Me: "Another day, another chapter I've gone back an edited. Well, it kinda helps me in the long-run, so no one will complain... too much."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "Just don't spend too much time doing this. You should focus most of your time on updating the story."
Neptune: "Yeah! People wanna see some more action and drama! And more of our romance!"
Compa: (Enters IC from Break Room) "You aren't forgetting about me are you? You don't get to have Heero all to yourself."
IF: (Enters IC from Lounge) "So, I just looked in the Lounge, and there's no cell phone charger in there."
Me: "I'll take care of that later. For now, let's just focus on reading off the disclaimer. So, let's hear it."
Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: "HeeroUzuki does not own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or any work pertaining to any of the franchises."
Me: "Unfortunately. Now, back to work."
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: (Leave IC)
Ch.2 A New Party Member and Rival
It was the day after the party went into the 'Tutorial Dungeon' and found one of four Key Fragments that would be required to free Histoire. It was also that very same day that Heero had become a part of Neptune's 'party', was deemed her 'destined lover' as well as Compa's based on circumstantial evidences, and found just how useful the disks that Histoire gave him were.
The party was currently resting in a forest close to the capital city of Planeptune, Heero and Compa were sitting next to a tree near a lake and the nurse-in-training was examining the injury he had received the previous day… rather she was TRYING to examine it, she was having difficulty looking at the injury since she was also having to look at Heero's well-toned abs, "…You said that you are a nurse-in-training, have you ever had to deal with this kind of injury aside from applying antibiotics and bandages?"
Compa frantically shook her head, "O-Of course I have! I-I'm just… uh…"
The nurse-in-training could not help but blush at the sight in front of her. While Compa was staring at his abdomen, Heero was looking at her with a questioning gaze. He could always treat the wound himself, but thought that if Compa had more experience with her profession she would become a more valuable asset to the party, "What exactly are you looking at?"
"U-Uhh n-nothing! A-Anyway, your injury isn't too serious, but we'll have to monitor it for now."
Heero slipped his tank top back on seeing as how Compa was done with her examination, then noticed that Compa's face was unusually red, "Are you running a fever?"
Heero leaned forward until his forehead was touching Compa's, "…You're temperature appears to be normal."
Compa felt as though she was going to faint just from how close Heero's face was. The pink haired nurse could feel Heero's warm breathe against her skin and a few strands of his chocolate brown hair were beginning to tickle her face, "U-U-Uhh… u-ummm… M-M-Mr. H-Heero… (I-I've read about something like this… the boy is supposed to…)"
Heero was too busy checking to make sure that the pink haired girl in front of him was not sick, that he did not notice Compa slowly inching her face closer to his. Just when Compa's lips were barely a hairs width from Heero's, Neptune jumped out from behind a row of bushes, "Are you guys done yet? I'm soooo bored-"
Compa quickly pulled away from Heero, but not before Neptune saw how close the nurse-in-training was to kissing Heero, "Hey, what were you two doing?!"
Heero stood up to his full length, "Compa's face was unusually red, I was checking to make sure she had not contracted a fever. If she has, Compa will only slow the progress of the mission."
"A-And I was checking to make sure Mr. Heero's injury was healing!"
Neptune eyed Compa suspiciously, "Then why did it look like you were about to kiss him and score points with Heero?"
Heero grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, "Instead of wasting our time with meaningless banter, we should focus on the mission at hand; acquiring these 'Key Fragments' and rescuing Histoire."
"Heero is right Compa, we already gathered the fragment from Planeptune. Let's not waste any time and mosey on to the next landmass."
Compa had calmed herself after her moment of embarrassment, "No need to rush. This place is still threatened by monsters. We can't just leave the townspeople like this."
Neptune seemed slightly irked, "Well… fine… Let's go clobber some monsters."
Personally, Heero did not care either way whether the party would head to another landmass and search for a Key Fragment or stayed on Planeptune to fight monsters. All he was focused on was completing his mission… though it would be a lie if he were to say that he did not care about the well-being of the civilians, "I have taken the liberty of handling our finances. Should you choose to purchase something, I ask that you hold onto the receipt so that I may properly calculate our expenses."
Neptune flashed Heero a thumbs-up, "You got it, lover!"
Heero still could not get used to having Neptune call him 'lover', but knew he would have to eventually, "If we intend to stay here for the time being, it would be wise to have you and Compa outfitted with better equipment."
The purple haired preteen tilted her head, "Why? Our stuff is just fine right now. We don't have to worry about that do we?"
"No, our inventory is not 'fine'. I will be blunt Neptune, what you currently have is by far the worst excuse for equipment I have ever seen. Where you get the idea that a wooden sword makes for a good offensive weapon I'll never know, however I'm sure you will find that future battles will render it completely useless. If you are equipped with a better sword, not only will you find battles to be much easier, but if we decide to undertake any of these 'quests' it will raise our chances of success."
Neptune understood what Heero said, her thought process just worded it differently. Nonetheless, she grew more and more excited with each passing second, "Yeah, I think I getcha'. New stuff means beating up monsters is easier, and that means easier experience points! Easier experience points means easier levels, and easier levels means higher stats, higher stats means completing quests gets easier, and that means more money! So not only is my destined lover super-hot, super-nice and uber strong he's also SUPER SMART!"
"(I don't see how that makes me smart… if anything it is common sense.)"
Another thing Heero had recently picked up on was the strange 'Level Up' system that applied to this world. While it was obviously very strange to him, Heero would admit that it was indeed very helpful. Whenever he would 'level up' as Neptune and Compa called it, he did feel stronger and a bit more energized.
Neptune turned on her heel and pointed towards the capital city, "Let's go get some new stuff, get a quest and go beat up some monster!"
Xxx
The party of three was walking down the busy streets of Planeptune, Heero was searching for any equipment stores that could supply Neptune and Compa with better weapons than they already had… especially Neptune. Unfortunately, there efforts turned up nothing. The party was currently seated on a bench in one of the parks located around the city, Neptune looked bored out of her mind, "We've been searching for hours now and we haven't found any kind of equipment shop…"
The fruitless search had even left Heero feeling a bit irked, "This has become quite troublesome…"
Compa was in deep contemplation, when her eyes widened in realization, "Oh! I just remembered something that might help. I wish I had thought of it earlier."
Both Heero and Neptune looked over at the nurse-in-training, "I wouldn't expect Mr. Heero to know because he's from another world, but do you know the internet site 'AMAZOO'? It's a big online shopping site that sells just about everything! We should be able to find what we're looking for there."
While Heero wanted to know why Compa did not think of the idea sooner, he was thankful that she even thought of the idea at all, "Of course, we'll need to use a computer to get on AMAZOO, and by now all of the public computers are already being used."
"There will be no need to worry about getting to a computer."
Heero set his backpack on the ground, unzipped it and pulled out his laptop. Neptune looked at the computer sitting in Heero's lap, "Wow, you've got a laptop? Those are supposed to be really expensive! ...Well at least for us… for now anyway."
Heero opened his laptop and turned it on. After the PC was finished booting up, he opened up a window and sure enough he had a connection, "(So my laptop works here as well…)"
Heero typed 'AMAZOO' into the search engine and found the link to the site, the site name was at the top as well as what appeared to be there motto 'Fast delivery guaranteed! From costumes, weapons to processor units… "I will have this site bookmarked so we can cut the amount of time required to open it and procure any necessary supplies."
After saving the site, Heero noticed that he needed a login ID before he could do anything on the website, "…I should make it something simple, yet not so much that hacker could get in."
Heero was about to start typing, when Neptune suddenly lifted the laptop out of his lap, "Let me do it!"
"Wha-"
Before Heero could stop her, Neptune had entered both a username and a password for the login, "There, all done."
Heero looked at the username and login, Username: HEEROXNEPTUNE, Password: Destined Lovers. The boy began to glare at Neptune, who just leaned on his shoulder and began to draw shapes on his chest, "Aww, don't get mad. Deep down I know you like it."
"(Hopefully they sell Ibuprofen…)"
Heero opened the internet shop with both Neptune and Compa looking over his shoulders. When he clicked on the weapons section, Neptune became disheartened, "What?! They don't have any swords? This sucks!"
"(It may be more difficult to outfit the team then I thought.)"
While Neptune could not get a new weapon, Compa saw a syringe on the list of available weapons, "If it isn't too much trouble, can we get the syringe they have?"
Heero wanted to get equipment for both Neptune and Compa, but if he could not do that then he would at least do so for one of them.
When he checked the price for the oversized medical appliance, the cost came out to one-thousand credits, "It is within our budget, though I would like to refrain from any further transactions until we have a more stable income."
After selecting the 'Buy' tab, a vacuum like sound was heard from a nearby mailbox, garnering the groups' attention. After a few second the postal box spat out a large syringe, Compa walked over to pick it, holding it gingerly in her hands, "I do not see any difference between that syringe and the one you have been using."
"Mr. Heero, with syringes it's not what's on the outside that makes it strong, but what's on the inside."
While the exterior was no different, the substance held within was a different color. Heero questioned how the substance could make it more powerful, but when he considered everything that had happened up till now it didn't seem completely unbelievable.
Neptune, who had been lying on her back the entire time, looked as though she was about to die from boredom, "Can we go now? I'm bored just sitting here."
Heero closed his laptop, slipped it back into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, "It would be best to do so. We have nothing to gain by staying here."
Neptune sprang out of her seat on the bench and ran out in front of her two party members, "Let's go find a dungeon now! We could totally use the levels."
Both Heero and Compa followed after their energetic leader, Heero glanced over at the nurse-in-training, "Compa."
Compa looked over at the Gundam pilot, "Yes, Mr. Heero?"
"I wish to extend my gratitude, for what it's worth. Thanks to you, our mission will be easier to accomplish."
Compa's cheeks were tinged a light pink and she began to look at the ground, "O-Oh, y-your welcome, Mr. Heero."
"…One more thing."
The pink haired girl looked back up. "There is no need for you to be so formal. You may call Heero."
Compa's cheeks slowly changed from pink to red, "O-Okay, M-Mr... umm… H-Heero."
Heero continued after Neptune with Compa right next to him, Compa could feel her heart thumping against her chest, "(Heero is so nice…)"
Xxx
The party arrived at their destination, the inside of a cave. There were stalagmites and stalactites growing around the cave, though they were not growing along the path, so they would not impede the progress of any who traveled along it. The cave had some lighting, though that would have to be due to the fluorescent crystals scattered around the cave.
The group walked in to the dungeon and of course Heero was already on the lookout for monsters, while Neptune decided to throw out a random comment as they approached a split in the path ahead, "Bad guys holed up in caves, but I wonder if it's kinda like where they do the thing and make babies. Sorry to intrude… Compa, it's dark, so watch your step. You never know when you'll h-aghh!"
Compa and Heero looked down at Neptune, who had obviously fallen, "Nep-Nep? Are you okay? You should be careful too, or you might fall onto some spikes and game over…"
"No, I ran into something. Wait, no again, something ran into me!"
Heero's attention was now on what it was that Neptune had collided with, "Actually, that something is a someone, and both you and that someone ran into each other."
"Ow… watch it, girl. This isn't the place for kindergarteners to have recess!"
Neptune and Compa directed their attention to the person in front of them. Sitting on the ground in front of them was a girl with waist length brunette hair, a black chocker, what looked to be a leaf tied into a bow that held some of her a ponytail to the side, and her eyes were the same shade of green as her leaf bow.
She wore a black and silver tanktop, black shorts with a black belt and a silver buckle, a pair of black socks and what Heero thought was a pair of blue combat boots. Perhaps what stood out the most was the big blue jacket she was wearing, which seemed to be a few sizes too big for her considering how the sleeves passed her arms and looked very trench-coat like. There were silver buttons that lined the center of the jacket with silver lining and red marks on the jacket arms that looked like thunderbolts.
Neptune eyed the new girl suspiciously, "Kindergarteners? Look who's talking. Who're you? Do you live in this icky cave?"
The brunette cocked an eyebrow, "Do I look like a ragged bum to you? I'm IF. I'm here to eliminate the monsters, as requested by the Basilicom. Who're YOU?"
Neptune and the girl now known as IF picked themselves up off the ground and dusted themselves off, "We're here because people are in danger. So, we're here for the same reason. My name is Neptune and this is Compa. The really hot, cool looking guy is Heero."
Heero narrowed his eyes at Neptune but retained his silence while IF seemed to be sizing him up. Compa gave a smile to IF, who seemed slightly irritated, "H-Hello. I enjoy arts and crafts, and I'm good at math. I know I don't look it, but it's something I'm quite proud of."
"Then Compa, you are now in charge of our item inventory. Anyway, why not help us conquer this dungeon?"
"What? Well, I guess the more help I get, the easier it'll be for me. Fine. We'll team up, but know that you're joining me!"
IF seemed to want to keep things strictly business, Neptune's eyes began to gleam with excitement, "Oh, you'll do it? I'm so glad I asked. Compa, Heero, Iffy said she'll join our party!"
IF maintained her serious attitude, "Whatever. Don't call me Iffy. That's not my name."
Heero simply closed his eyes, "I personally do not mind keeping our relationship strictly professional. We will use her, and she will use us to complete the mission. It will make parting much less of a hassle, but I will not objective if you truly want her among our numbers."
Compa clearly had no objections to having IF with the group either, in fact she was all for it, "Now we really look like a party! We'll be together forever. It's our pleasure to have you with us."
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Wait, what? Forever? No, just for now. This dungeon."
Neptune would not accept IF attempting to leave even though they had just met, "Bzzzt! We're already a party, so you can't get away from us, even if you try. Abandoning your party is against the rules of this world. You got that, missy?"
Heero could tell that IF didn't exactly get what Neptune said, "U-Um, no, but… It doesn't matter."
"One more thing Iffy, Heero is off limits to you 'cause he is my Destined Lover."
IF shifted her gaze between Neptune and Heero, "Destined… Lover? What is she talking about?"
Heero walked past the three girls and stood in the middle of the intersection, "She is under the impression that we are lovers and has based this purely on circumstantial evidence. We are not in that kind of relationship."
Neptune whispered to IF so Heero wouldn't hear, "(He's just in denial.)"
The brunette rolled her eyes, "I sincerely doubt that."
The energetic preteen stood out in front of the party, "All right people, we should split up so we can find the boss! I'll go with Heero, and Compa, you can go with Iffy."
The nurse-in-training latched onto Heero's arm and entered into her usual pouty face when situation regarding being with Heero arise, "Why do you get to be the one who pairs up with M- I-I mean Heero? I want to be paired up with him!"
Neptune latched onto Heero's other arm, "But the hot guy and the cute girl are always supposed be paired up whenever they split up with the team!"
IF snickered at Heero predicament, "You're certainly popular, aren't you?"
Heero shot a glare at IF, who let out a sigh. With both Neptune and Compa bickering about who was going to split up with Heero they would not get anything done, "Look, if it's going to be this much of a problem how about this, I'll pair off with Heero and you two can check somewhere else?"
Neptune and Compa stopped their bickerfest to look back at IF, looked at one another, then marched up to IF, "Why should we trust you with Heero, Iffy?"
Compa's cheeks were slightly puffed, "Ms. IF, are you trying to steal Heero from us?"
The brunette crossed her arms, "No, and the reason why I suggested it was because we aren't getting anywhere with you two fighting one another because both of you want to go off with your friend here. If I go with Heero, neither of you will feel jealous of the other, we can get on with our search of finding the monster, and then we can go our separate ways."
They may have only just met and would more than likely go their separate ways, but Heero liked her. Not in the emotional way, but rather because she was focused on the mission. Of course, only one reply came out of Neptune and Compa, "NO!"
Heero was getting tired of standing around when he could be using this time to complete the quest at hand, "I suggest that I go by myself, while the three of you search for the target elsewhere."
Before Heero could walk off, Neptune and Compa latched onto his arms once more, "No! We have to stay together Heero! It's what lovers do!"
IF took a deep breath and exhaled, "The only way I see us making any progress is to stay in one group, but it will take longer to search the dungeon that way."
The other two girls of the party exchanged glances with one another, "Fine!"
With the problem now resolved, the group set about what they originally came to the dungeon to do, which was find the boss monster and eliminate it. Neptune lead the way, going down the left path, "We should totally check this room incase this is one of those dungeons where the boss is near the entrance!"
The group followed after Neptune, though Heero and IF were farther behind since they chose to walk. Inside the room, it was circular in shape with crystals growing all over the place and a particularly large crystal was in the center of the room. Heero and IF waited by the entrance, while Neptune and Compa searched the room for monsters and treasure, "Hey, I wanna ask you something."
Heero glanced at IF out of the corner of his eye, "The question you choose to ask me will determine whether or not I will give you an answer."
The brunette glanced at Heero for a brief second, "You seem like you have a good head your shoulders, and unlike those two you seem to be a bit more mature and realistic. What I want to know is why you're babysitting them? You could save yourself a lot of trouble by just leaving them."
Heero closed his eyes and collected his thoughts, "True, I would not have to trouble myself with watching over these two if I were to leave. However, I am doing this as a favor to someone. Once I have accepted a mission I see it through to the end."
IF cocked an eyebrow at the teen, "Even if it means being stuck with a living headache like those two?"
Heero merely nodded a response and IF leaned against the wall, "I'll tell you this, you've got your work cut out for you."
Heero and IF looked up upon seeing Neptune and Compa running back towards them, "We didn't find anything, but we leveled up again from fighting these really weird eye monster thingies."
IF pushed herself off the wall, "In short, this was a waste of time. That leaves only one other way to go."
The party left the room and went down the right path, which was had a few curves and luminescent crystals littered the walls. Once they rounded the first curve, a pair of monsters that looked like large eyeballs with wings and a single leg were waiting, "Hey, those are the eyeball thingies that Compa and I fought!"
Neptune shot a dirty look at Compa, "And what was the big idea usin' me as a human shield?! I lost ninety-four hit points 'cause of you!"
Compa shifted slightly, "I-I'm sorry Nep-Nep. But they surprised us and I didn't know what to do."
Neptune crossed her arms and huffed, "That's the last time I take a hit for the healer."
Heero armed his GN Sword and prepared himself to deal with the monsters. The teen saw IF standing next to him out of the corner of his eye, "…I can handle this I my own."
The brunette pulled a pair of Katars out of her jacket sleeves, "I'm sure you could, I just want to get this over with."
Both Heero and IF entered into a full on sprint as the two monsters drew closer. Heero made a single vertical cut across one of the 'Imps' as they were now known while IF had used both Katars to leave an X shaped mark on the other, though their movements were so fast that to Neptune and Compa, both combatants looked as though they had ran right past them until the Imps fell over, "Whoa, they must've been moving super-fast! I wonder if I could do that."
IF put away her weapons and looked back at the Compa and Neptune, "Are you two just going to stand there or are you gonna get moving?"
As both girls made their way up to the duo, IF looked over at Heero, "I gotta say, you're pretty good. I was worried that you were just as bad as them."
"While I will not divulge any specific information, I am well versed in the art of combat. As for my evaluation of your performance, you are better I thought you would be and you clearly seem to know just what you are doing. This mission may not take as long as I originally thought."
Once Neptune and Compa had caught up, the group continued down the rocky cave passage. After combing the area thoroughly, the group arrived at a curve and could see movement behind it, Neptune ran over to sneak a peek behind it and grinned, "You guys, there's the boss!"
Heero, Compa and IF arrived at the edge of the curve and saw what Neptune was looking at and saying was the boss, the monster was a large worm with sharp teeth and a rather tough looking hide. Heero cocked an eyebrow at the oversized insect, "Just what the hell have the tourist been feeding this thing? It is quite big, considering that it is a worm."
"It's probably been eating people. My job description says it's been causing a lot of damage and problems to the nearby towns, so it seems like a likely explanation."
Compa slowly turned her head to look at IF because she was violently shaking, "I-It eats p-p-people?"
Neptune pulled out her wooden sword, a determined look on her face, "C'mon guys! Our party now has four people, so there's no way we can lose!"
The energetic preteen ran out from behind cover and straight at the monster, "Dammit… you idiot what are you doing?! That weapon will have no effect on this enemy!"
Neptune quickly swung her wooden sword at the top of the monster's head, which was known as a Sand Worm. Unfortunately, just Heero had said the wooden weapon did nothing more than irritate the monster, forcing Neptune to pull back a safe distance from it, "Huh? My attack didn't do anything?!"
IF looked over at Heero, who was watching the battle with narrowed eyes, "So, what do we do? It seems like the only thing she's succeeded in doing is pissing that thing off."
Within a split second the GN Sword III was already on Heero's arm, "I had originally intended to ambush the target to increase the mission success rate, however since Neptune has given away our position and more than likely endangered herself, we have no choice but to engage the enemy now."
IF pulled out her sharp Katars once more while Compa hefted her syringe, "I can only imagine the hoops you have to jump through for this girl."
The three other party members emerged out from behind cover a fair distance from the monster. Neptune turned around to face them, though a nervous bead of sweat could be seen running down her cheek, "Hey, Heero. I guess you were right, my sword isn't doin' much good against this boss."
"Which is why you should learn to use your head more."
Neptune made her way back to the rest of the party, while the monster looked more than a little peeved from being struck on the head, "We are going to implement the same strategy we used to deal with our last difficult adversary, only now that we two close in combatants it should prove more effective."
"You mean the one where Compa and I started blastin' the baddy and you attacked him while he was defending? That was so cool."
Compa and Neptune readied their ranged weapons while Heero and IF prepared to make a run straight at the monster. Once the duo started firing, IF and Heero quickly closed the gap between them and the Sand Worm, because of the monsters positioning Heero had to make his vertical slash from bottom to top, which caused him to worry whether the plan would still be effective.
The attack had inadvertently launched the monster into the air, IF jumped onto Heero's back, then just as quickly bounded off. Heero had expected to feel at least some weight, but IF's movements were so quick and efficient that he virtually did not feel any, once more impressing the Gundam pilot. The jump had placed the brunette at a slightly higher elevation than the Sand Worm, IF merely smirked at the helpless monster, "You know what they say, what goes up…"
IF flipped in mid-air with one of her legs outstretched, "…must come down!"
IF delivered a swift and extremely painful axe kick to the Sand Worm, sending it towards the ground where unfortunately for the large insect, was where Heero was. The teen quickly brought his blade around and struck the monster, sending it straight into the wall, where shortly after IF slammed it into the ground with her Katars, placing it in-between Heero and IF.
Both combatants quickly converged on the monster, their blades sliced through the air and into the Sand Worm. After the attack was over, the Sand Worm was severely beaten, as if it was on its last leg, Neptune's began to gleam at the end result of Heero and IF's well timed assault, "Wow, you guys already have a co-op attack? Neat!"
IF cocked an eyebrow at the bubbly preteen, "We were just taking advantage of one another's movements, it's not that special."
The Sand Worm Violently shook its large body and then slammed its long tale against the cave wall, causing some of the stalactites to fall from down. Compa narrowly avoided being crushed by one, but fell on the ground in the process and another stalactite was heading straight towards her.
The nurse-in-training closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable pain, but instead felt weightless. When Compa opened her eyes she found herself looking up at Heero from his chest, "You need to be more careful, you can't expect someone to save you when you are in danger all the time."
Compa looked down and her face immediately reddened, "U-U-Ummm… H-H-Heero…"
Heero was wondering what Compa was looking at, when he looked down he saw that his hand was on Compa's left breast. The teen swiftly pulled his hand a hand back and stood up, "…I apologize. I had not intended to grab you in such a manner."
Compa sat up, a dreamy eyed look on her face, "Heero touched my breast…"
Neptune leered at the pink haired nurse, meanwhile IF was having some difficulty dealing with the Sand Worm despite the fact that it was injured, "You're persistent… I'll give you that. But one way or another you're going down!"
The oversized insect struck the cave wall once more, resulting in more stalactites falling from above. Between having to dodge the sharp falling objects and fighting the Sand Worm, IF was straining herself to juggle both tasks, "Grr… This is getting tough…"
IF moved to dodge another stalactite, however it left her open to an attack from the monster. The Sand Worm struck IF with its tail, sending her into the wall on her back, before she could fully recover from the attack the Sand Worm was already upon her.
IF tightly shut her eyes just as the worm raised its tail to strike her again. When she didn't feel anything, IF slowly peeled her eyes open and was shocked at the sight before her. Heero was in front of her and had taken the attack himself right into his back, the brunette could see blood seeping out of the corner of Heero's mouth, "W-Why did you…"
"The enemy's attack… would have rendered you incapacitated… whereas it would only lower my fighting capacity. To that end… I am willing to endure an injury so long as it means we will complete the mission."
The disk Heero had used the previous day that allowed him to use the HDD ability that Neptune had appeared in front of him, "I will not fail my mission!"
In a brief flash of light Heero was standing completely covered in his multi colored armor and forced the monster back. Neptune threw her fist out, "Kick his butt, Heero!"
A set of thrusters on the wings and back flared to life and propelled Heero straight towards the Sand Worm. Heero rammed into the monster with his shield which left the monster completely helpless, Heero cut the thrusters momentarily causing the Sand Worm to collide with the wall, then pulled a white cylinder like object out of a compartment on his shield, "So I also have a beam saber…"
As the handle came out from its compartment, a glowing green light in the shape of a sword emerged from it. The series of thrusters flared to life once more and once he was close enough Heero brought the beam saber across the Sand Worm's body. Because he was attacking a soft bodied target, the saber felt little to no resistance and cut through the monster like a knife through hot butter.
Heero landed a few feet past his target, which exploded as a result of the beam weapon. The armor disappeared from around Heero and he fell to one knee, clutching his abdomen, "(…I must have reopened the wound.)"
Neptune and Compa were immediately at Heero's side once it was evident that he was hurt, "You doin' okay, Heero? Don't kick the bucket on me! We're lovers after all, so I won't allow you to die!"
"Let me check your injuries, Heero."
IF was staring at Heero from where she was, seeing him take the attack intended for her and his transformation both came as a quite a shock to her.
Xxx
After Compa had administered some more antibiotics and bandages for Heero's injury, the party left the dungeon and were now standing in a clearing with a large body of water nearby, "So basically, you're looking for Key Fragments for this… Histy person."
Neptune entered into her happy bubbly mood, "Ding-dong! Histy's sealed away somewhere in this world. She's like one of those secret optional characters."
IF crossed her arms and gathered her thoughts, "The different fragments are guarded by monsters. So, the source is really whoever the fragments to be guarded. That Histy character must have something to do with it, too. Saving the world, hmm? It could be a big fib."
"Ooh, Iffy, you're beyond keen. How can you possibly be so observant at such a tender, young age?"
Heero, who was leaning against a tree nearby, lifted his head, "It can be seen as simple logic, it becomes even more painfully evident when you consider the fact that we have not had any physical contact with her at all."
IF uncrossed her arms and let one hand rest on her hip, "Exactly. If this is all true, however, leaving it to you two… will spell doom for all humanity."
Compa looked slightly confused, "You two? What do you mean Iffy? Heero is with us and that makes three."
"I'm sure Heero could take care of himself, the problem lies with you two. As I understand it, Heero is stuck with you two… I'm surprised he hasn't gone insane yet."
IF crossed her arms once more and gave a smile, or at least something that looked like one, "No choice! I'll help. You're traveling, right? You'll need someone with you who's been to a lot of different lands."
The smile dropped from the brunette's face, "About those fragments… If they're guarded by monsters, it might be pretty easy to find them after all."
Compa had a hopeful look in her eyes, "R-Really? Then, I'm sure we'll save Histy in no time."
Heero shifted his gaze to IF, "I presume you have an idea as to how we might be able to find them?"
IF nodded at the Gundam pilot, "Basilicoms around the world have been researching monsters. I think they'll have a good idea where they spawn."
Neptune's eyes were half open as she put her finger on her cheek, "So, speaking of… what's a Basilicom again? I'm apparently an amnesiac, so I need you to explain stuff to me in a manner convenient for the readers to understand!"
Compa had an apologetic look on her face, "Be patient with her, Miss IF. She bumped her head on the ground and lost her memory. Sorry for my delayed explanation."
Compa directed her attention to Neptune, "Basilicoms are holy organizations run by those who serve the goddesses. There are two parts to a Basilicom: the Sanctuary where goddesses are cared for, and Parliament for political activities."
Heero let his gaze fall on Neptune, "Though you would remember this if you did not spend so much time thinking of food."
Neptune rubbed her stomach, a timid smile on her face, "Oh, I can't help it, Heero. I have a need for sweets!"
IF stopped Compa from continuing her explanation on the Basilicoms, "Whoa, stop. Why not let the people at the Basilicom explain it? We're headed there anyway."
Compa looked at IF quizzically, "To ask about monsters? But we don't need to do that until we go to another landmass."
"Well, we'll need a permit from the Basilicom to travel anywhere. They manage the Sky Harbors, too."
Compa seemed to understand easily enough, "Oh, I see. Then we'll continue this when we reach the Basilicom. Okay, Nep-Nep?"
Heero looked up into the sky and noticed how dark it was, "We will have to wait until tomorrow then. For now, we should look for a place to recuperate from this mission."
The three girls noticed that it was quite dark out, "Well, if you say so, Heero. Or are you just worried some psycho is gonna try and have his way with your lover?"
Heero narrowed his eyes at Neptune, "We are not lovers."
"Whatever you say… lover."
Neptune and Compa started on the way back to the city, Heero was stopped by IF just as he pushed off the tree he was using for support, "Why did you save me?"
Heero looked over his shoulder at IF, "The situation may have required all four of us to deal with the target."
IF crossed her arms, sending a questioning look at Heero, "You say that, but I wonder if that's all there is."
Heero closed his eyes to collect his thoughts, "Take it as you will… though I will say this, with your quick thinking and combat experience you're one of the best fighters I've ever seen. It would not do to see you in a weakened state."
IF's cheeks were tinged a light pink from the complement, "Y-Yeah, well, I don't need you to tell me that."
Heero redirected his attention forward and began to walk off, IF hung back and spoke in a near inaudible voice, "Still… thanks."
With the addition of IF, the party was now up to four members. With the cool, level headed brunette with them, Heero began to think that perhaps his mission wasn't going to be so difficult after all.
Xxx
Chapter 3… done. Now we've got IF in the party. I don't about those of you who read my story, but I feel like I rushed this one. If so, I promise future chapters will turn out better. Also I've set up a poll in regards to this story and I would appreciate getting as many votes on it as possible. You guys can vote by going to my profile and looking up at the top. Once more, read and comment, thanks!
