Andie hesitated. Her ego would be safe as long as she protected it… but was that really what she wanted to do?

Andie stood up and began to slowly move her hand to cover the light in her chest. Evidence suggested that she would suffer if her ego died - but she was Andie. She wasn’t that easy to take down… right?

Andie moved her hand a little closer to the light. She’d be fine. She wasn’t like the dysfunctional duo. She wasn’t like Maddie. She was an unstoppable force of nature, and would not -

Incredible pain surged through Andie’s chest, cutting through her thoughts and shattering her focus. For a second or two, Andie’s body and mind were completely still. Her hand lingered up in the air where it had reflexively shot out, stretched as far away from her chest as it could reach. Pain still sparked in the fingertips that had almost touched her ego, piercing through her skin like dozens of electric needles.

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The pain pulsed with Andie’s heartbeat, slowing and dulling as she calmed down.

Well. That settled that. Her ego was to be protected at all costs.

Andie sighed. She was almost relieved by this outcome. Uncertainty wasn’t a pleasant emotion for her - and when she wasn’t stapled to her ego, it was also a rare one.

Now back to business. Her ego had failed to defeat Dyllan’s lanky little PTSD monster. Why? Because she’d hesitated. She’d let those absurd doubts linger in her mind and weigh her down

A wicked grin crossed Andie’s face, widening as she let out a cocky chuckle. She wasn’t like her ego, she didn’t have doubts. She knew the truth. She knew that she was Andrea Diane goddamn McClyde, and she could do anything but lose.