This was when a fire began to flare up inside of him, filling up the emptiness with anger. The possibility that this was not the Red he knew was momentarily forgotten, overwhelmed by the sting of his words, tearing at old wounds.

It was true Sasha nearly died, but now she was brighter and more confident than ever. And Marie... Marie, who was closer to Red than any of them were, who'd needed him most, he'd suffered and grown too. Did Red really not see any of that? It felt like a complete betrayal of everything a trainer should've been, to write off all their struggles so easily.

As for Vinnie, who'd fell harder than any of them and fought harder to crawl to the point he was now, old words began to echo in his head. Old fears that he had sealed away.

Baring his teeth, he took his fists out of his pockets and growled, "Yeah? Y'wanna tell me what you see?"