Me: "Hello, hello readers one and all! So, we're on Chapter 24 now. Oh, I'm getting excited about this…"
Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC from Break Room) "Why's the Author gettin' all excited?"
Heero: "Perhaps it is because he is devoting more time to writing the story and has found his 'spark' again."
Me: "Yes I have! I feel good man… I feel better than good, I feel great!"
Compa and IF: (Enter IC from Lounge) "Do you here that, Iffy? Mr. Author feels good about writing again!"
IF: "Yeah, that's real nice and all, just make sure you put all that energy into writing the story."
5pb: (Enters IC from Left Entrance) "*Pant**Wheeze* S-Sorry I'm late… the floor entrance is broken…"
Me: "Don't worry about it, we'll get that fixed. Now, since everyone is here…" (Points at cast) "行こう!上から!" (Let's go! From the top! Pronounced: Ikou! Ue kara!)"
Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF and 5pb: "Heero Uzuki does not own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or any work pertaining to any of these franchises. However, he does own the idea of crossing over Gundam Wing and Hyperdimension Neptunia."
Me: "I feel so good right now, I don't even care that I don't own any of these franchises! Let's go, so that our readers can enjoy yet another chapter of our story!"
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, and Lyrica: (Leave IC)
Ch. 23 End of a Conspiracy
Having learned of Jade's deception and his plan to raid the Aristocrat's mansion, the group parted ways with Lady Green Heart to go meet with the leader of the Aristocrats and warn him of the impending raid. At least… that's what they had PLANNED to do. Neptune did what she did best, which was think with her stomach. Shortly after arriving at Jade's mansion the purple haired girl started asking for something to eat, and since Sir Turquoise was the only person present, the Aristocrat took it upon himself to cook for Neptune.
Neptune was seated in the dining room with a plate of food in front of her. The preteen was scarfing down the before her, taking the time to chew her food and compliment the Aristocrat's cooking, "Your cooking skill is so totally yum! I betcha you could open a restaurant."
"Oh? I'm not sure your sense of taste is trustworthy. I bet everything tastes good if it goes into such a cute little mouth."
Neptune wiped her mouth with the table cloth, "Oh, don't underestimate this cute little mouth. I've tasted lots of food from all sorts of places, y'know!"
Sir Turquoise let out a hearty laugh. "Then I shall take your word! Hahaha!"
Heero, Compa, IF and Lyrica entered the room, with IF giving Neptune and Sir Turquoise a scrutinizing look, "…What are you doing cooking food?! We've got more pressing matters to worry about!"
Compa nodded her head, "Yes, this is Jade's house. You'll be in a lot of trouble if you stay."
Sir Turquoise waved off the nurse in training, "Whatever! He did say not to come, but this is my real son and his wife's house, after all. No problem!"
Neptune seemed to have remembered that Jade was not biologically related to the Aristocrat leader, "Jade's adopted, right? Where'd ya find him?"
"He was a wandering orphan, and he was found lost in front of this house right after the Parliament's revolt. My son and his wife had no child, so they took him in, even though he was one of them angsty sorts. Then my son died… so now Jade is my son. He never acted much like a child, though this one time…"
IF shook her head, "No. If it's about Jade, that's not really what we want to talk about!"
Compa gave IF a quizzical look, "Why're you in such a rush, Iffy-poo?" The pink haired nurse then turned her attention to Sir Turquoise. "Oh, by the way, Jade's a big fat, lying traitor."
The brunette next to Compa folded her arms over her chest and gave the nurse a questioning look, "Could you be any more blunt?! Can't we advance a narrative like normal characters for once?!"
Judging by the tone of his voice, Sir Turquoise did not seem to believe the girls, "…What are you talkin' about? Jade, a traitor? You had better be joking, or…"
"Please remain calm. Jade belongs to the Guild. He has imported weaponry through them, too."
Turquoise was silent as he listened to Compa. "This house is the target of a planned raid, so the Aristocrats will be tricked into attacking the Basilicom!"
"…Sounds like a serious scheme, but one thing doesn't make sense. Why would Jade do such a thing?"
Compa scratched her cheeks, as she did not have an answer to Sir Turquoise's question, "W-Well, that's true." The nurse in training looked over at Neptune. "Nep-Nep, why do you think Jade is doing this?"
Neptune was still stuffing her face with the food that was on the table. IF rolled her eyes at the party's leader, "Like she'd know. Only Extremists would try this. Their goal is to take over the Basilicom. Isn't that reason enough?"
"…So, because he's a member of the Guild, he will sacrifice the home he grew up in? He couldn't possibly! Plus, this place is far from town. It can't be raided so easily."
IF had already taken the mansions remoteness into consideration, "Then, he would need help from other Aristocrats to do that, right…?"
"What're you sayin'? You're a cunning little thing. However, I know that won't happen."
Heero was leaning on the wall near the entrance to the room with Lyrica standing next to him. The Perfect Soldier watched as the conversation went on, "(He does not want to entertain the possibility that Jade will betray him. He's is in for a shock when he finds out.)"
Footsteps echoed through the hallway and were coming closer to the room the group was in. The door opened and Jade entered the room, ""I thought I saw the lights on. What're you all doing here? And you, I told you not to come here today!"
Sir Turquoise turned his attention to Jade, "Speak of the devil. We're just borrowing your kitchen. Say, why don't you sexy mascots and your companion ask him if you're concerned?"
"I have no idea what you're babbling about, but we need to get out of here! The Basilicom is raiding!"
Jade fled the room as quickly as he had entered. Lyrica went over to one of the windows to see what was going on outside, "Umm… Heero?"
Heero looked over at Lyrica to see erratic wavelength in her eyes. The Gundam pilot walked over to the window and looked out to see people carrying torches and were lobbing them into the house wherever they could. Heero narrowed his eyes as he watched the conspirators attempt to torch the mansion, "This doesn't look good… there are more if them than I thought there would be."
"(Unfortunately, you will find that you have more to worry about than the conspirators trying to burn down the building.)" Heero was listened to Zero as she went on to explain how the problem at hand was worse than it seemed. "Before the Aristocrats began to start the fires around the building, the left the doors leading into the mansion open. With no perimeter defenses and with no guards around, the monsters in the area have started to move into the building."
"…Our exfiltration of the structure is going to be difficult."
Compa, IF and Lyrica made their way out of the dining room along with Sir Turquoise, while Neptune was frantically looking around the now mostly empty room, "Wh-What? Do we gotta go now? But I'm not finished eating yet!"
Heero walked over to where Neptune was seated and picked the preteen up out of her seat knowing that she would not get up until she was finished eating the food before her, "You can eat later when we are not in danger. For now, we need to focus on getting out of here."
Neptune still had a fork in her hand when Heero started carrying her. The preteen tossed the fork away and threw her arms around Heero's neck, "Do you wanna carry me THAT badly, Heero? Okay, I'll play along with the whole 'we're in danger' bit."
The Gundam pilot mentally sighed as he carried the party's leader out of the dining room. By the time they were out in the hallway; Compa, IF, Lyrica and Sir Turquoise had begun to descend the stairs leading to the first floor. Heero jumped up onto the guardrail next to the stairs and just as quickly jumped off of it, landing on the ground of the first floor.
After landing on the first floor Heero set Neptune down, who looked up towards the stairs to see the others had only made it halfway down, "Why're you guys movin' so slow? Heero and I got here way before you did."
IF rolled her eyes as she and the rest of the group finished walking down the stairs, "Really? I hadn't noticed." IF's inner chibi, who had been silent for a few days now, made her presence known to the brunette, "The dumbass just keeps moving in on your man! Are you going to stand around and take this?! Let me at her, I'll tear her a new one!"
"(We don't want to do that… yet!)"
With everyone now on the first floor, the party quickly made their way toward the exit of the mansion with Sir Turquoise. Jade was nowhere in sight, so the team assumed that he had already made his escape, "Zero has informed me that the raiders have let monsters into the building. We cannot afford to waste time dealing with every enemy we encounter, only focus on eliminating any enemies that will impede our progress."
The party immediately broke into a run as they began to navigate the mansion in search of an exit. With the fire that was spreading throughout the mansion, the party was experiencing one of those moments where the building felt bigger and longer than it actually was.
Because there was debris falling all over the place, the party had to change direction multiple times and had subsequently lost time. By the time they had found a section of the mansion that was not on fire, most of the building had already begun to collapse. The group was standing in a long corridor and had no idea where they were in the mansion. Compa looked from side to side, trying to figure out where they were, "What do we do now? I think we're lost."
Heero was having difficulty figuring out where the party was since they had moved between multiple sections of mansion in very little time. Before the Gundam pilot could retreat into his mind to figure out where they were, Heero could hear Zero's voice once more, "Follow the corridor until you see the path on the right. Follow it, and I will give you further directions when you arrive at the next corridor."
Neptune had assumed her thinking position, since she too could hear Zero, "Z said that we gotta march through here till we can go right. So we gotta go right… right?"
Since no one knew exactly where they were, the party would take any help they could get that would lead them out of the burning mansion. The team started running once more, focused on finding the exit to the burning building. It did not take long for the party to reach the path on the right leading to the second corridor, however the path was being blocked by two 'Chariots'. The headless monsters looked like the 'Titans' that the party had encountered on Leanbox, only their armor was a darker color as was the cloth hanging from them, and the headless monsters carried pikes instead of swords.
Compa lifted her syringe as she and the rest of the party stared down the monsters blocking the path, "I'm sorry, Mr. Monster, but we don't have time for you right now."
Neptune and IF armed themselves to deal with the first Chariot, while Heero rushed to deal with the second supported by Compa and Lyrica. The headless monsters struck out with their pikes the moment Heero, Neptune and IF were within reach, but the attacks were for naught as the three attackers dodged the attacks (or in Neptune's case, tripped on the carpet on the floor).
IF aimed for the monster's torso, striking five accurate strikes with her Katars before kicking the monster onto its back. Neptune jumped up and brought the Mech Sword Armas down on the damage section of the monsters body, "Outta the way! We gotta get out of here!"
The second Chariot was unable to move as it was subjected to a relentless barrage of bullets and small bolts of lightning from Compa and Lyrica. As the monster was immobilized by the ranged attack, Heero impaled the monster with his GN Sword and pulled the bladed weapon out of the empty suit of armor by dragging the blade through its right torso.
Both animated suits of armor fell to the ground, and once he was sure that they would not move anymore Heero looked over his shoulder at the group, "We cannot afford to waste any more time fighting. We need to focus all of our effort on escaping."
IF ran past Heero into the connecting corridor, "You'll get no arguments here!"
The party took off with Sir Turquoise running after them as fast as he could, "W-Wait for me…!"
As the group ducked into the path on the right, IF caught sight of a treasure chest stashed into the corner of the walls. The brunette ran over and dealt a swift kick to the lock, breaking it in two and allowing the Guild Moderatist to pilfer what was held within the wooden box. IF leaned over and pulled out a set of Katars with large green blades and two smaller blades protruding at an angle from the larger blades, "…I can use these."
Heero grabbed the brunette by the arm as she examined the new weapons in her hands while the rest of the group followed the corridor, "You can examine your new equipment later. We need to leave. Now."
"Uhh, r-right!"
Having decided to just make a run for the exit the group ignored every monster they came across, narrowly evading a few of the attacks aimed at them as they passed. As they neared the end of the winding path, the party found that it branched off into two more paths. Lyrica looked down each path, still trying to catch her breath from all of the running, "Which… which way do we go?"
"Follow the path on the left. It will take you straight to the exit."
Heero directed his gaze down the left path, as per Zero's instructions, "Zero has told me that the exit is at the end of this path. We need to hurry, this structure will not be able to endure much more damage."
Without wasting another second, the party started running once more, the sounds of wood fixtures breaking and glass shattering behind them. It did not take long for the party to find the exit to the mansion, and fortunately enough there were no monsters to stop the party. Jade was standing in front of the door trying to get it open, but was not having any success. Heero pushed the traitorous Aristocrat aside, threw the door open and allowed the girls to exit the mansion first before stepping out of the burning building himself, and both Sir Turquoise and Jade made it out after them.
After making it outside the party put some distance between themselves and the burning mansion, putting them in a nearby forest. Neptune looked back at the mansion for one moment before looking at Sir Turquoise, "Toldja so. Believe us now, pops?"
"Are you sure? Are… are you? But… I can think of no other reason to be attacked."
"What are you two discussing?"
The Aristocrat's leader looked at his foster son. "Your association with the Guild."
Neptune marched up to Jade with her hands on her hips, "The jig's up! We heard ya! You and that Evangelist are using the Aristocrats to raid the Basilicom!"
Jade was surprised to hear that the group knew of his plan, "You were there? Damn. Then… there's no reason for me to continue lying."
"Why? Why did you lie to us all? Are you truly using us to bring down the Basilicom?" Sir Turquoise sounded as though he had been deeply hurt by Jade's treachery.
IF focused her sharp gaze on Jade as well, "I know how you feel about those serving the goddess, but it gives you no right to take advantage of other's feelings!"
Jade took a slightly aggressive stance, "Don't twist the situation. I despise the Basilicom, but so do these Aristocrats! Ten years ago, the Basilicom' Sanctuary purged me after I found a home. I escaped to Lowee, away from the Aristocrats."
The brunette looked at the Guild member with a questioning look on her face. "What? Ten years ago… We were told that was the Parliament's revolt. Why are you bringing up the purge?"
Sir Turquoise re-entered the conversation, "That's right. It was definitely ten years ago when we fought the Parliament and those heretics. But that was no purge! We only slapped the Parliament's wrists for degrading our CPU. I did not support any oppression. Don't try to accuse us."
Jade continued with his explanation, if he could call it that, "The Parliament fought so the heretics could leave for Lowee, away from the Sanctuary's oppression. The Basilicom concealed this. Aristocrats gained honor by suppressing the Parliament and the Sanctuary gained power."
Slowly, Sir Turquoise came to a realization, "Then, the reason the Archbishop is trying so hard to keep the truth hidden is not because he denies the revolt occurred."
Heero was able to piece together everything and find the answer behind the Archbishop's motive, "The Archbishop wanted to cover his tracks and conceal the fact that he used the Aristocrats as a tool to suppress the revolt."
Jade nodded in response, "He didn't want anyone finding out he used the Aristocrats to suppress the very revolt his actions helped to instigate. He was afraid to take the blame for oppressing the heretics."
IF pieced together Jade's motive for recent events, "And you were just an orphan in the middle of the purge. Is that why you're trying to make these two factions fight?"
"You're catching on. You already know I'm a member of the Guild."
Neptune stomped her foot on the ground, "Basically, you hate both the Basilicom and the Aristocrats. But that's no excuse to go and do all sorts of bad stuff!"
"It's enough motivation. Although, thanks to you, this plan is…" Jade looked as though he had just had an epiphany. "No, wait. That's right!" Immediately, the treacherous man took off running.
Compa was momentarily surprised by Jade's sudden decision to run, "Hey, he ran away! Should we chase after him?"
IF turned her attention to Sir Turquoise, "Mr. Leader, you get it now, right? Please don't attack the Basilicom." The Moderatist Guild member focused her attention on the party. "Let's make capturing Jade out priority!"
Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF took off after the fleeing Jade. Lyrica gave Sir Turquoise a quick bow before running after the party, "I didn't think being in a party meant I would have to do so much running…"
Xxx
The party had followed Jade to a cave on one of Leanbox's neighboring islands. Neptune looked around at the cave from the entrance, "He's taking the stereotypical escape route in the back! What're we gonna do when we catch him?"
Heero watched for any sign of activity as the party planned what to do with the treacherous Aristocrat once they found him, "While I myself would like to dispose of him, it would be best to leave the matter of his punishment up to the person who has been caring for him."
IF was in complete agreement with the Perfection Soldier, "We'll let his father decide. It's not our business. But… we have to get him first!"
Compa made a pouty face, even she had a bone to pick with Jade, "He lied to everyone! We can't let this one slide."
Neptune pumped her arms, "Right, that liar…" The preteen's arms dropped to her sides as a confused look made its way onto her face. "Uh, why'm I still doubtful? Stop being confused, me! Let's get him and bring him back!"
The party began their trek into the cave where they planned to capture Jade and force him to answer for what he had done. Heero could tell by the echo of water dripping in the cave that the dungeon was fairly large. The Gundam pilot didn't like the fact that the cave was big because it meant the party had to more ground to cover, and it meant Jade could slip behind the group and get away, "There's no need to worry about that, Heero. After all, I am here to assist you. I can track down Jade, you just need to follow my directions to navigate the area."
Heero gave a brief nod before glancing over at the group of girls next to him, "Zero has told me that she can locate Jade for us. She will tell where we need to go in order to find him."
Neptune had an excited look on her face upon hearing that Zero was going to find Jade for them, "So Z is gonna sniff Jade out, and all we gotta do is beat him up and drag him back? Awesome! Okay then, let's go!"
"Neptune certainly seems enthusiastic about this… I believe it should be obvious that you need to follow the path on the left. When you find a split in the path, just keep going forward."
Just as they had been told, the party followed the path on the left into the dungeon. Heero took the lead, as the party was having to travel along a curve in the path almost immediately upon entering, and he didn't want any of the girls to be subjected to any danger should there be a monster lying in wait.
The party emerged from the curve, and the immediate area seemed to be devoid of monsters. With no visible threat, the group advanced toward the forked path, "Z said we gotta go straight, right? So… does that mean we aren't gonna find anything if we go the other way?"
Heero kept his gaze forward as Neptune asked her question out loud, "While there may be something along the other path, I have no intention of wasting time on something that may or may not lie at the end of it. I would much rather focus on finding and apprehending Jade."
As the party passed the path on the right a low growling noise sounded nearby, causing Compa to look at Neptune, "Nep-Nep, are you hungry? Your stomach made a really loud noise."
The purple haired girl began to rub her stomach, "Well, I am getting pretty hungry. I kinda had to miss lunch so we could do all this stuff, and I think I'm missing out on dinner, too. But, I don't think that was my stomach."
IF folded her arms as she looked at the party's leader, "Well if it wasn't your stomach, then what was that?"
As if to answer her question, another low growl emanated from above the brunette. IF looked up and saw the head of a monster above her. None of the other party members saw it, prompting her to get their attention. "Uhh… guys?"
Heero, Neptune, Compa and Lyrica looked back at IF… as well as the monster behind her. The creature was a 'Dragon'… a stereotypical monster with a green scaly hide, a large round body, a long tail, claws with three sharp nails, and a pair of wings that were attached to its arms; however the wings looked flimsy and insignificant, and it was evident that they were not strong or big enough to allow the Dragon to fly.
On top of the dragon that was looming over IF, Heero could see a second Dragon approaching from the path on the right that the party had ignored, "…As much as I don't want to waste time, simply leaving these enemies behind would be dangerous. We should eliminate them now."
Neptune pulled the Mech Sword Armas out of her hoodie pocket, an excited look on her face, "Finally something happens! I was gettin' bored."
The Dragon towering behind IF raised its arms into the air, then swiftly brought them down in an attempt to injure IF. IF narrowly evaded the attack, landing on her back in the process, "Hey, watch it!"
Before she could get another word out, IF came under attack by the second Dragon just after she evaded the first one. Before the Dragon could go through with the attack, Heero thrust his GN Sword into the monster's neck. The Dragon's neck was rather thin, so the large blade of Heero's weapon decapitated the creature rather than simply severing its spine from the head.
The Dragon's head fell into IF's hands and the body crashed to the ground shortly afterward. IF quickly threw the monster head to the side, while Neptune ran at the other Dragon with the prototype weapon held over her head, "I got this!"
As luck would have it, Neptune tripped on a rock that was in front of the monster, causing her head to collide with that of the monster's. Neptune dropped the beam saber in her hands and was squatting on the ground, holding her head, "Oww! That hurt! Why does the monster have to have such a hard head?"
Lyrica watched as the Dragon threw its head from side to side, as if it was in pain, "I think Neptune might be the only person who's head is hard enough to hurt a monster."
Neptune grabbed the beam saber that was lying on the ground and threw it at the Dragon, which stuck to the monster's head, "You big meanie!
Heero walked over to Neptune as she nursed her head, "Hold still. I need to examine your head in case your injury is worse than it actually is."
Compa went to retrieve Neptune's weapon while the aforementioned preteen sat on a rock so that Heero could examine her head. The Gundam pilot gently pushed aside strands of Neptune's purple hair to see whether or not she had an injury, al the while Neptune let out a giggle every so often, "You know, this kinda tickles."
Seeing Neptune receive Heero's undivided attention and getting special treatment from him was enough to make the other three girls in the party jealous. Lyrica balled her hands into fists as she watched the preteen, "Umm… shouldn't you let Compa look at your head?"
Neptune stuck her tongue out at the musician, "What? No way! Why would I have Compa look at my pretty pumpkin when I can have my lover lavish me with tender loving care?"
Heero continued to examine Neptune's head as she went on about one of the girl's usual topics, "We are not lovers."
"Pffft! Heero, if you're not my lover, then why are you always worrying about me?"
"Because it is part of my job."
The purple haired girl jumped up off the rock she had been sitting on and looked at the Perfect Soldier. "That sounds like something a lover would say. So you MUST be my lover."
Heero found that it was virtually impossible to argue with Neptune's logic, so he dropped the subject having deemed it pointless to continue. "You do not appear to have incurred any serious injuries. We should return to searching for Jade, so that we may leave this area."
Neptune took the Mech Sword Armas back from Compa and the party one again continued their search for the traitor that was hiding in the cave. Everyone in the group remained vigilante, looking for any sign of monsters or more importantly, Jade… everyone except Neptune. The party continued down the path that Zero had told them to go, which consisted of several twists that monsters could have used to ambush the party, though thankfully there was nothing hiding behind the rock walls.
Shortly after navigating the twists and turns of the path the party arrived at another forked path. Once the group came to a stop, Heero and Neptune heard Zero's voice once more, "Continue moving forward and you should find a room near the end of the path on your left. Jade is in that room, however he seems to be with someone else, so use caution."
Neptune thrust her arm out and point in the direction the party was facing, "Z said that Jade is this way! Let's go beat him up and make him pay for lying to us!"
IF folded her arms over her chest while giving the preteen a questioning look, "And…?"
The party's leader looked at the brunette in confusion before her eyes widened and her lips curved into a grin. "Oh yeah! And we'll get tons of yummy cakes to celebrate after we're done."
IF just stared at Neptune for a moment. "That's not what I was getting at… But, whatever. Let's just find him already."
Continuing their trek, the party advanced toward the end of the path they had been traveling along. It did not take long for the party to find the entrance to the room where Jade was supposedly hiding, and as the team drew closer they could hear melodramatic laughter… and Heero knew he had heard it before.
The group stood in the entrance to the room to see Jade in conversation with a familiar lady wearing gothic clothes, and once more melodramatic laughing filled the air, which was coming from the women in front of Jade, "Haaaah ha ha ha! What's the matter? Where are the others? Your plan failed, I presume?"
"You're… the Evangelist's replacement? Their leader knows. We can't use the Aristocrats to start this anymore. But we can still manipulate the Basilicom. The Aristocrats have those illegal weapons and if the Archbishop finds out…!"
Jade was interrupted by the lady in front of him before he could get another word out. "I have high expectations of others and a low tolerance for failure. I'll not let a useless being face me!"
Just as the Evangelist's replacement had finished, she lifted her glaive and struck Jade, dealing a fatal wound on traitor. The party rushed into the room and made their way over to Jade. A cold bead of sweat ran down the side of Neptune's face as the party examined Jade, "Oh, yep. Death flag triggered. I kinda guessed he was one of those gonna-die-NPCs when I met him. Is he okay?"
IF looked at the preteen, questioning her choice of words and the manner in which she said them, "H-How can you act like that when someone is dying? Compa, can't you do something?"
Compa took one look at Jade before shaking her head at the brunette, "I wish I could, but I can't do anything about a triggered flag or bad ending route he chose…"
Heero had no clue as to what the hell Compa was referring to, but knew that the injury that Jade had suffered was fatal, and without the proper medical equipment on hand, death was inevitable, "The pointless 'triggered flag' or 'bad ending' aside, Jade has been mortally wounded. We have nothing with which to treat the injury."
Lyrica looked between her party members before returning her attention to Jade, "Wh-What if we take him back to the city? Surely there is a clinic or hospital that can treat him, right?"
The Gundam pilot shook his head, "Leanbox is not very technologically advanced, so it goes without saying that whatever advancements the land has made in regards to medicine will be insufficient in treating him. And even if the technology was up to par, the nearest town is too far away. Jade will die before we get him there."
"N-Neptune…"
The party looked down at Jade as he struggled to speak, "Nep-Nep, he's asking for you. These are his last words, so hear him out."
Neptune walked over to Jade and knelt down next to him, "What's up? A favor? Ask me anything! Oh, but no touching. Got it? No touching! I'm saving myself for Heero."
"Don't treat me like a pervert when I'm about to die. I wanted to tell you one last truth…" Jade fought to remain conscious so that he may tell the preteen his 'one last truth'. "I'm a member of the Guild. I live on Leanbox, but I don't follow Lady Green Heart."
Neptune gave Jade a confused look, "…Why're you telling me now? What's up with this?"
"I… I'm into girls… like… Lady White Heart."
Heero had no idea what Jade had said, but Neptune suddenly had an angry look on her face… and seconds after making said facial expression, Neptune stomped on Jade's face. Whatever life Jade had left in him was now gone. IF folded her arms over her chest and gave Neptune a weathered look, "…And that's that. You finished him off."
Neptune let out an exasperated sigh, "Oops. Well, that was for ruining the moment. I wanted him to say something like 'I'm into girls like you, Neptune.' Then I'd act all flattered and stuff before kicking him to the curb, sayin' 'I only have eyes for Heero!' You know, something like that."
Lyrica looked at Neptune in disbelief, "Neptune… that's just mean."
Heero took one look at the now dead Aristocrat before turning his attention back to the girls, "Actually, Neptune should be commended on her decision."
IF looked at Heero as if he had lost his mind, "You're saying Neptune should be praised for killing him?"
"Jade was already dead. The injury was too severe and there was nothing we could do to save him. As he was, I can imagine Jade was suffering in agonizing pain. Neptune's decision to end his life prematurely spared Jade from a slow and painful death. Neptune should be praised for her wise decision."
Neptune immediately started bragging about being praised by the Perfect Soldier, "Didja hear that? Heero said I'M wise!"
IF could feel her eye twitch as she listened to the preteen, "Yeah, a rare moment of wisdom, whereas ninety-nine percent of the time you're an idiot."
Compa had been looking at the individual that Jade had been conversing with before his untimely demise. The nurse in training interrupted the conversation between Neptune and IF to get the party's attention, "Nep-Nep, Heero, Iffy, Lyrica… Look. Someone is staring at us impatiently. I think we've seen her before."
The woman in gothic clothing that the party had met before indeed looked impatient as she watched the party, "Are you done yet? I don't like surprise attacks, but if you're done with that event, then… Here I come!"
The woman had readied her glaive and had prepared to charge when Neptune stopped with a question while looking at with a questioning gaze, "That voice… That Evangelist! I couldn't tell before because of your poopy taste in fashion, but you're Convy, huh?"
For a moment, the woman had a disgruntled look on her face, not liking Neptune judging her taste in fashion before returning to her normal façade, "Well, that man failed to notice, but I'm glad you did. Yes! Conversation was my alias!"
A serious look made its way onto Neptune's face. "Then we gotta challenge you! You were after the Basilicom too, huh?!"
The fake Evangelist did not even try to deny Neptune's claim. "Absolutely! That man and I had the same objective: bring down the Basilicom!"
The purple haired preteen's cheeks began to swell slightly as she pumped her arms, "Unforgiveable! I'll beat you op right here and drag you by your hair to the goddess!"
"Bring it on! I've already captured Leanbox's CPU. The Basilicom is entirely under the Archbishop's control now! Now we just watch and wait for this landmass to be destroyed by its own civil was." The woman raised her glaive once more. "I'll silence you forever right now!"
IF threw a hand out in front of Neptune before she could run out in front of the party and start fighting, "Before you rush headlong and start swinging your sword around, we need a plan. I'm sure Heero has already got something for us, right?"
Heero observed the gothic woman before the party, "I do not have a plan as of yet. The reason being that it has been some time since our first encounter, and I do not know what has changed between then and now. For all we know, she may have become a more powerful adversary than last time." The Perfect Soldier shifted his gaze to Neptune. "For now, the best course of action would be to have Neptune transform. After that; we all engage her in whatever manner we deem necessary."
Neptune was surrounded by a familiar series of disks a pulled one disk out of the ring rotating around her person, causing the other disks to vanish, "If my Destined Lover says to transform, then I gotta transform!"
A bright flash of light enveloped the preteen, and where she had been, the strong and mature Neptune was in her place. "So, we just need to fight her until Heero can think of a plan. That doesn't sound difficult."
Neptune charged toward the fake Evangelist with Heero and IF behind her, while Compa and Lyrica remained behind. As Neptune, Heero and IF drew closer, a ball of energy began to form on the tip of the gothic woman's glaive, which she aimed at the oncoming trio, "Just try and dodge this!"
The woman fired the ball of energy at the trio, which separated into several streaks of energy that sped toward them. Neptune jumped back as a few of the strands of energy struck the ground in front of her. IF used the new Katars she found to block a few of the energy projectiles, but was forced to dodge the remainder when her new weapons broke, "Those must have been fakes or something, otherwise they wouldn't have broken so easily!"
Heero on the other hand, ran through the barrage of projectiles, coming out on the other side of the cloud of dust that had been kicked up by the attack. The Gundam pilot ran straight for the woman in gothic clothing, GN Sword at the ready. Heero quickly closed in and swung his bladed weapon at the fake Evangelist, who parried his attack with her glaive.
An audible *Clang* echoed through the room as Heero clashed with the woman in questionable attire. Both combatants were locked in a stalemate until the fake Evangelist jumped away from Heero just as Neptune came crashing down to the ground, her katana leaving a crater were it had landed.
Immediately after landing, the Evangelist was bombarded by a series of bullets and small bolts of lightning, courtesy of Compa and Lyrica, "You little…"
Once more the Evangelist charged a sphere of energy and launched it, this time she aimed to ball of harmful energy at the two girls supporting from the rear. Both Compa and Lyrica ran around like chickens with their heads cut as they evaded the string of attacks. Before Compa was given a chance to rest, the fake Evangelist was upon her, "Struggle, you fool!"
The Evangelist swung her glaive at Compa, who blocked the attack with her syringe, but was knocked onto her back. Before the woman in gothic clothing could press her attack, she was struck from behind by a blunt object. The fake Evangelist shook off her daze before turning around to see Lyrica holding Mr. Guitar over her head, "Just what are you-"
Before the fake Evangelist could get another word out, Lyrica struck her on the head with Mr. Guitar a second time. After being momentarily dazed for a second time, the woman glared at the musician. "What was that for?!"
Lyrica had a surprised look on her face, "Huh? You're not melting?"
IF shouted at the cerulean haired girl as she ponder the question of why the woman was not melting, "You have to throw water at her!"
The musician looked back at the brunette before reaching behind her back for a pouch attached to her belt. "One sec…"
"Seriously, I don't have time to-"
Once more, the Evangelist was interrupted by Lyrica. The songstress threw a water bottle at the woman in gothic clothing, splashing her face with water. The woman in questionable attire gave the cerulean haired girl a disgruntled look, "What was that?"
Lyric had a look of disbelief on her face, "Why isn't she melting? The witch always melts in the movies…"
IF had to shout was more to get the musician's attention, "I don't think she's that kind of witch."
The fake Evangelist was fuming, having been insulted by Lyrica, "I'll get rid of you first!" As the Evangelist raised her glaive to strike Lyrica, a strong force that came from behind her sent the Evangelist flying through the air and into one of the cave walls and falling to the ground in a pile of rocks. Standing a few feet away from Lyrica was Neptune, her attention fixed on where the fake Evangelist was, "You can talk about that later. For now, we should deal with this problem."
Rising out the pile of rocks, the Evangelist cast a glare at Neptune, "You have an annoying habit of turning up when you're not welcome."
With her glaive pointed at Neptune, the woman charged at the purple haired swordstress. Neptune side stepped, causing the Evangelist to fly past her, "You can't expect to hit me with such a predictable attack."
As the strange woman spout out a slur of insults at the teen, Neptune turned her attention to Heero. "Have you come up with a plan yet? Just beating her around won't get us anywhere."
Heero nodded in response, "I noticed something was off the way she has been fighting us. This may sound strange, but I believe our enemy is weaker than when we first encountered her, meaning it will take less time to finish here than I originally thought." The Perfect Soldier looked at Compa and Lyrica. "Compa, you and Lyrica will handle the roles that you have been since the beginning of this engagement. The only difference being that you both will need to be on opposite sides of her."
Compa had a bright smile on her face as Heero went into describing his plan to defeat the Evangelist, "I knew Heero would come up with a way to beat her."
Lyrica lightly slapped her cheeks to help focus her attention on what she needed to do, "(Okay Lyrica… you can do this. Heero wouldn't have you do it unless he knew you could.)"
Heero then turned his attention to IF, who was standing with her hands at her sides, "IF, you will need to get behind the target while Compa and Lyrica create an opening."
IF pulled out the Katars she kept in her jacket sleeves and adjusted them to fit in her hands, "I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees what we've got planned."
"What do you want me to do?"
Heero turned to face Neptune, who was looking at him expectantly. Clearly, the swordstress wanted to do something in regards to fighting the fake Evangelist, "You and I will attack her from the front. When we attack, we need to force the target into a defensive so as to limit her movement so that Compa and Lyrica will be able to keep her pinned down. We will also need to break through any defense that she puts up. I will go in first so as to see what she will do to defend herself, while you make sure she does not launch a counterattack."
The Gundam pilot turned to face the party's enemy. "In your current state, you are physically stronger than I am, so once she has put up her defense you will trade roles with me. If we match our timing, the window between when we switch roles to when you attack will be too short for her to strengthen her defenses. It might even be possible for you to disarm her entirely."
Neptune gave a nod in response, before directing her attention to the Evangelist. Now that the party had their plan they were ready to bring down the fake Basilicom employee. The blade of the GN Sword snapped over the forearm of Heero's weapon, then he leveled his arm to fire the rifle that had been hidden underneath.
Three shots escaped the barrel of the GN Rifle and streaked through the air toward the imposter. The Evangelist raised her glaive to block the projectiles, however the bolts of thermal energy landed on the ground in front of the Evangelist ad kicked up a small cloud of dust in the process.
Within seconds of the cloud of dust forming, Heero came running out and was heading straight for the women in gothic clothing. The blade of the GN Sword snapped back into place over the rifle barrel and Heero swung the large blade at the Evangelist, who blocked the attack with her sharp glaive, "Not bad, kid. But you'll never defeat me."
"I won't… But she will."
A look of confusion made its way onto the fake Evangelist's face, questioning what the Perfect Soldier meant by 'she would'. As if to answer her question, Heero jumped back just as Neptune came out of the dust cloud that was beginning to settle. The fake Evangelist tried to prepare herself for Neptune's attack, but the swordstress was moving too fast.
Neptune swung her katana, delivering a powerful blow to the glaive in the woman's hand, and while she wasn't able to disarm the fake Basilicom employee, Neptune's attack was strong enough to knock her off balance, the Evangelist was unable to stop the second attack. Neptune's katana struck the woman in her abdomen and propelled her in-between Compa and Lyrica, "You're up, you two."
Compa lifted her syringe up to her shoulder and Lyrica began to strum Mr. Guitar's strings as the Evangelist began to pick herself up, "Please work!"
The glaive wielding woman was caught in a flurry of syringe fired bullets and bolts of lighting, effectively keeping her from moving, "You little brats… you think this is enough to stop me?!"
Unbenounced to the Evangelist, IF was coming up behind her… fast, "You can't see the bigger picture, can you?"
Turning in the direction of the voice she had heard, the Evangelist saw IF… though she was a little late in noticing the brunette. Just as she had turned around, IF delivered a series of strong kicks along her back and one that landed on her shoulder. Had the fake Evangelist been a normal human, IF's kick would have most likely dislocated her shoulder. The string of attacks sent the woman back toward Heero and Neptune, "You know, I've always wanted to kick someone in the shoulder like that… I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping her shoulder would pop out of place or something."
Heero level his GN Sword at the Evangelist, the blade snapping back over the forearm guard once more, "Neptune, I leave the rest to you."
With his weapon in Rifle Mode, Heero fired five bolts of beam energy at the Evangelist who was still picking herself up off the ground after the barrage of attacks she had received. All five bolts found their mark, dealing moderate damage to the already injured Evangelist and created a pink cloud in the process. Neptune rushed past Heero and into the cloud where the fake Basilicom employee lay.
The only indication that the group had that Neptune was fighting was the grating noise of clashing metal. After a few seconds, the clanging noise stopped, and the sound of the ground being pulverized took its place. Shortly after, the cloud stated to disperse and the Evangelist was sent flying through the pink cloud and into a wall.
Neptune emerged from the cloud herself, though she jumped out to verify where her opponent went. The Evangelist began to slide off of the wall and land on the ground with a thud. The party watched the weakened woman, clearly she was unable to fight anymore, "The target has been neutralized. Mission complete."
The Evangelist picked herself up off the ground, brushing some of the dust off of her clothes, "Tch. Don't think this is over."
Neptune watched as the fake Evangelist fled the room, "…She's gone. She's much weaker than she tries to make herself seem."
Compa had a concerned look on her face as she looked over the members of the team, "But she did delay us. We need to see what's happening between the Aristocrats and the Basilicom!"
Heero turned to face in the direction of the entrance of the room, "I am concerned that without Lady Greet Heart, civil war will break out on Leanbox. Unless something is done immediately, regardless of which side emerges victorious, the loss of life will be staggering."
IF had her cell phone open and was looking down at the brightly lit screen, "Looks like there's already some trouble over at the Basilicom. We should hurry over there and see what's going on."
Neptune was enveloped in a warm light, and shortly after returned to her normal form, "Sure, sure, and when we're done, we can go out to a fancy restaurant and celebrate."
Lyrica slung Mr. Guitar over her shoulder before chastising the preteen, "Neptune, this is serious. People could die!"
Heero began to walk towards the entrance to the room, "We should head for the Basilicom immediately so as to assess the situation."
Neptune looped her arm around Heero's and began to pull on him, "Well then, let's get goin' people!" The party quickly began to head for the dungeon entrance and back to the Basilicom to find out just how bad things had become during their short time away.
Xxx
When the party arrived at the Basilicom the sound of clashing steel and loud battle cries filled the air. Neptune looked around at the people fighting around them, "Oh, crackers! This is awful! We can't even get close!"
Compa shifted her attention from the mob in front of the Basilicom to the area around them, "Where is Lady Green Heart? She's the only one who could tame this mess."
Just after reaching the Basilicom, the party had been caught up in the fighting and surrounded by both Aristocrats and Basilicom staff. As Compa inquired on Lady Green Heart's whereabouts, the group heard a familiar voice call out to them, "Everyone, over here…! Right here…" The party turned in the direction of the voice to see Lady Green Heart as she waded through the crowd of people as they fought. "Oh, excuse me. Coming through."
Eventually the CPU was able to navigate the mob and join the party as they watched the brawl between Basilicom personnel and Aristocrats. IF breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. You weren't captured?"
"Yes, I was. However, the spell holding me got weaker, so I left." The goddess flashed a brief smile at Heero. "I have no doubt that if Heero knew where I was, he would have been able to free me from captivity sooner."
Compa had a somewhat quizzical look on her face for a moment before coming to a conclusion as to why the CPU was able to escape captivity, "Maybe because we beat up that woman? She got away, though."
IF shrugged her shoulder, "Probably. That makes sense to me. I'm glad you're here, though. Can you please put a stop to this?"
Green Heart looked somewhat unenthusiastic about the idea, "But, I've never done anything like this… I always just let the Archbishop handle situations requiring effort."
Heero kept his attention fixed on the rioters, "And yet the Archbishop is part of the problem."
Lyrica frantically looked around the area for two reasons: one, because there was a large number of people around and she was beginning to get nervous. Two, the fighting was spreading and the number of people involved was well into the hundreds, slowly becoming thousands. The musician hid behind Heero, peeking out from behind his arm, "Wh-What do we do? Th-There are so many people here…"
Compa turned her attention to Heero with a hopeful look in her eyes, "Heero, you can do something about this, can't you?"
All of the girls looked to the Gundam pilot. Heero had a solution to just about every problem, so surely he could come up with a way to end the fighting. Heero cast a brief glance at Compa before looking back at the escalating battle, "I would be able to stop the fighting. However, over half of the people here would be dead before the fighting stops if it is left up to me to resolve this matter. Green Heart is the only one among us who can stop the fighting without having to use force."
Neptune flailed her arms while shouting at both the Basilicom staff and Aristocrats at the top of her lungs, "Aggghhh! Shut up! Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!" As the rioters began to stop their fighting to look at the purple haired preteen, Neptune look back at Lady Green Heart. "Okay, go ahead."
The CPU of Leanbox cleared her throat so that the people could hear her more clearly, "…Ahem. People, could you stop, please? Let's get together somewhere and talk…"
Unfortunately, the two sides went back to fighting one another immediately after Green Heart started to speak. Despite being the landmasses goddess, Green Heart had no presence whatsoever. Neptune looked at busty CPU once more. "You gotta be more aggressive! This is your land. Be more proud of that and stuff!"
Heero could tell that Green Heart was not feeling very confident, having been sheltered and leaving the Archbishop to handle affairs such as this left her with little to no experience at all in regards to handling her own people. The goddess looked at Heero, and the Gundam pilot could see the uncertainty in her eyes… she was looking for some kind of support in this endeavor. Heero gave a nod, his way of saying 'it will be alright' without actually saying it.
Green Heart turned back in the direction of the crowd and took a deep breath, "…Everyone! This battle is ending this instant. Drop your weapons! This is a command from the CPU of Leanbox… Green Heart! Cease this foolish at once!"
The goddess spoke in a louder, stronger tone of voice so that everyone in the vicinity could hear her. And just like that, the fighting has ceased. Both sides did not go back to fighting like they had done the first time, and a few people actually dropped their weapons where they were. Neptune had a surprised look on her face, "Whoa, yeah, okay. She can do it if she tries."
IF rolled her eyes at the purple haired girl, "Of course. She's a goddess! She's not like someone who'd become a useless amnesiac by falling face-first into the ground."
As the four girls of the party began to get together to discuss what they should do next Heero approached Lady Green Heart, who breathed a sigh of relief, "You handled the situation quite well considering that you have no experience in this matter."
The CPU was still shaking somewhat from had transpired, "I am fortunate enough to have handled it at all. Though, after everything that has happened today I think I need to lie down." Green Heart latched onto Heero arm. "Heero, would you be so kind as to escort me into the Basilicom?"
Neptune immediately marched up to the goddess the moment she saw her holding onto Heero, "Hey, what're you doing, Lady Green Heart? Are you trying to steal Heero from me?! I'm not letting anyone steal my lover from me!"
Heero couldn't tell why it was that Neptune suspected Green Heart of trying to 'steal' him, "I do not believe that is the case, Neptune. Considering that Lady Green Heart was imprisoned and then forced to speak out to her own people to get them under control despite having no physical interaction with any of them, it is understandable that the buildup of anxiety and stress has affected her physically."
Neptune looked between Heero and Lady Green Heart before pointing a finger at the CPU while looking at the Gundam pilot. "B-But… but she's-"
"Would you give it a rest already?" Neptune looked back at IF to see the brunette with and irritated look on her face. "Lady Green Heart is not trying to steal Heero. You're just being paranoid."
The purple haired girl was fuming at the Guild member and the CPU. Neptune latched onto Heero's free arm while sticking her tongue out at IF, "I ain't listening to you, Iffy, cuz' you're untrustworthy."
IF shook her head as she let out an exasperated sigh, "(Figures… she's just going to act like a spoiled brat.)"
Heero escorted Green Heart into the Basilicom with Neptune latched onto him, and the rest of the party followed after them now that the threat of a civil war on Leanbox had been averted.
Xxx
After entering the Basilicom the party retreated to Lady Green Heart's room so that the CPU could rest from the day's events, "I apologize for all the trouble. I need to really take better care of my land."
Neptune flailed her arms around for a moment as she looked at the CPU of Leanbox, "It's too early to wrap this up. The wannabe Evangelist is still running loose."
"The war's over, but I still need to care for the aftermath." Green Heart beseeched the party. "Please, pursue Convy. I mean, did you see her outfit? There's no way she could get away quietly in that."
The purple haired party leader puffed out her chest. "You're right. We're so on it!"
Neptune, Compa, IF and Lyrica left the room, leaving Heero and Green Heart alone. The Gundam pilot looked at the goddess who seemed to be worn out, "You appear to be quite exhausted."
Green Heart gave Heero a weathered smile, "Think nothing of it. I'll be fine. I just need to- Ahhh!"
The CPU let out a surprised gasp as she felt herself being lifted up out of her place on the bed within the dome shaped room. "That will not do. If you are the one who protects and rules over this land, then you must think of your own state of well-being. If you are not well rested, your ability to govern and protect this land will diminish."
Heero carried Green Heart all the way to her game room. Once inside, the Perfect Soldier headed straight for the bed located in the back of the room. Heero pulled back the covers of the queen sized bed and laid the goddess of Leanbox on top of the mattress, "I believe I speak for all of the people on Leanbox when I say that you need to take better care of yourself. Your people would not want you to sacrifice your health for their sake."
Green Heart was lying on the bed in silence as Heero draped the covers over her body. Heero turned to head for the door, "Take the rest of the day to rest and recover. The way I see it, you've earned it."
Lady Green Heart could feel her eyes growing heavy, "I suppose it would be for the best…"
Before she began to lose consciousness, Green Heart felt something warm and soft against her forehead. Green Heart's eyes were had not completely closed, so she could see Heero right in front of her. It did not take the goddess long to figure out what Heero had just done, causing her cheeks to turn bright red, "Wh-What-"
Before Green Heart could get the rest of her question out, as Heero quickly left the room. Green Heart was staring up at the ceiling from her place on her bed before turning her gaze to the plushies that sat on her bed stand. The CPU reached for one of the stuffed dolls and pulled it out of its place. The particular plushy Green Heart had in her hands had clothes, eyes, a hair style and stoic expression that bore a striking resemblance to that of the person who had just left the room.
Green Heart hugged the doll as she tossed on the bed, "Heero is so wonderful… There is no question about it… This is love. That settles it! I must have Heero for myself. Before that can happen, I must first remove Neptune." The goddess let out an audible yawn as she lay on her side. "…But first… I need… some sleep."
Xxx
Heero emerged from the Basilicom to find Neptune and the others sitting on a bench outside of the religious structure. The Gundam pilot was lost in his thoughts as he came out of the building, "(What was I doing? I've never acted in such a manner before… Is it possible that-)"
"Hey, what took you so long, Heero?"
Heero was pulled from his reverie of thought by Neptune, who was standing right in front of him, "I had to put Lady Green Heart in bed, as she was exhausted. That aside, we need to focus on the more pressing matter at hand. That Evangelist is still here on Leanbox and poses a threat to the fragile stability of this landmass."
IF was on her phone as the party went into the topic of the fake Evangelist that escaped, "I already have my Guild connections looking into her… at least where we can find her."
Lyrica looked over each member of the party before turning her attention to her Guitar that was in her hands, "What do we do now? Do we go after her?"
Neptune let out an audible yawn, "I know we gotta go after that faker, but I'm tired…"
Heero watched the party's leader before shaking his head, "(It would not be a wise decision to force Neptune to work when she herself is starting to tire.) It is getting late, and I do not believe we are in a state to be looking for the Evangelist. We should return to our safe house and rest for the time being. We can look for our target tomorrow."
Compa, IF and Lyrica had started moving in the direction of the party's place of residents after it was decided that they would call it a day, "I could use a shower when we get back."
As the trio began to get farther away, Heero noticed that Neptune was wobbling as she walked, "Whoa… I guess I'm really tired or something… I'm all wobbly and stuff."
Heero watched as the preteen started leaning on him for support, "(She must have overexerted herself…)"
Neptune was surprised when Heero suddenly swept her off her feet to carry her. "Since it is apparent that you will not be able to walk the rest of the way, I see no other option but to carry you to the safe house."
The purple haired girl had a grin on her face as Heero began to carry her, "Aww, you just wanted to carry your true love. Well, you can carry me whenever you want. Just make sure to put me down when it's time to eat."
Heero was beginning to question why he thought it was a good idea to carry Neptune… or rather, the real question he was asking himself was: when did he become so comfortable with the preteen that he would just carry her instead of have her walk the rest of the way? The safe house was not that far from where they were now, "(What has come over me? I've never done this sort of thing for anyone… so why now?)"
Neptune's arms made their way around Heero's neck as he questioned his actions, "You should totally share a bed with me tonight, Heero! It'll be great. We'll stay up late, eat some yummy food…"
Heero mentally sighed as he listened to the girl in his arms. "(She must not be too tired if she's talking about staying up late.)"
Xxx
Me: "Chapter 24, done! Well, we're almost done with the quest for the Key Fragment in Leanbox, so… I don't know. I need to figure out which landmass the party will go to next."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC from Lounge) "Oooh, didja hear that, Heero? We're close to finding that Key Fragment! That means we're also close to having out M rated scene!"
Heero: "I have no intention of engaging in sexual intercourse with you any time soon."
Neptune: "Then why were you acting all romantic and stuff at the end? You love me and you know it."
Compa and IF: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "Just because Heero was acting nice doesn't me he wants to do anything with you."
Neptune: "Iffy, you're just jealous cuz' Heero's madly in love with me."
5pb: (Enters ACCC from hidden entrance) "Yay! It's working again!" (Looks around room) "Umm… where's Lady Green Heart?"
Zero: (Manifest into ACCC) "She could not make it. She was still asleep last time I checked."
Neptune: "Hey, it's Z! So are you gonna help out with the Intro and after chapter stuff?"
Zero: "Well, I am part of the cast."
Me: "We should wrap up this little session so we can work on the next chapter. Besides, I'm getting kinda tired right now." (Points at Zero) "Zero, you can wrap up this chapter for us."
Zero: "Very well, this will be the first time I have ended a chapter for us."
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF and Lyrica: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)
Zero: (Looks to readers) "Please read and review this chapter. Based on my current calculations, I predict that the Author should have the story updated with another chapter within the next three days. So look forward to our next chapter." (Leaves ACCC through Left Entrance)
