Cross Worlds (Hiatus)

Chapter 61-1: "Control"

Riku Fantasy arrives in The Cross but moments after receiving Riku Reality's message. Riku Reality is already there waiting for him, a blank expression on his face, and he doesn't even look at Fantasy as he arrives. "Yo, Reality..." Fantasy mutters as he walks over to where he sits, hands in his hoodie pockets. Reality doesn't respond to him, gaze fixated on the white ground he sits on. "Um..." Fantasy scratches his cheek at the awkwardness. "So...there's a lot we should talk about concerning what happened yesterday. First things first though...how are you do-"

"I told her." Reality blurts suddenly, still not looking at Fantasy.

Fantasy cocks an eyebrow. "What..?" He doesn't have to really guess what Reality is talking about, or who, but he has to be sure.

"Artemis. I told her." Finally, Reality looks up into Fantasy's eyes, and the first thing Fantasy notices is that Reality's eyes haven't changed. He looks almost no different than how he did when they last spoke in The Cross, as if the fight for Zoudor didn't happen. "About us. The body swapping, me being from another world, all of it. She deserved to know after everything she went through too."

Fantasy looks somewhat surprised and concerned, but not about what Reality just told him. "Is he putting on some kind of front..? His eyes looked so dead and lifeless before, but now...they're bright again. What happened between then and now to bring that light back..?" Despite his thoughts, Fantasy doesn't voice them, instead choosing to respond to Reality's words rather than on his appearance. He closes his eyes in acceptance, not even slightly upset at the fact Artemis knows about them. After all, she was bound to learn eventually. "I see...and how did she respond?"

Reality smirks a bit playfully as he speaks his next words. "Something along the lines of, 'I see. So this time he has an actual excuse as to why he can't stay'. Not gonna lie, I laughed a little."

"Fair enough..." Fantasy sighs softly, his gaze turning sad. Obviously, he still can't get what Artemis yelled at him out of his head, for he has no one but himself to blame for running away from the Resistance he created.

Reality quickly frowns and brings himself to his feet, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I get it a little bit more now. If I had to deal with losing people that important to me as often as you and Artemis seem to talk about..." His grip on Fantasy's shoulder gets a bit tighter, his other hand balling into a tight fist as well. "I might run away too. I don't know if I'd be able to handle it. Even so..." Fantasy looks over to lock eyes with Reality, his own eyes widening at how bright Reality's gaze is. "I can't run away. My family died trying to change that nation, because they stood up for what they believed in. Everyone in the Resistance knows that every battle we walk into could mean death. So...I can't run away. I have to face that same death at their sides until our job is done."

Reality smiles at his counterpart, his gaze softening as well as his grip on his shoulder. "And not everyone is strong enough to be able to do that. I can see there's a reason why so many Resistance members stop at just their nation being purified. And I can also see why you couldn't handle all the fighting...all the death of the people you cared for, anymore. It's okay, Fantasy. Even if the rest of the Resistance can't forgive you for running away...I won't blame you for it."

Fantasy clenches his fists tightly, Reality's words hitting him like a truck. 'I don't blame you.' Four simple words Fantasy never expected to hear, not even from himself. "Reality... I-I..."

Reality lightly punches the back of his head without any warning. "By the way, thanks for snapping me awake and all, but that's for being a complete ass while you were transformed. Don't you worry, I don't plan on running away ever. To me, it would be like spitting on the graves of the people who died while I continued to live. Don't get me wrong, I don't completely forgive you for running away either, I just said I don't blame you is all." He snickers playfully.