Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Sega and whomever else worked on it.

Karma's pure evil. I got sick. Well, been sick for a few days, finally confirmed it.

So have a chapter because I can't stop writing and I love you guys.

Chapter 86

Chrome ran across the roof she was on, jumping across the street and just barely making it to the other side as she stumbled forward a few steps before regaining her balance. Idly she noticed that Cave was able to do the same on her side, though she landed more gracefully. "Tell me, why do you serve Purple Void?" Chrome asked as she snapped her arms out and her wires launched themselves at Cave, who twisted, ducked and spun to avoid the strikes, which impressed Chrome.

"Because of MAGES.," Cave answered Chrome. "Why do you follow your version of Purple Void?"

Chrome gave Cave a silent look, her wires trembling, but not moving. "...She gave my life meaning once again. I was being crushed by a sea of despair and weariness." She gave Cave a determined look. "If I can give a brighter future for the people of Gamworld, then I'll make sure it happens." Her eyes seemed to burn with more determination than Cave could possibly imagine. "For that girl, for that silly, fun-loving CPU who came into my life, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."

Cave just shook her head. "I see, I really wish that we don't have to fight."

"...Do we really have to fight?" Chrome asked and looked past Cave. "...Even if we ran, it would take almost ten minutes to get back."

"You think that I can let you go past me?" Cave asked Chrome, who gave her a stern look. "I truly do understand how you feel, but I can't betray my CPU."

"...Why?" Chrome asked her. "What did she do to ensure such loyalty from someone like you?"

Cave was silent and turned to look in the direct of central square. "MAGES. and I are orphans. Our parents died when we were barely out of diapers, so I don't remember them. I do remember being in an orphanage with MAGES. and growing up with a bunch of rowdy kids. We were the closest of friends."

"Let me guess," Chrome had a fond smile on her face, even though Cave wasn't looking at her, "whenever one of you would get into a fight, the other one would be there as backup?"

Cave nodded. "Yes. Eventually we got tired of the fighting and being reprimanded for getting into fights, so we ran away. Those days hadn't been easy, but there isn't much crime here in Planeptune." She smirked and turned back to look at Chrome. "Having an unpredictable CPU is useful since no one wants to catch her attention if they did something wrong. A couple of street urchins digging for scraps?" Cave shrugged, "it wasn't fun, but one day we met the CPU when she was taking a walk and she took the pudding MAGES. had."

"So what happened?" Chrome asked as she made her wires disappeared as she noticed that Cave had put her weapon away.

"MAGES. cast an explosion spell that knocked the CPU off of her feet, and sent MAGES., myself, every parked car, person, pet and plant flying off of our feet and crashing quite a distance away." She laughed at the memory. "Boy was Purple Void mad about that, the pudding was destroyed and she had a bump on her butt and head from that. When she stormed over to us, I thought we were going to die, but she saw how we looked and suddenly started laughing and told MAGES. that was a good explosion spell, then she punched MAGES. in the stomach so hard that MAGES. threw up. Then she took MAGES. with her to the Basilicom and told me I could come along."

"So you two lived and learned at the Basilicom?" Chrome raised an eyebrow as Cave nodded. "I see, no wonder you're loyal to her."

"I truly am sorry." Cave pulled out her weapon again. "...I really wish that things were different." Gripping her scissor-like sword, she jumped at Chrome, who stood there, unmoving. At the last second, she twisted to the side and grabbed Cave's arm with her left hand, squeezing the arm and holding it in a vice-like grip.

"So am I." Chrome told Cave and caused Cave to grimace in pain as she squeezed hard enough that Cave could feel the bones threatening to break. She blocked Cave's punch with her right hand and pulled down hard. "Do you want to know something?"

"What?" Cave asked, her eyes narrowed at Chrome.

"Following a Void will only bring you to ruin." Chrome told her. "You worry about your friend, you seem to worry about the CPU Candidate as well, what about you? Aren't you worried about yourself?"

Cave gritted her teeth and crouched down, pulling Chrome off balance and then she jumped up and flipped over Chrome, causing the older woman to fall back so hard that she had to let go of Cave's arms. "I could ask you the same thing!" She yelled at Chrome, who rolled away and got to her feet quickly. "What makes you follow your Void?"

Chrome shook her head. "You're wrong, Cave. She's not a Void, she's a Heart." Cave had a confused look on her face and Chrome flexed her fingers, sending her wires after the redhead and missing with each attack, much to her surprise as Cave barely moved from her spot, yet she couldn't hit Cave, who jumped, twisted and bent in ways that would leave a flag on a pole during a windy day green with envy.

"A Heart? What kind of CPU is that?" Cave asked and cut down a wire string that got close to hitting her.

Chrome pulled her hands back and squeezed her fingers as the wires surrounded Cave on all sides. "The kind that existed in Gamworld long before the Voids came into being."

Cave twisted, dodged and parried the wires as they tried to engulf her. "And how would you know what kind of CPUs existed before Voids?"

Chrome waited for Cave to stop moving, even as her wires continued to wave in the air, before speaking again. "Because I am the last of the CPUs that existed in this world before Voids." Cave's look of sheer shock had Chrome nodding. "Yes. My name is Chrome Heart, former CPU of Eden and the only CPU from before the Voids that still lives to this day."

"Bu...But how?!" Cave couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Wait, Chrome Heart? What's your human name?"

Chrome chuckled at Cave. "I've long forgotten it. It was common practice back in those days to give up your human name when you became a CPU, I think it was Magi-something or other, if you're curious." She shrugged, it wasn't important anymore. "My sister was known as Silver Heart after all. I was the final Heart CPU of the nation of Eden, a nation that, sadly, no longer exists due to the actions of the Void that took it from me."

"But..." Cave couldn't figure out what to say to that.

"Do you really want to fight me?" Chrome asked her. "You're conflicted by your loyalty to Purple Void, aren't you?" Cave flinched slightly and Chrome sighed. "You can't hide the truth, I can feel it every time you talk about her. You feel disgust for her, don't you?"

Cave slumped and nodded. "I know it's wrong though, she's my CPU and she deserves my loyalty." She looked down at the rooftops, a troubled expression on her face.

Chrome scoffed at hearing that and dismissed her wires. "I have yet to see that." She turned to the central square. "If you want to truth to come out, let me go."

Cave looked up at her. "...What do you think the truth is?"

"...I don't know." Chrome admitted to her. "But ask yourself this, Cave." She turned her head to look at Cave. "Where do your loyalties truly lie?" She looked back at the central square. "Come with me and find out the truth about your CPU and when you do, figure out where your loyalties truly lie."

Cave looked at Chrome before taking a deep breath and letting her blade disappear. "Alright. Let's find out what the so-called truth really is." She could feel Chrome's smile and she looked towards where the central square was, which happened to be on the other side of the Basilicom. "...Well, we need to get going, huh?"

Chrome nodded and the two made their way across the rooftops as they ran back towards the battling CPUs.

'The truth, huh?' Cave thought to herself, wondering what she would find out if there really was something hidden from her and the others.

(-)

Meanwhile...

"So this is the Basilicom here, huh?" IF asked as the group entered the building. "It's kind of... Big."

"Oh crap." Linda muttered and IF wondered what she was looking at before she saw it as well.

"Oh!" RED smiled brightly. "Hey, wifies!" She waved at Linda and IF. "Did you two enjoy your night at my place?" She giggled as both Linda and IF turned bright red at the obvious memories. "I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves."

Next to RED, Mina rubbed her forehead. "Did you seriously have a threesome with some random strangers?" When RED giggled some more, Mina just rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you freaking horn ball."

"Oh!" B-Sha smiled as she saw Compa, Warechu and Gust. "It's Compa! Hey!" She waved at the blonde. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh hey!" Compa smiled at B-Sha. "Well, we're looking for a girl named Nep... Uh..." Her smile disappeared as she saw the look of shock on B-Sha's face, the disappointed look on RED's face and the way Mina's face suddenly turned angry surprised her. "What?"

"You're the ones that the mistress warned us about?!" Mina yelled as her hair started to flutter and, in front of everyone, changed colors from blue to pink. "I won't let you take or hurt Nepgear! Do you hear me?!"

"I think we're in trouble, chu." Warechu whimpered as Mina glared at them while starting to hover in the air.

To be continued...

What the hell, Mina? Hoo boy, this is getting interesting.

And RED might have had a threesome, but it wasn't with Linda and IF.