Me: "Once again, good day my good readers. After the whole debacle from our last chapter, it's time we went back to the Key Fragment search."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "But we gotta go through a bunch of quests before we even get to go after the Key Fragment, don't we? Lame."
Heero: "I share in your dislike over this matter, however we have no other alternative."
Neptune: "Sure we do! We can always get author man to cheat for us get us that Key Fragment!"
Me: "Can't do that. If I did, it would break the story, make it uninteresting, and our readers would leave. Besides, you enjoy all the happenings that go too much to want that."
Compa and IF: (Enter IC) "Nep-Nep, we shouldn't have Mr. Author do the work for us. You know what they say, 'Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat!'"
IF: "Hey, I wouldn't mind. It would save us a lot of trouble."
Me: "I'm not helping you." 'Looks down at watch' "Okay, we just need to wait for one more-"
Zero: (Suddenly appears behind Author) "Did someone require my assistance?"
Me: "As a matter of fact, we do. We need you to help with the disclaimer and whatnot. And I don't feel like waiting on anyone else to get here. So… yeah, let's get this over with."
Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF and Zero: "HeeroUzuki 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: "It hurts having to hear that every time. Let's get out of here already."
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF and Zero: (Leave IC)
Ch. 32 A Day in a Disc
It was late in the evening on Lowee, and while most of the landmass's residence were either asleep or enjoying a night on the town, a secret Guild meeting was taking place on this night.
This was no ordinary secret meeting. It was a gathering of Guild Extremists; the members of the Guild who were ready and willing to resort to drastic measures, including violence without hesitation. In order to keep unwanted visitors away, the Extremists were meeting in the basement of an otherwise abandoned building located in Guild City.
After some time had passed, a handful of Guild members had gathered. Among them was Ganache, the manipulative founder of Avenir who managed to elude capture from the authorities when his deception was made public. As the Extremists were about to begin their meeting, the door to the basement swung open and a familiar figure descended the stairs, "...Is this it? This is the oh so super secret Guild Extremist gathering."
Most of the Extremists were on edge upon seeing the women. While Ganache was not too keen on having an outsider barge in on the meeting, he knew that if a fight were to break out it would draw a lot of attention. If that happened, the Basilicom might start to keep a more watchful eye on them, "Ah, who could this be? We're not used to newcomers. How did you get past our sentries?"
The women, who the party knew as Conversation, shifted her gaze for a moment. "They're, um, sleeping. Maybe you should hire more so they can get more rest. Overwork is a bad way to keep employees."
Ganache wasn't really concerned about the guards. He was just interested in the woman's response, and what it was that she wanted, "Hmmm, I'm sure they get the same amount of off days as any other worker. Meh. Oh well. How can I help you? I suppose you're not here to see my magical smile."
"I'll be blunt. I want you to attack the Basilicom under my direct command."
The room was silent with the exception of a few murmurs. Ganache hadn't been expecting such an answer and knew that while the Extremists were willing to resort to such an action, they weren't exactly capable of pulling it off successfully. "...Sounds dangerous. We alone couldn't possibly carry that out. I suppose it depends what you've got up your sleeve."
Conversation, if that was her real name, had the group of Extremists right where she wanted them. If they had the means to carry out an attack on the Basilicom, they would immediately jump at the chance, "I wouldn't want to scare you just away yet. Follow my orders and I promise you'll find out eventually."
The Extremist questioned how it was that this woman could think that they could storm a Basilicom with their numbers. "You think we're able to win? I cannot allow you to use us as if we were chess pieces."
"Meh. It's possible. This will end up being a good deal for you, too."
Avenir's former owner still wasn't completely sold on the idea, "You… seem pretty sketchy."
Ganache was being rather cautious about the idea, meaning that he needed to be goaded a little more. "You've got the same discontent as me. Bound by your destiny, judged, all because you don't worship your birth land's CPU. The Guild is a place to worship the goddesses as well, but only the Basilicom can be close to them."
"Ultimately, you should know, we plan to separate the filthy, corrupt Basilicoms and the goddesses."
Conversation could see the man weakening. Just a little more prodding would get him to act, "So the Guild can serve them instead? That will never happen if you sit on your hands here! Now's the time. You have my support."
The Evangelist's honeyed words had their intended effect, as Ganache began to give in, "I can't argue that. Regardless, going against the Basilicom is no easy task."
"Then accept the label of heretic for the rest of your life. Pursue your beliefs in the shadows. You've no chance to win right now, but I can make your chances of success almost absolute!"
What started out as murmurs between the Extremists had become quite vocal discussions. As she watched the Guild members hold a serious discussion regarding the matter of attacking the Basilicom, Conversation's lips cracked into a malevolent grin.
Xxx
Elsewhere on Lowee the party had turned in for the night so that they would be well rested for the following morning.
As the rest of the girls slept, Neptune was tossing and turning in bed. She wasn't having her usual slew of dreams that consisted of Heero, food, or a combination of the two.
Xxx
Neptune found herself in a white void. Everywhere she looked there was nothing but white, "Hey, where am I? It's all white and boring here."
"Neptune?"
The purplenette turned around to find a fairly surprised Zero standing behind her. Neptune's eyes roamed over the woman's form, noting that she had a build more impressive than Lady Green Heart's, "That voice… is that you, Z? You've got a totally smoking bod! Even Lady Green Heart isn't as hot as you!"
Zero's surprise subsided and found herself rather amused by the girl in front of her, "I'm flattered that you think so. I believe this is our first time meeting face to face."
Neptune began to size up the armored woman in front of her, feeling a sense of… inadequacy, "Hey… you aren't trying to seduce Heero our anything, are you?"
The manifestation of the Zero System was surprised at that Neptune would think such a thing. "Of course not. Heero and I may work together, but we don't have that kind of relationship."
Neptune continued to eye Zero, unsure whether or not to trust her… at least in regards to Heero. "...You sure?"
Zero folded her arms while casting a look that said 'Really?' "Have I given you any reason not to trust me?"
After a moment to think on it, Neptune really had no reason to doubt the embodiment of the Wing Zero, "Well… I guess not. So why are you here, Z? Did ya need something?"
"Actually, I was going to ask you that very question, Neptune. I wasn't expecting to see you… at least not so soon."
Once again, Neptune found herself looking around at the endless white void the two girls were inhabiting. "So… where are we? There's a whole lotta nothing in here. You don't live here do ya, Z?"
Zero gestured to the white landscape surrounding them, "This is your mind, Neptune. Or rather a portion of it. Much like with Heero, I can 'visit' you while you are unconscious through this part of your mind and not simply talk to you during the day, which I believe has made your fellow team members question your sanity on more than one occasion. Unlike Histoire, there is nothing restricting my link to the two of you, so should I need to relay any important information I won't have to deal with any interference."
For Neptune, that was a lot to take in, but she seemed to get the gist of it, "Your the bomb, Z! Histy just gives us cryptic messages and she's not all that helpful. And her telepathic service sucks." The energetic girl observed the vast white space that was supposedly a part of her mind. "Is this really part of my mind? It's so boring in here."
As Neptune was looking over the vast nothingness, Zero watched the energetic girl. Once the purple haired girl had finished looking out at the blank canvas of her mind, she noticed Zero watching her intently, "What's up, Z? You're staring at me. Do I have something on my face?" Neptune began to rub her mouth with her hoodie sleeve. "Compa and Iffy keep sayin' that I end up with crumbs on my cheeks after dinner."
Zero gently shook her head, "No. I was just over the list of possible reasons as to how you were able to establish this link." The golden haired woman's lips quirked into a sly grin. "I think someone's has gotten rather close to Heero."
A bashful smile graced Neptune's face, as she was elated to hear that, "You think so? I mean, Heero's been really nice and all, but..."
Neptune had gone silent as her eyes fell to the ground. Her smile had vanished and her eyes were tinged with melancholy. Zero wanted to hear just what it was that was troubling the girl, "...Yes?"
The purplenette rubbed the back of her head, managing a sad smile. "Well… I tell Heero that I love him all the time. And I know he has to love me, cuz he's always protecting me and all… But I wish he would actually come out and say that he loves me."
Zero watched Neptune as she spoke her mind. Truth be told, the personification of the Zero System had found the time to watch the interactions between Heero and the girls. Neptune's various displays of affection toward Heero did not go unseen, which included every way and manner in which she would grab onto and cling to the boy. "...It looks like I was wrong about you."
A look of confusion crossed Neptune's face, "Wrong about what?"
"I've been observing your interactions with Heero during the time that we've been here in Gamindustri. I had thought that you were… clingy. That you tried to force your feelings onto Heero. Now, I see that that's not the case..."
It was more than a little embarrassing for Neptune to hear that even when she was alone with Heero, she was still being watched. "Are you a pervert, Z? Were you hoping to catch me and Heero doing the thing?!"
Zero couldn't help but laugh as the purplenette began to act belligerent, "Calm down, Neptune. When that happens, rest assured that I will give you your privacy."
Neptune began to calm down from her episode. Seeing her get so worked up over nothing really was amusing for Zero… and served to remind her of what Heero could very well lose if he didn't change his way of thinking. "Neptune, I know you feel a little precarious about your relationship right now. It is proving just as difficult for Heero. He believes that if he starts to accept these feelings, he might not be strong enough to protect you."
It was difficult for the party leader to believe that. The idea that Heero would be weak just from coming to terms with his feelings was absurd, "Are you being for realsies? Heero's plenty strong! He doesn't gotta worry about that."
"Neptune you have to understand. Heero has had a… less than ideal upbringing. He has always placed his missions before anything else, and has trained himself to keep his emotions reined in. But recently he has become conflicted. Heero is not sure of what he's supposed to do regarding you and his mission."
Zero was worried that what she was saying might go over Neptune's head, and decided to give a more concise answer that she would understand. "If you really want this relationship with Heero to work. If you want something to come out of it, then take it slowly. I'm sure that given enough time, Heero will really start to open up to you. As you have seen for yourself, underneath that tough exterior he's quite gentle and compassionate."
It was true, Neptune had seen the Gundam pilot's other side. Just remembering the moments he had displayed such affection made the purplenette weak in the knees, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Z."
"On that note, I believe it is time that we part for now. I have things I must sort through, and you're about to wake up."
At first Neptune thought that Zero was being cryptic, when the woman in front of her started to fade away. Because she wasn't sure whether or not what was happening was normal, Neptune was immediately thrown into a panic. "Whoa, Z, wh-what's going on?! You're disappearing!"
"It's like I told you. You're starting to wake up."
Neptune wasn't ready for the discussion to end so soon. Especially when she was getting help in regards to her relationship with Heero, "You can't go yet, Z! There's all kinds of stuff I wanna know about Heero!"
"All in due time, Neptune..."
Xxx
Neptune swiftly sat up in her bed and immediately began to check her surroundings. Rather than an empty void of white, the purplenette found herself back in the room that she and the rest of the party were sharing, "Was all that real? But I totally talked to Z..."
As she thought about the girl who was serving as Heero's partner, Neptune couldn't help but feel a little insecure. Turning to her right, the party's leader checked to make sure that the aforementioned Gundam pilot was in his bed, only to find it empty. It was then that she noticed the sliver of light coming through the crack in the bottom of the door leading into the room.
The purplenette grabbed her shoes and tip-toed across the room so as not wake the others. As she opened the door it began to make a creaking noise, causing Neptune to pause and look at the girls. Compa began shifting around, but settle down shortly afterward. The only other response came from Lyrica turning over onto her side.
Neptune exhaled before looking at the door with a frown and speaking in a hushed tone, "Will you shut up?"
After getting through the doorway and shutting the door behind her, Neptune slipped on her shoes and headed down the short hallway toward the living room.
Heero was sitting on the couch with his laptop situated in front of him on the table. The boy was looking intently at the computer screen and didn't seem to notice Neptune, "What'cha doing, Heero?"
The Gundam pilot was caught off guard. He wasn't expecting Neptune to be up so early, "I'm surprised that you're up so early."
Neptune plopped down next to Heero, "You're not gonna believe this, but I met Z!"
It took Heero a moment to figure out just what Neptune meant, but deduced that she had seen Zero in her sleep, "I see. Did she have anything of relative importance to convey?"
"Well, sorta… she had stuff she wanted to tell me." The purple haired girl looked straight into Heero's eyes with a seriousness that was quite rare for her. "Heero, are you into Z?"
Heero looked at the girl next to him with a look that suggested that he didn't comprehend Neptune's question, "I don't quite understand what you mean by that."
Neptune continued to maintain eye contact with the boy that she held immense adoration for, "What I mean is… are you and Z a thing?"
Now THAT, Heero did understand, and he was quite surprised that Neptune thought as such. The boy shook off his initial shock and replied to the girl who seemed rather precarious. "Zero is my partner, so naturally we're close. But we are not THAT close."
The purplenette wasn't sure what it was, but hearing Heero say it made her feel much more comfortable than when Zero had said as such. Neptune heaved a sigh of relief. "I was kinda worried there."
Heero watched the purplenette for a moment, and was beginning to think that getting up so early wasn't good for her, "Perhaps you should get some more sleep. The others won't be up for at least two more hours."
Not wanting to worry the lone male party member, Neptune just waved off his suggestion, "You don't gotta worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."
Despite her claim, Heero could see the exhaustion behind those eyes of hers. It was strange… Heero found looking into those two amethyst to be rather soothing. The Gundam pilot glanced at his laptop screen for a moment. Shortly before Neptune had came in, the Perfect Soldier had found a news article that mentioned in monster activity in a particular area of Lowee.
Heero believed that there was some merit to investigating the report, but now… Now he didn't seem interested in it. As a soldier and as Neptune's bodyguard, he knew that he should delve into the news article and glean what information he could in case it hinted at the location of the Key Fragment.
Taking one last look at his laptop, Heero reached over and closed the personal computer before grabbing Neptune by her shoulder and pulling on the girl just enough so that she would fall over. Before she knew it the purplenette found her head in Heero's lap with the Perfect Soldier leaning back onto the sofa. "You should rest while you can, Neptune. I'll wake you before the other get up."
Neptune's lips formed a big grin as her cheeks took on a cherry blossom pink hue. "Welllll… okay, but only cause you asked nicely."
The leader of the group fell asleep against her Destined Lover's lap as he gently stroked her hair. And for those two hours in which Neptune was asleep, Heero focused on nothing but the sleeping goddess.
Xxx
Having taken care of the majority of their personal errands over the previous two weeks, as well as taking some much needed down time, the party was ready to resume their search for the final Key Fragment. In addition, for better or for worse, Red had joined the party as well.
The group was prepared to dig in and spend as much time as necessary to search Lowee for the last Key Fragment, though until they acquired some information on a potential location the group would be stuck searching random areas.
As the party lounged around the safe house as they waited for Compa to return from her trip to the store, the aforementioned pink haired girl barged in through the front door, "Uh-oh! A monster is attacking the town!"
It was hard to believe that a monster was already inside the town. Normally monsters only appeared outside of the towns because of the goddesses' divine protection. Neptune was the first to voice her discontent, "What?! We've been bustin' the jaws of so many! What about the goddess' protection and stuff?"
IF had been using her phone to get in touch with her information sources in the Guild. Truly this was a rare moment when the brunette was in agreement with Neptune's sentiments, "Why didn't anyone notice this thing approaching the town? Those stupid guards must be completely useless."
Lyrica had been tuning the strings of her guitar when the nurse in training dropped the news of the attack, "Did any of the towns people see the monster coming, or how it got into the city?
Compa was unable to answer the underground celebrity, "I have no clue! It just popped up right there in the middle of town. Everyone's in a big panic!"
Heero grabbed his jacket and headed for the front door, "We can deal with the matter later. Right now, our priority should be dealing with the enemy."
Red was jumping up and down out of excitement. She wanted to show the rest of the party what she could do in a fight, "Just leave it to me! I can beat up a monster no problem."
IF wasn't so keen on the idea of Red fighting against monsters mainly because she had seen what the red head had for weapons… if they could even be called that. The brunette was worried that Red might just get herself hurt. Then again, Gust was about Red's age and she was quite capable, and Compa could hold her own despite the fact that she looked meek and helpless, "(Well… maybe it won't be so bad. Who knows? Maybe she'll actually have some skill.)"
Nisa had already rushed out the door and was shouting to the party from the street, "We have no time to waste! We must hurry and defeat the monster before it harms the denizens of this town!"
The party grabbed their equipment and went off to find the monster, following the devastation it left in its wake. Along the way, Neptune had transformed in anticipation of a fight, and after two minutes of following damaged buildings and property, the group found arrived at the outskirts of town.
Xxx
It didn't take long to find the monster responsible for the damage, and it was thank to a group of Guild moderatists that the monster had been chased out of the town and away from civilians. While Neptune was thankful that the damage had been kept to a minimum, she was still bothered by the fact that a monster had gotten into the town to begin with, "Is that it? I'm glad you were able to chase it outta town, but did nobody notice it was coming?"
"There are no witnesses. The first person who saw it said it appeared out of thin air."
The idea that monsters could just spawn out of thin air was unnerving, and it would explain why no one actually saw the monster entering the city, "We don't know how the monsters spawn. Maybe they do just sprout up out of nowhere in places."
Heero wasn't about to believe such an idea. It was preposterous to think that monsters could just appear out of nowhere without any warning, "If that were the case, there would no doubt be an increase in attacks on the towns and cities of each landmass."
That thought had crossed Neptune's mind as well. It seemed a little too farfetched for the creature to just appear in the town, "...Then, there mus be a reason for it to pop up in the middle of this specific town."
IF clapped her hands together in order to get the group's attention, "Let's do all that thinking after we take care of this monster. It looks about ready to charge us!"
The monster in question, appropriately referred to as a 'Giant Bull', was preparing to charge at the group. While the monster was called a Giant Bull the only way it resembled a bull was in its violent tendencies. The creature seemed almost mechanical, and the mane on it's body was so green. And while the monster did have a pair of sharp horns on its head, what made it so intimidating was its size, due to being… giant.
As the monster began to charge, the group of Guild moderatists responsible for leading the Giant Bull away from the town beat a hasty retreat. While they were able to get the monster away from the general populace, the Guild members had neither the equipment or man power needed to deal with it.
Everyone in the group got out of the way of the charging bull monster, allowing it to pass by without any injury to their persons. With such a large and formidable enemy in front of them, Neptune was spoiling for a good fight, "So, does anyone have a plan to deal with this thing?"
Although the sword maiden said 'anyone,' that was really just another way of asking Heero, the party's strategist. Since this was a first encounter for the group, they didn't know what to expect from the monster, "For now we need to avoid being directly in front of the target. Other than that, you may engage the target at your own discretion."
All the party could really do was attack and see how the monster would respond. It took a moment for the Giant Bull to turn around, but once it did, it made a second attempt to charge at the group.
Red reached into her pocket and pulled out a yo-yo, "Just watch. I'll take down that monster in a no time!"
IF could only hope that the red headed girl wouldn't do anything too crazy. As the monster approached, Red fix the yo-yo string to her finger before casting it towards the Giant Bull's front right leg. To the group's surprise, the monster plowed into the ground from having it's leg knocked out from under it.
As the Giant Bull worked to regain it's footing, IF had a nervous smile on her face as she looked at Red's handiwork, "...Maybe she has some skill after all."
Just then, Compa fired a bullet from her oversized syringe and knocked the giant creature onto it's side. The brunette's smile waned a little bit in response. "...Compa must have gotten lucky and hit a weak point. I mean, she's not that strong to begin with."
Of course, her faith in Red's abilities were further dashed when a bolt of fire from Lyrica's guitar knocked the Giant Bull into a pair of trees, burying the creature in snow. IF hung her head upon seeing the aftermath of the attacks from Compa and Lyrica. "...Who am I kidding? This monster is just really weak."
Despite the monster's stature, it was no more powerful than any regular monster that could be found just about anywhere. It's size didn't give increase it strength. All it did was make it a bigger target.
This was another odd moment where Heero found that common sense or logic meant nothing in the face of the obscure reality of Gamindustri. The Perfect Soldier knew that he should have known better by now, but it was still incomprehensible that something so large could be so weak, "Sometimes are question why I even bother..."
Gust had pulled out some items to synthesize an explosive, but put away the reagents after seeing the monster get tossed aside so easily, "No need to make bombs. Gust can sit on the side this time."
Even Nisa opted to sit on the sidelines for the battle, "This foe may not be powerful, but I will still lend my support should you need it."
As the two girls moved to a safe place to observe the battle, Compa caught sight of what looked to be a Heretic. The elderly man was hiding behind some dead trees, watching the battle between the party and the monster for a moment before scurrying off.
Since the closest party member to the nurse in training was Lyrica, Compa attempted to get her attention, "Lyrica, did you see that old man over there? I think that was a-"
Unlike the pink haired girl, Lyrica had her attention focused on the more immediate problem, "Compa, whatever it is, it'll have to wait."
The Giant Bull emerged from the pile of snow, even more pissed off then it was before. With a violent bellow, the monster charged straight towards the group for the third time. Red was busy trying to fix the string of her yo-yo as the monster came rushing toward her.
IF was shouting at Red to move, but she was too busy trying to untangle the string on her 'weapon' to hear the Guild Moderatist. The brunette could only watch as the Giant Bull ran over Red, colliding with a snow bank before it finally stopped.
Even though Red wore a color that easily stood out from the snow, IF couldn't see a trace of the red headed girl, "Red! Where are you?! Don't tell me that monster actually got her..."
As if to assuage IF's fears, Red poked her head out from the blanket of snow that covered her. Instead of being trampled or impaled the large monster, she had simply been buried underneath the snow that had been kicked up, "Did somebody say my name?"
The Guild member was about to questioned how Red had survived, only to stop herself midway through her train of thought. "Wait, this is Red we're talking about… I doubt that even did anything to her."
As IF went to help Red out of the snow, Neptune watched as the monster pulled itself out of the pile of snow to face the party again. The sword maiden felt rather offended at having to fight such a weak enemy. Heero pinched the bridge of his nose before exhaling, "...Let's just get this over with. There's no reason to take precautionary measures against an enemy like this."
At this point, any time spent dealing with the monster would just be a waste. Even when the monster was charging right at them, Heero couldn't seem to take the situation seriously. The Gundam pilot extended the blade on his GN Sword, side stepped out of the way of the charging behemoth, and cut it's left fore leg out from under it.
The Giant Bull crumbled onto the ground, and the moment it stopped sliding across the ground, Neptune drove her sword through the center of it's head. A few spasms ensued from the creature before it finally stopped moving.
Compa looked at the body of the fallen monster. For all the trouble the monster had caused, it hadn't really been all that dangerous, "That was… a normal monster."
Neptune had been hoping for a challenge, but the monster was defeated before she could even warm up for the fight. Her disappointment was evident in her tone, "...Yeah. It didn't drop any rare, shiny items, talk in a human language, or anything, really."
A rational person might have called it good and left once the monster had been slain, but Compa found herself checking the immediate area. She was expecting something to happen, like a horde of monster or one really strong monster. "So that's it?"
The purple haired sword maiden shook her head. It was difficult to believe that they were already finished. "No way. I've never heard of an event like this. We might have forgotten or missed something."
If there really was something that the party had missed it was very minute and unimportant. And even if they actually needed something, they wouldn't know what to look for. "But it was just a normal little old monster. The only weird thing was Mr. Heretic walking around."
Neptune stared at Compa for a moment as she processed what the nurse in training had said, "Are you aware of what you just said?" The swordstress had to stop and think about the question she had asked, and who it was she was asking. "...Probably not. Why not repeat that to yourself?"
Compa was thoroughly confused by what Neptune's suggestion. Inclining her head, the pink haired girl did as she was told and repeated what she had just said word for word, "But it was just a normal little old monster. The only weird thing was Mr. Heretic walking around."
Could the nurse in training really have seen a heretic while the battle with the monster had been going on? "You saw a heretic?"
"...Yes, I sure did."
Heero couldn't understand why Compa wouldn't think to tell someone about seeing a heretic in the middle of the battle, "Let me get this straight. During the course of that battle, you saw a heretic. And you didn't think to tell us sooner?"
The ditzy nurse directed her attention toward Lyrica, "I tried to tell Lyrica, but she said it had to wait."
IF focused her scrutinizing gaze on Compa. She wasn't convinced that Lyrica actually told her that something so important had to wait, "How do we know you aren't just trying to shift the blame?"
Compa reached into her small purse and pulled out a recorder with a tape already inside. And sure enough, once she pressed the play button the party could hear both Compa and Lyrica's voices that had been recorded during the battle, "Lyrica, did you see that old man over there? I think that was a-"
"Compa, whatever it is, it'll have to wait."
Compa stopped the recording there. Nisa looked from the tape recorder to the nurse in training holding it, "When did you have the time to record that?"
"I accidentally pushed the record button before I tried to get Lyrica's attention."
By sheer dumb luck, Compa had proven that the cerulean haired singer was in fact responsible for Compa not getting the word out about the Heretic. Heero decided to end the conversation before the blame game actually started, "It doesn't matter who is responsible for what. What's done is done. I'm more concerned about what exactly he was doing here in the first place."
Neptune suddenly reverted to her normal form while throwing out her own idea as to why the Heretic had been watching them, "Maybe he's just a pervert. He wanted to get a look at a couple a girls while they were fighting a monster. Well, that old coot's outta luck! The only one allowed to look at me is Heero."
The Gundam pilot just looked at the purplenette for a moment, questioning just how it was that Neptune was able to arrive at such a conclusion, "Joking aside, it might have something to do with the monster's sudden appearance. An enemy this large doesn't just suddenly appear in the middle of town. Not without help of some kind. Either the Heretic is responsible for it, or knows something about how it got in."
Gust had gone over to investigate the spot that Compa saw the Heretic, and came back with a disc in her hands, "Gust found disc where Compa said Heretic was."
Heero took the broken disc from the young alchemist, taking a moment to examine it before putting the disk away. "...We can run a thorough check on it later. For now, we should leave the immediate area."
Having determined that their next task was to interrogate another Heretic, the party quickly left the area before they could get roped into helping clean up the mess made by the monster.
Xxx
Once the matter of the monster had been taken care of, the party set out to find the Heretic that Compa saw during the battle. As luck would have it, a request had come in from the Basilicom asking the group to investigate a cave that may have been home to the individual they were looking for.
A quick look around the entrance led to the conclusion that there weren't any monsters inside. No claw markings, no broken pieces of rock, no footprints… nothing that would suggest that monsters had made their nests there.
In hindsight, perhaps that's exactly why the Heretic was hiding out there in the first place. If there were no monsters, then adventurers wouldn't both entering, which meant it wouldn't be a frequented area.
IF folded her arms as she focused her gaze toward the interior of the cave, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think we should split up so we can find this Heretic. Nep, Compa and I will go in and look for him, while Heero and the others stay here in case he comes this way."
Sure enough, Neptune and Compa looked at the brunette as if she WAS crazy, "Have you lost your cell phones, Iffy?! We can't have Heero wait here! He's supposed to stick with me no matter what! Either you or Compa has to stay behind so Heero can come."
Compa looked at IF and was clearly irritated with her plan, "I think Iffy should be the one to stay behind for suggesting this plan."
IF attempted to assure the two girls that she was in her right mind, "Now, now, here me out. We're here to find some old man that's presumably being attacked by monsters. If our job is just to find and rescue him, we don't need the whole party. Three of us will be more than enough to find him, and if he gets past us, the other half can get him. Besides, Heero is stronger than the rest of us, it would just be overkill." The Moderatist looked over at the five that would compose the second team should the party go along with her plan. "What do you guys think?"
Gust offered a blank stare as the group contemplated what to do, "So long as we finish, Gust does not care what is done."
Lyrica thought about offering to go along with the trio when she realized that her three biggest rivals for the Gundam pilots were about to go off on their own for this job. Meaning that her biggest competition would be gone for a while. The cerulean haired girl glanced at Heero as her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, "I-I don't really mind."
Nisa was rather uncertain of the plan since it involved splitting the team up, but thought it best to have faith in her fellow party members, "I should be going to protect my comrades, but I will go along with this plan of yours."
Red grabbed onto Heero's arm, flashing a grin at her Wifey number one, "I'm okay with it. I mean, I'd prefer having my wifey here, but this gives me a chance to get to know my hubby."
Heero lifted his free arm and extended all five fingers, "Five minutes. You get five minutes to search for this old man. That's all the time I am willing to allow Neptune to go without my supervision, not a second more. If you don't find the target by the time five minutes elapses, we will come in after you."
Neptune had a disheartened look on her face as the majority of the party decided to go along with IF's plan, "Aww… You mean we're really leaving Heero here with the meat shield, flatty McNo-chest and the new girl who thinks that MY lover is HER hubby? This is all kinds of lame."
Lyrica couldn't understand why Neptune kept referring to her as a 'Meat Shield.' She didn't like getting hit and she certainly didn't have the build to endure taking several hits, "Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not a meat shield! I'm starting to think you don't really know what that term means."
The Keeper of Justice wasn't happy with how the party's leader referred to her, and how it seemed to poke fun at her chest, "Are you insulting my chest again?!"
A brief flash of light emanated from in front of the party like the brief bursts of wondrous energy that would envelope Neptune and Heero during their transformations, though not as bright. When the light subsided, the Wing Gundam stood silently in front of the group. "As I will not be there to watch over her, I am sending Wing to look after Neptune for the five minute time period."
Almost immediately, Neptune began to prance around the Gundam as she began to talk in a sing-song manner, "Heero's so worried about me, he's gonna send the cool looking robot to protect me. I think it's pretty obvious that Heero wants me over the rest of you. I suppose I can let Heero stay here, as long as it's only for a few minutes."
Neptune, Compa and IF proceeded into the dungeon with the Gundam, not noticing the smirk spreading across IF's face, "(Morons. The REAL reason I suggested we split up was so that you wouldn't start throwing yourselves at him. Lyrica may be one of my rivals, but let's face it… She's too nervous to tell Heero how she feels. Gust isn't interested in Heero the way the rest of us are, so I don't need to worry about her pulling a fast one. Nisa has no chest and would have to resort to flashing her ass in order to get a response out of him. And Red… well, she's no competition at all. Heero's not into little kids. This way, I don't have to worry about anyone scoring points with Heero on me.)"
As the trio advanced into the dungeon with the mobile suit, Lyrica alternated between looking at the floor and Heero while pushing her index fingers together, "(Okay… they're gone now. This is my best chance to talk to Heero.) Umm… Heero?"
The Gundam pilot turned his head to look at the cerulean haired girl, "What is it?"
The moment Heero looked at her, Lyrica lost her train of thought… and consequently, what she wanted to say to the Perfect Soldier. "Uhh… w-well, umm… will you help me… come up with lyrics for a new song?!"
Heero watched lifted an eyebrow to the girl's request, "Why would you need my assistance?"
Lyrica turned her back to Heero in an attempt to reorganize her thoughts, "W-Well… I thought it might help to have some outside input. (This is going to be harder than I thought…)"
Neptune, Compa and IF were experiencing a rather uneventful trek through the dungeon as they searched for the old man in distress, and it made the inclusion of the Wing Gundam into the small team pretty much unnecessary.
Each step the small team took into the dungeon, the more their leader began to grow bored. It wasn't that Neptune didn't want to help the elderly man that was there in the cave. She just didn't like having to be separated from Heero and that there wasn't anything for her to do, "Compa, you positive you saw some old guy roamin' around? I don't see anything."
Compa's eyes roamed over the various rock formations within the cave as she looked for signs of the pedestrian they had come to save, "The townspeople said they saw someone come in here…"
The purplenette turned to look at the Gundam marching behind the trio of girls, "What do you think, big guy?"
Silence dominated the air as Neptune waited for an answer from the Wing Gundam. The preteen got in front of the mobile suit and waved her hand in front of its face. "Uhh, hello? Anybody in there?"
Still, the Gundam remained silent. Neptune was starting to become annoyed with the lack of communication from the robot when IF turned to examine the Gundam herself, "I don't think it can give any kind of vocal response. At least not without Heero inside of it. Why else do you think he hasn't been saying anything?"
Compa inspected the mobile suit with curious eyes, "I guess that could be it… I mean, it probably would have said something already if it could."
Neptune started to pout about the absence of the party's lone male member, "This blows. I want Heero to party up with us for this quest! Can't we go back real quick and get him?"
IF rolled her eyes as the purplenette began to complain, "I already told you why we had to leave Heero back at the front to begin with. We just have to find this Heretic, get him to talk, and then we can get out of here."
The path the girls were following was rather linear, and led to a single room. And it didn't take long for them to find the Heretic that decided to make the cave his hideout. IF took the initiative and began to interrogate the old man, "There you are! You better start explaining that disc and that random monster to us!"
"I knew it. I knew someone would come after me. But I've long since given up returning to a normal life. I swore it off… That was an official ritual which creates a rift to the outside world."
Neptune went into another one of her moments of throwing out random or outrageous ideas on a subject, "A ritual? Didja use like summon magic or draw a pentagram to bring the monster?"
"Pentagram? No, monsters appear without such things. Anytime, anywhere." The Heretic then pulled a disc out of his pocket. "With this disc, such things are possible."
IF had a feeling that the disc was related to the monster appearances in some way, "I sort of figured. So, that disc is the cause of these monsters."
The party's leader was interested in obtaining the disc, though not for its intended purpose, "Where didja get something like that? It looks like a really rare item. I don't wanna use it, but I kinda want one too!"
"...Do you? Then, I'll give you this one."The elderly man slipped the disc back into his pocket, only to pull out another one with a different color than the one he was just holding. "It's a different color, like a manufacturing error. Super rare!"
Neptune was jumping up and down with joy upon receiving the disc. "Whoa! Thank you super very much!" The purple haired girl turned to the two girls behind her, a broad grin on her face, "Iffy, Compa! Mr. Heretic gave me this strange disc for free!"
IF was seriously beginning to question just how Neptune had survived this long when she was so careless, "Could you be any more careless?! Who knows what that disc will do! Wipe that stupid grin off your face and get away from us!"
The purplenette paid no heed to the Moderatist's warning, turning her attention back to the Heretic, "So, Mr. Heretic, what sorta monster is in this disc? I'm not gonna use it. I'm just curious and stuff."
"...Nothing at all! That's why it's super rare."
And just like that, Neptune's enthusiasm was gone. She felt ripped off, despite the fact that she was getting the disc for free to begin with. "What?! That's totally unexpected. Shouldn't it be rare cuz it's got like a really cool monster in it? Ugh, useless."
"Listen. Empty discs can do a lot of unique things. Instead of summoning, you could even seal things away..."
Before any of the girls could say anything or question the Heretic on what the disc could possibly seal, a bright light engulfed the trio. When the light died down and finally dissipated, the girls and the Gundam sent to provide escort were gone, and the disc fell to the ground, "They'll learn something in there. Lucky for me, that loud girl was so easy to manipulate."
Xxx
Neptune, Compa and IF were standing in the middle of what appeared to be a hallway in some ruins. The party's leader began to look around the area frantically as she attempted to discern where they were, "...Where are we? Mr. Heretic gave me that disc… and now… we're like, inside the disc!"
The idea of being trapped inside a disc unnerved Compa, "I wish it weren't true, but it seems you're right." The nurse in training started looking around at the walls, the floor and the ceiling for a way out. "How do we get out? I've never been trapped inside a disc before..."
"No worries! You're not the only one." Neptune shifted her attention to IF. "Let's get Professor Iffy to guide us out. Today's lesson: 'How to escape disc land!'"
IF wasn't sure just how much more of Neptune's stupidity she could take before she finally went insane. How the purplenette determined that IF could get them out of the disc was beyond her, "I've never been trapped in a disc before, either. We might just have to sit tight until we're summoned back out."
Compa began to think on the matter of 'who' would summon them from the disc and 'how' they would do it, "By Mr. Heretic? Do you think he'll ever throw the disc at someone and say 'I choose you, Compiffytune?'"
The brunette stared at the nurse in training for a moment before shaking her head. "That's incredibly unlikely."
With the idea of them being trapped in the disc with no possibility of being released, Compa's eyes began to well up, which was followed by her crying. "Aww… ughhh… w-wahh… wahhh..."
Neptune was aware of what would come next, and she wasn't keen on listening to Compa cry her eyes out, "Uh-oh! Compa's gonna start bawling again! Professor, what d'we do?!"
IF didn't want to listen to the pink haired girl cry either. In an effort to avert the impending waterworks, the Guild Moderatist tried to assure her fellow party members that they could escape from the disc, "I mean, we're smarter than monsters, right? Maybe we'll find a way out a lot quicker than we think."
The party leader began to pat Compa on the back, using her optimism to get the girl moving. "Yeah! We got in this thingy, so there's gotta be a way out! Let's start marching, Compa!"
Compa dried the tears that had fallen, giving a small nod as she did, "O-Okay… wahh..."
Neptune threw a fist in the air, preparing to point forward into the dungeon that made up the inside of the disc, "Let's get mov-" A sharp pain ran through Neptune's hand, causing her to stop in mid-sentence. The purplenette began to coddle her hand in an attempt to dull the pain. "Ow! What hit me?!"
The purplenette turned around to find the Wing Gundam standing silently behind her. Because the Gundam couldn't speak, she hadn't realized that the mobile suit was there until she accidentally struck the suit, "Oh, hey big guy. Didn't see you there."
IF began to walk inward, wanting nothing more than to find an exit and get out of the disc, "We better get moving. I don't plan on spending my life in here."
Neptune's cheeks began to swell as the brunette began to exert control over the small team. "Who made you the leader, Iffy? I know I didn't."
"The only reason we're in here is because you had to go asking for the stupid disc in the first place. I'd rather not have you lead for the rest of the day."
With the Guild member challenging her position as leader, Neptune was more than a little upset, "I'm the leader of the party, Iffy! You can't take my spot!"
IF narrowed her eyes at the purplenette. Because Neptune was responsible for getting them in their current situation, she wasn't about to let Neptune get them out of it at the risk of making things worse, "And what are you going to do about it?"
As the argument between the two girls raged on, Compa heard a strange noise coming from the silent mobile suit. The noise she was hearing was that of the Gundam loading ammunition into its machine cannons. Compa tried to get the attention of her party members while watching the Gundam, "Umm… guys?"
Neptune and IF stopped arguing and directed their attention to the nurse in training. "We're having a dispute here, Compa. What is it?"
Compa just pointed at the Gundam, which seemed to be fixed on IF. Without warning, the clavicle mounted guns opened fire and peppered the ground around the brunette's feet. IF started jumping around to avoid the oncoming bullets until the Wing Gundam stopped firing, "What the hell was that for?! We're supposed to be on the same team, right?!"
Neptune looked at the suit for a moment before returning her attention to IF. A wicked grin spread across the amnesiac's face as she looked at the brunette, which served to unnerve the Guild member. "And just what are you grinning for?"
Maintaining her evil grin, Neptune lightly knocked on the Gundam behind her, "Hey, big guy. Do that again."
There was no verbal response from the suit, but it did comply with the purplenette's request. Once more, the sound of machine gun fire reverberated through the air as the Wing Gundam fired at IF again. The brunette was forced to dance around to keep from getting shot. Neptune knocked on the Gundam once again, thinking that IF had been punished enough. "Okay, buddy. That's enough."
The Wing Gundam ceased firing on the Guild Moderatist, who was looked fairly winded from the experience. As IF attempted to catch her breath, Neptune began walking around the silent mobile suit, "Since you belong to Heero, you'll do whatever I say, right?"
As expected, there was no verbal communication from the Gundam. The only response from the suit that seemed to indicate that it understood Neptune was that it's 'eyes' flashed for a moment. "I'll take that as a yes!"
Neptune turned to her fellow female party members while looking like some lovestruck schoolgirl, "Isn't it romantic? Even when we're stuck in this disc, Heero's still trying to protect me from monsters and baddies! Is that true love or what?"
IF glared at the party leader as she went on. The brunette was quite pissed at the stunt she had pulled, "That's not love! That's abuse of authority! If Heero were here, that thing wouldn't be taking orders from you."
Naturally, the purplenette ignored IF. Instead she began walking forward with the Wing Gundam in tow. "Pick up those feet, people! We gotta find a way outta here. I can't keep Heero waiting."
As their leader went off with her robotic helper, Compa went over to check on IF, "Are you okay, Iffy?"
IF was still disgruntled over the fact that Neptune had used the Gundam to keep her spot as the leader, "Besides the fact that Nep is using Heero to solve our disagreements, I'll be fine."
While she was in a bad mood, IF wanted to get out of the disc as much as her companions. The group ventured forth into the confines of the dungeon they were in.
Without Heero there to help them navigate, the trio was stuck having to find their way around the area on their own. Having no better idea than to search every nook and cranny, the girls followed the path right in front of them as opposed to the section of hallway on the right.
Because the Heretic had said that the disc was empty, the girls were expecting an uneventful search through the recesses of the dungeon. But as luck would have it there were monsters inhabiting the disc as well, as they found as soon as they turned the first corner of the stretch of hallway.
It wasn't enough that there were monsters in their way, but it was a hoard of them. Compa didn't like the idea of going up against all of the monsters that blocked their way forward, "Should we turn around and try the other way? I don't think we can win if we fight all of them."
Neptune on the other hand wasn't about to be deterred by a group of monsters, "What're you worrying for, Compa? Monster hordes are great for grinding! Besides, we got the big guy here. He can totally blow 'em all away." The purplenette pointed over at the unsuspecting group of monsters. "You got this, buddy. Just zap 'em all from here, and we'll be rackin' in the experience points!"
Heeding the orders of the party's leader, the Wing Gundam leveled the Buster Rifle at the horde of monsters that were still unaware of their presence. Even as the rifle was charging, the monsters had no idea they were about to be fired upon.
Once the weapon was finished charging, a gold beam of super heated energy flew through the air toward the group of monsters. By the time the hoard noticed the attack, it was already too late, as the majority of the creatures gathered in the center of the corridor were disintegrated by the powerful beam weapon.
After the first round of the Buster Rifle dissipated the Gundam adjusted its aim and fired once again, and then a third time in order to mop up the monsters that weren't eradicated by the first shot, blowing large chunks of the walls off in the process.
By the time the third shot was fired, only two monsters were left. Once it became apparent that the mobile suit was capable of punching holes into the wall with its main weapon, IF had taken cover behind a pillar to avoid the hunks of flying debris. And it was only once the Gundam had stopped firing that she poked her head out from behind cover, "Is it done blowing holes in the wall?!"
Neptune made binoculars with her hands in some awkward attempt to see farther, "Nope. There's two more monsters over there."
Three objects in the shape of capsules fell out of the now open rifle of the mobile suit. The main weapon of the Gundam featured a break action similar to that of a double-barrel shotgun for loading and unloading the capsules that supplied the energy needed to fire the weapon.
Seeing the discarded capsules gave IF cause to heave a sigh of relief. The brunette was worried that the Gundam would end up cutting off the groups path to the exit, or worse yet, destroy the exit to the disc itself, "It's over..."
Alas, the Gundam wasn't quite finished. Were this the original form of the Wing Gundam, three maximum powered shots would have been the end of it. As this was the modified version of the suit, not only did it surpass its predecessor in terms of performance, it was outfitted with additional energy cartridges for the Buster Rifle that the original lacked. There was one cartridge on each forearm with each cartridge holding three energy capsules each, effectively tripling the number of shots the Gundam had for a single sortie.
Compa was the first to comment on the Wing Gundam as it reloaded it's primary weapon, "I don't think Mr. Robot is done yet."
IF was too stupefied to say anything, whereas Neptune was quick to voice her excitement at another round of carnage wrought by the powerful weapon, "Go go go! Just keep shooting 'til there's nothing left!"
It was then that IF cam to her senses and attempted to persuade Neptune to stop the Gundam from firing the Buster Rifle again, "Nep, you need to have this thing stop. If it fires again the ceiling might cave-in!"
Neptune waved off the Guild member's complaint as nothing. "We don't gotta worry, Iffy. If that happens, we'll go the other way."
IF knew that if she was to convince the purplenette to stop, she would have to hit her where it hurts. "How does the idea of never seeing Heero again sound to you?"
The only thing Neptune could hear was the sound of her life shattering. Before the Gundam could start the charging sequence for the Buster Rifle, Neptune began to pound on the side of the mobile suit while breaking into a cold sweat, "Okay, big guy. I think you've done enough."
With that command, the Wing Gundam lowered its rifle. IF thought for sure that she was going to have a heart attack, "Between Nep's stupidity, getting trapped inside a disc, and this… I'm surprised I'm still alive. I just want this day to be over with."
Two Imps were all that was left of the hoard of monsters. It wasn't until she noticed what they were up against that Neptune realized how pointless it would have been to have the Gundam go through with a forth shot of its rifle. "I could beat these guys no sweat. We don't need the big guy to finish you."
Neptune pulled out the Katana she had strapped to her back, swinging the sharp weapon through the air while grinning to herself, "We got this, Compa. I'll beat one up, and you get the other."
Compa took up her oversized syringe with the smile that was almost always present on her face, "I'm sure Heero will be proud when he finds out that we beat these monsters by ourselves."
As thoughts of the Gundam pilot came to mind, Neptune couldn't help but think that there might be a reward in store for the girls if they could defeat enough monsters on their own, "You think Heero will buy us some cakes as a reward?"
IF shouted at the two, who were doing more talking than fighting, "Now is NOT the time to be thinking about food, Nep. Just get rid of the monsters so we can search for an exit."
Getting their priorities in order, Neptune and Compa went about dealing with the two monsters that blocked their path. Because they were significantly weaker than the monsters the group had been dealing with recently, the duo knew they wouldn't have any trouble with this skirmish.
Neptune charged at the first of the two Imps, while Compa stayed in the back firing at the second. The purplenette's razor sharp sword cut through the first of the small creatures without any resistance, while three bullets from Compa's oversized medical appliance was enough to put down the second monster.
While the group wasn't expecting too much difficulty in defeating the monsters, Neptune was a little upset over how quickly they we went down, "Boo! Heero's not gonna reward us for beating up on weak monsters like these!"
IF couldn't believe that the party leader was actually complaining about fighting weak monsters, "Need I remind you that we're trying to get out of this place? Besides, you got the robot to blow away all of the other monsters remember?"
Neptune and Compa made their way back over to IF and the Wing Gundam that stood silently where it was. The Purplenette lightly knocked on the side of the stoic mobile suit with a big grin on her face. "Well, yeah. I mean, the big guy here is totally over powered. He can wipe out mobs of monsters no problem. And I betcha that if we run into a boss monster our buddy here will totally one shot 'em!"
While Compa was appreciative that the Gundam was there to protect them, she certainly didn't want to leave everything up to the mobile suit, "Nep-Nep, we can't let Mr. Robot do all of the work. We have to do our part, too."
It was then that Neptune's eyes went to the Buster Rifle, the main weapon of the Wing Gundam, "Hey big guy, let me see that awesome looking rifle."
Still, not a word came out of the Wing Gundam, yet it still replied with the girl's request. The anxious girl held her hands out for the powerful weapon, though when she received it the weight of the rifle almost caused her legs to give out. "Whoa! This thing is super heavy!"
Neptune looked over at IF with a nervous smile, "H-Hey, Iffy. You wanna hold this thing?"
IF took one look at Neptune's legs. The constant shaking of the two limbs was a clear sign as to just how heavy the weapon was, "Do I look stupid to you? There's no way I could hold something that heavy."
The purplenette shifted her gaze over to Compa. At this point Neptune was sweating bullets as she tried to hold up the weapon. "How about you, Compa?"
It was obvious that the purplenette was just trying to pawn the Buster Rifle off on someone else, and Compa was clueless enough not to notice, "Well, okay. I mean, Mr. Robot's weapon does look really cool."
Neptune was quick to drop the heavy beam into the nurse in training's hands. Unlike Neptune, Compa's legs didn't look as though they were about to give out just from holding the weapon. "It is kinda heavy. But I can hold it."
It was hard to believe that Compa was actually capable of holding the Buster Rifle without feeling as though she was about to fall to her knees. As the pink haired girl returned the rifle to the Gundam, Neptune began to think of a way to use the destructive beam weapon herself, "If I transformed I bet I could use it. After we find an exit, I'm totally gonna try it."
IF brought the purple haired girl back to the here and now with the reminder that they were still trapped in a disc, "Right, AFTER we find an exit. We have to get out of here first."
Having cleared the corridor of the monsters, the group moved unimpeded down the path before them. Fortunately enough the girls came upon a room in their search with an exit, and because the winding corridor they had been following continued further, there was still room in their disc prison to search for a means of escape.
As the group entered the room, IF directed her attention toward the Gundam following behind the trio. "We should have this thing stand guard here. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that I don't feel like getting jumped by monsters while we're searching in here."
Neptune turned to the silent mobile suit, taking join in the fact that the Gundam complied with everything she asked, "Big guy, we're gonna search this room. You stay here and make sure that no monsters get in."
The Gundam stood in the middle of the entrance to the room as Neptune, Compa and IF searched the room. It wasn't going to take long to look, seeing as four sets of stairs leading up to a platform comprised most of the room. Neptune and IF searched the ground floor, while Compa searched the platform on top.
IF's search turned up nothing, which served to irritate the brunette, "Nep, find anything?"
The purplenette shouted from the other side of the room, "Didn't find nothing. How 'bout you, Compa? Any levers or buttons?"
"No, nothing here."
Although they hadn't expected to find an exit so soon, it was no less disheartening when the search yielded nothing. The trio returned to the entrance of the room to retrieve the Gundam and continue with their search. It was just as the group was about to venture further when Compa remembered that Heero and the others weren't stuck in the disc along with them, "Do you think Heero and the others will come in to help us?"
Neptune thought about the Perfect Soldier and how he wasn't there with them,"I'm tellin' you guys, we should've brought Heero with us. We probably wouldn't be here if we did."
IF pulled out her phone to check the time, "He did say that they would come in after us five minutes. We should keep looking in the mean time."
Xxx
Back at the entrance of the cave, Heero and the rest of the group were waiting for Neptune, Compa and IF to return with from the Heretic. The Gundam pilot was tapping his foot on the ground as the group continued to wait, not liking how long it was taking for the girls to get back, "...They have exceeded the time limit."
Red was somewhat fearful for the trio that went in, "Did something happen to them? I can't lose my wifey now! We haven't had a hotel event yet!"
Nisa looked as though she was about to charge right into the cave, "Our comrades may be in peril. We must aid them!"
Heero, Lyrica, Nisa and Red ventured into the cave, followed shortly by Gust, who a moment to check the watch she had in the pouch she kept her alchemy reagents in. Heero had given the girls five minutes to extract whatever information they could from the Heretic and come back out. Between the time Neptune, Compa and IF had gone in and now, only four minutes had passed, "Perhaps Heero is worried about friends."
While he wouldn't admit it, the Gundam pilot was worried about the girls. He was already regretting not protesting the request to split the team up for their job, "(I shouldn't have let them go off on their own.)"
Xxx
Neptune, Compa and IF continued their search of the dungeon inside of the disk, but everywhere they checked they found nothing. They wound up going in a circle because of the areas layout and stop right at the spot where they were first transported to.
The fact that they went around the entire dungeon without finding anything was starting to wear on IF's nerves, "I don't believe this. There's got to be something here. I'm not about to spend my life trapped in this place."
Compa didn't want to believe that there was no way out, but given how everywhere they searched turned up nothing, it was difficult for the pink haired nurse to have hope, "W-Well… maybe we need to check everywhere again. Maybe we missed something."
Neptune had assumed her thinking position for a moment before looking at the Gundam next to her, "Hey, big guy. Being a robot and all, you made a map of this place, right? Think you could maybe find some place we haven't looked?"
Compa couldn't help that such a thing would be too convenient. "Nep-Nep, I don't think Mr. Robot has anything like that."
The Wing Gundam's eyes flashed for a moment as it carried out the task the purplenette had requested. Neptune silenced both Compa and IF while the Gundam processed the data it had gathered on the area. "Both of ya, shut up! The robot is doin' stuff."
IF looked at Neptune for a moment before looking at the Gundam, "Wait, you're kidding. This thing actually made a map of this place?"
If the mobile suit really made a map of the area, then it may have been possible that they missed something or a portion of the dungeon entirely. After a minute of processing, the Gundam's eyes flashed once again, indicating that it was done, "Didja find something, buddy? A way out? A monster? Treasure?"
The silent Gundam walked ahead of the girls, and was enough of a hint to the trio that the suit had in fact found something they missed. "He's found something. Follow that robot!"
With a growing sense of hope, the trio followed after the Gundam as it navigated the dungeon. The group passed by the first room they found and continued onward until they reached the end of the corridor, at which point the path branched off in two directions.
The girls had been so caught up in their search that they had completely missed the other path, which would explain why they ended up going in a circle in the first place. IF was starting to worry that Neptune's stupidity was beginning to rub off on her, "How did we miss this?"
Compa wasn't sure how the girls had missed an entire corridor during their search, "W-Well… maybe we were just… to busy looking everywhere else?"
"Too busy to not notice this?"
Rather than dwelling on the fact that they missed a section of the dungeon, the girls dropped the matter in favor of searching the area before them. After following the short corridor, the trio found themselves in the final room of the disc generated dungeon. Located in the middle of the room was a monster that was nothing like any of the monsters they had encountered thus far, and Neptune was getting a certain vibe from the creature, "Random theory alert! D'you see a boss-ish looking thing over there?"
Compa was looking at the same thing as Neptune, and it certainly looked 'boss-ish,' "Yes. Actually, I do."
With Compa following along with Neptune's train of thought, the purplenette went on. "What if that thingy is the center of the disc? Would we be able to snap the disc and escape by beating it up? Maybe?"
IF was quick to shoot the idea down, "Yeah, right. That's just way too random."
Neptune had a feeling the Guild Moderatist would disagree with her, and tried to back up the idea, "Well, I mean, it's a kinda typical scenario. Plus, there's always stuff to gain from winning a battle! It's win-win!"
While IF wasn't so sure about the theory, she would admit that Neptune was right about how they would gain something from winning against the monster. "...I guess we'll earn some experience points, maybe an item. I think your theory is weak, though."
Regardless of whether or not the idea was weak, it was all they had to work with. Compa was still angry with the Heretic for trapping the trio in the disc, "Let's fight and get back to our world! We'll talk to Mr. Heretic all stern and angrily!"
The monster that Neptune believed was the center of the disk was a 'Centaur,' and it fit the description of one for the most. A humanoid torso with a pair of arms, the lower body of an animal like a horse, a long scaly tail, and the head of a Ram.
Suffice it to say, this monster wasn't going to be a cake walk like the other monsters in the disc. This one was going to put up a fight. The party's leader shifted her attention to the Gundam behind the trio, knowing that the battle wouldn't take long if they let the mobile suit take care of it, "Y'know, if we let our buddy here use that cool rifle we won't have to lift a finger."
IF was aware that the Gundam could very easily overpower the monster with a single shot from its main weapon. She was also aware that the attack wouldn't stop at just the monster, "Nep, we can't risk having this place come down on top of us. The robot can help, but NO rifle."
Neptune's cheeks swelled as she looked away. She didn't want to go through the process of fighting the monster when they had a Gundam that could obliterate the creature in one shot. As much as she didn't like the idea, the purplenette ultimately found herself issuing the order for the mobile suit to restrain itself, "Hey, big guy. Ol' killjoy over there said not to use your rifle." Neptune returned her attention to IF. "There. Happy now?"
"Not so much happy as I am relieved."
The trio armed themselves and prepared for battle with the monster that was possibly keeping them from leaving the disc. Now was usually the time when Heero would come up with a plan of attack for the team, but with the Perfect Soldier back at the cave entrance there wasn't going to be a well thought out strategy for dealing with the monster.
Throwing caution to the wind, Neptune charged at the Centaur with sword in hand, "All we gotta do is beat up the monster. Just charge 'em!"
IF didn't really want to just 'charge' the monster like Neptune was suggesting, but since no one was coming up with an actual plan of attack the only way they were going to get anywhere was to attack and see how the monster would respond, "Just try not to screw up, Nep. The last thing we need is more work."
Compa stayed behind near the Wing Gundam as Neptune and IF ran at the Centaur that barred their path out of the disc. As the girls drew closer, the Centaur lowered it's head and charged at the duo.
While both Neptune and IF avoided serious injury, they were tossed aside by the charging monster. As the Centaur skid to a halt, Compa fired a few bullets at the creature, only to have them either bounce off of the monster's torso.
Neptune dusted herself off and picked her sword back up. She was not happy with the battle was going, "We just started and this meanie is already winning? Not cool!"
The purplenette ran at the monster once more, only this time she was able to land a hit. Neptune's sword cut into the side of the monster, followed shortly by IF cutting into the creature's left arm with her blades. Once both girls were out of the way, Compa tried firing at the large monster once more.
Unfortunately, the trio's attempts at harming the Centaur only served to irritated it. The monster extended its arm, and a series of explosions erupted around the group, sending the girls flying onto their backs.
After a few seconds of lying on the ground, Neptune, Compa and IF picked their battered bodies up. IF started holding her arm, knowing that she definitely got a bruise from the landing, "I must have been crazy to suggest that we split up the party… We're getting our asses kicked."
Compa was starting to worry about their chances of victory, "What do we do? It doesn't look like our attacks are doing anything. Should we… maybe run away?"
The very idea of running away from the enemy in front of them was unacceptable to Neptune. The purplenette rubbed some dirt off her cheek before vehemently denying the option, "We can't run away! If we run, it's the same as saying we lost. If we lose to this bozo, then I can't show my face to Heero again!"
Both Compa and IF looked away for a moment as they let their leader's words sink in. Neptune was right, running away WOULD mean that they lost. Since the party's inception, they had never lost a battle against any of the enemies they had faced during their travels, mostly due to Heero's planning. They couldn't let the Perfect Soldier see them after suffering the humiliation of their first loss. That said, the battle with the Centaur wasn't going so well. If the battle continued to follow its current pace, there was no way that they were going to win.
IF then noticed the undamaged Wing Gundam, still standing where it had been since the battle had started. The only thing the Gundam had done was holster the Buster Rifle on the back of its waist and nothing else, "Hey, what about the robot? It hasn't done anything."
Since the Wing Gundam hadn't done anything, it was still in excellent condition to fight the Centaur. Neptune limped over to the mobile suit that retained its silence even in the middle of battle, "Hey, big guy. Mind givin' us a hand here?"
The purplenette was met with silence. Even after a few seconds the suit didn't move. Neptune lightly tapped on the side of the Gundam, hoping that it was still functioning. "Uhh… big guy?"
It was then that the back of the Wing Gundam's arms, legs and torso opened, revealing the space inside of the suit. Neptune poked her head around the side of the open Gundam, finding that there was just enough space for one person to fit inside, "Oooh, is this how you use this thing? Well then excuse me, big guy."
Neptune slipped into the suit, wanting to see if she could operated the Gundam herself. The first thing that caught her eye was the suit's designation on the HUD, located on the see-through glass of the suit. "Wing… Gun… dam? Wing... Gundam? Is that your name, buddy? Y'know, that last part is kinda hard to say. How 'bout I just call you Wing, sound good? So, how d'you work this thing anyway?"
After the purple haired girl gotten into the Wing Gundam, the suit immediately closed up the armor once more, completely encasing Neptune. The party's leader wasn't sure what she was supposed to do to get the Gundam working.
Compa was couldn't tell what the leader of the group was trying to accomplish, "Nep-Nep, what are you doing?"
"I don't know! I wanted to take a peek inside the big guy and see how he works, then I ended up in here!"
IF wasn't so sure it was such a good idea, mainly because of who it was that was inside the suit, "Do you know how to work that thing? I mean, you're not gonna be anywhere near as good as Heero. I just wanted to make sure you're not gonna kill us while you're in that thing."
There was just enough room inside of the suit that Neptune could move her head to see the handles that she been grabbing onto subconsciously, as well as the buttons that were right at her fingers. "Well, no. But I figured I'd try pushing some buttons and see what happens."
That didn't give IF much hope. As the brunette was lamenting their situation, the Centaur charged at the stationary mobile suit. "Whatever you're gonna do Nep, better do it fast. That things headed for you!"
With the monster heading her way, Neptune looked over the assortment of buttons that were situated at her fingertips. She didn't know what any of them would do, but eventually settled on the first button in front of her right thumb, "What about… this one?"
As soon as the purplenette pushed the button, the machine cannons began to spew out lead in rapid succession. The bullets ripped through the air and tore into the charging Centaur, causing it to slow down and eventually stop to defend itself.
Compa was once again filled with hope upon seeing the powerhouse mobile suit fight back against the monster, "I guess we didn't have anything to worry about, Iffy. Nep-Nep can use Mr. Robot just fine."
IF wasn't completely convinced, but at least the party's leader was competent enough to get something done with the mobile suit, "You can say that after we win."
Suddenly the Gundam stopped firing at the monster. Neptune was perplexed as to why the suit had stopped firing when her thumb was still pushed down on the button, "Huh?"
The purplenette pushed down on the button again, but nothing happened. It was then that Neptune noticed the word 'Reloading' on the HUD, indicating that she had exhausted the rest of the ammo in the cartridge and the suit was replacing the empty magazine with a loaded one. "Aww, crud."
With no more bullets assaulting it, the Centaur charged at the Gundam once more. The mobile suit wasn't going to finishing reloading the machine cannons in time to stop the monster, and Neptune had only figured out what the one button did.
Before the Centaur could hit the armor clad purplenette, the thrusters on the back of the suit flared to life and propelled the suit into the air. The monster collided head first with the nearby wall, while Neptune was trying to work the controls of the now airborne suit, "How do I get down from here?!"
Compa and IF could only watch as the Wing Gundam flew around the room. They weren't sure why Neptune was asking how to get down when they didn't know how to operate the suit, either, "How did you get up there in the first place?"
Neptune didn't realize that she had pushed yet another button in order to activate the thrusters. It was when she loosened her grip while looking over the other buttons that the Gundam began to descend to the ground.
The Wing Gundam almost fell to the ground when Neptune landed, prompting the purplenette to flail her arms in an attempt to correct her balance, which resulted in the Gundam flailing its arms as the suit's movements were linked to her own.
Having gotten herself down, Neptune turned the suit around to face the still dazed Centaur, "Okay, so that button does that… and the other one works the guns… how do I use the awesome rifle?"
In response to her movements, the Wing Gundam reached for the Buster Rifle holstered on its back. Once the suit removed the rifle from the hard point on its waist, Neptune immediately aimed the powerful beam weapon at the Centaur that had finished recovering from its head-on collision with the wall, "Oh boy, this is gonna be good!"
IF's face paled as she watched Neptune aim the rifle at the monster. She was afraid of the damage the weapon would cause to the room, "Compa, I hope you've lived a full life. It's about to come to an abrupt end."
Compa did a double take as she listened to the brunette, "Wh-What? But I don't want my life to end!"
Shaking off the it's concussion, the Centaur lifted its undamaged arm and the same explosions that had injured the group earlier erupted around the Wing Gundam. However, the suit's tough armor render the monster's efforts useless.
During the creature's vain attempt to deal with Neptune, the Buster Rifle had finished charging, "Okay, jerk-wad. Try this on for size!"
Thermal energy erupted out of the Buster Rifle and headed straight toward the Centaur. Almost instantly, the monster was engulfed in the beam and was reduced to ash. The beam of thermal energy struck the wall and destroyed a sizable portion of it.
To the trio's relief, not only was the monster gone, but the ceiling hadn't fallen down on top of them. The Gundam opened up once more, and Neptune hoped out of the suit. The purplenette was quite pleased with the results of the battle. "We won! Awesome! That was some great teamwork."
Compa and IF were equally pleased, "And thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. Everyone get's a pat on the back."
Neptune had a blank look on her face, "Whatcha talkin' about? You guys didn't help none. I meant that Wing here and I make a good team."
IF was just happy that they were still alive, "At least you didn't bury us underneath a ton of rubble. Seriously, you need to be more careful."
Just then, then floor began to glow, garnering the groups attention. The light from the floor grew bright and brighter, until it completely engulfed the trio and their escort.
Xxx
Heero and the others had just entered the room at the end of the cave when a bright flash of light illuminated the dark cavern. The light quickly subsided and Neptune, Compa and IF were standing in front of the Heretic with the Wing Gundam right behind them, which vanished in a brief flash of light shortly thereafter.
The first person Neptune had her attention focused on was, of course, Heero. Although it was only a few minutes, the amnesiac still didn't enjoy being separated from the Perfect Soldier, "Did you come in looking for us, Heero? Were you that worried about me? You're just the sweetest."
Having arrived at the moment that the trio had escaped the disc, Heero felt out of the loop, "Would someone care to tell me what's going on?" The boy then focused his attention on the cuts and bruises that were visible on the party's leader, as well as Compa and IF. "...And why are the three of you injured?"
Neptune tried to downplay the injuries the girls had sustained during the battle mere moments ago. "You don't gotta worry about us. But first things first." With her hands on her hips and half a mind to start beating on the elderly man, the purplenette decided to engage in conversation with the Heretic one last time before actually resorting to violence, "We're back, Mr. Heretic! Whatcha got now? You gonna give up? Ready to chat?"
The Heretic was looking down at the disc in front of him, which was now in two pieces, "I really can't believe you broke the disc to escape. Just who are you girls?!"
"We're Basilicom spies! Boo!"
Neptune had clearly tried to scare the Heretic with her last statement. In contrast, Compa tried to ease the old man, "Well, no, not really. We're here to inspect this dungeon by the Basilicom's request."
After being trapped in the disc, IF really didn't have the time or mindset to play nice with the Heretic and went straight toward the more pressing issue; the discs that were responsible for the monsters, "We found out your discs are the cause of the monsters. So, where did you get them?"
"They were given by Overlord Momus's messenger. Leading monsters to spawn in this world is my new mission."
Compa was shocked as to the Heretic's reason for being in possession of the discs that summoned monsters. He was willingly helping to destroy the peace of Gamindustri, "That's why you were summoning them?! This is a big no-no!"
"You don't know anything, you busty brat! You'll be punished for this. The world will die without monsters!"
Neptune immediately found herself fired up over the Heretic's declaration. The idea that Gamindustri would die without monsters was just preposterous, "I ain't gonna let that happen! Compa, Iffy and I will never let this world die!"
The purplenette took her place next to Heero, tightly hugging his arm with both of her own. "Of course, I can't forget about Heero. He's the most important member of this party after me. I mean, we're Destined Lovers!"
"How could I trust three little girls and a prepubescent boy?! Your hollow confidence means nothing to me compared to the Overlord's punishment."
Red suddenly whispered to the other girls, noting that the Heretic only mentioned Neptune, Compa and IF, "I think that jerk is ignoring us."
Gust maintained a poker face as she listened to the elderly man rant, "He is most rude."
Considering the way the Heretic was talking, it was clear that the group's words were lost on him. IF folded her arms and shook her head, giving up on trying to get anything else out of him, "Looks like he's lost all faith in the goddesses. We can't possibly expect him to believe in our words."
Compa was in agreement with the Guild member. Normally she wouldn't be so willing to give up on someone, but it was clear that the Heretic no longer had any faith in the CPUs that protected the world, "I feel the same for once, actually. We believe in the goddesses, but he believes in this Overlord person."
The nurse in training turned her attention to the leader of the party. "Nep-Nep, just bust up his discs. We should leave him alone after that."
Even after hearing it, Neptune still couldn't believe that the Heretic really didn't believe in the group, "You really can't believe us? Please! I totally promise we'll do it!"
Neptune's plea was met with silence. That said, the purple haired girl just couldn't bring herself to give up on the lost old man. "...Fine, whatever. But if you ever wanna trust us, just stop summoning monsters, okay?"
Just as the purplenette was about to start searching the Heretic for the discs that summoned monsters, Heero stopped her, "I don't know what exactly happened her, but judging by your injuries I imagine there was an altercation before we arrived. Seeing as you found the information we were looking for, I'll take care of this matter." The Gundam pilot looked over his shoulder toward the self proclaimed Keeper of Justice, "Nisa."
Nisa was aware of what the boy wanted from her, as considering it had to do with reducing the number of monsters that spawned, the bluenette was happy to oblige, "Leave it to me. I will make sure that each and every disc is destroyed."
After a quick search conducted by Heero, every disc the Heretic was in possession of was lying on the ground. Once the Gundam pilot was certain that the elderly man didn't have any more, Nisa saw to the task of disposing of them. As soon as all of the disks were destroy, the party saw themselves out of the cave.
Xxx
During the trek back to the Safe House, the girls couldn't help but dwell on the fact that the Heretics were responsible for the increase in monster sightings. IF had immediately gotten on her phone, as she was unable to during her time in the disc, "Okay, one problem. We know these heretics are going around and spawning monsters..."
The brunette put the cellular device away as she broach the subject. "What do we do? Should we bust all the heretics in the whole wide world?"
Neptune thought about the idea for a moment before waving off the idea, "Nope, we'll deal with it later. They're not the problem here. Well, like, maybe fifty percent or something."
Heero was surprised that Neptune had caught on so quickly, a sign that she was in fact changing over the course of their journey, "Neptune makes a valid point. While the heretics may be responsible for summoning the monsters, the real culprit is the one who is distributing them in the first place. Even if they were the main problem, without knowing how many heretics there are in Gamindustri, we could very well be wasting our efforts looking for them."
Having deduced that the heretics weren't the real problem regarding the increasing number of monsters, the only other thing that could be held accountable was Overlord Momus… specifically, the messenger. Compa took it upon herself to move the discussion in said direction, "The Overlord's messenger is giving these discs out like candy. That's the main problem, right?"
The way Compa phrased the problem caused thoughts of sweets to enter Neptune's mind, "Candy? I wish! But you're right. This'll never end, otherwise."
IF was momentarily surprised by the party leader's thought process, "That's a pretty solid thought, coming from you, Nep. All right, let's tackle the source."
Heero had to admire the determination of the trio in front of him. Even with all the injuries they had, they were still willing to keep going, "You three won't be tackling anything for the rest of the day. Not in your current condition."
Neptune was suddenly reminded of the fact that she had cuts and bruises on her arms and legs, "Oh yeah… it kinda sucks."
"The three of you have clearly dealt with a lot, so I want you to take the rest of the day off. If anything comes up, we'll handle it."
Lyrica spoke up about the lack of activity from the rest of the group, "Aside from the monster from earlier, the rest of us haven't really done anything."
Red was already clinging to IF's arm, "I gotta take care of my wifey somehow. Being apart from you for so long was more than I could bear."
Even though the rest of the party was saying that they hadn't done anything during the time they had been trapped in the disc, Neptune knew that at least Heero had been doing something, "Maybe you guys did nothing, but Heero helped out a whole lot!"
The Perfect Soldier questioned how it was that he 'helped out,' "How exactly did I help you? I was waiting at the entrance like we originally planned."
"Even though we were apart, you were still protectin' us from the monsters while we were in the disc like any good lover would."
Heero wasn't sure what Neptune was talking about, and would have to inquire about it once they returned to the safe house. "You're going to have to explain what happened. It can wait until we arrive at the safe house."
The trip back to the party's place of residence was short and uneventful. Lyrica, Gust, Nisa and Red took off shortly after the party arrived at the safe house, as they had taken on a few jobs of their own before the party had left to deal with the matter of the heretic.
Neptune, Compa and IF were seated on one of the beds as they waited for Heero to enter the bedroom, no doubt because he wanted to know what happened that result in their injuries. Compa was fidgeting like a child that had just gotten in trouble, "Do you think Heero is mad?"
Even IF was a little concerned about their situation, "He shouldn't be. I mean if he is, then I don't know what it is that we did wrong."
As the girls were talking amongst themselves, the bedroom door swung open and Heero entered the room. The Gundam pilot stopped in front of their bed, watching the reaction of each girl, "I want to know what happened in there. I expect an answer from you three."
Neptune ended up being the one to retell what had transpired in the disc. Everything from the dungeon to the monsters the trio encountered, the purple haired amnesiac didn't leave out anything, "...And then I blew away the boss, and then we were in the cave again."
Heero had been listening intently to the girl he was supposed to be protecting. It took a moment for the boy to process everything she had just told him, and was regretting the fact that he had allowed them to go by themselves. Heero's silence was bothering Neptune, leading her to believe that he really was mad. "You're not… mad or anything, are ya?"
Compa started bowing apologetically, "We're really sorry if we made you mad!"
IF hung her head, knowing that it was her idea to have the party split up in the first place, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I thought we could handle the job on our own. I guess I didn't really think the idea all the way through."
Heero couldn't bear to see the trio like this… all beaten and miserable. He was just relieved that they were alright. Before he knew it, Heero found himself pulling the three girls into his arms, "As long as you three are safe, that's all that matters."
Neptune, Compa and IF were taken completely by surprised by the gesture of affection. The Perfect Soldier headed for the door. "I order some supplies a moment ago. Once I retrieve it, I will tend to your injuries."
The girls watched the boy as he left the room. Compa pulled out some synthesis items from her bag, "Heero doesn't have to worry about treating us. I can make a healing item for us right now."
Neptune was astonished at the nurse in training's suggestion, "You can't be serious. You wanna use some item to fix us up when he offered to take care of us? Don't you know what that means, Compa? Heero is gonna shower us with love and attention!"
IF had to agree with the purplenette, which was quite rare, "She's right. How could we pass this up?"
With thoughts of the party's lone male member taking care of them, the three girls waited patiently for what the believed to be their reward for all the trouble they went through.
Xxx
Heero had made his way to the park for the sole purpose of retrieving the medical supplies that he had ordered from Amazoo. As soon as the boy found the mailbox, he open the lid and pulled out its contents, taking a moment to make sure that not only was it his, but that it contained everything he ordered.
While the Gundam pilot was checking the package, a few people were complaining nearby. From what he could hear, the cause of the complaints were two girls. As the Gundam pilot finished taking inventory of his parcel, a voice called to him from behind, "Hey, you!"
Heero turned around to see just who it was that was trying to get his attention. The boy found himself looking at two young girls, one hiding behind the other.
The girl in front had long brown hair that came down just above her lower back and dark blue eyes. She wore a pastel pink winter coat over what appeared to be a white overall dress. The coat had puffed sleeves, with white fur lining the ends of the cuffs, a white frilled center a number of golden button, a light blue bow on the collar, and six puffballs place along the front and back of the coat. The girl wore a cap and boots with a similar color scheme as her coat, snow white stockings, and a light blue purse was dangling with along her left hip with the purse strap on her right shoulder.
The girl behind the first girl looked almost identical to the girl in front of her, with some differences between them. Among the differences were the fact that her hair was shoulder length, her outfit was blue instead of pink, and both the ribbon on her collar and the purse dangling at her side were pink.
The girl in front wore a smile on her face while the girl that Heero suspected of being her sister hid behind the pink clad girl, "We're bored. Play with us!"
Heero wasn't sure what to expect from the girl, but playing games with her certainly wasn't one of the things he was expecting her to ask, "And just why would I do that?"
"Because we're bored, and you don't look like you're doing anything important." A sly grin spread across the girl's face. "And because if you don't play with us… We'll start crying and screaming!"
A pitiful attempt at a threat to be sure. Heero saw no reason to waste time with the two girls, "I have a more pressing matter to take care of. I don't have time to waste playing games with you."
A moment of silence passed before the rambunctious girl turned to face her sister, "What do we do? That's always worked!"
The obviously shy sibling watched her sister that seemed to be in a panic, "...But sis… I told you it wasn't going to work..."
Heero was about to walk past the two girls, when the boisterous of the two girls got his attention again, "C'mon! You can't play with us for a few minutes?!"
The Gundam pilot looked back at the two girls. The submissive sister poked her head out from behind her more outgoing sister, "Umm… please play with us..."
Heero had originally intended to grab the medical supplies he ordered and treat Neptune, Compa and IF's injuries. He shouldn't spend time doing anything else, but found himself agreeing to play with the twins, "...I will humor you… for a few minutes."
With the boy agreeing to play, the outspoken sibling began prancing around the Gundam pilot, "Yay! We're gonna play Hide & Seek! We'll hide, and you try and find us. And you have to count to ten."
As the two girls prepared to run off in search of hiding places, Heero turned around and initiated the ten count, "(I can't believe I'm wasting my time like this.)"
After counting to ten, the boy turned around to begin his search for the two girls… and he didn't even have to look hard. The energetic sister was hiding behind a row of bushes, while her shy and reserved twin was standing behind a tree, but her purse was still poking out.
Heero didn't say anything, he merely went and grabbed the outspoken of the two by the collar of her coat. The girl had been surprised, not expecting the boy to find her so quickly, "How did you find me? Did you cheat?"
"You're wearing copious amounts of pink, and you tried to hide behind a bush. How was I NOT going to find you?"
The Gundam pilot carried the young girl over to a park bench and set her down on one end, then went to go retrieve her sister. Heero maneuvered outside of the meek girl's peripheral vision, so that she wouldn't seem him coming.
The shy girl poked her head out from behind the tree to see if the boy was coming, and a sense of weightlessness followed shortly afterward. The young girl froze for a moment before slowly turning her head to see Heero holding her up. Heero had to give it to the girl, she would have been harder to find, if it weren't for her purse, "Next time you decide to hide behind a tree, make sure your completely concealed. Including your purse."
Heero carried the submissive girl over to her sister who was starting to get hungry, "I'm hungry. I want a crepe!"
The Perfect Soldier had been willing to play with the two girls so that they wouldn't bother him. He never said that he would buy them food. That said, he had a feeling they would pester him about it if he didn't get them what they wanted. Heero looked at the shy girl as he put her back down on the ground. "I'm going to take it that you want one as well."
The shy girl gently nodded her head, quickly ducking behind her sister. Heero saw no other choice but to indulge the twins. The boy grabbed his parcel and escorted the two girls to a nearby crepe shop.
Once they arrived at the shop that sold the sweet treat, the pink clad sister ran right up to the counter to order her crepe, "I want a strawberry crepe!"
The girl's twin sister order her crepe while hiding behind her sister, "...A-Apple Cinnamon."
Both crepes came out shortly afterward, and both of the twin happily ate their treats while Heero ordered three more crepes, though they were intended for the trio waiting back at the safe house.
As soon as they had finished eating, the energetic twin wanted to start playing games again, "Okay, let's play another game!"
Before she could come up with a game to play, the girl's submissive sister had to dampen the mood, "Sis… we have to go soon… if we don't, Mina will get mad..."
Hearing that name caused the spirited girl to wince. It was time for the twins to go. The outspoken girl turned to Heero, "Well, we gotta go now."
The Gundam pilot turned to leave when the energetic girl called to him one more time, "Hey, what's your name?"
Heero looked over his shoulder at the twins, "Heero Yuy."
The submissive twin wrote the boy's name into the ground with a stick, then whispered for her sister to look at her spelling. "Hey, if you take off an E it spells hero. Are you a hero or something?"
"I'm far from being a hero. I'm a soldier. Nothing more, nothing less."
The high spirited twin looked over her shoulder at her sister, "I think he's a tragic hero."
The girl's shy sister continued whispering to her dominant sibling, "Those are… really rare, aren't they?"
Heero couldn't understand why it was that everyone who asked him if he was a hero or not just assumed that he was a 'tragic hero.' He certainly didn't view himself as a hero. The girl changed the subject, "Anyway, I'm Ram. Nice to meet ya!"
Ram's sister continued to hide behind her, poking her head out for a moment to introduce herself, "I-I'm… Rom."
Ram had a big smile on her face, content with both the game of Hide and Seek and the crepe snack she just had. "Since you were nice to us, we'll let you be our friend."
Rom's lips formed a small smile, "It was… nice meeting you."
Both Ram and Rom took off in the other direction, obviously in a hurry. Heero grabbed his things before making his way back to the safe house, contemplating why he bought the crepes for Neptune, Compa and IF when he only planned on treating their injuries, "Now I know I've gotten soft..."
Xxx
Me: "And there we have it. Chapter 33 is done. I gotta say, things are coming along rather well."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "I can totally feel it. We're getting closer to a hot romantic scene. I just know it!"
Heero: "How could you possibly know something like that? Unless the Author actually disclosed something, I fail to see how you would have any concrete Intel on the matter."
Neptune: "Call it Lover's intuition."
Me: "In due time, people."
Zero: (Suddenly appears in ACCC) "I for one am looking forward to such interactions between you two. It will certainly do you some good."
Compa and IF: (Enter ACCC from Lounge) "What about us? We want to have a romantic scene with Heero, too!"
IF: "Hey, don't lump me in with you. I at least know that the readers want to see a romance scene between me and Heero. So I know I'll get one."
Me: "People, please, you'll get you romantic scenes with Heero in due time. You just gotta be patient." (Looks at watch) "Speaking of which, we should probably wrapped up this segment of the After Chapter Chat Corner. Umm… tell you what, let's have Nep and Zero wrap this up."
Neptune: "So Z and me are gonna finish up the chapter? Awesome!" (Turns to readers) "Read and review this chapter of this awesome story, please."
Zero: "And look forward to the next update."
Heero: "...That ended much better than I expected."
Me: (Points to exit) "Come friends! Once we have the fourth Key Fragment, our goal of finishing this story will be that much closer! Back to work!"
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, and Zero: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)
