UwU ~ Thanks for reading and thanks for philosophizing! Interpretation 1 is correct, yet interpretation 2 would be correct as well when Ariel thought they expelled Timothy (dead name of his old self) at up until the point of the start of this story. What do I mean by the statement above?

Indeed, "Timothy" never left but was heavily subdued to the point of not coming back. However, Ariel was once the shadow of "Timothy" even before Ariel finally became a cyborg; the cyborgization of Ariel (in which I just refer to Ariel as a they) just furthered Ariel. "Timothy" only came back when they became a lumpenprole and, as I wrote Ariel in RN-1199, had to resort to crime to live another day; returning back to and facing the habits of which "Timothy" loved. With such, Ariel had long taken the control to move past the stagnancy of "Timothy" and actually develop what "Timothy" had resisted on mental-emotional levels . There was, however in spite of many progresses, a mental regress due to how "Timothy" acted and how Ariel squeaked away from; causing Ariel to think negatively on some actions of which Ariel squeaks away from but "Timothy" would adore going back to. Of which, I have planned, for Ariel to take back what "Timothy" still holds on; as to then finally supersede the shadow of "Timothy" as Ariel would deweaponize "Timothy" from the arms "he" has. Yet that's an emotional journey of overcoming a past identity one was forced into and actualizing an identity that reacts against everything wrong with the dead identity without nuking one's self to high hell (an abstraction of many people that transition, resist against the socialization of their conditions, resisting internalization of negative/positive stereotypes and those overcoming their disabilities). Of course, now this has happened, Ariel needs not overcome the arduous journey alone and has the help from Miss Mystique and the robo-child. c: