[This is all hitting very close to home, and he feels a sudden and overwhelming empathy for Zack's friend. However they had been altered, Al knows that inside they would still be human.

Chimera, soul bound to human body, even a homunculus made from a core human... surely all of them could become what they once were, surely it was the soul and the heart that mattered more than the outward appearance.]

You... you sound like an amazing friend, Zack.

[His words are subdued, though, and his hands are trembling where he's gripping the tablet too tightly.]

I--

[He hesitates, should he really reveal his secrets? But he plunges on after only a moment, Zack is owed the same honesty that he has shared with Al tonight.]

I used to worry about that too, but I couldn't think that way for long. My brother, my friends... they all see me as human, and that helps me see myself that way and keep hope that I'll be able to get my original body back.

[Which means he should probably explain, at least a little. He suddenly flicks on the video and angles the tablet to show his open visor. His armour is hollow within, only the seal drawn in blood marring the otherwise flawless metal casing.]