Me: "Hello, faithful readers! I apologize for this… incredibly late coming update, but I had a rather unusual case of writer's block that kept me from working on it. Well, whatever, it's gone now and I am free to work on the story at my leisure."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "Author man, you're so late with adding stuff to the story! People aren't gonna get to see me and Heero have an M rated scene if you keep doing this stuff!"

Me: "Hey, it's not like I planned to have writer's block, it's just something that happens."

Heero: "Something that must not be allowed to happen often for the sake of the story… and Neptune, I do not wish to engage in sexual intercourse of any kind."

Neptune: "Aww, you want me and you know it, Heero."

Compa: (Enters IC from Break Room with ice cream cone in hand) "Nep-Nep, I want to have an M rated scene with Heero, too! Stop being such a Heero hog!"

IF: (Enters IC from Lounge) "You two make it seem like this M rated scene of yours is the only thing that our readers want to see. If sexual content was all that they cared about, I'm sure they wouldn't bother reading this story and would just look at porn on the internet all day. And besides, the only person who should have an M rated scene with Heero is me, because I'm the most mature out of all of you."

5pb: (Enters IC from entrance in the middle of the floor) "How can you say you're mature when you don't even have any boobs, Iffy?"

IF: (Faces turns red from embarrassment and anger) "W-Who're you to talk?! Besides, a girl's maturity isn't measured by the size of her boobs!"

Neptune: "Yeah, it totally does Iffy!"

IF: "No, it doesn't!"

Green Heart: (Enters IC from Break Room) "It most certainly does."

IF: "What are you even doing here?! Don't you have something else you could be doing?"

Green Heart: "The Author asked me to help with reading the disclaimer."

Me: "Yes I did, that and I'm sure some of our readers have been dying to see a little more of you." (Looks down at watch) "And on that note, I think it's about time to start the chapter. Let me hear it!"

Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, 5pb, and Green 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: "I can dream… let's just leave so that our readers can enjoy the update… and so that I can drown my sorrow in soda."

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, 5pb, and Green Heart: (Leave IC)

Ch. 20 A New Stalker? Or another Heero Stealer?!

It was yet another sunny day on the 'Land of Green Pastures' Leanbox. The party had remained at Jade's mansion, as they had ended up agreeing to help the Aristocrats in regards to the monster bounty quests.

The Aristocrat leader had gathered the crew together for a meeting on one of the islands floating around the landmass, specifically in front of a dungeon. The dungeon was the same as the one from the previous day when the party had to go looking for the herbs that would cure Neptune, snow blanketed the ground, trees stood without leaves, and for some odd reason there were lanterns and Christmas lights strewn throughout the dungeon along the trees.

The leader of the Aristocrats, Sir Turquoise, was looking out towards the snowy expanse that lay before the party, "This is a very old trading route. It's been rife with monsters ever since a new route was constructed. We need as much weaponry as possible to carry out an armed revolt against the unsexy Basilicom. In order to transport them out of the Basilicom's view, a path like this would be perfect. That said, I need you girls and your male companion to eliminate the monster threat around here. I'm depending on you."

Sir Turquoise took his leave, and the party looked inward at the snow covered dungeon, "Aww, and I was hoping to get to stay in the big house and eat a ton more food and get Heero to have an M rated scene with me, lame!"

IF let out an irritated sigh as she listened to the preteen, "I don't think Heero wants to have an M rated scene with you any more than the last several times you've said you wanted it. Besides, if Heero is going to be doing something like that it should be with someone with a higher maturity level than you."

Neptune gave the Guild Moderatist a half glare, "What? Are you saying that YOU should have an M rated scene with Heero?"

The brunette turned her head to look in the other direction, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. "W-Well… I never exactly said he should have an M rated scene with me… but I guess Heero should know now that I AM available."

A few seconds passed before Neptune responded with a snicker. "Yeah right. Like Heero would want to have an M rated scene with you. You talk about maturity and stuff, but you got no chest, Iffy."

IF snapped at the purple haired girl, "And you do?! You have to the flattest chest in all of Gamindustri! There's no way Heero would want to have an M rated scene with you!"

As well as curing Neptune the previous day, IF's true feelings for Heero were brought to light, and now that her love interest knew, IF was free to stake her claim on the Gundam pilot without feeling too embarrassed. Compa and Lyrica were watching the argument between Neptune and IF, there's cheeks slowly swelling and turning red, "If it's about who has bigger boobies, Nep-Nep and Iffy really shouldn't be talking!"

Lyrica looked down at her own chest, her cheeks still red and puffy, "Yeah, unlike them, we actually have boobs."

While the girls were bickering amongst themselves, Heero was left pinching the bridge of his nose. He may have missed having Neptune around for a time, but one thing he hadn't missed was her random and otherwise inappropriate behavior, "I hate to interrupt all of you, but we have a mission to complete. The sooner we start on our objective, the sooner we can return to our original mission."

Neptune ran out in front of the crew, "Yeah, what Heero said! Stop wasting time, or we'll leave you all behind." Compa, IF and Lyrica shot looks of disdain at the bubbly girl who was making them look bad in front of Heero, "(I'll get you back for this!)"

The party made their way into the snow covered dungeon to eliminate the monster threat. For the most part, the party dealt with Ice Fenrir and Hornets, nothing that was difficult to handle… at least for most of the party. Having been out for as long as she had been, Neptune was somewhat out of it in regards to fighting monsters, "Ugh… the monsters here suck! Why are they so hard to beat?"

Compa looked at the groaning preteen, "What are you talking about, Nep-Nep? The monsters are really easy to beat."

Lyrica had been having a relatively easy time dealing with the monsters herself, "Maybe it's because Neptune was unconscious for so long. Still, wouldn't it be better to just find the boss monster and defeat it?"

The Nurse in Training looked back at the musician. "Don't be silly Lyrica, we should take our time and defeat all of the monsters so that they won't bother anyone."

"No, Lyrica has the right idea." The girls turned their attention to the Gundam pilot, who was scanning the area for anymore enemies. "Simply defeating every enemy we come across will not solve the current problem. If we are to secure this trading route, and ensure that the Aristocrats can use it to transport their weaponry unseen, we will need to deal with the leader. Once the one controlling the monsters has been dealt with, it will demoralize the rest and they will surely withdraw from the area."

IF was the first to agree with the Perfect Soldier, "Heero's right. We can't waste our time fighting all of the monsters, it would take too long and the job would never get finished. Defeating the boss should drive the monsters out of here."

Neptune raised her wooden sword into the air, "Alrighty! Let's go beat up the boss!"

The party just looked at their leader, specifically at what she was holding in her hand, "…Neptune, for what reason are you using that useless weapon?"

Neptune looked at the wooden sword in her hand before looking back at Heero, an awkward smile on her face as she scratched the back of her head, "Well… I was in a hurry this morning, so I kinda grabbed it instead of one of the cooler looking sword."

Heero could have sworn he felt his eye twitch, "(I believe the real reason is because she was too busy stuffing food in her mouth…) I thought something like this might happen, so I brought the Mech Sword Armas."

The Gundam pilot reached underneath his jacket and pulled the beam saber out, which had slipped into one of the belt loops on his jeans. Neptune eagerly took the prototype weapon from Heero, "Aww, you brought the super awesome weapon for me? I'm so touched Heero, you are SO my Destined Lover!"

"…We are not lovers." Before Heero had a chance to get away, Neptune already had her arms wrapped around his torso. "If we aren't lovers, why did you bring me a stronger sword?"

Heero could not believe they were having this conversation when they had had one like it before, "By bringing the sword with me, I was increasing the chances of our mission ending in success."

The clingy preteen started drawing shaped on Heero's chest with her finger. "You always say stuff like that, but the REAL reason is that you love me so much. I will accept this as a gesture of your love for me, Heero."

No matter what he did or how he tried to explain the reasons behind his actions, Heero just could not win. Neptune just seemed to have it in her mind that everything he did was to protect her… which wasn't exactly a lie, but it also wasn't the exact reason behind the deeds he performed such as bring the prototype beam saber along, "We have wasted enough time standing around, we need to locate the target and promptly eliminate it."

Having decided to spare themselves the effort of locating and defeating every monster all on the trade route, the party instead put their efforts toward locating the boss monster. The dungeon that was to be used as part of the trade route was actually quite small, so it did not take long for the party to locate the leader of the monsters dwelling along the path after a few minutes of looking.

The large monster before the group was a 'Minotaur', which looked like the Ubellarin from Lowee with the major differences being that it's skin was a sickly green color, its left hand was encased in some sort of metal… that or it WAS the hand. A fierce growl escaped from the maw of the 'Minotaur' as it looked down at the party. Lyrica swallowed hard as she tightened her grip on Mr. Guitar, "S-So how are we supposed to beat it? It's pretty big…"

Heero had switched the GN Sword on his arm to Sword Mode in preparation for battle, "The size of the target is of little concern. We should have no trouble in eliminating the target."

Compa had a beaming smile on her face as she watched the Gundam pilot, "If Heero says that the monster is easy to beat then it has to be. We'll win for sure!"

Neptune raised the already activated Mech Sword in her hand into the air, "Neptune's Super Ultimate Awesome Party, go!"

IF shot a questioning look the saber wielding girl, "Since when did we decide to name the party after you?"

"Cuz I'M the leader, and I get to decide what the name of the party is." Heero cleared his throat to get the attention of the two girls, "You can debate about the team name later, for now we must focus on the target."

The 'Minotaur' thundered toward the group with its axe in the air, ready to swing once it got close. Immediately, the party dispersed so that they were not grouped together in one place. With its attention focused on her, the large monster charged at Lyrica. The musician struck the cords of Mr. Guitar which caused bolts of lightning to lash out at the oncoming monster, however it did not do much to slow it down, "W-What? That didn't work?"

With her attacking having done nothing, Lyrica could only watch as the monster swung its axe at her. The musician's eyes snapped shut as she waited for the inevitable pain, instead she heard the clashing of metal and when she opened her eyes she saw Heero in front of her, clearly he had intercepted and blocked the attack, "Never take your eyes off of the enemy."

Lyrica would have done 'something' if she wasn't too busy swooning over the Gundam pilot, "Heero…"

Because the 'Minotaur' had its attention focused on Heero it could not IF quickly approaching from behind. The brunette delivered a series of quick slashed into the monster's back with her Katars before using the 'Minotaur's' head as a springboard jump over the monster and land near Heero and Lyrica, "You can swoon over Heero later, we need to get rid of this monster first."

As Lyrica was getting back on her feet, Neptune was flailing her arms in an attempt to get Heero's attention, "Heero! What do we do now?! This boss is uber tough!"

"The target is not as difficult to overcome as you would think. We simply need a greater amount of force to defeat it. Compa, IF, Lyrica and I will serve as a distraction so as to give you enough time to transform. After that, it will be a simple matter of overwhelming the target."

The bubbly purple haired girl flashed Heero a thumbs-up sign. "You got it, lover!"

Before Heero could give his usual retort to Neptune calling him her lover, IF snapped at the amnesiac, "You're not his lover, idiot!"

"Hah! I totally AM Heero's lover, Iffy. You're just jealous cuz he loves me and not you."

Heero had to put a stop to their argument… for more than one reason. One; it was starting to give him a headache, two; because they still had to kill the monster, and three; …It was just downright annoying, "Save your arguing for later, for now we must deal with our current objective. Just focus on your assigned task and this will be over soon."

Heero, Compa, IF and Lyrica went about their job of distracting the monster to keep its attention off of Neptune as she transformed. Since the 'Minotaur' was receiving gunshots and small bolts of lightning across its body from different directions it was unable to determine which of the party members it should direct its rage at.

Finally, the monster made a mad dash at Heero since he was the closest. The Gundam pilot readied himself for the oncoming 'Minotaur', only to have his preparation been for naught as the monster had been intercepted by a certain twin-braided swordstress.

Neptune pointed her Katana at the monster that was lying on its back, "No one touches Heero, but me. He's MY man."

Compa's cheeks began to swell up and Neptune's declaration to the monster, "But Nep-Nep, Heero's supposed to be my lover, too! I should be allowed to touch him!"

Lyrica tightened her grip on Mr. Guitar as a wave of jealousy washed over her, "Yeah, we have just as much right to touch Heero as you do!"

IF looked between the girls of the party as they had their little exchange, "This conversation sounds so wrong in so many ways. Let's just take down the boss and get out of here."

The 'Minotaur' finally got back up after having been knocked to the ground by Neptune, and did it look furious. The large creature rushed at Neptune with the intent of extracting revenge on the beautiful swordstress, Heero redirected his attention at the creature, "Neptune will need to get in close to eliminate the target. We will provide fire support; you focus on completing the mission."

Neptune readjusted her grip on her sword, "Sounds like a plan." Without wasting another second, the twin-braided teen quickly closed in on the 'Minotaur' as Heero and the rest of the party acted as support.

When the monster tried to bring its axe down on the teenaged girl, three bursts of high-powered thermal energy destroyed the 'Minotaur's' weapon, while several bullets and a view small lightning bolts knocked the creature off balance and left it wide open to an attack. Neptune quickly seized the opportunity and delivered a series of precise strikes across the 'Minotaur's' body with her sword, with the final slash running from the top of its left shoulder to the bottom of its right torso, literally cutting the monster in two.

With the leader of the monsters in the area now dead the rest of the monsters that nested in the area were sure to leave. Neptune inspected the monster for a moment before turning back to the party, "I guess we're done here. That was rather easy considering how important this location is."

Heero nodded in response, "All that is left to do is report the completion of our mission to Jade."

"And then we need to focus on other important matters, right?" Heero definitely preferred this Neptune over her energetic, bubbly self. The Gundam pilot turned to walk away, when he felt a pair of arms encircle his torso. Heero looked over his shoulder to see Neptune right behind him, and her face mere millimeters away from his own. "One of those important matters would be the two of us spending some quality time together… alone."

Compa, IF and Lyrica were crowding around the two teens as Neptune was making plans to run off with Heero, "Nep-Nep! You're not being fair!"

IF folded her arms over her chest as she looked at Neptune, "Who says you get to run off with Heero?"

Lyrica was in just as bad a mood as her two fellow party members, "We should get to spend just as much time with Heero as you do!"

The purple haired teen narrowed her eyes at the girls while simultaneously tightening her hold on Heero, "Well, not only is Heero MY lover, I also thought of the idea. Besides, I know that deep down Heero wants to be alone with me just as much as I want to be alone with him."

Heero felt that he was going to have a migraine, "(I am finding it difficult to resist the urge to shoot myself…) Let us report back to Jade so we can focus on important matters that do not pertain to sexual intercourse."

With their job finished the party began their trip back to Jade's mansion, the four girls constantly trying to get Heero interested in spending 'alone time' with them.

Xxx

After defeating the boss monster the party returned to Jade's mansion to tell the Aristocrat that the trade route was now safe to use. When the party had entered the mansion, Compa, IF and Lyrica went upstairs to the rooms they had been given so that they could rest before heading out again, leaving Heero and Neptune to report the completion of their job.

Even after finishing their job, Neptune had maintained her transformation, though her reason was obvious. When the two teens found Jade, he was looking through some books in the living room, "Sir Turquoise can be demanding at times. How did you girls fare? I bet it was diffic-"

The Aristocrat stopped in mid-sentence when he caught sight of Neptune. "…Who the hell're you?!"

Neptune maintained a somewhat stoic façade as she looked at Jade for his use of language, "Listen to you. I know we just met, but is that any way to talk to a lady?" The beautiful teen then wrapped her arms around Heero with her head resting on his shoulder. "You are either brave or foolish to use that kind of language with me in front of Heero."

The Aristocrat was caught off guard by Neptune's voice. "That voice… N-Neptune? Wait… I need confirmation. Where are the other three?"

Heero and Neptune could understand why the Aristocrat needed her to answer the question; it would tell Jade whether or not she was really Neptune, "They're resting. Anyway, I heard you intend to use that pathway to transport weaponry."

"Hmm. Are you interested in weapons? Sounds like you're still the same excitable Neptune inside. I can't say much… Wait here."

Jade left the room, leaving the two teens alone. Neptune had watched the Aristocrat until he had left before turning her attention to Heero, "What do you make of this? There's something suspicious about their plan of transporting weaponry."

Heero glanced at Neptune for a moment before looking back down the hallway that Jade had disappeared, "You see it as well, I take it? The Basilicom is a major presence on any landmass, with all of that power and influence it goes without saying that they would also extend their power to controlling the trade between landmasses. The fact that the Aristocrats had us go through the trouble of clearing out the abandoned path means that the weaponry they need are from another landmass."

Neptune directed her attention down the hallway as well. "So I guess the question is: who is selling them the weapons?"

Jade reappeared in the hallway and was making his way back to the living room with something in his hands, "I suspect we will have the answer to that question momentarily."

The Aristocrat had looked out the windows and down the other corridors along the hallway before revealing the object in his hands to Heero and Neptune, "This is a weapon manufactured by Avenir, a major company in Lastation. It's far more advanced than Leanbox's weaponry.

Neptune cast her gaze on the weapon in Jade's hand before looking back at the Aristocrat, "…I heard Basilicoms prohibited trade between landmasses, since the standards vary greatly between them."

"Sure. So they say. I have a friend working at this particular company. Avenir doesn't approve of weapons for human use, but my friend helps me make things that are."

Neptune kept her intense and otherwise intimidating gaze focused on Jade, not liking where the conversation was going. "You think this is acceptable? This isn't something that should be overlooked."

"You come across a little more intimidating in that form, huh? Well, I'm not doing this just to waste my time. It's no secret, but if you're going to interfere, I'll have my way. This is only until the Basilicom understands…"

Neptune glared at the Aristocrat in silence, though the intimidating look on her face changed to one of surprise as Heero stepped in front of her, "It should also not be a secret that I take any threat towards Neptune very seriously. If I see that you are going to endanger Neptune's life, I will not hesitate to kill you or anyone else that would seek to harm her."

Jade was momentarily surprised by Heero's threat towards him, but regained his composure. "You really are the intimidating bodyguard that you are said to be. But let's say for the sake of argument that I did endanger her; what could you possibly do? You are but a single man."

Heero gave the Aristocrat a glare so cold that he could feel it in his spine… the feeling of death. "I am capable of far more than you can imagine. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I would not need more than five minutes to reduce this mansion to rubble and kill everyone inside of it that associates with you. Remember that the next time you decide to threaten Neptune."

It took the Aristocrat everything he had to stand his ground against the Gundam pilot, and he still ended up breaking into a cold sweat. With their business concluded, Heero and Neptune left the room to return to the rest of their party.

As they walked down the hall to the stairwell, Heero felt Neptune's gaze on him which prompted him to look back at her, "Is there some reason you are staring at me?"

The twin-braided swordstress gently shook her head, her lips forming into a small smile, "I'm just flattered that you got angry on my behalf. I think I should do something special for you."

"I do not require a reward for carrying out my mission." Neptune latched onto the Perfect Soldier's arm. "Just think on it for a while… You'll come around eventually."

Heero let out a mental sigh, "Seeing as our business here has concluded for the time being, it would be best for us to leave. There are other matters that require our attention."

While they weren't on friendly terms with Jade, the party would no doubt receive more job requests from the Aristocrats. Until they were called, however, the party was free for the time being. Heero wanted to use that time to gather information regarding the Key Fragment and to prepare the party for future jobs.

Xxx

It was the first time the party had decided to travel to the city since the incident where Neptune had been poisoned. The aforementioned preteen was prancing through a field of tall grass with Compa, while Heero, IF and Lyrica walked along the dirt road nearby, "Mmm, the air's so clean here, y'know? Leanbox is crazy peaceful."

Neptune came to an abrupt stop when she looked down. "Wh-Whoa! What the heck?!" Compa looked down at where the bubbly preteen had stopped, "L-Look at the ground! Something's…"

IF had been nearby when she heard the commotion that the two girls were causing, looked down, and saw why they had stopped, "Something's coming out!"

The silhouette of a person with what looked to be a gun or some other kind of projectile weapon in their hand emerged from the ground, "Gwaaaaah!"

Neptune looked somewhat freaked out by the sudden appearance of the humanoid, "Yikes!" The preteen felt an arm around her waist and a feeling of weightlessness. Neptune looked behind her to see Heero, who had his attention on the strange being, "Aww, my lover is uber worried about me! He's risking his life to save me from the baddy!"

Heero cast a questioning look at Neptune, "There was no risk involved, so I fail to see how I was risking my life." IF had her arms folded over her chest as she looked at the creature, "…And you are?"

"I am one of the Cicada Horde! I will not let you pass!"

Compa just looked at the 'Cicada' as the creature called itself, "C-Cicada Horde? I've never met one before! Nice to meet you, Mr. Cicada. But, how do you breathe underground…?"

"Oxygen still flows freely in the subterranean caverns, so that's not an issue… Anyway!"

IF looked at the 'Cicada', then at the hole it had come out of before looking back at the creature, "Cicada Horde, hm? The hole you came out of seems pretty shallow."

Neptune looked down at the hole in the ground as well, "Whoa, that's right. It's like a little trap or whatever." The purple haired preteen looked back up at the 'Cicada'. "You really a Cicada Horde guy or just a goofball?"

Even Heero had to question this strange individual. The Gundam pilot knew that a Cicada was a type of insect, and this person did not in any way resemble any kind of insect, which lead the Perfect Soldier to question whether this person was the real deal or they were just someone with issues, "O-Of course I am! I am… I am…"

A loud feminine voice was heard from behind the 'Cicada' which garnered the party's attention, "Hey, get back here! Are you playing 'Cogs of Battle' again?! It's dinner time, so get your lazy butt home!"

The 'Cicada' looked back at the individual behind him, "The Cicada don't need to eat! Hsssss!"

Considering where it was the conversation between the 'Cicada' and the woman was going, Heero came to the conclusion that the 'Cicada' was nothing more than a kid in a costume. "Don't be a dolt. I apologize for the trouble, girls. You and your friend." The mother looked down at the young boy in the costume. "Come on. Walk."

Neptune just stood and watched as the young boy was dragged away, "…Huh?" Compa just tilted her head to the side, "Playing 'Cogs of Battle,' huh? Kids are silly."

Heero began to walk in the direction of the city, "Now that this matter has been dealt with we should focus our attention on getting back to the city."

The girls were in complete agreement with the lone male of the party, and returned to traveling the path to the city. Upon entering the capital city, the first place the party went to was there safe house. Heero wanted to make sure that the Archbishop had not gone through it and taken anything they had procured over the course of their journey, and perhaps more importantly; he wanted to make sure there were no traps.

After looking over the house, Heero found no traps and that all of the items they had left before the incident were still there. No new information in regards had come up in regards to the Key Fragment either, much to Heero's disappointment.

With nothing else to do, the party took care of buying additional medical supplies and food before leaving the city to return to the Aristocrat's mansion.

Xxx

When they returned to the mansion, Jade was in the living room with a letter in his hand. The Aristocrat held the envelope out to Neptune, "This is for you. From the Basilicom."

Neptune took the letter from Jade and looked at it with eyes full of curiosity, "A letter? Hmm, didn't I get one like this before?" The preteen's eyes lit up with excitement. "Whoa! Maybe it's an invitation to another awesome party!"

"I'm not certain about the party, but it seems they want to apologize for the whole poison scandal. They want you to go and speak with their goddess directly."

Neptune looked at the letter once more before looking back at the Aristocrat, "Hey, how d'you know what it says? You shouldn't read someone else's mail! It's a capital offense, with a capital 'O!'"

Heero looked at the preteen for a moment before returning his gaze out the window he had been looking through, "While you are right in that regard, I doubt that is the case here."

Jade gave a slight nod, "As mentioned earlier, we oppose the Basilicom. We can't let any trivial matters slide."

Compa had been reading the letter over Neptune's shoulder during the conversation, "Apology… I see. I'm sure the goddess didn't do anything. We should talk to her to make sure!"

The Aristocrat looked at the party in disbelief, "Are you joking? They tried to kill one of you, and you're willing to return? You shouldn't take them so lightly!"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, IF had to agree with Jade, "That's right. They've proven they're not afraid to break the rules. What if they go even further this time?!"

Compa had a very determined look on her face as she addressed the Guild Moderatist, "…I'll make sure Nep-Nep doesn't shove any foreign objects into her mouth! Plus, I'm sure they wouldn't do anything so vile in front of their goddess."

Lyrica looked between Compa and IF before voicing her mind, "But how do we know they won't try anything in front of the goddess?"

Heero did not want to take any risks, especially when Neptune's life was at risk, "All we can do is go and observe what happens. If need be we will fight, though I suspect little more than talking will be required."

Neptune jumped onto Heero's back, wrapping her arms and legs around him as she did, "Besides, we've got Heero! As long as my Destined Lover is around, there's no way the baddies can hurt me!"

"…We are not lovers." With their next course of action decided, the party left the mansion to go to the Basilicom for their appointed audience with Leanbox's CPU.

Xxx

Once again, the party found themselves in the Basilicom to see the CPU, though last time Lady Green Heart did not show at all.

There was another party being held from what the party could see, and Neptune's eyes roamed all over the room, "Ooh, a glamorous party! I can tell Leanbox has a lot of money backing it up."

Compa wasn't concentrating on the party, rather she was trying to find the host, "That aside, where's the goddess? I really want to meet her…"

Heero and IF were actively scanning the large room for any sign of the Archbishop or anyone else that might pose a threat to the party. IF took the time to direct her attention towards Neptune and Compa, "I hope they won't pull any crap like before. Should we prepare an escape route in case of an emergency?"

The Gundam pilot behind IF nodded his head in agreement, "That would be a wise course of action. We should also have a contingency plan in place, if for no other reason than to have as a safety net."

Lyrica was getting nervous with all of the people around, so she clung to Heero as a means to not get lost, "Th-There are so many people here… This is just like what IF did to me on Lastation…"

Heero took a moment to look at the musician that was clinging to him as though her life depended on it, "If you are so nervous, perhaps it would be best for you to wait outside where there are fewer people." The bluenette shook her head, "W-We're a party, s-so I need to go where everywhere else goes."

While Heero and IF were talking about their safety measures, Neptune continued to scan the party room until she caught sight of one particular person, "Hey, look! Is that her? She's gotta be a goddess. I can so tell!"

The party turned their attention to the person that Neptune was looking at, who was none other than Leanbox's CPU Lady Green Heart. The beautiful blonde made her way over to the group, no doubt to take care of important matters before going about her other business, "Nice to meet you. I'm the CPU of Leanbox, Green Heart. Thank you for taking the time to visit us today."

Green Heart directed her attention at Neptune. "I apologize for the wrongdoings, Neptune. I can't believe our Basilicom would do that. It's my fault for being too lazy. Seems like someone told the Archbishop about the Console War…"

Neptune looked thoroughly confused at the term, "C-Console War…? What's that? Umm, well, it's nice to meet you, Lady Green Heart!"

Heero watched Lady Green Heart's face to see her reaction, and while she didn't show too much the Gundam pilot could see some confusion in her eyes, "Are you putting on a show for me?" The CPU of Leanbox had to look up to see the rest of the party, since Neptune was slightly shorter than her. "Ah, your friends are here, too. Know this… I don't intend to involve humans in our quarrel, either."

IF was just as confused as Neptune was, but decided it would be in the party's best interest to steer the conversation towards a more pressing topic, "Um… Lady Green Heart? We're looking for a specific item called a Key Fragment."

Green Heart turned her attention towards IF, and was momentarily surprised to see the brunette, "Oh? Oh, my… Iffy? You're here, too? What did I tell you about being so formal around me? Are you traveling with Neptune? I must admit, I am a little envious."

Compa was feeling sympathetic toward Green Heart, "That's right, you're a goddess. I bet you don't have time to travel around, even if you wanted to."

The goddess gently shook her head, "That's not really it. What's this about a Key Fragment?"

Neptune pumped her arms as she addressed the goddess, "We're hunting high and low for one. It's guarded by a tough beastie, so we wanted to know if you had any ideas about that."

"Um, I'm rather sheltered, so I don't know much about the world. However, the Evangelist may know something." The blonde haired CPU turned to someone behind her. "Will you come over here and speak with them?"

The Evangelist that entered into the conversation was one they had met more than once before… as well as an Evangelist that was not really doing her job, "…I'm the Evangelist, Conversation. We met once before…"

Neptune looked at Conversation, and despite the fact that the party knew she wasn't actually doing her job, she took the same overly friendly attitude with the Evangelist, "We did, we did! When we first got here. I thought your voice sounded familiar."

Compa shifted her own attention to Conversation, "So, Miss Conves…" The Nurse in training was having some difficulty in pronouncing the Evangelist's name, much like when she tried to say Neptune's name for the first time. "Um, Miss Convy, we're looking for clues about a Key Fragment. Do you know of any strong monsters nearby?"

"As I said last time, I've never heard of such a thing. But, I did pass by a really strange dungeon earlier."

Neptune, being Neptune, began to blurt out random ideas that came to her mind about how the dungeon was 'strange,' "Strange? Like how? Did it smell? Were there weird colors? Glowy symbols? Was it locked?"

"I can't think of the word to describe it, but it was just a little… off. I'll show you the way, if you'd like."

The Evangelist began to make her way towards the front of the Basilicom, Neptune was about to follow after her when she felt someone grab her by the arm. The preteen looked back to see Heero with has arm outstretched to grab her. The Gundam pilot pulled the preteen closer so that he could whisper to her without worrying about anyone hearing them, "(Neptune, it is imperative that you remember the reason why we cannot trust that Evangelist.)"

Neptune flailed her arms as she looked at Heero, "But Heero! We finally got somebody to tell us about a dungeon where there's a Key Fragment! We just gotta go!"

Lady Green Heart was still standing where she had been when she heard Neptune say Heero's name. The CPU looked at the teenaged boy in front of Neptune, "So YOU'RE Heero."

Heero turned around to face the CPU of Leanbox, as did the rest of the party, "…How is it that you know my name?"

"Because Iffy told me about you." Heero cast a glance at the aforementioned brunette, who began to scratch the back of her head, "Sorry… it kind of just slipped out."

The Gundam pilot returned his attention to the CPU as she continued, "Yes, she's told me a little about you, and that you risked your own life to safe her." The blonde haired goddess leaned towards the Perfect Soldier as she tried to read his expression. "…It's so hard to tell what you're thinking. It makes you… mysterious."

Heero just stood and watched the goddess as she examined him, "I would rather no one know what I am thinking. Maintaining secrecy is an important part of my job."

Lady Green Heart continued to watch Heero's face, but he maintained his emotionless façade… he was just unreadable. The goddess clapped her hands together as her lips curved into a smile, "Well, that just makes you all the more interesting."

IF flinched for a moment before regaining her composure, "(C-Calm down IF… It's not like Lady Green Heart is 'Into' Heero or anything, she just said he's interesting.)"

Lady Green Heart turned to walk away from the party. "If you will excuse me, I have to attend to the other guests. I have much to do and little time to do it in." The CPU looked over her shoulder at Heero, "And Heero… I have heard much about your talent in regards to monster hunting, so I may need to request your services myself. Just so you know."

"…Very well." With that, Lady Green Heart returned to entertaining her guests, while the party made to leave the party for the dungeon that the Evangelist was going to take them to. As they made their way out of the party room, Neptune's cheeks began to swell and turn red, "I betcha she was eyeing up Heero. She totally wants to steal my Destined Lover from me!"

Lyrica, who had been quiet for the most part, finally made her presence known again, "Heero's not just your lover, Neptune. But are you sure that Lady Green Heart was looking at Heero with the intention your thinking of?"

IF was in agreement with the musician… mostly because she did not want to believe that one of the goddesses of Gamindustri could actually fall for Heero, "Lyrica's right. Lady Green Heart was just sizing him up. And look, Heero might be getting job requests from Lady Green Heart herself! No one ever gets a quest directly from a goddess."

Compa joined in on IF and Lyrica's side, "I don't think that every girl we run into is interest in Heero, Nep-Nep. We shouldn't jump to conclusion."

Neptune had her hands on her hips as she let out a huff, "I still don't buy it."

Heero wasn't thinking so much about the interaction he had with Lady Green Heart, rather he was thinking about the person that was going to be leading them to the dungeon. The Gundam pilot already did not trust the Evangelist since she was not doing her job, but she also had information that normal humans shouldn't have, "(I do not know what to expect once we arrive at the mission area. All I can do remain vigilant, and make sure to observe the location carefully.)"

Xxx

The party arrived at the dungeon that Conversation agreed to show them to, which was a cave. Naturally, other than the layout it looked identical to every other cave-like dungeon the party had come across.

As the party entered the dungeon, the Evangelist stood at the entrance, "This is the dungeon I mentioned. Please be careful, since the monsters do seem rather vicious."

Neptune was not the least bit shaken by the Evangelists warning, "We'll be fine. We ain't scared of no monsters! Just watch, I'll transform, roll out, and blast 'em all into cubes of ener-"

Before the preteen could finish Compa came up behind her and slapped her hand over Neptune's mouth, "Shh! But that's right, Nep-Nep is…" The pink haired nurse had to think for a moment since she didn't know how exactly to describe the difference between Neptune and regular humans. "I don't know, but she's a little special when compared to normal people."

IF had been checking her cell phone while the two girls had been conversing with Conversation, "Well, we're not heroes or anything. But we aren't amateurs, either."

"Great. I'd love to see this transformation, but I'm not a fighter so I'll excuse myself here."

Neptune's arms fell at her sides when she heard the Evangelist say that she was leaving, "Aww, you're not gonna fight with us? Evangelists sound like hardcore magic caster summoning types."

"Unfortunately… Maybe I'll be able to show off the next time we meet." As she turned to walk away, Conversation spoke to herself in a whisper so that the party would not be able to hear her. "However, that might not even happen…"

A loud rumbling noise echoed throughout the cave, and the party had to hang onto whatever they could to keep from falling over.

Neptune was hanging onto Compa for dear life, "Whoa! What now?! Earthquake? The entrance is going bye-bye!" Compa let out a fearful cry as the earthquake continued, "Eyaaaah!"

IF fell over as she tried to maintain her footing, "Kyaaaah!" Lyrica was not doing much better than the other girls in the party as she held onto Mr. Guitar, "Aaaaah!"

Heero looked back at the entrance which was slowly collapsing, and Conversation was already gone, "Dammit!"

After a minute or two the earthquake subsided, and the party rushed over to the entrance to examine it. IF was looking over the ruble before shaking her head at the mess, "…No good. It's shut tight."

Compa was starting to panic from the party's predicament, "What do we do? Are we buried alive? Conserve oxygen! Are we dead? Is this Purgatory?!"

Neptune watched as the nurse in training as she panicked at the thought of being dead, "Eww, none of that sounds like fun. Can't we just explore and find another way out?"

Heero nodded his head in agreement, "That would be the best course of action. Still, we will need to use caution while searching the area, since we have no idea what is in here."

Lyrica picked herself up off the ground, finding comfort in the fact that Heero was going to look for a way out for the party, "I'm sure we'll be fine since Heero can find his way out of any dungeon."

IF look back at Neptune as she followed after Heero, who was already advancing through the cave, "Your optimism is reassuring in situations like this. Let's go before Compa starts to cry."

Compa looked at the brunette with a pouty face, "I… I won't cry!"

Neptune turned her attention to Heero, who not only had Lyrica with him, but was already walking down one of the paths near where the party was, "H-Hey, wait for us!"

Neptune, Compa and IF quickly caught up to Heero and Lyrica and continued to look for the exit to the dungeon. It helped that Heero was able to determine which direction the party needed to go along the first two splits in the path, since cave walls could be seen at the end of the dead-ends when they came up.

As the party approached a third forked path, they came upon the first sign of monster life since arriving in the dungeon. The monsters that came into view of the party were 'Devil's Pupil,' which looked just like the Imps the party had encountered on Planeptune with the only noticeable physical difference being a different colored hide.

The creatures were small and did not seem like much of a threat given their size, but they were still monsters and needed to be treated as such, "It would be best to finish this quickly, so that we may continue with our search for an exit. IF, I leave this matter to you."

IF's cheeks turned a light shade of pink before she stepped out in front of the party, "O-Of course! I can deal with these monsters much faster then the others, so I'm the only natural choice. W-With the exception of course being you, Heero."

Neptune, Compa and Lyrica shot resentful looks at the Guild Moderatist as she approached the monsters that were unaware of her presence, "Iffy's actin' all cool in front of Heero and sayin' that we're bad… what a jerk."

IF slowly began to quicken her pace as she approached the two 'Devil's Pupil', not only so that the party could get back to searching for an exit, but so that she would look good in front of Heero, "…There!"

Just before the two monsters saw IF, the brunette had already slid her Katars out from the sleeves of her jacket, and with a few concise swipes IF had slain the creatures. The brunette slid her Katars back into her jacket sleeves as the monsters fell dead.

The rest of the party caught up to IF and Heero looked down at her work, "…I expected nothing less, given your fighting level."

IF's cheeks turned a soft pink from Heero's praise, "I-It's nothing. It's not praise worthy. But… since it's coming from you Heero, I'll accept it."

The party returned to their search once the monsters had been dealt with. Considering that there were supposed to be 'vicious monsters' in the cave, there wasn't much life to be found. Even they traveled down the last split path and found the exit, there weren't any monsters waiting for them. The party came to a stop to take a short break from their trek through the cave, and IF looked at the party, "It's great how we were nearly buried alive and didn't even get a Key Fragment."

Neptune looked at the brunette with a quizzical look on her face, "D'you think we were tricked? The cave collapsed pretty randomly… Convy was acting all funny, too."

IF shook her head as she looked at the Preteen. "It's your favorite thing. Fight evil and bring them to justice! Let's beat the crap out of the people of the Basilicom."

Heero could tell that IF was seething, and for good reason; this was the second time that the party had been betrayed by the Basilicom, "Oh, you've grown so violent, Iffy."

The party turned in the direction of the voice that suddenly entered into the conversation. Standing a short distance from the party was a woman that looked to be in her teen years with a rather curvy figure, long, straight sea foam-teal hair worn in a ponytail, her eyes were a light purple, and much like Neptune's when she transformed, the irises of her eyes looked like power button symbols. The outfit she was wearing was… rather revealing to say the least; it was a white bikini styled suit with green and greyish-black segments along it, though the top of her outfit did not cover up the underside of her cleavage.

The mystery woman had her attention directed at IF as she spoke, "It's been a while, but I suppose this is the first time you've encountered me in this form."

Neptune looked between IF and the stranger who had suddenly appeared before the party, "Who's this underboob lady? Your friend?"

IF folded her arms over her chest as she gave the preteen a questioning look, "Where'd you get that idea? She looks like you after you transform, kinda. She's gotta be someone you know!"

"Aww... I was hoping Iffy would be able to discern my identity." Judging by the tone of her voice, it seemed as though the mystery woman was slightly disappointed that IF was unable to tell who she was... whoever she was, which made Heero question whether it was someone they had recently met, "(She seems to be on somewhat friendly terms with IF, despite the fact that IF claims to not know who she is. She is also calling her by that odd nickname that Neptune and Compa gave her.)"

"Anyway, Conversation told me the poisoning incident was all your own act! Was your goal to bring down the Basilicom by spreading rumors about being poisoned by them?"

Neptune gave the mystery woman and incredulous look as she flailed her arms, "Wh-What're you talking about? Why would we do that? I almost died, y'know!"

Heero could see a hint of uncertainty in the woman's eyes as she addressed Neptune, "I wish I could trust you, but... You're staying with the Aristocrats, right? It's only natural to befriend them and win the civilians' votes through such underhanded methods!"

Compa shook her at the accusation, "Y-You're mistaken! They did help us out, but we would never lie about getting poisoned!" Neptune threw her arms down at her sides, "We're only helping them cuz they helped us. The Basilicom started all the bullying, anyway!"

The mystery woman kept her strong gaze on Neptune, "...The Basilicom did not err. The Archbishop and the Evangelist both work very hard for me. This beautiful, peaceful Leanbox... This is all the proof I need." The woman revealed the weapon she had been holding in her hand, which was a drill lance. "Whether you intend to or not, you're assisting in destroying that peace. I will make you understand...!"

Clearly the woman was prepared for a fight, and it didn't look like the party was going to be able to get out of it. Neptune flailed her arms once again, "What? But we didn't do nothing!"

"Unfortunately, it does not look like we can talk our way out of this situation." Neptune looked back at Heero, who had his attention focused on the mystery woman. "From her standpoint, WE are the 'bad guys' as it were. Because we lack evidence to backup our claim, she has no reason to believe us. And let's say for the sake of argument that the Evangelist was right and that we came up with poison incident, our mere association with the Aristocrats doesn't help our case. If anything, it hurts us."

A nervous bead of sweat ran down the side of Lyrica's face as she listened to the Gundam pilot, "B-But we didn't do it! And we know that it was the Basilicom behind what happened!"

Heero cast a glance at the musician before turning his attention back to the woman before the group, "While we may know what actually occurred, it's our word as the accused against the word of the accuser, and without superficial evidence we have no room to argue... if anything, we just make it seem as though we actually were the ones responsible."

The mystery woman had her gaze focused on Heero as she listened to him conversing with the party, "...You really are like the reports make you out to be. But this brings another question to mind. You are supposed to be Neptune's bodyguard, but you are too sharp... too level headed and smart... not to mention you have a talent for fighting monsters. What I want to know is: why is someone of your caliber lowering themselves to serving as Neptune's bodyguard?"

Before Heero could get a word out, Neptune had stepped in front of the Perfect Soldier, "Heero didn't lower himself, he said that his ultimate quest was to protect me from bad guys and stuff! He's my Destined Lover and he would do anything to protect me."

Silence dominated the air as the mystery woman just stared at the preteen with an incredulous look on her face before finally saying something after a minute of painful silence, "Destined Lover? What exactly is going on between you two...?"

Heero looked at the purple haired girl in front of him with an annoyed look on his face, "We are not lovers."

Compa grabbed onto one of Heero's arms as she made a pouty face at Neptune, "He's not just your lover, Nep-Nep. Heero's my Destined Lover, too!"

IF latched onto Heero's other arm while narrowing her eyes at the nurse in training, "Says who? Last I checked, Heero wasn't nearly as interested in you two as you claim he is. Really, you two are just throwing yourselves at him."

As if it wasn't bad enough that Compa and IF were grabbing onto him, Lyrica wrapped her arms around his torso from behind, "And I think Heero is much more interested in me then he is in all of you!"

Just when Heero thought his situation couldn't get any worse, Neptune had to throw her arms around his neck while looking at the other girls in the party, "Please, Heero thinks about me more than he does about anybody else. Its so obvious that Heero is hot for me and not any of you."

Given his situation, Heero thought it was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't had an aneurism out of sheer stupidity, "In case you all have forgotten, we still have to deal with the enemy before us."

With their priorities now straight, the party readied themselves for battle. The mystery woman took the initiative and lunged at Neptune, who began to run at her with the Mech Sword Armas in hand, "I totally got this!"

While Neptune said that, Heero knew that was far from the case an reacted. Just as Neptune was about to clash with the woman in front of her, she felt someone pull on her which caused her to fall back. The preteen looked up in time to see sparks fly overhead, and Heero was locked in a stalemate with the woman, "Neptune, during battle it is important to take an enemy's weapon into consideration when planning an attack. Her weapon has a much longer reach then your sword, meaning that if you had gone through with your attack you would have been the one to have suffered an injury."

The stalemate was broken as Heero forced the woman back. Readjusting her grip on her weapon, the woman focused her attention on Heero, "You forced me back? You are no ordinary human."

Before she could come up with a plan to fight the Gundam pilot, the lance wielding woman felt the presence of two people approaching from behind, which turned out to be IF and Compa, "Compa, Lyrica, I'm gonna try to get in close, you two back me up."

Compa lifted her syringe and took aim at the green haired woman, and Lyrica strummed the cords of Mr. Guitar which caused small bolts of lightning to lash out towards the stranger.

IF had used the attacks from Compa and Lyrica as a distraction so that she could close the distance between herself and the lance user so that the lances long reach would not be an issue. However, the woman was proving herself to be a far more capable adversary than IF had thought when she used her lance to deflect the brunette's Katars despite being so close, "I had really hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but you leave me no choice Iffy."

With a burst of strength, the mystery woman forced IF back and went on the offensive. The way she was able to thrust at the brunette with her lance so many times in such a short timeframe indicated that she wasn't going to be an easy victory like she originally thought. IF was forced to dodge and parry the powerful blows, which were slowly beginning to take their toll on her, "Damn, I can't keep this up...!"

Just as she was about to launch another attack, the spear wielding woman caught a bright flash of light in the corner of her eye, and dodged a beam of pink thermal energy that had been aimed at her. Heero switched the GN Sword back into sword mode having put distance between IF and the mystery assailant, "We will need to come up with a battle plan if we are to emerge victories."

Neptune tightened her grip on the beam saber in her hands, "Yeah, something good! We gotta send her packin'!"

"Compa and Lyrica will provide fire support, while you and IF circle around behind her. I will keep the target's attention focused on me so that she will not have time to retaliate once you and IF are close enough."

Heero's battle plans were always well thought out and always lead the party to victory, so the girls were not about to question the strategy. Heero rushed at the woman while Neptune and IF circled around to get behind her. Because Compa and Lyrica were attacking her from the sides the mystery woman was forced into evading their attacks and with Heero coming at her from the front, she was too preoccupied to even think about Neptune or IF, "Don't screw this up Iffy!"

"That's my line, just make sure you time it right."

Both Neptune and IF had started to run at the spear-wielders unguarded back and kicked her full force. Heero had planned for them to attack the woman while she was focused on him, what he DIDN'T plan for was for the two girls two immediately rush at her after getting behind her.

Having been kicked from behind the mystery woman fell forward into Heero, and the two tumbled backwards as their weapons fell out of their hands. Neptune, Compa, IF and Lyrica stopped what they were doing and stared at the end result of their attack with slowly building anger.

Heero once again found himself in a rather compromising position... one that like every other compromising position he had been placed in before, had not intended to happen. And judging by the expression on the woman's face, she had not planned for it to happen either.

The Perfect Soldier was on top of the mystery woman with one arm holding him up and his other hand had accidently groped on of the women's breasts. What made the situation so much worst was the fact that the woman had wrapped her legs around Heero's waist, and Heero felt the strange sensation that had plagued him since coming to Gamindustri rush to the forefront of his mind.

Neither of the two were moving, still trying to process what had happened. The silence in the air was broken by a loud *crack*, which drew the mystery assailants attention. Compa was squeezing on a large rock with her left hand, until the rock broke apart. The nurse in training was trembling with anger, "She... She's..."

Neptune picked up where Compa had left off, "She's trying to seduce Heero! She's totally trying to steal him from us! I betcha she's another stalker lady like the other two!"

The green haired woman felt her cheeks begin to heat up from the accusation, "N-Now hold on-"

Before she could get another word out, the woman felt herself being dragged out from under Heero... rather forcefully. The individual who had pulled her up was none other than IF, and she was not in a good mood, "You damn hussy!"

The brunette kicked the woman right in the stomach and launched her in the direction of the other party members. Lyrica began to strum the cords of Mr. Guitar again, only instead of the small bolts of lightning from earlier, they were larger... MUCH larger... the kind of lightning bolts that could destroy entire buildings, "I'll never give you Heero!"

Before she had any time to react the large bolts of lightning fell down upon the green haired woman, kicking up dust in the process. The dust and debris had not been given much time to settle before Compa started firing at where the mystery woman was, "You can't have Heero! He belongs to us! We'll never let you take him!"

Considering how much damage the enraged girls were causing, Heero wasn't sure if the cave could take much more... and yet the girls continued their rage fueled onslaught against the supposed 'Heero stealer'. The mystery woman had emerged from the thick cloud of dust and smoke and collapsed onto her knees, "...How did they become so powerful?"

The sight of white and purple shoes pulled the woman out of her train of though. She looked up to see Neptune standing over her with and angry expression on her cute face, "Heero's MY lover! Get you own!"

Neptune deliver a powerful kick to the spear-wielder, which sent her straight into one of the cave walls and leaving an indenture upon it. The mystery woman fell to the ground, then picked herself back up, pulling on her top and revealing slightly more of her cleavage, "Whew, I'm getting hot. My abilities must have deteriorated from gaming too long. I'll come back again later." The green haired stranger looked over her shoulder as she turned to run. "Everyone, until then."

Having said her piece, the mystery woman took off and left the party behind. Compa watched as she made her escape, "She's gone... What a strange person. We forgot to ask her name."

Heero narrowed his eyes as the woman vanished from sight, "(I need answers... I can't let her get away.)"

With an HDD disk in hand, Heero transformed into his Wing Gundam transformation and gave chase to the retreating woman. Neptune watched as the Gundam pilot took off before turning back to the party, "You guys! That chick totally seduced Heero!"

Compa had a fearful look on her face as her brain tried to process what the preteen had said, "Wh-What...?"

Neither IF or Lyrica the idea of Heero being seduced by the woman, "T-They're is no way Heero could have been seduced by her, right?! I mean this is Heero we're talking about!"

Lyrica watched as Heero followed after the party's assailant, "B-But he following her... and he's going pretty fast."

Neptune turned back around, "We gotta get Heero back, c'mon!"

The group of girls gave chase to the Gundam pilot, thinking that he had been seduced by their attacker.

Xxx

Outside of the cave, the mystery woman had stopped to catch her breath since the battle had left her quite winded. Before she had a chance to relax, a shadow passed overhead which drew the women's attention. The shadow belonged to the Wing Gundam, which descended to the ground in front of the green haired woman.

Obviously, the woman had not expected to run into anything once she made it outside as was evident on her face, "Relax, I have no intention of fighting you. I only need you to answer a few questions, and I'll let you go."

The woman was slightly surprised as she heard the robot in front of her talk, "That voice..."

After a bright flash of light, the Gundam was gone and Heero was standing in its place, "I am correct in assuming that you are Lady Green Heart, correct?"

Based on the look on her face, Heero had guessed that he was right. Green Heart's lips curved into a small smile as she looked at the Gundam pilot "I thought Iffy would have figured out my identity, but I didn't expect you to... what gave away my identity?"

"You're unusually friendly demeanor and the fact that you call her by that strange nickname that Neptune and Compa gave her hinted at your identity. Now, why did you attack us? Was it really to confirm whether or not we were responsible for the poisoning incident?"

Green Heart gave a gentle nod in response, "I cannot allow the peace of Leanbox to be disrupted. The tensions between the Basilicom and the Aristocrats are already near a breaking point and your association with them could very well tip the already delicate balance between the two."

Heero knew that neither the Basilicom or the Aristocrats saw eye-to-eye, and as Lady Green Heart said the tensions between the to were already at a critical point, as if fighting could break out between them at the drop of a hat, "I only have one more question before I let you go. You said that the Evangelist told you about the events that occurred and that we are responsible. For what reason do you put so much trust in an individual such as her? You said that you were sheltered so you have rather limited knowledge of the world, anyone could easily manipulate you by telling you only what they want you to hear while changing up the details of what actually transpired."

Green Heart had to stop and think about that one. Heero did make a valid point, she didn't know everything that happened on her landmass, and anyone could easily tell her only what they wanted her to know or what they wanted her to think, "While that may be true, I have not been given any evidence to question what the Evangelist has told me. Until then, I have no reason to judge her."

The Perfect Soldier did not want to admit it, but without any evidence to disprove the Evangelist he saw no way of getting the CPU to see the truth. Heero look past Green Heart towards the dungeon and could hear the rest of the party approaching, "...It would be in your best interest to leave immediately. Neptune and the others will no doubt jump to conclusions if they see you still here."

Taking a moment to look over her shoulder, the CPU could also hear the girls approaching and then turned back to face Heero, "If you don't mind, I would rather you not tell them who I really am. If they were to find out..."

"It may be safer for Neptune if she didn't know. Also, I have to think of IF and Compa... Lyrica as well. I will not reveal your identity to them. Now, you shou-"

Heero did not get a chance to finish talking when he suddenly found himself being pulled towards Lady Green Heart and found his face in-between her breast, "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me."

The Gundam pilot could not figure out how it was that he found himself in close physical contact with women on a regular basis, and what's worst was that he had no way of avoiding it. Lady Green Heart let go of Heero, then took off past him so that the group of girls would not catch her.

Neptune, Compa, IF and Lyrica emerged from the cave exit and spotted Heero standing ahead of them. Neptune immediately ran up and glomped the Perfect Soldier, "Are you okay, Heero? She seduced you, didn't she?! Don't worry! I'll fix it! I'll make sure that you love me again!"

The preteen stood on the tips of her toes as she tried to kiss the Gundam pilot. Heero brought his hand up to cover Neptune's mouth, "There is no need for this. She did not seduce me, I merely followed her so that I could question her. Unfortunately, she escaped before I could get anything out of her."

Compa walked up to Heero, just to make sure he was fine, "So... you're alright then? You haven't fallen for her?"

"...I just said that she did not seduce me."

IF let out a sigh of relief, "Well anyway, we should probably get back to the Safe House. I've had enough surprises for one day."

Lyrica looked down at the guitar in her hands, "I also need to put new strings on Mr. Guitar."

The party decided that it would be best to end their search for the Key Fragment for the day and use the rest of their time to rest and prepare themselves for the following day. Heero was concerned about the potential conflict between the Basilicom and Aristocrats and the Evangelist who seemed to be feeding Lady Green Heart lies, "(...The only way we will be able to prove that she has been lying is to catch her in the act. But that is easier said than done.)"

Neptune began to pull on Heero's arm, "C'mon Heero, if we get back fast enough, we'll probably have time to have an M rated scene."

"...No." The group began to head back to the city, with Neptune constantly trying to get Heero interested in an M rated scene, while the other girls in the party began to argue on the topic as well... and Heero felt that he was going to have a migraine from the days events. "...This has been one hell of a day."

Xxx

Me: "And another chapter done, although it was a long time coming. I feel like I'm getting my creativity back."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC) "Great! So get to work Author man, so that Heero and I can have a hot M rated scene!"

Heero: "I have no wish to be involved in sexual intercourse of any kind. We've had this conversation more than a number of times."

Compa, IF and Lyrica: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "We want an M rated scene with Heero, too!"

IF: "Well, I think the readers would rather see me and Heero have an M rated scene then see him have one with any of you."

Lyrica: (Makes a pouty face at IF) "You don't know that! For all you know, they might want to see ME have an M rated scene with Heero!"

Neptune: "Pfff! Yeah right. Everyone wants to see an M rated scene between the hero and the heroine of the story."

Green Heart: (Enters ACCC from Lounge) "All of this aside, I will be having more appearances in subsequent chapters, right?"

Me: "Of course. I mean, the others have already had a number of appearances, so it's only fair. Now, I'll leave you to wrap up this chapter for us."

Green Heart: "Alright. It's only natural that I be the one to finish our chapter for the readers"

Neptune: (Grumbling to herself) "It should totally be me an Heero that wrap up this chapter... we're the most important part of the story!"

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

Green Heart: "Please read and review this chapter. Our Author has final found his creativity again and should be able to produce updates much sooner, and look forward to seeing me in the next update." (Leaves ACCC)