[ Well, that could have gone a lot worse, probably. The air from his lungs rushes out -- the impact is enough to have him grimacing. Teeth clenched together, he tries to steady the breaths that were so rudely interrupted.

All the while... he stares, he feels that grip tighten, he notices the look in Karma's eyes. It's almost the mirror image of what he's internally wearing. It hurts. And there's a small flinch at the last part, but nothing more.

His uninjured hand reaches up, firmly wrapping around Karma's wrist. His expression eases away from forced calm right into something fierce. He knows the redhead's hurting.

They all are. ]

For starters, it's not always about what everyone wants.

[ It's not a tone he's ever used outright of the Metaverse. A sort of calm resting between two different kinds of storms. Unwavering in the kind of way that might make it crystal clear his opinion isn't going to change, even if someone beat him to a bloody pulp. ]

But the day I stop fighting for the people and the things I love and believe in, is the day I'm already dead. There is nobody here who will stop me from fighting my hardest to protect everyone.

[ Overt calm expression, but with a blazing rage in his eyes. ]

If this place wanted a good little boy... One who will play along with their rules and do nothing while more people are killed... [ He sounds... calm. ] They should have considered putting my name back into the hat.

[ His grip briefly turns almost bruising. ]

I'd rather die, fighting with everything in me to protect the ones most important to me, than live with myself after doing nothing other than watch them die.