Hello!" She sniffles and wipes her nose on her sleeve, even as Alexa very much doesn't lower the spear. And she smiles[1] and pats the spear more forcefully.

***

[1]: The resemblance is impossible to ignore. After all, not that Redana knows it, but here's someone who knew her mother for a very, very long time. Here's someone who's seen Nero both composed and regal and coming unhinged. And here's someone who can recognize the spitting image of Nero, but very much not Nero. It would not take a mad strategist-genius to put the pieces together.