…Everything he’s doing…it just makes it so much worse. It’s making her insides feel all twisted up like a Kaiju had torn her from inside out and left pieces of her scattered on the ground. Her ‘heart’ feels shattered; that piece of her that allows emotional capabilities, that important piece that allows her to Drift and connect with her pilots feels fractured and flawed -- she feels like a disgrace, a failure. She’s hurt a pilot – something that she’s not ever supposed to do. She wouldn’t be terribly surprised if she’s entirely reformatted after this, time permitting.

You should blame me.

She’s more insistent now, pulling out of his arms and trying to stand. The image flickers, but for him – she maintains it, and allows the avatar to remain. It’s the least she can do – give him someone to look at, to get angry with, and to hate.

Go, Hercules. Before I disconnect myself.