- Warnings? Well if you count Togusa/ Suki depression
and emotional angst then go for it -

" All you have to do is tell us where your partner is," Pazu boredly proclaimed waving his cigarette.

" I told you. I was near the blast. I was running away. I was scared; I thought they were coming to get me, " Her voice echoed in the cold room. It sounded both exhausted and depressed, "Pazu -"

" Look girl, let's get one thing straight ok? I'm not your friend here, and I don't know who you are. So unless your cyber brain has malfunctioned you can stop addressing me."

" I don't have a cyber brain…it's my brain," She tilted her head and looked at him wearingly, " Look, I want this to stop, I do. I understand. I'm this person saying things. I'd be upset too. But I am me – Togusa I don't understand how to make you understand."

" Apparently I have to beat your memory back into you."

" Go ahead," She practically fell into a slump in her chair, " It won't change anything. I'm here and you can't possibly understand."

" Who's your partner? We already know it's a man. Does that jog your memory?"

" The only man I know is the one who did this to me. The one I thought set off that blast."

" And what exactly did he do?"

". …You're looking at it. You think I like this?"

" You are really starting to piss me off little girl."

" I'm not a girl."

" I really don't care what you THINK you are."

" That video you got it didn't you? He was so damn exited about it. Killing me. He was killing me! And he was happy!" She leaned forward in her chair; " He did something to you too didn't he? He kept saying such strange things. Like I should speak to you all. That I should say- Aow!" Cutting her short he'd kicked her in the shin.

" Next thing you say better be what I want or I'm coming over there," He growled.

She had no doubt he'd come over and beat her, if not down right rip her to shreds judging by the look in his eyes. She obviously hit his nerves, she felt a little lucky he just gave her a very hard kick. If Batou had tried to crack her skull open, she held no illusions about him being as bad if not worse judging by the fire burning within his eyes. She would've been feeling happier that they'd felt such compassion for her other self if she weren't on the receiving end of their punishment. They couldn't possibly understand or know what she was telling them was the truth. They probably all thought she was crazy, or as he so delicately put it malfunctioning. Sitting here telling them she was her self was getting nowhere and pulling a lie on them couldn't possibly work. She never had been good at it in the first place. She sighed her brain hurting to come up with something they couldn't deny. As if his glare couldn't get any worse it'd seemed she'd just made the situation worse by her action. Would he make a move? She stared at him, and she almost didn't care anymore. Why were they here anyway? Had they come here for her? Or for someone else? The fact that they'd not come here on her behalf made the pain within her even worse, and to much to bare. What was so damn important about this mystery man that they'd not come for her? Did they really believe she was dead? And then it hit her …she almost had to laugh at her absurdity; of course they thought she was dead. Hell she thought she'd been dead until that place.

" Why's my friend so important to you," She suddenly offered struggling to keep her voice stern. The fact that they'd assumed her dead was increasing the dark precipice in her soul. She wanted to cry, but machines are incapable of such things. She'd never seen any of them cry. He looked at her in such away, she knew he was debating on weather to beat her senseless or explain to her their reasons.

" He attacked one of our own, and he had Vidal information concerning another, and if you think we're giving up on that you've got another thought coming," He growled out clearly restraining himself.

" Attacked?"

" Don't act so surprised. Terrorist like you – "

" I'm not a terrorist."

" Then I suppose booby trapping stairs isn't your living?"

" !…Not mine." her voice was shacking again.

" Don't you dare bull shit me."

" I'm sorry about your friend! I'm sorry to put you through all of this! I'm sorry I-.I don't know anything!" She gasped out her breathe coming in small snips of air, her limbs beginning to shake, " I'm sorry you think I'm nothing, you think I'm dead, you don't care about me, you hate me, I'm sorry! …… I'm sorry I wasn't any good to you."

" Then there's no reason to keep you alive now is there?" His voice seemed softer; looking into his eyes revealed he was a little taken back by her strange outburst. But it was too late. His words had sent her down into the darkness she'd tried so hard to avoid…and she'd lost her hope. If they turned agenst her, abandoned her, hated her what else was there? They wanted her dead. Her. Dead…

" Then please, make sure I'm dead this time…I don't want to wake up in another shell if it's not my own," Her voice expelled from her lips in such an uncaring dead fashion giving up all her hopes her life along with it. Deciding now that this was her proof the un denying proof, that not all stories could possibly have those wonderful endings they loved to portray. Pain and grief numbed her soul, " Could you do that for me Pazu? Or will Batou? Ya'know I'd rather him do it. He's my partner, or should I say was? Let him break my skull in, smash me to pieces like all the others,"

Looking to the ceiling she smiled defeated and continued her plea, " Ya' know he wanted me to say something. That Chinlou, He wanted me to say something to you all so terribly, and you know what? I couldn't. I couldn't, there was just too much to say. Too heart wrenching to say. To admit my death, my defeat of life. When all I wanted to say was I was sorry. Toting a human around wasn't the best thing you all had to do I'm sure,"

She brought her gaze back down and focused on his hand on the table. It was still, resting on the table, his cigarette still gently billowing smoke between his fingers. She watched it for a moment, " I didn't know you so well Pazu. In fact, I don't think I can claim I knew any of you so well, but I knew Batou, and he's not here and you're going to kill me, so I guess I just say it…tell him I'm sorry. I knew he had feelings for me, and he knows I can't return them, but I appreciated the gesture even if he scared me to death when he said that. I appreciate him still staying so professional towards me even when I almost died of shock. That day we where off, and he'd asked me to come fishing by the pier with him. I left him there after I'd punched him so angry and shocked," She smiled, " I'm sure it wasn't the fact that I'd hit him that stunned him, more that I really was so upset to decline in such a fashion. I'll remember him like that, and I'm happy to have seen him again even if he was so angry."

She didn't have to look at his face. He didn't move his hand. Stunned into silence, she could only guess he'd never had a captive sit across from him and spill their guts in such a depressing fashion. They were army after all. He finally moved and stood up. She sighed in defeat and put her head down on the table and waited, but his footsteps weren't coming towards her they where leaving. She looked up surprised and confused as she caught the close of the door. She aimed her bewilderment at the door and for the briefest of moments felt angry. Physically angry, he wasn't going to kill her.

" I thought you said you were going to kill me!" She hollered at the door, angry he'd deprived her of the death she was just coming to except.

He heard her shout but continued on from the winery cellar to the dark kitchen. He closed the hatch slowly. He wanted to kill her; he thought he'd snap her neck, but now she'd placed him into a state enveloped by pity and anger both pulling, nothing giving ground. It was more difficult to kill someone in such a state and live with it afterwards. He'd heard of it but never experienced such a confusing state of conflicting emotions, but then again, he'd never had anyone he'd kill sit there and slice themselves open and bleed with such honesty and acceptance of their appending death. The fact she'd mention Chinlou was another fact. He'd worked with the man, and that name wasn't exactly the most common of family names around, something told him to just walk out and leave her be. He had to question Batou first.

- Really thinking you can't go any further? Can things possibly ever get better? If you've come this far in my fic then you're all troopers! But enough here take a long soothing break, then onto the next section! -