[Sniper looked relieved when Cloud appeared to be able to finish his thought for him--maybe it wasn't safe to say out loud, but it was certainly an idea he'd like to discuss, even if it was only speculation. At this point, it didn't seem entirely inconceivable that it was the cocoons doing this to them.]

But it's still a possibility, right? I mean, nobody knows how long we were inside those things for.

[He shut his eyes, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his chin.] There's no way to tell for sure. So if memory crystals give us specific memories, then that mushi stuff you were talking about takes specific things away?

[Sniper did agree that the theory wasn't a very comforting one; after all, what could be scarier than lying motionless in an encasing that was slowly sucking your memories away? But the truth was often a frightening thing, and in this sort of place he craved answers.

But not enough to get killed. The running commentary going on in his head argued that going out to find the truth and save everybody in the process even if it meant going into danger was what a true man would do, but Sniper found that he valued his own skin more than that. He'd leave that stuff up to reckless people like King.]