Phi witnessed the huge explosion from Omega Joe's demise, and opened the van door.
"Nnghh... still not fully healed," She groaned out as she tightly gripped her shoulder, "Not that I expected it to be in such a short time, but should it really be hurting this much?" She said to herself as she walked towards Arche.
Arche saw her at the corner of his eye and turned around, "See... told you I'd be careful..." He said in a pant, exhausted from using all those techniques.
"Heh, I should have known better," She said sarcastically. Phi glanced down at the floor, holding her crossbow lazily to the side of her thigh.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Phi stared at him briefly before answering, "Nothing... it's stupid, really..." She bit her lip and sheepishly crossed her arms.
"Hey, you don't get to hide your problems away from me. Not after I exposed my guilty pleasure to you," He laughed wearily, of course, referencing when he told Phi about his urge to kill. Perhaps making light of his condition was the best way to go about it, rather than letting it consume him.
She sighed, "It's just that... I was of absolutely no use to this team. Funny enough, I didn't even want to fight initially, however, after seeing everyone out there putting their lives on the line... I felt... selfish."
Arche shook his head, "What are you talking about? You helped us fight off the mettaurs and t-"
"And those Saber-wielding robots? That's what you were going to say, right?" She interrupted him, "And look what good that did me. I couldn't destroy one single [tornado fang]ing Saber robot, or whatever the hell they're called. The mets were small fries. Clearly, I'm no use in a real battle..."
Arche folded his arms and then slowly looked at the sky; it was gray, as if there was rain only moments before. He took his attention back to Phi, and walked up to her, handing her one of his katanas.
Phi stared at his sword for a brief moment before hesitantly taking it from his grip, "Why are you handing me this?"
He pointed to the blade, "Do you know how I ended up using these? This was a pair of wooden nunchucks, at first. Then it became a bow, then afterwards, throwing knives. Ever since I could remember, I always wanted to become a formidable fighter. I went through countless weapons, never finding the "right" fit; never feeling like I was at my full potential."
He placed his hand on his sword, "Then I came across two identical swords. Back then, I thought they were the most beautiful things in the world," He lightly chuckled, "Looking back now, they were a pile of crap. But it was a gateway for me to perfect my craft. I started low, and ended high; finding what I was truly adept at. Unfortunately, that led me to some... darker times... but, that's a different matter entirely."
"So, you're saying my crossbow is only the beginning. The beginning to a greater path..." She stated as she compared her crossbow to Arche's katana, holding both weapons to the sky.
He nodded, "Yes, this is only the beginning."
"... Then I'll just take your "greater path" with me and be done with it," She said as she pretended to steal his sword.
"Ah, ah, I don't think so," He laughed as he took back his blade from her. He stopped for a moment, not remembering the last time he has genuinely laughed. After everything that's happened to him, he's convinced himself that any happiness would be forever lost to him.
Phi smiled, "... thanks for the advice... and stuff," She said under her breath, given she wasn't used to thanking people, much less connecting with them after Luna's passing.
"Hm? What was that? I couldn't hear you," He gestured his hand behind his ear, as if he was listening closely.
"Oh shut up," She lightly pushed him back.