Me: (Pacing around 'Intro Corner') "…Should I add this? …But then what about that one…?"
White Heart: (Walks into 'Intro Corner, sees Author pacing and stares) "…What are you doing?"
Me: "Oh, hey. Didn't see you come in Blanc. I'm pacing because it helps me think."
White Heart: "…What are you thinking about? Is it related to the story?"
Me: "Naturally. I just have so many ideas for it that I'm trying to sort them out and decide where they should go."
Black Heart: (Walks into 'Intro Corner' with script in hand) "Hey, I need to talk to you ab-" (Sees White Heart) "You?! What are you doing here?!"
White Heart: "Me? I came to handle the introduction. What the hell are YOU doing here?! Don't you have a shitty landmass to rule?!"
Black Heart: (Face turns red with anger) "Don't talk down to Lastation! I heard all about the crap you pulled, trying to steal Heero. Who do you think you are?! I should get rid of you right now so you can't steal him from me!"
White Heart: (Raises a questioning eyebrow) "Steal him from you? Are you trying to screw him or something? You're starting to turn into a horny bitch like Neptune."
Black Heart: (Face turns a darker shade of red and stammers) "N-No! Where would you get THAT idea?! I-I just said it because… H-Heero is really important to the story and I'm going to be the one who beats him. (…Though not in the way you think.)"
Me: (Looks off to the side of the 'Intro Corner') "Guys?"
White Heart: "…By that, you mean beat him to see who gets on top first in bed."
Black Heart: (Stammers) "Wh-Wh-What?! No! That's not what I mean at all!"
Me: "Uhh, guys?"
Black Heart and White Heart: (Look at Author) "WHAT?!"
Me: (Points to the side of 'Intro Corner')
Neptune, Compa and IF: (Silently glaring at Black Heart and White Heart)
Heero: (Silently watching the girls)
Neptune: "So… the two weird chicks are fighting over MY Destined Lover. Compa, Iffy, let's kick their butts!"
Compa: "Heero belongs to us!"
IF: "I don't think Heero necessarily belongs to anyone, but we won't give him up to either of you. (…He's mine!)"
Heero: "…I do not understand. Am I the cause of all this?"
Me: (Puts a hand on Heero's shoulder) "Heero, buddy, relish what you see before you. All of these lovely ladies are fighting over you, man!"
White Heart: "…I'm not fighting over anyone. I just came here to get more time in the introduction."
Black Heart: "Me too! I just wanted to help out with the intro. (I'm not giving Heero up to any of you!)"
Me: "Oh, damnit! Speaking of, let's get this little session of the 'Intro Corner' wrapped up people. We've got a disclaimer to read and a chapter to roll. Where's Gust?"
Gust: (Standing behind Author) "Gust is right here. Watched as everyone was about to fight. Gust should sell tickets next time."
Me: (Looks at cast of characters) "From the top everybody!"
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 any of the three franchises."
Me: "Now, for the readers to read another chapter of our wacky story!"
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Gust, Black Heart, and White Heart: (Leave 'Intro Corner')
Ch. 11 Black vs. White
It was yet another snowy day in Lowee and the Sky Harbor was open again. The landmasses of Lastation and Lowee were passing by one another again, and were close enough to allow the Sky Harbor to open up once more.
A lone figure came out of the Sky Harbor and onto the snow filled landmass; the white haired swordstress; Black Heart, who the party had encountered numerous times while on Lastation.
The white haired beauty thoroughly scanned the area in front of the Sky Harbor, but all she could see were trees and snow, "They came this way… I'm sure of it."
The swordstress began to wade through the thick layer of snow on the ground, quickly becoming irritated by the abundance of the snow flakes, "There's so much snow, someone could trip! …I hope Neptune's tripped and hit her head."
Black Heart's thoughts began to shift towards a certain Perfect Soldier, "…I just hope Heero is all right."
The white haired swordstress stopped after realizing what she had said, "N-Not that I care about him or anything! It's just that Neptune is a real nuisance and Heero hasn't done anything to make him my enemy."
She grasped the object dangling from her neck, "If anything he…"
The swordstress violently shook her head, "…Stop thinking about Heero, Black Heart! You don't care about him! He's just a human! I-I only came here because I need to get rid of Neptune."
Black Heart began to push her index fingers together, "But… it would give me a good chance to ask Heero…"
Once more, the swordstress shook her head, "…No, no, no! I just told you to stop thinking about Heero, Black Heart! I mean, he's a really great guy and all, but I don't need to concern myself with him."
The teen furrowed her brow, "Of all the places he could have gone though, why did Heero come here? This is that little brat's landmass… It has to be Neptune's fault. She drags Heero all over the place and decided that she just had to come here."
The girl balled her hands into fists, "She may just ruin my chances…! I'll have to make good on my threat of teaching her discipline by my hand. And not just her! I'll get rid of Neptune while I'm here. Two birds with one stone."
The white haired girl continued along the path to Guild City with both Neptune and Heero on her mind.
Xxx
The party was walking through Guild City; taking a break from accepting job requests and trying to gather information on the whereabouts of the Key Fragment. While their recuperation was smooth, their information was anything but. The group still did not have any solid leads to go on and they were faced with random dungeon crawling as IF called it, problems that also ailed their search for the Key Fragment in Lastation.
While walking down one of the many city streets, Compa caught sight of a particular building that stood out from the others, "Oh, look! Is this a game store?"
Neptune peered through the store window, "Yeppers! Whoa, I ain't never seen games like this before!"
"This is called the Watch & Game. It's the original portable game."
Neptune looked down at the portable device as it played a demo of the game, "Everything about it is so retro and bleepy and bloopy. How d'ya play this dealie?"
Compa looked down at the Watch & Game, "Choose the difficulty… then choose either 'Game-1' or 'Game-2…' You can use this as a normal watch when not playing. It was the real start of an era."
Neptune back around with her hands behind her head, "Is it? Well, maybe back then it was pretty cool and stuff."
Compa turned her gaze on the preteen, "Now, Compa has a question for the new gaming fan!"
Neptune pumped her arms as she directed her attention to the pink haired nurse, "Ooh, yay! Bring it on, miniskirt!"
"Which product led to the invention of the Watch & Game? I'll buy you dinner and dessert if you get it right!"
Heero and IF watched Neptune and Compa's exchange on the question, "…This is waste of time."
IF looked up at the Gundam pilot, "Yeah. What are the odds that Nep will get it right?"
Neptune assumed her thinking position as she ponder Compa's question, "Hmmm, I dunno… I would guess a calculator, maybe…?"
Compa just stared at the purple haired amnesiac in front of her, "Wh-Wha…?!"
Neptune inclined her head at the nurse-in-training, "Huh? What's up?"
"…Ooh…"
IF looked from Compa, who began to walk away, to Neptune, "…Seems she didn't expect you to get it right."
Heero followed after Compa until he arrived at a small park. The pink haired nurse he had been following was sitting on a park bench, a bewildered look on her face. Heero walked over and sat next to Compa, "…I take it that you find it difficult to believe that Neptune actually answered your question with the correct answer."
Compa noticed the Gundam pilot sitting next to her, "Oh, Heero. Yes, I was surprised that Nep-Nep actually knew the answer. Looks like I owe her dinner and dessert."
Heero looked down at Compa's right leg, "How is your leg?"
The nurse-in-training looked down at what Heero was focusing his attention on; her thigh was wrapped with a bandage from the injury she had received from the previous day, "Its fine now. It only hurts every now and then, but it isn't too bad."
Compa suddenly felt and arm around her and found herself being pulled towards Heero, the pink haired nurse's head was resting on Heero's shoulder. Compa's cheeks began to turn a light pink, "H-Heero? Wh-What are you-"
"I'm sorry."
Compa looked at Heero's face, his eyes were cast down to the ground, "Were it not for me, you would not have been injured. You could have very well lost your life."
The nurse-in-training shifted to get into a slightly more comfortable position, "D-Don't worry about it Heero. You didn't know what would happen, it wasn't your fault."
Neptune and IF arrived at the park and saw Heero and Compa sitting on the bench… and how close Compa was to Heero, "Hey! What are you doing, Compa?! You scorin' point with Heero on me again?!"
IF balled her hands into fists, "We leave you alone for a minute, and you pull something like this?"
Compa waved her hands in front of herself in a defensive manner, "I-I'm not trying to do anything! H-Heero was just apologizing for what happened yesterday."
Neptune hopped into Heero's lap, slightly irritating the Perfect Soldier, "Are you still thinking about that? None of us died or anything, so just forget about it."
Heero looked at the preteen sitting on him, "We were in a dangerous situation because I chose to accept a request from Lady White Heart. Had I known of the danger involved, I would have told Compa to return to you."
IF took the remaining seat on the bench next to Heero, "But from what Compa told us, you were in danger yourself before you turned things around. If she hadn't been around we probably would have lost you, and we don't want that to happen."
The brunette averted her gaze from Heero and spoke in a near inaudible voice, "At least… I don't…"
IF felt an arm around her waist and found her head resting against Heero's left shoulder shortly after, causing her cheeks to burn, "Even so, I still believe it is appropriate to give some sort of apology for my decision."
Heero was in one of those rare moments that any red blooded man would kill to be in, he had a girl in each arm, and one more sitting in his lap. Men who passed by shot Heero dirty looks, but were warded off by one of Heero's glares.
IF shook off herself out of her daze and stood up, "W-We should get going. We need to go to the other end of the city, but its run by Extremists. Just so you know."
Neptune hopped out of Heero's lap and proceeded to pull on his arm, "Let's go find a really nice restaurant and you can feed me, lover."
Compa began to pull on Heero's other arm, though in the same direction, "That sound nice. Since we're… l-lovers, I'll feed you too, Heero."
Heero narrowed his eyes at the two girls, "We are not lovers."
IF suddenly began to push on Heero's back, "I suppose having someone feed me would be a nice change of pace, though I don't plan to make it a regular thing. (And I'll get to feed Heero.)"
Heero's words of protest fell on deaf ears as the girls continued to pull and push him towards their next destination.
Xxx
The party walked to the other side of the Guild City for another job request after their lunch break. Neptune looked around at the city that was identical to the one they had come from, "It looks the same, but it feels different. It's all tense. Is this the Extremist side of Guild City?"
IF rolled her eyes at the preteen, "Shut it! There are Extremists and Moderatists within the Guild. I'm a Moderatist."
Compa looked at the brunette with a slightly perplexed look on her face, "What's the difference between an Extremist and a Moderatist? They're both Guild members, right?"
"Simple. Moderatists focus on worshipping, while Extremists despise the other goddesses they don't believe in."
Compa looked at the ground for a moment to collect her thoughts before looking back at IF, "…What happens if you believe in a goddess they don't?"
"I hear you die. Get shot until your body's a fishing net, or they'll flame you on website forums for being a fanboy."
Heero raised a questioning eyebrow, "(I can understand getting shot, but what is this 'flame' that she is talking about?)"
A woman walked up to the party as they were conversing amongst themselves, "Are you cute little things here to fight monsters, or us? How brave of you! There are monsters in the forest ahead. They're pretty violent, so do whatever you want with them."
Neptune's cheeks began to swell as the woman passed by, "She was totally eyeing Heero up, I just know it!"
Compa was slightly peeved too, "She must want Heero for herself."
IF watched the Extremist as she went her merry way, "You don't know that. I'm sure she was just talking to us. (But if she was we're gonna have some serious problems.)"
Heero had his attention directed at the forest the Extremist had mentioned, "The mission area is not as far as I had originally thought. It would be best to finish our job, so that we may focus our efforts on locating the Key Fragment."
Little did the party know that they were being watched by a familiar face. Black Heart was watching the party from behind a bakery, her attention fixed on Neptune for the most part, "There she is. I can't just attack Neptune in plain sight, or I'll be attack by Heero and the other two…"
Black Heart's face softened as she directed her gaze to at Heero, "If anything… I don't want to fight Heero…"
Realizing what she had just said, the white haired teen violently shook her head, "N-Not that I care about him or anything. It's just that he's a human and he doesn't need to be caught up in our battle. The other two aren't worth mentioning."
At the same time that Black Heart was watching the party, the blue haired girl who had attacked the party was also watching them. She was unaware of the white haired girl's presence, as she was hiding behind a different building.
The axe wielder had her eyes trained on Neptune, "…There's that little bitch. I know I should be focusing on getting rid of her, but first…"
The blue haired girl narrowed her eyes at Heero, "…I'll have to deal with Heero first. If I can get him alone, then I won't have to worry about dealing with Neptune and her two other little friends. It won't be easy, but I should be able to beat him."
Black Heart and the mysterious axe wielder followed the party at a safe distance as they left for the forest, still unaware of the other's presence.
Xxx
The forest where the party's job request required them to be looked like every other forest the group had traversed on Lowee with the exception of its layout, though Heero had grown accustom to it. Neptune released an audible yawn, "I'm bored. Let's go and find the boss already."
IF looked up from the map of the forest that she held in her hands, "You have too little patience. We should plan how we're going to fight the boss carefully, not just charge in."
Neptune and Compa fell on their backs and began to make snow angels; Neptune's out of boredom, and Compa's for fun. Heero leaned on a tree, and IF sat on a rock while looking at the map of the dungeon.
Heero was about to fall asleep when the crashing sound of a tree hitting the ground drew his attention. Neptune sat up and looked around frantically, "What was that? Is there a really strong monster here?"
Compa hid behind a rock, poking her head out from behind it, "I-It's not going to come after us, is it?"
Heero ran further in to inspect the disturbance, with Neptune, Compa and IF following after him. When the party rounded the first corner of the dungeon, they saw a tree lying in the ground and monster underneath it.
Heero examined the fallen tree, while IF inspected the dead monster, "We've seen something like this before back on Lastation. What could have caused this?"
"The same thing that knocked over this tree."
The trio of girls looked at the tree Heero was examining. There were splinters of wood lying on the ground in front of the tree, and the tree was slightly uprooted. Compa looked at the jagged, pointed edges of broken wood on the stump, "Do you think a logger did this?"
The Gundam pilot shook his head, "From what I understand, civilians are incapable of fighting against the monsters. In the unlikely event that it was a mere logger, then the tree would not still be here. Also, it would take a normal person a number of swings to cut down a tree, whereas the evidence I have gathered indicates that who or whatever it was that cut down this tree did so with only one swing."
IF looked to see two other possible paths that the who or what Heero was talking about could have gone, as they had come from the third possible entrance to the clearing and nothing passed by them along the way, "So what are we going to do? There's someone or something else here that doesn't seem to be friendly with the environment or monsters."
Neptune had a bright gleam in her eyes as she pumped her arms, "We gotta find it then! If we beat it, we'll get tons of experience points! We might even be able to get it to join our party!"
Compa whole heartedly supported Neptune's idea, "Yes. The more people we have in our party, the easier it will be to fight monsters and save Gamindustri!"
Neptune and Compa followed one of the two paths that lead to another section of the dungeon, leaving Heero and IF behind. The brunette stared at the two girls as they disappeared down the path, "…Do you ever stop and say to yourself 'Wow, I can't believe I actually have to work with these two?'"
Heero looked down the path that both Neptune and Compa were following, "With Neptune, there really is no time to stop and think."
The Moderatist Guild member stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, "Good point."
The two girls came back as quickly as they had left. Neptune latched onto Heero's arm, "I almost forgot to bring Heero with us. If we fight the guy who did this, we'll need my super strong Destined Lover."
IF rolled her eyes, "(I can't take this anymore!) Can you go five minutes without calling Heero your Destined Lover?"
Neptune grinned at the brunette, "Nope! There's nothing wrong with me calling Heero my lover, cause' it's true."
IF's inner chibi was kicking and screaming as the conversation went on, "There is a lot wrong with it! (I'm the one who should be calling him lover! Me!)"
Compa latched onto Heero's other arm, "Nep-Nep, Heero's my lover, too!"
IF's inner chibi gave the nurse-in-training the evil eye, "(I'll kill you in your sleep, you ditz!)"
Heero could swear that he was getting a headache that could kill a horse, "(…This is my fault for accepting Histoire's favor, but I will see this mission through to the end.) We should focus on completing the task at hand, which is eliminating the target."
After putting their little spat off, the party resumed their job of defeating monsters, with the boss as their primary objective. Heero kept his wits about him as the group ventured further into the dungeon, with an unknown individual or creature roaming the dungeon they could be attacked at any time.
A few of the monsters that the party came across while were already dead, killed with a single strike. When they arrived at the end of the forest, a rather strange monster… 'sitting' in front of the exit.
The monster was a 'Tadpole', though it looked nothing like one. It had two arm-like appendages, a 'tail' of some sort, and a large mouth, but its most distinguishing feature was it large blue, bulbous body. IF armed her Katars, keeping her gaze fixed on the monster before the party, "Looks pretty ugly."
Neptune stuck her tongue out at the monster, "It's REALLY ugly! Let's beat it up and get some food when we're done."
The purple haired preteen reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out the Mech Sword Armas. The purple thermal saber shot out of the opening on the top of the handle, "This'll be over in no time!"
Neptune ran at the 'Tadpole' with her saber held overhead. Before she had a chance to land a single blow on the hideous monster, one of the 'Tadpole's' arm-like appendages grabbed Neptune's arm and held her up in the air. Neptune kicked and squirmed in an effort to break free of the monsters grip, "Let go of me you… you… thing! Or Heero will totally beat you up!"
Compa watched as Neptune tried to get free of the 'Tadpole', "Don't worry Nep-Nep, we'll help you!"
IF shook her head as she prepared to run at the monster, "Why do I even bother trying to come up with a plan when Nep is just going to charge right in?"
IF and Heero quickly closed in on the large monster while Compa stayed back and fired at it with her syringe. Despite their best efforts Heero, Compa and IF's attacks were not inflicting any real damage, "…We need to find its weak spot and exploit it."
The 'Tadpole' lifted Neptune higher and began to hold her by her legs. The preteen dropped her saber and began to flail her arms, "Get me down from here!"
Neptune snapped her fingers in realization, "I've got it! I'll just transform and beat on him till he let's go!"
The preteen's HDD disk appeared in a small flash of light, surrounded in binary code. The disk began to hover over the back of Neptune's hand as she pulled it over her chest, "I don't wanna, but I guess I gotta."
In the span of a few seconds Neptune goes from her bubbly preteen self to that of her stronger, calmer, more mature and observant self. The twin braided swordstress took one look at the monster that was attempting to restrain her, and then swiftly slashed the 'arm' that was holding her legs with her katana.
The 'Tadpole' released a shrill cry as it released Neptune. Instead of landing in the snow like she thought she would Neptune landed on top of something, then she heard Heero's voice, though it sounded slightly muffled, "…Neptune, get off me."
Neptune looked down to see that she was sitting on Heero, and as luck would have it his face in-between her legs, causing her face to noticeably redden, "Heero, how many times do I have to tell you that if you want to do… 'THAT' then we need to be alone and in bed before we can have our special moment together."
Heero narrowed his eyes at Neptune, "I do not intend to engage in any sexual activity of any kind with you."
"Then why are you trying to get between my legs?"
Heero attempted to lift Neptune off his torso, "…You fell on me."
Neptune closed her legs around Heero's head, her lips curved into a seductive smile, "So you say, but that raises the question: what were you doing right here?"
Heero was at a loss for words, he did not know how to respond to Neptune's question. The swordstress opened her legs and straddled Heero, her face mere millimeters away from his, "Why don't you just admit that you don't know how to keep your hands off me, Heero?"
A loud *Ahem* drew the attention of the two teens to IF, "What are you looking at?"
The brunette looked down at Neptune, suppressing the sudden urge to strangle her, "What are you doing?! We're in the middle of a battle!"
Neptune got off of the Gundam pilot, "I was just spending some time with Heero."
Compa was running away from the 'Tadpole' as it had begun to chase her, "Help me! I don't want to be a monster's lunch!"
Neptune and IF turned their attention to the nurse-in-training as she ran from the monster while Heero underwent one of his own transformations, "We really should help her."
Heero had finished his transformation into the Wing Gundam and aimed his Buster Rifle at the 'Tadpole'. A golden beam of thermal energy shot out and struck the ground in front of the monster, forcing it back, while launching Compa into the air. The pink haired nurse flailed her arms as if doing so would allow her to fly, "Wahhh!"
Heero holstered the Buster Rifle in-between the Wing Gundam's wings and held his arms out. Compa fell into the Gundam pilot's armored arms, the pink haired nurse looked up at Heero's masked face, "Whew, thank you Heero."
Heero set Compa down while IF was sizing up the large monster, now that the party was not having to worry about whether or not one of its members was going to be eaten, "Does anybody have any idea how we're going to beat this thing? I'm open to suggestions. O-Of course, I'm sure Heero already has a plan."
Heero scanned the 'Tadpole's' bulbous frame, looking for anything that would hint at the location of a weak point, "It has a tough hide, simply attacking it will get us nowhere. Therefore, I recommend a concentrated attack."
Neptune kept her gaze focused on the monster, "Where exactly are we going to attack then?"
The Perfect Soldier drew his beam saber out of the compartment on the shield, "The front. It is the most dangerous area to attack, however it is also the least suspected target. I will go first to create an opening, the rest is up to you three."
Neptune, Compa and IF readied themselves for their attack, waiting for Heero to make the first move. The thrusters along the Wing Gundam's back flared to life and Heero sped towards his target, "(Precision will be key to breaking the target's armor. Where I strike will be their target, so I must be careful with where I mark the enemy.)"
The Wing Gundam rapidly closed on the 'Tadpole', drawing closer and closer with each passing second. The Perfect Soldier was only a few feet away when he settled on his target area, "That should suffice."
Hero swung his Beam Saber at the 'Tadpole', the green thermal blade began to dig into the monster's hide. Heero's attack did not go all the way through the monster's tough hide though he had not intended for it to, as he spun around three hundred and sixty degrees and struck the monster with the sharp edge of his shield before striking with his Saber once more and continuing past the monster. Both attack hit the same location that he had struck the first time with deadly accuracy.
Even though Heero's attack was finished, the 'Tadpole' was not safe from the pain to come. Shortly after Heero had passed it, Neptune had launched her own attack on the monster. Her Katana had struck in the same location and with the same level of precision that all three of Heero's attacks had landed.
The swordstress juggled the monster into the air then slammed it into the ground with her sword, leaving a crater due to the force she used. IF had been waiting for the monster the moment it came back down after Neptune was finished with it.
IF delivered a swift kick to the same spot that Heero and Neptune had focused on. The 'Tadpole' tumbled backwards as result, the brunette did not let up as her Katars struck the already damaged area on the monster's hide. Both bladed weapons dug through the tough 'armor' and widened the growing injury.
After IF was done with the monster, Compa thrust her syringe into deep cut and fired a bullet as a finisher, "Shoot!"
The force of the bullet knocked the 'Tadpole' into a tree. The monster's hide began to crack open until it broke apart, revealing a pair white boxers with hearts sewn in. When the undergarments were exposed Heero thought he had heard someone scream, while IF's eyes noticeably widened, "Hello."
For a moment, Heero thought he saw Neptune's eye twitch, "I could have gone my whole life without having seen that."
Compa just stared at the monster, unsure of what to make of the situation, "So monsters where underwear, too?"
Heero grabbed the Buster Rifle holstered between the Wing Gundam's wings and fired at the now… 'Exposed' monster. A large explosion ensued that engulfed the 'Tadpole', reducing it to ash. The party put their weapons away now that the monster was gone, "That was certainly… different from our normal battles against boss monsters."
IF pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, "You think?"
Neptune looked around to find that Heero was missing, "Do either of you know where Heero went?"
Compa looked back towards the path the party had traveled to reach the monster, "Heero said he was going to check those monsters we saw that were already defeated. He didn't say why though."
IF looked up from her cell phone and at the pink haired nurse, "He's just being cautious. Do you know how much of a pain it would be if we ran into whatever it was that did all of that?"
Neptune took off after the Perfect Soldier, Compa and IF followed shortly after.
Xxx
Black Heart was scanning the section of the dungeon she was in, looking for something, "…I'm pretty sure they went this way. Did they go to a different dungeon?"
The white haired girl looked over her shoulder at a dead 'Rock Worm' that resembled the Sandworm monster with the exception of its hide, which was a black. The teen narrowed her eyes at the monster, "I've had to waste my time dealing with these things. They're probably what threw me off."
Black Heart heard a noise approaching and took cover behind a tree, "Another one? This landmass has a serious monster problem. At least Lastation doesn't have to worry as much about them."
The source of the noise eventually entered the clearing; the Wing Gundam. Heero reverted back to his normal human form as he crouched down to examine the dead monster. Black Heart slowly poked her head out from behind the tree to look at the Gundam pilot, "I knew I came the right way."
The teen girl continued to watch Heero, slowly slipping into a daze, "Heero is all alone. This would be a good time to ask him…"
Black Heart gently shook herself out of her daze, "T-To ask him what company he works for! Yeah, that's it."
The white haired teen took a deep breath and prepared to walk over to Heero, "What are you doing, Heero?"
Black Heart ducked back behind the tree the moment she heard the voice of another individual entering the small clearing. Neptune was soon seen standing behind Heero, "(Just great… Neptune had to show up. And wherever she is, the other two are right behind her.)"
"I am checking the area to make sure that who or whatever it was that killed these monsters is no longer in this area."
IF and Compa stepped into the clearing not long after Neptune, "It would be a real pain if we got ambushed on our way back to town."
Compa had a smile plastered on her face, "We don't have to worry about that. We have Nep-Nep and Heero."
"Maybe, but we can't expect them to take care of everything."
Heero stood back up as Compa and IF conversed amongst themselves, Neptune kept her gaze fixed on the Gundam pilot, "Has whatever done this left, or is it still here?"
"This monster died not too long ago and this is the path that leads back to Guild City. I assume that who or whatever it was that did this has already left."
"That's too bad. And I was looking forward to a good fight."
The tone of Neptune's voice suggested that she was disappointed. Unlike when she was her normal preteen self who was energetic, bubbly, always hungry and seemed to tell everyone and everything that Heero was her 'Destined Lover'; THIS Neptune seemed to be her opposite in a number of ways.
She was calm and observant, she didn't just blatantly charge into battle, she was not by any means helpless, she LOVED to fight, and while she still claimed that Heero was her Destined Lover, she did not flaunt it all over the place… though there was something about the way she looked at him every now and then that made her seem a little more possessive of him than when she was a preteen.
Heero turned his attention to the path in front of the party, "Our mission here has been completed. It would be best to return to the city for now."
Neptune stretched her arms above her head, "You'll get no argument here."
The twin braided swordstress began to circle around the Gundam pilot, a hint of mischief and seductiveness in her eyes, "…And maybe we can spend a little… quality time together when we get back to our room."
Compa grabbed onto Heero's left arm, her cheeks began to swell up, "Nep-Nep! You're cheating!"
Neptune grabbed Heero's other arm, narrowing her eyes at the nurse-in-training, "All's fair in love and war, and when it comes to my lover I'm not about to play nice or fair."
IF grabbed onto Heero's waist since Neptune and Compa were holding his arms, "Hey, I don't know what's gotten into you two, but Heero isn't an object you can fight over. (Because he's mine!)"
Black Heart watched as the trio of girls fought over Heero, the look of jealousy on her face was as plain as day, "I can't stand the way she gets to hold onto Heero like that! It makes me wanna hit her with a one thousand hit combo for massive damage. N-Not that I'm jealous or anything, I just don't want Neptune to get Heero involved."
The white haired teen left before the party found her. Along the way, she crossed paths with a certain blue haired girl who had also been looking for Neptune's party. The white haired teen took a step back in surprise, "You?! What are you doing here?!"
The axe wielding girl had not expected to run into anyone either, but shook off her initial surprise and narrowed her eyes at the swordstress, "…This is my landmass, what the hell are YOU doing in Lowee?! Don't you have a shitty landmass to get back to?!"
Black Heart was absolutely livid at the remark and stomped her foot on the ground, "Don't talk down to Lastation! A-Anyway, what I'm doing here is none of your business."
The blue haired girl brandished her axe, "The hell it is! I might as well get rid of you now and save myself the trouble later."
Wasting no time, the white haired swordstress readied her large sword in response, "Then let's go, right now! I'm getting sick of that mouth of yours."
Almost immediately following the drawing of her sword, the silent air of the forest was disturbed by the sound of clashing metal and gunshots. Both female combatants were locked in a stalemate throughout the fight, neither gaining any ground on the other, but not losing ground either.
After three minutes of fighting, both girls skid to a halt a few feet apart from one another and stared each other down. The tension in the air was thick, the only movements that either girl made was the in and out movements of their chests as they breathed. Snow continued to fall all around them, yet they kept their attention focused on the opponent before them.
The blue haired girl tightened her grip on her axe, "…I'll only ask one more time, bitch. What are you doing here in Lowee?"
Narrowing her eyes, Black Heart readied herself once more, "What's it to you why I'm here?"
"…It'll determine whether I kill you quick and painlessly, or slow and painfully."
The teen responded with a smirk, "Like I'd tell you. If you want to know, you'll have to defeat me first."
Just when it looked as though both girls were going to resume their battle, a figure jumped over a small hill of snow, "I knew there was someone else here, however I did not anticipate that there would be two individuals working together."
Both girls turned their attention to the newcomer who was none other than Heero. Neither one of them had expected the Gundam pilot to appear while they were fighting. Black Heart felt her cheeks begin to warm up, "Heero? D-Don't get the wrong idea, Heero! I have nothing to do with HER!"
The blue haired girl gave her full attention to the Perfect Soldier, "…This works out fine for me. I'll get rid of you both, starting with you!"
The young axe wielder charged right at Heero, completely disregarding the girl who she had been fighting not long ago. The girl's axe clashed with Heero's GN Sword causing sparks to fly in every direction, "…Nothing personal, but I've gotta kill you. I can't get rid of Neptune while you're around."
The young girl narrowed her eyes at the teenaged soldier, "…Then again, maybe it is personal. Who do you think you are getting between my legs, you bastard?!"
Heero glared at the girl who seemed intent on killing him, "You fell on me. I fail to see how I am responsible."
The fowl mouthed little girl growled at the soldier, "…Shut up! You're just some damn pervert who just happens to be that dumbass Neptune's bodyguard. Or should I say you WERE her bodyguard!"
With a burst of strength, the blue haired girl forced Heero back and prepared to follow up with a second attack, only to clash with Black Heart, "…Why are you getting in the way? I'll get to you in minute."
The swordstress forced the little girl back, glaring at her all the entire time, "If you want to get to Heero, you'll have to go through me first!"
The younger girl raised a questioning eyebrow, "…What? Why do you care what happens to him? Are you into him or something?"
Black Heart's cheeks began to burn a deep crimson, "What?! O-of course not! I just don't want to get him involved, that's all. Besides, you're supposed to be fighting me!"
Heero did not know what was going on between the two girls, or why Black Heart seemed to be protecting him despite her claim that it was so that he would not 'get involved', "(What exactly does she mean? Does it pertain to Neptune as well? It is possible… For now, I will just listen and see what I can gain in terms of information.)"
Just when it seemed as though both girls were about to begin their fight once more, the blue haired girl looked past the two teens and scowled, "…Shit, I took too long. I'll kill you next time, Heero. You too, bitch."
The young girl turned on her heels and ran away, leaving the two teens behind. Black Heart shouted at the fleeing girl, "You're just going to run away?! You're all talk!"
Heero turned his gaze on the white haired beauty, "…Why were you protecting me? I do not see what you possibly stand to gain from doing so."
Feeling Heero's eyes bear into her, Black Heart turned away from the Gundam pilot, "Wh-Who said I was protecting you? I just don't want any humans to get involved in our battle, that's all."
The Perfect Soldier closed the short distance between himself and the girl, "What do you mean? Are you not human as well? Or are you something else?"
"I-I… I can't tell you… at least not right now, but maybe someday. Not that want to or anything, it's just that you seem like you really want to know."
Heero raised a questioning eyebrow, "…Are you not going to tell me that I must first defeat you in order to obtain the information I want?"
It was very difficult for Black Heart to look at Heero, she was soon finding it difficult to breath as well, "Well, it's because… y-you're a different case. I despise Neptune and that brat… but you seem like a really nice guy. (…He's too good for Neptune.)"
The teenaged girl finally turned to face Heero though she did not look him in the eye, her cheeks were dark red and she was pushing her index fingers together, "…I-I have a question that I've been meaning to ask you."
Heero kept his attention fixed on the girl in front of him, "You are free to inquire, however I cannot guarantee that I will give you a satisfactory answer."
With a voice barely above a whisper and her gaze focused on the ground, Black Heart began to ask Heero her question, "…What are your… preferences in…"
Heero cupped the Black Heart's chin with his hand and directed her face towards his, "It is difficult for me to hear you when you are talking away from me and mumbling. Take a deep breath, and then ask your question again in a tone that I can hear."
Black Heart could feel her heart thumping against her chest. Heero had cupped her chin with his hand so that it would be easier for the girl to ask her question, but it was only making it even more difficult for her, "Uhh… umm… w-well… (I've seen something like this dozens of times in anime and manga. This is the part where the guy… k-kisses the girl…)"
Swallowing hard, the white haired swordstress tried to say something, anything at all, but found herself gasping for breath. Heero could see the teenager's cheeks growing more and more red, "Are you sick? Perhaps I should check your temperature."
Heero drew closer to the girl and pressed his forehead against her own. Black Heart began to feel faint from the closeness, "H…H-Heero… (H-He's so close… what should I do…?)"
While Heero was checking the girl's temperature, Black Heart slowly drew closer to Heero face, "(...A-Am I supposed to make the first move…? Or… is Heero supposed to…?)"
Heero exhaled as he examined the teen, Black Heart shuddered as the Gundam pilot's warm breath graced her exposed neck. Heero drew even closer to the girl as he checked her temperature, their faces barely a hair's width apart. Black Heart slowly closed her eyes, her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to burst right out of her chest, "(…What are you waiting for…? …Go on… Just do it already, Heero…)"
Black Heart stood with baited breath, waiting anxiously for Heero to finish closing the distance. Unfortunately for her, while fate can bestow the greatest of blessings, it can also be a cruel bitch. As the white haired swordstress was about to take the initiative, Neptune's voice was heard close by, "Heero? Where are you?"
Heero pulled away from the swordstress, looking in the direction Neptune's voice originated, "…If Neptune sees you, it will lead to yet another misunderstanding."
Black Heart shook herself out of her daze, free of the spell over her mind, "…H-Huh? N-Neptune?"
The Gundam pilot returned his attention to the girl before him, "I will pretend that I did not see you, so now would be your best chance to leave before Neptune arrives."
Without uttering another word, the swordstress turned and ran. As she did so, her thoughts quickly returning to what had just transpired, "…What were you thinking, Black Heart?! I-I don't want Heero to kiss me! B-Besides, he was only checking my temperature. Yeah, that's it! I-It's not like we were going to kiss and make out like l-lovers or anything like that. A-Anyway, guess I'll just have to go after Neptune some other time."
Heero turned around just as Neptune, Compa and IF came out from behind a row of tall bushes, "There you are. What are you doing all the way over here, Heero?"
Intent on making good on his word, the Perfect Soldier quickly came up with a believable excuse for running ahead of the trio, "I had heard a strange noise and followed it, believing it would lead to the one who had killed the monsters. However, all I found were typical forest dwelling creatures."
The girls believed what Heero had said without giving it a second thought, "That aside, if our mission is complete it would be wise for us to return to the city."
The party began to make their way back to Guild City, occasionally getting into small spats on the topic of 'Heero's Lover' along the way.
Xxx
The party had little time to relax, as shortly after they had returned to the city they were given a bounty request from Lowee's Central Basilicom. Neptune, Heero, Compa and IF readied themselves and headed towards a forest where a nasty Troll had taken residence.
After waiting for a few minutes, Financier approached the party, "Hello. I'm here to represent the Basilicom and explain your bounty job."
The Basilicom employee looked over the party and noticed a certain change in the party, "…Not the usual four today, huh? Something's different… who's missing?"
Neptune did not see any of the party's members missing, "…It's in your head. Compa, Iffy, Heero and me. Everything's the same."
Financier looked at the purple haired swordstress, "…Are you the new one? That's right! Little Neptune is missing. Did she sleep in? Is she okay? Or did she get sick? Did she get knocked out of the party rotation? I get it. Monster fighting is serious. You shouldn't keep the weak links on your front line."
Compa rapidly shook her head, "N-No! This is Nep-Nep. It's kind of a long story, but she's transformed into her more developed self, so to speak."
Neptune did not seem to care, "Don't worry about it. Can you hurry up and explain the job? People are facing danger as we speak."
"Yes! The forest is infested with monsters. We'd like you to go clear them out. Some raid residential districts in search of food. It's starting to trouble the civilians."
IF folded her arms, "Sound like some ill-mannered monkeys. I bet their hunger doesn't even compare to the damage caused…"
Financier looked back and forth between Heero and Neptune, "I hope you don't mind me saying, but I think you two would make a really cute couple."
Neptune looked back at the Gundam pilot, a small smile on her beautiful face, "Yet another unbiased opinion on our love. Why don't you just accept the fact that we're meant to be together, Heero?"
Heero narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze on the Chamberlain, "Where exactly do you get the idea that we would make a 'cute couple?'"
"Well, you two seem a lot alike. You're both serious and you seem reliable."
The Guild member leaned towards Neptune, "Have you two… done 'IT' yet? The 'thing?'"
Neptune's arms encircled Heero's torso, her head resting on his shoulder, "No, but I plan to."
Financier left the party to return to the Basilicom, and Heero narrowed his eyes at Neptune, "Why must you insist on engaging in sexual activity with me despite the fact that I do not wish to take part in it?"
"Don't tell me the idea doesn't appeal to you, Heero."
IF did her best to maintain her composure, "(I want to kill her so much…) Let's focus on getting to the forest and taking care of the monster problem."
Xxx
The forest the party was in was like every other forest they had entered. Snow blanketed the ground and trees, large rocks dotted the ground, and colorful lights were hanging from the trees.
Neptune and Heero thoroughly scanned the entrance of the dungeon, silently watching for any sign of movement. Compa watched the two teens as they looked for monsters, "I feel so safe with Nep-Nep and Heero around. They're both really strong."
IF walked past the pink haired nurse, "But we can't leave everything up to them. We'll get soft and weak if we do."
The party advanced into the dungeon, Neptune and Heero still on constant alert. As the party rounded the first corner of the dungeon, Neptune glanced over to her left, "…Looks like we've got a welcoming committee."
Heero, Compa and IF looked to their left to see three monsters heading their way. Two of them were the plant-like Zephyranthes, and the third was a 'Rock Worm'.
Neptune brandished her Katana at the monsters, "Heero and I can take care of this. Compa, Iffy, you two can watch."
IF stomped her foot into the snow, irked that Neptune was telling her what to do, "Who died and made you leader? It will be faster if we all fight."
Heero armed his GN Sword, preparing himself for battle, "While we would be more than sufficient to deal with them, IF makes a valid point. The faster we deal with them, the sooner we can return to tracking the target."
Compa held her syringe in her hands, "I promise not to get in your way."
Neptune focused her attention on the group of monsters approaching them, "Well then, let's get this over with. They don't look like much of a challenge. Heero, we'll deal with the strongest enemy among them."
Neptune wanted to single out the strongest, which made the 'Rock Worm' her target. IF and Compa went after both of the plant monster, leaving Heero to help Neptune deal with the over-sized insect.
The Gundam pilot fired three shots from the GN Sword at the 'Rock Worm' as Neptune closed the distance to the monster… and fast. All three rounds of thermal energy struck the monster and created a thick pink cloud that reduced visibility, so the monster was unable to see Neptune jump over and land behind it, "Too slow."
The purple haired swordstress struck the 'Rock Worm' with her Katana, the attack had enough force behind it to propel towards Heero. The Perfect Soldier swung the large blade at the monster and knocked it right back towards Neptune, leading into a process of beating the monster back and forth between the two combatants, the attack gave the impression of a game of Ping-Pong.
After ten seconds of knocking the 'Rock Worm' back and forth, Neptune delivered one final powerful strike to the monster while shooting a look at Heero. The Perfect Soldier caught the swordstress looking at him and knew what she wanted by reading her eyes.
Instead of knocking the monster back, Heero stood his ground and waited for the oversized worm to slam into the blade of the GN Sword. The Gundam pilot braced himself, not for the monster, but the immense force that struck after the 'Rock Worm' rammed into Heero's sword.
The source of the intense power pushing against him was Neptune, her Katana began to cut through the 'Rock Worm's' hide. Just seconds after Neptune's sword cut into the monster the large insect was bisected by the two-sided attack, and Neptune was floating right behind Heero, "Like I said. Not much of a challenge at all."
As Heero was about to turn his attention to Compa and IF, the swordstress behind him wrapped her arms around his torso, "Why don't we leave Compa and Iffy to finish up and we spend a little alone time together?"
Heero could feel Neptune's chest against his back and a few of strands of her dark lilac hair tickled his skin, causing him to feel the strange sensation that had constantly plagued him since first meeting the girls.
Compa and IF had stopped fighting once they saw Neptune and Heero. A wave of jealousy swept over the two girls, which they turned on the two monsters before them.
As with a few other occasions, the nurse-in-training and Guild member dispatched with the Zephyranthes with merciless brutality that would make even harden warriors feel squeamish.
After the plant-like monsters were dealt with, Compa and IF stormed over to the two teens, "You know, you could have helped us. (Somebody stop me before I wring her neck!)"
"I could have… But I didn't feel like it. Not when I could spend that time with Heero."
Heero knew that if the trio were allowed to continue with this conversation it would drag out for a LONG time and they would make no progress at all, "Before you girls get too involved in this conversation, we should focus on completing our mission."
The three girls let the conversation drop and went on to decide which path they would follow. Compa looked down the left path where the monsters came from, "We should go this way."
IF cocked an eyebrow at the pink haired nurse, "Are you trying to get us lost? We should go right."
Neptune cleared her throat to get Compa and IF's attention, "Why don't we let Heero decide? He is pretty good at finding his way around a dungeon."
The two girls looked at one another and nodded in agreement, Heero did know how to navigate a dungeon without getting lost. Heero glanced both ways before turning down the right path, "It's this way. I can see the end of the other path from over here."
Compa quickly looked back at the left path way and her arms dangled at her sides, it was indeed a dead-end and could be seen from where the group was standing, "I should have looked more carefully… I can't impress Heero this way."
The party headed down the right path, as it was the only path that actually lead further into the dungeon. Along the way, the party discovered a few monsters that were already dead. The group stopped to investigate the monsters, as their previous request had monsters that had already been slain.
IF crouched down next to one of the dead monsters, "Looks like someone else has been through here. Is it the same person from our last job?"
Neptune looked over each individual monster, noting the method of death, "I don't think so. The way these monsters have been defeated is different from the ones during our job to clear out those monsters near the city."
Heero was impressed by Neptune's observation, "I commend your observational skills. Yes, these monsters were killed in a way similar to those from the other forest, the difference is the weapon used to kill them."
The three girls looked at the Perfect Soldier, "The weapon? You mean you can tell what kind of weapon did these monsters in?"
Heero gave a slight nod, "The monsters from before were killed almost instantaneously with a bladed weapon such as a sword, while these monsters were killed with a heavy weapon such as an axe."
The trio recalled the bodies of the monsters from their earlier job and compared them with the monsters in front of them, "So we've got two people running around killing monsters on Lowee. One's got a sword, the other has an axe. As long as we don't have to fight them, I doubt we'll have any problems."
Neptune was excited about meeting the mystery monster killers, "I hope we do fight them. I want to see what they're made of."
Heero stood back up, "Nevertheless, we should continue with our current assignment."
The party continued past the corpses of the dead monsters and headed deeper into the forest, constantly watching for any sign of the individual who had killed the monsters.
After a few minutes of trekking through the forest, the party eventually found the 'Troll' they had been sent to defeat. Like the Yeti, it was identical to the Jyaki, only its club had a piece of metal attached to it, the armor over its hands and feet were gold, and its skin and 'hair' were green.
Neptune poked her head out from behind the tree, "So what's the plan this time?"
Heero scanned the large monster, simply running up and fighting it would be a bad idea. The teenaged soldier scanned the area that the monster occupied, looking for anything that he could use to make the inevitable battle easier.
Heero noticed that the pathway was wider than the others that made up the dungeon, it was also fairly long. The Gundam pilot armed his GN Sword once more, "An ambush looks to be the most effective means of achieving victory."
Compa looked up at Heero while still hiding behind the tree, "How are you going to pull it off, Heero? The monster is all the way over there and we're all the way over here."
Heero briefly glanced at the nurse-in-training, "I will not be the one to execute the ambush. You three will."
The three girls just looked at Heero, Neptune inclined her head at the Gundam pilot, "…Run that by me again? You want US to ambush the monster?"
"Correct. I will lure the target to our current location. While its attention is focused on me, you will be able to strike at its blind spot without fear of retaliation."
IF looked back at the monster, "Just try not to get hit by that thing. Who knows how much damage you would take from that thing."
Heero respond with a nod, and walked out from behind the tree and into the wide pathway. The monster still had not noticed him yet, which worked out in Heero's favor, "(I don't expect my attacks to inflict much damage. As long as they get the targets attention, that's all that matters.)"
The blade of the GN Sword snapped back along the forearm to reveal the rifle barrel hidden behind it. Heero fired five shots at the 'Troll', all five blasts of high powered beam bolts struck the large monster and proved more than enough to get its attention.
As one could guess, the 'Troll' was furious after suffering through the string of beam rifle shots. The monster ran right for the Gundam pilot in a fit of rage, its club held over its head.
Heero deftly evaded the swings of the blunt weapon, further angering the already enraged creature, "(Almost there…)"
The Perfect Soldier slowly lured the monster back towards the tree where Neptune, Compa and IF were hiding, waiting to strike at the monster from behind. Heero was doing an excellent job of evading the monster's attack until he stumble on a rock behind him.
Heero recovered quickly before he fell, however he was not quick enough to evade the attack launched by the 'Troll' and braced himself for the attack. The force behind the club sent Heero straight into a tree and his senses became disoriented in the process.
Blood began to trickle down the corner of Heero's mouth as he sat against the tree that began to fall over from the impact, "(Damn… that attack caused too much damage to my lower back and left arm…)"
Fortunately for the teenaged soldier, he had lured the monster far enough that Neptune, Compa and IF could attack the 'Troll' without it noticing them. Neptune had already closed in on the unsuspecting monster, poised to strike, "…I'll make you regret that."
The purple haired teen's sword cut through the 'Troll's' hide with little resistance, Neptune used the momentum from her first attack to spin around in a full three hundred and sixty degree turn and deliver three more painful attacks with her Katana before jumping over the large monster and delivering a painful axe kick aimed directly at its face, sending the monster to the ground on its back.
After Neptune had sent the 'Troll' tumbling to the ground from her attack, IF was next in line to attack the off balance monster, "No one gets away with hitting Heero while I'M around! (I'll f &$ing kill you!)"
IF's Katars pierced through the tough skin around the monsters rib cage, inflicting fatal injuries in the process. The brunette fired three bullets into the center of the harsh wound she inflicted before jumping off of the monsters torso.
Just as IF had finished up her series of vicious attacks, Compa's syringe slammed into the 'Troll's' severely injured torso. The pink haired nurse's face suggested that she was very angry, "You're a… a… a big meanie! Hitting Heero like that!"
Compa fired several times into the creature's chest while the needle of her syringe was embedded in its torso. For a moment, Heero winced at the carnage before him, "(…I no longer think… I know that I am allergic to needles now.)"
When Compa was finished firing bullets into the monster she jumped off and rejoined Neptune and IF, but not before slapping the 'Troll' across the face with an audible *smack*. All three girls watched the monster intently, waiting to see if it would get back up.
After a full sixty seconds of waiting, the 'Troll' did not move. The party assumed that the monster was dead, "(…Why would it want to get back up? From what I've seen, these girls become quite vicious when upset.)"
When she was sure that the monster would not get back up, Compa and IF immediately ran over to Heero's side, "Are you alright Heero? Let me check your injuries."
"Didn't I say not to get hit? You're a mess!"
While Compa and IF were concerning themselves with Heero, Neptune was scanning the area, "…She's coming. I can feel it. This aura is similar to my own…!"
Heero looked at the swordstress, trying to decipher what she meant by 'She's coming.' The mysterious axe wielder that had attacked the party before suddenly came into view of the party seemingly out of nowhere, "…What a coincidence. We meet again. You'll not escape from me this time."
Compa's cheeks became slightly puffy and red, "How rude! It's not a coincidence. You've been stalking Nep-Nep this whole time!"
The blue haired girl off-handedly replied to the accusation as if she did not care, "…So? It's a figure of speech. Does it really matter? I wasn't fully prepared last time… bit it'll be different now. I'm not letting you go, Neptune."
The mystery girl noticed Heero, who had sustained a few injuries during the battle not more than a minute ago, "…Looks like your bodyguard isn't going to be a problem. He's already of no use to you in a battle."
Neptune narrowed her eyes at the blue haired girl, "If you must know, Heero was injured not long ago while helping us to defeat a monster."
"…So he screwed up and got himself hurt? Not a very good bodyguard if you ask me."
Within a fraction of a second Neptune was upon the axe wielding girl, the sound of clashing metal reverberated in the air. Neptune's sword was locked with blue haired girl's axe; obviously she didn't take too kindly to the little girl bad mouthing Heero. Neptune shot a glare at her, "…Take that back."
The mystery girl had a difficult time holding off the twin braided swordstress, "…Why don't you make me? If you can that is."
Neptune steadily applied more force behind her blade, "…Don't worry. I will."
With a sudden burst of strength, the twin braided teen forced the young axe wielder back a considerable distance. The blue haired girl had to readjust her grip on her weapon, "…Shit. How did she get so strong?"
As Neptune readied herself for the inevitable battle, Heero began to pick himself up off the ground. The Gundam pilot grunted as he fought through the pain in his lower back, Compa tried to get Heero to stop, "Don't move Heero, your back is hurt really badly."
IF attempted to get the teenaged soldier to stop when it became apparent that he would not listen to the pink haired nurse, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but listen to Compa for once. You're in no condition to fight."
Heero ignored the pleas of the two girls and stood up to his full height, "I cannot do that. I must complete my mission, no matter the cost to my person."
Neptune briefly glanced at the Gundam pilot over her shoulder, a tinge of concern was evident in her eyes, "…Don't over exert yourself for my sake, Heero. I can fight on my own if I have to."
Heero responded with a nod before directing his attention to the girl that seemed intent on both killing him and Neptune, "(For now, the best offensive option would be the Exbein due to its optional parts for varying combat situations.)"
Within seconds, the HDD disks with the image of the Personal Trooper that greatly resembled a Gundam appeared out in front of Heero, followed by a warm light. After the light subsided, the Exbein was standing where the Gundam pilot had been.
Upon seeing the teenaged soldier transform, the young axe wielder had an expression of disbelieve on her face, "…The hell is this?! He can transform?! Damnit all to hell!"
The Exbein's systems quickly came to life and immediately began to scan the combatants. The voice of the AI built into the Personal Trooper echoed in the enclosed head section after booting up, "ENEMY TARGET UTILIZES A BATTLE AXE FOR CLOSE RANGE COMBAT. USE CAUTION WHEN ENGAGING AT CLOSE RANGE. RECOMMENDED WEAPON: FANG SLASHER."
The Personal Trooper grabbed an object on its left arm that split apart to create a shuriken-like weapon, which Heero threw at the blue haired girl. The Fang Slasher struck the blade of the axe, slowly forcing the little girl back as the large shuriken continuously struck her weapon, "…I knew it was going to be hard to kill him, but this only makes it that much harder."
"So your trying to kill my Destined Lover, are you?"
The young girl looked over her shoulder to see Neptune right behind her, giving her a cold glare, "No one threatens Heero in front of me."
Neptune's sword slammed into the blue haired girl's back with a frightening amount of force, sending her crashing through a few trees and into a pile of snow. A few seconds after landing in the snow, the axe wielder burst out of the pile of white flakes, "That hurt! I'll make you pay for that, bitch!"
Neptune smirked at the enraged preteen, "You can try, though the end result will be the same."
With her anger skyrocketing, the axe wielder charged at the twin braided swordstress, "…I'll shove those words right down you're damn throat, shithead!"
The blue haired girl was so focused on going after Neptune that she had completely forgotten about Heero, Compa and IF in her blind fury. Heero fired multiple shots from his handheld rifle at the young axe wielder, while Compa fired her syringe.
As the blue haired girl began to weave and dodge the attacks, IF began to approach from her blind side, "You talk a big game, but you're so predictable."
The preteen had to stop to block IF's Katars, using the shaft of her axe to shield her from the blades. The brunette used a cleverly timed feint to put the blue haired girl off balance, then kicked her towards Neptune, "Don't screw this up!"
The purple haired teen delivered a powerful axe kick to the preteen, sending her into the ground, followed by multiple attacks from her Katana, ending with another forceful strike that sent her in the direction of Heero and Compa, "Heero, Compa, you're up."
Compa frantically looked from side to side before turning her gaze on Heero, "Wh-What should I do Heero?"
The Exbein's sensors and AI were running various scans and calculations over the course of the battle, "ENEMY TARGET IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO UTILIZE PRIMARY WEAPON. RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: EQUIP FLIGHT PACK AND ENGAGE TARGET AT CLOSE RANGE."
A backpack appeared on the Exbein's back with four fixed metal wings attached to it, "Wait for my signal."
The thrusters along the Personal Trooper's back propelled the robot forward towards the blue haired girl, who had crashed into the ground and just started to pick herself up, "Is it possible to use individual components of the Boxer Frame?"
The Exbein's AI quickly processed Heero's question, "IT IS POSSIBLE TO UTILIZE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS OF THE BOXER FRAME, HOWEVER DOING SO DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE ADVANTAGES OF UTILIZING THE FULL FRAME."
"I will not need the full Armored Module for this battle. I only need both of the Boxer Frame's arms."
As per Heero's command, the Exbein's arms were outfitted with those of the Boxer Frame. The Gundam pilot reared his arm back as he closed in on the preteen, "(I cannot kill her… yet. I still need to know what exactly is causing her to come after Neptune, aside from the fact that Neptune is apparently one of the four goddesses of this world.)"
The fowl mouthed girl shook her head, as her senses had been slightly disoriented by Neptune's attack, "Damnit! You'll pay for that, you little-"
As the preteen was spewing off a few colorful words at Neptune, she turned her head and saw Heero heading straight for her; she grabbed her axe and swung it just as Heero threw one of the Boxer Frame's fists. Her plan would have been sound and possibly would have worked, however the larger mech arms easily forced the axe away and connected with the little girl's torso.
Without missing a beat, Heero grabbed the axe wielder by the leg just as she was about to fly off from the impact of the punch, and threw her towards Compa, "Compa, now!"
The nurse-in-training hurriedly lifted her syringe and frantically fired a storm of bullets at the airborne preteen without thinking. While the bullets only caused nicks and scratches on the little girl, it forced her to focus her attention on the immediate threat, "Little shit! Think you can beat me with your pathetic attacks?!"
"Compa's attack wasn't intended to beat you."
The axe wielder looked up to see Neptune hovering in the air above her, "…It was to make sure you didn't see this coming until it was too late."
Neptune was soon speeding towards the young girl, she was moving too fast to dodge or block the inevitable attack. The moment twin braided swordstress' blade made contact with the mystery girl's torso she was sent straight into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of snow in the process.
Heero, Compa and IF waited for any sign of moment as the thick cloud reduced their visibility. Neptune eventually jumped out of the snow cloud and skid to a halt in front of the party, giving Compa a reason to jump for joy, "Nep-Nep, you're okay! But what about the girl who attacked us?"
IF kept her gaze on the cloud as it began to dissipate, "She won't go down that easily, she's made that much clear."
When the white cloud finally dispersed the preteen was lying in the center of the small crater caused by Neptune's attack. The axe wielding girl picked herself up off the ground rather quickly considering that she had been dealt a considerable amount of damage, "…The hell?! This is the second… How could I lose?"
The mystery girl quickly turned to make her escape, "(…Must be because that Heero guy can also transform. Let's just hope he takes the bait.) …There'll always be next time."
IF had her arms folded as she watched the preteen run away, "She's persistent. Despite looking fragile, she's pretty tough."
Neptune had reverted to her normal form, having run out of energy, "We got tons of experience points for beating her. We should do it more often."
Intent on finding out why the blue haired girl was after Neptune, Heero gave chase in the Exbein. Neptune, Compa and IF followed after the Personal Trooper, though they could not move nearly as fast.
Xxx
In a section of the forest near the party, the white haired girl was walking away from a large group of monsters that she had just defeated. She walked deeper into the forest, obviously she had come looking for Neptune, as usual, "There are a lot of monsters here. I actually took some damage because of the number of monsters here. But there are so many of them here, then Neptune has got to be weak from fighting them."
The swordstress clenched her fists, "This is my best chances to get rid of Neptune and save Heero from her clutches. N-Not because I like him or anything, I just feel sorry for him. He has no choice but to do whatever she says."
Her thoughts began to shift towards the aforementioned teen who she had ran into earlier that day.
Xxx
Black Heart had defeated Neptune and had one foot on the back of the defeat swordstress' head, a triumphant look on her face, "Take that, Neptune! I told you I would defeat you, and now I have."
Neptune was lying on the ground groaning, having been defeated by the white haired teen, "Black Heart."
The white haired swordstress turned around to see Heero approaching her. She kicked Neptune away so as to give the Gundam pilot her undivided attention, "H-Heero? What are you doing here?"
Heero took Black Heart's hands into his own, "I came here to see you. Words cannot express my gratitude for what you've done."
Black Heart looked away from the Perfect Soldier, "Well, I felt really bad for you. You had to follow Neptune around wherever she went against your will. I couldn't have that."
"Neptune aside, I have another mission that I wish to undertake. Allow me to be your bodyguard, Black Heart."
The white haired girl's cheeks began to heat up, "Y-You want to… be my bodyguard? Well of course! I-I mean if you really want to."
Heero pulled the swordstress in close, "You're the perfect woman, Black Heart. Neptune could never compare to you."
"O-Oh stop it. I-I'm not perfect."
Heero cupped Black Heart's chin with his hand and turned her face to look into her blue-green eyes, "You are in my eyes."
The white haired teenager felt her heart begin to beat faster as Heero drew closer, "Heero…"
Black Heart and Heero became oblivious of everything around them as they shared in a passionate kiss. Even Neptune had stopped moving as the two teens shared in their special moment.
Xxx
Black Heart was staring off into space as she stood daydreaming, her cheeks were a dark crimson, "…Yes, of course. You can guard MY body, Heero…"
Upon realizing what she was saying, the swordstress rapidly shook her head, "Wh-What am I saying?! I don't need Heero to protect me! I can take care of myself! Not that I would turn him down if he wanted to be my bodyguard or anything."
Black Heart heard a noise approaching and hid behind a tree, waiting to see what the source of the noise was. The Exbein stopped in the center of a clearing near the white haired girl, thoroughly scanning the area for the preteen, "Is that Heero? But that transformation looks different from his other one."
Heero was looking in every possible direction that the preteen could have gone, but his search turned up nothing, "Could she have gotten away? Or has she camouflaged herself to blend in with the sur-"
"…I've got you!"
The Exbein turned around to see the blue haired girl, and she was too close for Heero to dodge, block or counter. The axe the preteen had in her hands struck the torso of the Exbein with full force. The attack knocked Heero back, though he was able to correct himself with a one handed backhand spring.
Upon landing on its feet, the Exbein fell to one knee. Heero had already taken crippling damage during the battle against the 'Troll', and the attack he had just endured was pushing the limits of what endurance he still had in him, "The damage I have sustained has impaired my fighting capacity."
The young girl walked towards the Exbein as the AI's voice echoed inside the Personal Trooper's armored head, "ENERGY LEVELS: CRITICAL. ENTERING SAFE MODE TO PREVENT SUSTAINED ENERGY DRAIN ON MASTER UNIT."
The Exbein vanished in a bright flash of light, and Heero was on one knee where the robot had been. The blue haired girl smirked at the Gundam pilot now that she had him right where she wanted him, "…Looks like you're out of power. Tough shit for you."
Heero narrowed his eyes at the preteen, "If you are going to kill me, then get it over with."
The young girl readied her axe, "...Gladly. I will give you credit though. No human has ever made me work this hard for my victory."
The Perfect Soldier watched as the preteen prepared to swing, never averting his eyes for even a second. Just when it looked as though Heero really was going to die by the preteen's axe, sparks suddenly flew off in multiple directions before the Gundam pilot.
The blue haired girl grit her teeth at the one who stopped her attack on Heero, "…You bitch! You really know to piss me the hell off!"
Heero saw Black Heart standing in front of him, blocking the axe with her own sword, "This is why I can't stand you! You're always spewing out that foul language and you have no discipline whatsoever."
Black Heart forced the preteen back and readied her large sword. The young axe wielder tightened her grip on her axe, "…Do you know how hard I had to work just to bring his strength down this much? I'm not going to let you screw up my only chance of getting rid of the one thing that stands between me and finishing off Neptune!"
The white haired teenager briefly glanced over her shoulder to look at the Perfect Soldier, there were blood stains on the left arm and lower back section of his jacket which began to turn the snow red as the drops of red liquid fell to the ground.
Black Heart shot a glare at the little girl, "So it's YOUR fault that Heero is hurt?! I try to refrain from using such obscene language, but its go time, bitch! Right now! You and me! Let's go!"
"…Fine by me. As they say; business before pleasure."
Within the blink of an eye both girls had already begun fighting, sparks began to fly all over the clearing as their weapons clashed. They reached a stalemate and began to lock blades, attempting to force the other back, "…Why do you care about this one guy?! He's Neptune's bodyguard, so why are you protecting him?!"
Black Heart's cheeks turned a bright red, "What I do is none of your business, you damn brat!"
The swordstress forced the blue haired girl back, but just as quickly as she was pushed away, the axe wielder locked blades with Black Heart yet again, "This is my landmass! What goes on here is my business, you damn bitch!"
Both girls forced one another back, skidding to a halt a few feet away from one another. Heero was left to watch the battle due to his condition, "(Both of them have incurred a certain amount of injuries. They are equally matched in terms of strength and skill, however the girl with the sword has the advantage of height and reach. That could very well be the determining factor of this battle.)"
The preteen and Black Heart were preparing to use their more powerful abilities, when an explosion tossed them both in Heero's direction. Neptune, Compa and IF were walking out of the smoke created by the explosion, "See Iffy? I told ya something cool would happen if we fired our guns at the same time!"
IF was waving her arm around, trying to keep the smoke out of her eyes, "But was it really necessary?"
Compa was looking from side to side, "Nep-Nep, Iffy, you can talk about that later. We really need to fi-"
The nurse-in-training stopped in mid-sentence, prompting Neptune and IF to look at her, "What the matter, Compa?
Compa's eyes began to well up with tears as she extended her arm and pointed at what was in front of the trio. Neptune's jaw dropped, while IF's face began to turn red with anger.
Heero was lying on the ground with Black Heart and the preteen on top of him. Black Heart was kissing his cheek and was dangerously close to his lips, while the blue haired girl looked as though she was kissing Heero's neck.
As with many other similar situations during his time in Gamindustri, Heero didn't know how to respond to his current predicament. Black Heart's face was completely red as she pulled back from the Gundam pilot, her mind was trying to process what had just happened, "(O-Oh no! Heero must think I'm weird now!)"
The axe wielding preteen's face was just as red, but she quickly stood up and backed away from Heero, wiping her mouth as she did, "…Wh-What the hell?! I was trying to kill him and I end up kissing him?! My whole plan has gone to hell!"
The blue haired girl began to run away as fast as her legs would allow her. Neptune focused her attention on Black Heart, "That chick is here! And she's trying to steal Heero again! Compa, Iffy, Let's get her!"
The trio readied their weapons and had prepared to vent their anger on Black Heart, but Heero had gotten up in time to stop them, "Stop. Now."
Neptune stopped in front of Heero, her cheeks beginning to swell up as she began to pout, "But Heero! You're supposed to be my Destined Lover, and she's trying to steal you from me!"
A tear slid down Compa's cheek, "Nep-Nep is right… You're our lover, Heero. Y-You're not cheating on us with her, are you?"
IF could feel her anger beginning to boiling over with each passing second, "I don't care what's going on, but she's trying to steal our most important party member! (That bitch is trying to steal my man! It's time to put the hurt on her!)"
Heero released a tired sigh, today had been a LONG day for the Gundam pilot, "I am not 'cheating' on you with anyone. She saved my life."
Heero directed his attention to Black Heart, "Earlier, you said that you had a question you wished to ask me. If nothing else, I owe you an answer to your question."
The teenager steeled herself and attempted to ask Heero the question that she had been unable to ask earlier, "Well, the question is…. What are your… preferences in…"
The swordstress was having difficulty in asking her question yet again. She could not bring herself to look Heero in the eye, and her voice began to lower until it was just above a whisper. Heero cupped her chin yet again, and directed it so she would look at him straight in the eye, "Again, I cannot hear you when you look away from and mumble. Take a deep breath, and speak in a tone that I can hear."
As with before, Black Heart began to feel faint as Heero held her chin. She immediately blurted out a question to the Gundam pilot, "Wh-What are your preferences in video games? (Wait! That wasn't the question I wanted to ask! C-Calm down, Black Heart. This could work to your advantage! If you find out what kind of game Heero likes, you can try it and then you would have something to talk to Heero about!)"
Heero gave the girl a questioning look, "…That is what you wish to know?"
IF folded her arms, as she looked on, "That is a pretty good question. I don't think I've ever seen Heero play a video game before."
The girl's waited to hear Heero's answer to the question, "…While I do not require constant electronic stimulation like Neptune, I have tried playing, and have found strategy games to be my preferred genre."
Black Heart turned her back to the pilot, "I see… That's all I needed to ask. (For now.)"
The swordstress' eyes suddenly widened, as if she had remembered something important, "I almost forgot! I have t get back to the Sky Harbor so I can get back to Lastation, or I'll be stuck here until my landmass passes by again!"
Black Heart ran to find the nearest exit, leaving the party alone in the forest. Heero turned around in time to see Neptune throw her arms around his neck, "Heero, I'm hungry! Let's go back to the city and eat something. You can even feed me! Sounds great, huh?"
Compa gently grabbed onto Heero's uninjured arm, "Nep-Nep, we have to treat Heero wounds first."
IF gently pushed on the Gundam pilot's injured back, letting her head rest against it for a moment, "Compa's right, we don't want Heero to bleed to death on us, do we?"
Heero did not even attempt to protest as the girl's began to pull him along the path back to Guild City. He was too worn out from the events of the day to really do anything. The Perfect Soldier released another tired sigh, "(Another exhausting day, another event that leads to a big misunderstanding…)"
Xxx
Me: "Chapter 12… finally up. First, I would like to apologize… The sexual content is one thing, but I do not know whether or not to uncensor the F-Bomb. Review or send me a PM if you would like me to change this."
Heero: (Walks into ACCC) "I thought you were going to update the story sooner."
Neptune: (Enters ACCC behind Heero) "You getting' slow on us, Author man?"
Me: "Well, I've been sick and my internet connection was down, what was I supposed to do?"
IF: (Enters ACCC) "What did I tell you about getting sick?"
Compa: (Walks in after IF) "You need to take better care of yourself, Mr. Author."
Gust: (Pops out behind Compa and IF) "Gust will make good medicine for Author, if Author gives Gust bigger part in next chapter."
White Heart: (Walks up behind Author) "…That might explain why I haven't gotten to kick Neptune's ass yet. Stop getting sick."
Me: "Alright, alright, get off my case. Damn." (Pinches the bridge of his nose) "I'm starting to regret ever having gone outside yesterday, I probably wouldn't have gotten sick."
Black Heart: (Enters in from opposite side of ACCC) "So that's why we've haven't gotten the story updated. You know, you should stay inside if plan to work on it. You won't have to worry about getting sick if you do."
Heero: "This will undoubtedly cause the story to fall behind."
Neptune: "What? But that means it's gonna take longer to get to our M Rated scene!"
Black Heart: "Your M Rated scene? Please. Anyone else's M Rated scene would actually get us more reviews and comments. Yours would just scar our readers for life. (My M Rated scenes with Heero are just what we need to have our story become number one on this site.)"
Neptune: (Has her hands on her hips) "Please, my future M Rated scenes with Heero are what all of our readers are waiting for! They totally want to see me and Heero do the thing and be a real couple. We ARE Destined Lovers after all."
IF: "She does make a valid point. If Heero were to have an M Rated scene with any of the other cast members, this story's popularity would go through the roof. (In short, my M Rated scenes with Heero will make our story number one.)"
Compa: (Cheeks turn pink) "So even my M Rated scenes with Heero would make our story more popular?"
Gust: (Has a blank face) "Gust does not understand. Heero would have M Rated scene with Gust, despite age difference? Gust does not believe it."
White Heart: (Cheeks turn pink) "…Don't drag me into this. I'm not here to screw Heero like the rest of you; I just want to have more time in the story."
Me: "…This is starting to get real inappropriate real fast. Anyway, you guys can relax; I'm on Spring Break right now. I won't have to worry about going to school for about a week, that's a whole week I can devote to our story. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for the late update… again." (Points at Compa) "Compa, wrap this up for us."
Compa: (Gives a polite bow to readers) "Thank you for reading the chapter of our story. Please read and review, and tell Mr. Author to not get sick anymore."
Me: "…Cut that out. Or I won't give you an M Rated scene with Heero."
Compa: (Looks at Author in disbelief) "Wh-What? B-But you can't do that!"
Me: "I can and I will if you don't cut that out." (Points to exit of ACCC) "Let's get to work on the next Chapter, comrades. We've gotta make for lost time!"
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Gust, Black Heart, and White Heart: (Leave After Chapter Chat Corner)
