[Jaeger can entertain himself and he'll keep busy on his phone while Wesker's sorting himself out. Still, he can't help but be the tiniest bit relieved when he hears the knocking.]
That's good to hear. Is there something you want to talk to me about?
[He'll open the door wider so Wesker can come in. No sense going all the way over to the study when you're already here! Jaeger will take a seat on the bed, though he'll leave plenty of room in case Wesker wants to join him.]
Decidedly more than they were. I've been spending time with them today as well; they can tell that I haven't been feeling well, so they're...concerned, I suppose.
[And that reminds him of a conversation he had with Shuji at one point recently; he doesn't seem to know what to do with that notion and it seems odd to bring it up, but...it's not a bad thing, either.]
...You also tend to help me a great deal with that, you know.
Of course, Albert! You're the only person I trust with this much! It's still difficult for me to open up, but I've found it's gotten a bit easier with you, at least!
[That said, though, that is when he starts pacing; just trying to find something to do with himself, really, while he tries to collect himself.]
I remembered exactly what I was trying to do back then. With...all of the experiments, particularly the ones that kept recurring in my memories beyond a certain point. The sort of thing that Excella became.
That's what's been troubling me lately, and why I wanted you here with me for a while.
I told you that I was going to try to rule over the world as a god. That wasn't something I misrepresented to you - it's what I genuinely thought until a very short while ago.
Recently, however...
[He pauses a bit, then; just...give him a moment. To breathe, and to collect his thoughts.]
Recently, it's come to my attention that I only understood part of the plan.
I know that I wanted to save the world. To...fix something that I believed was fundamentally wrong, I suppose, but also to pass judgement on humanity as a whole. To decide who deserved to live or die, based on something that would be objective at its core. Something that couldn't be swayed by the superficial charms of individuals, something that couldn't be lied to or manipulated. Something that would be an impartial judge that could decide, based on inherent traits, who deserved to survive.
[...]
I wanted to save the world by unleashing the virus that caused Excella's mutation. Those that it "chose" - those that could bond with it without dying - would be considered worthy of survival.
The casualties were projected to be massive. I didn't care.
[That's...seriously understating the severity of it, simply by merit of not stating exactly how many casualties he's talking about. But it is the basic gist.]
[Jaeger listens to all of that silently. He shifts a little where he's sitting on the bed while he tries to work out how to respond. Some part of him was wondering if this was all leading up to something like "and then I tried to destroy humanity" so at least he was on the right track, sort of? Holy shit. Okay. Alright, he's got this.]
I see. I'm so sorry you had to remember something like that, Albert. I...
[He's... He's got this...]
It... certainly is an awful thing to deal with, ja?
[He doesn't have this.]
I can't say I understand, because I don't, but that's... Goodness, that really is something, isn't it?
[Give him a moment and maybe he'll be able to pull himself together.]
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Hey, how are you doing?
[Should we head back to the study...?]
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[We...can, though he doesn't particularly care either way. Go, stay here, whichever.
He still sounds a little out of it, though not as blunted as before, so at least there's that much.]
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[He'll open the door wider so Wesker can come in. No sense going all the way over to the study when you're already here! Jaeger will take a seat on the bed, though he'll leave plenty of room in case Wesker wants to join him.]
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It's nothing in particular, admittedly. Am I interrupting you somehow?
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[And even if he was, he'd make time for Wesker.]
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...Do you mind if we spend time for a while, then?
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Of course I don't mind. Is there anything in particular you want to do?
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[...He doesn't feel like being alone.]
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[He gets it. He doesn't like being alone either, after all.
...But with that said, he also doesn't like silence, so...]
Your dogs seem to have calmed down a lot! Do you think they're used to me now?
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[And that reminds him of a conversation he had with Shuji at one point recently; he doesn't seem to know what to do with that notion and it seems odd to bring it up, but...it's not a bad thing, either.]
...You also tend to help me a great deal with that, you know.
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That's nice to hear, you know! I'm really glad I can help! You help me a lot as well, so I'm glad I can return the favor!
[ c: ]
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It's good to know that I can do that much for you, at least.
[...
c: ]
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[That said, though, that is when he starts pacing; just trying to find something to do with himself, really, while he tries to collect himself.]
I remembered exactly what I was trying to do back then. With...all of the experiments, particularly the ones that kept recurring in my memories beyond a certain point. The sort of thing that Excella became.
That's what's been troubling me lately, and why I wanted you here with me for a while.
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[It sounds bad. What the hell could he be doing with experiments like that?]
As I said, I'll stay for as long as you want me here, so don't worry about that.
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[Which technically doesn't answer the question of whether he wants to or not, but it's close enough, as far as he's concerned.]
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I do agree that it's fair, but that doesn't really answer my question. I don't want to force you to talk about it if you don't think you can.
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I can discuss it with you. You aren't forcing me to do anything - don't let that be a concern. I...
[Because it's so much better if you do what he says, is it?
No.]
...I would tell you, if you were forcing me.
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[...]
If you're certain, then yes, I'd like to hear it.
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I told you that I was going to try to rule over the world as a god. That wasn't something I misrepresented to you - it's what I genuinely thought until a very short while ago.
Recently, however...
[He pauses a bit, then; just...give him a moment. To breathe, and to collect his thoughts.]
Recently, it's come to my attention that I only understood part of the plan.
I know that I wanted to save the world. To...fix something that I believed was fundamentally wrong, I suppose, but also to pass judgement on humanity as a whole. To decide who deserved to live or die, based on something that would be objective at its core. Something that couldn't be swayed by the superficial charms of individuals, something that couldn't be lied to or manipulated. Something that would be an impartial judge that could decide, based on inherent traits, who deserved to survive.
[...]
I wanted to save the world by unleashing the virus that caused Excella's mutation. Those that it "chose" - those that could bond with it without dying - would be considered worthy of survival.
The casualties were projected to be massive. I didn't care.
[That's...seriously understating the severity of it, simply by merit of not stating exactly how many casualties he's talking about. But it is the basic gist.]
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I see. I'm so sorry you had to remember something like that, Albert. I...
[He's... He's got this...]
It... certainly is an awful thing to deal with, ja?
[He doesn't have this.]
I can't say I understand, because I don't, but that's... Goodness, that really is something, isn't it?
[Give him a moment and maybe he'll be able to pull himself together.]
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