Arche scrambled to the floor and cradled Phi into his arms.
Her left shoulder took a serious blow, and left a nasty gash.
"Arche..." Phi groaned out as she tried to stand up. However, he set her back down.
"Don't try to move, Phi. I'll take you back to the van." He stated as he tore off a piece of her clothing and wrapped it around her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
"What are you... I-I'm fine, this isn't necessary." She tried to stand back up, "You think this is the first time I've taken a hit like this? My entire life, we had to run from people. Dangerous [tornado fang]ing people. The experiments... all the pain we had to endure..."
Arche paused for a moment, "By we... you mean Luna?"
Phi nodded. Arche wanted to ask her what she meant by "experiments", however, this was not the time. Especially since the Joe was now charging towards them!
Arche tightened his fists and slowly stood up from the ground, "You... you did this to her..." His voice trembled with anger and for just a small moment... he grinned. A rather unsettling, contorted grin, "You are [tornado fang]ing dead."
The Zero Joe thrust its Beam Saber forward, when Arche dodged it and grabbed its (Saber) arm. "You're not going anywhere," He eerily whispered out, with his eyes wide open.
The Joe started to move its buster arm to shoot him point-blank, when Arche swiftly amputated it.
Arche shook his head and cackled a bit, *Tsk* *Tsk* "Aww, you're gonna have to do better than that!" The strange contorted grin stretched across his face, once again.
He sliced off the Joe's Saber arm and kicked him to the ground.
"A-Arche, what are you doing?" Phi called out.
He whistled and examined the severed Saber arm, "Now this- This is quite a beauty, isn't it? The craftsmanship... the weight... the unforgiving power" His demeanor changed, and he stepped closer to the crippled Joe that was trying to stand up.
He leaned down next to the Joe, "I admire a nice, sturdy weapon. I wonder how it feels to use one of these. I mean, it must be quite exhilarating to wield these impressive weapons and use them to hurt my friend. Care to find out?"
CRRRUUUNNNCCHHH
Arche thrust the Saber into the Zero Joe's chest, in one motion.
"... Ehh, nope, not feeling it. I've used better weapons." He hissed out and kicked the Joe to the side.
Arche walked back to Phi's side, who simply stared at him like he was a different person. His eyes seemed different. More focused. But the eyes that looked back at her wasn't the confident heroic glare she'd seen before. It was much darker.
"Arche, what... what the hell was that...?" She demanded.
"You're safe." He stated curtly.
"... Then why don't I feel safe?" She glared at him with worried eyes.
Arche tilted his head, "What do you mean? Of course you're safe. I mean, sure, there are more of those guys around, but we've really lessened the-"
"
That's not what I meant!" Phi yelled. "I'm talking about HOW you destroyed that thing. Why the hell were you so...
sadistic?!"
He scratched his head, "Okay, maybe I went a tad overboard..."
Phi chuckled and replied sarcastically, "Oh sure, Arche. Just a
tad." She narrowed her eyes, "I thought you wanted to change yourself. But I can see the bloodlust within you."
"NO, you're wrong! I'm done with that!" He snapped.
"
I just had a front row seat to a [tornado fang]ing robot torture porn, for Christ sake!" She stated sternly.
He tried to retort with something, but knew it was no use. He dropped his katanas and plopped down on the floor.
Phi walked up to him and said softly, "Seriously, Arche. What's going on? You have to let me in..." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
He massaged his nose-bridge with his thumb and index finger and let out a tired sigh, "There's still..." He placed a hand over his face a shuddered slightly, "There's still a part of me that enjoys the exhilaration of battle. But, not just the adrenaline rush... more like... a twisted obsession of the sheer thrill and ecstasy I feel when I fight. Like a hunger that's almost impossible to satiate..." He balled up his fists until his knuckles became white.
He stared at his hands, "I wish I could say it's easy to control, but it's not. And to tell the truth, sometimes... I'm frightened. It's like there's someone inside me pulling the goddamn strings... and I want to ignore that sensation. That seemingly unholy feeling of overpowering your opponent while you hold the weapon; like a hammer of judgement. What I experience... isn't something for the pragmatic."
"Arche, I'm sorry... I had no idea..." She moved in closer and grabbed his hand, "And your life as Superdee was you succumbing to that exhilaration... wasn't it?"
"Yes," He said quietly. "I thought myself stronger. I thought myself fearless. But... I'm just a coward that hid behind power."
Phi shook her head, "That's where you have it wrong. Why do you think my sister trusted you? Why do you think she stayed by your side? She saw more in you than I ever did... and more than you care to realize. She loved you... and after the little reunion time we've spent in the past few hours, I can see why. Even after you told her about the things you did, she never changed her mind."
She sat down beside him, "Do you know one of the things Luna told me whenever I felt like [parasitic bomb]?
We fall, so we remember how to rise up. Life can't be called a life without defeat. So..." Phi stood up, brushed off her skirt and extended her hand out, "Rise up, sad sack." She said with a kind smile. A smile reminiscent of Luna's.
Arche chuckled, "Heh, I never knew you were capable of being kind. You're full of surprises," He grabbed her hand and stood up.
Phi turned away from him and hid her face with her hand shyly, "Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it," She said quietly.
"But seriously... Thank you," He smiled.
"Don't mention it," She smiled back.