Hello, I'm sorry that I haven't updated for a while now and I'm sorry if those of you out there find this a bit boring to read or tiresome, I'm going to use Italics for thoughts, just putting it out there. I will update whenever so don't expect it to come regularly. One more thing, thanking those who actually keep on reading this little story and I might just randomly change things. Again, if you have any questions, just PM me.

Chapter 6

"WAKE UP ALREADY!" Neptune yelled in his ear.

"Neptune, why are you yelling at me?" He asked as he opened his eyes.

"You're alive, I thought you were dead" She said as she hugged him.

"OW, NEPTUNE, YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE, PLEASE STOP IT BEFORE I DIE" He begged as her strength was crushing him

"I thought you were dead" She said as waterfalls were coming out of her eyes.

"I SOON WILL BE IF YOU DON'T STOP CRUSHING ME" He yelled with the remaining air in his lungs.

"Oops, sorry about that" She said as she applied less pressure.

"Anyway, how long have I been out?" He asked.

"You've been out for a few minutes, I kept trying to wake you up, if you didn't wake up, I would've looked for Compa" She said.

"No, just no, do not allow Compa near me when I'm hurt, I don't want to be killed by the very person trying to save me, so whatever happens, this was a secret and it never happened" He told her

"Ehhh, but why not, you looked like a super hero, all you're missing is a name and some weird outfit" She said.

"Thanks, but I don't plan on ever giving myself a stupid name or wearing a stupid colourful outfit"

"What about Iffy and Compa, I can tell them right?" She asked.

"Do not tell Compa, no matter what happens"

"I don't see why not, Compa's the one who's gonna be healing us"

"Do you remember what happened back at her house, what do you think will happen if she tries to heal us with her syringe?" He asked

"My mouth is shut, this never happened" She said quickly

"Good, now get off me so I can get up" He told her.

"No, I'm not letting go" She argued.

"Why are you being so childish, could you just…?" He asked as he tried to pry her off.

"NEVER" She yelled.

"Oh screw it, I'm too tired for this" He said after giving up.

"Are you okay Ryo?" She asked.

"No, my body is in massive pain, partially from you crushing me and the rest from before and I can't move as much as before" He replied as he tried to get up.

"Then do you need to go to hospital? How many credits do we need?" She asked.

"I'm not going to hospital, also, Neptune, I seem to be lying on a bomb, if you don't hurry up and get off, it might kill us"

"I'm too young to die, Ryo, make sure that bomb is disarmed" She said as she let go and ran, abandoning him.

"Some friend you are" He said as he got up and took a look at the massive destruction caused.

"Get rid of the bomb quickly!" She yelled.

"I lied about that to get you off me" He told her as he heard marching.

"Why do you keep on lying to me?" She asked.

"I had to; anyway, we need to leave quickly"

"Why? What's the special occasion?" She asked.

"The Lastation Defence Force is coming here right now"

"Then let's stay and get a reward from them"

"No, we shouldn't"

"Why not? We did their job for them, why can't we get something?" She asked.

"Fine, if you want to stay, then can you take the both of us up there" He said as he pointed to a roof of a building that remained intact.

"Let's just stay down here" Neptune said.

"If we're up there, I'll show you why we can't stay here"

"Fine" She said reluctantly as she transformed and held Ryo as she brought him up to the roof.

"Thanks, now just watch them" He said as she reverted and the two watched from up high as they flooded the area, all wearing black uniforms and carrying guns.

"Look at all those soldiers, all I can see is black" Neptune commented.

"Quiet Neptune, or else you won't hear it" He told her.

"Area secure, no monsters found" One of the soldiers yelled

"There are civilians here, they're slightly injured" Another soldier yelled as the civilians were being helped up.

"Excuse me; did you two see what had happened here? Do you know who is responsible for all of this?" The soldiers asked.

"Oh, um yeah, there were two people, a boy and a girl were fighting off the monsters" They answered.

"So you're saying that they were responsible for all of this damage?"

"I wouldn't say that, but they were fighting"

"Do you know what these two look like?" The soldiers asked.

"Sure, I didn't get a good look at the girl except that she had purple hair, but the boy had red hair, a red jacket that reached just below his knees, a black shirt and he was wearing black baggy pants" The girl explained in a daze.

"You heard her men, look for these two, comb the area and make sure to check everywhere for these two" A soldier yelled.

"Are you going to thank them?" The guy asked.

"Why would we thank these criminals? They need to pay for causing all of this destruction" The soldier replied.

"Wait, but they fought the monsters and saved us" The girl argued.

"For all I know, they put the monsters here to look like heroes, any information you give us in these people will be helpful, you will also be compensated for all the trouble you've been put through" The soldier said as the civilians were moved.

"Hey, wait!" The girl yelled

"Stop it, you heard him, they could've been with the monsters, let's go" The guy said as they moved.

"Hurry up men, find these two criminals, if you didn't hear the description, we're looking for a boy with red hair and wearing a red jacket and a girl with purple hair, now move" One of the soldiers yelled.

"Why are we criminals? We saved those people didn't we?" Neptune asked in anger as she stood up.

"Stay down Neptune, they won't see us if you sit" He said as he made her sit down next to him.

"But they called us criminals" She argued.

"No, just me actually, if you went down there by yourself, they would mistake you for a civilian even though you have purple hair"

"Aren't you mad though?" She asked.

"Why would I be mad? I knew this would happen, why do you think I went to save the civilians instead of you?" He asked her.

"So you knew you would become a criminal?" She asked.

"Yep, since they only arrived after the fighting, they need someone to blame for all of this, if it had happened in front of a large crowd, it might have been a bit different" He explained.

"Then I'll go and change that, this isn't right, you're being blamed for what the monster did" She said.

"Stop, you shouldn't go down there" He said as he stopped her from getting up.

"Why, they should be thanking us, not hunting us down" She argued.

"Just stop, I've been blamed for many things; this is no different than all those other times"

"But it's not fair" She argued.

"I told you, let it go already… we should also get moving they're starting to search this building" He told her as he heard them.

"Then I'll beat them up when they arrive, they deserve it" She told him

"Enough of that, we need to get moving" He said as he stood up with a look of pain.

"You're still hurt from before, why don't you just use the blue fire?" She asked.

"Look, the blue fire is magic I made myself, it's experimental and like an untested drug, I don't want to use it too much until I have everything figured out" He explained.

"Then what do we do? Do we run?" She asked.

"Yep, except we need to get to where IF and Compa are waiting for us, where was it?" He asked her.

"It was over there, let's just fly there" She suggested.

"I can't fly, you're going to have to carry me" He said.

"Do I have to?" She asked.

"Yes, or do you want to be arrested by those soldiers?"

"Fine, I'll carry you, give me your hands" She said as she transformed.

"If you're going to carry me like that, my arms are going to tear off, how about… you give me a piggyback?" He asked.

"Why a piggyback?"

"We need to hurry up, as long as you fly high enough, the soldiers won't care"

"But, it's embarrassing to give piggybacks" She argued back.

"Neptune, I'll buy you some food later if you do this now"

"… Fine, you promise right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I promise I'll buy you something when I have the money" He said as he hopped on.

"Make sure you remember the promise" She said as they rose up and started flying.

As they rose, they looked back to see the roof being invaded by the soldiers in black.

"Talk about a close call, Ryo, are you still injured?" She asked him to find something surprising.

She felt something on her shoulder, when she turned to look, she saw that he was resting his head and was sleeping.

"How are you sleeping already?" She asked.

"You ask… why I sleep, we're in a… war, soldiers… sleep when they can" He answered in his sleep before yawning.

"Is he answering my question by sleep talking?" She asked, puzzled by his answer.

"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep… You said I was childish; now look at you, sleeping as I give you a piggyback" She told him.

In the dream

"Oh, please God no, not again, I was having a good nap, can't I ever just take a nap without having to face some random shit?" He asked as he saw someone he once knew.

"Hello again Ryoichi" The girl said.

"Since you're in my head, you probably know who I am so could you please take the form of someone who isn't dead, show some respect for the dead" He told it.

"I tried to take the form of someone you know, who's form should I take?" It asked as the form changed into a black form, waving and wobbling about.

"How about someone that's actually alive and why would you take the form of the dead anyways?" He asked.

"You were fond of her, I had no other reason" It said as it took Neptune's form.

"Just asking, are you gonna be serious?"

"Yes, why would I not be?"

"Yeah, then could you look like someone else, I can't take Neptune seriously unless she uses HDD" He told it as it took IF's form, it looked just like her except it's eyes were as black as night.

"Is this satisfactory?"

"Good enough, what do I call you?" He asked.

"Anything will do, it doesn't matter" It responded.

"Fine, I'll call you… Darth Vador, what, you said anything" He said as it stared at him.

"A different name please"

"Oh, okay, I don't see why not, hmm… what about Shade? Will that do?" He asked.

"Yes, now that you're done fooling around, we may beg-"It said as it got interrupted.

"I'm never done fooling around, just saying, also, I might change your name in the future if I get bored"

"Do whatever you want" It said.

"So I can call you Darth Vador then?" He asked.

"I know I said do whatever you want, but please refrain from doing anything stupid"

"Yeah, no, I do stupid things on a daily basis" He said.

"Can we begin now?" It asked with an irritated look.

"Yeah, but I just wanna know, how does magic have a consciousness?"

"I don't know, all I know is that I am black magic, not to be confused with dark magic"

"Um, what's the difference?"

"How do you not know this? Black magic is forbidden magic, dark magic is seen as an attribute of magic, like water or fire, the same with light magic" She explained.

"I sort of forgot, I don't really see the difference though"

"Anyway, I'm going to need information, you are going to summarize your abilities to me, just your magic abilities"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes"

"Okay, I know the basics like fire magic, levitation magic and illusion magic, I don't have enough practice to use any other elemental magic"

"Hmm, then what about your control over your fire magic?"

"The biggest thing I can do is create the flame tsunami, but it's pretty weak and it's only use is to block things or slow them down and is used as a bomb when two are combined, if you were to get hit by one, you would be fine and any magic could easily pass through it, it just slows down arrows and bullets when they fly through or stopping them completely"

"What about solidifying your flames?"

"I can't do long range, I can only solidify my magic close up"

"How close must you be?"

"Say, anywhere around my body within half a meter"

"That's just pathetic, with the dark fire, you can control it a lot more easily"

"Yeah, I noticed, I can do much more with it instead of using the magic I had beforehand"

"Next, what about magic buffs?"

"Flame buffs of speed and strength, doesn't actually increase my speed by a lot, but it covers my entire body"

"That just seems like a waste of magic, you only have to use it on your arms and legs"

"Yeah, I get it, you don't have to say it"

"Now, about burning enemies, you are able to burn enemies by releasing a fair amount of magical power at once, unfortunately this will only work on monsters, it doesn't work on bosses"

"Do you need anything else?"

"No, your control with magic is fairly bad, you only have a lot of magical power because of all the practice you had to go through, in your mind, you know how to use other elemental magic, but must practice. When compared to a Rune Knight from Planeptune, you are below average"

"Thanks, I feel like I just got insulted, do you need any more info?"

"Just one more, do you depend on magic in battle?"

"Not entirely, I do use it, but I don't exactly need it, it's like my sword, I use it because it helps me in battle but I don't need it to win"

"Is all of this information accurate?"

"More or less, anyway, you're meant to be helping me"

"Yes, but, we will continue another time"

He looked incredibly angry and yelled "OH YOU PIECE OF, WHAT WAS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS GODFORSAKEN CONVERSATION THEN?"

"Until the next time" She said.

"Ryo, wake up, we've arrived" Neptune said as he woke up.

"Neptune, why'd you wake me up" He asked sleepily.

"Don't go back to sleep!" She yelled as they floated down

"Um, Nep, why are you giving Ryo a piggyback?" IF asked.

"So Ryo is choosing Nep-Nep, I didn't know" Compa said.

"I'm not doing this because I want to" Neptune replied.

"You can drop me now Neptune" He told her as he landed on his feet. Neptune reverted back.

"So, uh, why was Nep giving you a piggyback?" IF asked.

"Did you see that big explosion?" Compa asked.

"Well, she was giving me a piggyback cause I wanted to see what Lastation looked like from the air, the explosion however, was just some leaking gas tank that somehow blew up" He explained.

"So, what you gonna buy me?" Neptune asked him.

"I said when I have the money, so not right now" He told her, she was apparently shocked.

"But you said" Neptune said.

"I said when I have the money, so not right now okay?" He asked an angry Neptune.

"Compa, Ryo is injured, he needs to be treated" Neptune told her in anger.

"Ryo's been injured, then I need to give him some medicine" Compa said as she took out her giant syringe.

"Hmm, now that I take a closer look, you do look a little beat up" IF said upon closer inspection.

"Did you know that Neptune was also injured, she was hurt a lot more than I was, she needs the medicine more than I do" He told her in fear of Compa's treatment.

"I-I'm not hurt in any way possible, you have to treat Ryo, or else he'll faint" Neptune told Compa.

"Which one of you needs the medicine more?" Compa asked.

"Neither of us need it, we're both completely fine, see" He told her as he drank the reflex.

"Oh, okay then, if you are ever injured, just tell me and I'll fix you right up" Compa told them as she put away her syringe. The two breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was dangerous" Neptune commented

"Ryo, don't tell me you had something to do with that explosion?" IF whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, we fought some monsters, they blew some stuff up and we got hurt, but I didn't want to tell Compa for obvious reasons" He whispered back.

"Oh, I see, you didn't want to tell her because you value your life" IF whispered.

"Yeah, but if I do die, I don't want to die by giant syringe, it just sounds pathetic" He whispered.

"What are you two whispering about? Could it be… you like IF?" Neptune asked.

"No, I don't like her" Ryo answered.

"We only just met a day ago" IF told her.

"Where did you two go off to?" Compa asked.

"We've been waiting for a few minutes" IF told him.

"Oh, you know, the usual, saving people here and there, defeating monsters, not much" Neptune answered.

"Did you guys get a quest?" Ryo asked them.

"Yes, we did, but I don't think Nep-Nep will like it" Compa said.

"Hmm, what's this?" IF asked as she was looking at her phone.

"What is it? Is it a secret thingy where we beat up bad guys, save a damsel in distress and beat a gigantic dragon?" Neptune asked. When she spouted this, he just face palmed.

"Ryo, have you chosen Nep-Nep?" Compa asked.

"I have absolutely no idea, IF, what's the matter?" He asked her.

"Apparently, two people are wanted for destroying buildings, they're a girl and a boy, the girl has purple hair while the boy has red hair and is wearing a red jacket, the girl is being held hostage, what did you two do?" IF asked.

"Is that it, we're wanted for destroying buildings?" Neptune asked.

"Are there any other charges?" He asked her.

"Yeah, apparently you two are charged with destroying private property for no good reason and are a danger to the safety of others" IF read out.

"It wasn't my fault" Neptune told her.

"Yeah, as I told you, we fought some monsters and saved two civilians and I'm getting blamed for the entire thing" He said before sighing.

"So you two were fighting monsters, why doesn't it say that there?" Compa asked.

"Good question, do you know why they're only putting this information up?" IF asked the two.

"Ryo said they needed someone to blame and they are blaming him for it, it's not fair" Neptune told them.

"Is it safe for me to wandering around then?" He asked.

"It is for now, nobody really pays attention to these things, let's go" IF said as they left.

IF and Compa explained to Neptune and Ryo on the way what quest they were doing. They were in a forest like place.

"They need work done as well huh?" Ryo asked.

"So why're we working for Avenir if we know they're totally evil?" Neptune asked.

"Idealism won't feed us. You'll never be an adult if you're always picky about food or work. There's our client." IF told her as she pointed out the silhouette of a man.

"If that's what an adult is, I don't wanna be one then" Ryo commented.

"Truer words have never been spoken" Neptune commented.

"…" He stood there, silent and creepy looking.

"Hello, Mr Singe of Avenir. We're Compa, Nep-Nep, Ryo and Iffy. We've come to fight monsters!" Compa told the man.

"…I don't have a choice. I need you to eliminate all the surrounding monsters while I inspect a planet by the city outskirts. Don't let any run loose and cause damage to the facility. Get moving." He ordered them as he walked away.

"What's his problem? He must be underestimating us because of our looks. How rude!" Compa said.

"It's inevitable when you or Nep are around." IF told her.

"I can't say she's wrong, but yeah, she's technically correct" Ryo said.

"Iffy, you're not one to talk when you're that short… and without boobies." Compa told her.

"Iffy doesn't have boobies" Neptune said as if making fun of IF.

"Take a look at yourself, you don't have much either!" IF yelled.

"Yeah, but I'm still bigger and better, have you seen me when I transform, it gets bigger" Neptune said with confidence.

"Okay, I think that's enough, IF looks pissed"

IF looked irritated and ordered "Let's just hurry up and get to work already"

"Fine, let's just run around and kill everything we see" Neptune said as they got to work.

After killing every monster they saw, some were strong, others were completely pathetic.

"There, all done! I don't see any more monsters." Neptune said cheerfully

"Nope. I'm certain the rest ran away. That's all for today!" Compa said cheerfully, just like Neptune.

"I think that's all of them" Ryo said as he stretched.

"The inspection is complete. Are you kids done, too? You sure you didn't miss any?" Singe asked.

"It's all good when I'm on the prowl! We even took out the boss-like one, so I betcha they'll stay away for a while." Neptune said with confidence.

"Good. However, if even one remains and it damages the facility, we will never conduct business with you again."

"Th-That's a bit harsh. Why can't you just repair the damage if that happens?" Compa asked.

"You have no idea, do you? Mere humans should never degrade machinery! Have you ever seen a human as detail-oriented or precise as a machine?" The man asked.

"I have, in fact, I can definitely say that I'm better than a machine in some aspects" Ryo said with confidence.

"I-I don't know… I'm not a machine."

"Right. You're just an incompetent human. Who knows when you'll make a mistake? Being human is no excuse for errors!" He yelled, making Compa start to cry.

"You're correct, being human is also not an excuse to be so mean to a girl either"

"You, how dare you, humans are always expected to make mistakes, I'd rather machines do the job from the very start" Singe told him.

"Yes, but machines aren't perfect, in fact, they can make the more errors than humans in that concept"

"How, please explain how a perfect machine could possibly make more mistakes then an incompetent human?" The man asked with a superior voice.

"Okay, you want a simple explanation, I'll give you one, machines don't know the difference between what is right and wrong, they do not have a better sense of judgement"

"You, machines are perfect, keep that in mind the next time you take a job from this company." The man yelled before walking away.

"Wh-Wh-What did I do to get yelled at? Did I really say something bad?" Compa asked with a tear in her eye.

"Don't cry. You didn't do anything. That was pretty immature of him, yelling at three pretty girls like that. Except you, I think you made him angry" IF told Ryo.

"I don't regret a word" He said.

"M-Maybe he thought… I was making fun of machines…" Compa said as she started to cry.

"But he's mocking humanity! Ryo was the one making fun of machines!" IF yelled.

"The guy got mad at me in the end, IF, can I do something if we ever meet him again?" He asked her.

"What is it?" IF asked.

"Can I punch him in the face the next time we meet?" He asked.

"Is it cause he made Compa cry?" Neptune asked.

"That and I just really wanna punch him for how he acted" He explained.

"Hmm, that's a hard one, but unfortunately as much as I would pay to see that, no, you can't punch him" IF said.

"Dammit, I thought you would say yes" He said in disappointment.

"Should we head back to Chian's place?" Compa asked.

"Let's go back to the cosiness of Chian's restaurant" Neptune said as they all headed back.

"Ryo, do you actually destroy machines?" Compa asked.

"No, I just felt like pissing him off although, I'm pretty sure I could destroy combat machines" He replied.

"Hey, you don't mind if we take a quest on the way do you?" IF asked them.

"More work, why do we have to do so much of it?" Neptune asked.

"Nep-Nep, we'll be helping out more people this way" Compa told her.

"And we might get something about the key fragment" Ryo added.

"Fine, but I get to choose the quest" Neptune yelled.

"Do whatever" IF said before sighing.

When they arrived after grabbing a quest.

"Hiya! Aw, I feel so at home… This dirt counter, the small, confined rooms… The smell of food baked into the walls!" Neptune said with glee.

"…Shut up! Did you meet Singe? What did you think? Isn't he horrible?" She asked rudely.

"Yeah! He made Compa cry with his machinery lecture, Ryo made fun of machines right in front of his face. He's a total creepazoid!" Neptune replied.

"Oh, yeah, I expected as much. He's entirely against manual labour. Did you really insult machines right in front of his face?" Chian asked.

"Yep, I meant every word" He replied.

"You've met him before?" Neptune asked.

"Naturally. He represents that whole company. He's also one of my old school's alumnus. I saw him when he came to lecture a class. I bet he just prattled on about how precise machines are and whatnot." Chian said.

"He represents the whole company huh, so if I hit him, it would technically count as hitting Avenir"

"Heh, yeah he did! With that ominous, gruff voice!" Neptune said.

"He doesn't approve of any technician's skills or pride. I despise him, but that's not the only reason." Chian said.

"Is it also cause he's an asshole?" Ryo asked.

"That too, but enough of that. Let's talk about getting you four another job. I need you to go to the next town and get some materials from Chevre. Here. It's the map to his shop." She said as she gave them a map.

Suddenly and randomly the radio turned on for no reason "…Broadcasting public information from the Basilicom. After discussions amongst the Basilicom representatives, the Tech Expo has been cancelled this year."

"What?! Wait a sec!" Chian said in surprise.

"The Sanctuary announced this is due to a decreased number of exhibitors. However, the civil committee speculates that… the Parliament may have pressured the Sanctuary into the cancellation of this traditional event…" The radio announced.

"Are you kidding me? We can't afford to wait four more years! By then, all the factories will be long gone!" She yelled.

"Whoa, Chian, calm down!" Neptune told her.

"This was probably the last chance my factory had…!" Chian said.

"Last chance huh, is there anything else you're able to do?" IF asked.

"I'm sorry, but can you continue with the job, I need to think things through" She said as they left.

"Oh no, what should we do about the job we accepted from Ms. Chian? We already have the map…" Compa said.

"Just give her some time alone, we'll come back later. Anyway… We don't have a single clue regarding the Key Fragment. Why would you take a job about a lost child on top of this?!" IF asked in anger.

"We'll never save the world if we don't save its people! My grandpa said, 'you must learn to walk before you can run!' Compa said with her words of wisdom.

"Doesn't that mean you have to learn the basics before you start the hard stuff?" Ryo asked.

"Then that means we should save small amounts of people before trying to save the world" Compa replied.

"Damn, what Compa said actually makes sense for once" Ryo commented.

"Is that a compliment or an insult? But for now, we need to save that child, the mom looked so worried. There are so many nasty creatures outside of town. Her child will be eaten if we don't hurry!"

"So what? Babies get eaten all the time. It's survival of the fittest. I'll leave you behind if you keep dilly-dallying." IF told Compa.

"Aw, don't be a pooper-scooper. I'll buy you some lollipops later! What's this kid look like?" Neptune asked.

"So, IF, what's it like to be treated like a child by one of the most childish people you'll ever meet?" Ryo asked.

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" IF yelled with an irritated look.

"The mom said her/his body is just an NPC silhouette, so she/he should be pretty easy to spot" Compa explained.

"Ah. I see" Neptune said with signs of distress.

"Sorry, there are two questions I have to ask about that" Ryo commented.

"What's the matter?" Compa asked.

"The parent doesn't even know what their kid looks like, why wouldn't the mother know what her own kid looked like?" He asked.

"What do you expect from NPC silhouettes, it's sometimes really hard to tell if they're a boy or a girl you know?" Neptune asked.

"Um, okay, I'm just going to leave it at that, I don't want to question the common sense or logic of this world as it may drive me mad, how did the kid go missing?"

"The kid supposedly ran off somewhere and didn't come back one day" IF explained.

"Then the kid went into a dungeon and we're going to save him" Neptune exclaimed.

"It's just presumed that this kid was stupid enough to go into a dungeon and didn't run for his or her life… I see, let's just get going" He said.

"What's wrong with Ryo?" Compa asked.

"Any logic he had before this is now being smashed into pieces as we speak" IF explained.

"What's the problem, this is normal isn't it, people getting trapped in dungeons, right?" Neptune asked.

They all just stared at her as an answer.

"RIGHT GUYS?" She asked again.

"I'm sorry Nep-Nep, but" Compa said before stopping.

"Let's just start searching a dungeon already" Ryo said.

"Yeah, let's go" IF said.

"Nep-Nep, if we don't hurry, they're going to leave us" Compa told her as the other two started their walk.

"You two, hurry up or else we're gonna leave you" IF told them.

"I'm up, I'm pretty sure I know which dungeon the kid headed into" Neptune said with a cheerful attitude.

"Well, that was quick" Ryo commented.

"Nep-Nep, how do you know which dungeon the child is in?" Compa asked.

"I'm gonna follow my nose" She said as she got down on the ground and started sniffing like a dog.

"At least warn me before you start doing that" He said as he covered his eyes.

"Doing what?" Neptune asked, oblivious to the fact that she was exposing herself.

"Nep-Nep, your um" Compa said with a red face.

"Compa, you don't have to tell her if she doesn't get it, Neptune, are you going to keep on sniffing until we find a dungeon?"

"Yep, trust me, my nose says we head in this direction" She said as she started moving.

"How are you gonna move if your eyes are closed?" IF asked.

"I can't, could you help?" He asked as he extended his hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Take me by the hand and lead me, make sure I don't run into anything"

"H-Hand, but I've never held a boys hand before" IF mumbled.

"Iffy, Ryo, hurry up or else we're gonna save him before you!" Neptune yelled from faraway.

"Fine, IF, if you don't wanna hold my hand, that's fine, just make sure I don't run into anything or trip" He said as he moved towards the voice, still covering his eyes.

"I guess that's reasonable, I'll make sure you don't fall or run into anything most of the time" IF told him.

"That's okay as well, just tell me when Neptune stops acting like a dog" He told her.

After a few minutes of Ryo bumping into things and tripping over stuff while Neptune made fun of him, they arrived at a cave. Compa and Ryo were now linking arms for some apparent reason.

"All right, we're here!" Neptune yelled as she stood back up.

"Ryo, you can stop covering your eyes now" Compa told him.

"Thanks, but first, why are we linking arms?" He asked.

"Don't you like linking arms with me?" Compa asked as if she got offended.

"No, it's not that, but I meant why are we still linking arms?" He asked.

"I didn't notice, Compa, when did you two start linking?" Neptune asked in shock.

"You two were being mean to him by making him walk into walls and tripping over signs, if I do this, then he won't get hurt at all" Compa explained.

"Yeah, but you can let go now" Neptune said.

"Okay, stop right there you two before this turns into a fight, it was pretty funny watching him walk into walls and trip over signs" IF said.

"Iffy, tell Compa to let go" Neptune said as she pulled on his other arm.

"I don't want to let go" Compa replied as she pulled on the other end.

"IF, why am I being pulled on by both sides?" He asked as a game of tug of war was played using him.

"Neptune's just like a kid and you're a toy Compa took from her, must I say anything else?" IF asked him.

"Alright, I know what to do now and the arm Neptune is pulling on feels like it's gonna be torn off" He said before taking a deep breath.

"Compa, let go, he's mine" Neptune told her.

"Nep-Nep, no, I found him first" Compa told her.

"That doesn't make sense that you found me first, but here goes" He said as the two were getting ready to pull, instead of those two pulling, he pulled the two in front of him and made them let go of his arms.

"Stop it, I'm not a toy or a personal possession, none of you own me and I don't own you, now apologize to each other for being so childish" He told them.

"Why, she started it" Neptune argued.

"I didn't start it" Compa argues back.

"I said to stop it" He said as he flicked their foreheads.

"Ow" The two said in unison.

"What'd you do that for?" Neptune asked.

"That hurt Ryo" Compa commented.

"I did it because the two of you are acting like children so say sorry to each other and apologize" He told them.

"Fine, I'm sorry Compa for being childish"

"I'm sorry as well Nep-Nep, we have a child to save" Compa said as the two hugged.

"You solved that situation easily, although, I think the flick to the head was unnecessary" IF said.

"Does it matter, they've stopped fighting and we have a kid to look for" He said as he walked into the dungeon.

"You're right, we've got work to do" IF said as she followed,

"Hey, wait for us!" Neptune yelled.

"Please don't leave us behind" Compa said as those two stopped their emotional hugging and followed.

They entered the dungeon, not knowing what awaited them.