Chapter 7: Fear

'I have to shut at least one of them down…' I thought as I pointed my gun at the white one. It stopped, probably scanning around the place. 'This should be an easy target…' I rested my hand on the trigger and narrowed my eyes to focus on where I wanted to shoot. "Third Bullet: EMP Shot." I muttered as I pulled the trigger, shooting out a yellow beam and hitting the mech.

Suddenly, an electric shock courses through the mech, seemingly shutting down probably for a brief period of time. Of course, I knew it wouldn't last for long because of the blueprint we got before. It even stated that it will slowly reboot itself, even if someone fires an EMP. 'Arfoire probably thought through four of my six bullets.' I thought with bitterness as I looked down at my gun.

It was a custom-made pistol that I wanted to make when I was really young. I remembered Histoire being angry at the fact that I wanted to make and use a gun. Even when growing up, I still wanted a gun. But since everything I made alone would be a pile of scrap later, I had to turn to someone to help me make it. It's a mixture between a handgun musket and revolver, however it's more of an electronic handgun; seeing how I could change my bullet types with a single voice command. Though powerful shots, like the EMP Shot, have to recharge after firing.

Shaking those thoughts off, I then pointed my gun at the gray mech. "Changing modes." I muttered before putting my finger on the trigger again. Then the gray mech noticed its friend and its electrical state it's in. It then turned towards my direction before a bright red light shone on me, blinding me while accidentally firing a shot at random.

"SHARE ENERGY DETECTED! SHARE ENERGY DETECTED! SWITCHING TO BATTLE MODE!"

"Crap!" I exclaimed as I immediately turned to run. I knew I couldn't beat it without transforming into my HDD form. I also knew if I did, I might be risking my identity to Lowee. And I always hated the idea of showing the human side of me to Gamindustri. Plus, I knew there were some weapons on this specific model that could counteract with my HDD Form.

I felt like it was chasing after me, feeling the ground shake with each step it took and hearing it destroying buildings along its way. 'At least I got its attention…' I thought as I kept on running. 'I need to be on even ground…' I stopped to look down an alleyway before smirking. I immediately went into it before starting to try to climb the walls. When I didn't get enough height, I jumped to the wall behind me and tried to climb that one.

Expectantly, the white mech chased me into the alleyway and tried to strike me with its blades. Quickly, I immediately jumped on its arm after it landed its strike and shot it in the face. It immediately stumbled back as I jumped away from it and onto the roof.

'I must have at least broken its scanner.' I thought as I pointed my gun at it, full with suspicion. The mech suddenly stood before moving, striking me with its sword, which I immediately jumped away to dodged the strike.

'This robot wants some more, huh?' I thought before dodging another strike from its blade. I then pointed my gun at it again. "First Bullet: Killing Shot." I muttered as I pulled the trigger, firing a red shot at the body of the mech. It didn't damage it nor did it affect it, which I cursed under my breath before turning around and ran away again.

When I ran out of place to run, I had to jump to a building that wasn't damaged yet. It's something that I had to practice on my own and a lot of time, I would slip and fall off it. I've already gotten better, of course, and it's still a few impressive things I could do.

Suddenly, I felt the ground shake even more. I slowly turned my head back and saw the second mech chasing after me. 'What…? Already…!?' I thought before I turned to run again. 'I have to defeat them somehow… Maybe I can…' I then immediately clutched my left eye with my rapier hand. 'No… not now…!' I then heard the sound of missiles behind me, hearing the explosions behind me which blasted me to the next roof.

I couldn't move at all and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to run anymore. I felt the mechs slowly advanced towards me. 'Keep it in… Just keep it in…' I thought as I crawled to the edge of the roof. 'I won't let it control me… I won't…!' I turned to see a huge blade towering towards me.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Then I heard the sound of a large explosion before I fell off the building and saw purple electric shocks coursing through the mechs.

Shift's POV… (A few minutes earlier…)

"Sappy! Come back!" I exclaimed, unable to stop Sapphire from running out the door. 'Why did Sappy do that?' I thought to myself, concerned about my friend's safety. 'That doesn't matter now! I have to go now! She and my people might be in danger!' I was about to rush out the door before being stopped by Lite, who held her hand. "Lite? What's wrong?"

"Big Sis! What's going on!?" Lite asked, seemed a bit confused on what's going on. It probably didn't even make sense to her. "Why did that Zombie Lady run out!?"

I then turned to look straight at her younger sister. "Lite… I know that none of this makes sense to you and I'm sure you have a lot of questions. But…" I slowly looked down. "I have to go."

"But why!?" Lite exclaimed, sounding even more confused as well as a hint of anger inside. Even her face contorted into anger. "Is it because of that Zombie Lady!? Is she the reason you're going!?"

I then put my hand on her shoulders and shook my head. "No Lite, it's not because of her. It's too dangerous outside and our people are in danger." I told her calmly. She has yet to receive any sort of weapon training, learned how to fight, Shares, or HDD. "And I can't just let Sappy go to handle something that's my responsibility as Lowee's CPU. I then heard an explosion behind me, making me look back. 'There's no time!' I thought before looking back at my sister. "Now please… stay here, okay?"

Lite pouted at me but slowly nodded, which made me smile kindly before hearing another explosion from behind. Hearing this made me rush out, not caring that I was wearing my nightgown. It was very cold, almost freezing me solid. I just kept rubbing my arms, trying to warm myself. Sometimes I wondered how my friend was able to withstand the cold by wearing a scarf. The rest of her attire would make her feel unbelievably cold. Maybe I should ask her about that.

Suddenly, I bumped into loads of people who were running in the opposite direction. This made me stop to look up at them. 'My people…' I thought as I saw their faces, a mixture of scared and crying filled my view. 'I won't let them get hurt again… No matter what…' This made me even more determined to run again to catch up to my friend and take out whatever's threatening my home and my people. And for once… I'll have put to good use everything that my sister taught me.

…everything that Nin taught me.

I shook that thought away as I hurried to where Sapphire was going. Because of my small child stature, I can easily squeeze through people. It's something that I definitely wouldn't say that I'm proud of since most, if not all, of my Basilicom workers usually judge my appearance. They would always think that Sapphire is older than me, even though that was false since we both were born in the same year, but a month apart from each other. So technically, I'm a month older than her.

However, Sapphire would use both my shyness towards new workers and these rumors to her advantage and baby me every so often. I mean… she's a bit overprotective… Like she would always follow me whenever I go out to do something or just do it for me. Kind of like what she's doing right now… I know she has the best intentions, but…

"I've got to do my part…" I muttered to myself, trying to assure myself. "This is my home and I got to be the one to protect it…"

"Don't mutter to yourself. It makes you look weak, and the weak don't survive in Lowee."

'Nin…' That 'advice' suddenly popped into my head at the worst time like this. "Don't focus on her now… Just focus here and now…" I said to myself shook those thoughts off and kept on running. The further I ran through the city, the more destruction I saw. I grit my teeth as I keep on running.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Hearing a familiar voice and the sound of an explosion to my right, I suddenly looked over to see Sapphire, falling off the roof of a small building before collapsing right next to me. She had both of her weapons out, a rapier and a gun. She had her right eye open, but her left closed. She had burn marks on her body, she looked very tired, and most importantly her right hand started to glitch. It was the same thing I saw before she left. The same exact thing I saw before she hid it.

"Keep it in… Just keep it in…" I heard her mutter under her breath as she tried to get up. But her hands began to falter before she fell face first on the floor. She slowly looked up to see me before her right eye started to widen. "Shift…? No… You shouldn't be here…"

"Sappy…?" I eyed at her right hand that held her gun. Her hand right now is the sort of thing I would see whenever a texture from an unfinished game would bug out. "Are you okay?"

"N-No…! You're not supposed to be here…!" Sapphire said in a tone of panic. She tried to get up, only to falter again. "Y-You're not s-supposed to… s-see this…" She said rather quietly as her entire body started to glitch. It even started to affect the ground around her.

I was surprised how serious she was and this glitch-like state she's in. I had never seen anything like this before. She would always seem cheerful or very positive. However, I just shook my head after recovering from the shock. "I'm sorry Sappy… I didn't…" I said as I was about to pick her up before hearing a loud boom from above me. I looked to see two mechs right in front of us. One with a white body and one with a gray body, though both were damaged or partly fried. Both seemed to not have noticed us yet and were seemingly trying to scan the area, probably finding Sapphire.

Just what one of my ninjas told me, they're not anything I've seen before. I turned back to Sapphire, who was just trying to stand up. "Sappy? Are these the ones causing this chaos?" I asked, which she slowly nodded. "Okay… We can talk about what's going on with you later. Right now…" I called my own weapon, Double Sabers. It's sort of like a staff with two blades on each end. "Let me take of thi…" My voice trailed off as I felt her arms wrapped around me from behind. Her hands were free, probably called away her weapons. They were both trembling, but trying very hard not to let me go.

I turned around again to Sapphire who was on both knees with her face buried in my left shoulder. Whenever she was kneeling, she always seemed to reach my height. I wanted to struggle out and tell her to stay here, until I felt something wet on my shoulder, realizing that it was tears. Her tears. "P-Please… d-don't go…" I heard her sobbed in between her words. "I-I won't… I-I can't… I-I don't want… I-I…" Her words started to falter, but she kept trying to hold me back. "No…" She suddenly stopped sobbing and her tone completely changed to sounding dry and cold. "I will… not… cry… I will not… cry…"

Hearing her repeat these words, my mind suddenly filled with unnerving thoughts about my friend. I felt time just stopped in front of me. 'Has Sappy always felt this way? Has she always felt so… sad?' I asked myself, though not saying it out loud.

"Sappy…" I muttered as I dropped my weapon for now and patted her head. I didn't even want to struggle out anymore because right now I'm feeling that she really needs this. I turned around to hug her for just a little bit.

It was like this for a few minutes before we heard another explosion from behind. Sapphire tried to stand up again, but failed as she fell back down again. I tried to help pick her up before seeing her face.

"W-Wha—? Sappy…? You're…"

"N-No…" Sapphire muttered as tried to hide her left side. Her eyes started to grow more colder, more distant, as her body started to shake again. "D-Don't look at it…" Her left eye, which was normally blue, is now purple.

"Sappy…? Your… eye… It's…!" I tried to touch her left cheek, but she pushed me away. She starts to clutch her head as she shakes her head violently while her glitch-like state starts to spread in the surrounding area.

"HIGH-SHARE ENERGY LEVELS DETECTED! HIGH-SHARE ENERGY LEVELS DETECTED! SHIFTING TO BATTLE MODE!"

I heard two booming robotic voices, before remembering why I was here in the first place. I turned around, seeing them running towards us at rather high speeds. So I quickly picked up my Dual Saber I dropped on the ground. "Sappy! Stay behind me! Now!" I exclaimed as I readied my battle stance.

The one with the gray body and spike balls for hands attacked first, throwing its fist at both of us. I immediately tackled Sappy to the ground and away from the punch. As I stood up and looked down to check up on her, I only saw her writhing in pain.

"Sappy! What's happening to—!?" I then felt a huge shadow looming over me before turning and before immediately turning to see a huge blade brought down on us. 'Sorry Sappy…' I then kicked her away before immediately catching the blade with my right hand. Her hand hurt immediately, but I tried to ignore it.

'It's so heavy… Wha—!?' I suddenly felt a small amount of my Shares being taken away from me. I felt my body weakened and my legs started to wobble. I suddenly gasped out in pain before taking my hand off the blade and moving out of the way, letting it hit the ground. 'I feel… so weak…' I thought as I tried to move my left arm, which fell limp to my side. I could barely lift my weapon up to attack. 'I can't move my arms to attack… my legs are shaking…'

'Do I really have to transform to HDD for these… things…?' That question passed my mind like that thought did come to me at first. With that question in mind, there was no second guessing. 'I have to… There is no other way to defeat them…'

"You leave me no choice then…" I glared at the two mechs before I grinned. "Transform!" I declared as I accessed my Shares and a light envelope my body and brightened up my world view. Once it faded, I stood tall, a young lady with my dark red and blue hair reached the middle of my back that is styled in a ponytail and tied in a ribbon with dark pink eyes. My processor unit consists of black skin-tight one piece with half red and blue highlights that show a bit of my cleavage, but covers most of my body except the middle of my chest (but still covering my upper chest area) to my stomach and back. Unattached skin-tight, fingerless, arm-length gloves and knee-length, low-heeled boots that matched the colors of my bodysuit. The accents on my left side glowed a navy blue while my right side glowed dark red.

"S-Shift…!" I turned to Sapphire, whose eyes widened in pain and fear while her glitch-like state worsens. Something I knew I could do nothing about right now. "Why…? Why did you transform…?"

"Sappy… It's the only way I could handle this…" I said to her, feeling even more concern for her state now. I turned to the two mechs. "So please, let me fight this…"

"O-Okay…" Sapphire tilted her head to the side with her eyes filled with sadness and somewhat curiosity. Her glitch-like state somehow lessened a little as she seemed to be eyeing at a certain part of my body. "Why does your… um… chest…?" She immediately looked away, embarrassed. "Never mind…"

I let out a shiver-inducing giggle as I awkwardly looked down at myself. 'Why does she have to mention that all of the sudden!? Wait… I shouldn't even be thinking about that stuff now…' I then shake those thoughts off before turning to the two mechs. The gray mech fired a bunch of missiles from its shoulders, which they all went to me. In response, I immediately activated my wing processors, two sets of black V-shaped wings with the left projecting out navy blue energy and the right projecting out dark red energy and flew upwards to the sky. However, the missiles flew right after me, like they're tracking me. Every single time I tried to move to the side, it slightly changed their trajectory.

'Tracking missiles?' I thought before smirking. 'Okay… Let's see if you can track this!' I then activated my Shares again while flying, lightening up my world view. And like all the other times I did this, I felt like I was splitting apart. When it faded, I quickly looked to my right to see a red version of me. As we flew, trying to shake the missiles off, we then looked at each other before we both nod before splitting away from each other.

Right now, I'm the blue half of me (pretty much a blue version of my original self). I get more level-headed in this form while the red half of me that just split off gets… less than that. It's something I require after… Never mind… Either way, I looked behind me and noticed that the missiles split off to track my other half while the rest chased me. This gives me a sort of an idea. I then immediately flew in the other direction with the missiles trailing behind.

"Red!" I exclaimed as I flew by my other half, who was also seemingly trying to shake them by flying around in circles. I can hear her angrily yelling at them to go away, which I let out an exasperated sigh. 'Sometimes I wonder how we're the same person…' I thought before shaking that off. "Red! Charge towards me! I'll do the same!"

"Huh…!? Oh. I see! Okay, Blue!" Red said as she immediately turned to do exactly that with a very cocky smile. "Tell me when! Okay?"

I smirked as I charged towards her. "Wait for it…" I said as we kept charging at each other, hearing the sound of missiles behind both of us. "Wait for it…" We both got closer and closer until we were an inch close. "Now!" We then immediately flew up, hearing the loud explosion below our feet. After we couldn't hear any sort of missile, both of us stopped to float in the air before seeing Red grin at me.

"Ha! Ha! We did it, Blue!" She exclaimed as she clapped behind my back. It's not like Lite's strength so it didn't really hurt. And I should know, Lite chuck a jar at my face the first time we saw each other.

"Yes, we did… But…" I looked down to the mech that was watching us from below. I then started to notice Sapphire's glitch-like state is now affecting the buildings. "We aren't done yet. So we need to stay focused, Red…"

"Aw~!" Red then let out a tired groan as she let her body slumped forward. These are some of the things that I always hear from my other half every single time we split into two. "I'm so tired… Ugh!"

"That's what you get when you keep flying circles…" I muttered under my breath, seeing my other half pout at me like a kid. "Either way, I'll take that one." I pointed, with my Dual Blade, at the mech with the swords. "You take the other one, Red. And if it gets too hard, we switch. When we're done, we need to figure out what's going on with Sappy… Okay?"

"Yeah… I'm really worried about her… Wait…" Red then looked around the buildings to where Sapphire was, which was still glitching. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked around. "Blue! Where did Sappy go!?"

"Huh…?" I tried to look around to where Sapphire was lying down. Even though the buildings had that glitch effect, she somehow disappeared. "Wait! Sappy… Where did you…?" Then we saw a bunch of missiles being fired again. We were about to fly away like the last time, until we both heard a familiar voice.

"Energy Shockwave!"

Suddenly, a wave of energy blasted away all the missiles, exploding them immediately. Our eyes started widen as we turned to the voice and saw Sapphire standing on the rooftop of a medium-size building with her rapier raised in the air. Her glitch-like state is still affecting the tall building she's standing on and her left eye is still purple.

We both then flew down to Sapphire with a mixture of surprise and upset look on our faces. Well, Red was even more upset than surprised. "Sappy! I thought we said to let us handle this!" Red exclaimed, giving her a frown as she pointed to the mechs. "You're hurt and…!"

"I don't care… if I get hurt… Protecting... others are more important than me…" We both heard Sapphire muttering under breath as she looked towards us. Her face looks a mixture of visible pain, exhaustion, and seriousness. She then slowly walked towards the edge of the rooftop with her legs shaking. "It doesn't not hurt though… Honestly… I can't just lie around and do nothing… Feeling weak…"

"Sappy!" Red snapped back at her, fuming at our friend. We both know she's very stubborn at times, but not to the point she would ignore herself. "I know you want to help, but now is not the time to be stubborn! I don't know how you got up here, but you need to rest."

"Just like Red said. You need to rest—!" Immediately hearing some noise, I then immediately jerked my head to the mechs. The white one suddenly raised its sword, which I noticed it started to glow, before bringing it down onto me. Watch out!"

I was about to block the blade with my own before Sapphire tackled me away from it, cutting the building in half. The rooftop was about to collapse below us, so I quickly wrapped my arm around her waist. "Hang on." I told her before I activated my wing processors which let us float. Then the whole building collapsed below us, leaving us floating over the rubble. Red also seemed to take a hint, so she too was floating above the rubble.

And since we were facing the sky, I repositioned myself to face the mechs before I looked at my friend, who buried her head in my left shoulder with her arms wrapped around my neck. "Are you okay?" I asked her, which she silently nodded without looking at me. "Thank goodness…"

"Sappy!" Red immediately hovered towards us with a rather upset look on her face. My guess is that she's worried that Sapphire is going to get hurt. "That was way too reckless! I know that you told us the reason why you don't want to transform, but you could have—!"

"I know… but…" Sapphire then looked at Red with a cold and serious expression on her face. "I wouldn't suggest blocking those swords when it's glowing… With or without your weapon… Unless you forgot when you first touched them as Shift…"

"Yeah… I remember…" I shivered at the feeling of my Shares being taken from earlier. Red also shivered from the same feeling. "It felt as though my Shares were being taken from me forcefully…"

"And it's exactly what it's trying to do to you… The white one can take Shares and use it as its own power… While the other one…" Sapphire then look at the gray mech. "…can do something similar, as well as cancel your HDD…Though…" She then looked at them with confusion. "It seems that they're very slow at moving around… Or tracking us…" She started to mutter to herself. "Maybe since they're tracking multiple strong Share energies right now…?"

'Gosh… I was lucky enough to take my hand off it before it really took effect. I've even experienced firsthand what Anti Crystals can do to a CPU when we were once a single person… and it was frightening… but… it felt a little… no… very different from what I've felt a long time ago…' I looked over to Red, who looked back with a shaken look. 'Hold on… How does she know all of this…?' I thought as I looked at my friend with confusion. "Sappy… How do you…?"

"Blue… Now is not the time to talk about it…" Sapphire said, looking at me with her purple and blue eyes. Her eyes then softened a little as she stared for a while before they went cold again as she looked at the mechs. "Keep dodging their attacks and fire off long-ranged skills… I will try to slow them down…"

"But…! Fine… Just don't do anything stupid, Sappy." Red said, trying hard to play it off. However, I knew myself very well and I knew that she was really about Sapphire as I am.

"Okay." Sapphire then started squirming in my arms. She then looked up at me with a flush of light pink across her face. "Hey… Blue…? You can put me down now…"

"Sure." I said as I slowly descended to the ground and let her go. She stumbled for a little bit before she stood tall again. Her glitch-like state seemed to lessen even more than before, which now just looks like flickering to me. "Please be careful…"

Sapphire then looked at me silently before giving me a small smile. She then pointed her gun at the white mech. "Changing modes…" She muttered under breath. "Third Bullet: EMP Shot." She fired a bullet, immediately hitting the white mech which was trying to figure out who it should attack first. Suddenly, electricity coursed through it, stopping it in its place. And if by reaction, the gray mech suddenly turned to Sapphire and charged after her.

"Sappy! Step back!" Red exclaimed, as she quickly descended to the ground before putting a second hand on the handle of her Double Saber. Seeing that her blade started glowing red, Sapphire immediately stepped back a little bit. Then Red threw her blade with enough force that it got stuck in the ground. As the mech took one more step forward, Red snapped her fingers. "Deep Impact!" Suddenly the energy released in an explosive manner, destroying the gray mech. Unfortunately, Sapphire was a bit close to the explosion; so she was blasted a bit far before she tumbled to the ground.

"Sappy!" Red yelled at her again as she turned to Sapphire with a frustrated look on her face as the girl lifted her body up. "I told you to step back, not to get blasted by my explosion!"

Sapphire then tilted her head in confusion, like she didn't know what Red was talking about. "But you never specify how far I should step back." She spoke in a very robotic manner as she gave Red a dull look. "All you said was step back…"

"W-Wh—!? I-I mean…! H-Hey?! What's with you being sassy all of the sudden!?" Red exclaimed as she looked at her, a bit annoyed from hearing that. Sapphire, in response, shrugged it off, making Red more annoyed. "Hey! Don't just shrug at me!"

"Just let it go, Red…" I said as I sighed before I helped Sapphire up to her feet, who had her back turned to me. I then moved my hands to touch her shoulders. "Spirit…" I muttered under my breath as I cast a light green spell onto her. Slowly, most of her burns and scrapes on her body started to heal by itself.

Sapphire turned her head to me, looking at me with gratefulness in her eyes. She then shrugged my hands off as she walked towards the white mech, which the paralysis effect seemed to have faded off. When it noticed Sapphire, it then blitzed toward her while knocking into buildings as it ran.

Sapphire then put her gun to her mouth. "Changing modes… Extraction Mode…" She muttered again before she placed the gun onto her right arm. She pulled the trigger, causing her face to wrench in pain before taking her gun off of her. Suddenly, her glitch-like state started to grow even more.

"S-Sappy…?" I asked, looking at her very worryingly. 'Extraction mode…? Did her gun… just extract something from her…?' I looked at her with a shocked expression on my face. I looked over to Red, who was just as shocked as I was. "What did you just…?"

"Changing modes… Bullet Mode…" She muttered before pointing it to the ground. I noticed that she nervously bit her lip before she took a deep breath. "Sixth Bullet: Glitch Shot…" She then pulled the trigger, shooting the bullet into the ground. I was about to ask why she shot the ground before the said ground glitched out like the buildings from before. And when the mech stepped in that area, the glitch suddenly started to form around its feet and started to move up. It immediately stopped before the mech's movements started to bug out.

"Sappy!? What did you just do!?" I exclaimed as I looked at her with surprise. My mind is still trying to process what was going on. "Did you…? Did you just…?"

"What the hell…?" Red spoke up, as she looked at the mech. She was just as surprised as I was, and probably even more worried for Sapphire. "Sappy… I…"

Then our surprise turned into pure discontent when she collapsed on one knee, breathing heavily. "Sappy!" We immediately flew to her side to check on her, before she immediately looked me in the eyes.

"Please… don't worry… about me…" Sapphire spoke to us, looking up at us with a pained expression on her face. "This always happens… when I do this… Please… Blue… Finish this…"

"O-Okay." I muttered as I flew up and pointed my weapon towards the mech, which was still a bit far away. I focused my energy into my blade, which started to glow blue. Like Red, I threw it on the ground next to the mech. "Deep Impact!" I exclaimed as I snapped my fingers, causing the energy release explosively. This destroyed the white mech, turning it into wreckage.

Me and Red looked at the wreckages and all of the damage that's been done before we both sighed in relief. "Finally… Now that's done…" Red then looked over to Sapphire and frowned. "Let's worry about you."

I nodded in agreement as I slowly descended to the ground. I then turned to Red expectantly, then we both nodded at each other before we joined our hands together. A bright light filled up my view, the feeling of combining with something familiar felt throughout my body, before the light faded with Red disappeared. I was Shift again or CPU Dual Heart of Lowee in this form. Then I immediately disengaged my transformation, turning back into my human form, and summoned away my weapon before going Sapphire's side.

"Hey… Sappy…?" I spoke up before shivering, remembering that I'm in my nightgown in the cold. Sapphire looked up at me silently before she looked down to the ground. She seemed sad for some reason or maybe it was a relief. She too summoned away her weapons "H-Hey! Sappy… Are you alright? Please… Say something to me."

"Shift… I…" Sapphire kept her head down as she spoke, avoiding my eyes. Her tone was sad and quiet, still wasn't not like the other times we've met before all of this happened. Her glitch-like state was still the same as earlier. "I… didn't want you to get involved… with my problems…"

"Sappy… Please…" I touched her shoulder as I tried to look her in the eyes. "Tell me what's going on…" I asked her softly with eyes filled with worry.

"I… Okay… but…" Sapphire slowly looked directly into my eyes. She then placed her hand onto mine and clenched it. "Don't tell anyone about it… Promise me… You won't tell anyone about what I said… Not even Mina…"

"Okay… I promise. I won't tell." I told her while giving her a smile of reassurance. "You have my word, Sappy. So please tell me what's going on with you. What is this… thing? And…" I looked over at what's left of the mechs before looking back. "How do you know about those two mechs?"

"Well… um… hold on…" Sapphire shrugged off my hand before then summoned out a very large, fluffy blue towel before wrapping it around me. It felt very warm to the point I didn't feel cold anymore. "Here. You seem cold." She said rather quietly before giving me a smile while I clinged onto the blanket. "To answer your first two questions, this is an ability called Glitch or… at least that's how we called it…"

When I first heard this, I looked at her rather curiously, seeing that I have my own ability. 'Sappy has an ability too! I've never thought she did!' I thought, giving her a slight surprise look. 'But why didn't she…?'

"But… this isn't my ability…" Sapphire said, interrupting my thoughts and catching me a bit off guard. "My real ability was always to see into people's souls and that… I've always had it ever since I was born… but this one…" I saw her nervously but my lip. "I happened to get it through a crystal… and…" She immediately stopped herself before looking down. Her face suddenly twisted into a very traumatized look. "N-No… I… don't… want to… remember…"

I slightly raised my eyebrows before noticing that her glitch-like state started to strengthen around her body. Seeing her body trembling while hugging herself, I immediately pulled her close. "It's okay, Sappy. You don't have to tell me about this 'crystal' thing." I softly told her as I patted the back of her head.

"I…" Sapphire tried to speak up before going silent again. Her hands seemed to fall to the side, letting me hug her. "Hugs feel nice… I… like them… It… doesn't hurt me… at all…"

'Huh…? H-Hurt…? Oh… She must have been in pain for a very long time… Just like me…' I thought as I pulled her in closer, letting her place her chin on my left shoulder. "Don't worry, Sappy… I got you…"

Then, we both heard slow, exaggerated clapping. I turned to see a lady walking past the wreckage of the white and gray mech while smirking deviously. She had a witch-like appearance with pale skin. She wore a black witches hat and clothes.

"Who…?" I felt trembling before I then looked at Sappy who was eyeing the woman with a terrified look on her face as she was on both knees and held my hand. 'Sappy's… afraid of her…? What's going on…?'

"Hmm… Two separate bodies… Two separate personalities… Yet… both come from the same person… A very… unique ability you have there…" She starts smiling even more than before, it felt very unnerving. "…Shift… The CPU of Lowee… or should I say…" Her smile tugged into a huge, devious grin. "Shift… Ex-CPU Candidate of Lowee…"

I immediately tensed up at hearing this and gave the witch lady a small, yet sharp glare. "Who are you?" I asked very calmly, trying to hide the fact I was unnerved by her presence. But secretly, I was clenching my hand around Sapphire. Whoever this woman was… she knew me scarily well. And it wasn't in a good way.

"A-Arfoire…" I heard Sapphire say as she too clenched my hand, feeling her hand shaking uncontrollably. "H-Her name… it's Arfoire… The leader of… ASIC… S-She's the one who… s-sent those mechs… here…"

'So she's the one…!' I immediately grit my teeth and clenched Sapphire's hand even harder. The woman, now named Arfoire, frowned at hearing that before smiling as she walked towards us. In response, I stepped in front of Sapphire, keeping her behind me. I wasn't going to let her hurt my friend.

But Arfoire stopped when she was a few feet away from us and analyzed my face. "Your face… reminds me a lot of your treacherous older sister… When we last fought each other…When was it again…? Oh! After she attacked your friend's nation… Planeptune…" She said in a slow yet taunting way. "She had some fight left in her… Unfortunately, I ended her like the monster she was…" She then pointed at me. "And you… are exactly like her… A cold and heartless monster…"

I was completely stunned at this before I started shaking with anger. "You… You're… Y-You're the one killed Nin!" I shouted in anger. I never knew what happened to her after she came back from Planeptune. She was acting very weird after that attack failed. I never knew what happened after Nin assured me she would return, which was before she died. Now I know what happened. I was angry… no… furious at this woman. How dare she… HOW DARE SHE CALLED ME A MONSTER!

"You don't NOTHING about me, Arfoire! So don't pretend you do!" I shouted as I almost went for her, but Sapphire held me back. "I am not my sister! I won't EVER be like her!"

Arfoire just laughed, filling my ears and mind while taunting me even more. "Don't pretend that one of your own people tried to stop you!" She said, shaking me to my core. "I saw exactly what happened a long time ago… How you were heartless… How you never once cared…"

"I'M NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, interrupting her. Sapphire is still trying her very hardest to pull me back. "I-I've changed! I became better… I-I…"

"You may think that… You may say that… but… Are you sure that's what you truly think?" Arfoire said with an evil, taunting grin before walking closer. With each step, her tone became lower. "In truth, You're afraid… of who you truly are… of that monster inside you… You are afraid… of the day you finally snap…"

I was way too stunned when hearing this as I fell to my knees. I shut my eyes in denial before finally accepting what I'm hearing. Each word is like knives stabbing into my heart and… it hurts. I can't even deny it anymore. I'm… afraid of myself… The sad… truth is… I hate myself… I was a monster as Lowee's CPU Candidate… I was just as bad as my sister… I… I… I know I've changed… But… Is she really right? What would happen… if I finally snapped…? What would happen to… Lite…? Would she follow the path the way I did…? Would she…?

Would she endure the pain that I felt?

"No Doubt. Open… Eyes… Don't… Die…"

'H-Huh…? A voice…? Who said that…?' I slowly opened my eyes before widening them. 'What's going on…? Where am I…?' I looked around and saw a gray grassy field. I could feel the wind blowing around me. 'Wasn't I in the middle of the street?'

I looked around before eyeing a young, purple-haired girl with a purple dress with her back turned to me. She was just frolicking around with a white stuffed bunny in hand. I was way too confused right now.

"H-Hey! Who are you…?" I asked, trying to wave the little girl down. She stopped as she slowly turned and ran to me. She then looked at me with her purple eyes, which were almost tired and soulless. She then tilted her head in confusion. "Uh… Do you know where I am?"

"Heart…" The girl simply spoke again as she showed me her stuffed bunny. The bunny's small beady eyes were just as soulless as her eyes.

Her voice sounds soft, yet robotic. And it was the same voice I heard a few seconds ago. Still, I didn't get what she meant by that. "Uhh… What do you mean by 'Heart'…?"

"Resonating… with her… She feels… the same way… Sad…" She said as she shoved the bunny into my face. I immediately took a step back, trying to process what's going on. "But why…?" She asked as she looked into my eyes. "Why are you so… sad?"

"Oh… I-Is really that obvious…?" I asked the young girl who nodded as an answer. I then looked down at myself in pain and sadness. The girl then walked up to me and touched the right side of my face. It felt cold to touch, yet at the same time, it felt warm.

"Cry…" The girl spoke to me, yet it felt almost like a command because it was. She looked at me with her soulless eyes, which bore in my own. "Feel sad… Cry… Don't… ignore… pain…" She said robotically as she wiped my right cheek with her thumb. "Don't refuse… pain… Doesn't hurt… to cry…"

I stared at the young girl for a little while before feeling tears well up in my eyes. I then fell to my knees before hugging her and started to cry. Letting out all my anguish, my grief, my sadness, and my anger I held back for years. I felt all of them starting to leave me the longer I cried. I probably sound childish for crying or that it made me sound weak. But I looked up again and saw that the girl didn't judge me.

"Are you… feeling… okay…?" The young girl asked, looking at me as she tilted her head. She didn't seem like she wasn't expecting anything at all. Like she didn't need anything from me.

I look down at myself, I look terrible from my nightgown being dirty. If I had a mirror, my face would probably be stained with my own tears. And all of those feelings hadn't yet disappeared from me. "I feel like crap…" I told her softly, my voice was hoarse when I spoke. "I feel… nothing… empty… and… I don't know what I'm feeling anymore… I don't…"

"Shift. Your heart… Your feelings… are resonating with hers… They are connected…" She said as she ran her fingers through my hair. "Even though she accepted… those… feelings… But just like this world… she feels empty…"

I was a bit shocked and somewhat understanding what I was hearing. 'I'm connected… to someone else…' I thought before my thoughts started to wander around. 'Wait… who's this "she" this girl is talking about?' I looked back up again. "Who are you talking…?"

"Go." The girl commanded as she stepped away from me. Her neutral expression suddenly became a cold hard stare. "Before it's too late."

"Huh? What do you…?" I suddenly felt like I'm slowly losing consciousness and felt like my head was starting to feel a bit heavy. "H-Hey… Why do I feel…?"

"Please. Save her." I heard what the young girl said. I was still feeling confused about what was going on. "She needs you… Don't die… Please help her… Guide her… Because…"

"She's closer than you think."

"Stay back!"

My eyes slowly opened, feeling the cold ground against my cheek. I then realized that I was lying on the ground before rising up. I looked around groggily as I tried to scan the area again. Then my eyes focused on a certain scene that was unfolding in front of me.

It was Sapphire with her rapier raised against Arfoire. Her body was enveloped by that glitch effect, but it was covering most of her body. She looked exhausted but she was still standing.

"Why should I? You should know that I don't follow orders from someone like you…" Arfoire said as stepped towards, to which Sapphire immediately shot the ground where the witch woman was about to step on. "Ah. Still the same as always…"

"Same goes to you…" Sapphire muttered before immediately pointing her rapier at Arfoire again. Even though she was tired, she still didn't give the woman an inch. "Unless you came here just to taunt us, you have no reason for being here."

"You're right. I have no reason to be even because I already completed my mission." Arfoire said with a hint of malice in her voice. Just hearing her talking made me feel sick to my stomach. "I just want to make an… impression… to the CPU of Lowee…" She turned to my direction and gave me a smirk. "Did you find me impressionable, Lady Dual Heart…"

I slowly stood up before I took a deep breath and let it out for a moment to let out all the anger I've been feeling. "Frankly, you old hag, the only impression I got from you was the fact you need to be in a nursing home! Not fighting cute girls like us!" I said, getting a very weird look from Sapphire. "Now do everyone a favor and remove your ugly mug from my nation!"

"I see…" Arfoire said with a frown before it tugged into a small smile. "Okay then, I'll leave… But before I do that…" Her smile widened into an evil grin. "Make sure to watch your back… Lady Dual Heart…" She then teleported away, leaving those words lingering in my mind.

However, I didn't think too much about it and sighed in relief. "Hey, Sappy!" I called out to my friend, trying to catch her attention. However, she seemed to look straight ahead and look to the empty spot where Arfoire once stood. And immediately afterwards, she collapsed on one knee, forcing me to run to her side. "Hey… You okay?" I asked as when on both knees and looked her in the eyes.

Sapphire nodded her head with a neutral look on her face. Her left eye stayed purple, the same eye as the girl I saw earlier, however her right eye seemed to flicker the same color. Her hair, which is supposed to be blue, flickered that color too. "Hey. Um… Are you okay, Shift?" She asked as she looked me in the eyes. "You were unresponsive a few seconds earlier. And earlier you…"

'A few seconds…? I thought I was there for at least a few minutes or so…' I thought with a frown before my thoughts lead me into that world. 'Wait… What even was that? Where was I? Should I tell Sappy about this…? Sappy… Wait…' My eyes widened from shock as I slowly put together what the girl had said earlier. 'Was that girl talking about Sappy? Is that why her eye is now like that? Because that world the girl was in…? And if that's so… Does she feel… empty… too…?' I immediately shook my head. 'No… this is too much to process for me… I shouldn't outright ask her if she's empty… Besides…' I look down at myself sadly. 'I don't want her to worry too much about me…' I then look up to Sapphire before giving her a rather forced smile. "N-No… I'm okay… Sappy… I'm feeling… better now…"

Sapphire just looked at me suspiciously before shaking her head. "Okay… Should we stay here for a while? I'm gonna need a few…" Her voice suddenly trailed off as she fell to the floor, passed out with her glitch-like appearance still on her.

"Sappy…? Hey! Sappy!" I asked as I tried to shake her awake, seeing her still passed out. "Oh… Let me get you to the Basilicom… Sorry about this…" I muttered as I tried to put my friend onto my shoulders and tried to carry her back.

Filyn's POV…

'That was a really long fall… Ow…' Filyn groaned in pain as she tried to get up, only to have Crypto lend a hand to her, which she took begrudgingly. She can't believe that she had used that to fight it. At least she was still able to stand up because all the other time she wouldn't get up for at least a few hours. But that didn't matter right now.

"Venus…! Venus…!" Filyn called out as she wobbled to the young girl who laid there on the grass, hoping that she wasn't hurt at all. When she finally got there, she kneeled down on one knee and looked over at her. "Are you okay…? Venus!"

"I-I'm good…" Filyn heard Venus say and saw the young girl slowly rise up. "Ow…" She muttered as she rubbed her arm and winced when she touched her elbow. "Filyn… I…" Venus was then pulled into a deep hug by Filyn. "H-Huh…?"

"Thank goodness you're okay…" Filyn said to the young girl as she patted her head. "I'm sorry about earlier… I said those… embarrassing things… to you in… that… I…"

"It's okay! Really!" Venus said as she leaned back to look at Filyn and smile. "T-Though…" She blushed a little as she looked off to the side. "It was a little… embarrassing…"

"Ah… I-I see…" Filyn muttered as she gave off an awkward smile. She then stood up and looked down at the young girl. "So, do you think you can stand up?"

Venus slowly nodded as she tried to stand up, only to yelp as she collapsed in the ground as she then clutched her right ankle. "O-Ow… It hurt…" She muttered as she looked up with her eyes filled with tears. "M-My leg… it hurts!"

"Oh no…" Filyn muttered as she groaned very loudly. "She's going to be so mad at me…" She said very loudly as she started to panic all over again, worrying that she broke her ankle.

"May I take a look?" Crypto spoke up, catching everyone's attention. And even before anyone said anything, she walked over to the young girl and kneeled down to check her ankle. "Luckily, it just looks sprained… Had one when I was doing idol work…" She then noticed a slight confusion on Filyn's face. "Slight misstep during dance practice…"

"Idol… work…?" Venus spoke up with a curious tone in her voice. Though she was still sniffling from the pain. "W-What's that?"

Crypto smirked a little at the young girl. "Well… I'll answer your question if you answer mine." She still kept the same smirk as she crossed her arms. "So tell me, who are you really? And don't lie to me because I know what that mech could do…"

Filyn was about to speak up and tell Crypto not to pressure her too much. But Venus immediately spoke up. "O-Oh… Um… I-I'm Venus…" She introduced herself in a rather shy tone, avoiding eye contact. "I'm the CPU Candidate… of um… Planeptune…"

"Hm. Even though it was a bit obvious… I just needed to hear you say that." Crypto muttered as she looked at the young girl with thought. "I do remember listening to a history lesson about CPU Candidates… that they're the younger sister of the CPU… Though…" She then frowned upon probably remembering what happened earlier. "Were you just born or something?"

"No. She was just born a few days ago… She honestly shocked both of us when we found her…" Filyn replied as she smiled slightly. "It still feels very surreal that Venus is in our lives now… But we're getting by easily…"

"Huh." Crypto then turned to the young girl, who was just listening to Filyn. "Either way, to answer your question, it's a bit like a performance where I sing and dance for people…" She looked down in thought. "Though it's a bit different since I'm a VIRTUAL SINGER where I just jump into a virtual room and sing and dance while the model on the show stage follows my movements."

"Oh." Venus was surprised by what she heard before giving a smile. It was a contrast from the sniffling from earlier. "That actually sounds really cool."

"Yeah… I actually went to one of her concerts…" Filyn told her while giving her a similar smile. "It was really fun to watch though… I'm impressed by the models that were dancing on stage." She then sighed as puts both hands on her hips when she saw Crypto smirking at her. "And that is the only compliment you're ever gonna get from me."

"I see. I see." Crypto smiled as she giggled it off. Then she went back to her neutral expression as she looked at Venus. "Oh and don't worry, I won't say anything about this. Your secret is safe with me… But…" She then turned to Filyn with a frown. "I'm not sure I can say the same with you because of how many secrets you accidentally spout out of your mouth…"

"H-Hey! I don't spill secrets! At least not on purpose!" Filyn exclaimed as she pouted to the young woman. Hearing a muffled laugh, she then turned to Venus who had her hands over mouth. "H-HEY! Don't laugh about that! It's so… rrgh…" She then stomped over to immediately pick the young girl up in her arm, getting a yelp from Venus. "We're leaving! Make sure you don't put Venus's name in the report, okay!? And don't tell anyone about what just transpired!"

"Sure…"

And without saying a single word, Filyn stomped all the way back to Planeptune Tower with Venus looking up at her with confusion.

(Back at home)

"Ow! Filyn! T-That hurts!"

"S-Sorry… Venus…"

Now they were both in a walk-in shower with the shower head turned on, which was large enough to fit both of them. Filyn was kneeling on both knees while Venus was sitting on stool with her right leg out. Both were blushing because they didn't have anything to cover themselves from their modesty. Though fortunately, Venus had her back turned to Filyn and had to keep her face looking forward to try and not to look behind.

"S-So… Venus…" Filyn's voice suddenly trailed off before she immediately turned off the water and suddenly start she was scrubbing the girl's back with soap and a rag. She is trying really hard not to harm the young girl by accident so she did it very slowly. 'This is so embarrassing…' She thought while kicking herself internally, flustered at this really weird scene. "Does this feel okay…?"

"Y-Yes… it's alright…" Venus said very shyly, seemingly trying very hard to keep her head facing forward. She then looked down at herself and Filyn saw her face go beet red, probably even redder than her own hair. "I-It doesn't hurt now though… but…" She seemingly cringes when she puts pressure on her right foot. "This still hurts…"

"Don't put pressure on it… It's not going away immediately if you do that… It's going to go away soon, but not now… Probably going to take a few days… Probably even a few weeks…" Filyn said as she looked down in guilt and shame. "Sorry Venus… I shouldn't have brought you to fight… This wouldn't have happened and I…"

"N-No… It's fine… Because…" Venus kept her head down, hearing quiet sniffling from the young girl as she started hugging herself. "I-It's my fault… I shouldn't have pleaded to you about this… Now we both got hurt… and Sis might get mad again…"

Filyn then sighed as she stopped scrubbing Venus's back for a little bit before standing up. "Hey. Can you put your arms up for me?" She asked, seeing the young girl being a bit confused by this request. "Just do it for me, okay?" Seeing her slowly nod as Venus put her hands up. "Sorry about this…" Filyn then immediately lifted her up, turned her around before lowering back down on the stool.

Venus immediately blushed as she covered herself. "F-Filyn! What are you–!?" She was then cut off by Filyn going back down on both knees and pulling her into a hug. "H-Huh…?"

"That won't happen, Venus… I promise." Filyn told her quietly as she pulled her in closer, patting Venus's wet hair. "We'll figure something out. I'll try and reason with her when she gets back, okay?" She pulled away to look at the young girl's eyes. "Don't worry about it for now. I know she won't get mad forever. Plus, I think she wants you to train."

"O-Okay…" Venus then blush even more red than before looking away. "C-Can we finish this now…?" She asked, trying very hard not to look at Filyn or any part of her body. "It's… embarrassing…"

"A-Ah… sure…" Filyn said as she then turned her around again to scrub the young girl's back. Of course, she had to let Venus scrub her own body. So she told the young girl to scrub as hard as she could and try smelling herself every now and then. And when she did that to herself, Venus was looking away from her. When they were both done, Filyn then scrubbed both hers and Venus's hair with shampoo. And finally, Filyn turned the showerhead back on to wash it all off.

Filyn turned it off before stepping out of the shower, grabbing her black towel, and wiping herself down before wrapping it around her body. She then grabbed Venus's white towel and lent it to the young girl, which she immediately took from her. Of course, she had to turn back to Venus in order to give it to her and had to wait for a while.

"O-Okay… Filyn… I'm done…" Venus spoke up, turning around to see that she was covering herself with the towel but didn't wrap it around her. She was still blushing as she looked at Filyn "C-Can you… lift me up?"

"S-Sure…" Filyn answered as she lifted her up in arms shyly before carrying her out of the bathroom and into the living room where she placed Venus on the couch. "Let me sit you up real quick…" She muttered as she lifted the young girl's body up into a sitting position. "This might like a dumb question but, what do you want me to get first right now, Venus?"

Hearing a small, yet audible grumble, Venus blushed as her other hand went to her stomach. She then looked down to avoid eye contact. "C-Can I get something to eat first?"

"Okay. I'll make you something real quick." Filyn then heard another grumble, but this time it was from her own stomach. "Hehe. I guess we're both hungry, huh." She then quickly walked over to the kitchen to make two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Placing them onto two separate plates before bringing them back to Venus. "Here you go." She said as she gave the plate to the young girl.

Venus tried to take the plate with both hands before realizing that she couldn't because she didn't wrap her towel around her. "U-Um… Filyn…?" She looked up at her with embarrassment.

"Oh." Filyn then placed the two plates on the side of Venus before kneeling down. "Could you scoot towards me?" To which she did just that. Since the towel covered her in a horizontal way, Filyn had an easier time to wrap it around her. "Okay. Is that good enough for you?"

"Yep!" Venus said before she took the sandwich from one of the two plates. She took a small bite from it before giving a small smile. "It tastes good! Thanks Filyn."

"Ah. It is okay! I just made something quick." Filyn then looked at the time before sighing to herself. "It's still a bit in the afternoon… huh." She muttered before she sat right next to Venus before she grabbed hers and started to eat.

There was an uncomfortable amount of silence between them. It was a bit obvious because of the events that transpired before. When they were finally finished, Filyn took their plates and placed them in the sink before walking to the young girl where she sat back down. When she sat back down, both girls were completely quiet for a while.

"Hey… Venus?" Filyn first spoke up, breaking the silence between the two. "Could we stay like this for a while? I'm too tired after moving a lot…" She then looked at Venus, who was looking back at her curiously. "I mean… if you want to…"

"…S-Sure." Venus said as she looked down for a little bit before looking back at Filyn. "H-Hey… um… Filyn?" She spoke up again. "I-I've been wondering… why did you make me do this anyway? Is there any other reason why?"

"Oh. It's well… the first one you already know… I didn't want either of us to smell when your sister came home." Filyn answered with some thought in her words. "Also, your sprained ankle gives me a reason. And well…" She looked down for a little bit. "…I guess I was feeling a bit lonely…"

"Huh? Lonely?" Venus then cocked her head to side with confusion and curiosity. She didn't seem to understand why. "But why? Why do you feel so lonely…?"

"Well… it's mostly because of your sister…" Filyn's voice trailed off before she then shakes that thought off. "She barely talks to me… She mostly drowns herself into her paperwork most of the time." She then leaned back into the seat. "But when we do talk to each other, it's mostly about work or small casual talk…"

"Sis…" Venus muttered under her breath as she looked down with concern. She then put her left leg close to her chest. "Has she… always been like this…?"

"Eh… no, not really…" Filyn then chuckled to herself as she looked at Venus with a smile. "When a topic really does interest her, she would go on and on about it." She told the young girl as she looked away and leaned forward. "She would ask more questions… She would talk more than usual… And you can definitely see her eyes beaming with excitement when she starts talking." She then looked back at Venus with a frown. "Before I continue, do you want to know more?"

Venus, who was listening with interest and curiosity, guessed she wanted to learn about her sister, nodded as answer. She then scooted in closer to Filyn and leaned in as she looked up at her expectantly.

"I guess you do want to know a little bit more, huh…" Filyn muttered before giving the young girl a smile. "Alright then, come here." She then pulled Venus in close to her and wrapped her arm around her body so that the girl's head was resting on her side. "So either way, your sister, as much as she doesn't want to admit it, is very good when it comes to her only two hobbies." She then giggled once she said that. "She can invent stuff… though… it usually blows up in her face or just doesn't work… But her inventions mostly explode, which is why we had her lab encased with metal plating…" She said as she stroked Venus's hair. "So try to imagine that… it's pretty funny when you think about it, right?"

Venus smiled as she nodded as she started to think about it for a while. She then clasped her hands over her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh. But overtime, she would later burst out laughing at the thought of it. Of course, Filyn was giggling too because of how often she had seen the same scene played out. When they finally calmed down, they looked at each other and shared a smile.

"Could you tell me more, Filyn? Please! Can you tell me more about Sis?" Venus asked, looking at her with great interest and curiosity. From the way she looked, Venus wanted to know more about what her sister is like.

"Well… your sister does sing a little… or just hums some notes and…" Filyn sighed before her smile turned to a nostalgic one as she pulled Venus very close to her. "It's very beautiful… and very nice to hear from time to time… but she would keep it to herself… even though I heard it before… in the um…" She then lightly blushed. "…shower… late at night…"

"Huh?" Venus said, looking at her with a bit of confusion. "What do you…? Actually, never mind…" She then looked down, resting her head on Filyn's side.

"Yeah… never mind about that…" Filyn said, chuckling very awkwardly while trying hard not to remember that certain scene. "Well… that's about it for you sister…" She then leaned back on the couch. They were both silent for about a minute before she looked at the young girl again. "Quick question. What do you actually think about me?"

"Well… you're really cool… Even though…" Venus then looked up and gave Filyn a small yet awkward smile. "You do act a bit weird at times." She was then immediately lifted up, placed on Filyn's lap, and pulled into a big hug. "H-Huh…? Wha…?"

"Aw~! Thanks Venus!" Filyn exclaimed as she giggled to herself as she pulled Venus to her chest. Honestly, she didn't really mind being called weird because that was just her. "Gosh! You're so cute all the time! How are you so cute and nice?"

"U-Um…" Venus stuttered out, while blushing very hard by this situation and Filyn's compliments. She tried to reposition herself to make her feel comfortable. "I-I guess that's just who I am…" She managed to say as she looked off to the side.

Filyn suddenly yawned before feeling a little sleepy. "If that's just… who you are… then don't change… that… okay…?" She said before closing her eyes. "You're… you… nothing's going to chaaaaan…"

She then fell asleep before she even finished with that sentence.

Venus's POV…

I saw her closing her eyes and watched her fall asleep. I was unsure what to do because I couldn't exactly carry her since she was bigger than I am, as well I'm not that strong. Plus, I'm still a bit hurt from that fall.

I looked down to my right foot and tried to move it, only to wince when the pain shot through my body. I do remember Filyn, while getting back home, telling me that CPUs take less damage when they have Shares. It doesn't mean that they can't get hurt. But I wanted to ask more, but she didn't elaborate any further. It must have passed my mind when we finally got home.

'I guess I have to wait for Sis to come back…' I thought before I started blushing again. "B-But… T-This is really… embarrassing…" I muttered under my breath. I looked up to Filyn with a pout before noticing her eyepatch.

'Now that I'm thinking about it, wasn't Filyn wearing this while we were in the shower…?' I immediately blushed at the last part, and I could even tell my face was redder than Filyn's hair. I then tried to shake that feeling off. 'I've never seen her taking it off ever… like it's a part of her…' I was very curious about what's under her eyepatch, though at the same time, I didn't want to wake her up. So for now, I just observed her face for a while. "You're so cool, Filyn…" I muttered before giggling to myself before feeling a bit tired. I then rested my head against her chest and closed my eyes.

Before they immediately shot open as I heard something ringing. It was far away, but I could still hear from here. I looked up to Filyn, who was still fast asleep. I then tried to look around, trying to find where it was before it finally stopped.

"Please leave a message after the tone."

Then, it was followed by a loud beep. And then a shy, yet kind voice followed after it.

"H-Hello…? This is Shift speaking… The um… CPU of Lowee… And um… I'm assuming that you know who I am… So… um… my Oracle told me that someone else is working along with Sappy… So I hope I can get hold of you as soon as I can… Um… Sappy is hurt and this thing… this glitch-looking thing is affecting her body and it won't go away… And she… looks like in pain… And I don't know what to do… So um… could you come over to my nation and tell me what's going on with her…? And um… please call as soon as you can. Thank you and bye…"

The message just ended with a very small click. Hearing this made my heart skip a beat. I tried to shake Filyn awake, but she didn't stir. Now I started to get really worried from hearing that message.

"Please… wake up Filyn…" I muttered, shaking her awake but she still didn't wake up. "Please… Wake up!" I said a little louder, tears started filling my eyes.

"Because Sis needs you…"


That's all for now! Gosh! Have I been writing this chapter for a very long two months. Thanks again for decode9 for helping me write this chapter.

Small stuff was changed in the previous chapter like some small inconsistencies. Like how Sapphire said something about a console she made and later backtracking to say she didn't make one. And how Venus called Atlus "Sir." Though there are a few things that I didn't change the fact that Filyn is a "CPU." Sapphire said that she hasn't figured out who Filyn was, even the later chapter said that she's a "CPU." Though I did make this work of how Sapphire tends to forget certain things. I won't tell you how she forgot about that because it's important to the story.

I'm also trying different POV's with the main CPUs and Venus since I want to do it and it shows a bit of their internal thoughts.

Shift is a bit different from her original iteration because she didn't really have a past at the time the original was made.

The last thing I want to mention is that the bath scene was supposed to be in a previous chapter, but put it here and just made it shorter.

Either way, that is all for now! Please Review and Stay Safe!