[ Brigade shakes his head despondently ] Was it really a choice? [ He thinks of what Hikaru might've chosen if Setsuna hadn't been held in his face like blackmail. If he'd been given a chance to not have been the victim of the cosmic finger. ] Is it really a choice when there's only one right thing to do?

[ Brigade sets the bottle down, takes a long drag, and closes his eyes. He understood that little bit at least, from their talk with Calintz, Rethe and Jessie Vice ] Was he just supposed to walk away from his sister? Cause, Ma'am, that doesn't really sound like a choice.

[ He takes another long drag and thinks of Hikaru. Then speaks his next words softly. ] He didn't have to be a weapon.