Me: "Greetings and salutations, my good readers. Now that I have found my place in Hyperdimension Neptunia, I don't think you all will have to worry about slow updates anymore… maybe."

Neptune: (Enters IC) "So we'll actually be throwin' out chapters a lot faster like when you first started? Awesome sauce! Heero and I are totally getting closer to our M Rated scene!"

Heero: (Standing behind Neptune) "Why must you insist that we engage in sexual intercourse? I clearly do not wish to take part in such activities."

Neptune: "Aww, you just don't know that you want it, Heero. All it'll take is one hot night alone with me, and you'll wanna keep doin' the thing till the sun rises!"

Black Heart: (Runs into IC from Break Room) "Who said Heero would be doing anything like that with you? Stop trying to scar our readers, Neptune!"

Neptune: (Glomps Heero) "Heh, like you're really worried about the readers. You're just jelly cause Heero is gonna do the thing with me and not you!"

Black Heart: (Face turns red) "Wh-Where do you get THAT idea?! I-I don't want to have sex with Heero or anything because he's really nice and hot! The thought never crossed my mind even once! (It's obvious that Heero wants ME!)"

Compa and IF: (Enter IC from Lounge) "Dammit Neptune! Are you trying to get Heero to go through with this M Rated scene you keep going on about?"

Compa: "We want an M Rated scene with Heero, too!"

IF: "D-Don't drag me into this! You, Nep, and the chick who keeps stalking her on Lastation are the ones who want to do it with Heero! (Better back off, he's mine!)"

Black Heart: "What did I just say?!"

White Heart: (Enters IC from Lounge) "…I'm getting a lot more time in this chapter, right?"

Me: "Yes, yes, I remember. Don't worry. Now, Gust couldn't make it because she's busy, so we'll have to read the disclaimer without her." (Points to Cast) "Let's hear it, people!)"

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

Neptune: "Ooh, this chapter is gonna be good! I can tell!"

Me: "Yes, I sincerely hope that our readers enjoy all of our hard work."

Neptune: "Oh yeah, and Mr. Author man here says that even though he doesn't own any of the awesome things in the disclaimer, he does own the idea of crossing over this… err… Gundam thingy and Hyperdimension whatsit thing."

Heero: "They are Gundam Wing and Hyperdimension Neptunia, and he only claims to own the idea of the crossover."

Me: "I can dream, can't I? Besides, not only was I the one who came up with the idea of crossing these two great franchises and posted the first crossover of said franchises, but one else had claimed the idea, so I might as well. Now let's get moving, people."

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Black Heart and White Heart: (Leave IC for Break Room)

Ch. 13 A Day with an Angel

The party had been forced to postpone their search for the Key Fragment the previous day due to the unexpected encounter with a woman who claimed to be Overlord Momus's messenger. With nothing to do during their down time, the party went to sleep early in preparations for the next day.

It was 1:00 in the morning and Heero was slightly restless in his sleep, though he wasn't tossing and turning, so he wouldn't wake anyone.

Xxx

Heero was in a familiar place that was completely devoid of… well, anything. Nothing but darkness everywhere he looked. The Gundam pilot expected to hear Histoire's voice, and while he did indeed hear a voice, it was not the voice he was expecting to hear, "Heero…"

The Perfect Soldier immediately surveyed his surroundings. Since the voice belonged to someone he didn't know, he was unsure whether or not they were here with ill-intentions. Heero could not see anyone or anything, which was quite normal in this strange space, "Who is this? And what do you want?"

A giggle was heard from behind the Gundam pilot, and it sounded quite feminine, "I'm right behind you."

When Heero turned around, he saw a strikingly beautiful girl who looked to be about his age with emerald green eyes and long tresses of gold hair cascaded down her back. The unknown figure wore armor around her arms, legs and torso that bore a strong resemblance to the Wing Gundam Zero that Heero had hid on Planeptune, and a pair of metal angel wings that were attached to her back, though it was apparent that this woman had a very well developed figure hidden underneath her armor.

Heero was suspicious of who this person was, and reached for his pistol… only to find that it wasn't there, "Whe-"

The woman released an audible sigh, "Really, Heero? Even after everything we have been through, you would pull a gun on me? I realize you do not have one on your person, but it's the principle that I am focusing on."

The Gundam pilot eyed the woman suspiciously, "…I do not recall ever meeting you. Who are you?"

Unfazed, the woman merely gazed at the Perfect Soldier, "You already know the answer to that question, but… I guess I can give you a hint. We came to this strange world together."

Heero processed the single hint he had been given as to the identity of the woman before him, "(She came here with me…? The only thing that came with me was…) …Zero?"

The woman's lips curved into a small smile, "That's correct."

Honestly, Heero was surprised that his Gundam had assumed a human form, even if it was only in his mind. Zero paced around the empty void that the two occupied, "It seems that this world has made it possible for me to communicate with you through your unconscious mind… at least for now. It may be possible for me to speak with you while you are conscious."

While it was helpful to be able to converse with Zero, who he had fought with through countless battles, Heero was having some difficulty figuring out why it was that Zero was here now, "I gather that you have something you wish to tell me Zero, otherwise you would not be here."

Zero turned to face Heero; here long golden locks falling gently behind her, "I merely came to inform that I will be able to provide you with some assistance from now on. Hopefully in the future I can do more to help you."

The smile that Zero wore disappeared and was replaced with a more serious expression, "That being said, I can tell you now that our current mission has become much more difficult than previously thought."

"This is in regards to the disk we discovered the other day, I assume?"

Zero nodded in response, "If these disks can be used to create the monsters in this world, then there is no telling how many of them there are currently in existence… or how many that have gone through circulation."

"(Zero and I have both determined that this is a very serious threat.)"

Heero was momentarily surprised to hear Histoire's voice, but was able to keep any signs of it suppressed, "You two have been in contact with one another?"

"(Yes, it is nice to have someone else to talk to. And given our current circumstances, we have nothing else to do other than communicating with you and Neptune… though, I just tried to speak with her but all I could see was a mountain of food.)"

Heero mentally sighed; Neptune was once again dreaming about food, "I'm sorry I cannot give you any further aid other than this news of our now established communication. I would tell you how current events would play out, however there are far too many variables for me to juggle at this time, and I have to look through them all carefully before I can come to a conclusion."

The Perfect Soldier seemed quite grateful that he was even able to speak with Zero, "That is understandable. It will be quite helpful to have the Zero System functioning and helping to predict the events concerning our mission."

Zero looked up for a brief moment and was completely silent. The beautiful girl then returned her attention to the Gundam pilot, "It seems our reunion has to end for the time being. I will contact you as soon as I can."

Heero could slowly feel himself regaining consciousness in the real world. Before he left he cast a meaningful glance at his Gundam that had taken on a human form, "…It is good to hear from you again, Zero."

Zero gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face and cast the boy a gentle smile, "Rest assured, the feeling is mutual."

When the Perfect Soldier had vanished, Zero released an audible sigh, "(Is something wrong, Zero?)"

The young woman closed her eyes for a brief moment before slowly reopening them, her movements tantalizingly slow, "Well Histoire, I thought that Heero might change his ways once given a new mission and a new direction with his life… but even after coming to this world of yours, he still tries to keep up that tough front of his."

There was a brief pause between the two before Histoire began to speak once again, "(Perhaps he just needs time. He is most likely still adjusting to our world.)"

Zero looked down at the 'ground' in thought. "(One can hope, I suppose.)"

Xxx

Heero awoke from his short sleep and looked at the digital clock at the head of the bed he was on; the clock read 1:15, "…I should start working on finding some credible Intel… if there is any to be found."

As he slipped out of bed, Neptune began to talk in her sleep, "…Zzz… yeah… the really… big piece of cake… and some… Zzz… pizza…"

The Perfect Soldier shook his head, "Histoire may have tried to relay some important information, and she is too busy dreaming of food." Heero thought back to his… 'dream' if it could be called that. "If Zero is capable of communication now, then our mission may have become easier. And it will become even more so when she is able to communicate while I am conscious, and when she can predict future events."

With this new knowledge, Heero felt that he might actually be able to complete his mission without dying from all of the mishaps that went with it. The Gundam pilot went about his daily routine of looking through all available sources of information with the intention of finding some kind of Intel that the party could use to help with their search… but of course, found nothing credible as of yet.

Xxx

The party used the previous day to recuperate from events of that day, hoping that they would be able to make some kind of progress in finding the Key Fragment today.

Once Compa and IF were sure they were well enough to leave the party's safe house, the group of four left to continue their search for the Key Fragment of Lowee. They were once again in a forest; a random dungeon raid to see if they were lucky enough to find the object they had come to Lowee for without obtaining any information that would help them.

Compa had been looking around the forest, not paying any particular attention to anything, when she went into a somewhat relevant topic, "I haven't seen that tomboyish girl lately. She might be training for her next attempt to woo us…"

IF came to a complete stop and crossed her arms, "We should capture her and ask her what Nep did to her next time. She's gotta know something!"

Neptune tilted her head and blinked at the two girls, "How're we gonna do that? She's kinda tough, y'know? I dunno if we can capture her all that easily."

The nurse in training tried to encourage the bubbly leader of the party, "You don't have to be worried. We're a party. You have all of us!" The pink haired girl looked back at Heero with a big smile on her face. "Right, Heero?"

Looking at the ditzy nurse, the Gundam pilot nodded his head lightly in response, and it appeared that Compa's attempt at encouragement seemed to have worked, as any signs of worry dissipated from the purple haired girl's face… which was very little, "Ooh, I haven't heard that kinda talk from you in a while! Thanks, Compa and Iffy!"

Neptune ran over and glomped Heero, much to his annoyance. "And I want to give a super special thanks to my Destined Lover."

"…We are not lovers."

Neptune looked past Heero and saw a certain girl approaching the party, "Oh, geez, lookit that! The Newtype!"

The blue haired girl that had made numerous attempts to attack Neptune, and to a lesser extent Heero, and entered the clearing the party was in. She wore the same poker face that she seemed to have on her face most of the time, "…Neptune… I'm so glad to see you. I thought you left Lowee already."

With axe at the ready, the young girl prepared to battle the party of four. "…Now that I've found you… I won't let you go!"

As the blue haired girl charged at Neptune, she was forced to jump back when she saw Heero fire the GN Sword in its Rifle Mode. Four streaks of pink light passed by the small girl as she narrowly avoided the fast moving beams. The blue haired girl attempted to attack Neptune a second time, "…You know how to get on my nerves, Heero. But don't think you can stop me from getting rid of Neptune!"

Compa lifted her syringe so she could fire it at the girl, "Heero isn't the only one stopping you! We're here, too!"

Using her axe as a shield, the bluenette deflected the projectiles from the syringe. "…Oh don't worry, I plan to get rid of you as well!"

Neptune grabbed the Mech Sword Armas that she had put away in her hoodie pocket and pointed the purple Beam Saber at the mystery girl, "We gotta take her health WAY down if we're gonna catch her!"

Heero armed his GN Sword in preparation for the inevitable battle, "Roger."

Heero, Neptune and IF converged on the red eyed axe wielder while Compa supported from behind, "…Bring it on, you little shits! I owe you some payback for our last battle, and I plan to take it out on your asses!"

IF attempted to knock the girl's legs out from under her, but was forced back when the young girl brought her axe down in an overhead smash. IF blocked the attack, but was forced to drop her Katars as she flailed her hands, "Yeow! I didn't expect her to put that kind of force behind her attack."

Before the mystery girl had a chance to follow up on her attack, Neptune ran right at her with the prototype weapon in her hands, "Give up! We totally have you beat, so you might as well just let us hit you till your HP drops to zero."

For a moment it seemed as though Neptune had the upper hand, but slowly, the axe wielder began to overpower the purple haired preteen, "…I have a better idea… why don't you let ME hit YOU until your HP drops to zero?! Dumbass!"

The blue haired girl disarmed Neptune and was about to go in for a fatal blow. Fortunately for Neptune, Compa had a clear shot at her attacker, "Please work!"

Three bullets struck the girl in the torso, causing her to back away momentarily before going after Compa, "…That hurt! You're going to pay for that!"

Compa did not have any time to react as her syringe had been knocked out of her hands and was then kicked back by the mystery girl, who held her axe over her head to deal the finishing blow to the pink haired nurse, "…Now stay down!"

Just as her axe began to come down on the nurse in training, the blue haired girl saw a pink burst of beam energy enter her peripheral vision .The young girl quickly jumped back to avoid any further shots, "…Dammit!"

The party of four regrouped as Neptune's attacker readied herself once more, "What's the plan this time? She may look fragile, but we all know that she's pretty tough… she won't go down that easily."

Heero knew first hand that the girl before them was quite durable, despite her petite frame. Since it was clear that the party would not be able to leave without first defeating the Newtype, he decided that a greater amount of force was needed, "It would seem that a show of force will be needed to win this battle."

The Gundam pilot was surrounded by his HDD disks and reached for the Wing Gundam's disk, and was engulfed by the flash of light that always accompanied Heero or Neptune's transformations. The mystery girl grit her teeth at Heero's transformation, "…The hell?! He has another transformation?!"

Neptune stuck her tongue out at the Newtype, "Heero is totally gonna own you!"

Once more, the Newtype charged at the party, "…Even with a new transformation, you won't beat me!"

Heero raised the Buster Rifle and took aim at Neptune's assailant, "Target… Locked-on."

The blue haired girl jumped out of the way just as Heero fired, and the large thermal beam vaporized everything in its path. When the beam dissipated, the Newtype stared at the destruction it caused, "…What the hell was that?! If I got hit by that thing… I could be in trouble…"

IF tilted her head to one side as she watched the battle between Heero and the Newtype who was spending her time dodging his attacks, "…Here's a quick question: why are we just standing here and letting Heero do all of the work?"

Neptune had her hands on the back of her head, "Cuz Heero has 'Baboom' powerful weapons and stuff! He IS uber strong and all."

Compa shook her head as the battle between the two continues, "Nep-Nep, that's not right. Even if Heero is really strong, we're a party! We can't just leave everything up to him."

IF nodded her head as she folded her arms "Besides, given the current situation, Heero may just end up blowing her up. If that happens we won't find out anything about your past."

With a sigh, Neptune pulled the Mech Sword Armas out of her pocket once again, "Alrighty, but I'm telling ya, Heero has totally got this."

The trio rejoined the fight against the young girl as Heero continues to wear down the blue haired girl. Heero parried the axe wielder with his beam saber, forced her back, and then fired his Buster Rifle at the ground in front of her. The explosion sent the Newtype tumbling backwards… and she was being pursued by IF.

IF quickly blind-sided the young girl and delivered a serious of cruel slashes with her Katars and followed up by a burst of three bullets. Since she was already out of arms reach after the quick volley of fire, IF was only able to deliver a single kick to the girl that sent her in Neptune and Compa's direction, "Heads up!"

Neptune attempted an overhead slash with her saber, but the attack was block by the Newtype's axe, "Heh, I totally saw that coming." The purple haired preteen chained together three powerful kicks and the vulgar little girl was sent tumbling in Compa's direction. "You're up Compa!"

Because the Newtype was coming at her so quickly, Compa only had a split second and thrust forward with her syringe. Neptune, Heero and IF simply stared at where the needle had struck, while the blue haired girl's left eye began to twitch while her face turned pale. One second passed… then two… three more seconds passed before the Newtype screamed in pain as she held her right butt cheek, "Holy Shit! That hurt! What the hell are you trying to do to me, shit for brains?!"

A nervous bead of sweat ran down Neptune's cheek, "Whoa… Compa… you really got watch where you point that thing."

Heero winced under the Wing Gundam's face plate, "…Compa uses medical appliances in ways that even I couldn't bring myself to use."

With her face burning with pure anger, the blue haired girl picked up her axe, "…I'll kill YOU before I get to Neptune!" As she began to move, the young girl stumbled before her legs stopped moving altogether. "…W-What?! Dammit, my legs aren't working!"

When it was clear that the 'Newtype' had been significantly weakened by the party, Neptune pumped her arms and was ready to capture her, "Get her get her get her get her! Her guard's down! Goooooo!"

Compa was prepared to help the purple haired preteen capture the blue haired girl, "You bet! Get her from both sides!"

It was obvious that the mystery girl had not expected the duo to come at her in an awkward bum rush. Neptune and Compa tackled the Newtype to the ground, forcibly disarming her, "…Urk?!"

The three girls were wrestling in the snow as the Newtype tried to free herself, and as Neptune and Compa attempted to keep her pinned down. Heero placed an armored hand on his face plate, "This is painful to watch."

IF couldn't bear to watch what was happening either, "Stop that! She's not a stray cat. She's just a girl, like us. With the exception of Heero, of course. We shouldn't gang up on her like this! We're not bullies."

Neptune stood back up with her hands on her hips, "Whew, finally! Iffy's gonna interrogate the heck outta ya, so you best be prepared to cry and confess!"

"D-Don't put this on me!" IF directed her attention to the restrained girl, who looked very irritated with her current situation. "Nep can't remember her past. Please tell her anything you know. From elementary school, ideally."

Neptune's cheeks swelled up at the Guild member, "Iffy!"

The Newtype looked away from the party, "…I don't know anything!"

Before the party could do anything else, the mystery girl grabbed her axe and ran away. IF let out a tired sigh, "Aw, dammit! This is because you two jumped her like delinquents! Thanks for making this all the more difficult. You should have let Heero handle it."

The party's lone male member shook his head as the Wing Gundam armor disappeared in a flash of light, "Even if I had been the one to conduct the interrogation, I doubt it would yield the desired result. Regardless, now that the matter has been resolved, albeit with results that are not favorable, it would be best to return to our mission."

There wasn't much that the party could do at this point regarding the Newtype. All that could be done was look for the Key Fragment and wait for when the girl decided to attack them again.

Xxx

It had been a few hours after the axe wielding girl had attacked the group, and they were on their way back to the city from another dungeon… having been unable to find the Key Fragment, "Why does the Key Fragment have to be so hard to find? We've looked in all kinds of dungeons, but haven't found it…"

Heero would admit that the numerous raids the party had conducted and the number of times the party had returned without the item they were searching for was beginning to test his patience, "With the limited amount of Intel we have on hand, it is highly unlikely that we will find the Key Fragment just by searching every dungeon we come across."

Neptune let out a tired sigh before she looked up. The bubbly preteen came to a complete stop, which prompted Compa to look back at her, "What is it Nep-Nep?"

"I was just thinking of this awesome restaurant we could go to when we get back."

IF struck the back of Neptune's head as she walked past her, "And here I thought you had remembered something important… I guess that's what I get for thinking."

Further ahead of the party, Lady White Heart was walking through the snow and she looked lost… and hungry, "…I get so hungry in the human world. It's really uncomfortable. …I don't even have the energy left to stay transformed after a battle."

The CPU of Lowee scanned her surroundings for a moment. "…How funny would it be for me to get lost in my own forest and starve to death on my own land…?"

White Heart cast her eyes down to the ground and stomped her foot, "It's… all Neptune's damn fault. …I'm concerned about the Extremists' actions. This is the absolute worst time to be away from the Basilicom. This… is also Neptune's damn fault."

White Heart began to wade through the snow, noting that it was quite difficult to move, "…Walking in the snow is hard as shit. This is probably that damn Neptune's fault too!"

Ironically, the party had been passing by as the girl had been swearing and blaming Neptune for everything that was happening to her, "Um, did someone say my name? Compa?"

The ivory haired girl froze in place as she heard Compa's voice… and it was close by, "No, not me. I think it came from over there. It might be a lost child… I'll go take a look!"

The ditzy nurse entered the clearing that White Heart was in, immediately grabbing her attention, "Tch?! …What?"

Compa ran over to the CPU and took ahold of her hands, "A girl! Her hands are freezing… Were you walking through the forest alone? It's okay, we'll take you to town."

White Heart pulled her hands out of Compa's and turned her back on the nurse in training, "…I'm fine. I can walk on my own. Go away."

"No can do! There are a lot of monsters wandering around. It's so dangerous! Dangerous, you hear me?" Once again Compa took White Heart's hands, intent on getting the young girl home. "Just let me know where you live and we'll help you get there. Don't be shy! Come with me."

White Heart jerked her hands away from Compa's and snapped at her, "I said to leave me the hell alone! I don't need a frickin' pity party!"

A tear began to fall down Compa's cheek, which she wiped away as she listened to the girl in front of her. "H-Huh? Listen to yourself… A cute girl should never talk like that!"

Neptune suddenly jumped into the clearing behind Compa, "Whassup, Compa? You find someone? Oooh, is this her? Is she lost?!"

White Heart was surprised to see Neptune, and since she had no energy to transform, she wouldn't be able to fight off the preteen or the rest of her party, "N-Neptune…! Anyway, I'm leaving. Bye."

Compa stopped the ivory haired girl before she could go any further, "Absolutely no can do! It's safer to stick with us. I'm gonna be a very mad Compa if you don't listen."

Neptune poked her head out from behind Compa, "You're lost? Stay with us, okies? It's much safer. Otherwise, Compa's gonna have a lot of sleepless nights worrying about you."

The CPU of Lowee was quickly becoming irritated as the duo continued to poke and prod at her to stay with them, "…I told you to leave me alone. I'm not lost. I can get back by myself, dammit."

"You don't gotta act tough." Neptune turned to an opening in the clearing the three girls were in. "Captain Iffy! We've taken a lost girl hostage and stuff!"

The brunette had been standing next to Heero and looking down at her pink cell phone when Neptune had called for her, "…You did what? Found someone? Then let's take her back with us real quick. I'm starting to get cold."

The purplenette rapidly nodded her head, "Agreed! Let's get back to town. All hands, retreat!"

Heero cast a questioning glance at Neptune, "I do not think a retreat is called for, considering that we are not even in an engagement."

Neptune and Compa each grabbed White Heart by an arm and began to pull her along with them as they headed back to town, and the CPU did not like it one bit, "Hey, listen to me, dammit! Are you kidding me?! Lemme go!"

Xxx

The party had returned to their safe house with a less than enthusiastic White Heart. The very upset little girl was sitting on one of the beds that looked like a slice of a strawberry cake with vanilla icing, and the pillow looked like a strawberry.

Neptune and Compa were sitting around, looking at the young girl and waiting for her to say something… anything at all. The door to the bed room swung open and both Heero and IF entered the room, having gone out to file a missing persons report, "I didn't think we'd have to report a lost child at our age. Has she said anything yet?"

White Heart sat in silence; she clearly did not want to say anything to the party. Neptune walked over to the ivory haired girl and began to poke her cheek, "You're like a ceramic doll sittin' there. But you're not a doll, y'know? Say some stuff! Or do I gotta pull a string?"

Despite the irritation she felt from being poked, the CPU of Lowee did not utter a word. Neptune stopped poking the girl when it was clear that it wasn't working, "Iffy, my coaxing isn't working. There's only one option left! Tickle fight!"

The thought of being tickled by the bubbly girl was enough to get a response out of White Heart, "…?! N-No…"

Heero crossed his arms and leaned on the wall next to the door, "I highly doubt she will respond kindly to you tickling her. She may not want to speak due to the fact that she is with complete strangers."

IF nodded in agreement, "Why don't you two take a little walk outside? Maybe she'll loosen up once she feels more comfortable."

Neptune had a surprised look on her face, "You want me and her to go? Alone? Y-You sure? Why? H-Hey, Iffy!"

IF was already pushing both Neptune and White Heart out of the bed room, through the living room, and out the front door of the party's safe house. She had taken the CPU of Lowee by surprise, so she could not even attempt to struggle, "…Huh? Hey…"

"Bye-bye, have fun!"

Heero watched as the brunette locked the door so that neither of the two girls she tossed out of the house could get back in, "…Was that really necessary?"

IF scratched her cheek, knowing that Heero would question here methods, "I know there were other ways of getting them out of here, but it was the fastest."

Compa had walked out from behind Heero to address the Guild member, "Iffy, why did you let them go alone?"

"It's nerve-wracking to talk when so many eyes are lasered in on you. Nep's perfect for this, since she's not threatening."

Heero was once again impressed with IF's quick thinking and analysis of the situation, "…A wise decision."

IF looked away from the Gundam pilot to hide her burning cheeks, "A-Anyway, we have some time before they get back… so, let's figure out what to do in the meantime."

IF's inner chibi began to kick her mentally, "(Hello? We've got the stupid one out of the house! Why don't we just get rid of the ditz too, and have a hot and romantic rendezvous with Heero in the bed room?)"

"Sh-Shut up!" IF blinked when she realized that she was talking to herself, and that Heero and Compa were watching with questioning looks on their faces. The brunette scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "S-Sorry."

Xxx

Neptune and White Heart walked down the street of the party's safe house. Neptune suddenly stopped and turned to face the girl she was walking with while assuming her thinking position, "Hmmm… Oh! You wanna get something to eat? You're hungry, I betcha."

White Heart heard her stomach growl for a moment, "…Sure. I'm all out of cash, though. How about you treat me?"

The purple haired preteen had her hands on her hips, "Well, duh! I'm so generous and awesome when Iffy's not around. Let's try to drain my wallet!" Neptune pointed to a building at the end of the street. "Let's start at the crepe shop!"

Neptune grabbed the CPU's hand and dragged her over to the small shop. The crepe shop was open air with tables out in front of it for customers to sit and eat their sweet treats. Neptune stopped right in front of the window of the dessert shop, "Hello-hello, can I get a chocolate crepe? Mmmm, there was a crepe shop near the last inn I stayed at, too. I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to find one nearby again!"

"…Apple Cinnamon." Neptune looked at the girl next to her as she ordered her crepe, "Compa loves butter sugar and Iffy gets all starry-eyed over custard. She's such a baby, huh? I don't know what kind of crepe Heero likes, he probably hasn't even had one before."

White Heart went back to giving Neptune the silent treatment, "Don't wanna talk yet? I get really talkative when I'm full."

The CPU of Lowee looked at the preteen out of the corner of her eye, "…You're the only goddess who's easily manipulated by food. It shows around your stomach."

"Whoa! That's way harsh! Buh-wha? Goddess?"

The young girl watched Neptune for a brief moment before averting her eyes, "…Ignore it. It's better for me that you're so damn dense anyway. One less rival."

Neptune suddenly got in front of the CPU to look at her, "Huh? What? I wanna know even more now! Where I was born, or what I've been up to!"

White Heart looked Neptune in the eyes, "If you find out, you wouldn't be able to run from battles… or responsibility. You really hate responsibility, huh?"

The bubbly preteen scratched her cheek, "Would sayin' yeah make me a pretty poopy person?"

White Heart was momentarily surprised by Neptune's choice of words before she went back into her seemingly emotionless façade, "…I didn't imagine you'd even think like that." The CPU looked away from Neptune. "Just… forget it. You've hated responsibilities from the start. It doesn't matter either way."

Neptune shrugged her shoulders, as the girl had her figured out, "Okay, then yeah, I don't like responsibilities! They gimme way too much stress."

"…I don't think anyone does, but you're at least honest. It's so like you. I don't think you should try to get your memories back. It's better this way. For the world. For yourself."

Neptune tilted her head at the ivory haired girl, "What? So you think I oughta stay like this?"

White Heart glanced away from the purple haired girl, "…You're too irresponsible."

"…Ugh! You're being a meanie."

"…No I'm not." Once she finished her Apple Cinnamon crepe, the ivory haired girl began to walk away. Neptune began to chase after her once she scarfed down her Chocolate crepe, "Oh, whoa! Your name! Won't you at least gimme your name? I even bought your crepe!"

White Heart was surprised that Neptune was already catching up to her and asking for her name, which prompted her to increase her pace. Neptune eventually caught up with the CPU, "I wish Heero was here to carry me… he'd probably get you to tell me your name, too."

The CPU came to a complete stop, causing Neptune to bump into her, "Why did you stop? I could have fell, y'know."

White Heart turned around to face Neptune, a somewhat serious look on her face, "…You keep going on and on about this Heero. Who exactly is he? What is Heero to you?"

Neptune blinked at the little girl; obviously not expecting that question, "Why do you wanna know? You aren't into Heero are anything, are ya?" The purple haired preteen leaned towards the CPU, her cheeks were red and puffy. "You aren't gonna try and steal Heero from me, are you? I am SO not gonna give up my Destined Lover to anybody!"

White Heart cough for a moment, "…Where the hell do you get that in your head?! I just want to know why you talk about him so much."

"Well, Compa said I fell out of the sky and landed on the ground… that was when I met Heero, my Destined Lover. I fell on top of him and he saved me from getting a game over with no chance for a do over. Heero said his ultimate quest was to protect me from harm and stuff, he even said that he would sacrifice himself to save me! Of course, Compa and Iffy are totally jealous cuz Heero is so hot for me and not them… I got a responsibility to keep my Destined Lover safe!"

The CPU shot a questioning look at Neptune, "…I thought you hated responsibility?"

Neptune had her hands on her hips, "Well, yeah, but with Heero it's different. He's my one true love! We're joined at the hip for life! He act all tough, but he's really nice and caring. I gotta make sure no other totally jelly girl's tries to steal him from me."

White Heart turned back around, "…I see." Once again, the ivory haired girl began to walk away, and Neptune asked for her name the entire time.

Xxx

A few hours after Neptune and White Heart had gone out for their walk, the party had received a request to hunt monsters in a dungeon. IF was already prepared for their mission, though she had made sure to prepare herself several minutes in advance to impress the party's Gundam pilot, if nothing else, "Let's go get those monsters!" IF then remember the girl they had found earlier and turned her attention on said girl. "Oh, you can stay here, or just go home whenever you want."

White Heart was silent as she looked at IF, then Compa immediately opposed IF's decision, "No! She's part of our party now. She's going to help us."

IF replied with a shrug, "The more, the merrier, I guess. But still, we can't involve a civilian. Normal people, besides Compa, are generally useless in a battle."

Compa wasn't sure what to make of the brunette's comment, "Was that supposed to be a compliment, or…?"

Heero looked up from his laptop, as he was looking over some information he had found in regards to the area the party would be going to, "(It sounds more like IF is mocking you...)"

IF nodded her head, "Yeah, sure. I'm, uh, praising your bravery for charging into battle against monsters with a hilariously oversized syringe."

Compa's cheeks began to swell up, "You're definitely mocking me!"

Neptune suddenly got in between the two girls as they argued, "I've got an idea! Why don't we get Heero to play babysitter for her?"

Everyone in the room directed their attention at the party's leader, surprised at her idea, "You want Heero to stay here? Are you nuts? We might need Heero if we run into that other girl again."

"Pffft, c'mon Iffy, we totally beat her up good last time! There's no way she would try coming after a party as awesome as ours is!"

White Heart didn't like the idea of having to be watched, but said nothing. Meanwhile, Heero was unsure whether or not Neptune was making the right decision by asking him to stay here, but would not object if that was what she wanted, "If that is what you deem best, then I will stay here to watch after her."

Seeing that Heero was going to remain behind, IF reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a blue cell phone and held it out to Heero, "I-If you're going to stay behind Heero, you should probably hold onto this. Nep may think that the three of us alone will be enough, but we might need you in case something goes wrong."

The Perfect Soldier took the handheld device out of IF's hand, "If something should happen, do not hesitate to contact me."

Neptune pointed towards the door, clearly ready to go and fight monsters, "Alrighty then! Compa, Iffy, let's get goin'!"

Both Compa and IF followed Neptune out of the safe house, leaving Heero and the ever silent White Heart alone in the room. Heero went back to his laptop, while simultaneously addressing the CPU, "If you wish to leave the safe house for a while, I will not object. However, I will have to go to keep an eye on you."

"…I don't really feel like having someone constantly watching me. But I guess I don't have much of a choice if I want to get out, do I?"

The CPU of Lowee stood up off of the bed she had been sitting on and walked towards the door with Heero behind her, all while planning how she could get rid of the Gundam pilot.

Xxx

Heero and White Heart arrived at the center of the city, the Gundam pilot was unsure of where it was the young girl was trying to go, "Is there some place in particular that you wish to go?"

The CPU scanned the area they were in, but was silent. "If you were to tell what you are looking for, I may be able to assist you in locating it."

"…There was a book store here that I wanted to see. I don't remember where it is though…"

As Heero had downloaded a map of the city and analyzed it in his mind several times, he knew of this bookstore that the girl was trying to find. He looked down the street to their left, and all the way at the end was the only bookstore in the area, "Then I believe that is the building you are looking for."

White Heart followed Heero's gaze and saw the building that she had been looking for. Both of them walked down the street in silence, barely acknowledging the other's existence. When they arrived outside of the bookstore, White Heart immediately went to the window and her eyes fell on one specific book titled: "Writer's Guide to Writing a Best Seller", "…Dammit. And I don't have any money to buy it."

Heero took one look at the book the ivory haired girl was looking at before walking into the store. White Heart watched the Gundam pilot as he entered the store, took the book off of the display stand and took it to the register to buy it. When Heero came back out, he held the book out to White Heart with one hand, "…This is what you wanted?"

The CPU looked at the book in silence for a moment before looking at Heero, "…Why are you giving this to me? I didn't ask you to buy it for me."

"You may not have asked me, but I could tell that you wanted it. I got this for you on a whim."

While she was suspicious of Heero's actual reason, the CPU took the book from the Perfect Soldier, "Is there anywhere else you would like to go?"

White Heart looked down the street and saw a coffee shop selling hot chocolate, "…I'm feeling thirst… and cold. Why don't you buy me some hot chocolate?"

The CPU lead the way to the coffee shop, casting a glance at the Gundam pilot every once and a while, "…It's hard to tell what he's thinking. I'll give Neptune this much, he has a tough exterior…"

Once they arrived at the coffee shop, Heero and White Heart stood in the rather short line to get the CPU's hot chocolate. Because they had to stand outside, White Heart was subjected to the cold weather and began to rub her arms in a vain attempt to generate warmth, "…Why does it have to be so frickin' cold?"

White Heart suddenly felt something slightly heavy fall around her shoulders and could see denim sleeves falling at her sides. When she looked back at Heero, the only thing covering his torso was his green tank top, "…Why are you being nice to me?"

Heero continued to face forward as the small line grew smaller, "You appeared to be cold, and I can tolerate temperatures such as this without a problem."

White Heart averted her gaze from Heero, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "…I didn't ask you to give me your jacket… but… thanks."

Once Heero had bought the CPU her hot chocolate, the two walked to the park nearby and sat on a bench while White Heart drank her cup full of heated chocolate. Heero and White Heart sat in silence, neither one of them saying a thing. The CPU of Lowee began to get cold once again after she finished her hot chocolate, "…It's so cold… I can't take it anymore."

White Heart was about to get up when she suddenly felt an arm around her shoulders and was pulled towards Heero. The ivory haired girl felt her face begin to heat up, "…Wh-What the hell are you doing?!"

"The beverage you consumed only served as a temporary measure to regulate your body temperature. Sharing body heat is the only other method available for now."

The CPU of Lowee sat in silence, unable to think as she sat in Heero's lap, "(…What is he thinking? He says that he's trying to keep me warm… But there's gotta be another reason he's doing this.)" White Heart finally began to speak after several minutes of silence. "…Hey, why are you doing all of this for me? It's not like I asked you to."

Heero glanced at White Heart for a moment before looking off into the distance, "…I do not know myself. At first I thought it was due to the fact that Neptune was concerned about you, but I question whether or not that is really the case."

The Perfect Soldier felt a vibration in his left pocket. Heero reached into his jeans and pulled out the cell phone IF had given him, which was vibrating because someone was trying to call him; he flipped open the handheld device and held it to his ear, "Hey, Heero? Is this a bad time to be calling?"

The voice belonged to IF, and judging by her tone it sounded as if something was wrong, "Is there a problem?"

"That's putting it mildly. Neptune went and pissed off the boss of this dungeon and now it's chasing her around. Compa and I have been trying to help, but Nep won't stop moving and we can't land a single hit on the monster. Do you think you could come help us?"

Heero looked down at White Heart, who was reading her new book to keep from thinking about her current predicament, "Mission acknowledged. I will be in mission area within ten minutes."

Heero closed the cell phone and put it back in his pocket before lifting White Heart into his arms. The ivory haired girl had not expected to be picked up so suddenly, and her cheeks turned a light shade of red, "…N-Now what are you doing?!"

"We will have to return to the safe house, as Neptune, Compa and IF are currently in a troublesome situation. I apologize for having to take you back so soon."

White Heart looked down at her book for a moment, not sure how to respond to her situation. "Is there something wrong?"

The CPU shook her head. She was not sure why, but for some reason White Heart felt warm despite the fact that she was out in the cold, which caused her lips to curve into a small smile, "…I'm don't know why, but I feel warm right now."

White Heart looked at Heero's face when he didn't give her a response of any kind, and found him looking at her. "…What? Is there something on my face?"

Heero maintained an emotionless façade, "…You have the smile of an angel."

Despite the fact that the Gundam pilot said that as though it was natural, White Heart's cheeks turned a deep shade of red, "…I-Idiot! D-Don't say things like that!"

Heero began to walk back towards the safe house with an embarrassed White Heart in his arms. Along the way, the CPU would cast a glance at Heero, and then look away. White Heart finally spoke once more, the silence had slowly been killing her, "…D-Did you… mean what you said? A-About me?"

The Perfect Soldier briefly glanced at the young girl he was carrying, "I would not have said what I had said, unless I meant it."

White Heart hid her face as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red, "…I-Idiot…"

The walk back to the safe house was quiet, neither Heero nor the CPU he was carrying said anything more. When they arrived outside of the safe house, Heero unlock the door so White Heart could enter, "I will be back with Neptune and the others momentarily. In the meantime, it would be best for you to stay here, unless you can make it home on your own."

Heero turned in the direction of the dungeon Neptune, Compa and IF were located and proceeded to run at a full sprint. White Heart pulled the jacket tighter around her frame, "…He forgot to take this with him."

Looking at her book for a moment, the ivory haired girl opened to a specific page before looking up in the direction that Heero had gone, "…Find something or someone inspirational, huh?" White Heart thought back a few moments ago when Heero had said '…You have the smile of an angel.' Remembering those words caused the CPU's cheeks to redden slightly. "Maybe… Heero could give me some inspiration…"

Xxx

"Compa! Iffy! Do something!"

Neptune was running around in circles as a 'Ubellarin' chased after her. The 'Ubellarin' looked exactly like the Gyuki from a few days earlier; the only differences being that the color of its armor, which appeared to be slightly rusted, and it's loin cloth was a mix of yellow and green. Compa was trying to shoot the monster with her syringe, but all of her bullets kept missing, "It's no use, I can't seem to hit it."

IF was standing off to the side, seeing no point in trying to fight the monster if she couldn't land a single hit, "Best keep running Nep! I called Heero, so he should be on his way right-" Before IF could finish, a Fang Slasher whizzed by her arm and struck the monster in the back. "...Now?"

IF heard the crunching sound of snow behind her, turned around, and saw Heero walking towards her; encased in the Exbein armor, "I was wondering when you would get here. I don't think I have to tell you what has been going on."

Heero looked over at Neptune, who was panting and gasping for breath, "I'm so… tired… I'm gonna… need… a big bowl… of ramen when… we get… back."

Compa approached the armored Gundam pilot and gave a polite bow, "Thank you for coming Heero. We're sorry we have to trouble with this."

Neptune ran over and glomped Heero as soon as she got her breath back, "I'm sure Heero doesn't mind. He's my Destined Lover and would do ANYTHING to protect me."

As the girls were crowding around Heero, the 'Ubellarin' got back up on its horse-like legs and blew air through its nose as it looked at Heero, obviously it did not appreciate having its back torn into by the bladed weapon Heero had thrown, "This is the target, correct?"

Neptune flailed her arms as she looked at the hybrid monster, "Yeah! He's a big meanie that likes to run after cute girls! I betcha he tried to have his way with me!" The purple haired preteen began to hug Heero's arm. "But there's no way I was gonna let that happen. I am a pure maiden, and I'm saving myself for Heero."

Compa grabbed onto Heero's other arm, "I'm saving myself for Heero, too."

IF rolled her eyes as the two girls began swearing that they would save themselves for Heero, "Yeah, yeah, you can do all this mushy stuff later, right now we need to take care of this monster so we can go home."

Heero threw the Fang Slasher at the 'Ubellarin' the moment it came back while firing the Handheld Rifle. The quadruple bladed shuriken-like weapon cut into the monster's left arm, and the shots fired by both Heero and Compa served to push the monster back.

Neptune and IF ran at the now off balance 'Ubellarin' while Compa fired from a distance with Heero. The storm of ranged fired kept the large monster from moving and allowed Neptune and IF to get close without worrying about a counterattack, "This is for chasing me around, jerk!"

Neptune delivered a powerful slash to the 'Ubellarin's' stomach, which was followed by an attack from both of IF's Katars. Heero reverted from the Exbein armor and immediately switched to another HDD disk, this time he pulled the Wing Gundam's disk and was engulfed by a familiar bright light. Heero fired his Buster Rifle at the same time that Compa fired her syringe, the two ranged attacks came together and penetrated the large monster's stomach and a large explosion ensued as a result.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared the 'Ubellarin' was lying dead on the ground, not even a single twitch to show any sign of life was left in it. Compa had a smile on her face as she put her syringe down, "That was quick. I think we're getting better at this. Let's go back and play with that girl!"

IF saw someone's shadow approaching the party and readjusted her Katars, "Wait. I see a familiar shadow. Nep, Compa, Heero, looks like we've got to pull a little overtime."

The mysterious girl that had attacked Neptune numerous times while the party had been on Lowee came out from behind a tree. She was silent as she stood before the party; a gust of wind blew her long bangs around. Neptune couldn't see any aggression on the blue haired girl's features, "She's not acting like before. She doesn't look like she's here to fight."

The quiet girl began to pull her axe out, and Neptune pumped her arms as a nervous bead of sweat fell down her cheek, "Oh, she's pulling somethin' out. She's holding it up. She's comin' towards us! Okay, yeah, I was wrong."

It was apparent that another battle was imminent, so the party readied themselves for their second battle against the quiet girl. Heero stepped in front of Neptune and held up the Wing Gundam's shield to block the Newtype's first attack.

As he held back the blue haired girl, he saw a hurt look on her face that was quickly replaced by a more serious façade, "…Get out of my way, Heero! I don't have time to deal with you!"

The Newtype looked to her right and jumped back as IF tried to fire a string of bullets at her. Just as the blue haired girl's feet touched the ground, Compa charged at the young girl with her syringe. Using her axe as a shield, the Newtype blocked the sharp needle from hitting her, "(…Shit! I still feel weak from earlier…)"

Using what strength she could muster, the axe wielder slowly began to force Compa back, "…I remember how you came at me with that thing earlier… I think it's time for some payback, you little shit!"

Compa's syringe was knocked out of her hands, and the Newtype dug her foot into the ground, "Know your place, peon!" The blue haired girl spun in place, creating a small scale tornado and adding a great deal of centrifugal force to her axe. Had the attack connected, Compa would have sustained a severe injury, thankfully IF intercepted the attack and blocked it with her Katars… unfortunately there was so much force behind the attack that both of the brunette's weapons were knocked out of her hands.

Using the moment from her spin, the Newtype delivered a spin kick that sent IF crashing into Compa and both girls ended up sprawled out on the snow covered ground, "I am getting real tired of this little girl."

Once again the mystery girl made a second attempt to go after Neptune. Heero reverted from his Wing Gundam form and armed his GN Sword, blocking the young girl's axe swing.

Another pained looked made its way onto the girl's face as she and Heero were locked in yet another stalemate, "(…Please… just get out of my way Heero… I don't want to fight you!)"

As she began to apply more force to her axe, the Newtype felt her legs give out from under her, "…Dammit! I must have not recovered as much as I thought…!"

Neptune jumped out from behind Heero and delivered a horizontal slash to the blue haired girl, going from left to right and sent the blue haired girl tumbling backwards into the ground and kicking up a snow cloud. When the small cloud of snow that had been kicked up by the Newtype subsided, the young girl picked herself up off the snow covered ground, holding her right arm, "…I lose again? To Neptune…? Frickin' impossible…" Unable to accept her loss, the blue haired girl readied herself once more. "…No, not yet! Once more!"

Neptune had her hands on her hips as she looked at the young girl, "No way kiddo! We're not here to bully weak people."

The Newtype tightened her grip on her axe in anger, "…Weak? Me?"

IF slapped the back of Neptune's head before crossing her arms, "Why'd you have to shoot off your hungry little mouth and make the situation worse?"

"…Shut up! I don't ever wanna hear you say that shit to me! You didn't want anything to do with it. You ran!"

Neptune took one step back as the blue haired girl snapped at her, "Whoa! What's this? Wh-What're you talkin' about? What'd I run from?"

The young girl stomped her foot into the snow as her anger came out, "Everything! Because you're so damn honest! You just wanted to run from everything." Despite her injuries, the Newtype was able to lift her axe into her hands. "I ain't gonna let you win this. Now, just shut up and let me defeat you! Don't ask… just… just…!"

Neptune shook her head and pumped her arms, "Sorry, but I don't wanna. I still gotta save Histy. I still wanna travel with Iffy and Compa." The bubbly preteen then threw her arms around Heero's torso. "And I want to stay with Heero more than anything."

"How can you let your excuse be something so trivial?!"

Neptune remained defiant to the blue haired Newtype, "It's not trivial! I dunno what you're referring to, and I guess I don't wanna. It's my life and it means a lot to me!"

Some of the anger in the young girl's tone seemed to dissipate as the conversation went on, "…So your running. Again. You don't wanna know? Because you're a frickin' scared coward. That why, I'm…"

The blue haired girl cast her glance on Heero, the anger she was feeling greatly subsided as she looked at the Gundam pilot. The Newtype dashed over to Heero and Neptune, and forcefully pushed Neptune away with the shaft of her axe, "Oww! Hey! What're you doing? You could really hurt someone with that!"

Heero looked at the young girl as she looked right at him. She had clearly been in a position to attack him, or follow up on her attack on Neptune… and yet she did neither. The blue haired girl looked down as her cheeks turned a light shade of red; she stood on the tips of her toes and whispered into Heero's ear, "(…I'll be keeping an eye on you.)"

He was not sure why, but Heero could not detected even the faintest hint of hostility in the young girl's voice… if anything it sounded warm… caring even. The blue haired girl took off as fast as she could past the Gundam pilot, who was too confused with what she said to pursue her. IF looked at Neptune, who was picking herself up off the ground after being shoved… very rudely at that, "…That was a pretty dramatic discussion for you. Real heated and emotional. You done?"

The purple haired girl dusted the snow off her hoodie and nodded her head, "Yep. I didn't learn nothin', but I'm done."

IF directed her attention to the girl in front of Heero, "Okay, then shall we commence tickle torture until she spills some good info?"

Neptune rapidly shook her head at the brunette, "No, don't! I told her I didn't wanna know anything anymore. Were you even listening?"

The Guild member shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just joking. Personally, I'm curious, but it's your business."

Compa chimed in, having been silent for the vast majority of the time, "That's right. If Nep-Nep is okay not knowing, then I'll stop being nosy, too."

Neptune tilted her head at the ditzy nurse, somewhat surprised to hear she was curious, "…You mean you were curious, too?"

"Of course! Your past sounds so fun, like it's full of upside-downs and inside-outs!"

IF folded her arms as she gave the nurse in training with a questioning look, "I'm pretty sure you mean 'ups and downs' and 'ins and outs.'"

Neptune ran over to Heero, her cheeks were red and puffy as she looked at the teenaged soldier, "What did she say to you? Was she trying to make you hot for her or something?! You're supposed to be MY Destined Lover Heero!"

Heero was slightly irritated that the preteen in front of him would insinuate such a thing, "First of all; we are not lovers. Second, I may need to prepare myself… she may begin to stalk me now."

The trio of girls immediately focused their attention on Heero, "WHAT?!"

Compa's eyes looked like they were on fire and her hands began to tremble, "I am now a very, very angry Compa! No one should be stalking Heero! He belongs to us!"

IF's eyes narrowed into a deathly glare as she looked in the direction that the young girl and went, "Heero doesn't belong to anyone, but I will agree with Compa that Heero shouldn't be stalked by anyone." Meanwhile, IF's inner chibi was going on a rampage in her mind, kicking and screaming at the idea of the Newtype stalking Heero, "(You'd better step off, bitch! Heero's mine! All mine! I saw him first! If I see you anywhere near him, I'll fucking murder you!)"

Neptune jumped onto Heero; wrapping her arms and legs around his torso, and looked in the direction the Newtype had gone with her 'pouty face', "You better be listenin' Newtype! Heero is MY Destined Lover! If I see you stalkin' him, I'll transform and totally beat you up!"

Heero was not sure how much more he could take. Between what had transpired earlier, and what had just happened, the Gundam pilot was not sure how much longer it would be before he lost it, "…Perhaps we should return to the safe house for now."

Neptune began to rub her cheek against Heero's in one of her displays of affection for the Perfect Soldier, "Yeah! Then we can go straight to our room and have our M Rated scene!"

"…Let's not and say we did." The party traveled back to the house they were staying at, in hopes of getting some rest from the day's events.

Xxx

As soon as the party returned to the safe house, they found a letter on the door that had been sent by Gust. Compa took the letter off the door to see what the young alchemist had written. As soon as she was done reading the letter, the nurse in training turned to face the party, "Gust went to Lastation. Maybe we should go too to see how she's doing. And to see when the Tech Expo will begin."

Neptune began to pout and complain about going back to the landmass the party had previously been on, "Why? We should just go inside, relax, and eat some really good food for all the work we've done today."

Heero folded his arms over his chest, "While we do need to rest, Compa does make a valid point for returning to Lastation. We do not know the exact date of the Tech Expo, and learning the date beforehand will save us some trouble in the long run."

IF nodded in agreement with the Gundam pilot, "I agree. It's better to take care of things like this now, so they won't be a problem later."

Neptune's held fell as she was out voted, "Aww, this sucks."

Instead of getting immediate rest from their work, the party decided to make a short trip to Lastation to check on Gust. Before leaving, Heero found his jacket neatly folded onto a chair with a letter on top of it. Heero carefully opened the letter that he assumed was from the little girl they had found earlier.

'...Hope to see you again someday.' There letter was short, but sweet. Heero would have thrown away or torn up letter, but was compelled to hold onto it for some reason. The Gundam pilot folded the letter back up and slipped it into his jacket pocket before following the girls out the front door, "(...That would be nice.)"

Xxx

The Sky Harbor was currently connecting the landmasses of Lowee and Lastation together, and Heero noted that the Sky Harbor would remain open for four to five hours. It did not take long for the party to figure out where the young alchemist was staying… in fact, Gust was staying at the hotel next to their safe house on Lastation.

When they entered the alchemist's place of residents the little girl greeted them with a smile, though there was anxiety apparent in her body language, "Hello! Been a while."

Compa ran over and hugged her small friend, a beaming smile on her face, "It's Gust! I missed you so much!" The nurse in training examined the girl with the bunny cap on her head and saw that she was slightly out of breath. "Uh-oh, why do you look so tired?"

Gust had a disheartened look on her face, "Someone asked for potion… But no shops carry ingredients for it…" Small tears began to form in the corner of Gust's eyes. "Needs made by end of day. What should Gust do…?"

IF had a serious look on her face as she crossed her arms, obviously she was going to help the distressed girl, "Is it something we can gather outside of town?"

The saddened alchemist tried to clear the tears forming in her eyes with the giant paws covering her hands, "Yes, but alone is bad. Outside full of monsters."

Neptune had an ecstatic look on her face as she pumped her arms, "We'll totally help you out, then! You helped us last time. I can't ignore a friend in need, cuz I'm a friend indeed!"

Compa was just as eager to help the young alchemist as the party's leader, "Yes! We'll get the ingredients for you."

Heero was leaning on a wall behind the party, while he did not seem to care, Heero also wanted to help Gust since she had helped the party earlier, "Were it not for Gust, our search for the Key Fragment on Lowee would have been delayed due to Neptune's sickness. It would be in our best interest to aid her with this task."

Gust was clearly relieved to hear that the party was going to help her get the last ingredient she needed to finish her potion, "Yes?! Thank you muchly."

Xxx

It had only taken the party an hour of searching to find the missing reagent for the young alchemist, who was clearly happy to receive the much needed ingredient, "Thanks! Now, I finish making potion."

Compa smiled as she handed the reagent to the little girl, "No thanks necessary. We can help one another when we need it. Just let us know if you need us again."

Gust gave an appreciative bow to the party, "Thanks."

IF gave a small smile to the hard working young girl, "We'll be going now. I don't wanna distract you from finishing your job." Compa waved goodbye to the young alchemist as the party left the house, "Bye, Gust."

As the party was leaving, Gust shouted her appreciation to the group one more time, "Bye-bye! Again, thanks!"

As the party left the building, IF noticed that someone was missing, "It's pretty quiet… Where did Neptune run off to?"

Heero looked at the safe house the party used on Lastation, "Neptune mentioned that she had left a cup of pudding in the refrigerator and planned to eat it."

Compa had a look of disbelief on her face as she looked at the Gundam pilot, "What? But that cup of pudding is expired! I'll go and look for some information about the expo… you two should make sure Nep-Nep doesn't eat her pudding."

The nurse in training left Heero and IF, who walked the short distance to their Lastation safe house, "Do you think we'll be able to make it back to Lowee in time? I don't want to be stuck here on Lastation when aren't any jobs to be done."

"It took us one hour to acquire the ingredient Gust had been looking for, meaning that we have between three to four hours left before the two landmasses drift apart from one another. So long as we take care of any important business within that time frame, we will not have to worry about whether or not we will make it back in time."

When Heero opened the door, both he and IF saw Neptune with a spoon in one hand and an empty pudding cup in the other, "That tasted great! A little funny at first, but pretty tasty."

IF facepalmed herself as Neptune commented on the expired pudding she had just devoured, "I knew she was going to eat it before we got here."

Neptune began to hold her stomach, "Why does my stomach feel all weird? I gotta go real bad!" The purple haired immediately ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Heero picked up the pudding cup to check the expiration date, "…The pudding she ate is way past its expiration date. She may be in the bathroom for a while."

The Gundam pilot dropped his backpack on one end of the couch in the center of the room and sat down on the other end. IF sat next to the Gundam pilot as he began to close his eyes, "You must be pretty tired. If you want to get some sleep, go ahead. No one has any excuse to say that you can't right now."

Truthfully, Heero was exhausted. He nodded in response, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue cell phone IF had given to him earlier, "Thank you for allowing me to borrow this. It no doubt saved us a great deal of trouble during the mission."

IF gingerly took the cell phone from Heero, "S-Sure! No problem. Just glad that you were able to find some use for it."

Heero slowly allowed himself to fall asleep, while IF tinker with her favorite cell phone. As she was playing around with the pink handheld device, IF cast a glance at Heero, "…Heero must be pretty tired. He's out like a light."

IF removed her jacket and focused her attention on the Perfect Soldier's face, "(…Heero looks pretty cute when he's asleep.)" The brunette slowly drew closer to Heero as he slept. "(And he looks really handsome up close…)"

IF quickly looked around the room for a brief moment; Neptune was still in the bathroom, and Compa was still out and about gathering information about the date of the Tech Expo. IF slowly drew closer to Heero when she was sure that he was still asleep, "(It's about time you started making a move!)"

IF looked around the room before realizing that the one that was talking was her inner chibi, "(…What are you talking about?)"

"(Like you don't know. It would be a crime for you to pass up this golden opportunity to make Heero yours.)" IF's cheeks turned a light shade of red, "(M-M-Make Heero mine?! What are you getting at?!)"

The inner chibi let out an irritated sigh, "(Look, the stupid one is the bathroom cause she ate expired pudding, and the ditz is out getting info that could take hours to get. And we have Heero right here; complete exposed and just asking to be kissed. All you gotta do is give him a kiss, and you two will be on your way to a hot and steamy M Rated scene!)"

IF blushed furiously, but then realized that the inner chibi made a pretty good argument. IF had a great deal of admiration for the Gundam pilot, and would not deny that she felt something for him, (But… is this really right? I-I mean… he's asleep… and doesn't know about this.)"

"(IF… Girl… You are bumming me out here. You don't want him to know that you're planning to kiss him! The element of surprise works wonders on a guy… especially when it's in the form of a kiss.)"

The brunette couldn't tell if what she was doing was right or not anymore. IF slowly inched closer to Heero's face, shuddering as his warm breath graced her exposed skin from her neck to her shoulders. Each second that passed felt like several hours…

IF was no more than a few millimeters from Heero's lips when the front door swung open, and a distressed Compa came running in, "Nep-Nep! Iffy! Heero! Bad news! Someone saw a monster prowling near town!"

Fortunately, not only did IF have enough presence of mind left to move, but she got out of the way before Heero woke up, or for Compa to see what it was that she had tried to do, "Really? (Dammit! You just HAD to show up at this moment, didn't you?!)"

Compa flailed her arms as she went on, "I heard from the people running away in fear. They said there were some others still left behind." Compa stopped long enough to notice that Neptune was not in the room with them. "Huh? Where's Nep-Nep?"

IF slipped her jacket back on and gave a nervous smile, "She's locked herself in the bathroom ever since she ate that expired cup of pudding."

Nervous beads of sweat ran down Compa's cheeks, "And I told her so many times not to eat it and just throw it away…"

Heero stood up from his spot on the couch, "And unfortunately, due to how long the pudding had been expired, Neptune will be in the bathroom for some time."

Neptune shouted at the three from behind the locked bathroom door, "S-Sorry, Heero… You too, Compa and Iffy… Go on ahead of me… I'll catch up later."

Compa shouted back at the preteen, who was busy relieving herself, "Okay, we'll be going, but hurry up and finish in there!"

As Heero, Compa and IF were about to leave, Neptune shouted at them one more, "Ahhh! W-Wait!" IF came to an abrupt stop and looked back at the bathroom door, "What now?!"

"I'm all outta TP… Can you leave me a roll by the door?" Heero pinched the bridge of his nose, "(…Note to self, keep expired pudding out of Neptune's hands.) I will stay behind with Neptune until she is done. IF, you and Compa should head for the target's location."

The brunette nodded at the Perfect Soldier, "Alright, but don't wait up on Neptune." Compa and IF quickly left the safe house, while Heero remained behind to tend to Neptune while she was in the bathroom.

Xxx

It had been a few hours since IF and Compa had found the monster, and IF had a disgruntled look on her face, "What's up with this monster?! None of our attacks are working!"

The worry on Compa's face was as plain as day as she scanned the area, "Nep-Nep and Heero aren't here, either. We really can't do this without them…"

IF tried to reassure the nurse in training of their situation, "Compa, we must stay strong. I'm sure she'll flush and both of them will come help us in the nick of time." A confident smile curved the brunette's lips. "Until then, we've got to protect the injured civilians!"

The small pep talked served to boost Compa's own confidence, who nodded with a smile, "Iffy… Okay!"

Another hour passed by before Heero and Neptune made their way to the monster's location. Neptune had a nervous smile on her face as she walked through the partially destroyed forest, "Man, that was a doozy. I think I dropped a pound. I hope Iffy won't be too mad about the clog…"

Heero cleared some of the debris out of the way so it would be easier for Neptune to walk through the ravaged area, "You can worry about our plumbing later, for now we must focus on finding Compa and IF. Then we to focus on eliminating the target monster."

Neptune spotted the other two members of their party up ahead, as well as the monster that was causing all of the damage, "Oh, there they are! Fighting some giant creature! They're totally in danger!"

Further ahead, the monster let out a low growl as an exhausted Compa looked at where the monster was now heading, "Oh, no! Iffy, the monster is-!"

IF noticed that the monster was heading in the direction of the civilians, a worried look crossed her face, "Crap, the people are over there…!"

Compa's legs gave out from under her, and she dropped her syringe, "I can't… stand… any longer…" IF fell to one knee, then onto her stomach as fatigue began to take its toll on her, "I… can't either…"

The monster continued past the exhausted girls towards the civilians, one of whom was shouting at the monster to go away, which only elicited a roar from the monster. Just when it seemed like it was the end for the civilians, a feminine voice sounded through the area and was directed at the monster, "Hold it right there, villain!"

IF got back up on one knee to see who the newcomer was, "Who's there?!"

A teenaged girl jumped down from the top of one of the trees in the area. She had bright, dark blue hair that was tied up with a few curled strands hanging down along with long curled strands hanging down and her hair looked somewhat spikey on the back. A big blue and red N shaped hair clip was holding her hair up, which looked as though it could reach down to her back easily if let down. Her eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue than her eyes, and resting on her head was a pair of goggles. Her attire consisted of a rather revealing black outfit that had a zipper on the front that was pulled down as far as it could go, a few pouches that were tied around her outfit, and big cuffed sleeves lying over a pair of gray gloves and she wore matching colored heeled boots. Underneath her outfit, she wore grayish wrap or bandage style top instead of a bra. The mysterious girl had a big, loose red scarf tied around her neck, and she looked as though she had purple wings; however, on closer inspection she was actually carrying a purple backpack that looked like a penguin.

The dark blue haired girl had a confident smirk on her face as she looked down at the battered IF, "The dashing heroine appears in a time of crisis! Leave it to Nisa, the sole keeper of justice in all of Gamindustri!"

Nisa jumped into the air, then began to come back down towards the monster… very quickly at that. The blue haired vigilante had her right foot outstretched as she drew closer to the large monster, "Prepare to meet your maker, monster! The one, the only, deadly Justice Kick!"

Neptune popped out from behind one of the trees to help Compa and Iffy, not bothering to check for any sign of danger, "Compa! Iffy! Sorry for th-blargh!"

Neptune had jumped right out in front of Nisa and received the blue haired girl's 'Justice Kick' right into her face. The attack sent Neptune tumbling across the ground and into a tree. Compa had a look of disbelief as she went over to examine the preteen, "Nep-Nep! Goodness, are you okay?" The nurse in training winced slightly as she examined the injury. "Ooooh, a kick straight to the face. That must have hurt."

Nisa looked over Compa at Neptune, reprimanding the unconscious preteen, "What're you doing, jumping right out in front of me?! I even called out my attack so you'd know to wait, too!"

Compa gave an awkward smile to the vigilante behind her, "When Nep-Nep is focused on something, she stops seeing or hearing anything else around her…" The nurse in training proceeded to slap Neptune's face in an attempt to get her to wake up.

IF looked down at the party's leader, steam was rising out of the indenture on her face from Nisa's kick, "She was our trump card… One of them, anyway. Compa, stop slapping her so much! Her face is already indented from that kick."

Nisa was slightly guilty and embarrassed at what had happened, "Sorry. I went full force with that one. She might wake up in a few weeks."

Nisa returned her attention to the monster that was still wreaking havoc, her confident smirk plastered onto her face, "I'll take care of this monster myself. Leave it to me!"

Heero, Compa and IF tended to the unconscious Neptune, while Nisa went to fight the monster that was terrorizing the civilians. Heero carefully examined the injury on Neptune's face, "While that attack may have proven effective in keeping Neptune quiet for a while, I doubt it will take long for her to regain consciousness."

IF scratched her cheek, knowing that Heero was quite right, "…Considering her lack of a brain, I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up in a few hours."

A loud groaning noise drew the party's attention toward the large monster. It had not even been a full minute, and Nisa had dispatched with the large monster. Nisa was standing with her hands on her hips and an ever confident smirk on her face, "That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call the triumph of justice!"

Compa looked at the blue haired vigilante in awe, "…Wh-Whoa. We didn't stand a chance, but she beat it up all on her own."

Heero was quite impressed himself, "She is quite the fighter. It may have taken us some time to defeat the target ourselves."

Nisa turned her gaze on Heero, a slightly perplexed look on her face, "It's pretty rare for a guy to be in an all-girls party. What's your name?"

"Heero Yuy."

Nisa drew Heero's name into the ground with a stick. Once she was done, her eyes widened, "Wait a minute… if you take off one of the Es' it spells Hero!" The blue haired girl looked back up at Heero. "Might you be a hero?"

Heero closed his eyes as he gather his thoughts together, "I'm no hero… I never was and I never will be. I am a soldier, nothing more, nothing less."

When the Gundam pilot looked back at Nisa, she was drooling slightly. The blue haired vigilante wiped the drool off of her mouth, "So not only are you are hero… but a Tragic Hero at that! One of the rarest of the rare…" Nisa was suddenly pulled from her train of thought by a scream. "Hmm? What's this? A cry for help?"

Nisa shot Heero a grin, "May we meet again, Heero!" The blue haired teen turned in the direction of the scream. "Then, I'm off. Up, up, and awaaaaaay!"

IF watched as Nisa took off, "…This is Gamindustri, after all. So many different walks of life…"

Heero lifted Neptune into his arms since she was still unconscious, "It would be best for us to head for the Sky Harbor. Lowee and Lastation will drift apart in ten minutes."

Compa was thrown into a panic upon hearing this information, "Did we really spend that long here? What'll we do?"

IF quickly picked herself up, "Isn't it obvious? Run like you've never run before! Otherwise, we'll be stuck here until Lowee comes back, and I don't really feel like waiting that long."

Heero, Compa and IF ran as fast as they could for the Sky Harbor, intent on getting there before the two landmasses drifted away from one another.

Xxx

Me: "There. Chapter 14 up. Sorry that took so long, my good readers. I forgot that I had placed this chapter on another flash drive."

Heero: (Enters ACCC) "You also mentioned that chapter 15 was completed as well."

Me: "That it is, Heero buddy! Three updates all in the same day… I believe I've set a new personal best."

Neptune: (Enters ACCC from Lounge holding her cheek) "Oww… my cheek hurts."

Me: "Well, Nisa did use her Justice Kick… it was bound to leave a mark."

Compa: (Enters ACCC from Lounge) "Nep-Nep, are you sure that you should be walking around?"

Neptune: "But I gotta make sure no weird stalker chicks try to steal Heero! …Oww."

Heero: "…I will commend you for staying so focused on your task, regardless of how ridicules it is, however you must make sure to watch your own health."

Neptune: "Watch my own wh-whoaaaa!"

Heero: (Lifts Neptune into his arms) "For now, I find myself with no alternative, but to take care of your injury myself."

Neptune: (Throws her arms around Heero's neck) "Maybe I should get hurt more often if it means I'll get THIS kind of treatment from Heero."

IF: (Enters ACCC from Break Room with coffee mug in hand) "Don't start taking advantage of Heero just because you got injured for your stupidity."

Neptune: "Your just jealous that I'm that one that Heero is worried about right now, and not you, Iffy."

White Heart: (Enters ACCC from Break Room) "…I guess you were telling the truth when you said I would have more time in this chapter."

Me: "Did you think I was lying? Now, we just need to wait for-"

Nisa: (Enters ACCC by jumping through a window) "The keeper of justice in all of Gamindustri, Nisa, is here! I came when I heard the Author's cry for help!"

Me: "Well, I wouldn't say it was a cry for help, rather I felt bad that you got so little time in the actual chapter itself, so I thought it was only fair that you be the one to wrap up the chapter."

Nisa: (Puffs her chest out) "Leave it to me! I have a responsibility to our readers after all!"

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, and White Heart: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)

Nisa: "Read an-"

Black Heart and Gust: (Runs into ACCC from Right Entrance) "Where is everyone? Did we get here too late?"

Nisa: "Kind of… everyone left through the other entrance."

Black Heart: "What?! You mean Heero already left?!"

Gust: (Panting from running) "Gust is tired… can Gust rest for one minute?"

Black Heart: "You can rest when we find Heero. If they just left, we aren't far behind!"

Gust: "*Sighs* No rest for weary…"

Black Heart and Gust: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)

Nisa: "Anyway, before I was interrupted… Read and review this chapter, good readers! And rest assured, I will be appearing more in the chapters to come!" (Leaves ACCC through Left Entrance)