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“Arthur.”
The voice echoed out of the dark, and Arthur started visibly. His heart pounded in his chest until Arthur wondered vaguely if he was about to die. And then he remembered – yes. Of course he was. That was sort of the point of being here.
He swallowed, but the sour taste of bile in his throat remained. His voice wouldn't come at first, but after a few tries, he managed. “H-hey, Lewis.” The words sounded tiny and feeble and weak, especially compared to the effortless power that Lewis had put into one word. Arthur swallowed again, throat bobbing. “It's... been a while, huh.”
Gradually, Lewis drifted out of the darkness. At the sight of the flickering purple eyes, set in the black sockets of a bleached skull, Arthur's nerve failed him. That was all right – it was already too late to run away. “I thought I'd have to chase you down,” Lewis remarked. “I never thought you'd be the one coming to me.” His eyes flashed when he looked at Arthur. “Are you here to try to explain yourself? To beg for mercy?”
“No.” His voice came out easier if he spoke words the way he ripped off band-aids. “I-I just wanted to talk.” Arthur looked, but those glowing eyes offered nothing in the way of cues. There wasn't the slightest hint of what Lewis might be feeling. So Arthur forced himself to press on. “I can't really explain myself,” he admitted. “I don't have any excuses, because... I don't know what they are.” His eyes burned, but he forced the feeling down. Not yet. Later, but not yet. “No matter how hard I try, I can't remember anything. But...” Arthur's chest spasmed, as if his body was trying to cry even without tears. “I believe you when you say I did it. I trust you more than I trust me.” He blinked, hard. “I'm not here to beg, or to explain. I just...”
“You know what I mean to do,” Lewis said flatly.
The pressure build behind his eyes. “...I know.”
“And you came anyway.” For a moment, Lewis sounded almost thoughtful. His tone turned grudging – hesitant, almost. “That's braver than I thought you'd be.”
“It's what you always wanted, right? What you always asked me to do.” Screwing up his courage, Arthur tried a shaky smile. He was met with the same cold, stony expression, and the grin faltered. He looked down, running his flesh hand over the metal paneling of his prosthetic. His mouth was dry, and he had to force the words out. “I-I'm... I'm scared, Lewis.” It came out in a raspy whisper before he forced control over his voice again. “But I'm trying. I'm trying to be brave for you. I owe you that much. And I'm sorry.” His voice cracked, and his vision blurred until he blinked the wetness away. “I know that doesn't mean anything to you, and it doesn't do anything, but I'm so, so sorry.” With his stinging eyes fixed on the floor instead of Lewis's skeletal face, the words came more easily now. Maybe if he wasn't careful, he wouldn't be able to stop. “I don't know why I did it but I wish I didn't. I wish you were still alive. And... I wish I'd known it was you sooner so I wouldn't have wasted everyone's time looking for you. I could've just let you come to me.”
“You still insist that you don't remember,” Lewis growled.
Arthur flinched. “I really don't. I've tried so hard, but it just... won't come. It's just gone. But I hope...” His eyes went blurry again, and he blinked, and he blinked again, but this time the blur stayed.
“You hope?” Lewis prompted.
“I...” The burning ache behind his eyes told him that tears were coming, that they wouldn't be stopped, that it was a matter of when, not if, so if he wanted to say anything else then he needed to do it quickly. “I was gonna say something stupid, like 'I hope I had a good reason,' or 'I hope something good comes out of it eventually,' but... there wasn't, and it won't.” No more blinking, no more fighting. Just tears. “There's no such thing as a good reason for you being dead, and nothing good can ever come out of it. There's no silver lining. You're just dead, and I killed you. So... I hope that... whatever you do to me...” That was his limit. Arthur quietly broke, hot tears leaking from his eyes and between his fingers when he tried to stem them. Each breath he took shuddered with quiet sobs. “I hope it brings you peace. I hope you don't have to hurt anymore.”
He stood a little straighter then, and it took more bravery than he had ever shown in his entire life to raise his head and look Lewis in the eye. “And, for what it's worth?” That was when he finally managed the smile, the pitiful broken thing that broke through all of his pain and terror as tears ran unchecked down his face and sobs shook him from head to toe. “It's really good to see you again, Lewis. I missed you. I missed you... so much.”
If Lewis reacted, Arthur didn't see it. He didn't see anything at all. It was dark and there were tears blocking his view of the ghost – of his friend – and that was fine with him because he didn't want to see. Maybe that was cowardly and unfair of him, because Lewis had died looking at his killer's face, but it was what it was. Standing as still as he could while sobs and fear shook his body, he waited.
It never came. Maybe it might have, if not for what happened next, but Arthur would never know.
He couldn't see, but he could feel Lewis's presence before him, when another voice cut through the darkness.
“If you hurt him, Lewis,” said Vivi. “I will hate you forever.”
Arthur's head whipped to the side, his streaming eyes seeking out his living friend. Even through the haze of tears, he found her standing off to the side, illuminated by the lantern in her hand, with Mystery standing at her side like a guardian spirit. They must have followed him here.
Lewis drifted closer to her. “Vivi...” His echoing tone rang with rapt wonder as he looked at her. “I promise, I'll explain everything when this is over, just-”
Vivi didn't move. Not even the expression on her face changed. “I don't think you understand.”
Purple fire danced in the blackness as Lewis shook his head. “I do understand, and if you let me explain-
“No.”
Arthur had to suppress a shudder at Vivi's voice. It was freezing cold and glass-smooth, like ice.
Vivi continued quietly in the same tone, her eyes steady and fixed on Lewis. “I don't think you understand what I mean when I say I'll hate you forever.”
The ghost gave no reply. He simply floated in the dark, uncertain and waiting.
“I already lost you, Lewis,” Vivi went on, and her tone softened. “And I really, truly lost you. You know how everybody says that even if someone you love dies, as long as you remember them, they're never really gone? That they're still with you, in your heart? In your memories?” She blinked, throat bobbing, and pain flashed across her face. “Well I forgot you, Lewis. I forgot everything about you, and that means you weren't really with me anymore.”
Arthur's eyes were clear enough that he could see Lewis flinch.
Vivi continued, almost faltering. “B-but I remember you now, and you're here, and I still love you, but if you take Arthur away from me too, then that will change.” The lantern in her hand shook. “Because if you murder him, I'll know for sure th-that Lewis is dead and gone and he is never, ever coming back, and that means I'll be able to hate you.” Her eyes narrowed, still boring into Lewis with a light so cold it burned. The glasslike smoothness of her voice turned to jagged, broken shards. “And I will hate you. I will spend every second of my life, and whatever comes after it, wishing with every fiber of my being that I had never met you. Every moment I spend thinking of you will bring me nothing but pain.” She paused, watching Lewis as if to see if her words were sinking in, taking hold. Her eyes sparked, challenging him. “And if you're okay with that, then go ahead. Make your move.
“I dare you.”