Me: Okay my readers, I think I have made you wait long enough (maybe a little too long in my case), but this chapter will feature the starting of the 'relationship' between Heero and Noire as well as Heero's second transformation."
Heero: (Walks in and stands in front of author (me) "Why is it that you have me stuck with this mysterious illness? My fighting capacity has suffered because of it."
Me: "I thought it would make for an interesting way to introduce more transformations into the story, besides you'll get over it before the chapter is finished. But is that all you came to ask me about?"
Heero: "No. I also came to ask you why you have me with this so called 'Harem'?"
Neptune: (Comes running and glompes Heero from behind) "Whatcha doin', Heero? I thought we were only part of the story, I didn't know we could be part of the intro to the chapter, too!"
Compa: (Walks in behind Neptune) "This is the first time we've been a part of the introduction to a chapter. Do I look okay?"
IF: (Comes in after Compa) "Does it really matter how you look? I know first impressions are important, but…"
Me: "Cut! Before we go completely off topic, to answer your question, Heero, about why I have you stuck in a harem? Well, I'll answer your question with a question of my own; why WOULDN'T you want to be in a harem? You have these three lovely ladies who are totally into you. And you're going to have more girls in your harem in future chapters!"
IF: (Turns around with a slightly red face) "I-I-I'm not 'into' Heero! I just have a lot of respect for him that's all."
Me: (Walks over to IF) "Come now, Iffy. Surely you feel something from being around Heero. (Leans in and whispers into IF ear), "Besides…"
IF: (Listens intently and her faces turns a darker shade of red before turning to face the author) "You… really mean it…?"
Me: (Nods) Absolutely! It may take some work, but you'll get it eventually."
Compa: "How many more girls are going to be in the harem?"
Me: "…I'm not telling."
Neptune: "What? You mean I gotta work harder to get Heero? That sucks!"
Me: "Well, I guess that means you better get to work then, huh? (Thrusts index finger out) Neptune! Read the disclaimer if you would."
Neptune: (Picks up a large cue card and reads off it) "HeeroUzuki does not own Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or anything related to it… but he says he totally wishes that he did. And I want my 'M' rated scene with Heero!"
Me: "Who says we're stopping at 'M'?"
Neptune: (Turns to author with a gleam in her eyes) "What? So we're gonna go past 'M'? Really?!"
Me: "Maybe… Anyway, Read and enjoy, people! Thanks! Oh, and I edited this chapter a little bit like some of the other chapters, nothing really big... well, except for the exact song to play for the Gundam introduced to this chapter." (Glances over at Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF) "(Now wave and get into position people, we're about to start the chapter!)"
Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: (Wave to reader(s) (you), then run off set with the author.)
Xxx
Pairings include: HeeroXNeptune/Purple Heart, HeeroXIF, HeeroXNoire/Black Heart, HeeroXCompa, HeeroXVert/Green Heart, HeeroXBlanc/White Heart, HeeroXNisa, HeeroXGust, HeeroXHistoire, HeeroX5pb, HeeroXRed, IFX Vert/Green Heart, IFX5pb, and IFXRed.
Ch. 7 The Black Shadow and the X1 Pt. 3
The party was on their way to meet with their contact about a job request they had accepted… though Neptune voiced her doubts the entire time. Few jobs reached the factories of Lastation for an obvious reason; Avenir was monopolizing the industry and businesses were starting to go under… rather more businesses were starting to.
While Neptune was against helping Avenir, Heero and IF had to point out that their travel fund would suffer if they did not accept any work that was available… even if it meant helping the 'Bad Guys' as Neptune referred to them. Compa and IF hoped that the assignment would at least help the preteen vent.
The party was standing outside of a factory when they met the contact, and it was a face that the party recognized and did not exactly care for, "You're the ones Avenir hired to fight monsters? What the hell's that company thinking?"
Neptune had her hands on her hips, "Heeeeey, you're the meaniepoo who kicked us out when we first went to the Basilicom! What're you doin' here?"
"I'm substituting for an Avenir employee. They asked me to explain the job to you. You are to defeat as many monsters per their specifications as you can and deliver the bodies, dead or alive."
IF gave the moderator a questioning look, "Why do they want the monsters? Are you sure that's what they said?" Compa tilted her head to the side, "Maybe they need their hides. But over-predation will drive a monster species to extinction!"
"Who trades monster hides anyway? Monsters should become extinct. If you have questions, just ask the damn employee later."
Heero directed his attention to the rundown factory and Neptune looked at Heero's face, "Ooooh, Heero has a super serious look on his face. Whatcha thinkin' about? Is it dangerous?"
Heero had his GN Sword armed as he walked towards the derelict manufacturing facility, "I will carry out the mission… But I have my doubts about their intentions."
Xxx
Once inside, the first thing that Heero noticed was that the dungeon did not look like a cave, but a metalworks factory like the first dungeon that he, Neptune and Compa had gone to for their 'Tutorial', "(…I half expected this place to look like a cave, as crazy as it sounds.)"
As the party made their way into the factory, Heero could hear the sound of metal on metal contact… and it was close. As soon as the party reached the split in the path at the end of the corridor, three small machines with round, silver bodies, two small legs, an antennae on their backs and a single gun barrel sticking out front came out from behind the corner of the walls, two on the left and one on the right.
As Heero questioned whether or not the autonomous weapons could really be considered monsters, the gun barrels on the small 'Automatic Turrets' began to glow. Neptune's mouth was in the shape of a ring, "Ooooh, what are those monsters doing?"
Streaks of energy shot out of the gun barrels of the small automatons that began to damage the factory walls, "What the hell?! That jerk… he didn't tell us there would be monsters like this!"
Compa was hiding behind a stack of crates as the three turrets continued to fire upon the party, "I-Iffy! What do we do?!"
"Damnit, how should I know?! I've never fought monsters like these before!" IF was not having much luck in closing the distance between herself and the monsters, Neptune was literally jumping all over the place trying to dodge the attacks aimed at her, "Why are they going after me?! They should go after the healer!"
Heero took cover behind another stack of crates and attempted to eliminate the walking turrets from a distance, however due to his poor condition his accuracy was terrible and all of his shots missed as a result, "(My combat performance is still degrading…)"
The Perfect Soldier kicked over the stack of wooden crates he was behind and kicked one of the boxes towards the automatons as a distraction, while reaching for his HDD disk, "(This is unacceptable. This weapon should be held in reserve, instead I have been forced to use it frequently.)"
As the small robots took aim at the wooden crate, Heero had finished his transformation. When the Automatic Turrets fired, the inanimate wooden object split into hundreds of splinters, but the individual behind it was unscathed. Heero drew out the beam saber hidden in the compartment on his shield and rushed the first turret while it was still recharging.
The thermal weapon experienced no resistance from the robot's metal body, which turned a bright yellowish-orange as the saber severed through its metal body. After the beam saber cut through, the Automatic Turret turned into a pile of scrap parts once it exploded.
Heero looked over at Neptune to see her beating on one of the two remaining machines with her wooden sword, "C'mon! Go down already! I want experience points!"
Neptune was too busy beating on the second Automatic Turret that she did not see the third one ready to shoot her in the back, "Damn…!"
The thrusters lining the back of Heero's armor flared to life and propelled him towards the purple haired preteen, just as the automaton fired at Neptune, Heero blocked the attack with his shield then rammed into it, only for the Automatic Turret to be kicked into the air by IF, and finally shot in mid-air by Compa who acted on the spur of the moment.
After what remained of the third 'monster' fell to the ground, Heero turned his attention to the second machine monster… the very same machine that Neptune was still whacking with her wooden sword, "We can do this all day buddy!"
The two gun barrels that were located between Heero's head and shoulders began to light up as bullets flew out from them and peppered the last Automatic Turret. A few of the bullets left dents on the machines metal frame, a few veered off, and the rest ate through it and damaged the turrets internal workings.
IF walked over and kicked the small machine to make sure it was no longer functioning and let out an exhausted sigh, "They never tell us everything before we enter the dungeons…"
Heero had his gaze fixed on the brunette who already looked tired from the fight, "You're surprised? It is quite common for the employer to leave out information, intentional or not. More importantly, I should give Neptune back the sword I had procured for her, otherwise she will become a liability."
IF cocked an eyebrow at Heero, "You mean she wasn't a liability already?"
Heero walked over to Neptune, who was looking at her wooden sword with disappointment, "This thing just isn't doin' it for me anymore!"
The Perfect Soldier pulled a katana out from behind his shield and held it out to the preteen, "This will no doubt prove to be a more effective weapon than what you are currently using."
Neptune had the look of a child who had just been given a new toy; the katana had a slim, sharp blade and the handle was entirely black, "Aww, you are so nice Heero! I will accept this as a gesture of your love for me."
Heero narrowed his eyes at the girl, pointless as it was, "It is not a 'gesture of love', I am merely increasing our chances of success."
"Sure you are, lover."
No matter how many times Neptune called him that, Heero could not get used to being referred to as 'lover'. IF and Compa had gone to check the what lay beyond the two paths, then came back just as quickly they took off, "There are a few room down this way. How does it look over there?"
"It's the same over here, but I saw a big monkey throwing barrels in one of the rooms." Heero's optical sensors went from one corridor to the other, and aside from the differing positions of objects and the 'barrel throwing monkey', both paths were generally the same, "As both paths are the same, we may use either one and still accomplish the mission."
"We should totally split up so we can get the all the monsters!" Neptune threw her arms around Heero's metal arm, "I call dibs on Heero!"
When Neptune had her arms around him, Heero knew what was to come next. Compa immediately had both of her arms around Heero's other arm with a familiar pouty face, "Why should you be the one who pairs up with Heero, Nep-Nep? I want Heero to pair up with me!"
Neptune's cheeks puffed up once Compa protested her idea, "But I already called dibs! Besides, Heero's my lover!"
IF, who was standing off to the side, was looking quite irked as she listened to Neptune and Compa debate as to who Heero would pair with, "Alright, if it's gonna cause this much of a problem for you two, then Heero will pair off with me. (Besides, there's no way in hell I would allow either of you to run off with Heero alone.)"
Neptune and Compa looked at IF, then at one another, and then back at IF, "No!" The brunette's eye twitched, "I wasn't asking."
Heero was getting more than a little tired of the bickering and arguing going on between the three girls, "Instead of splitting up, we will search the rooms as a group as we look for the target. That way you three will stop fighting about who I will go with."
The three girls exchanged glances before settling on the idea, "Well, fine... but only cause Heero thought of the idea."
The party decided to follow the right path, so as to avoid the prime ape that felt it necessary to throw objects around in a dungeon. As they were about to pass the first room on the right, a pair of green vipers came slithering out from the entranceto said room. A big grin made its way onto Neptune's face as she pulled out her new sword, "Heh, no sweat."
Neptune had already began to run at the first 'Hell Viper'. Just as she was about to attack the reptile-like monster, the preteen slipped on a steel pipe and fell on her stomach with a thud. When Neptune looked up she saw that her sword had struck the viper in its head, which left Heero, Compa and IF beside themselves with how the preteen was able to defeat the monster even when she blundered, "…That wasn't how I meant to get him, but hey, I got him!"
The second Hell Viper was poised to strike Neptune, only to be kicked away by IF, "Quick gawking at how you took out that monster and focus on the monster that is still alive!"
IF pulled her Katars out from her jacket sleeves and quickly disposed of the viper with four quick slashes. Once they were sure that the two monsters were no longer alive, Neptune, Heero, Compa and IF continued down the corridor.
Heero had pulled his beam saber from its compartment on his shield, in case there were any monsters hiding at the entrance of the second room. The party drew closer and Heero tightened his grip on the thermal cutting weapon, of course, Heero's preparation was for nothing as there was not a single monster in the room, only pipes, boxes, and rusty fences.
Neptune ran ahead and disappeared behind the corner at the end of the corridor, when the rest of the party caught up with her she was peeking behind another corner at a corridor that connect the other two together like the corridor the party had entered the dungeon from, and Neptune's excitement was as plain as day, "That has to be the boss!"
Heero looked beyond the corner and saw a large red bird-like creature in the center of the corridor that seemed to lead to the back of the factory. It was flapping its wings to keep itself in the air and kept its gaze fixed forward, "That must be our target."
With so much distance between themselves and the 'Roc' a sneak attack or ambush was out of the question. A full frontal attack or a distraction followed by an attack from the girls seemed to be the only two options available, "I will go in first, once the target's attention is on me, you three will have an opening to strike in its blind side."
IF looked from the large bird monster to Heero, "Are you sure you can pull it off? I don't doubt your abilities, but you've been getting very weak lately and any damage you take from that thing could be fatal."
"That is why I am trusting you three to attack the target while I distract it." Heero stepped out into plain sight of the Roc. The monster let out a loud 'squawk' before flying straight at Heero with its talons extended. Heero immediately used his thrusters to evade the attack, while keeping the monster's attention fixed on him.
Once she was sure the monster was only aware of Heero, IF nodded her head, "Alright, come on!" Neptune, Compa and IF charged at the large monster that was after Heero, and it wasn't until it had been struck in the back by a series of attacks that it was aware of their presence.
While the attacks had knocked it down, the Roc flapped its wings as quickly as it could to hover in the air. It was now four against one, and having been blindsided by the three girls the boss monster had definitely been weakened, though not enough that it couldn't fight back, "I'll just transform, beat up the boss, and then we can celebrate with lots of yummy cake!"
Neptune's HDD disk appeared, surrounded by binary code as was normal for both Heero and herself, and transformed into the more powerful, serious purple haired swordstress. Neptune pointed her sword at the monster before her, "Try to make this interesting while it lasts."
The Roc charged at Neptune, intending to use its beak as a means to injure the beautiful sword wielding woman, only to have her both stop the attack and launch the large bird into the wall. The Roc was slightly dazed as it got back up, it shook its head in an attempt to regain its senses.
By the time it was no longer disoriented however, Neptune was already above the Roc with her large katana positioned to deliver a painful blow to its head. Neptune slammed her sword into the back of the monster's head and straight into the ground. The swordstress twirled her sword as she turned her back to the monster, "…That was dull and boring. And I thought it would actually put up a fight."
Unfortunately, Neptune did not see the Roc getting back up, nor the killing intent it had in its eyes as it looked at her. The large bird charged at Neptune once more, only now Neptune did not see the attack coming, "Move!"
Neptune was caught by surprised when Heero had suddenly shoved her out of the way, the Roc's beak dug into Heero's armor and tore some of it out of place and chipping some of it off. Neptune only caught a glimpse, but the swordstress saw the large bird tear off a piece of Heero's armor before hovering in the air once more, and Heero landed on his back with a dull 'thud'.
Neptune grit her teeth as she looked from Heero to the monster that she thought she had just defeated, "You…!" Compa fired a bullet at the Roc's beak, knocking it off balance, "That was mean! You should never attack someone when they're not looking!"
IF had jumped onto the monsters back and drove her Katars through its hide, "Paybacks a bitch, isn't it?!" After IF had dismounted the Roc, Neptune drove her sword into its chest cavity and pulled it out after dragging it along the left side of the monsters body, "I dare you to get back up."
This time, the monster stayed down… though anyone or anything in their right mind probably wouldn't have got back up in the first place. Neptune knelt down next Heero and inspected the damaged armor, then looked at the green eyes on his metal face plate which were dull, as if his eyes were closed.
Compa and IF quickly made their way over to Heero, pieces of his armor were still scattered around after the monster's attack, "Is Heero going to be alright?"
Neptune gently laid Heero's head on her lap, "I don't know… he's suffered a very serious injury." The green see-through eyes on the metal mask flickered back to life, and Heero began to stand back up, though not without some difficulty, "…I was careless."
"Don't beat yourself up, Heero. I should have made sure the monster was defeated."
Heero gathered up the pieces of armor that had been ripped off his body, dumped them into a pile and fired his Buster Rifle at it, "What did you do that for? We may have been able to weld the pieces back on."
"The process would take too long, more importantly if we had left them here, Avenir would have found the pieces, studied them, and would begin to create newer weapons shortly after."
With the Roc defeated, the party made their way back towards the entrance of the dungeon.
Xxx
When the party returned outside, an Avenir employee was waiting for them at the factory gate, "Greetings. Excellent work. I've come to collect the defeated monsters."
Neptune eyed the Avenir employee, "Work is work, but I'm not thrilled to help our evil nemesis, Avenir."
"…Nemesis? Um, this is…?" IF stepped in before Neptune anything else, "Don't worry about her. Anyway, we gave it our all and covered most everything in this area."
"Thank you very much. You've done exceedingly well. Here is your reward. Please take it." The employee handed one thousand credits to IF, meanwhile Neptune was eyeing the Avenir employee suspiciously, "What do you plan to do with these monsters? Depending on your answer…"
"P-Please, there's no need to get so tense. I know it sounds odd. This creature's nervous tissue acts as a conductor in the hardware Avenir is developing. The monster will die as soon as the nervous tissue is removed, so that's why we didn't specify dead or alive."
IF balled her hand into a loose fist and placed it under her chin, "Hmm. Basically, the monster has whatever you need to make some kind of machine."
"I'm relieved you understand. We'll definitely call on you if something normal humans cannot handle arises."
Neptune crossed her arms over her chest, "…That's hardly flattering."
As the party turned to leave, the Avenir employee stopped them, "Wait. There is one more thing…" The group turned back around to face the employee, who had his gaze fixed on Heero, "Avenir's representative, Singe, is very interested in your robot companion. We are willing to buy it from you at a very attractive price."
Heero glared at the employee as he pulled a checkbook out of his pocket, tore off one of the slips of paper, and handed it to Neptune. The check was made out for fifty-million credits, "As I said, we are willing to buy it at a VERY attractive price."
Heero half expected Neptune to be all over the large sum of money, however her facial expression suggested otherwise. Neptune was glaring at the flimsy piece of paper, as if it would burn under her gaze. The swordstress tore the piece of paper into smaller pieces before letting them blow away in the wind.
Neptune turned her cold glare on the Avenir employee, who shuddered under her powerful gaze, "Heero is not some object to be bought or sold. He's not for sale… Don't ask me again."
The employee put his hands up in a defensive manner, "I'm sorry, I'm just doing what the representative told me to do."
Once again, the party turned around and made their way back towards the capital of Lastation. Heero noticed that the three girls in front of him were fuming, Compa's cheeks were puffed up, "They're so rude. How can they treat Heero like a thing?!"
IF looked very peeved, "It's his transformation, it makes him look like a robot… But he still looks human enough, can't they refer to him as something other than an object?!"
Neptune was still glaring, though her glare was not fixed on anything in particular, "…They think I'm going to sell my lover just like that? Who does they think they are?"
This was one of the moments that made Heero glad that these girls were his allies. The teen suddenly began to have difficulty moving his legs for some reason, then he fell to one knee and because he weighed so much in his Gundam transformation Neptune, Compa, and IF were able to hear him fall.
When they turned around Heero was not moving, he was on one knee and looking down at the ground, "Are you okay, Heero?" The sound of a warning siren began to emanate from Heero, followed by a monotone female voice, "[WARNING, PRIMARY GENERATOR FAILING, SWITCHING TO SECONDARY GENERATORY. TIME UNTIL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN: FIFTEEN MINUTES.]"
The sound of the siren died down and Heero began to pick himself back up, then he reverted to his regular human self, "Wh-What's going on? What was that all about?"
Heero was glaring as he looked at the ground, "…That last attack must have severed the connection to the main drive unit." Heero walked past Neptune, Compa and IF while talking to himself, most likely about something relating to his mission, "You think Heero will be all right? He's been sick for a while now…"
Neptune could only watch as Heero walked away, "I've noticed a number of things that have been wrong with Heero while he has been sick. Above all else, he hasn't been healing like he normally has been… his injuries are accumulating."
IF cocked an eyebrow, "Now that you mention it, he normally does heal himself after he returns to normal… But what I'VE noticed is that his armor is weaker, normally he would be able to withstand an attack without taking any real damage."
The three girls contemplated what they could do to help Heero as they continued on the walk back to the capital city.
Xxx
In one of the many factory type dungeons around Lastation, the mysterious white haired girl that had attacked Neptune and company was sitting on a smooth rock near the entrance of the dungeon and appeared to be in deep thought, "Can't find her… Things won't always go as planned, I guess. I wonder where Neptune will go? Those guild people said something about a Key Fragment…"
The mysterious swordstress stood up and started pacing, "A piece of… a key? I wonder if it belonged to Neptune. Is that what they're looking for…?"
The girl fell silent for a moment… a long moment, then she began shake her head, "…No, no! Stupid Black Heart, don't go off on pointless tangents! How will I deal with Neptune? Shall I disguise myself and set up a food shack in front of the Basilicom? She's always loved warm food…"
Once again, the mystery girl fell silent for a long moment ago, and shook her head once more, "…Stop thinking about the food shack! It's not like you want to cook for her or anything! What I really need to focus on is getting that Heero guy away from Neptune."
The white haired girl looked up to see the individuals she had been talking about along with Compa and IF, "Tch, Neptune…!" The aforementioned preteen was right in front of the mystery girl, "Hey, you! In the plug suit dealie!"
The white haired girl jumped back to put some distance between herself and Neptune, "Wh-What are you…? Planning to ambush me, eh?! Good for you. I'll gladly accept your challenge!"
IF raised a questioning eyebrow at the girl, "Why would we ambush you? Did we take the same job again? Or are you… perhaps… stalking cute little Neptune?"
"Wha-no! Well, yes! B-B-But, Neptune! I'm here to settle the score with you!" Compa had her hands on Neptune's shoulders, "You can't have our Nep-Nep! If you want her, you'll have to step over my dead body."
Heero looked at Compa for a brief moment, "(While I will admire her determination, I believe that the correct way to phrase that was, 'you can have her over my dead body.'"
The mystery girl balled her hands into tight fists, "Oh, okay. I owe you a plate of revenge anyway. I'll take all three of you at the same time! (If he's really stronger than Neptune, I'll have to take on Heero by himself.)"
As the white haired swordstress had this thought in her mind, she was looking straight at Heero. Neptune followed her gaze to the teen behind her and came to her own conclusion of what the mystery girl meant by 'settle the score with you', "*Gasp* Compa! Iffy! I know why she's really here! She came to steal Heero again!"
As expected from the accusation, the white haired girl's eyes widened, "N-No I'm not! I'm not here for him at all!"
Compa covered her mouth and gasped, while IF narrowed her eyes at the mystery girl, "Is that a fact? It would be one thing if you were just after Neptune, but Heero? That's crossing the line."
The mystery girl's cheeks slowly turned pink, "Why do keep thinking I want to steal him anyway?!"
Neptune had her hands on her hips as her cheeks began to puff up, "I know you're totally jealous of me 'cause Heero is my lover and not yours. I betcha you have all kinds of dreams about doin' the thing with Heero. You're probably havin' one right now!"
Neptune glomped Heero while keeping her attention on the white haired girl, "Heero's mine! All mine! Do ya get me, man-stealer?!"
The white haired swordstress stomped her foot as her cheeks began to turn red, "Why would I have dreams about a guy I know nothing about?!"
"'Why' you ask? What girl in her right mind wouldn't have dreams about doin' the thing with Heero? He's super-hot, uber strong and smart, and he acts all cool and serious, but really he's super nice."
Heero was unsure of what to make of the situation, so he retained his silence, meanwhile Compa violently shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no! You can't have Heero!"
The nurse-in-training ran over to Heero and threw her around his left arm, "If you want Heero, you have to beat us! And we won't lose easily, especially when Heero is at stake!"
While IF wanted to grab ahold of Heero's other arm and stake her claim on the teen, she restrained herself, "When we first ran into you I thought you were just after Neptune, and I was fine with that. Now I see that you're just some harpy looking to steal the only guy in our party. (…And probably the best looking guy in all of Gamindustri.)"
The mysterious swordstress brandished her sword as her face slowly became as red as cherry, "I keep telling you, I'm not here for him! I haven't been after him, and I never will be!"
Heero stood in silent contemplation, "(…Where do they get the idea that this girl is after me? From how I see it, it is obvious that she is after Neptune.)"
Neptune, Compa and IF stood in front of Heero with determined looks on their faces, "Don't you worry, Heero. We'll totally beat her up so she won't come after you, then we can go back and celebrate with some yummy food!"
IF dashed at the swordstress, her razor sharp Katars at the ready, while Compa fired a number of bullets from her syringe. The white haired girl blocked or dodged all of the bullets, before moving to deal with IF, "(Neptune has an annoying habit of getting behind me when I'm not looking. I have to keep my eyes on her so she can't get me.)"
While the mystery girl kept her attention on Neptune, she had to juggle the task of blocking and dodging both Compa and IF's attacks… which was slowly beginning to take its toll on her, "(Tch! I can't keep fighting like this. I have to take out Neptune, and quick!)"
The swordstress launched an attack at IF. The brunette narrowly escaped being impaled by the large sword, only receiving a cut across her cheek, "You must want Heero pretty bad if you're finally going on the offense… But don't think I'll lose to you!"
IF pushed the broadsword away with a sudden burst of strength, then attempted to kick the swordstress, but her attack was blocked by the large sword she had just forced away. However, the white haired girl was now too preoccupied to see that Neptune had gotten behind her, "Give up!"
The purple haired preteen kicked the girl in her back side… though Neptune began to regret making the decision to attack her then, as she had been kicked towards Heero, who was leaning on one of the factory walls… still in silent contemplation.
Neptune, Compa and IF froze in place. The girl who they had been fighting was right in front of Heero, her left leg was locked with Heero's right, her chest was pushed up against his with one of her breasts in Heero's left hand, and her hands were on his shoulders.
Neptune's mouth was wide open, Compa looked as though she was about to cry, and IF looked absolutely livid. They thought that the mystery girl was kissing Heero… But that was because they could only see her back.
Heero's eyes were wide open in surprise, not only because he had been so deep in thought while the girls had been fighting, but because of who was in front of him.
The white haired swordstress was both surprised and embarrassed, her face was mere millimeters away from Heero's… they were so close that one would have to be right next to them to tell that they weren't kissing. Heero was experiencing the strange sensation that he had felt only from Neptune, Compa and IF until now, and the girl was looking deep into his Prussian blue eyes.
The swordstress could not move. Her cheeks began to burn, she was gasping for breath, she couldn't think straight, and her lips were quivering. Her thought process was so disoriented that she did not seem to notice that Heero had accidently cupped one of her soft mounds.
Suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity, the mystery girl felt a stinging pain in the back of her head, as Neptune was pulling on her hair, "You get away from Heero right now, Destined Lover-stealer! Now! Now! Now! Now! NOW!"
The white haired girl regained her senses and tried to swat Neptune away, "I-I-I'm not trying to steal anyone!"
"Are too! We just saw you kissin' Heero! That was so not cool!" Compa was holding her syringe in one hand, which was hard to believe when normally she needed both arms to wield it, and for the first time… she actually looked angry, "…She stole Heero's first kiss from us… from me…"
The pink haired nurse threw the syringe at the girl who had just been labeled as a 'Destined Lover-stealer', who narrowly dodged it from how fast it was going. When the white haired girl returned her attention to Compa, the nurse-in-training was right in front of her with her right arm reared back and a tear fell from her eye, "Eat my broken heart, you man-stealer!"
Compa punched the swordstress with frightening strength, as she was sent right through one of the walls and landed on her stomach. As she got back up she experienced a feeling of dread, she saw a pair of blue shoes in front of her and slowly looked up to see IF and the murderous intent in her eyes, "You bitch…"
IF lifted her right leg into the air then swiftly brought it down, breaking apart the metal floor and launching the swordstress into the air before kicking her through the wall she just came through, leaving another hole.
The white haired girl tumbled for a moment before landing on her back, covered in bruises. And of course, Neptune was standing above her with sword in hand and gritting her teeth, "I was supposed to get Heero's first kiss!"
Neptune brought her katana down with such force that she left a crater where she had struck and the swordstress landed flat on her stomach in front of the factory entrance.
Heero was quite surprised at how strong Neptune, Compa and IF were. How they had suddenly become this strong, he did not know, but they certainly knew how to be destructive and scary when they wanted to be.
The mystery girl slowly picked herself up, clutching her arm, "Again…? I have no choice but to admit I can't quite take all of you down at once. However, there's still one way! This landmass will eventually assault Neptune. Don't ever forget that!"
The white haired girl turned to run but not before stealing a glance at Heero, which caused her cheeks to turn a light pink, and then she took off.
Neptune hand her hands on her hips and she puffed out her chest, "It doesn't matter how many times you try! Justice is totally on our side!"
IF rolled her eyes at the preteen, "Yeah, three against one. Such balanced justice. Shouldn't you have chased after her?"
"Why? I don't care. Not like she's a lean, mean, grilling machine. She won't satisfy my hunger." The brunette shook her head, "…No, I mean, she despises you. She probably knows something about you prior to you losing your memories."
Neptune immediately turned in the direction that the mystery girl had gone, "Oooh, snappy-snap! I could ask her everything if I catch her. I didn't even think about it… Wait up! Heero, you gotta help me catch her!"
Neptune took off after the girl with Heero following behind, leaving Compa and IF be themselves, "Geez. She's got such a one-track mind. Shall we? I'm sure she'll be fine since she has Heero with her."
Xxx
Farther ahead in the cave Neptune and Heero were in, a strikingly beautiful raven haired girl appeared to be trying to find the entrance to the cave while muttering to herself, "Nothing's going my way. I lost to Neptune and my power's run out on top of that."
Suddenly, the girl felt someone grab her from behind and all she could see of the person was a pair of arms around her waist, "Hmm… Ah-ha! Gotcha! All right, prepare t-huh? Oh, wrong person."
The raven haired girl looked very surprised as she twisted her neck to look at her assailant, "Neptune?! Don't scare me like that! Have you come after me? Fine, let's go, fair and square!"
Neptune released her hold on the girl, "Whoa, hold your ponies. Have we… met? Sorry, who are you and where are you from?" The preteen tilted her head in a confused manner, "Hmm, but we know each other, right? Sorry, I gotta bad memory lately, so… I guess that explains why I'd become an amnesiac so easily! Y'know, it kinda sucks."
The raven haired girl turned to face Neptune while Heero stayed behind said preteen, "Neptune, you lost your memory? How di-…?" The mystery teen stopped herself and closed her eyes, "…Oh, I see. That's right."
"Yeah, it happened a while ago. All I know about little ol' me is my name and I can transform. Iffy and Compa have been…" Neptune stopped her train of thought as she remembered why it was she and Heero had been running through the cave in the first place, "Oops, I totally forgot! Have you seen a girl your age in a skanky one-piece with lots of weapons on her body?"
The teenaged girl fidgeted slightly, "I don't know where to begin. I… saw someone like that fly into the sky… and into the horizon…"
Neptune turned to Heero, "Whatcha think Heero, will we be able to find her? We can't catch her on foot." The Perfect Soldier crossed his arms as he took in this information, "If she is capable of flight, she will have covered too much ground for us to track her by the time we leave this area."
Neptune returned her attention to the raven haired teen before her, "Thanks for the spiffy info. So, you're…" The bubbly preteen looked at the girl and saw a red liquid seeping out of a few cuts on her skin, "Whoa! Are you bleeding?!"
The raven haired girl looked down at herself to see the cuts and the blood that was escaping from them, "Huh? Oh, yes. I… um… Monsters! I was assaulted by three little harpies!"
"Um, maybe you should get those treated? Let us take you back to town, okay?" Neptune turned to Heero, "Heero! I need you to carry her back to town so Compa can take care of her."
The teen nodded in response, "Roger." Heero walked over to the girl, who was slightly surprised at Neptune's decision to take her back, "Wh-What? Wait… Um, I… O-Oh…!"
Heero swept the beautiful teen girl off her feet and carried her in his arms. Neptune pointed in the direction that she and Heero had come from, "All right, back to town! March people!"
As they walked back to the entrance to the cave the raven haired girl stole a few glances at Heero from time to time, finding it very difficult to look at him for more than a few seconds.
Xxx
After they had returned to the place of residence they had been staying, Compa had begun to treat the mystery girl's injuries. Compa had finished disinfecting and bandaging the wounds in a few short minutes, "…The injuries aren't severe. I'm sure you'll be all healed up in a few days with no scars at all."
The beautiful teenaged girl examined the bandages before looking back at the pink haired nurse, "Thank you. You're Neptune's friend, um… Compa, right?"
A small smile made its way onto Compa's face, "Yes! I found Nep-Nep on the ground back in Planeptune. We've been as close as scissors ever since then!"
Neptune was sitting on the bed across from the raven haired girl, "So where'd you come from? Iffy's not here, but that's okay. We can take you back to wherever you're from."
The girl scratched her cheek, trying to think of something, "Um, I came from really, really far away. I don't… r-remember the details."
"What? Then… You're…!" Neptune's eyes began to light up, "*Gasp* My amnesiac best buddy?!"
The raven haired teen looked confused for a brief moment, "Huh? Oh, oh yes! That's right, amnesia. Oh boy, I can't remember a thing! It must've happened when I was attacked."
Compa tilted her head, "When you were attacked? How could you get amnesia from being attacked?"
"Psychological trauma." The three girls in the room turned to Heero, who was sitting at a desk working on his laptop, "The shock from being attacked by monsters must been strong enough to wipeout her memories."
Heero stood up from the desk he was seated at and walked over to the raven haired girl, "Aside from where you are from, do you not remember anything else before you were attacked?"
The teenaged girl could not look at Heero, "N-No… I don't. (Why am I having so much trouble looking at one guy?)" Heero narrowed his eyes as she told him that she could not remember anything else, "…She is a Retrograde amnesiac."
Neptune began to scratch the top of her head, "Uh, can you use smaller words or explain it a little, Heero? It's kinda hard to understand when you use those big words."
Heero closed his eyes as he thought of a way to explain what he was talking about so the girls could understand, "Basically, she cannot retrieve any information that was acquired before a particular date, specifically the day she had been attacked… today."
Compa looked back at the raven haired girl, "Then how can we get you back home? Uh-oh…" The teenaged amnesiac looked away, "R-Right…"
Neptune pumped her arms as she came up with an idea, "Just stick around us until you remember! You can totally help us save Histy!" Compa shook her head at the preteen, "No, this isn't going to be an easy journey. We shouldn't involve outsiders!"
The door to the room swung open and IF entered the room, "What's all the ruckus? I could hear you from outside. Nice to know you're all chummy, I guess. Did you decide what to do? Let's take her back while it's light outside. Her parents must be worried sick."
Compa turned to the brunette standing at the door, "Actually, we've decided she will stay. She doesn't remember anything. We can't let her fight though, since she's a civilian."
The aforementioned girl gave a small bow, "I apologize for the trouble. Please don't push yourselves for my sake." IF looked from the teenaged amnesiac to Neptune, "No choice, huh? Neptune, you found her, so you better take responsibility for her."
Neptune had her hands on her hips as she smiled at IF, "Alrighty! I'll feed her, potty train her, take her for walks, and get her spayed until she remembers something!"
Heero looked at Neptune for a moment, "…She is not a dog, Neptune." IF gave the preteen a strange look herself before passing it off, "…What? Oh well. Ladies, we've got another job request. Get prepped in forty seconds!"
Compa started scrambling around, "F-Forty seconds…? That's way too specific and way too quick for a girl to get herself ready to go out!"
IF walked over to the beautiful teen girl, "We're going out for a bit, so keep the door locked. Eat whatever you find in the bowl Neptune got you. Here's some cash. If you remember where you came from while we're out, don't worry about saying goodbye. Just go. Later."
As the group of four left, the raven haired girl could hear IF asking Heero whether he was really okay to take on a job request before the door closed. The teen was silent for a brief moment, "…So chatty. It's something… we didn't have in Celestia…"
Xxx
When the party returned to their room, the amnesiac girl was still there. Neptune had formed a bond with her, unfortunately the raven haired girl did not reciprocate the feeling. IF and Compa went out to 'do some shopping' in the guise of getting away to give the girls time to talk freely, and Heero went off on his own.
Neptune was sitting on the bed next to her 'amnesiac best buddy', "It's so quiet when Compa and Iffy are out shopping. And Heero didn't tell us where he was going. So, didja remember anything yet, amnesia buddy?"
The girl shook her head, "No, unfortunately not. Soon, I hope. Can I ask why you four are on this journey?" Neptune started to get excited as she told the amnesiac girl why the party was traveling together, "We're saving the world! A beautiful princess named Histy is locked away in a huge castle prison somewhere! Only Heero and I can hear her voice. Awesome, huh? She's waiting for us to save her as we speak. How can I ignore her?"
The raven haired girl seemed somewhat impressed with Neptune, "You're quite committed. But, a goddess should care for more than one thing at a time."
"A goddess, right. People who look the most bored are usually the ones who are working the hardest!" The teenager nodded her head, "But our hard work doesn't always pay off… You must be future-proof or your efforts will go to waste…!"
Neptune tilted her head, "Y'think? All experience points get split equally across the party's level. Isn't that kinda future-proofing?"
"What? No! Ugh, sorry. I shouldn't expect you to understand when you don't remember anything from your past. But, that's exactly why I can speak with you like this. People say I only do everything… I don't think that's true."
The purple haired preteen assumed her thinking position, "Oh, I can't do everything either! I've tried to lick the chocolate off a candy bar, but I still end up chomping on it."
The girl next to Neptune seemed slightly amused by the preteen, "Hahaha, what's that about? I meant… like… well, I get a little too focused sometimes. A real one-track mind."
Neptune started scratching the back of her head, "…I dunno about that. Are you… um… starting to remember stuff?" The beautiful teen suddenly realized what she had been saying, "Oh, no! Nope, not a thing. I'm just rambling. I guess. I don't get to talk to other girls like this very often. Neptune, can I ask you one last weird question?"
"Last one? Okay, but it better not be perverted. I am a pure maiden."
"It won't. I promise. Do you… ever wanna become a… goddess? You wanna save the people, right? You can do it if you were a goddess. Don't you want that power?"
Neptune had a blank look on her face, "Hmm, nopers! I'd have to leave Compa and Iffy and live in Celestia and read and govern and… blah! No way!"
The preteen suddenly had a sad look on her face, "And worst of all, I'd have to leave Heero!" The raven haired girl tilted her head, "Is he important to you?"
"Oh, more than anything! Heero is worth more to me than even the best tasting sweets. He's my Destined Lover."
The teenager stared at Neptune for a moment, "Destined Lover? What do you mean? Is there something going on between the two of you?"
"Well, when I fell to the ground, Heero was right where I fell. He saved me from dying the worst death imaginable! A death with no chance of getting a do-over! Histy asked Heero to help me, and he said his mission was to protect me, and that he'd sacrifice himself for me! That's how I know we're Destined Lovers, and nobody can make me leave Heero, nope, not happenin'."
The raven haired teen looked away from Neptune, "While we're on the topic… could you… tell me a little about Heero?"
When the girl turned back around, Neptune's cheeks were puffed up, "Are tryin' to become another one of my rivals for Heero's love?"
The amnesiac girl put her hands up defensively, her cheeks slowly turning pink, "N-No! I-I was just curious… he seems different from other people."
Neptune looked away and assumed her thinking position, "Heero is really strong and smart. He's also super observant, and he acts all stoic and silent, but he's actually really nice! He's always super focused on protecting cute little me. And that's why I love him!"
The crimson eyed teen looked at the floor, her cheeks started to burn, "Do you happen to know… his preferences?" Neptune blinked at the girl a few times, "Whatcha mean? Like food and stuff?"
The girl shook her head, "N-No, I mean… do you know… what kind of girl Heero is interested in?"
Neptune rubbed her temples, then scratched her cheek, and assumed her thinking position once more, "Hmm, well… I think he's interested in me 'cause… Heero thinks about me all the time when he's protecting me and stuff."
The teen let out a sigh, "I'll take that as a no. (…So I have nothing to go on.) I see. I'm glad I heard your honest answer. You would've never said such a thing before… I'll be the one to protect the world. I'll rule everything. I'll end it all."
Neptune was starting to get confused, "Protect? Rule? What're you mumbling about? Iffy's not here to explain those words…"
The crimson eyed girl had a determined look on her face, "Don't worry. Just stay here in this world and concentrate on saving your Histy princess. Okay?" Neptune tilted her head, completely confused at this point.
Xxx
It had been about two hours since Heero, Compa and IF had gone out to give the two amnesiacs time to talk amongst themselves, and they were now asleep.
As she was sleeping, the raven haired amnesiac felt a hand stroking her hair, and it was oddly pleasant. Her eyelids slowly flickered open and turned in the direction of the hand, before she began to fall asleep again.
The raven haired girl's eyes snapped open when she realized that the one who had been stroking her hair was Heero… not only that, but she had fallen asleep on his lap. She immediately sat up and her cheeks were bright red, "Wh-What's going on? When did you get back?"
Unlike the girl, Heero was not embarrassed or surprised, "…Just now. I found you on the edge of your bed and you were about to fall off. I was going to put you back in, however you started grabbing onto me."
The amnesiac girl's cheeks turned a darker shade of red, "I-I'm sorry. I hope it wasn't any trouble for you." The two sat in silence, the only noise in the room was Neptune's snoring.
The raven haired teen was unsure of what to say or do, and was about to speak when Heero stood up, "Perhaps it would be best to go outside. I can imagine you are uncomfortable being confined to this room for an extended period of time."
"Well, yes, but… where would I go?"
"I have no objections should you wish to leave the room, though I will have to keep an eye on you." The raven haired girl looked at Heero quizzically, "What do you mean 'keep an eye on me'?"
Heero walked over to the door, "It would not be wise for you to go into town on your own, so I will accompany." The amnesiac's cheek were a light pink, "Wh-What? N-No, I can go on my own. I-I wouldn't want to be any trouble to you."
"It was Neptune's order." The mystery teen stopped when she heard Heero mention Neptune, "She told me to either stop you, or go with you should you want to leave this room."
"…O-Okay." Heero opened the door as the beautiful teen came towards it, closing it after he had passed through the doorway after her.
Xxx
Heero and the teenaged girl had ventured into the city, looking through random stores and restaurants. The raven haired girl was currently looking through the window of a jewelry store, gazing at a specific accessory, "(I never really get time to just relax and shop like this…)"
Heero had been watching the girl and the object she was focused on. When she moved on to look at another store, Heero entered the jewelry, meanwhile the teenaged girl was farther along the shopping district and ended up in a deserted portion of it.
She looked around to see that there was no one around, which was strange as not a moment ago there were hundreds of people walking along the streets, "Did I really come this far? Heero, do you know where we are-"
When the amnesiac turned around, she found that Heero was not there. She then heard a low rumbling sound, "W-Who's there?!" The crimson eyed girl looked around, but could not find the source of the rumbling.
As she tried to find the source of the noise, the teen noticed that a large shadow had eclipsed her own. The crimson eyed girl turned around to see a large monster towering over her, a hungry look in its eyes.
Suffice it to say, the teen was surprised to see a monster in the city… even if it was in an abandoned section of the city like the one she was in now, "How did a monster get into the city?! Fine, Let's go, right now!"
As the monster prepared itself to attack the girl, it suddenly twitched, and then fell over. Standing on the other side of the fallen monster was Heero with his GN Sword on his arm and his normal emotionless façade.
The Perfect Soldier stepped over the now dead monster and stood in front of the raven haired girl, "…I do not want you leaving my side from now on."
The girl was taken aback by what Heero had just told her, "…W-why not?"
"Is that a rhetorical question? You were about to be eaten by that monster. Until we return to the other, protecting you will be my highest priority."
The crimson eyed teen started to blush as her heart began to beat faster, "Y-You're… going to… protect me?" Heero nodded in response. The amnesiac looked away from Heero, unable to look at him straight in the eye, "Wh-Where were you anyway?"
"…Close your eyes." The girl wasn't sure why Heero wanted her to close her eyes, but did so anyway. As her vision was now obscured the crimson eyed teen could only hear Heero's footsteps, which seemed to draw closer.
The teen felt her hair being shifted slightly, then it fell back into place, "…You may open your eyes now." The girl looked down as her eyes flickered open, slowly widening upon seeing an object dangling from her neck that had not been there before, "T-This is…!"
"I saw you looking at this particular necklace. I thought it might be something you were interested in, so I bought it for you." The necklace that Heero had placed around the girl's neck was a jet black necklace in the shape of a heart. The raven haired girl gingerly touched the necklace with her fingers, "Is there anywhere else you would like to go?"
The amnesiac swallowed hard, she could feel her heart thumping against her chest, "N-No… w-we should head back." The Gundam pilot nodded in response, "If that is what you want… I will not object."
The pair of teenagers began to make their way back to the hotel, the crimson eyed girl occasionally stole a glance at Heero, who noticed her from the start, "…If there is something you wish to ask me you are more than welcome to, however I cannot guarantee that I will give a satisfactory response."
The amnesiac shook her head, "I-It's nothing. Really… (This must be how Neptune feels, since she has Heero to protect her and all…)"
Xxx
The door to the hotel room swung open and both Compa and IF entered the room. The nurse-in-training walked over to the bed that Neptune was lying on, "Wake up! Wakey-wakey, Nep-Nep!"
The purple haired preteen began to stir and her the movements of her eyes was tantalizingly slow, "Hrrmpphhh? …Compaaaaa… Oh, was I asleep?"
IF was standing next to the bed after looking at a piece of paper on the table in the middle of the room, "Yeah, comatose with drool, making a little lake by your face. She left, huh? There was a note saying she regained her memory."
Heero entered the room with a white box in his hands, meanwhile Neptune looked around the room and found that the raven haired girl was gone, "Oh, she did…? She was my first and only amnesiac best buddy…"
Heero in the doorway listening to the conversation, while IF tilted her head, "Something happen? What did you two do all day?"
"We were just talking about stuff. She seemed stressed over something and I was all listening to her and whatever." IF looked back at the note, then at Neptune again, "I know I said it was okay, but it's still kind of cold she actually did leave with just a note saying her good-byes."
Neptune had jumped off the bed and stood in front of IF, "Th-That's not true. We talked a whole bunch and she was really nice! Take that back, you meanieface!"
IF was taken aback by Neptune's sudden outburst before regaining her posture, "Wh-What's your problem? Seriously, what happened? You're acting like a spoiled cry-baby… sort of like Compa."
Compa's concern was evident on her face, "Huh? Let's just leave her alone for now, Iffy. Nep-Nep seems upset." Neptune began to look at the floor, "No, I'm… I'm just sad. I dunno why, but I'm sad."
Heero could not understand why, but he felt… guilty. Heero let out a breath he had been holding in and walked over to Neptune, who looked up once he was standing in front of her, "Oh… hey, Heero."
The Gundam pilot held out the box in his hands to the preteen, who looked at the box quizzically, "I was going to give this to you later, however now seems as good a time as any."
Neptune took the box from Heero, upon opening it her eyes lit up from the contents inside, "Whoa, that is a really good looking chocolate cake! And it's even got strawberries on it!"
"As the leader of the group, your attitude and feelings have an impact on the team. If you are disheartened, the morale of the team will suffer."
Heero retreated to the kitchen, and IF crossed her arms as a small smile curved her lips, "I don't know why, but I think it's cute the way Heero tries to hide behind logic when he does things like this."
Heero returned with a glass of milk in his hands and set it down on the table in front of Neptune. The purple haired girl reached into the box and pulled off one of the strawberries on top of the cake, then held it close to Heero's mouth, "Heero, say 'Ah'!"
The teen looked at Neptune for a moment, "I had bought that cake so YOU could eat it. Do you not want it?"
"It's not that, I do want it! But c'mon, Heero. Please?" The preteen was still holding the strawberry covered in chocolate in front of the soldier's mouth. Heero thought about what he should do, but realized that this may have been part of how Neptune was coping with losing her first 'amnesiac best buddy'.
Heero opened his mouth slightly, and Neptune pushed the chocolate covered fruit into his mouth. Heero chewed the sweet and tangy object before swallowing. Neptune put her cake down, took another strawberry off of the cake, and put it in Heero's hand, "Now you can feed one to me!"
Neptune opened her mouth, waiting for Heero to put the strawberry in. The way she waited made her look like a dog waiting for a treat, Heero put the fruit into the preteen's mouth, and Neptune happily ate it, "Food tastes so much better when you share it with your true love, doesn't it, Heero? Anyway, let's go look for that Key Fragment!"
Heero actually felt somewhat relieved that Neptune had returned to her happy, energetic self. The party made sure to grab their things before departing for another random dungeon to search for the Key Fragment.
Xxx
In one of the cave like dungeon's surrounding Lastation, the white haired swordstress was pacing around a large boulder deep in thought… But this time, it was not Neptune who she was thinking about, "…I wonder what kind of girl Heero likes?"
The mystery girl was silent for a minute before violently shaking her head, "I-I don't need to be thinking about him! I need to focus on how I'm going to beat Neptune."
Xxx
The swordstress looked around and saw Heero standing in front of her, she felt a draft and looked down, only to see that her body suit was missing. She immediately covered herself with her arms, her face was beet red from embarrassment, "H-Heero… don't look at me… I-I…"
The swordstress had her back to the teenager. Suddenly she felt Heero's arms wrap around her and pulled her petite frame closer to his body, the white haired girl shivered from the close contact, "I don't care how you look. You will always look beautiful to me."
"H-Heero…" Heero slowly turned the swordstress so that she was facing his direction. He cupped her chin with his hand and directed her face so that she was looking into his eyes. Heero began to close the gap between their faces, while the white haired girl slowly closed her eyes, not even attempting to resist Heero's advance, "Ah…."
Xxx
Steam was rising out of the white haired swordstress' head, she had just finished having a thrilling daydream about herself and Heero. She regained her senses and lightly slapped the sides of her face, "Wh-What am I thinking?! I-I don't like Heero at all! …N-Not to say that I dislike him… I-I just don't like him in that way."
The mysterious swordstress was snapped out of her reverie of thought when she heard voices drawing closer, one of which she made out to be Heero's, "…This cave is apparently unstable. If at all possible, I would like to limit any damage done to its structural integrity."
Soon Neptune, Heero, Compa and IF came into view. The twin braided swordstress next to Heero looked up at the ceiling of the cave, "That would be best. I don't exactly feel like digging myself out of a cave in."
The white haired swordstress began to dig her nails into the boulder she was hiding behind, a wave of jealousy had washed over her, "Look at her, she just gets to walk right next to Heero without a care in the world… it makes me sick!"
The swordstress came out of hiding and stood before the group… again, "I've found you, Neptune!" Neptune narrowed her eyes at the mystery girl, "…How many times are you going to try and steal Heero from me? Haven't I made it clear that you will never beat me?"
The swordstress clenched her fists, "Shut up! You've been lucky, that's all. I'm going to beat you this time!"
Heero felt something drop onto his head, looked up, and saw cracks starting to spread across the ceiling. The Gundam pilot's eyes widened as he knew what was about to happen, "Move!"
Neptune was caught off guard by Heero's sudden outburst and large rocks began to fall from the ceiling, Heero pushed Neptune away, though in the process ended up colliding with the mystery girl. The purple haired swordstress watched as the column of rocks crashed to the ground, separating Heero from the rest of the party.
Neptune picked herself up off the ground and rushed over to the fallen boulders, "Heero!" IF clenched her fists, a nervous look on her face, "I don't think Heero got trapped under the rocks, but now he's stuck on the other side… and he's with HER!"
Neptune began to imagine what the mystery girl would do to her Destined Lover before facing Compa and IF, "…We will have to take the long way around. Let's hurry."
Both Compa and IF nodded in agreement, then the trio of girls began to ran back the way they came so that they could get to where Heero was or where he was going.
Xxx
On the other side of the cave-in, Heero was lying down on something soft, too soft to be the ground. As he opened his eyes Heero saw skin in his peripheral vision, as he began to move back he realized that he had landed on someone's chest… and that 'someone' was the girl who had just came out to fight Neptune.
The white haired swordstress was conscious too, and she was embarrassed that Heero had landed on her. She pushed the soldier away and covered her chest, "I-I didn't need you to save me! And who do you think you are, touching my breasts like that?!"
Heero glared at the swordstress, "I only did what I did to save Neptune. Rest assured, I had no intention of saving you." As Heero walked in the only direction that was available at the time, the white haired girl looked sad, hearing Heero say that he did not want to save her had hurt.
She stood up and began to walk in the same direction as Heero, suddenly the Perfect Soldier fell to his knees and was coughing up blood. The swordstress was immediately next to him, "He-… Uh, I mean, are you all right?!"
Heero found it difficult to stand, "I have been suffering from an illness as of late… my condition has not improved… it only seems to deteriorate."
The white haired girl grabbed one of Heero's arms and wrapped around her shoulder and had one hand on his hip, "…Why are you helping me?"
The swordstress averted her eyes from Heero, "D-Don't get the wrong idea. I'd have a guilty conscience if I left you here." Heero and the white haired girl who was having to support him began to make their way through the cave to find an exit.
Xxx
Fifteen minutes had passed and the duo had made some progress, though Heero was starting to get tired as his condition grew worst. The white haired girl set Heero down on a rock with a smooth top, it was also long enough to act as bed.
Heero was sitting on the edge of the rock, while the white haired girl was sitting behind him, looking away from the teen, "So… what do we do now?"
Heero gave no response, prompting the girl to look at him, "Hey! Are you listening t-" Heero fell back and his head landed in the swordstress' lap. The white haired girl's cheeks began to burn, "Wh-Wh-What are you doing?! You can't just-"
The swordstress stopped when she realized that Heero was unconscious. She looked away from the teen, her cheeks still a bright red color, "Well… fine… I guess you did let me sleep in your lap... B-But just this once! Don't think I'll let you do this all the time!"
As Heero slept, the white haired girl focused her attention on his face. He actually looked peaceful… well, as peaceful as he could be given his current condition. The girl gently brushed a few strands of Heero's errant bangs out of his face, then slowly leaned down towards him.
The white haired girl began to close her eyes as she drew closer to Heero's lips, she gasped when she felt Heero's breathe against her skin, shuddered for a moment, and then moved even closer. The swordstress' lips began to quiver when she was a hair's width away from kissing the unconscious Heero.
Just as she was about to finish closing the distance, the white haired girl's eyes snapped open and she swiftly pulled back, her cheeks were a deep crimson as she covering her mouth with her hand, "I-I see what kind of game you're trying to play. B-But it won't work on me!"
Heero began to stir, then he sat up and looked at the girl, "…How long was I unconscious?" The swordstress looked away from Heero, "A-About a minute or two."
The Perfect Soldier stood up, "We had better get moving. We cannot afford to waste time." Heero and the white haired girl continued down the rocky cave until they reached a split in the path. And as fate would have it, Heero saw cracks forming on the ceiling again, indicating that another cave-in was imminent.
Heero grabbed the white haired swordstress and shoved her down the path on the right before the falling rocks could hit her. When the white haired girl got up off the ground Heero was not with her, which meant that he had either been flattened or that he was trapped on the other side, the girl bit on her lower lip as she thought that the former was what happened, "Heero…"
With no other way to go, the white haired girl passed through the narrow opening at the other end of the path which ironically lead to two more paths. One had light pouring out of it, obviously the exit, the other possibly connected to the path that Heero had to take.
The swordstress was silent for a moment before shaking her head, "I-I don't need him! I don't care about him one bit!" As the girl tried to head for the exit, her body began to move down the other path, "…But… I can't just leave him…"
Xxx
Heero had entered a large room in the dungeon, his movements were slow as his condition worsened. Half way into the room, Heero fell to his knees and covered his mouth with one of his hands. His efforts were futile and the teen ended up vomiting blood onto the ground before wrapping his arms around himself, "…Wh… What's wrong… with me now…?!"
Heero felt like he was being roasted alive, as if someone had dumped a drum of gasoline all over him and then struck a match on him. As Heero was writhing in pain, a large group of monsters entered the room from the other side, "Damn… I am no longer in any condition to fight…"
The group consisted of ogre-like monsters called 'Jyaki', a few Vampire Bats, and a Chimera. As soon as they caught sight of Heero, the monsters thought they had found a quick human snack and encircled the Gundam pilot.
Neptune, Compa and IF entered the room from another one of the openings to find Heero completely surround, "Oh, no! Heero's going to be eaten!"
Neptune clenched her fist as she bit on her lip, "Don't say that Compa. Heero looks like he's in pain, we have to help him!"
The white haired swordstress entered through the fourth and final opening in the room, and saw exactly what Neptune, Compa and IF saw, "…What are you doing, Heero?! You have to get up!"
The Jyaki in front of Heero raised the large club in its hand, intend on crushing the teen. As Heero's pain reached its peak, a blank HDD disk began to float out in front of him. The teen let out a pained cry, and the room was bathed in a bright light.
(For added effect, play Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam - Skull Heart Arrives Arranged Extended) When the light subsided, an armored figure was kneeling where Heero had been. The figures arms and legs were white, while its torso was black and had a relief of a skull and crossbones on the front. There were thrusters mounted on the back of the figure and the way they were attached and their design made them look like a pair of crossbones, the shoulders looked bulky and there were strange coat-like objects attached to the shoulder.
The figures face was white with green eyes and a gold V on its forehead and another relief of a skull and crossbones was in the center of it. As the armored figure began to stand to its full height, the monsters began to back away, intimidated by the figure, "…I see… so that's why I remember seeing it…"
Heero was the armored figure and he examined himself for a brief moment, "(…This is the Gundam used by Gundam pilot Tobia Arronax… The Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth…)"
The Jyaki that had tried to flatten Heero before made a second attempt, this time though, Heero caught the club in mid-swing. Heero did not even need to use any strength at all to hold the crude weapon back, rather he simply broke the blunt weapon.
Before the Jyaki could do anything else, the 'eyes' of the skull and crossbones on the torso of the X1 lit up for a brief moment before machine gun bullets were ejected from the torso straight at the monster. The empty shell cases hit the ground once before vanishing, and within a few short seconds the ogre-like monster was a bullet ridden corpse.
Once the monster had fallen, Heero reached behind his back and pulled out a crossbow-like weapon with nine beam guns attached to it and the words 'Peacock Smasher' were in bold letters on the sides of the weapon. The moment he pulled the trigger, several quick bursts of thermal energy escaped from the beam guns followed by a sustained beam.
The Peacock Smasher proved more than enough to thin out the number of monsters, leaving nothing but a swath of destruction behind. With only two monsters life to deal with, Heero put away the beam weapon and pulled out a long white sword with a skull and crossbone relief, two handles, one of which had a trigger attached to it, and fourteen openings along the sides.
One of the remaining monsters, a Jyaki, rushed the Crossbone Gundam, however the attack was doomed to failure, as pink thermal energy erupted out of the openings along the sword and cut through both the Jyaki and the club it was wielding before it had a chance to strike.
The monster fell into two pieces, and Heero turned his attention to the last monster: a Chimera. The monster was obviously intimidated. Heero put his sword away and a part of his metal mask slid out of place, revealing a glowing mouth, yellow mist escaped from the opening and the sight paralyzed the monster.
The right half of the 'coat' the Gundam was wearing fell off, and Heero grabbed the bulky shoulder piece to reveal the actual shoulder underneath. The thrusters mounted on the Gundam's back came to life and propelled the Crossbone Gundam into the air.
With frightening speed, the Gundam sped towards the monster with the shoulder piece in hand that now looked like a boxing glove. Heero threw his fist out and delivered a powerful, bone-crushing blow to the monster, then the 'boxing glove' split apart to reveal a beam saber, which Heero drove into the monster while still pushing the thrusters at high speed.
A large pink explosion erupted shortly after Heero had impaled the monster. While there was no trace of the monster, the Crossbone Gundam remained unscathed. The girls were awe-struck by the power of the Gundam, "That was…"
"…Amazing." The 'mouth' of the Crossbone Gundam closed, then the Gundam fell to one knee, and Heero reverted to his regular form, though he was now unconscious.
Neptune, Compa and IF rushed over to the teen, while the white haired swordstress hid behind a wall, fearing for Heero's health.
Xxx
Heero slowly began to stir, then regained consciousness. He found himself back in the hotel room the party was staying in, "…I must have fell unconscious… again."
"It's nice to see that your awake, Heero." Heero swiftly turned onto his side and his eyes widened when he saw Neptune lying on the bed next to him, "…What are you doing in bed with me?"
"Isn't it obvious? I wanted to be next my lover when he finally woke up." The purple haired swordstress' lips curved into a seductive smile, "And you confirmed my suspicions. You DO like big breasts."
Heero raised a questioning eyebrow, "…What do you mean?" Neptune moved closer to Heero, "While you were asleep, you squeezed my breasts, AND you used them as pillows… not that I'm complaining mind you."
Neptune grabbed one of Heero's hands and squeezed her right breast with it, "You squeezed them… just… like… this…" Heero pulled his hand way from the beautiful girl next to him, "Stop that."
Neptune suddenly draped herself on top of Heero, "I'm feeling a little tired. I might as well sleep in here with you, Heero." The door to the room swung open and both Compa and IF walked in, "Nep-Nep, is Heero-"
The nurse-in-training cut herself off when she saw the swordstress on top of Heero, "Th-That's not fair, Nep-Nep! You're cheating!"
"We were just playing around." Neptune fixed her attention Heero and stuffed his face into her cleavage, "But if Heero has had enough foreplay, I'm more than happy go farther."
Heero mentally sighed as he felt Neptune push his face further in-between her soft mounds, "(…This has been one hell of a day.)"
Xxx
Me: "And there's chapter 8 for you, people. I did the best job I could trying to describe the Crossbone Gundam… at least I got my story updated." (Suddenly starts crying.)
Compa: (Walks in an notices the author(me) crying) "What's wrong Mr. Author?"
Me: (Looks at Compa and buries his head into her chest) "It's terrible, Compa! I meant to have this chapter uploaded yesterday, but I had so much work to do! Wahh!"
Compa: (Pats author on the head) "There, there, Mr. Author. You did your best, and the chapter got finished."
Me: "…You really think so?"
Compa: (Nods head)
IF: (Walks in and notices Author and Compa) "What's going on?"
Compa: "Mr. Author is sad that he didn't get his story updated when he wanted to."
Me: "Iffy, do you mind wrapping up this chapter for me?"
IF: (Shrugs) "Sure."
Me and Compa: (Walk off set)
IF: "Well, he got the chapter done even when he had a ton of work to do. So all of you readers show your appreciation by reviewing this story, see ya." (Walks off set)
