"There is no one else," Arche spoke up, his voice peculiarly wooden, "Just you and me. Two lone entities connected to each other. Phi... let me in. Show me... what lies within!"
Suddenly, with his eyes still closed, he saw a very faint flash of light within the darkness. And soon after, he heard a somewhat muffled voice:
"It's all my fault..."
"Ah!" Arche pulled his hand away from Phi.
"What is it? What happened?" Phi asked.
He stared at her, "Did... Did you talk to me just now? Telepathically, I mean?"
"No, I didn't. You heard my voice, huh? What did I say?"
He paused for a moment before answering, "It's all my fault."
"... I see," Phi said solemnly.
"Do you... want to talk about it?" Arche asked.
"There's nothing to talk about," Phi dismissed coldly.
"We both know that's not true," He shook his head, "I noticed that you've been acting differently recently."
"......"
He tapped a finger against his chin, "But, I don't think it's simply a recent change. You're very different from when you were young."
"People grow up. They change," Phi replied as she gazed out the window, "It's simple as that. Just drop it."
"And that change is what's causing the discord in your heart. You feel guilty about something. Something that ties together all your emotions," Arche stated, "It's involving Luna, isn't it?"
Phi slammed her fist against the wall and glared at him, "You think you have all the answers, huh? You think you can fix me? You don't know about all the things I've been through! The consequences I have to live with!" She yelled out.
"If you're talking about the Nonary experiments, I already know about what happened."
"There's much more than that, Arche! That's just one fish in the pond. What happened before we met and after... that incident, I have to bear that alone," Phi gripped her pendant tightly.
"But you're not alone. Didn't you say yourself that it's important for us to understand each other? To embrace our connection?" Arche responded.
She sighed, "Yes, I did... But the Morphogenetic Field-"
"This is beyond that damn field, Phi! I'm talking about you and me!" He interrupted coarsely.
Phi's eyes widened upon hearing that.
"I'm not going to pretend you're not broken; we both are. But I'll be damned if I don't help you pick up the pieces!" Arche retorted, "You helped me, when that Zero Joe hurt you and I couldn't control my rage against it. Because of you, I found my place with the Resistance. And you've helped me before that, too, when I met you all those years ago. I was so lost and confused, and do you know what the worst part was? I had never realized it. I was too obsessed with power and dominance to realize I was never truly alive. Happy. In control of my own life. It's only fair that I return the help."
She spoke up, "I never helped you back then... I ignored you. Shut my eyes, hid away and pretended it was just Luna and I, and no one else," Phi said with an edge to her voice, "I hid away from a lot of things. Safe and sound in my isolation, where no one could hurt me. I had trouble trusting anyone after all that's happened... I guess you could say I still retained some of that distrust."
Arche chuckled a bit, "Heh, yeah, it was like pulling teeth to start a proper conversation with you. However, believe it or not, you saved me. Both of you, equally. I still remember the little details, like the way you separated the veggies from your rice, never once mixing them. The way your sister would lightly tug the back of her hair and cutely scrunch up her face when she was frustrated."
He stared at the ceiling, "These tiny, seemingly useless memories... absolutely means the world to me. I don't know exactly how you felt about me, and I apologize if this is weird to hear... but, I felt like you two were family."
"Arche..." She said quietly, her hands trembling. She gazed into the sincerity of his eyes.
Arche stood up from the bed, "You can't carry all the pain and confusion on your shoulders. I know the feeling. It weighs you down until you're completely submerged; that dreadful feeling like you're drowning. And if you really insist on taking a dive into the deep blue, than the least you can do is let me come with you," He laughed lightly, and his smile, kind and honest, "If you let everything topple down on you, there may never be a chance to get up."
Phi spoke after a brief silence, "I see my sister rubbed off on you," she softly fiddled with her pendant, "It's quite annoying," a faint smile appeared on her face and a tear formed at the corner of her eye.
He chuckled, "Indeed she has... she really has," He looked up at the silent stars through the window.
Phi stared at her hands, clearly thinking about everything he said. Then, she looked up at him, "... Alright... I'll let you in. But, I don't think I'm ready to discuss it yet..."
Arche nodded, "That's fine. Whenever you feel comfortable to talk about it, I'll always be here," he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Phi took his hand off her shoulder, "O-Okay, that's enough sappy [parasitic bomb] for one lifetime....." She cleared her throat, "... Thank you, Arche."
He grinned, "No problem. Anything for the most stubborn person I know!"
"Heh, well, let's cut this short and get back to our lesson," She took a ruler off of the table next to the bed and whacked it into the palm of her hand, like a strict disciplinary teacher, "Let's not delay!"
"That ruler was WAY too convenient... like, scarily convenient..." Arche said bluntly.
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