Popp is well aware of the psychic explosion phenomenon by now, but he's getting so tired of people getting hurt on his behalf! He has a lot of memories to that effect that keep getting dredged up, it's a sore spot. He doesn't think twice about absolutely obliterating Annie's attacker and the last Devourer from the swarm with his first successful dualcast. He doesn't have any time to celebrate before he gets an agonizing headful of entirely new worries.

The terror, the sickening dread at reality and what it's going to do, that's familiar, and it's very disconcerting to feel that from a perspective of a guy who he looks up to as someone who has his shit together. The solid knowledge that he wants to stay with his friend (okay okay more than that but Popp isn't up to processing being second hand in love with a man for a moment on top of everything else especially since it is much closer to how he feels about Dai than it isn't) and back him up no matter what is familiar in a more positive way.

The specific dread of being some sort of non-human monster... is not familiar from the inside, that's for sure! Dragon soul aside, that is. Being wrong about who you think you are and having to face it is really upsetting, too... Popp doesn't know what the whole wing deal actually means, but he has a pretty good idea about how Angeal feels about it and that's even more upsetting!

He'd be in actual tears right now if the memory hadn't shocked him out of it with one final sideswipe. His eyes are wet and his nose is running a little anyway, but that could just be the cold.

"Wait, Annie's short for Angeal?!"

That's not important right now actually! Popp shakes him by the shoulder that he didn't have wings coming out of in the memory. Shakes in spirit, this is a lot of supersoldier to move in any capacity.

"Annie! Wake up, wake up wake up...! Don't make me carry you out of here, c'mon!"

He'd do it, or die trying, don't get him wrong, but he would complain the whole time!