Light peeked in through the haze of Arche’s muddled vision, and soon enough, his eyes adjusted to the ceiling above him.
“Where... am I?” His voice was a faint whisper as he attempted to regain his bearings. He gingerly trailed his fingers along the mattress he rested on and shifted his eyes to as many items in the room as possible.
“M-My body… I can feel again- move again…! Aha… ahahaha...” Arche let out a sad sort of chuckle as he tried to sit up, only to be stopped by Phi.
“You’re finally awake!” She exclaimed with a sigh of relief, in a tone that was far happier than she intended. She then neatly folded her hands together and assessed the situation. “I tried to contact you through the Field, but I was unable to reach you. I haven't been able to decipher the cause of this, as of yet, but I’m working on a theory.”
Phi is right in front of him. Flesh and bone. For a moment, in the Realm Between Realities, he feared he would never see a physical being, ever again. Never experiencing warmth, cold, or a sense of physical contact. His hands trembled and clenched them into a ball, until his knuckles turned white.
“This is real! Haha, this is real!” He cocked his head back and rested it on the pillow, shifting his legs around wildly underneath the covers. Warm, snuggly goodness. God, who would have imagined such an average, every day feeling would be this overwhelmingly magnificent.
“Uh, are you feeling okay?” Phi tilted her head at his strange behavior.
He turned to Phi and reached his hands out towards her. He tenderly held her face in his hands.
“A-Arche, what are you doing? Th-This is...” Her voice cracked a bit, and she wasn't sure where to look, with his eyes bearing itself right into hers. She darted her gaze to something other than his face, but was failing spectacularly.
Despite how unhinged Arche seemed to be after waking up, she couldn't help notice his eyes remained calm and steady. She’s never seen them this close up before. They were… n… nice.
“So warm… I remember now.” Arche murmured, his eyes shut tight as he acclimated to his sensory and clinged to his memories.
She hesitantly grabbed his hand and lowered it. “What’s going on? What exactly did you see?”
He silently mouthed some of the conversation with the faceless entity to himself, and then took a deep breath. “The Realm Between Realities… I saw it. Well, some of it, at least.”
Phi furrowed her brows. “What are you talking ab-” She began to say, until she quickly stopped herself. “Wait, you saw the Realm? How is that even possible?” She pressed a finger against her chin and shuffled through the possibilities in her head.
As Arche recalled more and more of the conversation, his eyes widened for a brief moment, eventually drawing his gaze to Phi. His demeanor became tense, and his stare never wavered. “I spoke to man there. He told me about who I really am; or rather, who I’m going to be. What I have to become… He called himself The Man On The Moon.”
Phi shot up from the chair and backed away a couple steps. “How did you-”
“That’s right…” His voice became unsettlingly quiet and his expression was ragged and dark. “You know all about him, don’t you? I mean, hell, you’re the one who told me about the damn guy. I spent most of that "field trip" listening to him spout something about the connection between time and the ecosystem. “
The air suddenly became tense. Phi stayed unusually silent as the two stared at one another. Jesus. Those eyes of his. Those were not the same peaceful eyes that she’d seen a moment before; it’s more like those of a wounded animal that’s fighting to stay alive.
He climbed out of the bed and rotated his arm, getting a feel for his body. “It’s funny, this friend of yours told me something interesting… He claims that you knew the entire time. You knew everything about this plan to reform me into the Archetype, so I could “evolve” into some greater persona, like a goddamn puppet. All of what I thought I was working towards was a lie. This life I’m living… it’s fabricated. But, you know, the real punchline of this entire situation is that you generously decided to tuck this away behind my back. After years of separation, we find each other again… Someone I considered family, and now, I can barely stomach to look at you.”
Phi tightened her fists and stepped forward. “Arche, I… I didn’t mean to-”
His face contorted into a grizzly scowl as he shoved a tray of medical tools off the table, clattering violently on the floor. “WHAT?! Are you SERIOUSLY going to stand there and tell me you’re sorry?! What the hell kind of person does this? The only reason you’re even here in the first place is to “keep me on track”, right?! The [tornado fang]ing Morphogenetic training, jumping to different timelines, pretending to have fun and staying by my side, just so I don’t stray from the path and you and your little buddy can mold me into what he desires! The [tornado fang]er talks to me like I have no control over my own life! Like I should just let it happen! I mean, what the hell IS this [parasitic bomb]?!”
Phi was completely paralyzed by his outburst, and her hands were shaking; something that very rarely happens. His voice damn near echoed throughout the entire room. She swallowed and slowly extended her arm out to touch his hand. Yeah. Poor decision on her part.
Arche recoiled his arm in disgust and paced around her, heading towards the door.
“W-Wait, Arche, you have to listen to me!” She bounded to the door and stood in front of him. “Yes, I did know about the plan, but it was never my intention to... I-I never dreamed to hurt you… It... It was my mission. I was told to check up on you. But, these days we’ve spent together... After everything we’ve been through, it couldn’t have been for nothing! I refuse to believe that! You know I’m right, don’t you?! Y-You have to… you have to…”
Phi breathed heavily as she desperately searched his face. He was still. The wounded animal has not fled.
He walked forward and calmly moved her aside. “Where are the others?” He asked without once looking at her.
Phi rubbed her arm wearily and cleared her throat, which was quickly becoming sore. “I heard the alarms blaring shortly before you awoke and m-my... my guess is that enemy troops infiltrated the base. My mobile suit is over at the Sexstation, so I’ll have to provide assistance there.”
Without responding, Arche opened the door and stepped out.
Phi lunged forward and was about to reach her hand out again before setting it back at her side. “Arche, please… don’t let it end like this… it can’t end like this." She spoke through a hoarse voice.
He stood upright, shoulders perfectly aligned. With a brief turn of his head, he granted her with only a small view of his face. “I should be thanking you, after all. I’m seeing things more clearly, and where we both stand now.”
“I did this for you…” She whispered softly.
“I can no longer trust you. You and me... We’re done.” He parted those biting words to Phi, which left her cold and alone.
This departure stung Arche himself, but he continued along the hallway, never looking back.