[The last year has led to bad habits. Every Sephiroth is inclined to flame, they just learn to control it sooner or later; there's a reason Nibelheim burned instead of being entombed in ice. But attacking without severe provocation was another matter and this simply didn't qualify.]

If you tell your allies that you're concerned that you might get mind controlled by outside forces and wish them to keep tabs on your behavior to tell if anything changed, do you really think that's all they're going to do?

[There's a sharp edge of resentment to every word, and not all of it is directed at this subject or Cloud. He didn't want to be talking about this, saying any of it at all, but the compulsion remains.

And if he needed something to focus fury on, that'll do. This shouldn't be happening.]

I don't know much about friendships. But if I had allies and they told me something like that I know I wouldn't be sitting idly on my hands just watching and hoping things work out. I would assume normal people would be even more inclined to help. Besides which.

[It's not thinking he's alone. It's knowing. There's nobody at all who can be relied on, trusted at Shinra HQ. The Turks could be relied on to look after their own. He was not one of them.]

Telling me I'm being controlled isn't likely to suddenly break me free, will it?