Me: "Hello again my good readers. Well, we've finally reached the fourth and final Key Fragment."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "You hear that, Heero? We're finally gonna nab the last Key Fragment! Are you excited? I know I am!"
Heero: "Before you start celebrating, we have to retrieve the Key Fragment first."
Me: "C'mon, don't be like that. We all know you guys will get it."
Compa and IF: (Enters IC from Break Room) "We'll finally be able to save Histy, and everyone in Gamindustri! Isn't that exciting?"
IF: "Maybe, if we had concrete proof that we were actually saving everyone. I'm still skeptical."
Zero: "Rest assured, that your actions will lead to an outcome that satisfies everyone. It's just going to take some effort."
Me: "Before we go any further, we need to read off the disclaimer. Lyrica is busying coming up with lyrics for a new song, Gust and Red are making cookies, and Nisa… well, I had to tie her down so she wouldn't break anymore of our windows."
Zero: "That has been a problem as of late."
Me: "Yes it has… and a completely unnecessary expenditure." (Points to cast) "Let's hear it."
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: "Another chapter underway, another chapter closer to finishing this story. We hope you all enjoy this one. Now, back to work peeps!"
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF and Zero: (Leave IC)
Ch. 35 Lowee Key Fragment
It was the morning after the party's unexpected slew of job requests, and the group had congregated in the living room of their safe house to discuss the matter of the fourth and final Key Fragment.
Heero opened the discussion, beginning with the party's need to make any last minute preparations, "Before we head to the specified location, we should procure anything we need that is absolutely essential. The last thing we need is to be short on vital supplies while searching for the target."
Gust raised one of her gloved hands into the air to get the group's attention, "Nisa and Gust will check items. If something is missing, Nisa can go out and get."
The Gundam piloted gave a quick nod in response, "Take Lyrica and Red with you. It will take less time to sort through our inventory between all four of you."
Gust, Nisa, Lyrica and Red left the living room for the bedroom, as their supplies was located. As the quartet went about their assigned job, Neptune brought up an unrelated topic, "Heya, know how we're all crackin' the skulls of a buncha different kinds of monsters? Why don't we make like, a scrap book of all these baddies?!"
Heero hadn't expected Neptune to come up with the idea of making an encyclopedia regarding the monsters that the party had come across during their travels, "You want to create a bestiary of our enemies?"
The purplenette quickly nodded her head in response, clearly proud of the idea. "Yeah! We can look at it and remember all the good times we had beating up the monsters."
Compa seemed in favor of the group leader's idea, "What a lovely idea! I didn't expect to hear you say something about arts and crafts! You do have a brain!"
Heero raised a questioning eyebrow at the nurse in training. The last part of her sentence seemed to imply that the otherwise innocent, friendly girl questioned whether or not Neptune was stupid. Heero wasn't sure whether to categorize the comment as a compliment or a savage insult.
In Neptune's case, she saw it as the latter, "Y-You should have stopped before that last sentence!"
IF was in the same boat as Heero and Compa. She never would have expected the amnesiac to propose such an idea when it seemed as though her though process revolved around food and Heero, "I question whether or not you have a brain all the time. I don't blame Compa for being surprised by your idea."
The party's leader quickly moved over to the couch Heero was seated at while complaining to the boy, seeing as she was being insulted by the other two people in the room. "Heero! Compa and Iffy are being mean to me!"
Heero briefly looked over the two girls before placing a hand on Neptune's head, "I understand that you're upset at them questioning your intellect, and certainly they could have commented on something else. That said, I imagine they're only saying that just to get over their anxiety. Undoubtedly because we're about to go search an area that we hope contains the last Key Fragment. Compa and IF probably don't want to entertain the thought that we won't find it. 'Hope for the best, expect the worst,' as they say."
While that wasn't the entire reason, it certainly was a big part of IF's reasoning for picking on Neptune. The whole party wanted nothing more than to find the fourth Key Fragment and to be done with their search.
Neptune looked back at the two girls that had decided to pick on her for the monster encyclopedia idea, still visibly upset with the duo, "Yeah, well… they didn't have to pick on me."
Unlike IF, Compa didn't mean to hurt the purplenette's feelings and immediately began to apologize, "I'm sorry, Nep-Nep. I didn't mean it like that."
The amnesiac turned her attention to IF, expecting her to offer up an apology. The Guild Moderatist folded her arms over chest while looking away from the party's leader, "I meant what I said."
Before Neptune could start complaining again, Heero steered the conversation back to the matter of the group's impending search for the Key Fragment… or rather, something pertaining to their search, "While we still have time, there is something we need to address."
Heero stood up and headed for the workshop, with the trio of girls following after him. The Gundam pilot flipped on the light switch, illuminating the dark room that contain the varies tools that Heero used to maintain the machines he had been using throughout their journey to find the Key Fragments.
Standing in the middle of the room were two of the five suits, the Wing Gundam and Gundam Exia. The rear armor of both mobile suits were open to reveal their internal workings. The Perfect Soldier walked over to the technological marvels, stopping just a few feet behind them. "If our search for the Key Fragment is anything like the previous two, which there is a high probability that it is, then we may need more firepower to insure that we not only succeed, but that we complete the mission without suffering any casualties or serious injury."
IF wasn't sure where the lone male member of the party was going with the conversation, or how it pertained to them. "What does that have to do with us?"
"You and Compa have been incapacitated on more than one occasion. During these instances, the fighting strength of the team suffers greatly. Given that each Key Fragment has been in the possession of the same enemy, and that said enemy has proven rather difficult for the two of you, I believe that it would be in the group's best interest if I lend you these suits for the mission. Both of you should familiarize yourselves with the controls while we still have time."
Since the incident where the trio had been trapped inside of the monster summoning disc, Compa and IF were curious as to whether or not the Gundams would work for them the way the Wing Gundam worked for Neptune.
Compa stopped in front of the Wing Gundam, giving a polite bow to the machine, "H-Hello, Mr. Robot. Thank you for saving us the other day."
The mobile suit remained silent as the nurse in training expressed her thanks. IF walked past the pink haired girl, questioning just why it was she felt the need to thank the machine when it wasn't going to respond, "Why do you even bother? It's not going to give you a reply."
As she turned to look at the Exia, IF suddenly found Compa in her face. The pink haired girl's cheeks had swelled up, indicating that she was upset, "You really shouldn't say that, Iffy. Even if they don't talk we should still show them our respect."
Compa then pointed at the Exia, which was just as silent as the Gundam next to it. "Besides, Mr. Robot's friend saved you that one time when we were gathering the herbs needed to make the antidote for Nep-Nep."
It was uncomfortable having Compa right in her face, so the brunette began to push her away. "There really no point. And besides, Heero was in this thing when it happened, so it would make more sense to thank him instead."
Compa seized IF's arm and forced the Guild member to look at her. Once they made eye contact, IF froze in place as the nurse in training began to exude a powerful, terrifying aura, "You should thank others when they save you… you REALLY should. Say thank you to Mr. Robot's friend… and say it like you mean it. Now."
Neptune had ducked behind the workbench out of fear of the nurse in training, "Compa's gettin' kinda scary again… think you could turn down the scary a bit? Or maybe a lot?"
The intimidating nurse let go of IF's arm while keeping her gaze fixed solely on the brunette. Since it was apparent that she wasn't going to be getting away from Compa, IF faced the silent Gundam in front of her, "(Guess I have to… or else Compa might get even more upset.) Th-Thanks for… saving me that one time."
Heero had walked up behind the Exia to perform a quick check of its systems when Compa had begun to intimidate the Guild member, stopping his check of the Gundam when he heard IF talking to it. It wasn't the strangest thing the boy had ever heard… hell, he talked to his own Gundam on more than one occasion, as did many of the other Gundam pilots.
Rather than leaving the girl thinking that she was talking to an inanimate object, the teenaged soldier pressed one of the buttons connected to the main camera of the suit. IF gave the nurse in training an irritated look. "See? If it can't respond, then saying anything to it is just a waste of-"
Before IF could finish, the eyes of the Gundam flashed briefly. The sudden, unexpected response from the machine caused the brunette to stumble and fall onto her back. IF sat up and pointed at the Exia while attempting to speak to the pink haired girl, though her words were slightly garbled, "D-D-Did you- what was- was I the only one that saw that?!"
Compa did in fact see the same thing that IF saw, though she wasn't alarmed by it. Instead, the nurse in training just smiled at the silent mobile suit, "I think Mr. Robot's friend is happy. You see, Iffy? Now I'm sure he'll help us again."
IF was still having trouble believing that the Gundam actually responded to her. Shaking off her initial surprise, the Guild Moderatist cautiously approached the machine in case the Gundam showed any other kind of response.
Heero found IF's caution somewhat humorous, but worked to get the girls focused on the task at hand, "If you two are done, I suggest you learn the controls for these suits while we still have time."
The duo maneuvered behind the two Gundams to their controls… and having seen nothing like it they were unsure as to how they were supposed to use them. IF just stared at the inside of the Exia as she tried to work how she was supposed to operate it in her mind, "So… what do we do?"
Why IF was asking Compa about that question was anyone's guess. It wasn't as if the pink haired nurse knew what to do either. Compa walked closer to the Wing Gundam while examining the space inside of the suit, "I'm not sure… but we won't know if we just stand here. Excuse me, Mr. Robot."
Compa stepped into the suit of armor to get a closer look at the controls. Upon seeing the various buttons and switches, the pink haired girl's visceral response was to just try everything to see what they did… and it didn't take long for her to find the switch that closed the segments of armor that were open.
A surprised gasp was all that the others could hear before the armor encased the girl, and shortly afterward the suit began to turn on. IF stared in disbelief. She couldn't believe that the ditzy girl had already figured out how to get the suit to start up. "This must be some kind of sick joke..."
The brunette returned her attention to the Exia. After seeing Compa get the suit to work so easily, IF was determined to do the same, "It shouldn't be too hard… I mean, Nep and Compa did it, and they're not exactly the smartest people in the world."
Before she tried getting into the mobile suit IF took off her jacket and set it down on the nearby stool, knowing that it would end up getting caught in-between the segments of armor once it started to close. IF was slightly intimidated at the sight of the various button and switches that managed the Gundam's systems.
Every time the brunette was about to press a button she would stop herself before pushing on it. After a minute of looking over the buttons, IF finally settled on a teal colored button on the small panel in front of her. "Maybe… this one?"
As soon as she pushed the button, the open segments of the Exia's armor began to close around IF, garnering a small shriek from the brunette. Once the armor had completely closed around IF the Gundam's systems began to turn on, which allowed her to see the rest of the controls for the machine and eventually through its eyes.
Before she could start testing the controls a small screen popped up on the HUD against the main camera in front of IF. Compa was on the small screen, and the bubbly girl seemed excited over their current situation, "Isn't this exciting, Iffy? We get to fly around with Mr. Robot and his friend!"
IF wasn't quite as excited as the nurse in training. Since she knew nothing about the controls for the mobile suit, she didn't think they would be 'flying around' as easily as Compa thought they would, "I don't think it's going to be that easy..."
The brunette briefly turned her attention to the center of the display in front of her, specifically the section that gave the suit's designation. "What's this?...GN-001… Gun… dam… Ex… ia? It must be the name for the robot. I'm pretty sure I'm not even pronouncing it right."
Neptune listened to the two girls as they worked to get the Gundams moving, and was starting to feel left out. The purplenette turned to the Gundam pilot with an expectant look on her face, "I get to use one of the cool robots after them, right?"
Heero wasn't sure why Neptune needed to use one of the suits when she had her own transformation, "Why exactly do you need to use a Gundam? Unlike the others, you can transform and attain greater combat capabilities."
The amnesiac goddess persisted despite the fact that he made a valid point. "But what if Compa or Iffy bites the big one before they get a chance to fight the boss? Somebody's gotta take their place!"
Compa and IF heard their purple haired leader, who didn't even try to be discreet with her reasoning. The nurse in training didn't like how Neptune was insinuating that something would happen to her or IF, "What do you mean by that, Nep-Nep? Heero wanted us to use Mr. Robot and his friend when we find the boss with Key Fragment."
"Yeah, but if one of you guys goes down, then somebody else has to do the job. And I'm better with my good buddy Wing over there than you guys are."
IF didn't believe Neptune's claim for the obvious reason that she had only used the mobile suit once, "You've used it once and it was only for a few minutes. How does that make you better with these things than us?"
Neptune tried to push the idea that she was better with the Gundams than the two girls, although the example the purplenette offered to support her claim was flimsy at best, "Well, I'm a few minutes better than you guys! So there!"
Before the argument could go on any longer, Heero intervened. Not only would they just be wasting more time, but the boy knew that Neptune wouldn't stop asking to use the Gundam, "Against my better judgment, I will permit you to practice with the suit… AFTER Compa has had sufficient time to learn the controls."
Neptune threw her arms around Heero's waist and looked up at the boy, looking slightly upset as she did. "You're supposed to let me use it cause we're Destined Lovers. It's got nothin' to do with judgment."
Remembering the close physical encounter between himself and the girl in front of him from the previous day, Heero had a momentary lapse in his thought process. The Gundam pilot quickly snapped out of the trance he was in and escaped Neptune's hold. "We are not lovers. I'm only allowing this so as to increase our chances of success."
Returning his attention to the task at hand, Heero moved to push to the button to open the garage door. The stark white door that separated the workshop from the outside lifted off of the ground, revealing the snow covered landscape on the other side. It went without saying that if the two tried to learn the controls of the suits while in the confines of the workshop, it was highly likely that they would damage not just the garage, but the party's safe house… and the really didn't have the funds to repair that kind of damage.
Compa and IF worked to get both the Wing Gundam and Gundam Exia out of the workshop… and the way they stumbled about would make anyone suspect that they were drunk. IF almost fell over a few times as she navigated the suit out of the enclosed space, "Heero makes this looks so easy… I didn't think it would be this hard."
"Don't worry Iffy, you can do it!"
The Exia lifted it's head to look to the left before looking forward to see the Wing Gundam already outside. IF was at a loss for words. How did the ditzy nurse in training get outside so quickly? "What the- How did you get out so fast?"
Compa tilted her head to the side, which caused the Wing Gundam to tilt it's head. She wasn't sure if the Guild Moderatist was being serious with her question, "What do you mean? I just walked out, silly."
IF was to call the pink haired girl a smart-ass when she stopped to think about it. The entire time she had been trying to get the Gundam out of the workshop, IF had been under the notion that she had to keep her hands on the controls the entire time, ready to push a button should the need arise. Was it really as simple as walking?
Since she didn't have any better ideas to speed up the process IF focused solely on 'walking.' While it still took some time IF was able to get the machine out onto the sidewalk. Once outside it was safe for the two to actually work with the controls without worrying about putting a hole in the house, though IF was no less confused then when they started, "O-Okay… it shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure I'll figure this out. I can't say the same for Compa, but-"
A cloud of snow flakes filled the Exia's vision as the Wing Gundam took off into the air. Compa was startled at her sudden takeoff, but got the hang of what she was doing. It wasn't long before the pink haired girl was giggling to herself as the suit sailed through the air. "Mr. Wing moves so fast! And everything looks so small from up here!"
Seeing Compa flying through the air so easily caused IF's eye to twitch out of irritation. Not five minutes into their impromptu training session, and already Compa was figuring out the controls of the Gundam faster than she was. "What's going on here. We just started practicing, how the hell are you doing that?!"
"I just tried everything to see what they do."
...Dumb luck. Through sheer dumb luck, Compa was already figuring out how to operate the machine faster than IF. With her eyes slanted, the brunette commented on how stupid the idea sounded, "Just tried everything? We don't even know what all of this stuff does. She could get herself killed doing that."
On one hand it certainly was a stupid idea since they knew nothing about the mobile suits and simply pushing buttons with wild abandon could lead to an accident. On the other hand, it was a smart idea… to a degree. Because they didn't what the controls did, trying everything was the only way they would see what each individual mechanism would do.
With no other alternative, IF decided that the best way to get any practice in was to 'try everything' like Compa was doing. The brunette began to apply pressure to the button against her right index finger. "What does this one do?"
The moment IF pushed the button, the large blade of the GN Sword attached to the Exia's right arm unfolded from its idle position, sliding into place over the rifle that was also part of the weapon. IF looked down at the long bladed weapon for a moment. Truth be told, she had been hoping that the button she had pressed would enable the suit to fly, "Okay, so that wasn't the button I was hoping for. At least I figured out how to work the giant switchblade, so… progress."
As the Guild member continued to figure out the controls from the ground, Compa continued to fly through the air with seemingly no intent to come down, giggling to herself the entire time, "Flying is so much fun! I don't know why Heero doesn't do it more often."
Compa turned her gaze to the button just under thumb, her curiosity prompting her to push it. "What does this button do?"
What the nurse in training didn't know was that she had pushed the button that operated the machine cannons, and to make matters worse she was flying just over IF when she decided to try it. A slew of bullets rained down from the sky toward the Exia. The Guild member tried to back away from the swarm of bullets coming at her, but tripped and fell onto her back in the process.
IF began to panic as the projectiles edged closer to her. Of all the ways she saw herself going out, on her back and helpless was not one of them. "I can't believe I'm about to die… And what makes this so humiliating is that it's Compa that's gonna kill me! Compa! I can only think of one thing more humiliating than this!"
The brunette shut her eyes, waiting for the flurry of metal to hit her, but somehow all of the bullets fired at her failed to hit. IF stood up as the Wing Gundam flew overhead, shaking her fist as it passed over, which in-turn caused the Exia to shake it's fist at the suit, "Dammit Compa! Watch where you're shooting!"
During her rant, IF inadvertently pushed on the button against her left thumb. A shower of beam rounds from the GN Vulcan on the Exia's left arm flew through the air toward the armor clad Compa. A warning sound filled the space inside of the Gundam as the flurry of pink beams streaked past the suit, causing the suit's sole occupant to act hysterically, "I-Iffy! What did you do that for? You could have hit me!"
"It's not like I intended for it to happen! Besides, it's not like you didn't deserve it."
It was nothing short of a miracle that neither suit was damaged during the exchange of accidental discharge. While he had been worried about the Gundams sustaining any damage, he was more worried about the idea of Compa or IF getting hurt as a result of such an accident… though he would admit that the way both girls reacted to being shot at was rather amusing.
The door of the safe house opened with Lyrica, Nisa and Red walking out to witness the shouting match between the two girls. Naturally they didn't expect to see anything quite like it the moment they exited the house, "Umm… what's going on?"
Neptune had her hands behind her head as she watched the two arguing girls, "Compa and Iffy are trying to get good with Heero's robots, but they're kinda suckin' right now."
IF turned her furious gaze on Neptune. She hadn't been so caught up with her argument with Compa that she couldn't hear the purple haired amnesiac making fun of her, "I can hear you over there!"
Red's mind began to race as she thought about what she could accomplish if she were to operate one of the powerful suits herself, "If I could use one of those robots... I could fly all over the place and get so many wifeys in one day!"
Nisa had been following a similar thought process as the red headed girl, though instead of collecting 'wifeys,' she was thinking about how many job requests she could accomplish in a single day, "These heroic machines could defeat any number of monsters. I can see it now… the innocent civilians of Gamindustri would never know fear again!"
While the two girls continued to dwell on their respective ideas, Neptune was taking the opportunity to make fun of the two girls for their blunder, "You guys are kinda bad with those robots. If it were me, I'd never mess up that bad."
IF was quickly getting fed up with Neptune's constant berating of their lack of experience with the Gundams, "If you're really so good with these things then why don't you prove it, bigmouth?"
A grin spread across Neptune's face, quickly taking IF up on her challenge. "Okie dokey! Compa get your butt down here!"
Compa reluctantly came down and exited the Wing Gundam. Once out of the suit of armor, the nurse in train turned to face the party's leader with a frown, "Why do you need Mr. Wing, Nep-Nep? Couldn't you just ask for his friend?"
"Isn't it obvious? Heero uses this one more than the others, so clearly it's his favorite. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Ignoring Compa's protest that ensued, Neptune hopped into the unoccupied Wing Gundam. As soon as it had closed itself back up, the Wing Gundam took to the sky once more… this time with the party's energetic leader at the controls. "Wooooooohoooooo! Is this totally awesomesauce or what?!"
Lyrica watched the mobile suit as it soared through the air. The songstress couldn't help but feel uneasy about the idea of Neptune being in control of the Gundam, "Umm… are we sure it's a good idea to let Neptune use that thing? I mean, I don't want to be THAT person, but..."
It was certainly a terrifying idea, what with the party's leader being somewhat reckless and a bit irresponsible and now in control of what was easily one of the most powerful weapons ever conceived. Nevertheless, Heero had to trust that the amnesiac wouldn't be too much of a problem with the machine, "I'm certain that even Neptune won't act with reckless abandon."
The cerulean haired girl didn't want to stick around to see whether or not Neptune would actually restrain herself. "Well… we're going into town to get the rest of the supplies we need... And by 'we,' I mean Nisa and Red."
Lyrica, Nisa and Red departed from the party's safe house to retrieve what supplies they were missing. Meanwhile, IF was infuriated with how easily Neptune was able to get the Gundam into the air. It was bad enough that Compa was able to do it, but seeing the other ditz of the party perform the task so effortlessly was insulting to the brunette, "This is humiliating… how can they be better with these robots than me? I'm obviously smarter than either of them."
Determined to figure out how to get the Exia to fly herself, IF quickly went through the controls of the suit. As IF was fiddling with the buttons the Wing Gundam suddenly blew past her, a cloud of snow trailing behind it.
It wasn't hard to imagine that Neptune was grinning behind the metal face plate as she looked back at the struggling IF, "You see that, Iffy? I'm totally the best with these robots."
Gust suddenly popped up next to Compa, having chosen to stay behind with the rest of the group while the others went to fetch supplies. The young alchemist couldn't help but feel uneasy about Neptune being in possession of one of the Gundams, even if it was only temporary, "Gust is questioning if it is good idea to let leader use robot. Could have dire consequences."
That was the second time someone brought their dismay over Neptune using a mobile suit… within the span of five minutes. But unlike the rest of the group, Heero wasn't too concerned. Sure he would have shot down the idea in a heartbeat before, but now? He wasn't really bothered by it. Though he did suddenly feel tired. Very tired. As if he was about to pass out.
Neptune turned the Gundam around began to fly in IF's direction once more. She wasn't finished bragging about her supposed superiority over the Guild member, "You gotta try harder than that Iffy! If you don't, you're just provin' that I AM better with these robots than you are!"
The purple haired girl's smarmy attitude and constant antagonizing finally wore on IF's last nerve. The large blade of the GN Sword folded back into its idle position as the Exia raised it's right arm and pointed the exposed rifle barrel at the incoming suit. IF was bound and determined to shoot down Neptune, damn the consequences, "Let's see just how well you use that thing when you're peeling yourself off the ground!"
Heero wanted to stop the two girls before things got out of hand, but his sudden lack of stamina left him unable to do anything. The boy had broken into a cold sweat, falling onto one knee as he tried to catch his breath.
Oblivious of what was happening with the Gundam pilot, IF had the Exia pull the trigger of it's arm mounted rifle, although the weapon didn't discharge any thermal energy. Instead, the Gundam's arm limply fell to it's side. IF tried to get the suit to move, but it was unresponsive. "C'mon! Move!"
It wasn't just the Exia that was experiencing technical difficulties. The Wing Gundam was no longer responding to the inputs Neptune made on the controls… and the suit was heading right toward the ground, "Hey, uh, big guy? I kinda need you to go up! Like right now!"
Sadly, Neptune's pleas were not met. The Gundam slammed into the ground and continued on past the Exia, plowing through and completely submerging itself in the snow. Seconds after the suits stopped responding they vanished in a flash of light, leaving their occupants exposed to the elements. IF immediately started rubbing her arms to generate warmth as she ran into the garage to fetch her jacket, "I n-n-need my jacket!"
As the brunette ran into the workshop, Neptune emerged from under the snow that had piled up as a result of her crash landing. A dollop of snow sat on the purplenette's head as she pulled herself out of the snow blanket she had created, "I'm okay! I think."
While the two girls were collecting themselves, Compa was tending to the winded Gundam pilot. Heero's sudden collapse had alarmed the nurse in training, "Are you alright, Heero? Are you getting sick?"
Perspiration cascaded down the side of Heero's face as the boy struggled to catch his breath. His stamina had been drained so quickly he had no time to prepare himself for the wave of exhaustion that hit him, "(Damn… I forgot to take this into account.)"
The reason for the boy's collapse was an oversight on just how much of his stamina he would have to expend to maintain the two machines. Before now he had only ever used one suit at a time, and the moments where he had more than one suit out they were powered down and not operating. This was the first time he had attempted to maintain two Gundams at one time… and it was plain to see that it didn't go over so well.
Gust had reached into her pocket and pulled out two vials; one empty and one containing a clear liquid, as well as a few herbs. The young alchemist dropped the herbs into the empty vial, then poured the liquid from the second vial on top of it. Once that was done Gust stuck a cork into the glass container before vigorously shaking it.
Once she was done the small girl presented the vial to the Gundam pilot, who was still working to catch his breath, "Drink this potion."
Heero took the potion from Gust, observing the liquid within the container for a moment. It was cyan in color and there wasn't any visible trace of the herbs that had been used, safe for the change in the liquids coloration.
Removing the cork, the Perfect Soldier lifted the vial to his lips to consume the potion. The moment the fluid graced his tongue Heero detected a mild citrous taste, contradicting what he thought the potion was going to taste like.
It was only once he had consumed the contents of the vial in its entirety that Heero began to feel the effects of the potion. Almost instantly he felt is vitality return to him, as if he never used any of his stamina in the first place. Heero looked at the now empty vial, noting the remedial effects of Gust's concoction, "...What exactly did you give me?"
Gust took back the empty vial, stuffing it back in her pouch while answering the boy's question. "A potion that restores stamina. Worth a lot of money to adventurers."
It was clear just why it was worth so much. An item that could revitalize a person that was completely exhausted was quite valuable. Compa heaved a sigh as she reached into her purse, "...How much do you want for this, Gust?"
While she may have been a member of their party, Gust didn't just give away the items she synthesized without some form of compensation. The young alchemist thought about it for a moment before replying to the nurse in training, "...Since Heero helped with previous experiment, Gust will let this be freebie."
IF was visibly disappointed over the abrupt end to the practice session, though that may have been due to the fact that she had been unable shoot down the party's leader like she had wanted to, "What happened? I was about to blast Nep into the ground when the robots stopped working and just disappeared!"
Neptune had just walked into the workshop when the Guild member had dropped the fact that she had intended to shoot her out of the sky. The purplenette wasn't happy to hear that IF had been serious about attacking her, "You were really gonna shoot me, Iffy?"
The brunette folded her arms over her chest as she frowned at the amnesiac. "With all that bragging you were doing did you really think I wasn't going to?"
"That's enough. Both of you."
Heero stopped the two girls before they could start arguing and immediately moved to reprimand them, "IF, you should know better than to let Neptune provoke you. We don't need any accidents caused by someone's short temper."
The boy then turned his gaze on Neptune. It was her constant boasting that caused IF to lose her cool to begin with. "And Neptune, your constant boasting was uncalled for. As the leader, you have to set a better example for the team. That means NO bragging."
Another scolding from Heero, another moment of reflection for the two girls. Neptune and IF looked away out of shame as the Gundam pilot continued to chew them out. After he was done, Heero naturally expected the two girls to apologize to one another for what had transpired.
Neptune looked over at IF for a moment before looking away while muttering her apologize, "Sorry for bragging so much..."
IF stuck her hands in her pockets as she looked at the wall, still miffed over the incessant bragging that had caused their current situation… and because IF was certain that Neptune wasn't being sincere with her apology. Nevertheless, the brunette opted to be the bigger woman and sound as sincere as she could given what she had to put up with just moments ago, "And I'm sorry… for trying to shoot at you."
The brunette had mutter something along the lines of 'and not getting to blast you like I wanted,' but had made sure to do so in a voice low enough that the others couldn't hear her. Once the apologies were out of the way, the girls shifted their attention to the more immediate issue of the Gundams shutting down on them without warning. "Anyway, what happened? Those robots just stopped moving all of a sudden."
Heero had finished recovering from his momentary collapse thanks to Gust's potion, and had to break the news to the girls that his idea wasn't going to pan out the way he thought it would, "That would be my fault. I have become so used to using one suit at a time that I forgot to take into account the amount of stamina it would take to maintain a second machine at the same time. Without sufficient energy to maintain their functions, the Gundam's naturally shut down. Knowing this, I'm beginning to rethink my proposed strategy."
It didn't take a genius to figure out why Heero was rethinking his idea. The plan was to have the two Gundams weaken or eliminate the monster in possession of the Key Fragment, but this short practice session had shown that his stamina wouldn't last that long. If they went through with it, Compa and IF would be put at risk.
Before Heero had a chance to come up with another battle plan, both Compa and IF pushed for the idea, "We should still try it. You must have worked hard to come up with the idea, and we wouldn't want your efforts to go to waste."
IF was sure that it wasn't coming up with the plan, but rather willingly lending his machines to the two that required any effort, "Compa's reasoning aside, we should still go along with it anyway. I mean, it's really nice of you to be thinking about us, but we're going to be putting ourselves in danger either way."
As much as Heero didn't want to acknowledge it, IF was right. They were going to be in danger regardless of whether they went with the plan or came up with a new one. That was to be expected from their search for the Key Fragments.
If they were going to use his proposed strategy then at the very least Heero wanted to reduce the risk involved with implementing it. Thinking on the matter, the boy's mind shifted to the concoction Gust had given him, which had quickly reinvigorated him. Heero turned his attention to the party's alchemist, "Gust, would it be possible for you to synthesize another-"
Gust had already anticipated that the Gundam pilot would ask that particular question. Sadly, the answer she had wasn't quite what he was hoping to hear, "Gust does not have ingredients for complete stamina potion. Best I can do is lesser potion."
So a potion with lesser effects was the best she could do. While not entirely what he was hoping for, the young alchemist could still make an item that would provide what Heero needed. "...It's better than nothing."
A second attempt at practicing with the Gundams was out of the question. If they tried, it would be another very short session and Heero would most likely have no energy left for their raid on the dungeon, "We will have to conclude your practice here."
Heero turned his gaze on Compa, who had performed unusually well with the Gundam despite having no prior experience. "Your performance was commendable. How did you know how to operate a mobile suit so quickly?"
Compa wasn't sure why the boy seemed impressed with how she did, considering that she was just trying every button at her fingertips, "I just started pushing buttons to see what they did."
The Perfect Soldier stared at the pink haired girl as he processed her answer. She had just pushed buttons at random? How exactly she had managed avoid crashing, let alone getting the Gundam to fly was nothing short of a miracle.
IF muttered under her breath as she shot a glare at the nurse in training behind her back, "...I could've just pushed things at random too, klutz."
Heero briefly returned his attention to Gust to inform her of the plan to leave for to leave for the ruins from the city, "Find the others and tell them we'll be joining them shortly."
Gust took off into the city while Heero looked toward the back of the garage. Sitting against the wall were two engine hoists, though the objects nestled in the thick chains of the heavy equipment weren't car engines.
At the Gundam pilot's command, the Exia reappeared from the disk that contained it. The Gundam created by Celestial Being stood silently in the center of the workshop as Heero started moving the engine hoists over to the suit. "The three of you can follow Gust. I need to make modifications to the suit before leaving."
Neptune scurried over to the objects that Heero was pushing over to the inert mobile suit, curious as to what they were, "What are these things? What are they for? Are they some kinda new and awesome weapon?"
"They're not exactly weapons, but they do serve an important purpose."
The purplenette looked up at the ceiling as though the individual that was speaking was somehow up there. "Hiya, Z. What have you been up to? And if these doohickeys aren't weapons, then what are they?"
It had been some time since either Neptune or Heero had heard from the disembodied voice, so she was curious as to why she hadn't contacted them, "Sorting though data. There's been so much of of it, it's taken longer than I thought to go through it. As for your other question, the equipment is supplementary armor intended to make up for the Exia's lack of speed and substantial ranged weaponry."
As fast and maneuverable as it was, the Exia didn't have the speed to catch up to every enemy it went up against. The suit also suffered from both a lack of ranged weapons AND a lack of armor that left portions of its internal structure exposed during certain postures. Heero elaborated how he was able to get a hold of this new equipment for the Gundam, "A week ago, Zero ran a systems check of the mobile suit and was able to find the blueprints for the optional equipment for the Exia. I made use of the connections we've made over our travels to put together the materials needed to create one of them. Chian is taking care of the assembly process."
That was a name they hadn't heard in a while. After the Tech Expo on Lastation, the party hadn't seen much of Chian. Compa thought about Chian and how she was hoping the factory owner was prospering after the Avenir debacle, "Do you think Ms. Chian is doing better? I mean, we did win the Expo and all, but she lost her factory."
Unlike the nurse in training, IF wasn't too concerned with the well-being of their temporary employer/friend of sorts, "I'm sure she's doing fine. Like you said, we won the Expo. Besides, you saw how all those people were ogling over Heero while he was using that robot. Thanks to Nep's impromptu sales pitch, they're probably throwing money at her in the hopes that she'll make some of those robots. More importantly, do you know if this stuff works?"
It was a fair question to ask. During their testing of the Mech Sword Armas prior to the Technology Expo, the group had found a few problems with the weapon were a little concerning… besides just who it was that was responsible for testing the weapon, "I have run tests on the equipment and made adjustments as needed. The rest of the equipment will arrive tomorrow, but for what we need this will suffice."
The equipment in question was one of two means by which Celestial Being sought to compensate for the Exia's lack of ranges weapons. Option one would have been to to build a GN Arms to give the Gundam heavy firepower, but it would have taken more time to get both the components and to assemble the Mobile Armor. Not only that, but according to Zero the materials of one landmass wouldn't be enough to create equipment that would last. The only way Heero would be able to get anything put together for the Gundams was by gathering resources from all four landmasses.
Considering the amount of materials it would take to put together a support/peripheral system like the GN Arms, there was no way the Perfect Soldier would be able to get everything without attracting some unwanted attention. So if they couldn't make a Mobile Armor, then they would have to go with option number 2; the hs-A01 Avalanche.
The Avalanche pack was the precursor to the GN Arms, but unlike the daunting Mobile Armor that focused on increasing the Gundam's firepower, the Avalanche placed an emphasis on bolstering the Exia's speed with additional GN Verniers placed around the mobile suit's body and adding armor to cover up the sections of the internal structure that would be exposed during combat. With it the Exia could catch enemies that would normally outrun it or close distances between itself and ranged adversaries in little time.
Heero walked over to the workbench to retrieve his toolbox, "This should eliminate most of the problems the Exia has… for now."
"By the way, I looked into that other thing you asked about. I have determined that the Exia you are in possession of does contain the TRANS-AM system like the original suit, but I have yet to determine what is required to enable its activation."
Upon hearing this, the boy was left to ponder just how he was supposed to activate to solar furnace powered Gundam, "Unfortunately, this isn't going to be the same as when the original Gundam had it's own system activated. In the case of the original, the blackbox was unlocked by a system trap and allowed for the system's use."
Neptune, Compa and IF had tried to keep up with what was being said, but between Heero's repeated use of terms such as 'Gundam' and 'mobile suit,' as well as his referencing of an event they didn't know about had left the trio out of the loop. Neptune had it worse out of the three, as she could also hear Zero, who was naming off terms she didn't know, "I don't really get what you guys are talking about. All I get is that your robot's got a cool weapon that it can't use."
The Gundam pilot returned his attention to the task of fitting the Exia with the Avalanche pack, "Once I've outfitted the Gundam, I'll head to the appointed meeting place. You three can go on ahead."
Even though Heero had told them they could go, Neptune decided to stay behind with the Gundam pilot, "We'll stay here and help! I mean, if I leave you here alone, one of those plug suit wearing weirdos might show up to kidnap you when we're not here. I gotta protect my Destined Lover!"
Compa wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving the Perfect Soldier on his own when one of Neptune's stalkers was loose on the landmass they were on, "Yes. We have a responsibility to protect Heero from the Nep-Nep stalker. Besides, the work will get finished faster if we all work on it."
The two girls made a point that IF had to agree on, seeing as experience had proven them right, "Those strange girls do have a bad habit of showing up when we're not around. And if I'm gonna be using this thing, I can at least help get it ready."
Xxx
Within her room in the main Basilicom Entremets, Lady White Heart let out a sneeze. Rubbing her nose, the CPU looked up from the book she had been reading, her irritation plain to see, "...I think someone's talking about me. Probably that asstard, Neptune."
Xxx
If only they knew the truth, they wouldn't have to worry so much about protecting Heero. Of course, if the DID know the truth, it could lead to other problems… and unnecessary headaches. The boy would admit that the help would be appreciated, "...If you insist. I only ask that you be careful. This equipment is heavy, and it wasn't easy to get ahold of."
As they prepared to fit the mobile suit with its new equipment, Neptune couldn't help but prance around the garage in excitement. Once the party's preparations were complete they would finally be on their way to retrieve the last Key Fragment, "Isn't this exciting you guys? We're about to nab the last Key Fragment! We're gonna save the world!"
The purplenette's infectious mood quickly got to Compa, as the nurse in training was also feeling giddy, "We'll finally save Histy and our journey will be over. It's kinda sad when you think about it… but think about how happy everyone will be."
Heero had been looking through his toolbox when the girls had been talking about how their journey for the Key Fragments would end once they found the last one. Thoughts of the boy's live prior to his arrival in Gamindustri came to the forefront of his mind.
After they found the last Key Fragment, what then? Would there no longer be a need for the Gundam pilot to stay around? Would he have to go back to living in the shadows? As Heero was dwelling on the matter of what he was to do once their adventure was over, Neptune popped up next to the boy, "Hey, Heero. Let's hurry up and put this bad boy together so we can get our Key Fragment."
Having been pull from his thoughts, the Gundam pilot returned to searching for the tools he would need for the modifications to the Exia. Heero would deal with what came next AFTER he completed his mission.
Xxx
Once the Gundam had been upgraded and the rest of their supplies had been retrieved, the party set out for the dungeon where they expected to find Lowee's Key Fragment. The location they came upon looked exactly like the dungeons where they recovered the Leanbox and Lastation Key Fragments.
As the group survey the entrance of the ruins, Lyrica found herself rubbing her arms to generate warmth, "It's so cold in here. I think it might actually be colder in here than it is outside."
Neptune attempted a villainous laugh as she tried to scare the songstress, "Muahahaha! That's the boss monster's evil aura you're feeling, Lyrics. You better watch out or he'll get ya!"
A frown crossed IF's face as the party leader tried to terrorize the cerulean haired girl, "Don't even start with that. The last thing we need is for someone in the party to run off scared because you wanted a cheap laugh."
While the temperature had certainly dropped, it was highly doubtful that it was due to this 'evil aura' that Neptune was going on about. The lack of any sunlight would likely contribute to the lower temperature in the ruins. Nevertheless, the party was going to need to press on if they were going to find the Key Fragment, "Without any information on this area, we have no idea what to expect in regards to enemy strength. It would be in our best interest to proceed with caution."
With high hopes of finding the last Key Fragment, the group ventured into the cold ruins. As excited as the party was, they had enough common sense not to just charge into the dungeon… especially when they had no idea what kind of monsters were dwelling there.
As they traveled further into dungeon Heero noticed a lack of monsters in the area, granted they had only just entered the ruins, but it didn't make it any less unsettling… except for Neptune, who began to get bored with the lack of action… so bored in fact, that she started shouting to see if any monsters would show up, "Hello? Any monsters in here? We'd like some monsters to beat up on, please!"
Compa couldn't believe that Neptune was actually looking for a fight. Well, it was more like she couldn't believe that Neptune wanted to fight when they were looking for the Key Fragment, "Nep-Nep, you really shouldn't asked the monsters to come out. We need to find the Key Fragment first."
Neptune began to whine over her boredom. "But this is soooo boring! I need something exciting to happen or I'll die!"
As she was oblivious to the dangers involved with such an action, Red seemed to support the purplenette's idea, "I don't see what the problem is. It is kinda boring with nothing to do."
IF moved to quell the red head's support of Neptune's idea, "The problem is that we're more than likely going to need to fight a boss monster. We don't want to fight any more than we have to right now."
The three Key Fragments the group had obtained had all been acquired after defeating a particularly strong enemy, albeit the same one across all three locales. It was highly likely that the party was going to have to face another one of the so called Guard Vermin in order to get the Key Fragment. As they had proven rather difficult the last three times, Heero wasn't too keen on wasting time or energy fighting the mindless drudge that may stand between them and their objective, "We should refrain from engaging in battle unless its necessary. If anything, you should focus on saving your energy for the target. I know I don't have to remind you how difficult it was dealing with them."
Neptune heaved a long sigh as she relented to the group's protests, "Ugh... fiiiiine."
Heero could understand how the group's leader was feeling. In fact, some part of him wished that something would happen before they reached the boss monster. If this was really going to be their last stop before the mission was over, then Heero wanted to at least do something more than what they came to do.
There wasn't much in the way of excitement as the party searched for the monster in possession of the item they had journeyed to find. What monsters they did encounter either ran, or were easily defeated through the party's close-knit teamwork.
After fifteen minutes of combing the ruins for the Key Fragment, the group came to the final corridor they had yet to search. As they drew closer to the end of the corridor, a chill ran up Compa's spine that left her feeling uneasy, "Did it just colder? My spine is getting all tingly."
Nisa had felt the same thing, only she viewed it differently than her pink haired comrade, "I can feel a malicious aura… it is no doubt the monster we've been searching for."
Neptune had ran ahead to see if their really was a monster that lay beyond the bend. Sure enough, not only was there a monster in the room at the end of the corridor, it was the same type of monster that had been guarding the previous three Key Fragment, "Yup. It's the boss alright. I can tell cuz' it's big, mean looking, and super ugly."
That description could very well have applied to a number of monsters that the party had encountered during their travels. It was only when the rest of the group was able to peer beyond the corner that they were able to verify that they had indeed found their target.
IF leered at the creature, remembering each instance she had been put into a precarious position because of it, "So, how are we going to deal with with it? I don't want to charge that thing head-on if we can help it."
Just as Heero was about to lay out a strategy for the group, Neptune chose this time to 'take head count' as it were, "Before we do anything else, we gotta take head count people! First up, we have everyone's favorite party leader! The super strong, super awesome, and super amazing... Neptune!"
The girls looked at their leader as she referred to herself as 'awesome' and 'amazing' with deadpanned looks, safe for Red who thought nothing of it. IF rolled her eyes over the amnesiac's over inflated ego. "...Shameless self-promotion."
Neptune went on with the roll call of the party, blowing off the mutterings of the Guild member, "Next up, we have the only boy in the party and my Destined Lover. The totally OP and really important super all-rounder, Heero!"
Heero questioned the purple haired girl's need to constantly refer to him as her Destined Lover when it wasn't warranted, "Why must you constantly refer to me as your lover when we don't have that kind of relationship?"
"Cause we ARE lovers, and your never gonna stop being shy about it, unless I keep sayin' it to everybody. Anyway, next up on 'Name that Party Member,' she's Heero's little helper and way more helpful than Histy! The super awesome and totally coolios, Z!"
The disembodied voice of Zero responded to Neptune's little roll-call, "I'm flattered that you think that, but I haven't been there to help any of you physically. And if you're including me, shouldn't you include Histoire as well?"
While Neptune explained how Histoire couldn't be included among the party's numbers, Red asked her fellow party members about Zero, "Who's Z? I don't see anybody else here."
Red's curiosity was understandable. After all, not only had she never seen the exchanges between the Neptune and the disembodied voiced, Zero wasn't physically there for them to see. A fact that IF had to explain to the red haired girl, "Z is Heero's helper. She's helped us out of some pretty grim situations. But I will admit her existence is a bit questionable considering we've never seen her… and because only Heero and Neptune can hear her."
Neptune immediately turned to the group of girls as they talked about whether or not Zero was real. "Well, just because you guys can't hear her doesn't mean Z isn't real. Besides, I totally met Z in a dream when we were on Leanbox helping out the Lady Green Heart! By the way, I still think she's trying to steal Heero."
Xxx
Within the confines of her room in the Basilicom on Leanbox, Lady Green Heart was sitting in front of her TV playing a game when she suddenly sneezed. The CPU grabbed a tissue off the table next to her and began to wipe her nose while frowning, "Why am I under the impression that someone is slandering me?"
Xxx
The moment Neptune brought up the name of Leanbox's CPU it was only a matter of time before she went on about how she believed that Lady Green Heart was conspiring to steal the Gundam pilot from her. What made it so much more ridicules was the fact that she actually still believed that.
IF was the first to question the validity of Neptune's claim. "You saw her in a dream? What exactly is that supposed to mean to us? We haven't even heard her once, so how do we know you actually 'saw' Z? What does she look like? For all we know, you could be making this up."
"She was really pretty and she had a smoking hot bod. Even Lady Green Heart's got nothing on her! And unlike her, at least Z's not trying to steal Heero from me!"
A bold claim to be sure. Someone that was better looking than Lady Green Heart? That was certainly a stretch, and one that Compa had to call Neptune out on, "But Nep-Nep… we've never seen Z, so we don't know that. I mean, Lady Green Heart is really pretty. Until we see her for ourselves, we don't know that Z is prettier than Lady Green Heart."
With no way to prove that she was telling the truth, the purplenette shifted her gaze over to Compa as she continued naming off the party members. "Next on the team is the ditzy nurse with an oversized medical appliance and a bombshell bod, Compa! ...On a side note, I'm pretty sure she's one terrifying episode away from turning into Dark Compa."
Compa was shocked at Neptune's claim that she was going to turn into 'Dark Compa.' "D-Dark Compa?! How can you say that, Nep-Nep? Only mean or evil people turn Dark. I'm not evil at all!"
Neptune and the others might have been inclined to believe Compa, were it not for the fact that the pink haired nurse had intimidated them a few times to get her way. At the very least, her sudden shifts from sweet and wholesome to dark and daunting did cause her to fit the 'mean' category.
Ignoring Compa's protest on the contrary, the amnesiac goddess continued with her convoluted roll call, "Next in our lineup; you know, you kinda like her, we unfortunately can't live without her. Our assassin...ish type member... Iffy."
IF was rather offended with how Neptune had worded her 'introduction,' "What's with the 'kinda like' and 'unfortunately can't live without' crap?! Need I remind you that I've stuck my neck out for you?!"
"Well… there was that time on Leanbox where you were in cahoots with the bad guys. And you're one of my rivals for Heero's love… which is kind of a bad thing for me. You're basically double trouble, Iffy."
The brunette continued to fume as Neptune moved on to the next member of the party, "Next up is the party's singing celebrity! Our shy songstress and favorite meat shield, Lyrics!"
As was the norm during instances in which Neptune referred to her 'meat shield,' Lyrica's face grew pale as thoughts of what that particular name entailed raced through her mind, "H-How many time have I told you that I'm not a meat shield?! I don't like the idea of having to intentionally get hit!"
"Somebody's gotta tank for the party! Heero can't do it, cuz he's way too important. And unless you can convince Iffy to do the job, nobody else can do it!" Leaving Lyrica a terrified mess, Neptune went down the line to the next party member. "Next on our awesome team is everybody's favorite alchemist. She may be small, but she makes up for by cookin' up all kinds of awesome potions and stuff, Gust! By the way, think you make a love potion for me so I could maybe get Heero to… y'know..."
Gust just gave Neptune a blank look. She knew exactly what the purplenette wanted the love potion for… and what was in store for Heero and what might about to the alchemist if she were to give a love potion to her, "Gust thinks that is bad idea that could easily backfire. Gust likes money, but like living more."
Seeing as she wasn't going to get the young girl to change her stance on the matter, Neptune went on with the roll call that she felt was more important than laying down a battle plan, "Moving on, we got the self-proclaimed Keeper of Justice! She tries to act all cool, but has a short temper when you talk about her boobs… Flatty McNo-che- I mean, Nisa!"
Nisa had caught what the leader was about to call her and it caused her temper to flare, "How dare you make fun of my chest! We're supposed to be allies, yet your insulting me!"
"I can't help it. It's your most 'distinguishing' feature, Nisa. Anyway, last but not least is our newest member. She's totally gaga for girls… and my Destined Lover… and has the questionable quest to get wifeys… of all things! The girl crazy glass cannon, Red!"
While she couldn't take a hit very well, Red had shown that she was stronger than she looked during the job requests they had performed since recruiting the young girl. The aforementioned red head had a surprised look on her face as she addressed the rest of the group, "She summed up the kind of person I am all at once! And she did it so easily!"
Heero looked over the group, and aside from Red they seemed rather demoralized from Neptune's roll-call. Zero had to spur the boy to get him to do something, "I don't think Neptune handled that as well as she could have. Perhaps you should say something to them now, so they won't feel so upset once the fighting starts."
Following the advice of his constant companion, Heero corrected the problem brought on by the party leader, "Neptune's erroneous roll-call aside, we need to prepare ourselves for what may be a difficult battle. Each of us may come from different backgrounds, but we've come together for a common purpose. And while I can make no guarantees that we will find the Key Fragment, I can guarantee that all of you will make it out of this alive. We have come too far for anyone to die… especially when our goal is within reach."
The collection of girls had been listening intently to the Perfect Soldier as he worked to improve the groups moral. Unlike with Neptune, they were actually motivated by Heero's speech, and the ill feelings they had before were virtually gone.
Neptune started squirming from the motivational talk the group was getting from Heero, "Heero's gettin' all cool and serious. I'm getting goosebumps all over! Even on my butt!"
Lyrica cast a brief glance over at the party's leader before looking at the rest of the girls, "Heero's really good at motivating people. Why isn't he the leader?"
Naturally, the first thought that crossed their minds was that the amnesiac would throw a tantrum over having her place in the party taken by someone else. Of course, their second thought was that Heero would refuse to be the leader because of his 'mission' to protect Neptune.
Before they could get too involved with the question of why Heero wasn't the party leader, the Gundam pilot moved onto the more pressing matter of forming a plan to defeat the monster before the party, "Even though we have faced this enemy more than once, we need to operate under the assumption that this battle won't be the same as our last encounter. We will engage the target as we would any other enemy to determine its capabilities. Neptune, Nisa and I will go in first while Compa, Gust and Lyrica support us. IF and Red will come in after we've drawn the target's attention away. We'll start planning our attack once we know the extent of it's abilities."
Nisa's eyes began to burn with fiery determination as Heero explained the plan of attack, "Our enemy is right in front of us. Let us hurry and cleanse these lands of the evil that plagues them!"
While Gust didn't quite have the heroine's fervor, she was just as prepared to face the threat before them, "Gust agrees. Must defeat the monster."
Moral was high among the party members and they had a plan (sort of) in place to deal with the monster that was in possession of their prize. Now was the time to attack.
The trio of Heero, Neptune and Nisa quickly ran out from behind the wall they had been hiding behind and charged at the Guard Vermin at the end of the corridor. Compa, Lyrica and Gust stayed on their end of the corridor, attacking from a distance as the others closed in on the large monster.
Even though the combined attacks of the three girls had little to no affect on the monster, it did serve to keep the guardian of the Key Fragment from moving from where it was. Once she was close enough Nisa leapt high into the air, coming back down toward the Guard Vermin with her leg outstretched while needlessly shouting at the top of her lungs, "Prepare to face judgment, monster! Justice Kick!"
Because the heroine had pretty much given away what she was going to do before even getting to the monster, the Guard Vermin had enough time to raise it's sword to block the incoming attack. Even though the creature avoided taking damage, Nisa's attack was powerful enough to force it back the short distance it had crossed upon seeing the group charging toward it.
After Nisa kicked off the Guard Vermin's large blade three beam rifle shots flew through the air, slamming against the monster's face and erupting in small explosions. Neptune ran up to the temporarily blind monster and swung the saber clutched tightly in her hands. Just as the weapon was about to come into contact with the monster, the actual beam projected saber came out and pierced the creature's body.
While the beam saber inflicted some damage, it wasn't enough to faze the Guard Vermin. Neptune quickly ducked underneath the monster's arm as it wildly swung the appendage to drive her away while Heero cut into the other side of the Guard Vermin with his GN Sword.
Both the amnesiac and her bodyguard ended up behind the large monster with Nisa standing a few feet in front of it. As they worked to suppress the creature's movements, IF and Red quickly approached the distracted monster, "Try not to do anything too reckless, Red."
The red headed girl grinned as IF voiced her concerns, "Well… okay! But only because my wifey number one asked me."
Because the Guard Vermin's attention was split between the multitude of ranged attacks coming from Compa's group and the annoyance that was Neptune's group, which was constantly moving out of the way of the monster's sword, it was left open to a joint attack from IF and Red.
IF drove her blades into one of the monster's legs, while Red struck the creature in the face with her yo-yo. As with every other attacked launched by the group, they had negligible effect on the Guard Vermin and only served to annoy it.
For three minutes the party engaged the monster in a defensive manner with the intent to glean all that they could regarding it's abilities. The exchanges of blows resulted in minimal injuries on either side, and the instances where a member of the party was immobilized by the poison secreted by the Guard Vermin, someone else was on hand with a Paralaxin to alleviate the ailment.
Once Heero had seen enough of the Guard Vermin's capabilities, he motioned for the group to regroup away from the monster, "It would appear the target behaves the same as the other targets we've dealt with."
Neptune was quickly getting fed up with the monster's visible lack of damage, "Then can we hurry up and put the hurt this thing? Our attacks are doing squat!"
With the damage inflicted on the creature bordering non-existent, the party was really looking for a plan that would actually do something to further their cause. Having no other option available, Heero decided to follow through with his original plan of fitting Compa and IF with Gundams and having them handle the task of weakening the monster. "...We will stick to the original strategy. We'll handle the diversionary tactics while Compa and IF take care of the preparation necessary for the second phase of the plan."
The Wing Gundam and Gundam Exia appeared in the flash of light that was associated with the transformations that Heero or Neptune utilized. Lyrica was somewhat skeptical about the idea of letting Compa and IF use the Gundams when they had no experience with them whatsoever. Then she thought about the choices the boy had made in regards to who was going to be using the mobile suits and concluded that he could have picked Neptune… which would have been a worse choice, "Are you sure they'll be okay using those robots? I mean, they really aren't that good with them."
IF took offense to the cerulean haired girl's skepticism. Rather than give a witty retort, the brunette simply removed her jacket and held it out to Lyrica, "Hold this, don't go through any of the pockets, and don't drop it."
Compa and IF made their way over to the two suits while the rest of the party minus Lyrica went about their job of holding off the monster until the Gundams were up and running. Nisa stood a few feet away from the Guard Vermin, gesturing for it to come at her, "Come, foul monster. I will show you the power of justice!"
The heroine's taunting proved to be successful as the large monster immediately charged at her. Nisa stood her ground even as the guardian of the Key Fragment swung it's massive blade at her. Using both of her hands the Keeper of Justice caught the sword just above her head, clenching her teeth as she held back the heavy weapon.
While the Guard Vermin was focused on the blue haired girl, Heero and Neptune tried to break through the creature's tough hide. However, despite their best efforts, the two were unable to do any substantial damage to the monster's natural armor. The only way they were going to get through without putting the entire group in danger was with the Gundams.
As the group continued to distracted the monster, Compa and IF waited for the two mobile suits to finish powering up… and IF was growing impatient very quickly, "C'mon… hurry up!"
Compa attempted to calm down the irate brunette before they started fighting the monster themselves, "Iffy, we shouldn't rush Mr. Wing and his friend. My grandpa used to say, 'Haste makes waste.' We just need to give Mr. Wing and his friend time to warm up."
"Right… and while we're sitting here waiting, Heero and the others are in danger!"
Both Gundams finished booting up just as IF had finished her rant. Heero felt his stamina start to drop, a clear indication that the suits were now fully operational, "We should pull back for now. Compa and IF will carry out the next phase of the plan."
The group backed away so they wouldn't end up getting caught between the Gundams and the Guard Vermin. While Compa could maneuver the Wing Gundam just fine, IF seemed to be struggling with the Exia, "This thing… is harder to move than before."
Heero already had concerns regarding the plan, mostly regarding how he was putting both Compa and IF in harms way due to his lack of stamina needed to maintain the two suits for an extended period of time, but now he had another reason to be concerned. IF hadn't figured out how to work the thrusters, and the Exia relied heavily on them for it's preferred method of combat. Not only that, but the Avalanche pack was designed to work in tandem with the primary thruster. Unless IF figured out how to work the propulsion system, the extra equipment would only serve as dead weight.
As the Gundam pilot thought about what he could do to make the situation less stressful, Neptune started shouting her own suggestion, "If one of you guys get scared, just say so! I'll take your place in the cool robot!"
While their leader's 'suggestion' gave both girls more incentive to do the job they had been entrusted with by the party's lone male member, Compa and IF still weren't sure how they were going to do it. And it wasn't as if they could take the time to try every button like Compa had done during their short practice earlier, "We'll just have to figure something out, Iffy!"
The nurse in training's words didn't instill much confidence in the brunette, "You're making me nervous, Compa. Let's just beat this thing already so Nep will shut up."
IF tried to take a step forward, but as soon as she did, the Exia lost it's balance and fell to the ground. Neptune started laughing at the Guild Moderatist's blunder, "That's funny, Iffy. You try to act all serious, then you go and fall on your face!"
Heero didn't approve of Neptune's behavior, especially given the circumstances, "Neptune, now is not the time to be making fun of your comrades."
IF's face was red with anger and embarrassment over her accidental misstep. As she tried to get the Gundam back on it's feet, Compa took aim at the Guard Vermin with the Wing Gundam's main weapon, "Mr. Wing and I can take care of the monster! Just watch!"
The barrel of the Buster Rifle began to glow as the weapon began to build up energy. After a few seconds a beam of high heated energy erupted out of the rifle and struck the large monster. Normally the powerful thermal weapon would have done substantial damage to the creature, however, Compa forgot to adjust the Buster Rifle's output and the ensuing attack had dealt less damage that what was desired.
Despite a few cracks in it's tough hide, the monster was relatively unscathed by the attack, prompting a response from Lyrica, "Umm… wasn't that supposed to do a lot more damage?"
Compa looked down at the rifle in her hands before focusing her attention on the HUD within the Gundam, "Oops… I didn't turn up Mr. Wing's rifle to full power."
Having been attacked by the armor clad nurse, the Guard Vermin charged at Compa. The Wing Gundam raised it's left arm to block the attack with its shield, sliding a short distance away from the impact of the large weapon.
IF was struggling to get the Exia to move as Compa fought the monster that kept them from the Key Fragment, "All of that extra equipment we put on this thing… makes it pretty heavy."
Before Neptune could make fun of the brunette any more than she already had Heero stopped her, "At a time like this, you should act like a leader and support your allies."
The purple haired amnesiac withheld her jokes so she could give her support to the struggling Guild member, "You gotta push the button that makes the robot fly, Iffy!"
Having finally gotten back on her feet, IF looked over at the party leader, "Don't you think I'd be doing that if I knew which button to press?!"
There were quite a number of buttons contained within each suit, and having no prior experience with mobile suits, IF had no idea what button to press in order to activate the thrusters. Thankful, unlike a full scale mobile suit, the thrusters were delegated to a single button, rather than input from multiple controls.
Neptune thought about her time in the Wing Gundam as well as what she had done to get the suit's thrusters to work. The purplenette began waving her right index finger in the air to show IF what button she should be pressing. "This one! You gotta push this one!"
While the amnesiac waved the digit in the air, IF had her attention focused on her feet as she tried to avoid falling over again. "I really can't tell what you're talking about, Nep!"
Heero had to explain what Neptune was trying to convey to the brunette, "She telling you to push the button against your right index finger."
IF looked down at the array of buttons at her right hand before pushing the button just under her index finger, "You mean this one?"
As soon as the Guild Moderatist pushed the button, green particles began to spew out of the GN Drive on the back of the Exia and the machine began to hover in the air. IF let go of the button shortly after the suit began to rise into the air, causing it to drop back to the ground.
The brunette waited for a moment in case something else happened as a result of pushing the button. Once she was sure that only the one thing happened, IF held down the button and the Exia began to rise into the air once more.
As the Gundam hovered in the air, IF frantically looked over the assortment of controls before at her fingers. "O-Okay… I think I got this. And then I push this one…?"
The large blade of the GN Sword swung into place after the Guild member pushed the corresponding button. While checking to make sure she wasn't missing anything, Compa called out to IF, "Iffy, do you think maybe you could help me?"
Compa's voice sounded strained, and the reason became apparent when IF pulled her attention away from what she was doing. The Wing Gundam was down on one knew with both arms supporting it's shield in order to keep the Guard Vermin from landing a direct hit with it's blade. "I could really use some help right now!"
Nisa looked over at the struggling nurse in training, commenting on how she hadn't noticed what was going on until now, "Why didn't I notice that our healer was in such a dire situation? Are my heroic sense waning?"
IF took a deep breath before she started working the controls again. She had no idea what she was doing, but she was about to do it anyway, "Here goes nothing! I guess!"
The Exia flew through the air toward the large monster that was trying to crush the nurse in training. With it's attention focused on the Wing Gundam the Guard Vermin didn't notice the Exia until it took a swipe at it with it's large blade, leaving a sizable cut in it's torso and forcing it back.
Compa picked herself up off the ground, retrieving the Buster Rifle as she stood up. "You really took your time getting here. What were you doing, Iffy?"
"Hey, this isn't exactly like riding a bicycle. Your lucky I was even able to help."
Red was swooning over IF's 'heroics' after having saved Compa, "Isn't my wifey the greatest? Saving a friend from certain death at the risk of endangering her own life. That's what makes a great wifey!"
Truth be told, Compa hadn't been in any real danger. Even if the attack had hit, the suit's armor would have taken the blow without receiving too much damage. Lyrica gave the red headed girl with a questionable look, "I think your logic might be a little flawed."
Compa and IF focused all their attention on the now enraged monster before them, "So what do we do now?"
IF tried to think of some way to defeat the monster, but wasn't coming up with anything, "Just focus on supporting me. And please don't shoot me. I don't want a hole in my back."
The Exia reached behind it's back to retrieve the GN Short Blade and Long Blade since she was going to have to get close to the monster again. Once more, the Exia began hovering in the air at the behest of it's pilot, who now seemed to have a better control over the Gundam. "This isn't too difficult… it just takes a bit of work. I can do this..."
IF charged at the Guard Vermin with both GN Swords in hand. When the monster swung it's large blade at her, the Exia parried the attack with it's GN Long Blade before driving the Short Blade into the creature's shoulder. While the large monster tried to reach for the sword lodged in it's shoulder, IF thrust the GN Long Blade into the right side of the Guard Vermin's torso before backing away, "How's that?"
Although the attack did serve to weaken the monster, it wasn't enough to tear away it's tough hide. Before IF could think about her next course of action, a warning sounded within the Exia, then showed her the cause of the alarm… which just happened to be the Wing Gundam with an already charged Buster Rifle.
The brunette's eyes widened when she realized she was in the firing area of the attack. Discarding any ideas of attacking the monster at the moment, IF quickly worked to get away before the rifle discharged.
Compa couldn't stop the rifle from firing once it finished charging and could only hope that IF would get out of the way in time, "Oh… um… look out, Iffy!"
A second column of thermal energy flew through the corridor from the Buster Rifle, this one bigger in size then the first shot. IF barely avoided being flash fried by the beam of energy by dropping to the ground, while the Guard Vermin took the full brunt of the attack. Portions of it's hide began to melt under the intense heat and causing more cracks to form in its natural armor.
IF picked herself off the ground, shouting at the nurse in training as she got back on her feet, "I thought I said to NOT shoot at me! If I didn't know any better, I would think that you did that on purpose!"
"I'm sorry, Iffy. I don't really know how to use Mr. Wing's rifle. I couldn't stop it from charging."
During the heated exchange between the two girl the Guard Vermin regained it's senses and began a rage fueled charge toward the Exia. Even though she spotted the monster, IF wasn't able to stop the incoming attack. The Guard Vermin's blade slammed against the Gundam and sent into the wall, knocking around it's pilot.
Thankfully the brunette had enough presence of mind to block the second attack before it could find its mark. The Exia knocked the large blade away before severing the monster's free arm with the GN Sword, eliciting a bestial roar from the creature as it recoiled from the pain.
IF returned the large blade to it's idle position before drawing the two GN Beam Sabers positioned over the Exia's shoulders. The Celestial Being mobile suit leapt into the air before swinging both thermal blades at the monster, which was able to block them with it's own sword, despite having just lost a limb.
The Guild member had an aggravated look on her face as she tried to force the GN Beam Sabers through the metal blade in front of her, "Persistent jerk..."
Slowly, the Exia dragged the sabers across the surface of the key shaped blade until both blades were touching. The beam sabers started cutting into the blade, but it was clear that it would take some time for them to cut all the way through, and given how quickly Heero's stamina was sapped from maintaining the two machines, time wasn't something they had.
IF's eyes slowly fell to a green colored button on the panel in front of her.
Xxx
Heero had just finished the modifications to the Exia that would allow for the use of the Avalanche pack. Neptune and Compa had gone back into the safe house to retrieve their equipment while IF remained behind at the request of the Gundam pilot.
IF was looking at the interior of the machine as Heero explained how exactly she was supposed to make use of the Gundam's new equipment. After a few minutes the boy pointed at the green button, "...Because of your lack of experience, I would rather you not have to make use of the second function of the Avalanche equipment. However, should you find yourself in a situation where time is of the essence, push this button. It will cause the stored particles to be released all at once for a burst of high speed. Use it only if there are no other options."
Xxx
Considering the current situation, IF didn't really see any other options available to her. The Guild Moderatist pulled her right hand away from the controls before slamming it against the green button, "I hope this works…!"
Once the button had been pushed all the way in, the Avalanche pack made the change from 'High Mobility Mode' to 'High Speed Mode.' The collection of GN Verniers began spewing out GN particles and two larger thrusters popped out of the additional armor mounted onto the machine's shoulders.
With the array of boosters propelling the Exia forward the GN Beam Sabers quickly forced themselves through the Guard Vermin's large metal sword. The Gundam continued moving forward right into the large monster, driving both sabers into the monster and lifting it off the ground.
Even with the monster in tow the array of GN Verniers produced enough thrust to carry both the creature and the Exia down to the end of the corridor and into the wall. The abrupt from hitting the wall caused IF to slam her forehead against the inside of the Gundam's faceplate, sending a sharp pain through her head. "Oww… that hurt..."
The assortment of thrusters lining the Exia stopped producing GN particles and the suit fell to the ground as the condensers had effectively emptied their supply of particles.
While a normal living creature would have died from the impact of slamming into a hard surface at high speed, the Guard Vermin was proving to be a stubborn foe. The monster picked up it's battered body and swung it's blunted sword at the downed Exia.
What the creature seemed to forget was that IF wasn't the only one it was fighting, as the familiar red and white shield of the Wing Gundam slid into view and took the blow that was intended for the suit lying on the ground.
Compa definitely felt the attack and could swear that there was a bruise forming on her arm from having to block the monster's forceful blows. The Wing Gundam grabbed the Exia's arm and flew away before the Guard Vermin could follow-up on it's attack.
A few beads of sweat ran down the side of Heero's face as his stamina continued to drop. The Gundam pilot would have preferred that the two girls eliminated the monster so they could grab the Key Fragment and leave, but given their lack of experience he knew that was asking too much of them, "We will have to make one last push to win."
With his stamina depleted the two Gundams disappeared, leaving their occupants behind in their place. Compa was gently rubbing her left arm and IF was picking herself up off the ground while holding her forehead and groaning.
Gust handed a vial containing a sky blue liquid to the Perfect Soldier, "Gust only had ingredients for one Lesser Stamina Potion. Try to make last."
The boy took the vial from the alchemist and downed it's contents before giving a task to the group of girls, "Neptune and I will finish the mission. The rest of you tend to Compa and IF."
Lyrica, Gust, Nisa and Red ran over to their injured allies while Heero and Neptune focused their attention on the severely injured monster. It wouldn't take much to win at this point, just one well placed hit would insure their victory.
Heero used HDD one more time only because he viewed it as absolutely necessary to achieve victory. The Gundam pilot was encased within the Nu Gundam in preparation for the final attack, "One attack should finish this. Neptune, I'll leave it you. I'll provide support."
Neptune dug the beam saber out of her hoodie pocket while flashing a grin, "Okie dokie! Let's finish this quick and get back for that hot chocolate I was talking about yesterday!"
The purplenette charged at the monster while the Fin Funnels attached to the Gundam's back detached themselves and headed off in the direction of the creature.
Seeing Neptune run at it prompted the Guard Vermin to lunge at her with it's now blunt sword. It certainly wouldn't have been able to do much without an actual edge or tip to stab with, but it was still a threat. Three of the six funnels broke off and formed a planar I-Field in front of Neptune to absorb the attack.
Neptune flinched for a brief moment, but continued her charge toward the Guard Vermin once she saw the field deflect the attack. The remaining three funnels spread out and fired into the monster's outstretched arm, severing it and rendering the Guard Vermin armless and unable to defend itself.
With nothing standing in her way, Neptune swung the saber into the Guard Vermin's abdomen. It took a second for the saber to cut through the remainder of the tough hide that was still there, but the weapon quickly passed all the way through the monster once it did.
The Guard Vermin crumbled to the ground after attack, dissipating in a flurry of 'energy cubes' as Neptune called them. All that remained was a gold colored object… the very item that the party had been searching for.
Neptune wasted no time in voicing her joy over finding the Key Fragment, "Wahoooooo! We did it! We beat the boss and got the Key Fragment! Do we rock or what?"
Heero directed his attention to Compa and IF, who were standing behind him with the rest of the girls, "How are you two feeling? I imagine that this was difficult for both of you."
IF finally pulled her hand away from her forehead where a bruise had formed from using the High Speed Mode of the Avalanche pack, "Sore… I'd really rather not have to do that again."
Compa was just as drained as the brunette, though she still managed a smile, "It was really tough… but Mr. Wing and his friend were a big help."
The Gundam pilot had been more concerned with the two girls than he had been about the suits. He knew that if they were damaged then he could at least repair them. Compa and IF were more important than the machines he was using, "You two did well. Especially considering this was your first time using the suits in a combat situation."
Neptune returned to the group with Key Fragment in hand, though the first thing on her mind had nothing to do with the party's main goal, "Just a random though. Compa, what happened with you school? Heard about them reopening or whatever?"
That was definitely out of left field. It was no secret that Neptune could be random and unpredictable at times, which is why no one expected the question. Compa thought the question the party leader asked her, realizing that she had all but forgotten about her school, "...Oh, I totally forgot about that! I'm sure they haven't. Monsters are still all over Planeptune."
While that certainly would have been a reason for keeping the school closed, the party only ever made short stops in the Land of Purple Progress and never paid too much attention to the news regarding monsters. For all they knew, the monster population might have been thinned out enough for the school to reopen. Not only that, but Compa's phone only worked on Planeptune, a fact that IF brought up, "But, uh, how would they get a hold of you if your phone only works on Planeptune?"
Compa processed the brunette's question for a moment before realizing she was right. "Oh shucks, you're right!" The pink haired nurse quickly fished her phone out of her small purse and checked her connection, "I've got no bars! I wouldn't know if they try to call me, huh?!"
Fearing her situation, tears began to well up in Compa's eyes. "Wh-What do I do now? Am I… Am I gonna get held back? Expelled…? Oh no… Wahhhh..."
IF attempted to console the nurse in training partly because she felt bad for her, but mostly because she didn't want to listen to her cry. "There, there. You said yourself monsters are still present. That's why the school was closed down, right?"
Heero thought about the possibility that Compa's school was closed. Planeptune did suffer from more monster attacks than any other landmass mostly due to the fact that the goddess of said landmass was not only absent, she was currently an amnesiac. The odds were high that the school that Compa attended was still closed, but it was more of a guess without actually going to Planeptune to verify, "While the probability is high, we shouldn't just assume that her school is closed. It would be better to get concrete evidence before jumping to conclusions."
Neptune came up with the idea of getting IF to lend one of her phones to the dismayed nurse, "What about your phones, Iffy? Don't any of those work anywhere? Can't you let Compa use one?"
It was certainly a good idea. After all, IF's phone connection wasn't limited to one landmass. However, IF immediately shot the amnesiac down, "Oh, hell no. These are Guild property. They won't connect to anything but other Guild phones."
The Moderatist Guild member then looked as though she had remembered something. "Oh, but I know someone in Planeptune. Let me text and ask."
It didn't take long for IF to send the text and she received a response just as quickly. The Guild member answered her phone as soon as the response text came, "...Nice, quick response. It says none of the schools have opened up. See? But if you wanna go back to the school, I'm not against it. I wouldn't want your nurse skills to get rusty."
No one in the group would have objected if Compa wanted to return to Planeptune for the sake of verification. Not only was it for the sake of the career she wanted, the party had been relying on her abilities as a nurse throughout their travels. Compa dismissed the brunette's suggestion, "I'm okay! My grades will never get lower than they are now. No worries!
The party just looked at the nurse in training. Her grades would NEVER get lower than they are now? That was rather disturbing not just on an academic perspective, but from a practical standpoint as well. IF did her best to keep her discomfort over the matter to herself. "...That's nice."
Lyrica couldn't hide the feeling of unease that came over her, "Umm… are we sure we should be letting Compa treat us? What if we get a really serious injury?"
Just thinking about how the failing nurse would go about treating a serious injury caused an unpleasant chill to run up the cerulean haired girl's spine. It was a that moment that Neptune noticed blood running down IF's face, "Uh… Iffy? I think you're bleeding."
IF hadn't noticed anything before, but once the purplenette mentioned it, she could feel a something running down her face. Bringing a hand to her face, IF gingerly touched her forehead to inspect it. The moment she brought her hand in front of her face, the brunette could see the red liquid stain her skin.
Seeing the blood on her hand brought a frown to IF's face, "I must have hit my head harder than I thought."
Having learned that Compa may have been failing her classes just seconds ago Lyrica was already freaking out over the prospect of allowing the nurse in training to treat the injury, "Don't let Compa treat it! She might mess up!"
Compa started pouting over Lyrica's claim that she might mess up, "That's mean, Lyrica. I haven't messed up before."
Nisa felt that the songstress was over reacting just a little bit. After all, Compa had been taking care of there injuries before they even found out about her potentially low grades, "She's done a good job of treating us so far. We shouldn't judge her abilities on her grades."
Red had started panicking as soon as it was pointed that IF was bleeding, "I don't care who, just somebody! Save my wifey!"
Heero felt bad about IF's injuries since he was the one that suggest the plan to have her fight in a mobile suit. The Gundam pilot pulled his small medical kit out from his jacket pocket as he approached IF, "I'll do it. I was the one that recommended the plan that injured her in the first place."
IF didn't want the Perfect Soldier to think that her injury was his fault, "It's not your fault this happened. I was the one that wasn't being careful."
Since Heero was taking it upon himself to treat IF, Compa decided that she wanted some attention from the boy too, "I was injured too, Heero! My arm has a bruise from protecting Iffy."
As soon as Heero started paying more attention to the two girls, Neptune started voicing her complaints, "I got hurt too, y'know!"
IF rolled her eyes at the party leader, "And how exactly did you get hurt? You didn't do anything until after we weakened the monster. If anything, your just mad that Heero's paying more attention to us."
"And that's how I got hurt! Heero's supposed to pay more attention to me than to anyone else. I'm his Destined Lover after all."
Heero couldn't believe they were having this conversation right now. Thankfully, Gust was able to steer the conversation toward something that was both relevant and positive, "Must we fight right now? We should be happy! We defeated strong monster and found last important item."
Having found the Lowee Key Fragment the party now had all four of the mysterious gold objects. Once reminded of that fact, the group started smiling amongst themselves. Heero busied himself with the treatment of Compa and IF's injuries while speaking to the party, "As soon as I've finished tending to their injuries, we should return to the safe house. The Sky Harbor won't be open until tomorrow, so everyone is free to use the rest of the day as they wish."
Rest and relaxation was at the forefront of the group's minds. They went through a number of ordeals to find the Key Fragments and rarely took extended periods of rest. Now that they had all of the Key Fragments, the group could start recovering from their travels while planning their next move.
As the group made their way out of the ruins, Neptune couldn't help but comment on the lack of a plug suit wearing enemy, "Y'know, I kinda expected to run into one of those plug suit wearing weirdos. Like that last one when we got the third Key Fragment."
Xxx
Within her bed chambers in the main Basilicom on Lastation, Lady Black Heart let out a sneeze. The goddess grabbed a nearby tissue and wiped her nose while a look of irritation crossed her face, "I get the feeling someone's saying something rude about me."
Xxx
The party was confined to Lowee until the Sky Harbor opened. Since they wouldn't be able to leave until the following morning, they proceeded to use the remainder of the day to rest and pursue their own interests.
Heero would have gone back to work looking for information on the Key Fragments, but having just found the last one, there was no point in gathering Intel. With nothing to do, the Perfect Soldier decided to go for a walk. Not just so he was doing something, but because Heero wanted to be alone. After all, these may be his last days in Gamindustri.
As the boy walked down the street, two familiar girls came running up behind him. It wasn't until they started shouting and tugging on his pant legs that he noticed them, "Hey, Heero! Play with us!"
"...Please play with us."
Looking down at his sides, the Gundam pilot found Ram and Rom looking up at him. Heero just looked at the two girls that were asking him to entertain them, "Excuse me?"
"We're bored, and we wanna play! Nobody else will play with us, and since you're her AND because you're our friend, you should play with us!"
Heero contemplated humoring the twins with their request, but before he could give them an answer another voice sounded from down the street behind him, "There you two are!"
The Perfect Soldier looked over his shoulder to see a woman walking up the street toward them. The woman in question was fairly tall with light skin and long milk-blue hair worn in low pigtails held with big orange-yellow circled pieces and short bangs. Her eyes were dark blue in color, and she wore a pair of red square framed glasses in front of them. One thing that made her stand out amongst the people roaming the streets was her choice of attire which made her look like a graduate student. Her clothing consisted of a short white dress underneath a red, long jacket like robe worn open with gold buttons and lining. The sleeves of the robe puffed below the elbow and had long cuffs, while she wore a collar around her neck with a red bow and a gold badge attached to it. Situated atop her head was a matching graduate hat with two long white tassels on opposite ends, and rounding out her outfit she wore a pair of see-through, frilled stockings and red heels that complimented her robe and hat.
Once she had caught up to the trio, the newcomer directed her attention to the twins, "You really shouldn't bother people just because you're bored."
Ram grabbed onto Heero's hand while looking at the woman, "I'm sure Heero doesn't mind. He's our friend!"
While not as outspoken as her sister, Rom supported her sister's claim, "...He played tag with us. And bought us snacks yesterday."
Heero questioned just how the two girls could say that he was there friend with a straight face when they only met yesterday. The woman seemed to take their word for it as she just smiled at the boy, "So your the one they kept going on about. I must say, I am a little surprised. They don't normally take to strangers so quickly."
That was a little hard to believe given that all he had to do to get on Ram and Rom's good side was to play tag and buy them snacks, "And you are?"
It was only when Heero inquired about who she was that the woman remembered that she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Mina Nishizawa; Oracle of Lowee. Well, I'm Oracle in name only right now, as I am currently on paid leave." Mina then directed her attention to the twins, "I do still have my responsibilities as their caretaker, so I guess I'm not technically on leave."
The twins started tugging on Heero once the introductions were out of the way, "C'mon! Let's play already!"
They didn't get far before Mina stopped the trio, "I'm sorry you two, but we really should be getting home right now."
Ram and Rom's mood quickly deteriorated when their caretaker told them that they had to go home. "What? But we haven't gotten to play yet!"
Rom tightened her grip on Heero's pant leg in protest, "...We want to play with Heero."
Mina's voice took on a more stern tone as she addressed the two girls, "I know you want to play, but we have to get home soon. You both still have studying to do."
Ram let out a groan as her caretaker mentioned studying, "But I don't wanna… It's boring."
Neither of the twins were able to complain any further as soon as Mina grabbed them by their wrists, her eyes glowing fiercely. "Start. Waling. Now."
Both girls froze under their caretaker's gaze. Not wanting to anger her any further, Ram and Rom let go of the Gundam pilot and started walking in the direction of their home. With the two now compliant, Mina dropped her menacing facade as she redirected her attention to Heero, "I apologize for that. Sometimes I have to be a little mean in order to get their attention."
Heero could understand where Mina was coming from and could sympathize with her, "It's understandable. Just so long as you don't go overboard."
"I don't believe I got your name. Would you mind telling me? I would like to know the name of Ram and Rom's new friend."
The Gundam pilot didn't see the harm in telling Mina. She didn't seem rather harmless. "Heero Yuy."
Mina gave a respectful bow as she prepared to depart, "Well then, Heero, since the twins seem to trust you, I hope you won't mind looking after them if I'm unavailable. I know they can be a handful, but they both are good girls. They're just a bit… rambunctious."
With that the caretaker took off after Ram and Rom. Heero couldn't understand why, but he suddenly felt compelled to return to the party's place of residence. It was strange since he wanted some time alone, but after running into the twins and Mina, the idea lost it's appeal.
Upon entering the safe house, Heero saw Compa and IF sitting around the room looking exhausted. He couldn't blame them, the entire group was drained at the moment, and both girls had been injured.
Neptune suddenly came out of the kitchen with two drinking mugs on a tray and a big smile on her face, "Hey, you're back! Just in time, too. I just made hot chocolate!"
Compa and IF looked over toward the front door to see the Perfect Soldier. IF weakly waved her hand at the boy in an attempt to welcome him back. Compa just smiled as the boy took a seat on the couch in front of the fireplace, "I thought you would be out longer. Did you forget something?"
Heero leaned back into the couch as he closed his eyes, "No. I just decided to cut my walk short."
Shortly after Heero was seated, Neptune put down the tray with the two cups of hot chocolate down on the table in front of the catch before running off to retrieve a blanket. As soon as she came back, the purplenette plopped down next the boy while draping the blanket over them, "Now we can snuggle under a blanket in front of a fire with hot chocolate like I was talking about! Isn't this great?"
Heero did remember Neptune saying that she wanted this exact moment to happen more than a few times. Once she was comfortable, Neptune took one of the cups off of the tray and held it as she blew on the contents within. Before she took a sip, the amnesiac looked over the other party members in the room, "So now that we have the Key Fragments, what happens now?"
IF groaned over the idea of figuring out what the party was supposed to do next, "I don't know and frankly, I don't care. I just want to relax right now."
Compa voiced a similar complaint, not really wanting to do any more work for the day, "Nep-Nep, we're exhausted. Can't we wait until tomorrow to think about what we're doing?"
Even if the group wasn't exhausted, Histoire hadn't given them any direction for when they found the Key Fragments. No one in the group could be absolutely sure about what they were to do next.
It was then that Neptune suddenly remember something more pressing. The purplenette turned her attention to Heero, "What about you, Heero? What are you gonna do?"
Heero looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye, "Why do you ask?"
The amnesiac's voice began to carry a hint of unease as the conversation continued. "Well, I remember Histy saying that she asked you to help me find the Key Fragments. Now that we've found 'em… what are you gonna do?"
It wasn't as if Heero hadn't thought about this particular topic, he just wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply. As the Gundam pilot thought about how he was going to respond to her question, he felt Neptune take a hold of hand. When he looked at her, Heero could see worry in Neptune's eyes and… fear? "You're not… gonna leave, are you?"
The discussion of Heero leaving had gotten the attention of both Compa and IF. The very idea that the Gundam pilot would leave was upsetting. Heero turned his attention to the fireplace, watching the flames dance to and fro as they danced across the logs of wood, "I… don't know. I have been given no orders other than to protect you while searching for the Key Fragments."
He didn't have to look at the girl to see that his words were doing nothing to assuage her worry. In fact, they might have been making it worse. Heero had to think a bit more positively. For Neptune's sake… and his. "That said, because I have received no other orders I cannot make the assumption that our mission is complete. Until I am told otherwise, I will continue with my current mission of protecting you."
Neptune felt a little better after hearing the Gundam pilot say that he would stay with her for the time being, her lips curving into a smile. "That's a relief. If my lover suddenly left, I don't know what I'd do."
It was disheartening to hear Neptune say that she would had no idea what to do if Heero left. Although Neptune seemed content with his answer, Heero was still couldn't quite shake his feeling of dread. Once the party figured out what they were supposed to do with the Key Fragments his mission would be over, and would likely have to leave.
Despite his attempts, Heero had found himself getting attached to Neptune and the others. The time spent in Gamindustri with these girls were etched into his heart, and the idea of leaving brought back the hollow feeling he experienced back in his own world. If the time came when the Gundam pilot had to leave, he would do so reluctantly.
Xxx
Me: "FINALLY! Chapter 36 is done! Damn that took awhile."
Heero and Neptune: (Enters ACCC from Lounge) "What was with the holdup on this one, Author man? It better have been important."
Me: "Of course it was important. One of the things I've been wanting to do is add the optional equipment of the Gundams into the story, but I've been trying to find a plausible way of doing it without just giving them to Heero. I mean, sure I gave the Exbein it's gear, but that's because it's technically not a Gundam, and I have something in mind for it later on down the road."
Heero: "And that's the reason for the late update?"
Me: "Yes. I toiled and struggled, trying to find a way to work one of the greatest strengths of the Gundams into the story. It wasn't until I looked over our story that I found the answer to my dilemma. Rather than come up with something convoluted, we use what we have here already… Chian. I was clearly over thinking the problem… Well, that and I got caught up with Azure Lane."
Neptune: "Azur… Lane? Rings no bells to me. I hope you didn't waste too much time with it. Heero and I still need a hot M rated scene!"
Me: "I couldn't help it. They were doing an a collaboration event with HDN, and the completionist in me demanded I get everything from the event… Especially the characters. Thankfully, Heero wasn't doing anything, so I got him to help me."
Heero: "...You didn't exactly give me a choice."
Me: "Oh, don't be like that. You enjoyed it and you know. Especially since you got to see so much of Neptune."
Neptune: "Were you looking me up in a game, Heero? You don't gotta do that. You've got the real deal right here!"
Me: "Anyway, before we go completely off topic… where were we? Over thinking problem, right. Now that I think about it, a simple solution like this would have saved us so much time if I thought of it before hand."
Zero: (Suddenly materializes in ACCC) "Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best."
Me: "Yes they are. Had I thought of this sooner, we could've gotten a lot more done. Oh well. Let's get somebody to wrap up this chapter."
Neptune: "Me! Me! I'll do it!" (Turns to face readers) "Read and review this awesome chapter, and look forward to the next update. I mean, look forward to the updates that have me and Heero getting all romantic. Now THAT'S what everybody wants to see!"
Me: "Back to work, peeps!"
Me, Heero, Neptune and Zero: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)
Compa and IF: (Enter ACCC from Garage while wearing Wing Gundam and Gundam Exia) "These things are actually pretty easy to move around in. Once you get the hang of it, anyway."
Compa: (Looks around ACCC) "Where did everyone go? They were supposed to be here."
IF: "I told you that you should have just left that syringe of yours in the Break Room. They've probably left by now."
Compa: "But I needed a safe place for it! You should never leave needles lying around. Little children could pick them up and start playing with them!"
IF: "Right… that's rich coming from you. Anyway, we can still catch up with them if we hurry. And… try not to put anymore holes in the wall. The Author's already gonna be mad about the hole in the garage."
Compa: "I didn't mean to do it! I'm sure if I explain it to Mr. Author, he'll understand."
Compa and IF: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)
