Palatial Intimacy

XXXIV- The Prison

2030

"Let me tell you the truth, Hannibal."

"Don't do this to me. Please, Will." Hannibal buried his face in his hands. His voice was the only sound in the space.

"We need to talk about this. This can't go on any longer."

"No. Please, let me live like this for a little while longer. Please."

"It's been long enough, Hannibal. You don't have to give this up, but I at least want you to acknowledge it." Will went to him and stroked his arm. "You can't do this to yourself."

"I don't want to acknowledge it. Why must I?" Hannibal nearly collapsed against him, his strength failing him. He'd been upholding the illusion for so long that now, he had no more resolve. He'd lost everything. "Why can't I exist in this place forever with you? Why do you have to break me like this?"

"Because I'm still here. I'm still with you, and I want to talk about it." Will began to cry alongside him. "I'm not something you can control, like the rest of this world. You and I merged. We share the same brain, and that's still the case. I don't know how, and I don't understand the science or spirituality or whatever behind it all, but when I died, I stayed in your head. I'm not part of your imagination. I'm as real as I was before, when we would travel into this place."

"I know you're real. That's the only thing keeping me alive." Hannibal cried. "It's the only thing that gives me hope anymore, Will."

"So there is a part of you that knows the truth. There's a part of you that realizes what happened."

"Yes. But I'm doing my very best to ignore it." He groaned. "Please, just let me ignore it. Please."

"I want you to understand what this means for me, too, Hannibal. I was in my body, existing as myself, and now I don't have a body anymore. I'll never have a body again."

"You can have mine. I don't want it anymore." Hannibal sounded more defeated than he ever had. "I never want to use it again."

"I don't want that."

"You have the next closest thing to your body. Even though you are locked in here, I've made it as lifelike as I can." He took Will's hand, squeezing it tightly and kissing his knuckles. "Will, I'll give you anything you could ever want. I can bring you anywhere you've ever wanted to go, give you any object you could ever ask for. Even if it's a place I've never seen, I can ask for books, I can--"

"Tell me what you mean by that. Do you understand where you are right now?"

Hannibal swallowed. "I'm in...I'm in jail. I've been arrested. And I'm all alone..."

"Hannibal." Will wrapped his arms around him. "Hannibal, Hannibal, Hannibal."

He was inconsolable. Will knew he had to fix this somehow; he needed to bring Hannibal somewhere familiar. He searched through their shared space for the image of the palace, and that wonderful evening sun returned, this time shining through the stained glass windows. The marble floor was solid underneath them, and Will was able to guide Hannibal across it into the main room. He led Hannibal into one of the chairs by the fireplace and let him fall into it, crouching down to hug him tightly.