[Angeal's words reach him, and it only makes Sephiroth want to retreat further back behind his icy veneer. He's not ready to confront being wanted, being made someone else's purpose, and certainly not having his sins forgiven. Something wavers in Sephiroth's sharp eyes, something he's quick to strangle down beneath his anger and obstinance.]
No. Do not try to make me your light, Angeal. That is a weight I cannot carry-- for you or anyone else.
[Because damn if he hasn't already tried. Cloud saved him from Jenova, showed him how to be something approaching human again, but even then-- Sephiroth continued to hurt him despite every dogged attempt not to. He tried to be a man deserving of love and kindness, and never quite measured up. If he couldn't even do that for Cloud, how the hell is he supposed to do it for Angeal?]
You're putting me on a pedastal I don't want. [...Or deserve.] Furthermore... the way you speak of me tells me you grasp little of the gravity of my actions-- or that I was complicit in much of it. Jenova was but a piece of the puzzle.
I - alone - wanted the world to burn. [And some part of him still does. The only thing that has stopped him from being subsumed by that fury all over again is Cloud. And now-- Angeal is here - alive - again, speaking of wanting to forge a new path together and carve their own little place in the world again and--]
You don't understand--
[A stark-white pain splits through Sephiroth's skull, jarring a hiss from him. He jerks free of Angeal's grasp to turn away, cradling his face in a gloved hand. It's a familiar pain. Jenova. She always tries to eke in when Sephiroth begins to question, to doubt, to fall apart. He's had plenty of practice at warding her off, but-- she's too much a part of him for Sephiroth to ever truly be free. After all, that's why the Lifestream has refused him again, and again, and again--
She finally quiets... Sephiroth's voice is much softer when he speaks again-- but twice as sharp.]
...If you stay, I will hurt you.
[It's not a question or a threat. It's simply the truth.]
no subject
No. Do not try to make me your light, Angeal. That is a weight I cannot carry-- for you or anyone else.
[Because damn if he hasn't already tried. Cloud saved him from Jenova, showed him how to be something approaching human again, but even then-- Sephiroth continued to hurt him despite every dogged attempt not to. He tried to be a man deserving of love and kindness, and never quite measured up. If he couldn't even do that for Cloud, how the hell is he supposed to do it for Angeal?]
You're putting me on a pedastal I don't want. [...Or deserve.] Furthermore... the way you speak of me tells me you grasp little of the gravity of my actions-- or that I was complicit in much of it. Jenova was but a piece of the puzzle.
I - alone - wanted the world to burn. [And some part of him still does. The only thing that has stopped him from being subsumed by that fury all over again is Cloud. And now-- Angeal is here - alive - again, speaking of wanting to forge a new path together and carve their own little place in the world again and--]
You don't understand--
[A stark-white pain splits through Sephiroth's skull, jarring a hiss from him. He jerks free of Angeal's grasp to turn away, cradling his face in a gloved hand. It's a familiar pain. Jenova. She always tries to eke in when Sephiroth begins to question, to doubt, to fall apart. He's had plenty of practice at warding her off, but-- she's too much a part of him for Sephiroth to ever truly be free. After all, that's why the Lifestream has refused him again, and again, and again--
She finally quiets... Sephiroth's voice is much softer when he speaks again-- but twice as sharp.]
...If you stay, I will hurt you.
[It's not a question or a threat. It's simply the truth.]