"Sure," Mithos says to Zelos, but he's somewhat wary. He knows masks, he knows lies, he knows how to people please as well as anyone else. You don't survive, if you're an Aegis, and humanity hates you-- and knowing how to butter them up is just as useful as making sure they know that you can cut them down with the slightest effort.

And he knows-- the bastard Aegises, the artificials created by human hands. They've been held in human hands for a long time, haven't they? Humanity has been using them for threats and persuasion, but they've never let the artificials do anything, they've never...

Oh.

That's it, huh?

"You have... no idea, do you?" Mithos asks, his tone much gentler than it had been before. The edges of it are still sharp, and he laughs a tight little tired laugh as he turns away from Lloyd and steps towards Zelos. "There's no way they would have told you, would have let you discover what you're capable of, because humans only care about our power when it's useful to them." He smiles, off-kilter, the smile of a boy well used to righteous fury and at the end of his patience for those testing it. "They make me sick, humans do. Just imagine how much they've held you back."