"That you don't view this as another aspect of watching your teammates' backs is exactly why Schwarz functions and Weiss doesn't," Schuldig countered flatly. "I'm the telepath, so believe me when I say this, Abyssinian - Weiss' issues look about as shallow as a teen's sobbing about not being able to go to the prom compared to what Schwarz has been through. The difference is that we actually acknowledge that we're fucked up, and we support each other when we can't stand alone. Weiss denies that its foundations are weak to begin with and then collapses like a house of cards every few days or so, and then you're idiotic enough to rebuild exactly the way you were before and expect something different to happen. Not one of you can stand on your own but nothing on earth will stop you all from trying, and no amount of failure seems able to induce you to do things more intelligently."

He waved a hand in an aggravated gesture. "All right, so you've given up on him. Fine. It's less effort for me to keep looking after him than it is for me to try and change your mind just to shift off some of my workload. But don't think you can say 'well, he lives or he dies, it's not my problem' and think you can dictate who sees him - you've already waived your involvement in anything that concerns Kudoh. But when the rest of your team disintegrates around you, will you still be so blasé? Or would you make a little more of an effort if it were Siberian destroying himself before your eyes?" He snorted. "It won't matter; you won't be able to help Bombay or Siberian any more than you've helped Balinese, so you'll tell yourself it's inevitable so you can keep living with your impotence. And then, when they're gone, it'll be your turn to be the abandoned one, suffering alone with no one to support him...and, then, maybe, I'll rescue you as I did Kudoh, if you're lucky. You two always were my favorites."