Scene #9208: The Knowing 'Us'

Owner	Pose
Petra Soroka	Ever since X-- or, Ayin?-- opened up the Psychoportal and began his meltdown, the facility has been eerily silent. Eerie in other ways, too, that neither Petra nor Angela have familiarity with from seeing it in his office or mindscape-- floor tiles smearing together into dizzying optical illusions at the edge of their peripheral vision, doors melting, unnerving images bubbling up and vanishing when looked at directly. Petra does her best to ignore it, because it pales in comparison to the worst change inflicted on the place that's the closest thing to 'home' for both of them. Besides the two of them, shielded by Petra's aura, everyone else is gone. Agents, clerks, Abnormalities even; leaving the facility ghostly silent. Staying in place was intolerable, so Petra started to walk around Atziluth, pacing past empty Sleep Piles and abandoned hallways, talking to fill the air. "... This is really it, right? A hundred percent completion. With Lilian and everyone in there... not even Ayin could do anything to stop it."
Angela	In some ways, this is one Petra away from being what Angela fears most. That she will be buried here alone forever even after the end of the project, an eternity of emptiness and solitude and never truly seeing the light above. Even the Abnormalities are gone. What will that mean when everybody pops back out of his head? She's sure that they won't get ''stuck'' in there at the very least--or are they fighting an endless horde of abnormalities even now? But at the same time this is also her one best shot. And Petra confirms it with the first thing she says to her. "It ought to be. Then of course we need to survive for one day to bring the facility up to the surface so we can release the Light--but that does not even require a meltdown." Angela says. "...It has never been so quiet... ... I am glad you are here."
Petra Soroka	This is one of the many things Angela and Petra can understand about each other without having to say it-- the reason Petra is so resolutely ignoring the distortion of the facility in the corner of her eyes is because it's familiar, in a way she hasn't had to think about in a long time. Weeks without Lilian in her jail cell, without even a mimicry of human company to let her sleep comfortably, made the walls warp just like that whenever she lost focus. "'Survive for one day'..." Petra murmurs, briskly pacing through the undulating clouds and clocks of Records. "Fingers crossed. I wonder what'll make that more difficult; the Abnos, or everyone else." A glimmer of movement past a containment cell porthole catches her eyes instantly, in the absence of everything else. Silent Girl, inexplicably, is still in her cell, waiting with the nail behind her back as always. Petra gasps, "Oh, thank god," and pulls open the door to flop down into the soft grass warmed by Persephone's sun. Petra rolls over to face upwards to Angela. "Since it's just us... Ange, what's next? One day to release the Light? It's not going that way, right?"
Angela	Just one day. "While I do worry about the number of Abnormalities I have not seen much of, I am more worried about the others. I am worried that I am going to have to fight Lilian. I am worried that everyone will side with me over Lilian if it goes that way. I already expect the Sephirah will try to stop me, it would be strange if they do not." That means Gebura, though Angela doesn't mention her by name mostly because Angela is like the one person in The City who does not quiver in terror at the idea of facing the Color. She isn't completely without respect for her, but Angela is less keen on strength than on the mind and on wisdom. And loyalty. "But I will fight whoever I need to to live. The worst that would happen is that I die, after all. That is not ideal, but better than being trapped underground for eternity, and certainly better than eternal recursion." ''Since it's just us... What's next?'' "Once the facility moves to the surface and releases the light, the Timetrack and Portal System will be down. I intend to seize the Light shortly after it is released and use it to be born. It will be a struggle, but the more I receive the more likely I will be able to leave as I want to." She apuses. "The other agents will likely be against us as well. Not Cinder, I'm certain, and Nonon is off site so we won't have to deal with her strength. But it is difficult for me to anticipate all the Agents."
Petra Soroka	Petra smirks a bit to herself. "Well, I bet half the agents would run off if I looked at them wrong. They've all seen me take down Nonon and the Mountain, so I'll shout 'boo' and they'll cower. Who else... OHNO, Justin... do you think the Abnormalities are coming back? I could send Parker to a Work that'll kill her so I don't have to deal with her later...." "... Lilian, though." Petra frowns. "I'm... ready to, if I need to. When I need to, I guess. We're winning no matter what. I'm not going to leave the facility until you're able to leave with me."
Angela	Angela thinks back to Malkuth's Meltdown. "Justin will be on the side of the Agents. Perhaps they'll be more concerned with escaping themselves than with the project." That would be ideal but Angela doesn't prepare for best case scenarios she prepares for worst case scenarios. If nobody stops her at all and she just takes the Light and leaves, that wouldn't even necessarily require a plan at all. And she has plans for various levels of resistance but the plan she has put the most thought into is the plan where she has to face off against pretty much everyone except Petra and Rufus who was also quite insistent he'd be on her side but, really, even if he betrays her--it is just the same plan minus Rufus. "You don't have to worry about Parker. She is not on the side of the Project." But she's still surprised Petra would stand against Lilian even in a case like that. It is, after all, Lilian who makes the stars shine brighter, the grass healthier, and the world more magical (words chosen not from Angela, but the vibe is still there). "...Okay. Then--is there anything I can do to help ''you''. I will be able to seize quite a number of systems quickly, but others will be shut down due to the facility flipping right side up. I will need Gebura off of me at least, but assuming Binah was not lying when she vowed to help me if Lilian defeated her, she ought to be helping us as well ... But in a battle between Gebura and Binah, I would give Gebura a significant edge right now. ... Which is fine. I know you said we are ''winning'' no matter what, but it does not need to be in a fight. If I take over enough of the facility, if I can take the Light--it won't matter who wins a fight." A moment after she adds, "...Of course we do not even know if the Abnormalities will return when the psychoportal is deactivated." Actually maybe Psychonautra would know but, well, that's Psychonautra.
Petra Soroka	"Mmm." Petra makes a slightly doubtful noise at Angela about Parker. "I can't imagine Parker not being interested in the results of people getting EGO. She might be literally the only agent who actually cares about the project, as opposed to just fighting like pawns." "If it comes down to it, I could probably threaten plenty of agents into fighting for me... but a contested check against Lilian would be really hard...." Is that terminology Petra picked up from Green Mage's shitty little game? "Anyways. I've got some tools up my sleeve too. Hopefully it won't come down to an all-out war, but if it does..." Petra sits up in the grass and leans her back against the tree, arm draped over her knee. She looks up to directly meet Angela's eyes. "I came here prepared. But there's one thing you could do for me, Ange.}")
Angela	Angela considers this. "Well you spend more time with her than I do. I had imagined that considering she has no love of Lobotomy Corp. I'll leave it to your discretion." She hopes she doesn't have to kill too many Agents. She'd prefer to leave with as few chains binding her as possible, and the more you kill the more the chains of others tend to drag you down. But she still has to err on the side of freedom. "That is true. The agents think highly of--or fear--both of you. But Lilian's reputation is unmatched. I cannot imagine most people feeling a battle against Gebura AND Lilian is a winning fight." And it's possible that all her allies will turn on her too. She's confident some won't, but she can't rely on that either. She doesn't know what contested check came from (she doesn't think too much about Talisman, especially not rightn ow) but she picked it up from nuance. "...What is that, Petra? I will do anything within my power."
Petra Soroka	Petra pushes herself up to her feet, walking around the miniature star in the center of the room. "... There's one Sephirah that I'm not going to allow to stand against you. Because he's already fucked up more than his fair share." "Once everybody's out of the Psychoportal, and the Seed of Light's done, I'm killing Ayin. I mean, like I already said I would. But..." Petra squeezes Angela's hand. "I want the 'how' of it to matter a bit. The way people die is important to how they exist to everyone after they're dead. So I think he should suffer, and I think he should suffer like you did. I can do that to him, but I just need a little bit of your help."
Angela	''There's one Sephirah that I'm not going to allow to stand against you.'' ''Once everybody's out of the Psychoportal, and the Seed of Light's done, I'm killing Ayin.'' Angela's eyes widen, faintly, because yes Petra said she's going to kill Ayin but she says she's going to kill a lot of people. For a moment it seems like she might protest, but this is the one time where she's not being monitored. In this darkest moment of utter honesty, does she actually care one way or another? "The Seed of Light will not appear until after the facility breaches the surface." Angela says. "Killing Ayin before that point may trigger an automatic reset. So if you wait until the Seed of Light is active..." She cups her chin, thinking about it. "...I have no objection. You helped me all this time and ... perhaps I will feel something ''this'' time. You seem to know how I can assist you. Guide me and I will do as you ask." "...I do have a request, and you can reject it if you'd like. Before he dies, I would like to talk to him." This may also be part of the torture experience considering how he's reacted to her thus far.
Petra Soroka	"Yeah. If you'd prefer to, then, of course. I mean, it's for you, after all." Petra draws her thumb across the compact mirror chained to her pocket, and without anything perceptibly moving an inch, the world seems to fracture. Objects are laid bare and meaningless, absurd creations devoid of the social context that gives them life, Petra's human form is suddenly strikingly nothing but skin over meat and fragile chemical balances-- and then the sensation washes away in a feeling of overpowering gentle warmth, like light shining through the design of a stained glass window. "... Oh. There's too much Phony in here. One sec." Petra steps outside the containment cell, and then does it again. For a moment, Angela feels like the only real thing in the world, the solipsistic clarity thrown into sharp focus, and then like a crack in the dam, the feeling of realness flows out to envelop Petra too. Once the psychic power fades, Petra-- looks absolutely horrified and instantly nauseous, squeezing her eyes shut. She immediately drops down to sit on the floor, squeezing and flexing her fist repeatedly. She works her jaw to try and speak, making some garbled noise in her throat, and then gives up. <Oh god this sucks so much. Give me just a minute to get used to it. Or a hundred, haha.> The impression of Petra's telepathy comes through one hundred times faster than speech normally would.
Angela	"Ah, if it is for me, then yes. I do not imagine it will be satisfying, but I do think it will dwell in my mind forever if I never have even one conversation with a proper Ayin." She supposes that she would be told if she wanted to kill Benjamin too so she does not bring up the other dad slash war criminal in the equation. She quirks her head in confusion at the 'Too much Phony' but follows after Petra. A fractured world, Angela thinks from a compact mirror. Since meeting Petra, mirrors have...been easier to deal with. Mirrors can be cracked, shattered. and then your reflection becomes truly your own. She follows Petra out, a bit haplessly. She is so accustomed to Petra just sort of using Fragments and the Silver and Kamen Rider powers that it is still a little surprising when Petra uses her own. "Petra--what did you--" It takes Angela several minutes to get that far. But the disorientation Petra is feeling is familiar to Angela. And she remembers the chained up Petra wearing Regret. "Petra... You didn't... No, short sentences. Can read mind?" She is cutting out uneccessary words despite how goofy it might sound to try and make it more coherent. Can Petra even adapt, Angela wonders, Angela was made to be able to adapt to the flow. She tries thinking it real hard too. What she just said.
Petra Soroka	<No, but that'd be really convenient, huh?> Petra wraps her hands over her head, face between her knees. Her telepathic link carries a blindingly-fast 'one-mississippi, two-mississippi', each a hundredth of a second long, as she tries to internally track time for something. Eventually the thought comes through, <Fifty seconds between each heartbeat is fucking wild. Or, it should be a hundred seconds if I'm counting right. Unless my heartbeat's way higher than resting which, would make sense, actually.> There's a short pause in her communication-- short by the standards Angela has learned to apply to everyone else, but comfortably only slightly over a second long. <Nothing's going on at the moment. As long as I don't focus too much on breathing, and I can respond to you normally, it's manageable. It's alright. Don't worry about it for me.>
Angela	Angela takes a moment to recalibrate. She is not ABLE to SPEAK at 100x normal speed. And she did not bring her pad or the Eggpack with her and the local systems are essentially nonpresent. She is just going to have to talk quickly and hope Petra can handle it. Fewest syllables. No neccessary words. That's the best she can do. Yes, Angela thinks, that would be convenient. It IS nice that the mental messages are normal (to her) speed. She just wishes she could respond that way. It would help. Talking about heartbeat counting would only add more words so Angela doesn't. She cuts off her simulation of breathing so Petra doesn't have to hear it. "You can ''fight'' like this?" Don't worry about it for her. How can she not? This is HER suffering. Not caring about it is looking down on her own pain. "Can't not worry. For me." Five minutes, she grimaces.
Petra Soroka	<You're right... I should do some pushups or something to get used to the pace of, like, moving.> Petra stands up, and her motions are visibly extra-careful from the moment to moment consideration put into it. When she reaches her feet, the quiet murmuring thought of <One hundred seventy four>-- for the subjective seconds it took to complete the motion. She tries taking steps around Angela to pace, the lengths unnaturally uneven as she has to relearn the automatic distance-time relation to move her feet for a 'step'. <It's so hard to keep track of words. I'm losing sentences by the time you get to the end of them. For you?> The difference between how Petra engages with Angela's temporal perception compared to how Angela's adapted to it becomes clear as she doesn't wait for a response from her before continuing with more thoughts. Being able to 'talk' a hundred times faster than she can get responses rapidly develops the adaptation to resist boredom of narrating far more of her thoughts than she usually would. <I'm kind of getting a sense of it. It's good we have all this time to ourselves, though. At any individual second, it kind of feels a lot like Exis, right? Well, I guess I don't know if you feel the, hydraulic motion the same way muscles are, but the awkward tension along with not actually feeling strain as if I was just holding these positions in normal time is a lot like she was.>
Angela	"...If copied me, adapt in time?" Angela thinks once again if she needs to figure out how to do mental communication. Certainly, if she can get rid of the 100 times too slow probelm, she wouldn't need to, but something like that is very far off, even in normal human speed time. She feels like she's losing her mind. She understands, somewhat, why Petra would do this. She understands that she can pass it on to Ayin, perhaps, that seems to be the idea. But she also could have asekd for this a little later! But getting upset about it won't help. Angela steadies herself, calms herself, and accepts things as they are. Yes, she has to accept things as they are. That's what's important. It is important to Petra too after all and she does owe her a great deal. ''At any individual second, it kind of feels al ot like Exis, right?'' Petra has already learned to read Angela but it's easier with time slowed because Angela's movements are exagerated. Whenever someone gives a snide look, that snide look is multiplied. More tellingly, a small twitch of a lip can be read like a magazine. A soft tensing of the fingers is a story. It is no wonder that Angela always seems to catch those little emotional bumps people show off expecting their briefness to let them slide under the radar. Not to Angela. Perhaps it helps her understand people. Angela's tension at the comparision to Exi no doubt refers to her conversation with her. Lilian said not to believe her, that she lies for no reason, but Angela can't help but feel she is right. That she is the parts of Carmen she does not recognize. Not a whole in of herself. Then she seems to steady herself, somehow, thinking of how many few people are wholes of themselves and she still manages to be realer than them. She calms. Maybe her expressions are not so still as they seem when you see the world through Angela's eyes. Her reason for keeping her tone level, her reason for keeping a flat expression--shifting tones is a journey, making an expression is outdated before Angela's face can match her feelings. "Going to place hand on shoulder. It will be too long." And Angela does so. In real time it's no time at all before she removes it again. But it sure won't feel that way to Petra. Angela's trying to prepare her as best she can.
Petra Soroka	Immediately, Petra demonstrates putting that particular social quality of Angela's perception to use. Noticing the small changes in Angela's demeanor and expression, already maybe the person best at reading her, with multiple minutes to reflect on them and turn them over in her head, Petra guesses at what the faint flicker of tension at Exigent Serenity's name might have been caused by. <I think maybe I put too much trust in Exis, but... I've never really been proven wrong for doing it. I mean, sure, that was probably the worst physical sensation I've literally ever had inflicted on me, and oh my god there's a lot of competition for that, but I trust her to care about things she cares about and not care about the things she doesn't. She lies in ways Lilian doesn't, sometimes, just because Lilian sort of does care about things she doesn't care about.> <So that's another way this is making me think of Exigent Serenity a bit. It's just, like, about perspective. I mean, this is for another reason, but the perspective's valuable too.> Angela's hand touches Petra's shoulder, and her own hands very very slowly reach up to try and clasp it. Too slowly, though, and she misses it, going in for a lingering hand squeeze afterwards anyways. "Ohhh... khay. Trying, talking." <I know it's basically directly worse, but, I've gotta relearn how, at least.> "You wren't kidding. Cutting, syllables down." With weird, jerky motions, Petra feels out movement by pressing her palm beside Silent Girl's door to re-open the cell and shuffle back into the grass inside. <I guess... I'm sort of wondering. All that time in my head, and with me talking about it, and now that I've had it back for some time... you know what the Beauty of Ash is kind of, um, for, Ange? Take however many words you need, I'll try to keep up.>
Angela	Angela wonders if she puts too much trust in ''Exis'' but she shakes her head in slow motion. "Everything she said felt true. Or containing the possibility of truth." But that can be just as much a problem, fear, worry, or solution as any lie. Adjusting to more syllables and words largely because she can't communicate it like she was doing, but she reasons Petra is going to have to get used to this. She seems to be getting adept at recognizing the no-longer-so-minute body language but that's to be expected. It only gets easier with the curse. Angela raises her hand so Petra can hold her hand. "Your body slower too by perception. Orders to body fast, but body slow. Plan ahead." ''But I've gotta relearn how, at least.'' This is true, so Angela nods once more. Another flicker of worry in her eyes. It's for Petra, not just for Petra, though, not even just for the mission. Some part of her worries Petra will master it instantly and she'll seem more pathetic by comparision. ''Take however many words you need.'' She thinks of when Petra unveiled it. And Lilian's own words. "Companionship." Is the first word she picks. And then she picks a second one. "Understanding." Petra had said as much herself. And then she thinks of a third word. "Commendable." She is an AI that believes in study, learning, and the gathering--and hoarding--of knowledge.
Petra Soroka	"Plan, ahead." <Yeah.> Petra's getting better at speaking pretty quickly, but whenever she lapses into adding her redundant filler words-- the 'yeah's, 'um's, and 'like's, that have probably taken up an entire month of Angela's perception on their own-- she skips to projecting them telepathically. It makes the pacing of her speech fluctuate between being a hundred times faster and a hundred times slower, probably incomprehensible to every person in the multiverse besides Angela. That realization is both descriptively true, and distantly horrifying in the intentionality of it. The goal of the Beauty of Ash isn't just 'understanding' in a vacuum, or else Petra would have the ability to read hearts like Persephone does, and would suffer less for her efforts. It's to understand, become understood in turn, and thereby permanently shift the center of her personal gravity closer to the people she loves and further from everyone else. Quite literally, to develop a dialect that's comprehensible for the fewest number of people possible. <Yeah.> "People don'tget wht comp'anionship' means usually." Petra's scarequotes aren't communicated until partway through the word, because she's still mistiming the movements of different parts of her body. "If you don't mind," <Ange,> "One more person to talk to. Only if you want to, but I also have things to say to her." Rather than taking the minute to elaborate on something mostly self-evident, Petra's intense look is accompanied by a quick <Carmen, I mean.>
Angela	Angela still is a bit disoriented--she's grown accustomed to everything being a hundred times slower than it ought to be so when things move at 'normal' speed it's almost lightning speed in sensation from what she's accustomed to. But while she just said 'understanding' in one word, she certainly knew it was more than that in a vacuum but she is shooting for succinctness. But in what she says after, she says for the aim of clarity. "I see now why you cannot stand seemingly empty people. There is nothing to reflect." Either way or towards herself. In truth, such people have plenty of reason to be frustrating to deal with, but she feels she understands the depths of why it is frustrating to Petra specifically now. ''people don'tget wht comp'anionship' means usually.'' "No wonder so many feel alone." But Petra has an unexpected request. Angela's eyebrow raises. "I do not mind but I thought you did not care for her." Ah, but perhaps that is why Petra prefaced the ask with the comments on the Beauty of Ash. "Ah perhaps that is why--That is fine."
Petra Soroka	"I don't really. But I want to know." Petra frowns at her own unsatisfactory response, skipping back to telepathy. It feels like it's been hours since she first took on Angela's curse herself-- and, for both of them, it has. What else is she supposed to do with that time besides adapt to it? <It's her dream we're ruining. You might be her daughter, but it's still, like, stealing something that she intended for the whole City. I don't think she can stop us or do anything to us at all, but... still, it'd feel weird not saying anything to her, right?> Petra grips her compact mirror in her hand, holding it up near her chest. The mica-flecked case for it glimmers slightly, and then that same sense of psychic vacuum consumes the hallway of Records, this time not directed at Angela. Everything, for a moment, starts to melt away into enkephalin, dribbling down clockfaces and out of the windows of the sagging towers that fill the department. And in that realm of psychic unreality, the less-than and more-than real aspects of Carmen have a chance to reach through, having a conversation with two people rather than one for maybe the first time since her death. "Carmen. Hey. Uh..." After three subjective minutes of ellipses, Petra glances over to Angela. It's probably better for her to explain stealing the Light.
Angela	"...Understood." Angela says. She does not--and cannot--interfere as Petra fans out her psionic power down the hallway and... Angela does not seem to divulge teh whole plan. She just looks forward towards Ayin's office. There's a sense of communication ongoing between them, something that was always there but in this unreal place is much easier to see in action--like Angela and Carmen were never entirely seperated at all. Eventually, Angela asks, "Carmen, would you mind telling Petra what you told me?" Angela is an AI that can lie. And she can lie by not saying anything at all. But Petra's about to receive a message of truth. Red vein-like tendrils stretch out across the hall, too thick and bulbous to be true veins, but they stretch and twist, following the black lines of the Architecture hallway--or at least, where they once were. Thick like tree roots. Angela is unmoved, but a raise of the eyebrow indicates that this representation of Carmen is still somewhat new to her. "Oh sweetie." Carmen says. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQUUAcB0io "...I said you should follow your heart." Carmen says. "And I will follow mine." She has largely come across as a human being, if an eccentric one, when she was able to communicate with the Agents and everyone before. But perhaps it is because of long-term exposure to Enkephalin, or perhaps because the Seed of Light is nearly prepared, there is a strange distance to the words, a sort of lack of concern that one could see as a dereliction to the duty of her own goals considering how relaxed and chill she seems about the fact that her dream is about to be betrayed. "Isn't it so exciting, though? Either you get to be free, or I get to become the Voice I always wished to be. Or maybe some unknown third option. I don't exactly know how you work, Angela, because you don't know exactly how you work. But there's some of us in each other, isn't there?" The veins stop short before they get too close to Petra. "I've seen so many shapes of how my dream can materialize through the multiverse. I'm so excited to see what art everyone will paint together."
Petra Soroka	This is more like the Carmen Petra expected. From her experience with the Well, and the brief touches of Carmen's mind she's been exposed to, the mythologization and awe people tend to speak about her with comes across to Petra as more of a looming threat. Or-- not a threat, exactly. Lilian and Phony both feel positively to Carmen, and Petra knows better than to disbelieve them, but there's an uncomfortable menace to her existence that Petra's never been able to shake. When the tendrils get too close to her, Petra takes a step back, drawing Fourth Match Flame from her mirror. She holds it defensively, not threateningly, but in the psychic vacuum of her power the flames start passively creeping up her arm. "... Follow yours. I hope that doesn't mean getting in our way, now or later." Petra isn't quite sure where to look on 'Carmen', and eventually settles for right in the middle of the most eye-like coil of veins, as if she's challenging her. "I've fought for your dream before, Carmen, in a different world. I've seen the shapes it can take, and... it's complicated, but I've believed in it too. But one thing that'll never change is, I'll crush that dream for an entire City, or world, or everyone in the multiverse, if it means stealing it for one person I care about more." Petra hesitates for a few seconds, in subjective reality minutes. It's only barely longer than a normal pause between sentences, but it gives her enough time to think through what she means to say, and choose to say it in the bluntest way possible on purpose. "So I'm killing Ayin. The moment his role is over."
Angela	Carmen does not indicate one way or another whether that means getting in their way, sooner or later. Maybe she doesn't even know herself. She's not omniscient (yet). Angela's eyes are open, she's following Petra's gaze. But she seems to reconsider after a moment and closes her eyes, turning her head away. She's always been a little uneasy about observing Carmen too closely, either psychically or in other ways. ''If it means stealing it for one person I care about more.'' "I hope more people in The City can think like you rather than be caught up in the pressures of society and family weighing down on them. I hope one day we can be on the same page. Or maybe, rather, I should say... I hope one day Angela and I can be on the same page." "...I cannot say it is impossible, but it is not now." Angela says. ''So I'm killing Ayin. The moment his role is over.'' There is a longer pause from the tendrils this time. An echo of fondness ripples between the veins. She does not remember that he had a kind smile, but. "I wish you wouldn't. But I cannot stop you. Or warn him. ... So why did you tell me?"
Petra Soroka	"... It's not now." Petra echoes, a waste of minutes that feels worth it just for backing Angela up. Now, why did Petra tell Carmen that? In every respect, it's a bad choice. It's terrible opsec, it wouldn't make Carmen happy at all to hear, of course, and there's no benefit Petra gets that she can exploit. In the end, it can only really be an emotional reason-- the number of murders Petra has done isn't actually very high. She's not a hardened killer, and though she doesn't regret a single one of them and they don't keep her up at night, there's a certain emotional weight to doing the deed that Petra's never been able to shake, no matter what she says in the radio. "I told you because... I guess you're someone who needed to know. That this is what 'following my heart' looks like, and that's only the case because of the things you set in motion." "This is," <I guess> passes by Carmen too quick to perceive, "what happens when you kill yourself. You give up your choice in what happens to your legacy. And a little part of that legacy's always going to include the fact that I'm only killing Ayin because of you. If there was some other person... some way that someone else was in his place, who didn't do all that psychotic shit to Ange... then this wouldn't happen." "You can't change it. But I guess I respect you enough to let you know."
Angela	Angela gives Petra a small nod of gratitude but she gets a lot quieter when Carmen is around, even relative to how short with words she's been ever since Petra copied her curse. She wrings her fingers together. Ayin is easy to say goodbye to, Benjamin would be hard, and Carmen is ... Angela can't dislike her, really. Not even for killing herself. She wouldn't have existed if she hadn't, presumably, but maybe there was a possible world out there where nobody died and they built her anyway, a mirror shard far off from this one. She thinks of an adorable childlike Angela, holding the hands of her parents and being thrilled by it and she wonders whether or not she'd lose all reason and start strangling the happier version of herself. Carmen still occupies physical space but she has no heart that pounds, no skin to crawl, and her nervous system would decidedly not fit back in a Carmen-sized body. ''Because of the things you set in motion.'' "It is easy to decide to rebel against the Head. But it is harder to remove the Head from your heart. We knew ''Us'', our foibles, our flaws, and assured ourselves it didn't matter because we were planting seeds. If the people of the City can learn to love themselves and paint with their own colors... Maybe one day the people of The City will be able to look at her and not see the Machine Purge." "...I look forward to seeing where your heart leads, Petra, and what you do with my legacy. I can't change it." A small pause. "And what Angela will do with hers." The presence pulls back through its own will, the veins peel away, and the roots fade away. Angela closes her eyes. Then she opens them. And then she says, "The only thing left is to see where it all goes." Angela says. Her brief smiles last forever at this scale.