"I have to admit, I'm surprised," Circa says as she wanders about in Sarina's brainscape, hands held behind her back. "I mean, I planned all along to take you as my host, but I truly did not expect you to give yourself up. You made it easy."

Sarina purses her lips. "I isolated you from the cyberverse and saved my family. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

A whirring chuckle rolls through Circa as she turns around. "Well...you didn't save all of them."

"Speaking of which," Sarina says, holding back the bristle of annoyance that spikes in her chest. "I managed to figure out what exactly you were aiming to do, and yet, I cannot figure out why you would do it. What do you have to gain from holding her captive or plunging the world into chaos?"

The virus' black eyes glitter. "I was bored, searching for something to alleviate the woes of my existence, and Annalise was an easy target. She was so trusting, so eager to become my friend and..." She hums a little. "That robot of hers put some lovely thoughts in my head. Even when she threw me away like I was nothing—"

Her hair sparks, eyes turning red, and Sarina's palms start to glow in defense. Circa takes a deep breath, simmering back down to normal, then clears her throat.

"Even when she threw me away, I had this feeling. She would be useful to me one day," she muses. "I was right. Her videos, Michelangelo's endless, sickening devotion to her...it led me to you." She zooms closer, reaching out to caress Sarina's chin. "My dear..."

Sarina brushes her hand away. "And you're punishing her now? For growing up?"

"She used me, treated me like a plaything, and when she was done with me, that was it," Circa retorts. "After everything I did and the time I spent, she couldn't even spare a minute to give me the one thing I desired." She runs her hands over her hair and sighs, a wistful gaze taking over her slender features. "But now, the tables have turned. She is mine, my toy, and she's paying for her crimes against me."

"She was a child!" Sarina retorts, raising her voice and making the virus arch an eyebrow. "She had no reason to believe that Rainbow was real, no reason to believe that you were anything more than imaginary." She shuts her eyes, head shaking to and fro. "I am sorry that you lost your friend, but—"

"SHE WAS NEVER MY FRIEND!"

She recoils at the burst of noise as Circa hovers a bit in the air, shoulders quaking, seething. After a few more seconds, Circa brings herself back down to the floor, albeit her shaking doesn't stop and her glare is venomous.

"She...was a means to a host body, an annoying waste of time and energy," she utters through her teeth. "And do not think for one second that I am doing this because of a bleeding heart."

"There are smarter beings out there. If you never truly cared about Annalise, then why would you stick around? Why waste time with a child when you could have found a robotics lab filled to the brim with adults and technology beyond your wildest dreams?" Sarina wonders. "Furthermore...I have never seen someone act out such petty revenge without being hurt in some way, and hurt..." She rests her hand over her heart as a tiny smile lifts her lips. "Hurt comes from caring for others."

Circa bares her teeth and her pupils expand, creating brighter beacons of red beams that stare into Sarina's soul. "You do not know me," she enunciates. "I..." Her gaze darts away for a split second and her hands clench into fists. Her words gain speed as she speaks. "I am not bound by the weaknesses of humans. You are entertainment to me and don't ever think that there is anything else I am motivated by!"

"Circa, were you ever human?"

The virus' entire body seems to glow with rage. "Why don't you wake up and stop pestering me for a while? It will give me time to think about how I will take over."

Sarina's eyes snap open to see Donatello looking down at her, brown eyes laced with concern and his gentle hand resting on her shoulder. She blinks a few times and presses the heel of her palm to her temple, slowly pushing herself up into a seated position and taking in the fact that she's in Donatello's room, on his bed.

"Donatello," she breathes. "Were you—" She winces and his mask crumples. "—speaking to me?"

"No, I was just sitting here, waiting to see if you were ever going to wake up," he says, trying to joke but sounding too truthful to actually pass it off as such. When she bows her head, he brings himself closer to her and props his elbows on the bed. "How bad is it in there?"

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath, slumping back onto the mattress as she rests the heels of her palms over her eyes. "It's not terrible, I suppose. She is very talkative."

Inside her head, she hears Circa starting to grumble. "Aw, you're going to have to get used to that now that we're roommates." An echoing laugh.

"Not terrible?" he repeats, lips pursed. "There's a supervillain inside your head."

"I find that rather hurtful. Didn't you tell me that he's supposed to be the sweet one?"

"Shut up," Sarina mutters.

Donatello blinks a few times. "What?"

She drops her hands from her face, alarmed. "No, not you, Donnie," she says, apologetic. "She's still talking up there."

He takes her hand, sandwiching it between his far larger ones. "Sarina...we have to get her out of there."

"How?" she asks. When he says nothing, she adds, "She cannot harm anyone while she's up there. That is far better than having her run free on the Internet."

His face falls. "She's harming you, Sarina. I don't want her there, lingering like some...tumour."

"He really has no regard for my feelings, does he?"

She rolls onto her side and reaches out to drag her fingertips along Donatello's cheek. "Enough about me, for now," she murmurs. "Are you okay? How is everyone else?"

"We're okay. No lasting effects, we've all been fed and hydrated," he says. "Casey and April went home. Des is a little shaken up. Circa did a number on her in there, but she's already doing much better. Otherwise, there's nothing to mention."

Sarina's expression hardens and her bright eyes flicker. "Everyone is okay? You are sure?"

He bites his lip. "Yes. I swear, everything is fine."

"Michelangelo is fine? Annalise is fine?"

That gets him. His shoulders slump and he can't look her in the eyes. He exhales and droops forward, resting his forehead against the mattress for a few seconds, making her reach out to brush his mask tails.

"He's stayed in his room. He's watching one video over and over, the one she's trapped in," he sighs. "I saw him trying to figure out a plan, but he just can't. He's so frustrated and irritable that..." He stops, his face pained. "He isn't acting like my little brother."

Sarina's throat tightens and she closes her eyes. She mulls over her options, working around the aching pain in her head, and Donatello slowly looks back up at her. After a second, her eyes reopen and she starts to sit up again, swinging her legs off the bed.

"I have an idea," she starts as she stands up. "I could—"

"I don't like this plan. Come up with something else," Circa whines.

A sharp pain jolts at the side of her head and she hisses in pain. Donatello steadies her before she can fall and she takes hold of his arms.

"What is it?" he asks.

"You won't like it," she says. "If I tell you, you have to promise that you will help me follow through with it. You will have to trust me."

His expression flickers with uncertainty. "Sarina, you know I trust you," he says. "But..."

"You won't lose me, Donnie."

"You can't promise that."

"I can promise whatever I want. Whether or not that promise rings true...that's a different story."

Donatello says nothing for a few seconds. Then, with a deep breath, he cups Sarina's face in his hands and gazes into her eyes. "Okay...I'll help you," he murmurs.

She leans up and kisses him. When she pulls away, she whispers, "Thank you, darling."

"Ugh, get a room! There's someone else here, you know!" Circa complains. "Forcing me to be a third wheel...despicable."

Sarina smirks a little and, before Donatello can step away, she reaches up and brings him into a deeper, longer kiss, and he takes it willingly. Inside Sarina's head, Circa starts screaming.