Sylvanas rose, left hand raised to inspect the damage. The flesh exterior of her chassis had been completely destroyed by the blast, RealSkin bubbled and boiled and sluiced away from the metal underneath. Some bits of flesh clung to the digits, stubborn even as Sylvanas used her thumb to brush at the offending flesh.
Tilting her head downward, she felt the hard grimace that had been set on her face melt into a softer expression, felt as the woman she would give everything for whispered her name.
An entirely flesh hand raised and gently pressed against her cheek, only for her to realize there was no flesh there anymore. The metal of her faceplate was completely exposed. The sense of shame that filled her at the realization that she was so exposed made her feel dirty. Why would she feel shame? She was nothing like the others.
Yet Jaina stared up at her, blue eyes glittering with tears, but the expression was one of worry, not fear. She was worried - for her.
The air, smattered with the sounds of an orchestra of suffering yielded to increased heat. She could feel it herself, and witness the sweat dotting Jaina’s brow. The fire was growing closer, and the other machines were following.
There was only one directive, as there had always been. Her purpose and what she knew was her desires were united.
Sylvanas stood, pulling Jaina up onto her feet and returning to the young woman her cane. “Go. Now.”
Mechanical feet, loud, heavy enough to rumble deep inside her belly with each step drew nearer.
“What? No, Sylvanas, you can’t be serious! We can both get out of here now!”
“Trust me when I say that we will never give up. There is nowhere that you can go that a machine will not follow. And you will eventually need to rest. So this must end, here and now. You run. I protect.”