***So yeah this chapter has been the biggest pain in the butt EVER! Yuki recomended I break this up into two parts, since the total chapter length is going to break 10k words easily. Part Two later today!

Chapter Fourteen Part One: The Ties That Bind

OPENING THEME CHANGE: COURAGE

Uzume Tennouboshi

Shortly afterward Ramsy’s anger filled the room, the young woman unable to contain her rage any longer. Idea after idea was shot down as Ramsy desperately searched for a solution that would save both her sister as well as Leanbox, however no such solution presented itself.

“Why are you all so fucking useless!?” Ramsy shouted, slamming her black cap down on the cable and spinning around, pushing her chair away from the table with enough force to send it slamming against the wall.

“We’re doing our best Ram.” Blansy protested. “But think about our situation. If there was an easy solution we would have thought of it already!”

“Shut up! I will not abandon Rom!” Ramsy spat, her anger in total control. Despite Ramsy’s ranting originating from her anger and despair, Uzume had to admit that the girl did have a point. If she were in Ramsy’s position she would be doing the exact same thing. She wouldn’t want to put the people of another dimension at risk, yet couldn’t bear the thought of killing off someone she cared about.

“Then we use the Sharing Field,” Uzume declared firmly, standing up as she did so as a sign that she was taking back control of the room.

“I’ll admit that the Sharing Field does present a third alternative that minimizes the downsizes for both parties.” Vertsy agreed. “But are you sure you’re ready to take such a big risk? If this fails you could die.”

“If it means getting Ramsy’s sister back and keeping Gamindustri safe I’ll do whatever it takes.” Uzume confirmed without hesitation.

“Then it’s decided.” Yomisy declared, standing up. “I’ll work with Uzume to create a Crystal program that will free Rom from Chara’s control.”

“Hang on just a moment! Shouldn’t we put it to a vote first? I mean this is Uzume’s life we’re talking about!” Nepsy pointed out.

“All in favor of the Sharing Field?” Yomisy asked, looking around the table. Everyone but Nepsy raised their hands, even Histore had voted in favor of the Sharing Field.

“It may be risky, but I agree that it is our best chance for a positive outcome.” Histoire explained to a Nepsy whose eyes were filled with the pain of betrayal.

“But Uzume we walked about the whole flag thing! Why are you volunteering for such a dangerous mission?” Nepsy demanded.

“Because someone has to do it.” Uzume answered firmly. “Every battle comes with risks Nepsy, as a CPU you know this. Let me do my duty as a CPU of Gamindustri.” Uzume and Nepsy locked eyes for a few moments before the Planeptune goddess let out a sigh of defeat.

“Alright Uzume, we’ll go with your plan. But I want to be right there beside you, just in case.” Uzume nodded, accepting Nepsy’s terms.

“We still need to be ready for the worst, just in case things go south.” Uzume warned, adressing the entire room. “Yomisy, I want that barrier program on standby just in case the Sharing Field fails. I’m trusting Vertsy and the other CPU’s as well as Gold Third to ready whatever forces we have to take that army head on.”

“Understood.” S-Sha acknowledged.

“Kurome, I need you ready to summon a Dark CPU just in case. If both plans fail you’ll be the only one who can stop Romsy.” Ramsy rounded on Uzume the moment she gave the order.

“What!? But if we do that-”

“I know there’s a good chance Romsy won’t survive if Kurome takes her on, but we can’t risk the lives of everyone in Gamindustri if both attempts to save your sister fail.” Uzume explained, holding her ground. “I’m giving it a chance, but I’m afraid that’s all I can do. We can’t put the lives of everyone in the nation at risk hoping for a miracle.”

Ramsy glared at Uzume for a few moments longer before letting out a sigh of defeat. “Alright! Fine. We’ll do it your way, but don’t expect me to forgive you if we get to plan C!” Without another word Ramsy pushed back her chair and stormed out of the room. It didn’t take long for everyone else to leave as well. Uzume was the last to leave.

The first thing Uzume did after she left the Basilicom was track down Ramsy. Despite her goals being different than those of Hyper Dimension, Ramsy was still someone Uzume considered a friend. That and the Loweean goddess had no doubt upset a few people in the meeting with her outbursts and seemingly unwillingness to sacrifice her sister for the good of the nation.

Knowing her friends, they weren’t mad at Ramsy for protesting the death of her sister, but rather in the manner she handled herself. Uzume wished she would open up and trust the leaders of her dimension to make the right decision, the one where no matter the outcome there was a way for Ramsy to be reunited with her sister.

After an hour long search Uzume found Ramsy sitting in the corner of a newly opened ice cream shop, specializing in Loweean flavors. The shop even served Blanc Manju on the side, each purchase going towards a fund to help Loweean refugees - the few who had made it out after the initial invasion.

Uzume had stood outside the shop for a few minutes, watching Ramsy eat her ice cream and manju in silence, staring at her phone with tears in her eyes. While Uzume couldn’t see what Ramsy was looking at from where she was standing, there was little doubt in Uzume’s mind that it was a photograph of her sisters. It didn’t take long for Uzume to put two and two together and realize that Ramsy was worried that she would never see her shattered family ever again. It’s the same feeling I get when I think about Umio.

As carefully as she could, Uzume slipped into the shop and slid herself down in the seat across from Ramsy at the table. Now that she was closer and her hearing not blocked by the sound of the mid-morning traffic, Uzume could hear Ramsy fighting back tears as she gazed at the photo.

“You know if you follow someone you really should make an effort to put on a disguise.” Ramsy sniffed out without looking up. Uzume laughed inwardly. Guess she wasn’t as stealthy as she first thought.

“Sorry about that. I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were holding up.” Uzume assured, keeping a soothing tone.

“What are you, my mother?” Ramsy spat with another round of sniffles, still not looking up. Her long bangs prevented Uzume from seeing her eyes. Knowing full well that it was rude, Uzume leaned over ever so slightly and managed to catch a glimpse of what Ramsy had on her phone before she caught onto what Uzume was trying to do and pulled it back under her black and pink jacket.

Uzume’s guess had been right. The picture - what little Uzume had glimsed of it - was of Ramsy, Romsy, and Blansy all wearing the outfits that they wore hee in Hyper Dimension. Had Uzume not known the origin of the picture, she would have sworn that it was actually the Loweean trio from her dimension.

“What were things like for you three? You know, before the Diety of Sin?” Uzume prompted. Ramsy slowly pulled out her phone again, sniffling a few times as the memories slowly surfaced. Recalling those happier moment were clearly painful, but Uzume wanted Ramsy to open up to her, and at her own speed.

“It wasn’t too different from how things used to be here.” Ramsy began. “Except our Blanc loved to read us picture books whenever she could, and even wrote a few of her own, hiring an artist from Planeptune to do the illustrations. On days where Blanc was too busy with her duties she would call Uzume and Umio over to watch over us.” Ramsy slowly took in a deep breath and slipped the phone back into her jacket.

“Every day Mina would teach both of us on how to become better goddesses, and trained us in the ways of the Crystal Arts. We would have sparring matches against the local hunters so we would one day be stronger than our big sister. Sometimes Nepgear, Uni, or one of the other Goddesses would come over. Even if it was for business we would always have at least one snowball fight before they left.”

“It sounds like a good life.” Uzume admitted. Ramsy nodded.

“It was. And it wasn’t like we were spoiled either, we did work for the guild, helped Blanc out with her duties, and even came up with an idea for a handheld console. We…. never got to finish it though.” Ramsy’s hands curled into fists on the table.

“Why did Chara have to come in and ruin everything!? He’s the one behind everything! Nepgear, Blanc, Noire, Dexter! What did we ever do to him to deserve the destruction of our very way of life!” Ramsy slammed her fist against the table and looked Uzume in the eyes, her gaze filled with a single question: ‘why?’

“I don’t know.” Uzume admitted. “But if there’s one thing I can promise you Ramsy, it’s that Chara’s going to pay for everything he’s done, and we’ll do it together.” Uzume tried to grab Ramsy’s right hand to reassure her, but the goddess pulled away.

“Why are you acting like you care? All you want is to get rid of Rom so you can keep your precious dimension alive! You’re ready to sacrifice anything to save your dimension and I get it! I’d do the same thing if our roles were reversed, but dammit that doesn’t make it okay!”

“Like hell we’re trying to get rid of Rom!” Now it was Uzume’s turn to slam a fist into the table, standing up so fast that it knocked over the chair she had been sitting on. She was aware that by escalating the situation she was going to create a scene, but that didn’t matter to her. Not right then.

“If we sacrifice your sister to save our asses then how are we any better than Chara! Yes sure Slivsy made a mistake with Gearsy and Unisy yesterday but she’s now in Planeptune taking on an entire army trying to correct that mistake! All of us do care! And all of us want to see the two of your back together! So could you put your mistrust aside for five minutes and give us a chance!?” Stomping her way over to Ramsy she kneeled down and slammed into the Loweean CPU with a massive bear hug. “Just give us a chance to make things right, okay?”

Uzume felt Ramsy hesitate for a moment before hugging her back. “Alright fine.” Ramsy sniffed. “But I’m making you pay first if it goes badly alright?”

Kurome Ankokoboshi

With Leanbox’s rapid travel system down due to the lack of shares, Kurome was forced to travel to the southwestern end of the island using one of the hoverbikes provided by the Crystal Knights not long after the fall of Planeptune to those who couldn’t fly from location to location on the island in case an emergency came up. Yet even with the bike it took a good two hours for her to reach the abandoned warehouse she used for her little “pet project.”

No one besides Vert and S-Sha knew about her work and the only reason the Leanbox pair were made aware of her presence in the area was to avoid mistrust from those in charge - aside from Uzume of course. The last thing Kurome wanted was her other half getting in her way. Despite what she had said before about the pair being two seperate people Kurome didn’t believe for a moment that Uzume trusted her. Besides, with her opponent being as powerful as she was everyone would be thankful for her project by the time the battle was over.

Taking out a large key and undoing the padlock sealing the massive steel door of the warehouse shut, Kurome pushed open the door to reveal an inactive Dark CPU - more precisely a Dark Orange unit that she had crafted though careful work and combining her own DNA with that of a combination of the four base Dark CPU’s as well as a touch of her newfound Blackvoid abilities.

Having gotten a thorough lesson on interfacing Blackvoid with empty, neutral crystals and working them into other technology from Eve, Kurome had been working on a way to place a teleportation protocol into her dark CPU, allowing instant teleportation to any Soul CPU sightings. Sadly her progress was limited by her lack of knowledge and lack of resources. The only way to test her programs were through simulations and a very low-powered Blackvoid crystal. So even if Kurome got her little program working she had no way of implementing it.

Kurome entered the password to the computer on the far left side of the warehouse when the sudden echo of a pipe falling against concrete followed by a “What the Nep!” filled the room. Kurome instantly whipped around and drew her megaphone - now permanently attached to her hip in case she needed to quickly draw her weapon.

It took a moment for Kurome to register that her intruder was Nepsy, who had no doubt followed her instead of running of to play with the children of the refugee camp like she had said she was going to. Kurome let out a long sigh and called out to the goddess:

“Why did you follow me Nepsy?”

For a moment there was no reply, but after a while Neptune laughed nervously as she walked inside the warehouse. “Well you’re always running off after a mission, so I thought I’d follow you and see what you were up to.” Neptune looked over the inactive Dark Orange. “But why the Nep do you have a Dark CPU hidden away in an abandoned warehouse?”

“Simple-” Kurome was quickly cut off by Neptune.

“Wait just a second. I bet You’re planning to use that Dark Orange to take back those puddings I stole from you yesterday! Well get ready, because I’m prepared to fight and die for those puddings!” Neptune quickly drew her katana and leapt at the Dark CPU, only to bounce off of a Blackvoid barrier.

“Good luck breaking through that.” Kurome smiled, for once appreciating Neptune’s rather carefree nature. “It’s a simple barrier I set up to make sure none of my experiments cause any damage if they go wrong, but it still does a pretty good job of keeping people out as well.”

Neptune’s gaze turned to Kurome. “Experiments? That sounds worse than that time Nepgear tried to combine Nepgeardam with a Loweean Killachine!”

“I’m just building the ultimate defense for Gamindustri.” Kurome replied simply. “A weapon powerful enough to take on any Soul CPU at any time.” Neptune looked over the Dark CPu.

“I see, so you’re looking for a way to power up the Dark CPU’s! Considering what we’re up against I can’t say I blame you Kurome.”

“Even still the Dark CPU’s are dangerous. I have yet to find a way to prevent them from causing serious damage to the surrounding time-space.” Kurome admitted. “If I were to launch this Dark CPU right now, it would no doubt destroy everything in its path.”

“Well I think this will be a great addition to the team, and if Nepgear were here I’m sure she’d agree with me! So, what can I do to help?” Neptune asked, giving Kurome the warmest smile since her return from deaths arms. Kurome felt a surge of emotion pass through her but forced it down. This was not the time for that.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do to help me this time Nepsy.” Kurome said with a shake of her head. “Not unless you understand Crystal programming.” Neptune quickly skipped over and took a look at the three screens on Kurome’s desk before laughing.

“Nope! I don’t understand it at all!”

“Didn’t think so.” Kurome sighed.

“Still there has to be something I can do to help you out!” Neptune insisted. “From the looks of things you’ve been trying to solve this problem for a while now! So why not rely on little ‘ol me to help you break through this roadblock!”

“This isn’t the first time you’ve spied on me, is it?” Kurome glared back at Neptune with an accusatory stare.

“I… have no idea what you’re talking about!” Neptune said quickly. “I just read the expression on your face and could tell that you’d been fighting this issue for a while! Yeah that’s it!”

“Why haven’t you reported me to Uzume or Histore? You’ve seen what I tried to do to Gamindustri firsthand, and now you’ve found me making another Dark CPU in an abandoned warehouse in secret. How can you trust someone like that?”

Neptune tapped a finger against her chin several times, searching for an answer. Kurome stood in silence, trying to hide the rising confusion within her.

“I think it’s because…. You’re a different person now! Yeah that’s it!” Neptune nodded, satisfied with her answer. “You’re one of us now Kurome, so it’s only natural to help each other out right? I’m sure you have your reasons for keeping this a secret.”

Kurome wasn’t sure how to react. Ever since her return she had felt like the outcast, the elephant in the room. Everyone called Noire the loner when Kurome was the one better suited to the role. It wasn’t unexpected, and Kurome hadn’t exactly given it a lot of thought herself. It was something that she had just,,, accepted. For Neptune to come out and tell her that she was one of them sparked sensations she hadn’t felt in what felt like two lifetimes.

The strongest of which was happiness.

“Alright then, I’ll take you up on your offer.” Kurome finally agreed, turning around in her chair. “I need you to ask Yomi for any notes she has on combining Soul and Crystal energy.” Neptune gave Kurome a nod.

“You can count on me! Be back in a flash!” Neptune called while running out the door. Kurome found herself smiling and her heart light as she turned back to her work. Her old life as Uzume Tennouboshi had ended long ago, but perhaps she could build a better one as Kurome.

Uzume Tennouboshi

Uzume felt like a zombie.

Not long after her meeting with Ram Yomisy had called her, demanding her presence in the lab to start working on the program for the Sharing Field. For the two days Uzume was locked in Yomisy’s lab, hooked up to a small scale Share Energy generator in her HDD form, forced to create small-scale sharing fields for long periods of time under incredible strain for the sake of data collection, and then spend long hours helping Yomisy sift through the data and try and figure out how to break Chara’s hold while minimizing the risk to Uzume herself. By the end of the last day Uzume had her head in her hands and had long given up on trying to keep a strong personality.

Uzume can’t take this anymore! Let her rest, Uzume needs her rest!

Still, the effort was worth it. Roughly nine hours before Rom’s predicted arrival to Leanbox the pair had finished the project, installing it into Uzume’s radio for her next Sharing Field. Yomi then spent another hour finishing up the Leanbox Barrier program, just in case things didn’t go as planned.

Even better, Yomisy had treated her, Nepsy, and Kurome all to pudding after the lab was locked up and shut down. Uzume had learned early on that Kurome and Nepsy had been hard at work on their own project to power up a Dark CPU if worst came to worst. All of their projects were completed, yet Uzume couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t going to be enough.

“Uzume, yo Earth to Uzume!” Nepsy give Uzume a small nudge, the four of them sitting in at a booth inside a dessert shop at the edge of the city. Yanked out of her daydream, it took Uzume a moment to recall where she was.

“Sorry Nepsy, it’s been a long day.” Uzume apologized.

“It’s all good Uzume, I just didn’t want you to miss the end of this story! Yomi’s such a great storyteller, it’s crazy!”

Considering Uzume had been daydreaming for the last half-hour she wasn’t even sure what the story is about, and felt bad about not paying attention. Uzume managed to catch Yomisy’s eye, and found the girl giving her a reassuring look.

“C’mon Yomi don’t leave a Nep hanging! What happened next!?” Yomisy turned away from Uzume and continued her tale.

“Alright, alright! Where was I?” Yomisy tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“I believe you were at the part where Mato and Katsuo barged into the throne room.” Kurome recalled.

“Oh, yes of course! Mato and Katsuo walked out of the dust, and it by now my heart was fighting against Dead Master. I could see the determination in Mato’s eyes to save me from my despair, and I knew that she hadn’t really tossed me aside. I tried to stop Dead Master, but she was convinced that Mato was just going to hurt me again if we made up.”

“Katsuo attacked first, and without any kind of warning. He just shot himself into the air, dodging both of my skulls and destroyed my scythe before I had a chance to dodge!”

“That’s Katsuo for you!” Nepsy declared proudly. “He always takes his opponents by surprise!”

“Yes, well that wasn’t the end of it. Dead tried to fight back using her skulls and chains, but since my heart wasn’t in it they were able to overpower us easily. Before long I felt Dead Master’s presence leave my body, accepting that fighting against Mato wasn’t my wish any longer, and after that is when I decided to join Zerostar and prevent others from going through the same despair I did.”

“But weren’t you leaving your family behind?” Uzume asked. Yomisy nodded.

“I still get to see them sometimes thanks to the difference in time between dimensions, but I do get homesick sometimes. Still, after the first mission Mato and I went on there was no doubt in our minds that we were doing the right thing.”

“What kind of first mission was it?” Kurome asked.

Yomisy let out a long sigh. “It was a world where people would become trapped in a virtual game and then turned into monsters that could resist Crystal Energy. The situation spiraled out of control until it turned into a huge multiversal war. It took us nearly ten years to finally get it under control.” The three other people at the table stares at Yomisy in shock. The last time Uzume had heard about a war that lasted ten years was the time Nepsy and Gearsy had been trapped in another dimension. Yet Uzume had a feeling that this war was a bit more dangerous.

“Why is it that everytime I hear about one of the wars you get yourselves involved in it explodes out of proportion?” Kurome sighed.

“It was still early on in our careers.” Yomisy admitted. “Not even Katsuo had a good idea of how to handle the situation, and it was more easily reversible than our situation now.”

“So what’s it like working with Katsuo?” Nepsy asked. “Do you get to lay around all day and eat pudding?” The light shining in Nepsy’s eyes both made Uzume chuckle and made her worried for the future of Planeptune.

Yomisy laughed, also picking up on Nepsy’s intent. “Some days yes.” Yomisy admitted. “But most of us are working on side projects when we don’t have a mission. It’s part of the reason why we were choson. For example in my spare time I study the relationship between Crystal and Soul energy, and if I get bored with that I have a room where I create things out of Biohelix. Mato has the Black Legion, Katsuo likes to travel, Sliver normally sticks with Katsuo to keep him in check, Eve tinkers with her machines and Zero has her clan.”

“Wow, you guys really keep yourselves busy huh?” Uzume commented in amazement.

“It’s the job where none of us need a vacation unless we’re visiting family.” Yomisy admitted. How would I spend my free time in an organization like that? Uzume wondered, thinking back to Slivsy’s invitation to join the organization.

Nepsy let out a big yawn. “Well, I’m stuffed and ready to take on my pillow! Night everybody!” Nepsy stood up, tossed her empty pudding cups and exited the shop, heading in the direction of the camp.

Yomi stood up and stretched. “Well, I think I should turn in as well. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, so the pair of you should get some sleep too. Good night!” With a wave, Yomisy left Uzume and Kurome alone, who took one look at each other and quickly followed her out, a wave of exhaustion crashing over Uzume. Before she even knew it Uzume was asleep in her tent.

Uzume’s dreams were cut short by the sound of blaring alarms - which was a shame considering her dream was about a party celebrating the defeat of Rom with Gearsy, Unisy, and Katsy all there as well.

Quickly exiting her tent, she was greeted by the sight of the survivors rushing towards the city while dozens of armed soldiers from various nations sprinting in the opposite direction. Uzume took in several deep breaths. No more plans, no more time. All that was left was to use the sharing field on Romsy and end the conflict. Uzume took a moment to imagine how things would play out in her mind before racing for the northern cliffs.

The northern cliffs - which had helped Uzume clear her mind so many times with it’s beautiful sight - was obscured by a massive chome beast in the general shape of Romsy’s CPU form, save for the larger chest which separated this Romsy from the Romsy from Hyper Dimension. Four others stood by Uzume: Nepsy, Yomisy, Ramsy, and Kurome. Uzume wished Slivsy and Evesy had managed to arrive before the start of the battle in case things went wrong, but they no doubt were dealing with their own issues.

“You know what to do Uzume.” Yomisy assured. “The programs set, all you have to do is capture Romsy in the Sharing Field.”

“Yeah I know. Let’s just hope I have enough Share Energy to get me through this.” Uzume let out a long breath, tightening her grip on a large bag of share crystals in her right hand. Everything hinged on the success of her next move.

“Don’t worry Uzume, everything will work out perfectly! Promise!” Nepsy declared holding her blade high above her head. “Now go Nep Rom until she comes to her senses!”

Uzume nodded with a wide grin. “You got it!” In a flash of light, Uzume activated her HDD form and shot herself upwards toward the Soul CPU.

“Miss Uzume Tennouboshi from Hyper Dimension.” A voice that resembled Romsy’s boomed in her head. “What a pleasure it will be to watch you die.” The voice was twisted, distorted. It was like retaining her very personality was a struggle for Rromsy. Just what had Chara done to her?

“No one dies today!” Uzume declared, holding up her radio. “Uzume’s going to knock you silly and bring Romsy back to to her senses! Sharing field activate!” A bright orange whirlpool of light erupted from Uzume’s radio, engulfing both her and Romsy in a moment. The next thing Uzume saw was the empty, energy-filled space of the sharing field, only this time was a little different.

This time her sharing field radiated with Novalight energy that resonated with Uzume herself. Uzume didn’t even have to think about what this energy was - the same Novalight purification that had brought Kurome over to their side so long ago - the effects multiplied and altered to affect Soul Energy wavelengths.

“Yes! The plan is a huge success!” Uzume cried, pumping a fist into the air before drawing her megaphone but remaining where she was. If Yomisy was right about how this worked, then Uzume didn’t have to do anything but watch.

Yet Romsy was laughing.

“Chara and I won’t be stopped by some silly bubble!” The way Romsy laughed off Uzume’s Sharing Field sent a cold chill down her spine. Uzume tightened her grip in her megaphone. Romsy still had her somewhat shy personality - though it seemed diminished in her adulthood - yet it was twisted and broken as the darkness poured off of her like an endless waterfall. Uzume now realized why Romsy was struggling to hold her personality. It wasn’t because she was fighting the darkness within her - rather it was because Romsy had accepted the darkness and it was changing her personality!

With a single wave of her hand the sharing field shattered, an explosion of ice erupting from the center of the field which sent Uzume crashing back onto the grassy surface of Leanbox in a massive crater.

“Uzume!” Nepsy called, the entire group running towards her. “What happened Uzume?”

“The plan failed.” Uzume reluctantly reported, tears filling her eyes. “Romsy isn’t being controlled by Chara, she’s joined him of her own will!”

“That bitch.” Kurome cursed, narrowing her eyes before reaching for something in her pocke-

-and dissapearing in a blink of darkness.

“Kuomre!?” Uzume cried in confusion.

“Relax Uzume.” Nepsy assured, glaring up at the approaching Soul CPU. “Kurome’s just bringing out the big guns. This Dark CPU isn’t one she can summon instantly!”

“Wait, but she can’t! We all agre-”

“Relax Ram!” Nepsy quickly cut Ramsy off. “Kurome promised to do everything she could to help out your sister! Just leave it to her!” Ramsy looked uncertain, but could do nothing but watch her sister slowly march toward the Leanbox barrier.

“Hopefully Kurome won’t need to do anything.” Yomisy declared, a holographic screen appearing on her left arm as she put in a few commands onto her console.

Uzume watched as the barrier that surrounded Leanbox turned a mix of bright green, dark purple, and a glowing red while condensing into a sphere that quickly surrounded itself around the entirety of Romsy’s Soul CPU body. Every fiber in Uzume’s being knew to stay as far away from that sphere as possible - whatever was trapped in there wasn’t coming out alive.

And Romsy could sense it as well.

“No, stop! Keep that away from me!” Romsy cried desperately, firing off spell after spell in an attempt to stop Yomisy. Large spikes of ice, a blizzard of ice shards, and various beams of white light erupted from the barrier, some of it impacting the Leanbox cliffside. The Crystal barrrier didn’t seem interested in containing any of the attacks. It was only interested in fulfilling it’s one purpose - melting Romsy’s Soul CPU body.

Minutes went by as the four defenders watched Romsy scream in anguish as her body slowly melted away. Uzume glanced over at Ramsy, who was gripping a Biohelix Crystal tightly in her hands while fighting back tears. It pained Uzume greatly to see Ramsy watch her sister go through something so agonizing, and she could only hope that they could make up after all of this was over.

“My my, do I spy some flies trying to change the course of destiny?” Uzume’s eyes shot upwards, recognizing the male voice that boomed from above. Her eyes went wide as she saw a familiar figure holding a crossbow - wearing a long sleeve green shirt with a single yellow horizontal stripe through the middle.

Chara.

For those so inclined: