Me: (Gives a bow to the readers) "Hello, my good readers! We here in the story have been getting quite a few good reviews, so the chances of the sequel to this wacky, romantic, action packed story are looking good."

Heero and Neptune: (Walk into 'Intro Corner', Neptune holds onto Heero's left arm) "This story is starting to look really awesome!"

Me: "You thought it wasn't before?"

IF: (Walks into 'Intro Corner') "You've actually been working pretty hard lately, though you really should remember to take a break while you're working. If you get sick, or get too tired, then the readers are going to have to wait even longer for you to update the story, and I don't think any of them want that."

Compa: (Runs into 'Intro Corner') "Sorry… *pant* I'm late…"

Neptune: (Looks at Compa) "Whatcha been doing Compa?"

Compa: (Face turns red) "Well… I was… reading the… Valentine's Special again."

Me: "There's no need to apologize. Now, let's keep this 'Intro Corner' short and get right into the chapter. Read the dis-"

Black Heart and Gust: (Run into 'Intro Corner') "Wait!"

Me: (Looks at Black Heart and Gust) "I thought you two had stuff to take care of?"

Black Heart: (Dusts off her dress) "Well, I got finished early."

Gust: "And Gust has finished gathering ingredients."

Neptune: "So you're gonna help us with the intro, Amnesiac Best Buddy?"

IF: "She can't be your 'Amnesiac Best Buddy' when she's actually got her memories back."

Me: "People, we're drifting. Since they're here, they can help read off the disclaimer."

Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Gust, and Black Heart: "HeeroU-"

White Heart: (Enters 'Intro Corner') "…Stop."

Me: "Why is it that you guys are waiting until now to come in?"

Neptune: (Points at White Heart) "Hey, it's that weird girl! You gonna try and steal Heero again?"

Black Heart: "Wh-What?! She tried to steal Heero?! (…The last thing I need, more competition!)"

White Heart: "…I'm not trying to steal anyone. I just want some time in the intro."

Me: "Can we please read off the disclaimer so we can get on with the story? I think the readers are tired of waiting."

Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Gust, Black Heart, and White Heart: "HeeroUzuki does not own Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or anything related to either of the three franchises."

Neptune: "Hey, there was one more on the disclaimer for this chapter

Me: "Now let's get this chapter underway, people! Also, I took the liberty of editing this chapter; such as fixing errors and including a specific song got the real serious part of the chapter. Hope you enjoy!"

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Gust, Black Heart, and White Heart: (Leave 'Intro Corner')

Ch. 10 A Favor for Lady White Heart? A dangerous situation! Launch, Exbein!

The party's search for the Key Fragment yielded no results, no matter how many foes they defeated, not a single clue as to the Key Fragments whereabouts surfaced.

Neptune was sitting on a park bench with Heero, eating an ice cream cone while waiting for IF and Compa to return from gathering information, "Why does it have to be so hard to find the Key Fragment? Why can't we have some kinda Key Fragment tracker dealie?"

Heero had been sitting next to the group's energetic leader with his eyes closed, briefly opening them to look at her before closing them once again, "We do not have the resources to construct such a device."

Neptune finished devouring her ice cream cone, and then began to curl up next to Heero, "Heero, I'm cold. Hold me."

Heero narrowed his eyes at Neptune as she began to sit in his lap, "…That is what happens when you eat frozen dessert in cold weather like this."

"But that's when it tastes best! And it tastes even better since I'm sharing it with my Destined Lover."

Heero raised an eyebrow as he looked at the purple haired preteen, "Share it with me?"

Neptune stuck her tongue out to the Gundam pilot, "Yeah! We're gonna do tongues!"

"…No."

Neptune began to draw shapes on Heero's chest, "C'mon Heero, I know you wanna."

IF and Compa had finally come back from gathering information, and saw Neptune trying to get Heero to kiss her, "…What the hell are you doing?"

Neptune looked back to see the brunette with her arms folded over her chest, "I'm sharing my ice cream with Heero."

"By trying to make out with him?(Neptune's already gotten farther with Heero than I have since yesterday… I can't afford to leave her alone with him.)"

The preteen rapidly nodded her head. Heero speared his chocolate brown bangs, "All of this aside, what have you found out about the Key Fragment?"

Compa looked slightly disheartened, "No one knows anything about it or where it could be."

The brunette next to Compa folded her arms, "I didn't expect anyone to know about the Key Fragment. It was a complete waste of time."

Neptune stopped trying to kiss Heero, "We should go to the Basilicom. They gotta knowof more dungeons with strong monsters we can go to."

Heero was slightly surprised that Neptune actually came up with the party's next course of action, and it was actually related to finding the Key Fragment, "…It seems to be the only real way for us to get anything accomplished."

With their course of action now determined, the party set out for the central Basilicom, Entremets.

Xxx

After another unpleasant trip through the desolate forest path to the Basilicom, the party arrived at Entremets. Neptune ran up to the religious structure and pounded on the door, "Hello? Anybody in there? We need some more info on dungeons!"

The Basilicom door opened, and standing in the doorway was Lady White Heart's chamberlain Financier. The Basilicom employee wore an apologetic look on her face, "I apologize, but our goddess is not seeing guests today."

Neptune looked disheartened, "What? Is she still upset about last time? Can't you do anything about it, Ms. Chamberlain?"

"I have no way to change our goddess' demands. Please leave."

IF shook her head at Neptune's failed attempt to see the goddess about the Key Fragment, "Nep, she can't help. Let's go for now. I already thought up another plan in case this happened."

Heero was once again impressed with IF, "(…And here I thought I was the only one planning for a situation such as this. However, I have been questioning whether or not my own plan would achieve the desired results.)"

Xxx

The group returned to the town closest to the Basilicom, with houses and buildings that looked like mushrooms, each with a different color roof, and of course, they were coated with snow.

Neptune, Heero and Compa followed IF to a park with less human activity. The brunette turned to face the party when she was sure that no one would eavesdrop on them, "There's something I haven't told you three. I actually… belong to the Guild."

Compa tilted her head at IF, "The Guild? I've learned a little about it. They're the people who don't worship the goddess of the land they're born on."

Neptune assumed her thinking position, "So, they don't believe in the goddess' power?"

Heero began to lean on a nearby lamp post, "It's not that they do not believe in their power, they simply worship another goddess."

IF crossed her arms and nodded, "Pretty much. We're so-called heretics. Like, if someone born on Lowee worshipped Lady Green Heart instead of Lady White Heart."

Neptune suddenly began to poke IF's arm, "So? Who d'you believe in? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

IF swat Neptune's hand, annoyed at the preteen for pestering her, "Nope! I can't tell that to anyone. Not even you. (…Though… I might tell Heero…)"

With Neptune no longer prying for an answer, IF steered the conversation back to the Guild, "Back to the topic, then. The heretics gathered together and established the Guild. It's the same on every planet, but people look down on Guild members. They're branded as heretics, after all."

"So, where are these Guild members? Do they travel the world like you, Iffy?"

IF turned her attention to Compa, letting her arms fall to her sides, "One of the answers to that… is here, on Lowee."

IF never failed to impress Heero, "…I apologize for making you to take care of our current situation, as we cannot deal with it ourselves."

IF looked away from the Gundam pilot, "I-It's no big deal, really. Someone has to fix our problem, and we can't expect you to take care of everything."

The Guild member turned her back to the party and began to walk away, a smirk plastered on her face, "…So, whoever is the most useful will undoubtedly get Heero's attention. With my connections in the Guild, that makes me the most useful… not that I wasn't already, I've just had to deal with unexpectedly difficult competition."

Xxx

After leaving her to take care of her own agenda, IF found the party in a park waiting for her. IF was looking down at her cell phone when she was sufficiently close to the group, "You know how there's a Basilicom in each Lowee city, right? They govern the local area?"

Compa nodded at the brunette, "Yes I remember. It's a bit different from other lands where there's only one. Does it have something to do with the Guild?"

IF redirected her attention to the pink cell phone in her hand, "Hold on. I've got a helper today. We can talk after she arrives. She's involved, too."

A moment later, an individual approached the party, who they believed to be IF's helper. Neptune and Compa were surprised to see who it was, while Heero merely kept his surprise to himself as usual, "Hello. We meet again. I'm Financier, Lady White Heart's Chamberlain. I would've never guessed that IF was also a Guild member."

Neptune looked from IF to Financier, then IF again, and repeated, "She's your helper? Why? She's a Guild member, too? But… she's taking care of Lowee's CPU, right? This is whack!"

"Yes, I'm a member as well. I don't worship Lady White Heart. Work is work. My beliefs are my beliefs. But I'm sure I'll be thrown out as soon as this is public knowledge."

Fortunately for Financier, there was no one passing through the park the group was meeting in, so aside from the party, no one else would know that she did not believe in the CPU of Lowee. Compa showed sympathy for the Guild member, "It sounds tough, being a heretic. Please go on. How are the towns of Lowee and the Guild related?"

"The Guild's hideout, subtly titled Guild City, is among Lowee's cities. About ten years ago, there was an oppressive movement against heretics in Leanbox, leading to a major purge. Most members barely made it to Lowee safe. That's supposedly how the Guild started."

The nurse-in-training looked between IF and Financier, "So now what are the heretics doing here in Lowee? This is gonna lead to another Leanbox!"

"Those who escaped to Lowee were temporarily taken into custody as heretics at Entremets, the Central Basilicom. Then, they decided to create a city for the heretics, run by heretics. That is Guild City. Their Basilicom is run by the Guild and their members are the city's residents. The whole city belongs to the Guild."

Neptune looked around at the buildings around the park, "Long story short, this spot's part of Guild City, yeah? It's not really different looking from other places…"

Heero finally joined in the conversation after silently listening to the girls, "If heretics are looked down upon and they have their own city which they govern, I doubt they would want to broadcast their whereabouts to the other inhabitants of Lowee."

IF nodded her head, "(Once again, Heero seems to understand better than Neptune, but that doesn't take much now, does it?) Exactly. We wouldn't want to make it look obvious. There's still more to the story."

Compa had a more serious look on her face, "We want to see the CPU! Ms. Chamberlain is our helper, right? How can we get into Entremets?"

Neptune chimed in as well, "Don'tcha have special Chamberlain privileges? I betcha they'll let us in if we're buddied up with you."

The Basilicom employee shook her head, "A Chamberlain doesn't have much power. If I tried to let someone in without permission, somebody else will stop me."

Heero maintained an emotionless façade as he spoke to the Chamberlain, "If there are heretics within the Basilicom, surely there are measures in place to aid in their escape, such as hidden passages.

The Chamberlain stared at Heero for a moment, "…Your friend is sharp, isn't he? Back to what I was saying. The heretics in the Basilicom will be thrown out once they're found. But depending on the situation, additional punishments may apply. The Leanbox purge is not an unrelated matter. On that note, each Lowee Basilicom is connected to Entremets via secret underground pathways."

IF allowed her arms to fall to her sides, "Underground tunnels for Basilicom heretics to use as a means of escape. Financier can take us there so we can enter Entremets."

Compa began to smile as the party's situation began to improve, "I see now! It makes sense! Let's head to that underground… tunnel… place. That's our best chance to see the goddess."

Financier turned in the direction of the nearest exit of the town to show the party the way to Entremets. Neptune and Compa immediately followed after Financier, while Heero and IF maintained a comfortable distance behind the three girls. IF glanced at Heero from time to time, "So… it looks like we will be able to see the goddess after all."

Heero nodded his head, not uttering a word. The silence was beginning to bug the brunette, until Heero glanced at her, "This 'Leanbox purge' you and Financier were talking about… were you targeted as well?"

IF was fairly surprised at the Perfect Soldiers question, "Why do you ask?"

"…If you were, then I am glad that you were not seriously harmed."

IF stopped dead in her tracks, her cheeks slowly turning bright red, "H-Huh?"

Heero continued past the brunette, focusing on the task at hand, while IF stared at him from behind, "…Did I just here him right? He… Heero was concerned about… me?"

Within the confines of IF's mind, her inner chibi was dancing around with a pair of pom-poms in her hands, "(Yes! Heero's worried about me! He likes me! Take that you brainless moron! You too, pink haired ditz!)"

While the inner chibi was still dancing around, IF was still trying to process what she had heard the teen had said. Shaking her head, she quickly caught up with Heero and the rest of the group.

Xxx

The party followed Financier into an underground cave that would lead them to cave looked live the some of the dungeons in Lastation; stalagmites and stalactites protruded off the ceiling and out of the ground, white fluorescent crystals were growing on the walls and conveniently placed torches were placed throughout the cave.

Compa scanned the immediate area of the cave as the party entered, "So this is it? I sense the aura of monsters! How would you really use these tunnels if it came down to it?!"

Financier shrugged her shoulders at the nurse-in-training, "We've never had to use them. The monsters started migrating here to escape the frigid weather outside."

Compa blinked at the Guild member a few times, "I-I see. That's only natural. Monsters are living beings with feelings too, after all."

IF was looking down at her favorite pink cell phone, "Let's move. Financier can't fight, so we have to take care of the monsters without her!"

Neptune had her hands on her hips and her facial expression suggested she was brimming with confidence, "We don't have to worry about that. We got Heero."

IF looked back at the preteen, "What have I told you about leaving everything up to Heero? Still, I will give you that one. He's like one of those super all-rounder characters or something."

Neptune pointed in towards the depths of the cave, "Now let's go see us a goddess!"

The party began to make their way into the cave leading to Entremets, and more importantly, the CPU of Lowee. Shortly into their trek of the underground passage, Financier leaned towards IF so she could whisper to the brunette without drawing the attention of Neptune, Heero, or Compa, "IF, I have something I'd like to ask you."

IF looked at the Guild member out of the corner of her eye, "What is it?"

"I was wondering what the chances are of getting you to hook me with your friend there."

When Financier motioned towards Heero, IF came to an abrupt stop, "WHAT?!"

Neptune, Heero and Compa stopped to look back at the brunette Guild member, "What's the matter, Iffy?"

IF began to feel embarrassed, her sudden outburst had made her the center of attention… and she had not intended for it to happen, "Uhh… n-nothing's wrong! I… just… uh… remember something I had watched earlier and just now thought about it."

Neptune pulled a lollipop out of her hoodie pocket and stuck it in her mouth, "Whatever you say Iffy."

The group continued on into the cave, while an irked IF looked back at Financier, "What the hell kind of question was that?!"

"I was just asking if he was available, unless of course YOU are interested in him."

The brunette Guild member began to stammer as she looked away, "Wh-Where do you get the idea that I'm interested in Heero? Because I'm not!"

"Oh? You struck me as being very interested in him, to the point of… possibly 'sleeping' with him."

IF's face grew more and more red as the conversation dragged on, "You make it sound like I only want to screw him!"

"While I've only known you for so long, I wouldn't put it past you."

IF narrowed her eyes at the Chamberlain, "Where do you get off analyzing me?"

"So do you like him or not? Because it seems like your friends are interested in him."

The brunette turned her gaze forward to see Neptune and Compa each taking ahold of one of Heero's arms, going on about their usual topic of being 'Heero's lover', "Are you not his type or something? That's the only reason I see you not being interested in him."

IF came to a complete stop while Financier and the rest of the party walked ahead of her, "(Not his type?)"

In truth, none of the girls in the party knew Heero's type. Neptune and Compa just assumed that the Gundam pilot liked them because of his small displays of kindness, "(Well… I don't know… maybe if I tried asking him…?)"

IF looked up to see that Financier and the rest of the party were gone. She had stopped just before a three-way path, and the group could have taken either path while she had been thinking about what Heero might be interested in in terms of women, "…I'll just go straight. It's a fifty-fifty chance they went this way."

As she followed the path before her, IF fell back into her thoughts about Heero and his interests, "(Heero keeps to himself most of the time... or at least he tries to. He's very focused with his 'mission', but he also shows some concern every now and then… right? And he is smart… good looking… strong… nice…)"

IF was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she did not notice that she was being surrounded by monsters until one of them was right in front of her. The monster before the Guild member bore a striking resemblance to the Killer Rabbit the party had fought before, but of course there were was a noticeable difference between it and the monster in front of IF.

Aside from its name being 'Berserker Bunny', the only real difference that could be seen was that the rabbit-like monster had a snow white fur coat. IF had just enough time to count the number of monsters that had surrounded her before they converged on the brunette.

IF deftly evaded the attacks launched by the monsters, putting some distance between herself and the monsters that had attempted to ambush her, "…Four of them. Shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

IF only saw four 'Berserker Rabbits', she did not see the fifth behind her until it lunged at her, "(Crap! I was so focused on the monsters in front of me that I didn't even think to check for anymore!)"

Just as it seemed as though the 'Berserker Bunny' was about to land a hit, a streak of pink light struck the rabbit and sent it flying away from the brunette. The monster landed on the ground, twitching for five seconds before its movements ceased, "(That light… is that…?)"

IF looked in the direction where the blast of thermal energy came from to see Heero with his arm outstretched and the GN Sword III with its blade folded back to reveal the rifle barrel, "Heero…"

Neptune, Compa and Financier were seen standing behind Heero, "Hey, Iffy! We were looking everywhere for ya! Whatcha doing getting surrounded by monsters?"

The brunette blinked a few times before she stomped her foot, looking slightly irked, "I-It's not like I planned for this to happen!"

The Perfect Soldier ran straight for IF, removing his jacket as he drew teen tossed his jacket at one of the 'Berserker Bunny's' that had attempted another surprise attack on IF, while punting a second away into the rocky cave wall, "Don't take your eyes off the enemy."

Compa fired a bullet from her syringe at the 'Berserker Bunny' that Heero had kicked into the wall, finishing the rabbit-like creature. Neptune kicked a third monster before pulling out her gun, "Get life insurance!"

The bullet that struck the 'Berserker Bunny' landed with such force it sent the monster back into the wall, where the bullet exploded shortly after. Moments after the preteen had slain the rabbit monster, Heero had brought his GN Sword down on the fourth with an overhead slash. The attack landed with no chance for the monster to either block or remain standing.

IF tried to move, but found that she could not for some reason, "(What's gotten into me? Why can't I move?!)"

The 'Berserker Bunny' that Heero had tossed his jacket onto had finally freed itself, having struggled to escape for the majority of the battle. Once free it aimed for IF, who still could not move.

IF felt a warm liquid hit her cheek, prompting her to inspect it. Her finger tips touched the liquid and she brought her hand to her face to see just what it was, "(…Blood?)"

The brunette slowly turned her head to the right to see the last 'Berserker Bunny' that had ambushed her, its teeth had dug into exposed skin from what she could see. IF slowly scanned what the monster had bitten into to see an arm, then followed it see a green tank top, "(Isn't that…?!)"

The person that had been injured by the monster was Heero. IF noticed just how close Heero was, one arm was wrapped around her waist, while the other was, of course, bitten by the 'Berserker Bunny'. IF soon came to the conclusion that Heero had shielded her from the attack at the expense of his own health, "…W-Why did you…?"

While he was injured, Heero's face seemed to suggest that the pain simply did not register or that it was insignificant, as he wore his normal stoic façade. The Gundam pilot slammed his arm into the rocky wall to knock the monster off, which came off almost immediately. Once it landed on the ground, Neptune brought the Armas down on its small body, cutting the rabbit monster in half, "That's for trying to eat my Destined Lover, jerk!"

Once the fight had ended, Neptune and Compa ran over to inspect Heero's injury, "You're not gonna bleed to death or nothing, right Heero? We haven't had our M rated scene yet!"

"Are you all right, Heero? I'll heal it quick so it doesn't scar."

Heero pick his jacket up off the ground, "You two are making a very big deal out of such a minor injury."

IF stood against the wall across from Neptune, Heero and Compa, a feeling of guilt hanging over her, "That's the second time he's had to save me…"

After Compa had made a healing item for Heero to drink using some of the supplies they had on hand, applying antibiotics, and wrapping a bandage around his injury, the party went back to the three-way path and turned to follow the left path.

The path had many curves and the party saw little fighting as they were trying to get to the goddess as soon as they could. As the party neared the exit of the underground cave IF came to a stop looking down at the ground silently. Compa looked back at the brunette after noticing that she was not keeping up with the group, "What's wrong Iffy? Are you not feeling well?"

"No… it's not that…"

Neptune walked over to IF and began to poke her cheek, "What'sa matter Iffy? Are you hungry? I know I am. Once we get outta here, I'm gonna have a super huge bowl of pork flavored ramen and a big juicy burger."

IF's eye twitched from both being poked by Neptune and how said preteen went on about food, "I'm not hungry."

IF looked away from the group, "It's just… I froze up during a battle. I've never had that happen to me before. Not only that, but Heero had to save me again and he got hurt because of me."

Heero looked at IF out of the corner of his eye, "…Is that all?"

IF stared at Heero, "Is that all? I may have become the biggest burden on the party and that's all you have to say?! As unlikely as it was, you could have died because of me, Heero!"

"Even the best fighters will stumble from time to time. If you allow yourself to see it as failure and weigh you down, then you really will become a burden. As for me; know that I would not endanger my own life for just any person. As it stands, the only people who I would risk my own life to save would be you, Neptune and Compa. Anyone else is merely collateral."

The trio looked at Heero, thinking that if they stared at him long enough that he would tell them 'why' he would willingly risk his own life for them. When that didn't work, Neptune walked up to the Gundam pilot and lightly tugged on his shirt, "Just so we know, why would you sacrifice yourself for us? I mean, I know why you would save me. I AM your Destined Lover and all."

Heero looked away from Neptune, focusing his attention on the exit, "…Because you three are important to me."

As with every other time Heero had said something in a way he had no intended for it to sound, the trio turned a dark shade of red. Neptune buried her face into Heero's back, "I told you Heero, you don't have to say all these nice things if you wanna have our M Rated scene. You just gotta wait till we'realllll alone in bed. But you are scoring major Love points with me."

IF averted her gaze from Heero, "You know, you really have to watch what you say, Heero. What will other people think?"

Compa grabbed on to Heero's left arm, swelling with happiness, "The way you say that makes us look like real lovers, Heero!"

Heero was in deep contemplation over the girls' reaction to what he said, "(…They seem to misinterpret whatever I say in a given situation. Perhaps I should adjust my vocabulary during such situations. No… perhaps I am showing more emotion than I normally do. But what could be causing this sudden increase in displayed emotions?)"

The party continued towards the exit after alleviating the thoughts that had plagued IF. The brunette glanced at Heero a few times while he was preoccupied with Neptune and Compa, "(His type…) He-"

IF suddenly stopped herself, shook her head, and continued walking, "(…Now's not exactly the best time. I'll ask him later.)"

Xxx

In Lady White Heart's chamber in the Central Basilicom Entremets, The CPU of Lowee was lying across her bed with a book in hand, and small pile of books next to her. Her thoughts began to drift towards a certain purple haired preteen as she flipped the page of her book, "…Neptune's already given up. Or, maybe she never meant to go back."

Lady White Heart glanced over at the door upon hearing it open, "Financier? I thought you took the day off."

"Sorry-dorry! The correct answer is: Neptune, her super-amazing Destined Lover and her three awesome birdies!"

Financier began to panic as Neptune had included her, "D-D-Don't include me in this! I told you to not tell her I was here."

Lady White Heart turned her attention back to her book, "…You brought them? Whatever. I'll hear you out… since you're , go away. Take them, too."

"Understood! Everyone, let's go before our Lady verbally abuses us, crushes our egos, and takes away our wills to live."

IF looked at Financier as if she was insane, "What?! Financier! There's no way Nep can carry on an important conversation by herself…!"

Compa did not appear to be anywhere near as worried as the brunette, "Nep-Nep, focus and do your best! I believe in your social skills!"

Heero complied with the request without showing any resistance; and Heero, Compa and IF left Lady White Heart's room with Financier. White Heart narrowed her eyes at the door as it closed, "…Damn Chamberlain."

The goddess directed her attention at Neptune, "Told those guys your identity? Careless idiot."

Neptune inclined her head at where she presumed the CPU was, "Are you still angry…? Sorry. But I really gotta ask about that Key Fragment again."

"…You've developed tough skin since coming to the human world. Or should I say fat skin with lots of blubber?"

The CPU of Lowee continued to use her fowl mouth on the preteen, "…Whatever. I've no intention to talk to you! I won't tell you a damn thing. Not even if I did know something! Stupid brat! What're you here for?! What happened to your frickin' land? Stuff your fat head into your ass and go home!"

Neptune swallowed hard as the goddess of Lowee verbally abused her, "L-Lady White Heart?! You're not acting like you were a second ago… Did I step on a personality swap button trap…?"

"You've stepped all over me and my land! Looking for an item? Get the hell outta here!"

A nervous bead of sweat ran down Neptune's cheek as she was subject to Lady White Heart's vulgarity, "Whoa! What's wrong with you? Why're you being a vulgar meanie? Heero and I just wanna save Histy! Whatcha got to lose by helping us? Aren't you Lowee's CPU?!"

Neptune seemed to have struck a nerve, as the CPU of Lowee sniped at her, "How dare you bring that shit up with me! What's wrong with YOU, bitch?! 'Lady White Heart?' You're creepin' me out. And another thing, what the hell's up with you calling this Heero guy your Destined Lover? Are you tryin' to get into his pants or something? Or have you turned into a horny bitch since meeting him?"

The CPU suddenly stopped, her voice became much softer and much less vulgar, "Huh? …Lady… White Heart…? You called me by my full name…"

Neptune assumed her thinking position and smiled as the tension and hostility in the room dissipated, "Yep, Lady White Heart! D'you wanna be called something more fun? How about Whitypoo?"

"Call me that again and I'll kill you! I guess you're not someone who can pretend or lie…"

Neptune stared at the bed surrounded with drapes, thoroughly confused, "Huh?! Seriously, what's up with you? You were super mad, and now you're all smirkalicious…"

"…Forget it. It's fine. You can leave now."

Neptune stepped closer to the queen sized bed in the center of the room, "How could I?! I'm way confused, here. I'm not gonna go until you tell me about monsters and the Key Fragment!"

The goddess released a sigh, as it seemed that Neptune really wasn't going to leave withoutunless the CPU told her what she wanted to know, "…Okay. Write your questions on a damn piece of paper and give it to the Chamberlain. I'll write back."

Neptune eyed the goddess suspiciously, despite the fact that she could not even see her, "You sure? Now you sound really indifferent or something."

"…Oh no, I think I'm growing more fond of you. You're exactly who I thought you were…"

Neptune turned to leave the room, when Lady White Heart stopped her, "…Wait. Before you leave, I would like to see your… 'Bodyguard' in private."

The purple haired preteen immediately turned around, her cheeks began to swell, up, "What do you want Heero for? Are you gonna try and get him in bed with you so you can do the thing?! He's MY Destined Lover! I'm the only one who can do that! And I haven't even done it yet!"

The CPU started choking, then regained her composure, "…Where do you get the idea I want to do that?! You make it seem as though I want him in here so I can screw him! Just send him in."

Neptune reluctantly complied. A few moments after she left the room, Heero walked in, "…You requested to see me?"

"…That's right. I hope I'm not taking up your time, Heero."

The Perfect Soldier kept his gaze focused on the goddess' bed, "No. Though I am curious as to why the goddess of Lowee wishes to speak to me."

The tone of the goddess' voice suggested that she was intrigued by the soldier's curiosity, "…Oh? You are curious as to why I asked you to come in?"

Heero crossed his arms and gathered his thoughts, "I will be honest, I doubt you called me in here just to talk. As I understand it, Lady White Heart, you are the goddess that protects and rules this landmass, so you cannot be bothered to remember the names of every person that enters or leaves Lowee when you have more important tasks to accomplish. Yet of all the passersby you could have remembered, you chose remember my name, which leads me to suspect that you want something from me."

Lady White Heart quietly took in Heero's form, as she did the first time, "…You certainly are sharp and very observant. Yes, I do need something from you. I understand that you are a very capable individual, so I have a… personal favor to ask of you."

Heero stood silently as the CPU asked her 'personal favor', "I like to write in my free time, but the pencils I use tend to break shortly after I use them."

A slip of paper slipped through a small opening in the drapes and landed on the ground at Heero's feet, "There is a dungeon that contains a very rare mineral ore. This ore can be made into very high quality pencils that are strong and unlikely to break."

"And you want me to acquire some of this ore to bring back to you?"

Lady White Heart nodded her head, "…That's correct. I realize this is a rather tedious request. I will have your reward by the time you return."

Heero questioned whether or not he should actually undertake the request, but then thought about the benefits of completing it, "(…Should I complete this task, Lady White Heart may request my services again. It could give us more opportunities to inquire about the Key Fragment.) …Very well."

Heero turned to leave the room, leaving the goddess alone in her thoughts, "…He does look quite reliable. And after seeing what he is capable of firsthand, he may make it difficult to get rid of Neptune."

Xxx

The party returned to the town near Entremets, contemplating their next course of action as they wait for a response from the group was sitting at a restaurant table, Neptune had a large bowl of ramen and an XXL sized soda in front of her and was happily slurping up the noodles with a pair of chopsticks, "Isn't this great? A BIG bowl ramen that I get to have free re-fills on!"

IF had a salad in front of her with a medium sized soda, "I think we may not have to start worrying about Nep eating through all of our money with deals like this."

Compa sat across from IF with a small bowl of ramen in front of her and a medium sized soda as well, "Iffy, Nep-Nep just has a healthy appetite."

Heero sat across from Neptune with his laptop and a glass of water in front of him. IF leaned over to look at the computer screen, "…What are you doing?"

"I am looking for a particular object here in Lowee. A rare ore that is supposedly used to make pencils."

The brunette inclined her had at the teen, "Ore for making penci- Oh. THAT'S what you're looking for."

"You sound as if you know what I'm looking for."

IF leaned back in her seat, "Yeah. The ore isn't rare because of anything like scarcity. Lowee is abundant with the mineral ore, the problem is that there are a lot of monsters around the veins that the ore can be harvested. Why are you looking for it anyway?"

"…No particular reason."

Neptune stopped slurping up her ramen when her bowl was empty, ordered a refill from the party's waiter, then looked at Heero's drink, "Why did you get water? You should have a sweet, sugary soda, Heero."

Heero closed his laptop, placed it back into his backpack, and stood up, "…I have some business I must attend to."

Heero turned and walked towards the restaurant doors. IF looked down at Heero's seat to see money to pay for their bill, "Heero's been working pretty hard lately. Well, actually, he's always working hard. Don't you guys think we should give him a break?"

Neptune had gone back to eating as soon as her bowl full of ramen came back to the table. Compa let out a small gasp as if she had suddenly remembered something, "I wanted to check Heero's arm to make sure he was healing properly."

Compa stood up and followed after Heero, who had left moments before her. IF watched as the pink haired nurse took off, then glanced over at Neptune, "Shouldn't we follow them?"

Neptune looked up from her bowl of ramen long enough to see Compa leave the restaurant, "As long as she doesn't try to do the thing with Heero, we won't have any trouble."

Th Guild member face palmed herself as Neptune went back to eating, "…Why do I even bother?"

Xxx

Heero was entering a dense forest that was, of course, full of snow. Heero scanned the area for any sign of monsters, "…There appears to be no enemies… yet."

Heero heard the crunching sound of snow being stepped behind him, and it was drawing closer. Heero hid behind a tree and waited as the source of the noise continued to move closer, "(…Now!)"

Heero jumped out from behind the tree and landed on top of his pursuer, "Who are y-"

The Gundam pilot stopped in mid-sentence when he saw that he was on top of Compa, who looked very scared, "Y-Y-You s-s-scared me Heero!"

"I apologize, but you should not have been following me."

Compa was about to get back up when she noticed where Heero's hand was, "Umm… H-H-Heero…"

Heero looked down to see his hand groping one of Compa's breasts. The Perfect Soldier stood up and looked away from the nurse-in-training, "…Once again, I apologize."

Compa had her own back turned to Heero, "N-No, that's all right Heero… I-I mean if you… want to have an… M Rated scene with me, then…"

Heero began to walk into dense forest-like dungeon, "I have a mission to complete. Excuse me."

"W-Wait, Heero!"

Heero looked back at Compa, "What is it?"

Compa dusted off the snow that had stuck to her skirt, "Well, I came here to check your arm, but if you're going to go into this dungeon, then I'm going with you. You might get hurt."

Heero questioned whether or not to allow Compa to accompany him into the dungeon that contained the ore that Lady White Heart had requested him to obtain for her. The Gundam pilot returned his attention forward, "…Do what you will."

A smile made its way onto Compa's face as she followed the Gundam pilot, "However, should we find ourselves in a situation where we have no chance of winning, I want you to run."

"You don't really think we'll be in a situation like that do you, Heero?"

The Gundam pilot kept walking forward, "There is no telling what could happen during a mission. I am just making sure you know what to do should such a situation arise."

Both Heero and Compa ventured into the dungeon. They only encountered relatively weak monsters at the entrance, three Killer Rabbits. Compa readied her syringe, feeling confident since the first monsters in the dungeon tend to give a rough estimate as to the dungeons difficulty, "I think I can take care of these monsters myself! Heero, your arm is still injured, so you need to rest. Besides, you're stronger than I am so you need to save your strength in case there are any strong monsters."

Heero saw no reason to argue with the pink haired nurse when she made a valid point. Heero silently nodded his head and stood off to the side to watch Compa. The nurse-in-training watched as the small monsters started hopping towards her, "This'll be powerful!"

The nurse-in-training fired a bullet from her syringe that knocked her on her back because she did not prepare herself for the recoil. The bullet struck the Killer Rabbit and launched it into a small mountain of snow which now became its grave soon as she got back up, Compa lifted her syringe over her head, a smile on her face, "This will hurt."

Compa drove the needle of her oversized medical appliance into the unfortunate monster in front of her. The second Killer Rabbit twitched and convulsed as the syringe needle went through its 'head', until it stopped moving.

Heero stood silently as Compa dispatched of the first two furry monsters, "…I think I have become allergic to needles."

As Heero began to retreat into his thoughts, the third Killer Rabbit attempted to sneak up on him. The Gundam pilot could hear the small monster approaching, but pretended not to notice as it drew closer. Just as the last Killer Rabbit was ready to attack, Compa came out of nowhere and slapped the monster across the face, her cheeks were red and beginning to swell up.

The nurse-in-training continued to slap the Killer Rabbit as she started nagging it, "It isn't nice to sneak up on Heero like that! And another thing…"

Heero stared at Compa as she slapped and nagged at the Killer Rabbit until it fell on its back, dead as a doornail, "(…I am unable to determine what defeated the constant slapping or her nagging.)"

Compa turned to Heero with a smile on her face after making sure the monster would not get up again, "How did I do, Heero? Have I gotten stronger?"

Heero glanced over at the Killer Rabbit that had been slapped to death, and then back to the pink haired nurse, "…Is that a rhetorical question?"

Compa seemed happy with what Heero considered praise. With the monsters defeated, both Heero and Compa continued into the dungeon. As they traveled further into the forest, Heero did not see any more monsters after the three that had attacked them moments ago. Compa watched Heero as he looked for any sign of movement, "What are you looking for?"

"Usually they are quite numerous, however there are no enemies in the area."

The nurse-in-training noticed that there were in fact no monsters popping out at them, which was very strange considering that they could usually be found all over the place, "But that means it won't be as difficult to find the item you're looking for Heero."

"That may be true, but I cannot help but feel that something is off."

Even though there were no monsters Heero kept his guard up, believing that there was wrong with the dungeon. As they arrived at the back of the forest, Compa saw a small glow on the rocky wall near a frozen pond, "That must be the… ore… thing you're looking for!"

Compa ran forward to examine the vein of ore while Heero stood at the entrance of the clearing. Something in the back of Heero's mind suddenly told him 'Don't let her go', 'It is dangerous'. Heero snapped out of his reverie of thought and Compa was already halfway towards the vein of ore, "Compa, get back her!"

The pink haired nurse turned to look at Heero as he called out to her. Suddenly, a large object landed in front of Compa, causing her to fall on her back. Standing in front of Compa was a humanoid monster called a 'Gyuki' that had the body and arms of a human, but had the reverse joint legs of an animal. It wore a red loin cloth, a gold helmet from a suit of armor with horns protruding from the sides, a red cape and a large bracelet on its right arm. In its right hand was a large axe, while its left hand was encased in a strange octagonal object with a gold shield strapped onto it.

Compa was in a very dangerous situation. Heero's GN Sword III appeared on his right arm as he rushed towards the 'Gyuki' to distract it and buy time for Compa to move away from the large monster, "(…This must be the reason why there are no other enemies here. It claimed this forest as its nest and ran off any other creatures that lived here.)"

Heero was so focused with the 'Gyuki' in front of him that he did not see the second one thundering towards him until it was already upon him. Heero brought his arms up over his chest as the monster threw a punch at him, knocking the Gundam pilot towards a tree.

By the time Heero regained his senses, the muscular monster that had forced him away from Compa pinned him against the tree with its helmet, attempting to crush the life out of the Perfect Soldier. Compa sat in the snow as she watched Heero slowly being crushed by the 'Gyuki', terrified of what would happen to him.

Heero saw the nurse-in-training sitting on the ground as he tried in vain to free himself from his current predicament, "What are you just sitting there for Compa?! Run!"

Compa shock her head as she stood up, her legs shaking from fear, "N-No! I can't leave you like this Heero!"

Blood began to trickle down the corner of Heero's mouth as the monster applied more force to crush him, "…I told you… that if we ever get into a situation where we cannot win that you have to run!"

Once again, Compa furiously shook her head, "How can you expect me to run when you're-"

"Damnit, just shut up and run!"

The first 'Gyuki' brought its axe down on Compa. The nurse-in-training narrowly evaded the axe's sharp blade and began to walk backwards as the monster approached her. Compa bumped into a tree after a few seconds and the 'Gyuki' was in front of her once more. The pink haired nurse was too scared to move, her eyes filled with fear.

Heero saw that unless something was done, Compa would die and he would follow shortly, "(Why? Why do I care what happens to her, Neptune or IF? Why do I not want to see her get hurt? …I don't want her to die …I won't let her die…!)"

A disk surrounded in binary code appeared in front of Heero as he had his attention fixed on Compa, "I refuse to let you die, Compa!"

The disk bathed the area in a bright light that forced both 'Gyuki' back. When it subsided, an armored figure stood in front of the tree. The figure was covered in royal blue armor that was borderline purple with white and yellow trim. A visor covered the upper half of the figures face while the lower the lower half was concealed by a metal face plate like those of the Gundams and two antennas protruded from the sides of the head.

Heero's vision was obscured by darkness for a brief moment before a green light filled his peripheral vision. In front of his face was a HUD that displayed numerous numerical values and other information, "What is this?!"

A female monotone voice resounded throughout the enclosed space Heero was in, "GENERATOR OUTPUT: 100%. T-LINK SYSTEM: DRIVE: OPERATIONAL. WEAPONS SYSTEMS: CHECK: COMPLETE. ALL SYSTEMS READY. PTX-EX EXBEIN, READY FOR COMBAT."

The Exbein's green visor lit up as Heero began to move it forward,"This is one of those 'Personal Troopers that resemble the Gundams. This Exbein seems to be outfitted with an Artificial Intelligence."

Heero redirected his attention to Compa, "…I will have to save Compa first."

The robotic female voice sounded off again, "RECOMMENDED WEAPONS: VULCAN, HANDHELD RIFLE, OR BEAM SABER."

As the Exbein's AI named off its weapons, their locations were identified on the small scale mech by a small display on the right side of Heero's visor, safe for the Handheld Rifle, which was to be transported to him for use via a sub-space storage system, "…Load ammunition into the Vulcans."

The visor flashed once more as the AI did as Heero requested. The moment the ammo for the Vulcans were loaded, an 'OK' signal appeared on the HUD in front of Heero. Two holes in the Exbein's head lit up as the Vulcan ammunition shot out of them towards the 'Gyuki' near Compa, punching holes in its hide and forcing it away from the pink haired nurse.

Once sufficient distance had been put between the monster and Compa, Heero grabbed one of the Beam Sabers mounted on the Exbein's backpack and charged at the monster. The large monster ran at Heero with its axe held above its head, obviously it did not like the lead shower Heero had given it and now wanted payback, "…Too slow."

Heero dodged the 'Gyuki's' axe swing and drove his Beam Saber across the monster torso, cutting it in half. After dealing with the first 'Gyuki', Heero turned his attention on the second one, "ONE TARGET REMAINING. RECOMMENDED ARMAMENT: ARMORED MODULE BOXER FRAME POWERED ARMOR."

"…If I remember correctly; the Boxer Frame gives the Exbein increased melee combat capabilities. Equip the Boxer Frame."

A large sword surrounded in binary code appeared in the sky and began to fall straight towards the Exbein. When it was fifteen feet away from the Personal Trooper, the sword split into two parts. The first part that landed on the Exbein's fell on its shoulders and looked like two larger arms with handles attached to them.

The second piece slid into place on the Exbein's legs, make them more bulky with additional armor. The battle against the 'Gyuki' up until this point had made Heero rely entirely on skill, but now the Boxer Frame if it came down to brute force, the Exbein was at a clear advantage. The Boxer Frame gave it two larger arms for melee combat on top of additional armor so it could endure more damage.

With a powerful mech, incredible skill, and vast combat experience going for him, the battle had turned into a completely one sided fight for Heero, "…This should not take long. Let's finish this and leave."

The second 'Gyuki' wasted no time in charging at Heero with reckless abandon, "ENEMY COMBAT DATA UPDATED. RECOMMENDED MANUVERS: GEIST KNUCKLE."

Heero took ahold of the handles attached to the larger arms of the Boxer Frame and the right hand began to charge with energy. The energy was visible after a few seconds and Heero readied himself for the monsters attack, "…Your foolishness will result in your untimely death."

The Exbein threw its right arm out just at the 'Gyuki' swung its axe, the Personal Troopers' large fist broke through the axe's shaft and struck the monster in the torso, releasing the energy that had built up in it and forced the monster onto the frozen pond. The ice patch easily gave way to the monsters weight and Heero left it to turn into a monster Popsicle.

Heero returned his attention to Compa, who stared awe-struck at Heero, "Are you all right Compa?"

The nurse-in-training shook off her initial shock and slid down to the ground, "Yes… but I'm tired from everything that's happened."

A noise sounded through the air and grabbed Heero's attention. He heard a howling noise, "More of them?! Where are they?"

Heero slowly scanned the area for any monsters, he could see nothing but snow and trees. A panting noise drew closer and closer to Compa, and then a wolf-like monster, an 'Ice Fenrir' jumped out from behind a row of bushes nearby a bit Compa's exposed right thigh, eliciting a pained shriek from the nurse.

The Ice Fenrir looked like the 'Hot Dog' from the previous day, only it had a shimmering blue fur coat and its sharp claws were silver. Heero immediately turned around and saw the wolf-like monster trying to bite off Compa's leg, sending a glare as cold as death at the monster.

Heero quickly moved over to the monster and pried it jaws loose from Compa's leg before crushing it against the ground with the Exbein's arm and throwing it a tree, impaling it in the process. The Gundam pilot immediately turned his attention back to Compa to see her holding her thigh, "…Let me see your injury."

Compa slowly inched her hands away from her thigh to reveal the bite mark left by the 'Ice Fenrir'. The monster's teeth had pierced through the skin, the skin around the bite market turned blue and blood was seeping out of the teeth marks, "Can you stand?"

"I don't know, but I can try."

Heero stayed next to Compa as she attempted to stand back up. The nurse-in-training slowly stood up, but her right leg was in too much pain to stand to full length, "I-I'm sorry Heero. I can't get up."

The Perfect Soldier looked back down at Compa's injury, "…This isn't good."

(For added effect for next part play SD Gundam G Generation Overworld - The Lightning 16th Autonomous ).

Heero heard howling noises from within the forest, "…Our situation is quickly deteriorating."

The Gundam pilot knew that their situation was getting worse. No… Compa's was the one that went from bad to worse, "…I have to get Compa out of here, however the Boxer Frame renders the Exbein incapable of flight. How long will it take to drop the Armored Module and equip armament that can assist in flight capabilities?"

The AI quickly processed the command, and the time required to execute said command, "CONFIRMED. TIME REQUIRED TO PURGE BOXER FRAME ARMORED MODULE: 19 SECONDS. TIME REQUIRED TO EQUIP OPTIONAL FLIGHT PACK: 17 SECONDS WITH A 2 SECOND DELAY TO ADJUST SYSTEMS FOR FLIGHT PACK."

Heero grit his teeth at what the Exbein's AI had told him, "(…Dropping the combat frame and equipping the flight module times out at 38 seconds. Judging from the pitch and loudness of the howls, the enemy is 28 seconds out …10 seconds that something could happen to Compa.)"

The Exbein scooped up the pink haired nurse and began to walk towards a nearby tree. Two sides of the tree were surrounded by sharp, jagged rocks, one side was facing the frozen lake, and the other was unprotected. Heero lifted Compa up and set her down on a strong tree limb, "What are we going to do, Heero?"

Heero turned his back to the nurse-in-training, facing the narrow entrance to the clearing, "…You will sit in that tree until I tell you otherwise. I will hold off the enemy."

Compa stared at Heero in disbelief, "Can you really fight all of the monsters by yourself?"

"We are about to find out."

A pack of 'Ice Fenrir' slid into view. Their eyes were filled with insatiable hunger as they fixed their gaze on Compa, drool fell from their jaws as they licked their lips at the tasty nurse sitting in the tree, "…If you want her, you must first go through me."

The pack of wolf-like monsters raced towards the tree that held Compa, disregarding the Exbein standing in front of it until the drew too close. Heero was quick to use the brute strength the Boxer Frame gave the Exbein to beat down the 'Ice Fenrir' that tried to get past him.

Wolf bodies flew across the clearing into the trees or into the rocky wall. The Exbein swat, punched, flattened, and stepped on the 'Ice Fenrir' as the came, those that were foolish enough to try and bite though the armor found themselves without teeth, then flung into tough bark a jagged rock with bone crushing force.

Heero had beaten down well over twenty of the wolf-like monsters, yet there were still more, "…How many of them are there?!"

After five minutes of fighting, Heero had brought the number of 'Ice Fenrir' down to just two. Both made a blind rush for Compa, their hunger for human getting the better of their judgment. The Exbein threw an energy charged fist into the first monster and tossed the second into the rocky wall as if it was a rag doll.

The 'Ice Fenrir' that received the Geist Knuckle was launched into a tree, knocking all of the snow of its leafs and piling on top of the dead monster, while the second 'Ice Fenrir' was twitching as it lay on the ground with most of its bone broken.

Just when Heero was about to pass the wolf-like monster as dead, the 'Ice Fenrir' released a pained howl that was answered by the howls of other wolf-like creatures in the distance. Heero peppered the dying wolf so as to silence its calls for help, "Damn… more are on their way."

The Exbein glanced over at Compa who was still in no condition to move, "I need a plan…"

More 'Ice Fenrir' entered the small clearing and of course, the first thing they saw was an injured Compa… a human lunch. Heero readied himself as the pack of vicious monsters came running, "…All I can do is hold out for now."

As Heero fought off the wave of monsters in front of him, two of the hungry wolfs attempted to sneak around the Exbein and claim the nurse as their food. Before they even got to climb the tree, two sets of gunshots rang out and struck the both monsters in the back of the head.

Heero turned to look at the dead monsters, then for what caused their untimely demise, "You certainly know how to have fun, Heero."

Neptune and IF stepped into the clearing, the proverbial silver lining in the dark cloud and Compa looked relieved to see them, "Nep-Nep! Iffy! I'm so glad to see you! How did you find us?"

IF stepped over the monster bodies that littered the clearing, "We saw a couple of guys running back to the town saying they saw a girl with big breasts and a robot fighting monsters here, so we kind of figured they were talking about you two."

Neptune's crystal blue eyes roamed over Heero's armored frame, "Though, Heero looks different than what we thought he would look like. I assume he gained another transformation?"

The Exbein's armored head nodded at the twin braided swordstress. The peace was short lived as more howling echoed throughout the dense snow covered forest. IF looked back at Compa, "What are you doing sitting there anyway? We have to leave, this area isn't very safe with all of the monsters nesting here."

Compa looked down at her leg, "I-I can't Iffy."

"Why not?"

Heero looked at the brunette out of the corner of the Exbein's visor, "Compa's right thigh was bitten by one of those creatures and she is in no condition to walk. I placed her in that tree as a temporary solution to protect her."

Neptune looked from the nurse-in-training to Heero, "You can fly can't you, Heero? Surely that would solve the problem."

"The Exbein's Boxer Frame improves its melee combat abilities, but renders it incapable of flight, and the frequency of the enemy's attacks leaves me with no time to purge the additional armor and equip the flight pack."

Neptune and IF now saw the situation Heero and Compa had been faced with; the party's nurse was out of commission until she could be given proper medical treatment, and they did not know how long Heero had been standing there protecting her from the onslaught of monster, "With the odds you've been fighting against, I'd say you could use some help."

Heero acknowledged Neptune's willingness to help and IF shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I guess we can't just leave Compa here to get eaten."

Compa looked ashamed, she believed that it was her fault that they were stuck fighting against seemingly impossible odds, "You guys shouldn't worry about me. Heero, you came to get the ore, right? Take it and go."

Heero felt guilty. He could have just said 'No' to Lady White Heart's request and they would not be in their current situation, but he just HAD to look at the benefits of completing the job without considering the danger involved, "Compa, it is my fault we are in this situation. I will not leave you here to die."

"But Heero…"

The Exbein's armored head turned to look at Compa, "I am reprioritizing my objectives. Obtaining the item can wait, YOU are what is important right now. Just as if Neptune or IF were to be in your condition, I will protect you with my life."

To say that Compa was touched would be an understatement as she looked as if she was about to cry, "Heero…"

IF had to avert her eyes from the armored Gundam pilot, her cheeks slowly turning red, "(There he goes, being Heero… even if it's a major turn on.)"

An invisible blush coated Neptune's cheeks, "I know I've said that I'm flattered that you would sacrifice yourself for me, but I would rather you not make good on it. You're my lover, I'm not going to let you die on me, Heero."

As with the two times before, a pack of hungry 'Ice Fenrir' entered the clearing looking for a human lunch. Neptune, Heero and IF prepared themselves for the wave of monsters, waiting for a chance to get Compa out of the tree and out of the dungeon. The three combatants fought off the monsters as they came, using everything they had to beat down the pack of 'Ice Fenrir'.

Even after defeating the large pack of monsters, more howling was heard from within the forest. IF looked down the narrow path leading into the clearing before looking back at the party, "Any of you guys have any ideas? We can't keep this up forever."

Neptune looked up at Compa, who was still sitting on the tree limb, "But unless we can get Compa down and put sufficient distance between ourselves and the monsters, there really isn't much we can do."

The Exbein's visor was showing the current status of the armor and its weapons, Heero was looking for anything that could control the HUD, "…It would helpful if this Personal Trooper had some means of magnifying the lens' range."

As it on command, the magnification of the Exbein's visor suddenly increased. Heero looked at the upper left corner of the HUD to see that the magnification of the visor was 5x, "(…I must have to give a command for each individual system.) Increase magnification."

The visor zoomed in once more, showing anything at a distance as if was up close. Heero could see the pack of 'Ice Fenrir' approaching down the narrow path that he and Compa had taken early to get where they were, "If I had a ranged weapon I could eliminate them before they reached us."

The voice of the Exbein's AI sounded throughout the it's armored head once more, "MINIMUM RANGE REQUIREMENTS CONFIRMED. RECOMMENDED WEAPON: FULL IMPACT CANNON."

The HUD displayed what exactly the Full Impact Cannon was, its power output, and effective range, "…This would solve our current dilemma. However, I will need the AM Gunner support craft if I am to use it."

"ACKNOWLEDGED. LAUNCHING ARMORED MODULE GUNNER SUPPORT CRAFT."

Overhead, a small fighter craft approaching the Exbein. It had a sleek, rounded nose and profile, four long barrel aimed forward, two on each side, and thrusters on mounted on its back.

Heero looked up at the fast approaching AM, "Even without flight capabilities the Exbein should still be able to reach AM Gunner."

The Exbein bent its armored legs and jumped high into the air towards the weapon that would turn the party's situation around. Once close enough, Heero could see two handles on the back of the support craft. The Exbein's larger arms grabbed onto the handles as it fell back towards the ground with the new weapon.

Upon hitting the ground Heero had to skid to a halt to properly use the weapon, kicking up snow as the Exbein came to a stop. Heero aimed the quad barreled weapon down the narrow path that the pack of 'Ice Fenrir' were approaching from, "Since it is a scaled down version of the original, the blast should not be too much of a problem. However…"

Heero glanced at Neptune and IF who were helping Compa out of the tree, "I will still protect them. Just in case."

Small purple orbs began to form at the end of each of the four barrels on the AM Gunner. Heero kept his aim steady as the monsters approached, "…Fifteen seconds until the Full Impact Cannon is ready to fire. I will have to be quick once it does."

Compa leaned on Neptune and IF for support, and then turned her attention to Heero, "What is Heero doing?"

Neptune looked over at the armored Gundam pilot and saw the weapon in his hands, "Knowing him, he's more than likely trying to save us."

The pack of hungry monsters kept running straight towards the Exbein, disregarding the weapon in its hands, "…100% charge confirmed. Disengaging safety."

When the Exbein squeezed the triggers on the support craft in its hands, four long, purple beams shot out towards the pack of monsters. The beams vaporized the back of wolfs that were already approaching and streaked towards the second pack of hungry wolfs that lay further behind.

When the Full Impact Cannon struck solid ground, a massive explosion ensued that kicked up a large cloud of snow which began to move in every direction. The Exbein tossed the AM Gunner aside where it disappeared in a flash of binary code, "Damn! The explosion was bigger than I thought it would be."

Heero turned around and ran straight for the trio of girls who were still standing in front of the tree supporting Compa. IF looked bug eyed as she saw Heero run right at them, "Wh-Wh-What are you doing Heero? You're not gonna run into us, are you?!"

The Exbein skid to a halt in front of the girls on one knee, pulling the girls in close as the cloud of snow came rushing towards them. The area was soon blanketed by a more snow with no sigh of life anywhere.

After five minutes of silence, the Exbein suddenly popped out of the ground with Neptune, Compa and IF. Aside from Compa's previous injury, the three girls appeared to be unharmed. Heero walked towards the vein of ore while Neptune brushed the snow off her braids and body suit, "That's twice that Heero has saved me. Perhaps I should do something special for him as a reward."

Compa was shaking from being neck deep in snow, "C-C-Can we g-g-go back to t-t-town now?"

The Exbein punched the rocky wall and when it withdrew its hand, it was holding a rock with white crystals embedded in it, "All of that trouble for this…"

IF poked her head out from behind the Exbein's right arm to see the ore, "You came here for this?"

Heero turned to face the three girls, "I would like to apologize for endangering your lives."

Neptune climbed up the Exbein's armored frame and sat on its right shoulder, "There's no need to apologize Heero. After all, you would do the same for us, you said so yourself."

IF lightly knocked on Heero's tough armor, "Besides, even though we're pretty girls, we can hold our own in a fight. So really, don't worry about it."

Compa climbed onto the Exbein's back, despite having some difficulty due to her injured leg, "You can carry us back to town Heero. We'll accept that as your apology."

For the first time Heero did not know what to say. They had been faced with a life or death situation mere moments ago, and these three girls were willing to forgive him just like that? "…It is a very small price to pay, considering that you could have lost your lives because of me."

Neptune gently ran her fingers over the top of Heero's armored head, "Don't dwell on it Heero. You said once before that even the best fighters stumble from time to time."

Heero gave a small smile as IF climbed onto his armored frame, despite the fact that it could not be seen, "How very wise…"

Once the trio of girls was comfortable, the Exbein marched through the partially destroyed forest back to town.

Xxx

After stopping by the Inn so Neptune, Compa and IF could turn in for the night, Heero went back to Entremets to deliver the rare ore to Lady White Heart.

After stating his business, Financier allowed the Gundam pilot into the CPU's room. The goddess was lying across her bed, reading yet another book. When Heero stepped into the room, the preteen goddess slipped a bookmark to hold her place in the book and sat up, "…I had a feeling you would come back today. I take it you have what I requested?"

Heero slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled the glittering rock out, "…You don't disappoint, do you? You can just leave it there."

Lady White Heart pointed to a small table near one of the glass panels that made up the walls surrounding the room. When the object he had been sent out to retrieve was placed on the table, Heero turned back to the goddess, "…As for your reward. I couldn't think of anything to give you, so you may ask any one request of me."

Heero retreated into his thoughts, "(…I may request anything from Lady White Heart? It is limited to one request, so I must think carefully as to what I should use it on.)"

"…If you can't think of anything right now, you may leave and come back when you have figured out what you want. There's no expiration date on it, so you may come by and make your request whenever you feel like it. I may need you to do some favors for me in the future, just so you know."

Heero thought it best to save the one request he had received from the CPU of Lowee until he knew what to use it for. Heero turned to leave the room when Lady White Heart stopped him, "…Wait. One more thing."

The Perfect Soldier looked over his shoulder at the goddess, "Do you need something else from me?"

"…It's a rather odd question, but… when you think of the term 'Goddess' and you hear my voice; what do you think of?"

Heero was perplexed by Lady White Heart's question. As he thought of how to respond, an image of Neptune, Compa and IF suddenly came to mind, "…A young, beautiful woman."

The CPU choked for a moment, which prompted Heero to look back at the bed concealed by drapes, "Are you all right?"

"…I-I'm fine. You may leave now."

Heero did as he was asked, and when the door closed behind him Lady White Heart stepped out from behind the curtains that had concealed her form, her cheeks were coated a light pink, "…He certainly knows how to flatter a girl, doesn't he?"

Xxx

Me: (Enters ACCC) "Another Chapter done. I'd say we're making good progress."

Heero: (Walks into After Chapter Chat Corner) "I thought you were trying produce more updates for the story at a faster rate."

Me: "Well, yeah, but the reason why it took so long was because I wanted to gather as much info and material as I could on the Exbein Ka. Version."

Neptune: (Walks into ACCC with an ice cream cone in hand) "You mean that cool new transformation Heero got for this chapter?"

IF: (Enters After Chapter Chat Corner) "Personally, I think all of Heero's transformation look cool. But that's just me."

Compa: (Enters After Chapter Chat Corner with cotton candy in hand) "I really like the romance of the story.)"

Neptune: "Alrighty, I wrap up the chapter, and Heero and I can go and do the thing in private."

IF: "Who said you get to do either one?"

Neptune: (Grins) "The author man, who else?"

Me: "I said you could wrap up the chapter. Whether or not you get to 'do the thing' with Heero, now, that's up to you two. Leave me out of this."

Heero: "…I would rather she refrain from doing so."

Me: "Look, let's just wrap up the chapter so we can get to work on the next one."

Neptune: (Turns to readers) "Hiya, all you good readers. Read and review this chapter for us, since the author is workin' his butt off. Also, send him some messages telling him to hurry up and give me and Heero our M Rated scene."

Me: "Hey! No telling the readers that kind of crap! The last thing I need is for our readers to start sending me death threats unless I put our sexual content in early. We have to save it for later chapters or it won't be special." (Points to the exit of ACCC) "Now, let's get to work on the next chapter. For the sake of our readers!"

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: (Leave After Chapter Chat Corner)