[Right. Sephiroth- They hadn't spoken about him yet. He intended to- of course he intended to, but talking to Zack on arrival meant other things got in the way. Important things. ...Well, more important things, especially considering that a lot between them was... unspoken, unrecalled. Unsaid. And it really needed discussion far before anything else.
So.]
He's different. To how he was in Nibelheim. He... [No. That's not accurate. He exhales, determined to get this right.] I hate him, for what he did to it, to Tifa, to you. And I hate what became of him all the more. Remember, I said about Jenova using his body? Aerith... [He trails off. That's still painful.]
...Then finding the real him in the Northern Crater, that rebuilt body. [Funny. That rebuilt body, that single element of him, his will, that the Lifestream couldn't erode away... it felt more like him than any form Jenova took. The worst of it? What'd been done to him made him know that thing in there was him. Far beyond what any illusion could portray.
...Moving on, because that's still vaguely disconcerting-]
I originally bonded with him to try and work out what he was trying to pull, acting like the way he had before he lost his mind. But he's from a different point in time. He really is. He hasn't done anything. I can't feel the same way about him here.
[Faint pause.]
... I wanted to try and get him to agree to leave Nibelheim, before you guys went into the reactor. 'Cause that's where it all happened, right? He saw that thing in there, realized professor Hojo was doing human experiments, and figured he was one of them. Then, he read professor Gast's old notes, and got the wrong idea.
[The Cetra thing. If Zack hadn't surmised from their previous conversation, Yep. Not A Cetra!]
That way... if he deserted at least somewhere before any of that, there might be some version of our world where all of that didn't happen. Where you didn't get hurt, we didn't get seperated, and where...
[Tifa didn't almost die and wind up assisting her local eco-terrorists. Where Aerith wouldn't wind up dead either. But.]
Didn't count on him working things out for himself, though. I told him everything. [Faint pause.] ... He hasn't said anything. But he's the person he used to be. I know, because I can tell through our bond. He hates what happened to him just as much as I do.
[Big breath. That was a lot, but it was crucial that Zack understood. And!]
...Yeah, you'll need a witch. There's... [A small pause.] Yeah. I'm pretty sure she'd want to have you. [Faint, questioning look.] You uh, talked to her yet? About...
[A sharp pain in his head. He winces, but shows little other reaction. Because this is important, and all. ]
no subject
So.]
He's different. To how he was in Nibelheim. He... [No. That's not accurate. He exhales, determined to get this right.] I hate him, for what he did to it, to Tifa, to you. And I hate what became of him all the more. Remember, I said about Jenova using his body? Aerith... [He trails off. That's still painful.]
...Then finding the real him in the Northern Crater, that rebuilt body. [Funny. That rebuilt body, that single element of him, his will, that the Lifestream couldn't erode away... it felt more like him than any form Jenova took. The worst of it? What'd been done to him made him know that thing in there was him. Far beyond what any illusion could portray.
...Moving on, because that's still vaguely disconcerting-]
I originally bonded with him to try and work out what he was trying to pull, acting like the way he had before he lost his mind. But he's from a different point in time. He really is. He hasn't done anything. I can't feel the same way about him here.
[Faint pause.]
... I wanted to try and get him to agree to leave Nibelheim, before you guys went into the reactor. 'Cause that's where it all happened, right? He saw that thing in there, realized professor Hojo was doing human experiments, and figured he was one of them. Then, he read professor Gast's old notes, and got the wrong idea.
[The Cetra thing. If Zack hadn't surmised from their previous conversation, Yep. Not A Cetra!]
That way... if he deserted at least somewhere before any of that, there might be some version of our world where all of that didn't happen. Where you didn't get hurt, we didn't get seperated, and where...
[Tifa didn't almost die and wind up assisting her local eco-terrorists. Where Aerith wouldn't wind up dead either. But.]
Didn't count on him working things out for himself, though. I told him everything. [Faint pause.] ... He hasn't said anything. But he's the person he used to be. I know, because I can tell through our bond. He hates what happened to him just as much as I do.
[Big breath. That was a lot, but it was crucial that Zack understood. And!]
...Yeah, you'll need a witch. There's... [A small pause.] Yeah. I'm pretty sure she'd want to have you. [Faint, questioning look.] You uh, talked to her yet? About...
[A sharp pain in his head.
He winces, but shows little other reaction. Because this is important, and all. ]
...Why you never came back?
[Because he was lying low, ...right?]