Me: "Hello again, good readers! I thought about going right into our Lastation Key Fragment chapter, but decided to add another character to the party roster before doing so."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC from Lounge) "So someone else is gonna party up with us? Who is it? Do you know, Heero?"

Heero: "How exactly would I know? Though I presume this chapter will serve to answer that question."

Me: "Yes it will. Now if you guys would tell me where-"

Nisa: (Crashes through window on ACCC ceiling, lands, and strikes dramatic pose) "The Keeper of Justice, Nisa, is here! You have no need to fear the monsters anymore now that I'm-"

Me: (Punches Nisa on the back of the head) "What the hell have you done?! You broke my window, you came out too soon, there's glass everywhere… please tell me you haven't done anything else stupid."

Nisa: (Rubs the back of her head) "Of course not! What would make you say that?!"

Me: "My ceiling, that's what."

Compa: (Enters IC from Lounge) "Iffy! Lyrica! Gust! Did you here that? Ms. Heroine is going to join our party!"

IF and Gust: (Enter IC from Lounge) "What? Well, whatever. As long as she doesn't slow us down."

Gust: "Gust has potions she wants to try on new member."

Lyrics: (Enters IC from hidden entrance in center of room) "If we have a new member joining us, we need a song to celebrate."

Me: (Looks down at watch) "Sorry 5pb, but we don't have time for a song, we're running behind as it is." (Points to cast) "Call it."

Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, 5pb, Gust and Nisa: "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: (Rolls eyes) "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get back to work already."

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, 5pb, Gust and Nisa: (Leave IC)

Ch. 29 Gamindustri's Modest Breasted Heroine

After the events of the previous day, the party had decided to take a much needed break before searching the dungeon that presumably held Lastation's Key Fragment. Of course, as soon as the group heard that they were taking a break that would last longer than one day, Neptune's first idea was to go to Lowee for, as she called it, 'magically delicious' food and fun in the snow.

And so, the party found themselves back in Lowee's Guild City. Gust and Lyrica stayed at the safe house upon arriving, stating that they were too tired from all the walking around, which was understandable. The whole reason the party was taking this break was so that they could relax and unwind before resuming their search for the remaining Key Fragments.

Neptune was pigging out on food she bought at various stores, vendors and restaurants she came across and Heero, Compa and IF followed after their purple haired leader. Compa watched as the purplenette seemingly inhaled everything she ate, "Nep-Nep can really eat a lot. Where do you think it all goes?"

IF was clearly doing something on her cellphone, as she was too busy to even bother looking at the aforementioned girl, "Who cares? The only thing I'm worried about is how much were going to end up spending on her."

Neptune's latest treat was a strawberry snow cone. A big smile was her face as she enjoyed her frozen delight, "Isn't this great you guys? Taking a break and eating lots of good food." The purplenette held her snow cone up to Heero's mouth. "Hey, wanna share my snow cone with me, Heero? It'll taste better if we share it."

Heero maneuvered his head so that the frozen treat wasn't in his face, "I'll pass." Out of the corner of his eye, Heero caught sight of an irregular mass moving toward the town. "More importantly, it looks like we may have a problem."

Neptune followed Heero's gaze to see a monster. The purple haired girl shot a half glare over at the creature that was the bane of human existence, and apparently the party's break time, "Aww, c'mon! We went on break so we wouldn't have to fight any monsters!"

IF walked past the fuming purplenette while keeping her attention focused on the monster approaching the city, "We don't have a choice. Things will get hectic if we don't do something."

The group took off to deal with the monster was advancing toward the town. Elsewhere in Guild City, two familiar hooligans were causing trouble for a man and his daughter. The two individuals were the brothers that had given a certain heroine a hard time about her chest area, only now they were trying to kidnap the daughter of a restaurant owner, "Accept it. We're taking your little chef with us. She'll cook in nothing but an apron!"

The teenaged girl began to panic as she imagined herself being forced to serve the two brothers… in nothing but an apron no less, "Nooo! Help, Dad!"

The man who was clearly the girl's father was on his knees begging the two deviants to let his daughter go, "Not my daughter! What do you want?! My restaurant? Money? I'll give you anything but my daughter!"

Paying no attention to the father, the older brother's eyes roamed over the girl's form, "Our sales should increase if we use her as sexy advertising for our restaurant." The brother glanced over at the man who was on the ground. "Don't worry. We'll only use her for our marketing until she makes us enough money!"

While the father of the girl wanted to do something, it went without saying that he was no fighter. There was no way he would be able to get his daughter back from the two hoodlums, so he did the only thing he could in his position, "How horrible! Someone, someone please come save my daughter!"

The younger brother laughed at the restaurant owner's cry for help, "Hahaha, like anyone would hear you. This isn't a comic book."

Just then a voice rang out that took everyone by surprise, "Hey you, right there! Yeah, you! Those with hearts tainted with darkness will never understand what it's like to be a father!"

Feelings of dread were evident on the older brother's face as he looked around for the person who was speaking to them, "Gh…! Who's there?!"

A familiar blue haired girl jumped off the top of a nearby building and landed in front of the two brothers. The girl was none other than the self-proclaimed 'Keeper of Justice', Nisa, and she did not look the least bit happy as she faced the two men, "I've no name to give to you cretins but justice!"

The younger brother immediately recognized the girl, "Oh, you're the unzipped-shirt-flatty from the other day. 'Sup?"

Even the older brother was taking shots at the blue haired girl, "What're you trying to prove by wearing such a revealing outfit? Aren't you embarrassed? Cold?"

Nisa just happened to recognize the two individuals as well, and her anger began to build upon remembering them, "You're THOSE brothers! Don't you dare speak of my glorious chest like that!" The provocatively dressed heroine balled her hand into a fist as she reached the limits of her tolerance. "I'll never forgive you! I'll take you both to the cleaners and bleach your souls pure once more!"

The older of the two brothers wasn't intimidated by Nisa, shrugging off her threat like it was nothing, "C'mon, brah. Let's show this flatty heroine what we're packin'."

Feeling confident, the younger brother took another verbal shot at Nisa… and just like his brother, it was aimed at her chest, "Okay. I mean, those can't even be A-cups. Do they make AA?"

"Heh. How incriminating."

That was the last straw for the heroine. It was bad enough that they had mocked her, but they had just took verbal shots at her most sensitive area… her chest. Nisa's eyes began to burn with unbridled fury, "I'll kill you! ...Dammit!"

The two brothers had expected to send the self-proclaimed heroine off crying. Instead, they were given a very brutal beating that wasn't befitting a heroine. After she had finished pummeling the brothers into submission, Nisa's lips curved into a grin. "Well, well. How should I enact my final dose of justice upon you two?"

Even while lying flat on his stomach in defeat, the younger brother was still throwing out verbal shots at the blue haired girl, "Damn. I can't believe no-boob managed to beat us. Maybe I was staring at her flat stomach. That's not too bad."

The arrogant older brother hit his younger sibling on the head, "Shut up! How could we lose? Those things are like little hills on the horizon of a giant field."

Nisa had only just begun to calm down when the two brothers began to make fun of her chest again. The Keeper of Justice began to unleash yet another rage fueled beating upon the two insolent brothers, "Are these the lips that keep flapping and blabbering about my bubbies?! Huh?!"

As he was receiving his second does of Nisa's brand of 'justice' the younger brother began to shout at her, "St-Stop it! A heroine shouldn't torture the citizens she's sworn to protect!"

The older brother watched as the Keeper of Justice beat his brother in horror and disbelief, "What are you doing to my little brah?!" He then pointed at the father and daughter, who were cowering behind a nearby bench. "Look, the folks you saved are totally appalled by your actions! And flatness."

Nisa stopped her rampage and looked over at the two people she had came to save and saw how they were shaking in fear, causing her to wince, "...Gah! Oops. I lost my composure..."

Once she was sure that the blue haired heroine had stopped her episode of savagery, the restaurant owner's daughter stood up from behind the bench and bowed to Nisa, though she was clearly still very much afraid, "Th… Th-Thank you..."

The girl's father picked up where his daughter left off, though the way he said it made it sound more like a question than an actual show of gratitude, "Very… much…?"

Nisa was quiet as she listened to the two thank her. She was very ashamed of herself at that moment. Even if the two men had been making fun of her… chest, it was still unbecoming of her to get so violent. A Guild Moderatist came running down the street, pointing in the direction behind him, "Look out, a monster! It's coming into town!"

Upon hearing that a monster was close by, Nisa looked in the direction that the Guild member was pointing, "What?! I must do something before it causes any havoc!"

Nisa took off after the monster, leaving the two brothers here they were. Once he was sure the heroine was gone, the younger brother looked at his sibling, "Brah, it's our chance to run."

"We failed, but let's get outta here."

The two brothers picked up their battered bodies and took off before Nisa or some other form of law enforcement showed up.

Nisa arrived on the scene where the monster had apparently been sighted. The Keeper of Justice struck yet another dramatic pose, prepared to face the monster. "Tyah! I won't let a single monster into this town. Not while I'm still standing!"

However, instead of finding a rampaging monster like she though she would, Nisa instead found a dead monster and the party of Neptune, Heero, Compa and IF around it. Compa began to walk away from the now dead creature when she saw the heroine, causing a bright smile to spread across her face "Oh, hello. We managed to beat that monster already, so don't fret."

The heroine was surprised that the group had gotten to the monster before her. This made her feel slightly embarrassed for trying to be dramatic when there was no point to, as was apparent by her awkward smile. "You girls beat me to it this time. I thank you for protecting the people with your burning hearts of justice." Nisa flashed a thumbs-up at Heero as soon as she noticed the Gundam pilot. "Ah, I see my fellow hero in arms has come to protect the peace as well. No wonder this monster didn't last long."

"Oh please, we only did what was necessary." Compa glanced at Nisa's chest area and couldn't help but giggle. "Heehee, you're flat-ahem!" The nurse in training stopped herself before she finished that sentenced, "Sorry, phlegm. Flattering us."

With her hands on her hips, Nisa tried to act mellow dramatic as she turned away from the party, "...Looks like I'm no longer needed. A heroine must leave briskly, before she cries. I'll see you again, should fate allow our paths to cross once more."

Compa waved at the heroine as she took off, "Okay, bye-bye."

IF looked from side to side before turning around to see Compa. The brunette walked over to the nurse in training as she continued to wave at the blue haired heroine that was almost out of sight, "There you are, Compa. Who're you talking to?"

"With Ms. Heroine from before. She just left."

IF folded her arms as she looked toward the direction that Nisa had gone. "Already? Busy as usual, huh? I wanted to ask her something important..."

Compa pat the Guild Moderatist on the back, "I'm sure she'll be back again when danger strikes."

A cold bead of sweat ran down IF's cheek as her lips curved into a nervous smile, "...Hopefully it doesn't happen too soon. Like Nep said, we're kind of on break here."

Neptune had stuffed her hands in her hoodie pockets since Lowee's cold weather began to get to her, "Can we head back to our nice toasty house now? I'm getting really cold."

Heero looked at the complaining preteen as she began to shake and shudder from the drop in temperature she was experiencing, "If you hadn't eaten so many frozen foods, you wouldn't be feeling cold right this moment."

The party's leader began to trudge toward the safe house… very slowly, "L-Let's just hurry up and g-get home. It's n-nice and warm there."

Heero heaved a mental sigh as he picked up the purplenette so that he could carry her. "(I really should limit the amount of frozen treats she can consume while we're on this landmass.) Since you are in no condition to walk back, I see no alternative but to carry you back." The Perfect Soldier looked over Compa and IF who, were still standing around conversing about the heroine. "Compa. IF. We're returning to the safe house for now."

When the two turned around to ask the lone male member of the party why they were heading back they saw a certain purplenette who was slowly turning blue. IF shook her head as she looked at the party's leader, "This is why you're not supposed to eat frozen food in cold places like Lowee. The concept of common sense is so lost on you it isn't even funny."

Compa was digging through her purse to see if she had anything that could warm up Neptune, "I don't have any hot pads for Nep-Nep. Let's hurry and get her into a hot bath and some hot chocolate. That should warm her up for sure."

Having finished up their business for the day, the group headed back to their safe house to rest and more importantly rejuvenate their party leader.

Xxx

It had only been one day, but it was clear that the break that the party had taken was doing them a lot of good. Everyone was feeling reinvigorated from their day away from questing and looking for the items that would supposedly save the world of Gamindustri.

Day two of the party's break came, and Neptune had already decided that the party would make a trip to Leanbox, which was passing by Lowee. No doubt the purplenette's decision was related to food, but no one was against the idea since they were still on break.

However, instead of being able to immediately relax like they had intended, the party found themselves having to deal with monsters just moments after they arrived at their safe house in the Land of Green Pastures.

What made it worse, the monsters were just outside of the town they were in. Once they had arrived where the monsters had been sighted the party assessed the situation. IF was disturbed with how close the monsters had gotten before anyone had said anything, "What's up with all the monsters lately? Why do we keep finding them near towns?

Compa had a strange look on her face as she tried to lighten the tension surrounding the party, "As long as we keep shooing them away, the townspeople will be okay."

The brunette began to complain as she thought about the increasing number of monster found near towns. "I know, but there've been so many!"

A rare look of seriousness made it's way onto Compa's face. "Iffy, this is a whine-free zone. I'm sure reinforcements are on the way."

Lyrica had a fearful look on her face as she looked at the horde of monsters trying to enter the town, "Will they make it in time? I don't know if we can stop all of them."

Gust wasn't quite as worried as the songstress, though she did understand her concern, "Worrying will not help. Must fight off monster for now."

Heero and Neptune were busying themselves by holding back the monsters that were actually trying to get into the town. Neptune was pouting the entire time they were dealing with the creatures, "Man, this sucks. I thought being on break meant we didn't have to fight monsters."

While Heero had been trained to fight, even he didn't want to have to worry about fighting off a horde of monsters when they should be relaxing. This was the opposite of what the party was supposed to be doing, "Unfortunately, we don't have a choice in the matter. For now, we need to focus on keeping all enemies out of the town so as to limit the damage."

"That's right! Never give up! Never surrender!"

A voice rang out as the party was fighting the monsters, a familiar one at that. A smile spread across Compa's face as she looked for the individual giving the dramatic speech, "This voice…!"

The party looked up to see someone jumping off a second story building and land just behind them. When they turned to look, a familiar blue haired heroine was standing with her hands on her hips. "The keeper of Gamindustri's justice, Nisa, is here to stay!" Nisa balled one of her hands into a fist as she directed her attention toward the monsters. "O threats to peace, thou shant take nary a step farther with my arrival!

Compa breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the heroine, "Oh, I'm glad she's here."

Nisa walked past the other members, preparing for the inevitable wave of monsters, "I wish I could tell you to go take a break, but there are too many for me this time." The blue haired heroine looked over her shoulder at the group. "Fight with me, if you can…!"

Compa's eyes began to gleam with determination at Nisa's request for assistance from the party, "Okay. I feel good now that you're here."

"All right, let's get 'em!"

Neptune had an irritated look on her face as she watched the party's nurse in training follow the self proclaimed keeper of justice into battle, "She's glad that no chest showed up? What about us? We've been doing all the fighting!"

With Nisa aiding them, the party began the process of slaying the monsters that threatened the town. It took them roughly half an hour, but they eventually succeeded. Nisa was dealing with the last monster that for whatever reason still seemed intent on getting into the town, "Last blow!"

The monster let out a pained howl before collapsing onto the ground. Once she was sure the monster had breathed it's last, Nisa allowed her lips to form into a smile as she gleefully professed their victory. "Awesome! Justice wins yet again!" Her expression of joy turned to one of disbelief as she turned to face the party, "Anyway, I can't believe you all would take on a job like this. There are only four of you. If you don't accept your limits, you'll end up accepting an early death."

Heero cast a glance over at Lyrica and Gust, who were waiting over by a water fountain, "Our team actually consists of six people. We kept Gust and Lyrica in the rear in case any of the enemies made it past the front line."

Compa gave an apologetic bow to Nisa, "We're sorry, but we have our reasons. Right, Nep-Nep?"

Neptune had a smile plastered on her face as she thought about the important world saving task the party had undertaken, "You betcha. We're..."

And so, Neptune explained the party's mission to the heroine with the others correcting and filling in whatever she missed. Nisa was deep in thought after the purplenette was finished explaining their situation, "...I see."

A brief moment of silence ensued, followed shortly after by the heroine's surprising response. "...Okay. I think I'll watch over you all for a while. You're on a journey for the sake of peace and justice, right? I believe my assistance will come in handy. Plus, I think I'll find more helpless people should I tag along. We shall reach the source of the ultimate evil! That's my mission as a heroine, anyway."

It was rather hard to believe that Nisa believed their story so easily. Any normal person would probably question how they were going to save the world listening to a disembodied voice that, as far as they knew, could actually be the source of the monsters in the world. A timid smile made its way onto the heroine's face, "...So, how do you like my offer?"

Naturally, the group wasn't going to turn down her offer. They needed all the help they could get, considering what had happened so far on their quest for the Key Fragments. IF folded her arms as her lips curved into a small smile, "Sure. I can't really turn you down when you put it like that."

As one could imagine, Compa was thrilled about the idea of Nisa joining their party, "We'll be stronger than ever with a real heroine on our team!"

"Cool. It's a deal!"

Lyrica was hiding behind IF, peeking her head out every so often to look at the heroine, "Um… I-I-I look forward to… w-working with you..."

Gust on the other hand, saw a new test subject for her potions on other such concoctions, "I am Gust. Gust hopes we can be great friends."

Neptune was already thinking about going back to relaxing as she thought about the cakes she had came to Leanbox for, "If it's all the same to you guys, I'm gonna go get some cakes from the bakery. We're still on break, y'know?"

Heero was looking off into the distance beyond the town gates, "You all can return to the safe house if you want. I will check to make sure that the area around the town has been secured."

Nisa clenched her fists as she thought about the idea of monsters coming back to the town, "Of course. There may be stragglers just waiting for us to drop our guard. I shall assist you in this fight against evil! Two heroic souls are better than one!"

IF and Compa grabbed Neptune before she could walk off to get her cakes, "You're coming with us."

Neptune rapidly shifted her attention between the two girls who were dragging her along, "Wh-What? Why? Heero said he was gonna take care of it!"

Compa shook her head at the purple haired girl, ashamed at how she wanted to just run home and relax, "There may still be monsters around. If we don't take care of them now, they might attack the townspeople! We can take a break once we're done."

With their newest member Nisa, the party set out to push back any monsters that were still hanging around outside the town. It took two hours for the party to completely search around the outside of town and mop up any monsters that they had found, and when they came back around to the entrance to the town they found a Light Dragon looming just in front of it.

The group was hiding behind a boulder as they observed the dragon while trying to come up with a plan of attack. IF knew that regardless of the plan, this monster was going to be a real pain, "Great… another one of these."

Neptune was bored out of her mind. She didn't want to spend her day off fighting monsters, and the more time they spent coming up with a plan, the less time she would have to relax and have fun, "Can we just come up with a plan already? I wanna go get my cakes."

Heero was thinking of an effective strategy to eliminate the threat, however, before he could lay it down for the party, Nisa had already jumped out from behind the boulder and challenged the creature, "I knew you would show yourself eventually. Prepare yourself to face the full might of the keeper of justice!"

Compa stared in awe at Nisa's courageous stand, "Wow, Ms. Heroine is so brave to be fighting that monster on her own."

Lyrica looked on in disbelief, "Is she in her right mind? It's dangerous to fight alone!"

Unfortunately, Nisa's mind was too focused on getting rid of the monster to worry about anything else. The heroine charged at the dragon and jumped high into the air, "Justice Kick!"

Using her strongest attack (or so she claimed), Nisa was intent on finishing the Light Dragon as quickly as possible. However, the party knew from experience that it wouldn't go down without a fight, and that was made all the more apparent by the way it blocked Nisa's attack with it's tail and then knocked her right into a tree shortly thereafter.

It took Nisa a moment to stand up. The impact from hitting the tree had disoriented her, and left her vulnerable, "...I didn't expect it to be this strong. But I shall not lose!"

The Light Dragon was rapidly approached the heroine as she waited for her senses to come back to her, though a streak of pink light that shot past the monster's face caused it to stop and shift its attention over to the rest of the party.

Heero's right arm was extended with his GN Sword firmly fixed to his arm. The Perfect Soldier lowered his arm when it was apparent that the monster's attention was taken away from Nisa, "For now, we need to focus on weakening the enemy's defenses. Compa and IF will circle around and get behind the target. Lyrica and Gust will act as support for Neptune and myself."

Neptune had an irritated look on her face as she pointed at the Light Dragon, "Hey, ugly! It's your fault I haven't gotten my cakes today, so I'ma beat you up!"

Gust had a blank look on her face as she watched the party's leader rant. "Is food all leader thinks about?"

With a plan laid out for them, the group set out to defeat the monster that would most likely terrorize the town if it was not stopped. Heero and Neptune ran at the Light Dragon with Lyrica and Gust supporting them, their intention being to distract the creature until IF and Compa had gotten behind it.

Once behind the monster, IF turned to look at the nurse in training behind her, "Make sure you don't shoot at me this time, got it?"

Compa looked away as the Guild Moderatist's heated gaze bore into her, "That wasn't my fault! You got in the way!"

"Look, just don't put any holes in my jacket, all right? This is the only one I've got."

IF turned back around and ran at the Light Dragon's exposed back. Compa lifted her giant syringe to fire, pouting as she did, "But you keep getting in the way, Iffy..."

When Nisa finally regained her senses, she witnessed the close-knit teamwork of the other party members. Everyone had a job and no one was left out, covering for one another and taking if the situation called for it, they would take one another's place. Suffice it to say, the heroine was quite impressed with the level cooperation between the groups members, even if they bickered a lot, "I've never seen a party fight quite like they do."

The skirmish went on for two minutes with the party slowly wearing down the monster. It's movements became wild and sluggish. Just as Neptune was about to go in for the final blow, the Light Dragon spun around once in a full three hundred and sixty degree rotation, using its tail to keep the members of the party back.

Neptune flailed her arms to try and stop herself, falling on her backside in the process. The purplenette started shouting at the monster yet again, "Watch it, jerk! You almost hit me!"

Of course, Neptune wasn't the only one who had almost hit by the creature. Nisa would have been hit for the second time, were it not for a timely intervention by Heero. The Gundam pilot ended up taking a hit from the monster that was intended for Nisa, forcing them both back.

Nisa examined the injury as the other five members of the party focused on drawing the Light Dragon's attention away from the injured Heero, "Are you okay? What were you thinking doing something so reckless?!"

"Had I not intervened, you would have been injured yourself. And while I know that you are quite strong physically, I don't want any of you getting hurt."

The bluenette's cheeks turned a light shade of red upon as Heero stood up and checked his arm. "It is only a minor injury, so there is no cause for concern. We should hurry up and finish off the target."

As Heero went to rejoin the others, Nisa stood where she was holding a hand over her chest, "What is this feeling? I've never felt it before. It couldn't be… could it?" A confident smile began to form on the heroine's as her cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Yes, it is! The source of a heroin's true strength! A power that even the purest evil cannot defeat! This is... this is…! This is love!"

The girls of the party stopped what they were doing as Nisa went into her dramatic moment. Neptune looked from left to right as she looked for who was talking, "I heard something about love. Who's talkin'?

"Foul monster! You shant plague these lands anymore! You will fall before the power of our love!" Nisa jumped high into the air, then came speeding back down toward the monster below, "Justice Kick!"

Unlike with her first attempt, Nisa's attack hit the Light Dragon right in it's side. The tough scales that had been there before had worn away from the constant barrage from Compa, Lyrica and Gust, leaving only the soft unprotected skin underneath.

Nisa's kick launched the dragon monster into the boulder they had hidden behind before fighting, and after twitching for ten seconds, finally died. Nisa assumed yet another dramatic pose after the monster had been confirmed dead. "Once again, justice shall triumph over the wick and unjust! A heroine who is in love can overcome any obstacle!"

IF had a disgruntled look on her face as she listened to the self-proclaimed heroine, "Don't tell me..."

"Are you kidding me?! No tits over there is after my man?!"

The brunette was momentarily startled before remember where the source of the voice was coming from, "(Haven't heard from you in a while...)"

It was none other than IF's inner voice… The inner chibi that was constantly bad mouthing the others and would come up with ideas to set IF up with Heero. "Yeah, well, I needed a break from the stupidity. That doesn't matter right now! What matters is that there's another moron after Heero!"

IF tried to put on a confident smile as she looked away from Nisa, "(I'm not too worried. Compared to her, I've actually got a chest. She's the flatty here.)"

Neptune was unable to keep her disapproval to herself. The purplenette grabbed onto Heero while shooting an irritated look at Nisa, "Hold it right there, Missy. Heero's my lover, not yours. If you wanna find love, go look for somebody else."

Heero looked at the girl holding onto his arm, "We are not lovers."

"Heero, I know you're embarrassed to admit it, but its moments like this where you gotta support our love."

Compa wasn't sure what to think about this new development, "Does Ms. Heroine have to fall in love with Heero? I'm glad she's in our party… but I don't want more competition."

Lyrica was beginning to pout as well, "Besides, can she even really call it love? She hasn't been with Heero as long as we have."

As the girls were bickering and complaining, another monster popped out from behind a row of bushes. It was an Imp, a rather generic monster that was no threat on its own. As soon as it saw the party and the dead Light Dragon further behind them, the monster quickly fled, though not before the group saw it, "Hold it right there, monster! All evil shall be purged from these lands, including you!"

The party gave chase to the monster as it ran into the forest. IF rushed out ahead of the party and was quickly gaining on the fleeted footed creature, leaving the party behind. Once she was close enough, the brunette unsheathed her weapons for the third time that day, "You're wide open!"

In one quick movement the Guild Moderatist bisected the Imp, leaving deep wounds that the creature had no hope of surviving from. IF had a weathered smile on her face, satisfied that the monster had been dealt with and that the party's job was finished, "Phew. Finally. That monster was a total pushover." The brunette looked around for any sign of the others, but didn't see anything. "Nep and the others must have taken a different path while I chased it down."

As she looked for any sign of her party, IF heard footsteps approaching. Judging by the sound, whoever it was was in a hurry. "Footsteps?! ...They're coming closer!

"Ifffffffy..."

A familiar voice came, followed by an audible crash that took the brunette by surprise, "Wh-What?!" Standing in front of IF was a familiar red haired girl that she had met on Planeptune. "You're… the girl from the forest. Red, right?"

Red had a smile on her face as she looked at the girl who she had dubbed as her 'wifey', "You remember my name! As expected of Wifey Number 1. My eyes know quality women."

A nervous smile curved IF's lips, "R-Right, Wifey Number 1. So what can this quality wifey do for you?"

Red was momentarily confused, as if she had a reason for coming to see IF, but then suddenly forgot. IF was about to say something when the red headed girl suddenly remembered what she was there for. "Oh yeah. You're traveling to hunt monsters, right?"

IF smiled and nodded her head, "Yep. We might still be surrounded. Let's get back to town as soon as we can."

The Guild Moderatist wanted to get out of the forest, get back to the safe house and enjoy the rest of the day off. Red on the other hand, had a dejected look on her face, "But… I just got here! We're alone! I came today… I came for you and you alone!" Red began to smile for no apparent reason. "For my beloved Wifey Number 1, I brought a whole bunch of them with me while risking my life!"

IF looked at Red for a moment, she had no idea what she meant, "Brought… what…?"

With a grin on her face, Red pointed in the direction behind her, "Monsters! You can fight to your heart's content now!"

IF was silent as she heard roars and screeches of varying pitches and tones. Clearly the young girl had brought more than one type of monster with her.

Red took the brunette's silence as a sign of happiness, "Too happy to respond, eh? Man, it was tough work to round up this many. But I know it's worth it to see that stunned O-face of yours. There's probably more than one hundred here!"

IF had been so happy when it was only the one monster she had to deal with. But seeing the various monsters that were starting to surround the two left her in a less than good mood, "Crap! The two of us alone can't possibly stand against that many. We need to run!"

IF looking for the nearest exit so as to get away from the horde of monsters. Red was confused as to why the Guild Moderatist was running from the monsters rather than fighting them, "Huh? Hmm, you're not gonna fight? But I worked so hard to bring them to you...

The brunette didn't want to waste anymore time when their lives were in danger, "Red, just… take my hand and hurry!"

Red didn't even have time to say anything as IF grabbed her hand and began to run as fast as she could with the red head in tow. The duo ran for five minutes without stopping, not even bothering to look over their shoulders until they were sure they had escaped the ravenous horde of monsters.

IF was struggling to catch her breath after they stopped, "Haaah… Ahh… Ugh. I'm so tired." When she finally caught her breath, IF turned her attention to Red. "Don't you dare ever try that again! Monsters are dangerous!"

Red had an apologetic smile on her face as she looked at her Wifey Number 1, "I'm sorry. I thought it'd make you happy, but I guess… I went too far."

Watching the girl for a moment, IF could see that Red was genuinely sorry for what she did. IF gave the girl a weathered smile, "You have to know where the line is and not cross it. But, it's kinda flattering to know you did it just for me."

The red head had a bright smile on her face upon hearing IF's response, "Really?! So I've increased my charisma?"

IF was slightly confused as to why the girl was suddenly talking about charisma, "C-Charisma? Sure… by a little."

Suddenly, Red pulled out a small notebook and a pen. "Awesome! Charisma +10! I need to jot that down..."

The brunette tilted her head, even more confused as to what Red was talking about, "...Plus ten?"

Red turned on her heels and began to run toward the forest exit, "Off to find more wifeys!"

IF just stared at the girl as she took off. Once Red was out of sight, IF began to walk out of the woods. She winced slightly as she moved, taking the time to look down at her legs to see a number of cuts and bruises, "I really should have watched where I was going. My legs are already killing me."

When the Guild Moderatist stepped out of the forest she took a minute to stop and examine her legs more thoroughly. As she looked at herself, a shadow began to loom over her, throwing her into a panic until she noticed that it was transformed Heero, "D-Don't scare me like that. I thought those monsters had caught up with me."

Heero, encased in the Wing Gundam, looked down at IF as she breathed a sigh of relief, "Neptune and the others headed back after losing sight of the target. Since you were still out here I came to look for you."

The Gundam looked down at IF's legs to see the numerous cuts and bruises that she had accumulated. IF shifted her attention to her legs as well, seeing blood from some of her cuts, "I had to run away from a horde of monsters. There were so many of them, I wouldn't have stood a chance fighting them all at once."

"The injuries themselves don't appear to be serious. It's the number of injuries you sustained that will inhibit your movements. Do I need to carry you?"

IF shook her head, trying to play off the injuries as if they were nothing, "Don't worry about it. They're not so bad that I can't walk myself."

Of course, as soon as she stood up IF took a sharp intake of air as pain shot up through her legs. The brunette was silent for a moment before rubbing the back of her head, "On second thought, maybe I will take you up on that offer. Sorry to inconvenience you like this."

Heero got down on one knee so as to let IF onto his shoulder, "If I thought it was an inconvenience, I would not offer to carry you in the first place." Once IF was sitting on the Gundam's shoulder, the Wing Gundam stood up and began to walk toward the town. "We will have Compa address your injuries as soon as we return to the safe house. As I said, they're not serious, so they should heal over night if we treat them now."

IF stretched out her back and let out a tired yawn, "That was too much work for our day off. At least we still have one more day to kick back and relax before we go back to Lastation for the Key Fragment. I just hope no more monsters show up before then."

That was something the entire party would agree on. And they would need all the rest they could get. Once they got back to looking for the Key Fragments, there was no telling when the group would actually be able to take an appropriate break.

Xxx

Me: "Another chapter, done. This one was kinda short, but… well, doesn't matter. At least its not the shortest chapter of the story."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC) "Did you have to have another girl fall for Heero? He's already got me, what more does he need?"

Me: "Well, this IS a rom/com. Romantic Comedy? ...With Adventure of course, but still. What romance has more opportunities for comedy than a harem story? We have to add more girls."

Nisa: (Enters ACCC from Lounge) "I thought this chapter was going to be longer. And why did it take this long to update the story?"

Compa: (Enters ACCC from Break Room) "There there, Ms. Heroine. I'm sure there's a good reason for it."

Me: "The only reason this one took so long was because we only had the two cutscenes left for Nisa. When I tried typing it out, it all came out to around 3500 words… which wasn't quite satisfactory. So I had to come up with something to lengthen it… Something other than a dungeon crawling spree. We were also able to work in a cutscene for Red, because we can't just forget about her. Besides, I'm sure the readers don't mind. It means we get a new character added to the roster and we go go right into the last chapter of the Lastation Key Fragment search."

IF: (Enters ACCC and sits on couch) "I never want to have to go through that again."

Me: (Pats IF on the back) "You'll feel better once you've had some ice cream. Also, I feel I should point out that there might be a slight change to the story's title soon. Maybe after I update the next chapter." (Points at Nisa) "Since you were just added to the party you get to wrap up for us, Nisa."

Nisa: "Leave it to me! This is also part of my job as a heroine."

Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: (Leave ACCC from Left Entrance)

Nisa: (Turns to readers) "Loyal readers and followers of justice, please read and review this chapter and look forward to the next update." (Leaves ACCC from Left Entrance)