Me: "Hello my faithful readers! Unfortunately, Heero, Nep, Compa, Iffy, and Lyrica won't be helping out with the disclaimer this time because of the last chapter."

Black Heart: (Enters IC Lounge) "What? What happened to Heero?!"

Me: "Ehh, he and the rest of the party got imprisoned on Leanbox."

White Heart: (Enters IC from Break Room) "…So Thunder Tits had them locked away? That bitch. It's one thing if it were just Neptune, but I don't want Heero to stay locked up on that shitty landmass."

Me: "Which is why they're breaking out this chapter. Not only that, but I decided on something special for this chapter that everyone will have to read to find out." (Points to Black Heart and White Heart) "Read off the disclaimer you two!"

Black Heart and White Heart: "HeeroUzuki does not own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or any work pertaining to any of the franchises. However, he does own the idea of crossing over Gundam Wing and Hyperdimension Neptunia."

Me: "…Feels a little awkward without everyone here. Oh well, this chapter will fix that. Now come, we still have other things to do."

Me, Black Heart and White Heart: (Leave IC)

Ch. 18 Neptune and the Seven Herbs

The Sky Harbor on Leanbox was open, currently connected to the snowy landmass of Lowee. As lone figure emerged from the tunnel, who just so happened to be the mysterious blue haired girl from said landmass. In her hands she had a book titled 'Writer's Guide to Writing a Best Seller', which was already opened to the first page on one of the chapters, "…Meeting your source of inspiration in a place outside your comfort zone may increase your creativity."

The young girl looked up from her book with a frown. "…I wish I was meeting Heero somewhere other than this shithole."

Closing her book, the blue haired girl quickly made her way down the Sky Harbor and onto the landmass. Shortly after she left the tunnel passage, Black Heart came out of the Sky Harbor, and she looked slightly irked, "The Sky Harbor closed so quickly back on Lastation… I can't believe I actually had to go all the way to Lowee to get here."

The beautiful teen scanned the area before her. "Just my luck… Neptune had to drag Heero here. While I doubt he would just fall for her, that big breasted cow might flash her boobs and try to seduce Heero. I have to make sure that doesn't happen!"

Black Heart was silent for a moment before she gently shook her head. "N-Not that I care about Heero or anything! I-I just don't want him to end up with… HER."

Once she was done talking to herself, the swordstress made her way down from the Sky Harbor and into the city.

Xxx

It had been some time since the party had been taken into custody and imprisoned in a dungeon beneath the Basilicom… fortunately, it was not the kind of dungeon where monsters nested, but that wasn't much of a consolation.

Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, and Lyrica had all been placed in one cell so that it would be easier to monitor them. Compa looked around the dark room they were in; stone walls surrounded them, and the wooden door to their cell was naturally locked from the outside, "…It's so dark. How long have we been here?"

IF pulled her cellphone out, flipped it open and looked down at the screen, "About three days. Geez, never expected to be so grateful for my cell's LCD screen. We'll go insane in this darkness."

Compa redirected her attention to the party's leader, who was still unconscious from the poison that had been running through her veins for the past three days, "We're not the only ones suffering. Nep-Nep's body temperature is going down. She won't make it much longer…"

Heero was standing in front of the door to the cell, examining the wooden obstacle keeping the party confined with their tight quarters. Lyrica stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to the Gundam pilot, "What are you looking at, Heero? Do you think we can… get out of here?"

The lone male member of the party cast a brief glance at Lyrica before looking back at the door, "It's a very primitive cell door. If I were by myself in here, I would have no problem in breaking it down and escaping."

Lyrica's eyes held a glimmer of hope in them as Heero said he could force open the door, "So then…"

"Unfortunately, that's if I were on my own. The noise that would be generated by forcefully opening the door would no doubt alert any guards that are on patrol. I cannot guarantee your safety while trying to get Neptune out and dealing with the guards."

Whatever feelings of hope she had left just as quickly as it came and Lyrica looked down at the floor, "Oh…"

Heero knew that Lyrica wanted to get out of the cell they were in… they all wanted to, but Heero simply could not protect all of them if there were guards outside, not when he had to prioritize saving Neptune above all else, "…You are handling out situation fairly well."

The cerulean haired singer sat back down on the ground next to Compa, "Well, crying about it won't get us out of here. All we can do is wait…"

Heero sat down next to Lyrica, slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer until her head was resting on his shoulder, "I apologize for not being able to more about our situation."

Lyrica's cheeks were flushed from the closeness, "W-Well, I know you want to do something for us… but we can't expect you to do everything." The musician looked towards the party's unconscious leader. "We also have to think about Neptune…"

Heero looked towards the seemingly lifeless purple haired girl. Neptune… Neptune… Neptune… For the past three days, Heero's every thought was centered around Neptune. He rarely slept while the party was in captivity, trying to devise a way for them to escape… or at the very least, how he could get Neptune somewhere safe. Heero didn't know if it was that strange feeling he had when he had spent that rare moment alone with her while they had searched for the Erde Crystal, all he knew was that he had to save Neptune… he HAD to.

The party sat in silence until the sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon, and they were getting closer. A man who was clearly not part of the regular prison guard was standing in the entryway, peering in to see the cells, "You girls still alive? …Hey."

Compa looked up from Neptune upon hearing the voice of the stranger who seemed to be looking for them, "Wh-Who's there? Help us! We're here!"

Heero would have told the nurse in training to keep quiet until they could see who was looking for them; however he too saw that he could not afford to be very cautious considering that Neptune's life was depending on it.

The man outside of the cell was now standing in front of the door, "Hold on. I'm going to help you get out right now."

Sure enough, the stranger opened the door to the cell. Heero lifted Neptune into his while Compa, Lyrica and IF left their cell. Once Heero and Neptune had set foot outside of the dark room, the stranger began to lead them out of the dungeon. Heero was more than a little skeptical as to this stranger's reason for helping the party, but withheld his question for the time being… Neptune's wellbeing took priority.

Xxx

The party had been taken to a mansion within one of the forests just outside of the capital city of Leanbox. The girls took the time to relax in actual furniture that wasn't made entirely of wood… except for one, who was currently lying in a bed in one of the rooms on the second floor.

After taking some time make themselves comfortable, the four members of the party who hadn't been poisoned congregated in the living room on the first floor. The stranger who broke the party out of captivity came down a flight of stairs to speak with the group, "Your friend is sleeping in another room where a doctor is looking after her. She's still breathing, so she's fine for now."

IF took it upon herself to ask the question that had been nagging Heero since the party made their escape, "Why did you help us?"

"Can I introduce myself first? I'm Jade, one of the Aristocrats."

Compa stared at Jade with a rather cute, albeit somewhat angry expression on her face as she repeated IF's question, "…Why did you help us?"

"Geez, the suspicion doesn't end, huh? I get it. Don't worry. Just… don't stare at me with those cute, angry faces. I helped because I felt bad for you. The teachings of the Aristocrats have always encouraged helping the helpless."

Lyrica still had a look of uncertainty on her face, "I don't know… we just met you…"

Heero was the most unconvinced by far, "(I don't trust him… and I doubt he helped us merely because it was the 'teachings of the aristocrats'. He must want something from us.)"

Jade looked over the party and noted that they weren't all that convinced, "You still seem unconvinced. I don't intend to hide anything."

Compa took a firm grip on her skirt as she looked at the ground, she almost looked as if she were about to cry, "Someone tried to poison us. Nep-Nep is sick as a puppy, and we were in a dark prison. I don't know what to think!"

Even IF was slowly starting to lose her composure, "This is starting to get to me, too. Leanbox has a dark underbelly. Just tell us why you helped, really."

The aristocrat affirmed his position that there was no reason to help the party other than what he had told them, "…There's no other reason. If anything, because this can be traced back to the Basilicom. The Basilicom and Aristocrats don't get along. They honor their beliefs while we honor pride. We're in the middle of plotting a coup-d'etat against them. Specifically the Sanctuary. I ran into you three while scouting the Sanctuary's lower levels. I'd like you to meet our leader before I speak any more."

Having said his piece, Jade left the room. Heero left the room to walk down one of the hallways around the mansion, leaving Compa, IF and Lyrica behind. Compa watched the Perfect Soldier as he continued down the hallway, a wave of sadness washed over her being, "I'm going to go check on Heero. He must be feeling really bad about all of this."

The nurse in training ran to catch up to Heero, who had already arrived at the corner on the other end of the hallway. When she finally caught up with Heero, the Gundam pilot was leaning on the wall and looking out the window, "Are okay, Heero?"

Heero cast a brief glance over at the pink haired nurse who was walking towards him before returning his attention to the window, "I myself am fine. Neptune is the one you should be more concerned about."

Compa looked down at red carpet colored floor, "I know… but I can't do anything for Nep-Nep right now." Compa looked back up to see Heero with attention still directed at the window, only now he looked sad, "…I blame Neptune's current condition on my incompetence."

Compa's lips began to quiver as she listened to Heero blaming himself for what had happened to Neptune, "Stop… please…"

"Had I not left the room, this wouldn't have happened. I've failed to protect Neptune… this is all my fault."

Compa could not take listening to Heero blame himself anymore and broke down, "Please stop it!"

The Gundam pilot shifted his gaze to Compa, momentarily surprised that she had actually shouted. The pink haired nurse had tears cascading down her face, "None of this… was your fault Heero… None of it!"

Heero felt guilty right now; he had made Compa cry because he had started blaming himself for what had happened, "Compa…"

"I don't like seeing you like this… when you're sad Heero… I feel sad… and I… I hate it!" Compa was trying to wipe away her tears, but when she did more tears would fall from her eyes. Heero closed the small distance between himself and Compa and pulled the crying girl into a tight embrace, "…I did not intend to cause you such sadness. I'm sorry, Compa."

Compa let out a few sniffles as her head rested against Heero's chest, finally her tears stopped and she looked up at the Gundam pilot with a small smile on her face, "I just don't want you to think that you're responsible for this, Heero. You can't do everything by yourself; we're a party after all."

Heero allowed his lips to curve into a small, almost unnoticeable smile. Compa's eyes widened for a moment, she then closed her eyes for a brief moment, though when she reopened them Heero had his slipped into his usual emotionless façade, "We should check on Neptune while we are here. While I doubt it will happen, I will not ignore the possibility that the doctor will overlook something."

The nurse in training gave the lone male of the party a quick nod before they left the hallway to return to Lyrica and IF.

The party took some down time to recover from the series of events that had occurred and Compa would go into Neptune's room periodically to check on her. While the nurse in training was upstairs checking on the party's leader, a loud commotion was heard down the hallway of the first floor, and it seemed to be getting closer.

Jade could now be seen walking down the hallway towards the living room and he was conversing with two familiar faces, "Are you two sure you weren't lost? It's alright if you were."

"I-I wasn't lost! I was just looking for someone until I ran into HER!"

"…Is bitching all you can do?! You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now!"

IF had been looking at her cell phone when she heard the voices approaching, "Don't tell me…"

Lyrica looked up in time to see Jade as he entered with both Black Heart and the Newtype from Lowee, "Oh, I thought all of you would be seeing Neptune. I found these two outside and they appeared to be lost."

Black Heart shot Jade an irritated look, "How many times do I have to tell you?! I was not lost!"

IF slipped her cellphone back into her pocket before approaching the two girls, "And just what are you two doing here?"

Black Heart and the mystery girl looked at the brunette before shifting their attention toward a certain Gundam pilot who was leaning on the wall. The two girls shoved IF out of the way and quickly made their way over to Heero, "H-Heero! I-Imagine meeting you here."

The Perfect Soldier had been sleeping against the wall when the two girls had come in, "…I would have thought that you two would tried to kill one another from the mere sight of the other."

Black Heart looked at the blue haired girl next to her, and then promptly looked away, "I can't afford to waste my time on someone as insignificant as her."

The Newtype shot a glare at the swordstress, "…Who the hell do you think you are?! If anyone here is insignificant, it's you!"

Black Heart jumped back to put some distance between herself and the fowl-mouthed girl while brandishing her sword, "You want to start something?! I'll be more than happy to finish it!"

Compa came down the flight of stairs that led to the second floor to rejoin the group in the living room and saw the two girls who the party had had more than a number of unpleasant run-ins with, "Why are the two stalker ladies here?! *Gasp* Maybe they came here to steal Heero!"

The two 'stalker ladies' felt their cheeks getting warm from the accusation, "I-I didn't come here to stalk Heero! I-I just happened to be passing by, that's all."

"…I just came here to see him, not stalk him!"

Heero knew that neither one of the girls were there to stalk him… at least, he thought. The lone male of the party had his attention fixed on Compa, "Compa, they did not come after me. More importantly, how is Neptune's condition?"

Compa cast her gaze down to the floor, a sad look on her face, "Nep-Nep is still unconscious… Her pulse is stable, but she really does need an antidote."

Black Heart and the mystery girl stopped their bickering upon hearing 'Neptune' and 'antidote', "Huh? Did we miss something?"

"…If you would just shut up, we might know what's going on."

Jade had a book in his hands that he was looking through when Compa when on to talk about an antidote, "About the poison… It's ancient. I had to look through records a century old to identify it. Who knows where that Archbishop found it. It was a lot of work to find an antidote recipe for it."

Compa breathed a small sigh of relief, "At least it wasn't Planeptune's bio-weapon. If we can get the ingredients, I'll synthesize the antidote!"

IF folded her arms as she thought about the method that the nurse might use to make the antidote, "…No alchemy, please. We just get the ingredients, let Compa prepare the antidote, and everything will be rosy."

Unfortunately for the party, it seemed that there was a catch to the creation of the antidote to cure Neptune, "It's not that simple. Shops won't carry what's necessary to combat such an ancient poison. We must gather the ingredients."

Heero walked over and stood in front of Jade, "…Where are the ingredients for the antidote?"

"Now hold on, there's no need to-"

Heero was quickly losing his patience with Jade. He grabbed the aristocrat by the collar of his robe and forced his against the wall, "No remedy or medical treatment on this landmass or any other will be able to cure what I do to you if you don't tell me what I want to know."

"O-Okay, no need to get so violent. There's a dungeon not too far from the capital city. It should have everything needed for the antidote."

IF pinched her chin with her index finger and thumb, "I see no alternative." The brunette turned her gaze towards Compa. "Compa, can you stay here and keep an eye on Nep?"

The nurse in training rapidly shook her head, "No! Do you even know what you're looking for? You should keep an eye on Nep-Nep."

The Guild Moderatist pulled her cellphone out once more, obviously planning on using her connections in the Guild to help her, "I'll be fine! I have my methods. I'll call if I have any questions."

Heero began to make his way towards the front door, "Neptune is in her current state of illness because I was incapable of protecting her. As such, I will go to look for the items needed for the antidote… alone."

The girls in the room looked at Heero as if he were out of his mind, "What? You can't go alone Heero! What if you find the wrong ingredient? Or a bunch of monsters gang up on you? I would be a very sad nurse in training if something happened to you."

Lyrica picked up Mr. Guitar, which had been sitting against the chair she had been sitting in moments ago, "Compa's right… what if something happened to you? Then both you and Neptune would be in trouble, Heero."

Jade looked over the entire party for a moment before coming up with an idea to solve the problem of who would go, "…Why don't you all go together? I'll watch over Neptune. I've informed Sir Turquoise to reschedule the meeting already. Will you trust me?"

Heero did not like the idea of entrusting Neptune's safety to someone they knew very little about, but he had little choice in the matter if they were going to make the antidote for her. Not only that, but Heero was actually starting to miss having Neptune around. The Gundam pilot gave a slight nod, to which Compa turned to face Jade, "…Fine. We'll be back as soon as possible. Please take care of Nep-Nep until then."

The blue haired girl had been watching Heero as the party made their plans to head for the dungeon. The Newtype let out a small sigh, "…I guess I have no choice. If Heero is going, then I will, too."

Suffice it to say, the party was shocked to hear that the girl who had attacked them on Lowee was going with them, "Why do you want to come with? Are you worried about Nep-Nep, too?"

The mystery girl frowned at Compa, "…I could care less about Neptune. I'm only going because Heero needs my help. If he went with just you three, nothing would get done."

Black Heart was suspicious of the young girl's motive, especially since Heero was involved, "Then I'll go too! N-Not for Neptune, but because Heero needs me! And it's not like I'm hoping to get closer to him or anything! Because I'm not!"

Heero looked back at the two girls who were volunteering to go with the party. He could not deny that they were quite powerful and would easily be able to make up for the missing Neptune, "…Very well."

An awkward message box like those seen in video games appeared in front of the group that said 'The two suspicious girls have temporarily joined your party.' Black Heart narrowed her eyes at the message box, "What is it about me that makes me suspicious?!"

Even the young girl next to Black Heart was irked, "…What a load of crap. I'm not suspicious."

The awkward message disappeared as Heero and the party that was comprised mostly of girls made their way to the door. The Perfect Soldier opened the door and allowed the girls to exit first and took a moment to look up to the second floor, specifically at the door to the room Neptune was in, "(Neptune…)"

Heero walked out the door and headed towards the dungeon where the ingredients for the antidote were located. The Gundam pilot was intent on curing the preteen of her illness no matter what.

Xxx

The party arrived at the dungeon known as the 'Herb Forest' where the herbs needed for the antidote were located. The dungeon was blanketed with snow, which was strange considering that Leanbox seemed to be a very warm, sunny landmass, and the polar opposite of Lowee.

As the party arrived at the entrance Heero took a few paces ahead of the party, "This should be far enough."

Compa looked at Heero with a quizzical look on her face, "Far enough for what, Heero?"

"Compa. Lyrica. Get away from IF." The nurse in training exchanges glances with Lyrica, wondering why Heero wanted them to get away from IF, "Why do you want us to-"

"I did not say to ask questions; I said get away from IF." The tone of the Gundam pilot's voice was strict and demanding. Both girls did as they were told and stepped away from the brunette, who was just as confused as they were, "What's going on? Why are-"

Heero turned to face IF, his right hand reached for his pistol which was holstered behind his back and pointed the firearm at the Guild Moderatist, "You are in no position to be asking questions."

The girls were shocked that Heero was pointing a gun at IF. Compa had a panicked look on her face as she looked between Heero and IF, "What are you doing, Heero? Did Iffy do something?"

Heero kept his attention focused on IF as he addressed the nurse in training, "I wouldn't expect you to know this Compa since you were with Neptune at the time, and Lyrica was not with us at the time either, but during the banquet at the Basilicom IF met with the Archbishop. She was in on the plan to have Neptune killed."

Compa and Lyrica turned to look at IF, they could not believe what they were hearing, "IF… is what Heero's saying true?"

IF couldn't believe that Heero was still stuck on what had happened, and that he still suspected her of being after Neptune, "No! Heero, listen, I-"

IF was only able to take a single step before the thunderous bang of a gunshot echoed throughout the snow covered forest. IF was frozen in place, while blood began to seep out of a small cut on her cheek. The pistol Heero was holding had steam escaping from the barrel having been fired, "That was a warning. Next time, I won't miss."

The brunette could see the killing intent in Heero's eyes, he wasn't kidding, "L-Look, I know that you think I was in on it, but I'm telling you I had nothing to do with it! Sure he made me a tempting offer, but I knew killing Nep wasn't the right thing to do!"

Heero kept his gun pointed at IF for a moment before putting the firearm back where he had holstered it before, "I will believe what you say… for now." The Gundam pilot walked over to the brunette until he was right in front of her. "But if I find out that you're lying to me, know that I am well versed in the art of torture… I will make sure that your death is not quick and painless."

The glare that IF was getting from Heero and the tone of his voice… IF knew that he was not making a threat, but a promise. The Perfect Soldier turned his attention back to the dungeon before the party, "…We have wasted enough time. We need to find the items on the antidote recipe and get out of here."

Heero walked past the other girls and headed into the dungeon to find the ingredients for the antidote. The Newtype cast a brief glance at IF before heading into the dungeon herself, "…Looks like I have one less person to worry about."

Black Heart had a smirk on her face as she began to follow after Heero, "Less competition for me to worry about."

IF looked over at Compa and Lyrica who were still reeling from what had just transpired, "Compa, you believe me, right?"

Compa looked towards Heero, and then to IF. A tear fell down Compa's face as she followed after Heero to search for the herbs needed to cure Neptune. The brunette then turned 5pb, hoping that she would believe her, "Lyrica?"

The cerulean haired singer was shaking slightly and she had a tight grip on Mr. Guitar, "If…" Lyrica looked up at IF, her face a mixture of hurt and anger. "If Heero can't trust you… why should I?"

Lyrica ran to catch up with Heero and the others, leaving IF by herself, "Nice going… you've officially screwed up your chance for love with the only guy worth fighting for."

IF was momentarily caught off guard when she heard the voice of her inner chibi, "(I didn't see you trying to do anything!)"

"Are you blind, IF? I've been trying everything I can to get Heero to notice you, but you keep doing something stupid which makes my efforts go to waste. Of all the things you've done, this is by far the worst. I don't think I can fix what you've done at this point…"

The brunette's shoulders sank, "(Was there something I could have done to prevent all of this? Heero must hate me now…)"

IF heard her inner chibi scoff, "Heero hates you? That an understatement… as for there being something you could have done, you could have… and SHOULD have, thrown that poison away."

Falling onto her hands and knees, IF looked at the ground as tears began to well up in her eyes, "(I just… I just don't know what to do anymore… I don't know what I want…)"

Silence dominated the air of the forest, and IF suspected that her inner voice was gone until the silence was broken once more, "You already know what you want; you just have to figure it out yourself. All I will tell you is that that one special place in your heart… it's not meant for Lady Green Heart."

IF lifted her head, "(Wh-What…?)" Once more, there was nothing but silence. The brunette picked herself up off the ground. "I… already know what I want?"

IF dried the tears off of her face with her jacket sleeve, "I can't just stand here and do nothing. I… have to at least try to fix this mess." With new found resolve, IF ran as fast as she could down the path on the left to rejoin the party.

When she found them, they had just come across a treasure chest that contained one of the herbs they needed for the antidote, "…There are still a few more on the list. I fricken hate fetch quests."

Heero briefly looked at IF from the list in his hands as she approached the party, "Heero, I know you don't trust me, but I'm still going to help."

The Gundam pilot turned his back to the Guild Moderatist as he continued to follow the current path through the dungeon, "…Do what you will."

It may not have been the response she was hoping to hear, but IF still took it as a sign that she was still trusted to some degree. With one of the ingredients in their possession, the party continued into the dungeon.

As the party rounded the corner, they saw a trio of Dendrobium gathered together in the center of the path ahead. The plant-like monsters did not see the party, which would make it even easier to get rid of them. Black Heart tightened her grip on her sword, "(This could be a good chance for me to get Heero to notice me.) I can take care of these monsters on my own."

Heero looked at the snow haired girl as she stepped forward, "Will you be alright on your own?"

Black Heart's cheeks began to turn red, though the Gundam pilot could not see it since she was in front of him with her back to him , "O-Of course! Monsters as weak as them are nothing to me! (Is Heero… worried about me?)"

Shaking her head, the swordstress began to head towards the three monsters that blocked the path, "(All I have to do is show off my excellent swordplay, and Heero will see that I'm the best girl here!)"

One moment Black Heart was standing a few yards from the unsuspecting monsters, the next she was standing behind one of them and it had already been cut in two. The other two monsters turned their attention to the beautiful teen whose lips curved into a smirk, "This is too easy. I won't even need to use a fraction of my power."

The two remaining plants tried to grab Black Heart with their vine-like appendages, but the teen was able to dodge and weave through their attack and impaled the second monster. Instead of pulling her sword out of the second monster, Black Heart found it to be faster to just apply more force to the bladed weapon so it would cut through the monster it was plunged into, and slice into the last Dendrobium.

Black Heart pulled her sword out of the Dendrobium, which had withered away as soon as it was dead. Once she was sure the trio of monsters were dead, Black Heart turned her attention to Heero with her chest puffed out, "What did you think of that, Heero? Are you not impressed by how strong I am?"

"You definitely know what you're doing, and the way you were able to deal all three targets in such a short span of times is certainly praiseworthy."

The swordstress felt her cheeks heat up and quickly turned around to hide her face, "N-Naturally! The monsters might not be worth mentioning, but my abilities are! (I think it's safe to say that I'm number one in Heero's mind right now.)"

Heero surveyed the area before walking past Black Heart, "None of the other herbs on the list are in the immediate area. It would be best for us to continue further in."

The blue haired girl shot a glare at Black Heart as she passed by her, "…What are you playing at? You wouldn't happen to be trying to get Heero's attention, would you?"

Black Heart averted her gaze from the young girl, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about! Heero just happened to think very highly of me. Not that I can blame him, I am can defeat monsters as weak as these without any trouble."

"…Whatever. Just remember, Heero is mine."

Black Heart narrowed her eyes at the mystery girl, "Says who, you little brat?!"

Heero, Compa, IF, and Lyrica stopped to look at the two bickering girls. Their argument ended when they noticed that the party had their attention focused on them, "We cannot afford to waste any time, so save your petty argument for later."

Once again the party was on track to look for the herbs, their search continued in silence. The dungeon was fairly devoid of life, so the party was not expecting any more run-ins with monsters, however the dungeon seemed to make up for the lack of monsters with many twists and bends that could confuse a party of normal travelers. None of the paths in the dungeon really seemed to lead to a dead-end; they were more or less connected to one another, just that some of the paths were longer than others.

When the party arrived at the split paths Heero decided to follow the path straight ahead instead of turning left. The group of girls simply followed after Heero because, one, Heero knew how to navigate a dungeon and two, with the absence of Neptune, Heero had to assume the role of leader.

Upon turning the corner at the end of the path the party saw yet another bend, but more importantly, a treasure chest that no doubt held an herb. Compa and Lyrica rushed over to the wooden box with the other four members of the party following at their own pace… which was walking.

Lyrica opened the chest and pulled out an herb that Compa identified as a 'Shepard's Purse', "That makes two; we need to find five more herbs to make the antidote that Nep-Nep needs."

As the two girls stood up with the herb in hand, three more plant-like monsters, Weeping Grass, began to approach the group. Heero had begun to ready himself when the blue haired walked past the Perfect Soldier, "…I'll take care of this."

The Newtype readied her axe as the trio of monsters hopped towards her. It was only when the group of monsters were a few feet away did the blue haired girl actually move. Two of the crying plants were tossed against a tree with bone crushing force in almost the same instant that the young axe wielder seemingly disappeared, leaving only one Weeping Grass.

Glancing at its brethren, the monster could see that the other two monster resembled paste against the tree's bark. The unfortunate creature had no time to react as the young girl towered behind it, axe at the ready, "…Looks like you're shit out of luck."

The axe wielder brought her axe down on the Weeping Grass in an overhead swing, flattening the monster against the ground with only the patch of grass on its head still sticking out. The Newtype turned her attention to Heero knowing full well that the monsters were beyond dead, "…So? What do you think?"

Heero briefly looked over what was left of the monsters before giving the young girl his evaluation, "I am impressed that you are able to move so quickly with such a heavy weapon, and you certainly seem to have destructive power. Your small build should not in a way be considered a handicap."

The Newtype's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and then shot a smirk a Black Heart who shot back a glare, "We need to continue with our current mission. We have two of the seven herbs needed to make the antidote."

After the small skirmish with the Weeping Grass, the dungeon became relatively easy to explore, albeit uneventful, and the party had little trouble in locating the 'Dropwort', 'Gogya', and 'Radish' herbs. All seemed to be going well, until the party located the sixth herb needed for the antidote.

IF opened the treasure chest and pulled out the herb that Compa identified as the 'Turnip' herb. The nurse in training could not help but smile, "We only need one more herb, then we can help Nep-Nep!"

IF, Lyrica and Compa were happily chatting away, while Heero was looking at the ground with a frown on his face. Black Heart took notice of the Gundam pilot's irritated look, "…Are you okay, Heero?"

Heero briefly glanced at the teen next to him before looking towards the entryway of the small area the party was in, "Far from it… over the past week I have been forgetting various places and items. At first I thought that everything I was forgetting was of little importance, but I now see that is no longer the case."

The girls had stopped talking as they listened in on what seemed to be a rather serious conversation. The Newtype could detect a hint of uncertainty in Heero's eyes, "…Is it that bad?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I seem to be suffering from some form of memory degradation… I have already forgotten the layout of this area, and no longer know the way back to the entrance."

IF had a fearful look on her face, "This is good… Heero has always been able to navigate a dungeon and not get lost. If he can't remember the layout of the dungeon, then…"

A chill ran up Lyrica's spine as she thought of the situation they had been placed in, "…We'll be lost in here forever."

Heero saw nothing he could do about his degrading memory, but decided to put it off for now, "All we can do is focus on locating the last herb for now. After we have located it, we can focus on finding a way back to the entrance, and ultimately back to Neptune."

The party resumed their trek of the dungeon, but with Heero no longer able to effectively navigate the area, the group went around in circles and ended up stopping in spots around the dungeon that they knew they had already been… the search was dragging on longer than any of them had intended.

Black Heart was sitting on a tree stump, tapping her foot on the snow covered ground in irritation, "We've been out here for more than a few hours, and we STILL haven't found that last herb. Are we sure that there is a seventh herb? Maybe we only need the six, that Jade guy could have added that last one by mistake."

Compa took the list of herbs from Heero and looked down at each of the herbs that had been listed, "I don't know… we should still check to make sure there isn't a seventh herb."

IF had her arms folded over her chest, "The seventh herb might be in a hidden chest. If that's the case…" The brunette pulled back on her left sleeve until her wrist was exposed, and an object that looked like a watch was wrapped around it. "Then it's a good thing I brought this along. If there is a hidden chest in here, this will tell which direction we need to go."

IF lifted her arm into the air, and after a few seconds a yellow beam shot out from the device on her wrist and seemed to be pointing somewhere beyond the large wall of snow and ice. The beam vanished as IF brought her hand down to her side, "Guess we need to go back the way we came."

The party had IF lead since her Treasure Search device was all they could rely on to point them towards the hidden treasure chest that might contain the seventh herb they needed for the antidote. After a few minutes of walking and stopping to allow IF to use her device to find the chest, the group came to the area that was presumably where the last chest was. Lyrica crossed her fingers in a vain attempt to give the party good luck, "Here's hoping it's here…"

IF gave a curt nod before lifting her left arm into the air once more, only this time a beam did not spring out of a device, but a treasure chest with a blue exterior materialized out of nowhere in front of the party.

Compa had a beaming smile on her face as she looked at the hidden box, "This has to have the last herb we need!"

Before anyone had a chance to get close to the treasure chest, a loud howl erupted out of nowhere. Then a large pack of Ice Fenrir began to jump down from the walls around the narrow passage… and even worse was that there were more of them blocking the entryway, "…These little shits must have a death wish if they think they can take us."

Heero was unsure if the party could actually win, each individual member of the party was certainly stronger than the wolf-like monsters, but they had numbers on their side. All the pack of wolfs had to do was overwhelm the party with sheer numbers and they would be finished.

Heero was suddenly struck with a wave of pain in his head, forcing him down onto one knee. The sudden movement caused one of the Ice Fenrir to make a mad dash for the Perfect Soldier, only to be stopped by a bolt of lightning from Lyrica's guitar, "Are you okay, Heero?"

Once the pain was gone, the Gundam pilot looked up at the musician in front of him, "…Who are you? And why did you save?"

The group of girls took a brief moment to look back at Heero in shock. Black Heart grit her teeth as she redirected her attention back to the monsters in front of her, a single tear fell down her face, "Dammit, this isn't good! Heero has forgotten about us now!"

The situation was getting worst for the party… they were surrounded on all sides by hungry wolves and now that Heero no longer knew who they were, he most likely saw no reason to help them, meaning that their strongest ally was not able to help, "What do we do? If Heero can't help us, we won't be able to get the last herb for Nep-Nep!"

The six girls had no choice but to try and hold out in the hopes that a miracle happened, but their strength was fading fast as they fought of the pack of Ice Fenrir. Heero was standing off to the side, trying to figure out who the girls in front of him were, "Who are they… why am I even here?"

As he was thinking, an Ice Fenrir began to sneak up on the Perfect Soldier, and once it was close enough, lunged at him. IF saw the monster, but knew that she would be unable to stop the attack, "Heero, look out!"

IF pushed Heero out of the way of the monster, only to have the wolf bite into her torso with its sharp teeth. Without even thinking, Heero lifted his right arm and the GN Sword appeared already in rifle mode. It only took a single burst of thermal energy to kill the Ice Fenrir, and IF fell on top of Heero, who was already on the ground.

The brunette held her side as blood began to stain her tank top where she had been bitten, "Heh… would you look at that…? Ever since we've met… you always seem to be saving me… but this time… I guess I got to be the one… to save you."

Heero just looked at IF, "Why did you save me? I don't know who you are, nor do I see what you stand to gain from saving me."

IF began to cough slightly, some of her blood ended up on Heero's cheek, "It hurts knowing… you've forgotten me… but I won't ever forget you… We came out here to save Neptune… and I can't help… but feel jealous of her. You're willing to go through… just about anything to save her… but what about me? If I was the one… in her place… would you do the same for me… Heero?"

Heero's eyes widened… how could he have forgotten the reason why they had come here in the first place? And even as he dwelled on this, the girls were fighting for their lives… not just theirs, but his as well.

The Perfect Soldier's eyes hardened. He slowly sat up and shifted IF's body so that she was lying on the ground, "IF… I must thank you. Had you not risked your life for me, I would not have remembered my reason for being here."

Heero stood up and directed his attention to the pack of Ice Fenrir, "When I first came to this world, my mission was to protect and assist Neptune in any way I could. But now… it is not just Neptune that I must protect, but you as well. As well as Compa and Lyrica." Heero's eyes shifted over to Black Heart and the Newtype. "And while we do not know much about them, I feel that right now I must protect them as well."

A blank HDD disk appeared in front of the Gundam pilot, who briefly looked back at IF with a small smile on his face, "I will protect you, IF. You have my word."

The brunette on the ground could not help but blush at Heero's declaration, "(Does he realize how cool he sounds right now?)"

(For added effect, play SRW Z2: Daybreaks Bell) A bright flash of light engulfed Heero, and the party stopped fighting to look in the direction of the light. Where Heero once stood, a robotic like figure was standing in his place. The figure was mostly white with a blue torso and shoulder armor and bits of red and gold coloring around the torso. Purple cables were running from the figures shoulders to its arms, two shield-like objects were attached to the arms, one of which had a rather large blade attached to it, and two swords were sheathed on its hips, one being shorter than the other. On the robot's back, a cone shaped object was constantly spewing out green particles, and four objects that looked like beam saber handles were located around the cone, two of which were located behind the shoulders and the other two were attached to the armor skirt. Located on the faceplate of the robot, specifically the forehead was what seemed to be the robot's model number: GN-001.

The machine's 'eyes' flashed momentarily before it actually began to move, and Heero was inside of said machine, "(So… one of the Gundams I will be using will be your Gundam, Setsuna? The Gundam Exia is a Close Quarters Combat mobile suit; it should prove invaluable in future battles.)"

The blue wolves let out a series of howls as they set their sights on the Exia. The sword wielding mobile suit drew one of the beam sabers mounted on its back, "Target confirmed. Commencing immediate destruction."

Once again the pack of Ice Fenrir charged the party in an attempt to make the group their meal of the day. The large GN Sword on the Exia's right arm cut through any of the wolves that tried to slip past it on the right. Anything on the left met their end courtesy of the GN Beam Saber.

The number of monsters was slowly beginning to thin out, and after three minutes of fighting, the Ice Fenrir began to back off and ultimately ran away. Obviously with the Exia fighting with the party the monsters stood little chance of winning.

What made things so much more difficult for the pack of monsters to get by the Exia was that it's development name when translated meant Seven Swords... The Gundam Exia had seven weapons for melee combat. When the Beam Sabers would begin to run low on power, Heero could immediately switch to the short and long swords stored on the hips.

With Heero, Black Heart and the Newtype fighting out front, and Compa and Lyrica acting as support, the party had a virtually impenetrable defense against the monsters. It was only once they were sure that all of the monsters were either dead or had run away that the girls began to celebrate their victory. IF stood back up from having been on the ground for the latter half of the battle and opened the treasure chest that the party had worked so hard to find. The brunette reached in and pulled out the last herb, "Gathering complete. I'm glad just the right number were kept in a single dungeon."

Compa had a very radiant smile on her face now that the group had found all seven of the herbs for the antidote, "Yes! Let's return to Nep-Nep."

IF suddenly fell to her knees, clutching her side, "Guess that monster got me pretty good… didn't think the wound was so deep."

Heero looked down at IF, the only reason she had been injured was because Heero had been unaware of the monster behind him. The Exia lifted the brunette up into its arms, "Your injury will be a problem if we try to walk back. I will carry you back to the mansion."

IF's face was as red as a cherry from Heero suddenly deciding to carry her, "(This is just like when we went to go see Lyrica before…) A-Are you sure? I-I don't want to be a burden."

Compa suddenly latched onto the Exia's back, "Heero can fly when he transforms, so it's better if he carries us."

Lyrica began to climb onto Heero's back, "Well… only if Heero is okay with this."

The Newtype grabbed onto the Beam Saber and used it as a support to climb onto the Gundam's back, "…Sounds good to me. Walking back now would be a major pain in the ass."

Even Black Heart grabbed onto the transformed Gundam pilot, "It does sound convenient. But don't think I'm doing this because I want to! I just want to get back as soon as possible so I can take care of what I came here to do! (Which is to get rid of Neptune and this brat!)"

Heero saw himself with no choice but to carry the five girls, "(A mule's lot is hard…)" The GN Drive on the back of the Exia began to throw out more GN particles as it began to lift up off of the ground. The Gundam began to pick up speed as it took to the sky and headed for Jade's mansion with its 'precious cargo' of girls and herbs for the antidote.

Xxx

The moment the party returned to the mansion, Compa immediately set about preparing the antidote to heal Neptune. It went without saying that the party struggled without their bubbly leader.

While the nurse in training was preparing the medicine, Heero was downstairs with Black Heart and the Newtype, "Despite the fact that you stood to gain nothing from helping us, you still aided us in our search for the herbs needed for the antidote. You have my gratitude… for what it's worth."

The two girls found it extremely difficult to look at Heero for more than a second, "…Like I said before, I didn't do it for Neptune. I did it because YOU were the one who needed my help."

Black Heart scratched her cheek, "R-Right. Besides, if anyone is going to defeat Neptune, it should be me, not some poison!"

"It would be best for the two of you to leave. If Neptune finds you here when she wakes up, she will more than likely jump to conclusions and cause some form of chaos."

The blue haired girl flicked a strand of hair out of her face, "…I don't really feel like putting up with Neptune right now. Besides, I need to get back to Lowee."

Black Heart seemed like she to needed to return to the landmass that she originated from, and Heero had information that neither was really going to want to hear, "If you are planning to leave, then it would be in your best interest to do so now. The Sky Harbor will close in approximately ten minutes."

Both girls stared at Heero for a moment, and during that time the Gundam pilot thought he had heard the sound of breaking glass, "Wh-What? Ten minutes?!"

"…Shit! I'm out of here!"

Without wasting another second the two girls bolted out the front door and ran as fast as they could. Heero turned around to see IF watching Black Heart and the Newtype run as if their lives depended on it, "They sure can run fast."

IF was not wearing her large blue jacket and her right hand was firmly on her side. Silence dominated the air between the two, and IF was feeling very uncomfortable, "So… Heero, I…" Before she could utter another word, the brunette found her face was up against Heero's chest. The close physical contact made her blush. "H-Heero? What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry."

IF looked up to see the Gundam pilot's face, and he looked quite sad, "I jumped to conclusions and blamed you for what had happened to Neptune, when in reality the Archbishop is the one at fault. Perhaps is was the mere thought of you being in league with him that caused me to come to such a conclusion… and ultimately start making threats toward you."

IF looked away from Heero as he held her in a tight embrace, "N-No… I think I'm just as much at fault. I don't think any of this would have happened if I had just thrown away the poison to begin with."

Both Heero and IF stood in silence, with only the ticking sound of a nearby clock to break the silence. IF looked back up at Heero's face to see that his eyes were closed, obviously thinking about something, "(This could be my chance…)"

The brunette slowly inched her face closer to Heero's, the distance between them growing smaller and smaller with each passing second. Their faces were mere millimeters away when IF stopped. After a brief pause she shook her head and smiled, "(Maybe next time…) We should probably go and check on Compa. Just to be sure that we don't have to go looking for any more herbs."

The Gundam pilot let go of IF and walked past her in the direction of the stairs, stopping for a brief moment, "The question you asked me while we were attempting to acquire the last herb…"

IF turned around to face Heero, who was looking back at her. "If you were in Neptune's place, I would do the same for you."

The brunette stood where she was as Heero ascended the stairs to the second floor. IF looked down at the floor, "Guess it's not a big secret anymore."

Heero knew that Neptune, Compa and Lyrica were interested in him, and after yet another battle of life and death, the Gundam pilot now knew that IF was also interested in him, "I knew you couldn't have done anything to Nep-Nep."

IF looked to her left to see Compa and Lyrica who obviously must have heard the conversation she had with the Perfect Soldier. Lyrica seemed to be relieved that there were no longer any issues in regards to trusting IF, "If Heero trusts you IF, then we can, too."

The brunette was equally relieved to hear that the party once again trusted her, "Yeah… now hurry up with that antidote Compa. I don't really plan to stay here too long."

Xxx

"How? How do they know about the Key Fragments?! I can't think of anyone but you, Histoire! You lied to my face. You were contacting the CPUs while I was gone. Admit it!"

Histoire was silent as she was being interrogated by the same strange women from Neptune's previous 'dream' if it could be called that. "How many? How many of the CPUs know about the Key Fragments?"

The angelic tome remained silent despite the woman's questioning, and her silence only fueled the woman's growing anger, "How many exist?! How much do they know? About the Evangelist? The monsters? The Overlord? Answer me!"

Histoire remained silent; she clearly did not intend to say anything. "Fine. You've no intention to speak, so I must silence that useless mouth…!"

Xxx

Neptune shot up out of her bed, which was surprising when she only really got out of bed for food, and there was no food around. The preteen was still a little groggy from her sleep, which was apparent since some of her words were slurred, "Ahhhhhhhhh! Nooooooo! What're you gonna do to Histy?! Stoppit, stoppit, stoppit!"

Compa had been sitting next to Neptune to keep an eye on her, but was just now waking up from having been asleep as well, "Hrmm…? Nep-Nep, you're slurring… hmm… mmm…?"

Neptune looked at the pink haired nurse sitting next to her, "Compa? Oh, yeah… I got all barfy, huh? Were you at my side this whole time?! You're such a sweetie! I'm way touched!"

The preteen suddenly lunged at Compa, knocking her onto the ground, "Ack! P-Please got off me! Nep-Nep… Nep-Nepuuu…" Compa began to giggle and shed tears of joy since it seemed that despite having been poisoned and asleep for so long, Neptune was all there and wide awake. "He… hehehe! Nep-Nep is awake!"

Heero and IF had been outside of the room, when Compa started shouting. Lyrica had arrived shortly before Heero and IF and had tears forming in her eyes as well, "I was starting to think that she might not ever wake up."

When they entered the room, Heero began to lean against the wall closest to the bed and IF stood next to Compa, "Yes, we heard you, what with the shouting and giggling." The Guild Moderatist turned her attention to Neptune. "Morning, Nep. You've slept for quite a while."

Neptune looked at IF as if she were crazy, "Huh? No, I got all woozy and sick to my tummy! I just had a weird dream to top it off…"

The brunette shook her head, "I'm joking. You wouldn't know what we had to go through while you slept, huh?" Compa stood up, pulling the preteen up along with her, "Are you hungry, Nep-Nep? I'm sure you feel weak from sleeping for so long. You should have a great big meal!"

Naturally, Neptune was not going to complain about eating, "Hmm, yes, I agree. I think the best thing to do is eat for the next day or two."

The party had spent half an hour in the dining room with Neptune stuffing her face with anything that looked even slightly edible. After the party's leader had eaten her fill for the time being, the party gathered in the first floor living room at Jade's request. Shortly afterwards, an elderly gentleman walked in with Jade and examined the group, "You saved these beautiful maidens and their companion from the Basilicom. Like father, like son. I'm proud of you!"

Neptune looked at the elderly man, thoroughly confused, "Who's this old fart? Can you keep it down? Where are we, anyway?"

Jade gestured to the entire house, "This is my house." He then pointed to the 'old fart' in the room, "That is my adoptive father and leader of the Aristocrats, Sir Turquoise. I brought you here from the Basilicom's basement holding cell. I'm Jade. Nice to meet you."

IF was still questioning Jade's motive for why he helped the party escape from the Basilicom, "Jade, why did you help us? Nep is up now, so hurry and explain yourself."

Sir Turquoise stepped forward, "Allow me! I want you girls to be our sexy mascot allies."

Neptune stared at Sir Turquoise for a moment, "…What's all this hubbub? What sort of ally is that?"

Lyrica wrapped her arms around herself, clearly uncertain about the idea, "I don't know how I feel about being asked something like that."

Compa gave a small bow to the elderly man, "Nep-Nep doesn't know what's going on, since she's been sleeping this whole time. Could you please explain?"

"…Ten years ago, a great war waged on Leanbox. The Basilicom Schism. The Parliament's revolution. At the time, the Parliament tried to gain total control by gathering heretics in an attempt to raid the Basilicoms. We, the Aristocrats, defeated them under the aegis of the Sanctuary. The heretics escaped, but the goddess gave us honor!"

Jade picked up where his adoptive father left off, "However, the Sanctuary… The current Archbishop doesn't want to admit there was any kind of revolution at all. He burnt all the records and prohibited publicizing any information on it. He even tried to revoke our leader's honor!"

Neptune tilted her head to one side, "So that's why you wanna make us sexy mascot allies? To fight the Basilicom?"

Compa shook her head, she was in disagreement with the idea, "We can't do that. I thank you for helping us, but we can't possibly fight the Basilicom!"

"I understand where Sir Turquoise is coming from, but I can't let them get involved, either." Sir Turquoise turned to face his son, "Those able to fight are a rare find. You girls are brave, beautiful, and we've both been hurt by the Basilicom!"

Neptune began to flail her arms in the air wildly, "Hey, what about Heero? He's totally carrying this party of awesome and beautiful ladies!"

The elderly man did not seem to be listening to Neptune, while IF voiced her opinion, "While that's true, and I don't intend to forgive them for it… we can't fight humans, no matter how evil they are."

Neptune assumed her thinking position as she thought back to some of their earlier battles, "But we've beaten people up before, right?"

"That's because they attacked first! We had no choice."

Jade attempted to persuade his father, "I've already told them I didn't save them in exchange for anything. Just let it go this time. Please."

Sir Turquoise seemed to have another idea in mind, "How about this?! Why not help us in a different, less sexy mascot way? Your job would be limited to fighting monsters. What say you?"

Compa did not seem to have a problem with the idea since it did not involve fighting humans, "So you want to be our client. If it's a job fighting monsters, then I guess we have no reason to turn you down."

IF folded her arms over her chest, as long as the party was fighting monsters she didn't have a problem with the idea, "In that case, just keep us out of any conflicts involving the Basilicom."

"…I give my word. Your jobs will be mere support. There will be no direct involvement whatsoever!"

With their business now finished, the party left the living room to go to the upstairs bedrooms. They would not be able to rent any hotel rooms for some time, since it was dangerous to go into the city with the Archbishop watching everything that went on. As he walked up the flight of stairs, Heero could not help but feel that Black Heart and the Newtype did not make it off of Leanbox.

Xxx

Black Heart and the Newtype were standing in silence, neither saying a word as the Sky Harbor closed and Lowee drifted away. The blue haired girl began to stomp on the ground, "…Shit! Shit! SHIT! It's like this whole fucking landmass likes to bend me over and fuck me! And the only person allowed to do that is Heero!"

Black Heart was in just as bad a mood as the Newtype, though she was able to keep a tight lid on her temper, "Lastation was supposed to pass by Lowee tomorrow as well… now I have to wait even longer to get back to my landmass?! This is the pits! And I'm stuck here with you, Neptune and that cow-" The white haired girl stopped herself when she realized who else was on Leanbox that she didn't think too highly of, "…Wait, I might be able to take advantage of this. If I get rid of her now… then she can't seduce Heero!"

The Newtype watched as Black Heart ran off into the city, "…She must be planning to get rid of Thunder Tits. And that's MY job." The young girl took off into the city, since she would not be getting off Leanbox any time soon.

Xxx

Later that night, Heero had just finished looking for more information and had closed his laptop when he heard the door to his room open. He looked over his shoulder to see Neptune entering his room, and she had transformed prior to coming in, "Should you not be in your own room, Neptune?"

The swordstress closed the door behind her as she walked in, "Did you really think I was going to sleep in a separate room when the beds here are big enough for three people? Of course, I don't plan on sharing a bed with anyone other than you tonight, Heero."

Heero closed his laptop and slipped out of his jacket in preparation for bed. As he approached the king sized bed, Neptune pounced on him, landing right on top of Heero as he fell onto the bed. Neptune began to draw shapes on Heero's chest with one hand, "I can't explain it… but while I was unconscious, I felt that you were doing something to help me."

The beautiful swordstress smiled at the Gundam pilot. "It's like I told you. If anything ever happened to me, you would do everything you could for me." Neptune's hand began to glide down Heero's chest toward his jeans, "I think you deserve a reward, don't you?"

It had been some time since Heero had felt this strange sensation that only seemed to appear when he was in close physical contact with Neptune or any of the other girls in the party. Heero caught Neptune by her wrist so she would not try to unzip his pants, "I was carrying out my mission. I do not need a reward for that."

"Why do you keep resisting, Heero? It's clear to me that you love me. Why else would you try so hard to cure me?"

Heero looked away from Neptune, "Because protecting you is the reason I was brought here to Gamindustri."

The room was silent for a few minutes and Heero thought that Neptune had given up, when he suddenly found his face in-between her breast. The purple haired teen purred as she held the Gundam pilot, "Mmm, that's sounds like a declaration of love to me."

Heero was slightly irritated with Neptune's behavior, but inwardly he was glad she was back. He had actually come to miss having her around even if she did try his patience. Now that Neptune was well, the party could return to their original task of finding the Key Fragments… with all of the mishaps and romantic advances that came with being the only male in the party.

Xxx

Me: "Now that Neptune is back, the party can read the disclaimer again, yay!"

Neptune and Heero: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "And it's all cuz of my lover and his love for me."

Heero: "We are not lovers."

Compa: (Enters ACCC from Lounge) "We helped out too, Nep-Nep. Besides, Heero is my lover, too!"

IF: (Storms into ACCC) "Will you two stop this? If anything, Heero only did it because he felt responsible!"

Lyrica: (Enters ACCC from Break Room) "What about me? I helped, too!"

Black Heart and White Heart: (Enter from Lounge) "What are we, we chopped liver?! We helped Heero more than you guys did!"

Me: "Okay… let's try and keep this short. And everyone helped in some way." (Points at Neptune) "Since you were out for most of the chapter… as well as the one who had been poisoned, I think it's only fair that Neptune be the one to wrap up this chapter."

Neptune: "Awesome sauce!" (Looks toward readers) "Read and Review this awesome chapter of Heero's undying love for me. Cuz, ya know, he totally loves me, and that's what lovers do."

Heero: (Looks at Neptune) "We are not lovers."

Neptune: (Grabs onto Heero's arm) "Then why did you do all of the stuff you did in this chapter? You love me and you know it."

Me: "Take it into another room, you two. More importantly, we need to start on the next chapter, so let's go peeps!"

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Lyrica, Black Heart and White Heart: (Leave ACCC)