"Of course I had a choice." There's a mildly hurt tone in his low voice, but it's more directed at himself than at Jack. "I was influenced by people who clearly had no idea what they were talking about, and instead of standing my ground, I got overwhelmed like a bloody cadet. I shouldn't have left you. I don't know if that would've changed the outcome, if I would have stayed in the city or vanished back to my reality all the same, but...there it is."