"Part of its in how you get treated. That Kyubey saw y'all as resources, right? Set ya up to feel like a real important resource. But still just somethin' he wanted, messes with how you see yourself. Part of it's..."

The nightmare scenario around them is a good setting for this kind of talk. It's about how it feels in his head during those bad moments. Even if the conversation isn't one he's ever had to speak, or think out, or anything along those lines.

"When they had me tied up, I felt it then. Or when I lost all my friends. This big, helpless thing. Couldn't do nothin' for myself. Nothin' I wanted mattered. I'd tell myself that ever' time I got in trouble for bein' too much me when I was young. Just sit there real quiet waitin' for it to be over.

"I know you want stuff, Angel, an' you ain't near as bad as some folks about it." Including him. "You wouldn't have gotten ya a girl if you didn't want stuff. It don't mean you don't wanna help people... but to do what they want ya to do, it seems like you had to convince yourself nothin' you want matters much. An' that ain't fair 'cause that's a hell of a sacrifice you makin'. What makes you is worth the whole world. An' I say that knowin' sometimes you fight with all your heart."

He thinks back to Peter again, despite himself. "My boy's daddy treated him that way, too. Like he was somethin' to use. When I told 'im to fight, I told 'im to use his heart."