Me: "Another day, another chapter of a highly questionable crossover."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "It's not questionable at all. Everybody loves it when Heero and I get all lovey and stuff."

Heero: "No we don't."

Me: "Children, please! Take it to another room. Now, I would like to apologize to our readers who have been wondering if I was ever going to update the story. I've been devoting time toward live-streaming, which is slowly, but surely taking off."

Neptune: "Hmm… I should be mad that you haven't given us our hot M Rated scene… but I also want this to work out for ya."

Zero: (Suddenly appears in IC) "I suppose the best thing we can do is support you in this endeavor."

Me: "Much appreciated. If you guy's have the time, consider stopping by and following my channel on Twitch. We'll chat, play games and I can give you guys the down-low on future updates. Our next update, by the way, should be here in about two or three day... four if I have to stop for some reason. Now, let's hurry and wrap this up. The readers are more interested in the story itself, not us talking away. So, let's hear it."

Heero, Neptune and Zero: "HeeroUzuki does not own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or any work pertaining to any of the franchises."

Me: "We hope you enjoy this chapter. Now excuse us as we go about working on the next chapter… and live-streaming… the writing first, though."

Me, Heero, Neptune and Zero: (Leave IC)

Ch. 41 Search for the Trust Spear

With the acquisition of the Wisdom Bow the day before, the party only needed to travel to Lowee and find the last weapon in order to complete the Quartet Arms. Expectations and morale amongst the group was high, and they hoped to find the fourth weapon just as quickly as they had found the others.

Everyone in the party had congregated in the living room of their safe house to discuss their plans regarding the final weapon. The three weapons the party had assembled were lying on top of the table in the center of the room, with Neptune grabbing the Trinity Blade and holding it up to her face, "So we only gotta find one more weapon and then we can go to Celestia?"

Seeing the fruits of their labor situated on the table did serve to remind the group of just how close they were to their goal. As much as she wanted to continue riding this high, IF couldn't discount the fact that the party had to assemble these weapons themselves by searching each landmass, and that the last weapon was most likely in the same state they found the three in their possession, "Let's just remember that we had to go looking for the pieces to these weapons before we could put them together. There's a good chance that the last weapon is in the same condition we found these."

Broken apart and scattered across the landmass. That was how the group found the weapons on Planeptune, Lastation and Leanbox. It stood to reason that the weapon on Lowee would be in the same state.

Even so, the party didn't seem to be affected by the idea. Nisa abruptly stood up, voicing her sentiments on the matter, "We have been tasked with finding the weapons of ancient heroes. If we cannot accomplish this, how can we call ourselves heroes?"

Where the Keeper of Justice got the idea that they took on this quest just so they could call themselves heroes was anyone's guess. Of course, the heroine's spiel struck a cord with the party's more impressionable members. Namely, Neptune and Compa.

Compa was very easily moved by the heroic spiel, as was apparent by the gleeful tone of her voice, "Ms. Heroine is right. We have to find the last weapon!"

The party's leader was just as enthusiastic about finding the fourth weapon of the Quartet Arms, though not for the exact same reason, "Once we find it, we can march into Celestia and beat up Arfoire! We'll be the greatest heroes ever!"

While the other members of the group weren't all that interested in being hailed as heroes, the fact remained that they would need the last weapon to open the path to Celestia. Only then would they be able to confront Arfoire.

As the rest of the party focused on the remaining weapon, Lyrica found her thoughts drifting towards what would come AFTER they had assembled the weapons. The songstress wasn't sure the others were even thinking about their inevitable battle with the former goddess, which was why she voiced her concerns, "Will we be able to win against Arfoire? I mean, Histy made it sound as though we have no chance."

The discussion over the final weapon came to a halt as everyone thought about who and what they would be facing once they got to Celestia. Histoire had said that even with Heero's strength, their best chance of defeating her was to bring together the four goddess of Gamindustri.

Red was in support of the idea of winning the CPUs over to their side… for her own reasons, "We should definitely get the goddesses to join our party! It'll give me the chance to get more wifeys."

The red head's reasoning aside, Gust saw the merit in recruiting the three other goddesses, "There is strength in numbers, and goddesses are quite strong."

Neptune was one of the four CPUs, so they just needed to recruit the other three. Of course, that was easier said than done. The goddesses had no reason to believe such a claim, and even if they did, there was no guarantee that they would be able to help.

Rather than wait for the idea to impact their morale, Heero brought the conversation back to their search for the fourth weapon, "We can worry about that once we've finished our current mission. Right now we should move over to our safe house on Lowee. Once we have the last weapon we can ask Histoire what our next move will be."

It made sense to wait on dealing with the matter of enlisting the aid of Gamindustri's goddesses until they had taken care of actually opening the path to Celestia. That said, it wasn't as if Heero hadn't been thinking about that very topic.

The problem was that the girls didn't know the real issue that was associated with trying to ask the other three goddesses for their help in dealing with Arfoire. Even before the party had been formed and they went searching for the Key Fragments, Histoire had told Heero that the CPUs had come to despise one another.

During their travels the party had met with the three guardian goddesses, and while they had come off as refined and sincere, Heero knew from listening to Histoire that behind their benevolent facade the four CPU couldn't stand each other. Whether it was because Neptune had lost her memories or because the party was present was subject to debate. The fact remained that the three goddesses might not agree to assist the party simply because they didn't like Neptune… or one another for that matter, "(We might find ourselves at an impasse once we have the last weapon. I can ask for any one thing from each of them… but I get the impression that the favor they owe me won't be sufficient enough to persuade them.)"

Deciding it best to heed his own advice, the Gundam pilot stopped thinking on the matter of the three CPUs. What the party needed to do was move to Lowee and begin gathering information on where to find the fourth weapon.

Taking a look out the window, IF watched as the Sky Harbor finished moving into position between Leanbox and Lowee. Lifting her bag off the floor, the Guild Moderatist headed for the front door of the safe house, "We should get going. If we're lucky, we'll find the last weapon just as quickly as the others."

It was too much to hope that the fourth weapon would be in one piece when they found it, considering the state the other three had been in. However, given that the weapons they had retrieved had been assembled the same day they were found, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that they would get the final weapon in one day as well.

After collecting their belongings, the party followed after the brunette toward the Sky Harbor with the intent of recovering the weapon that was in Lowee.

Xxx

Biting winds and a flurry of snow was what greeted the party upon their arrival to Lowee. It took some time for the party to make it to their safe house since they had to wait on Neptune and Compa to shuffle through the cold.

Once they had offloaded their gear at their place of residence, the party's first destination was… a snowy forest. Histoire's vague hint didn't really do much to aid the party, especially when Lowee was full of snowy forests.

Neptune had started skipping about once they had arrived, almost as if she didn't have a care in the world, "Yay, snow forest! Let's catch snowflakes on our tongues!" Before the amnesiac goddess could proceed with her idea, she remembered why it was the party was there in the first place. "Oh, one of the weapons is here, right?"

It was somewhat disturbing that Neptune had forgotten the reason the party had come to the forest. IF looked around at the area densely populated with trees. It didn't take a genius to see that she was trying to figure out how the group was supposed to find the legendary weapon, "A snowy forest on Lowee… Histoire did say that. But, I mean, everything's covered in snow..."

The brunette wasn't wrong, and it didn't help that there was more than one forest in the Land of White Serenity. Heero wasn't liking their odds anymore than IF was, "Between Histoire's vague hint, and the size of the area we have to cover this could prove to be more time consuming than we initially thought."

Unlike the Gundam pilot and Guild Moderatist, Neptune wasn't quite as worried, "You guys worry too much. This'll be a snap, fizzle, and plop. Right, Compa?" The purplenette turned to face the nurse in training and noticed that she was shaking like a leaf. "Oh, whassup?"

Compa rubbed her arms in a vein attempt to generate warmth, "I-It's so… cold…! I underestimated this place again… I should've changed into my wool panties..."

Nisa attempted to help the pink haired girl in her own way… which was to give her a heroic spiel, "The cold is all in your head, Compa. This is just another trial you must overcome to prove you're a hero!"

While the Keeper of Justice was only trying to aid Compa, Lyrica undercut her message by pointing out something she was hiding from the nurse in distress, "You say that, but you put on hot pads before we left the house, Nisa."

Hearing the songstress reveal that she was keeping warm while the nurse in training was freezing caused Nisa to flinch. Compa frowned at the blue haired girl as she rubbed the back of her head while giving a timid smile in response, "...I can't believe you, Ms. Heroine."

Gust had been sifting through her pouch for synthesis ingredients, but stopped when she couldn't find what she was looking for, "Gust does not have ingredients for potion to warm up Compa. Must have left them at the house."

As Compa continued in vein to warm herself, Red hugged the nurse in training from behind, having thought up her own way to alleviate her problem, "Don't worry! If we all get in a group hug, you'll warm up in no time!"

It was certainly a thoughtful attempt, but Compa wasn't so sure it would work, "I-If we do that... we won't be able to... look for the hero's weapon... But it was... still nice of you, Red."

Seeing the nurse in training try to be considerate of the group made Heero feel bad. It was praiseworthy, but not something she should try to endure. The boy removed his jacket before holding it out to Compa, "Your effort to endure the climate is commendable, but unnecessary. We're going to need every member in the group to search for the weapon."

Compa immediately slipped into the Gundam pilot's jacket, feeling a sense of relief as she began to warm up, "Heero's jacket really is warm. I thought I was gonna freeze..."

Heero had anticipated an argument over the nurse in training being the one to receive his jacket and quickly laid out the next course of action for the party before said argument started. "We will split into two teams to search for the weapon. Neptune, Nisa, Gust and I will make up the first team. Compa, IF, Lyrica and Red will form the second team. I'm sure you are all aware that the sooner we find what we're looking for, the sooner we can return to the safe house."

The thought of spending the rest of the day in the comfort of their house on Lowee was enough to convince the group of girls not to waste time arguing over the boys jacket… at least for the moment, and focus on the task at hand.

To say that the search was time consuming was something of an understatement. The monsters weren't the issue, much to the groups surprise. There were few monsters in the area and those that the party encountered during their search were easily swept aside.

No, what was making the search for the fourth weapon so time consuming was the size of the area that the two teams needed to search. There was a lot of ground to cover, and there were a lot of places that the weapon could be.

After an hour long search, the two teams reconvened in front of the one area area they had yet to search. Neptune looked bored out of her mind when the party got back together, "Did you guys find it?"

Compa shook her head in response before returning the question to the party's leader, "What about you guys? Did you find it?"

The purplenette maintained the same bored expression on her face. "Do I look like we found it?"

A lengthy search was to be expected, but it was still no less irritating. Heero had his attention focused on the path before them, "We will finish our search of the area and return to the safe house to plan our next move if we don't find the weapon."

As much as the group wanted to just go back to town to look for another lead, they had to at least finish searching the area first. After a short and uneventful walk, the party came to a frozen lake. Other than that, there was nothing that stood out.

The lack of anything to show for their effort was wearing on Red's nerves. Without warning, the red headed girl began to vent her frustration, "Where is this stupid weapon?! I've gotta better than things to do than look for some old tool!"

Red's shouting had garnered the attention of an individual that had been minding his own business until he heard the red head. "What's all the racket? So noisy… You high schoolers have no manners at all."

Once it was apparent that they weren't alone, the group directed their attention to the newcomer. There were so many questions the party had for the uninteresting looking man, chief among them being what he had been doing there in the first place. Of course, Neptune's first question was something else entirely, "Wh-What? How'd you conclude we're like high schoolers? Are you saying we're young and innocent, but mature-looking?"

"...Just stay away. This forest isn't for sightseeing. I'm busy excavating, so I've no time to waste."

Neptune immediately took an interest in what the man was trying to dig up. "Whatcha diggin' up? Ancient burial site? Bonus dungeon? Who are you, anyway?"

"I am a historian. I'm looking for the Trust Spear that belonged to the hero, Miamoato. It's widely known the spear he threw could pierce through any material at an ungodly velocity. I think his name definitely deserves to be listed as one of the four heroes."

While the historian had revealed that he was searching for the very item the party was searching for, Neptune was more interested to know whether or not he had dug up anything, "Okay, enough useless trivia that won't advance the plot. Find anything?"

The man was mildly annoyed with the purplenette and how easily she brushed off 'useless trivia,' "Ugh…My intuition tells me this is the place. Why're you so cruel…?!"

It was becoming increasingly apparent that the historian had not found the weapon in question. The amnesiac goddess turned to face the party. "That's a no. Well guys, looks like this forest is no good." Neptune was about to take off when she noticed her Destined Lover looking at a pile of various small items on the ground, "Umm… what's all that scattered stuff?"

Returning his attention to the hole he had made, the historian went back to digging while answering Neptune's question. "Junk I've found thus far. Take whatever you want. It's a pain to clean up after myself, anyway."

Compa looked over the collection of items on the ground, "Aww, there are so many foreign-looking, shiny metals." There was one piece in particular that caught the nurse in training's attention. "What's this one?"

The historian stopped what he was doing to look at the object Compa and the rest of the party were focused on, "Huh? ...Ahhh! Th-That's the end of the spear! You can see the Miamoato Seal of Quality engraved on it!"

Heero knelt down and picked up the spear end. While it wasn't the entire Trust Spear, it was at least something, "It may not be the complete weapon… but it's a start."

IF had her gaze fixed on the piece of the Trust Spear, still taking a moment to give the historian a verbal jab, "So it's part of what we're looking for. Sucks you overlooked it, huh?"

Now that they had what they came for, or at least part of it, the party had no reason to stay any longer. Neptune was quick to start ushering the team out of the forest, "Awesome! Let's head back." A sudden rush of cold air caused the amnesiac to shiver before attaching herself to Heero. "Brrr, I wanna take a hot bath and drink some hot cocoa and eat some hot pie and snuggle with Heero!"

Compa was not opposed to returning to the party's place of residence now that they had a piece of the legendary weapon, "I'm all for that idea, but you really should curb your sugar intake. My hands and toes are all numb from the cold!"

Just as the party was turning to leave, the historian stopped them, "W-Wait, girls. A-A-Are you really taking that with you…?!"

Neptune didn't see a problem with the party taking the spear piece, seeing as the historian had tossed it aside so easily, "Is it okay? You said we could take whatever we wanted from the pile of junk..."

"Ghhh… The biggest mistake of my life, trusting high schoolers…! But I'm a man of my word. Looking for the Quartet Arms?"

It wasn't surprising that the historian knew about the legendary weapons, and hearing him ask about was all IF needed to start inquiring about the weapon on Lowee, "You sound like you know more. Tell us something more useful this time."

"I heard the Guild Extremists were ravaging some ruins recently, looking for some treasure. It might be worth checking their hideout..."

It wasn't substantial, but it was a lead on the next location the party needed to go. IF wasn't too keen on dealing with the Extremists, but knew that it had to be done if they wanted to find the rest of the Trust Spear. "Hmm, the Guild Extremists? Let's drop by, then..."

Leaving the historian to sulk over his mistake, the party began to make their way back out of the forest and toward Guild City to meet with the Extremists and see if they uncovered a piece of the fourth weapon.

Xxx

The party had to do some digging around before they were able to find the hideout of the Guild Extremists.

"Y-You girls are…!"

Compa was perplexed as to why there were Guild Moderatists in the hideout of the Extremist's, "Huh? I thought this was the Extremist's hideout. What're you doing here?"

The female Moderatist looked over the room. "The Extremists disappeared… We're cleaning up, but the amount of stolen goods is shocking."

Just from looking at the place, Heero could tell that the hideout had been ransacked. They may not have been there to see what all made up the inventory, but if the piece of Miamoato's Trust Spear had been there, it was either buried under the debris or it had been stolen as well.

IF asked the Moderatist about the weapon part they had come to retrieve, "We're looking for the hero Miamoato's weapon. Have you seen anything like that?"

"Well, not that I know of, but you can look around all you like."

Having received the go-ahead by the Guild Moderatist, the party began searching through the mess in hopes of finding the weapon part. The group went about searching the room for fifteen minutes, coming up with nothing substantial.

Lyrica picked up a wooden plank off the floor, finding nothing out of the ordinary underneath, "What if the part really was stolen? What do we do then?"

It wasn't a thought anyone in the party wanted to entertain, mostly because they had no idea where the stolen inventory was. Nisa clenched her fist as she came up with a response, "We'll just have to find the crooks and deliver some much needed justice!"

Red seemed to support the idea… just not for the same reason, "Yeah! And if we beat up the bad guys, it'll give me the chance to get show off and get more wifeys."

As the two girls voiced their support for the idea, Gust took a more objective look at the situation, "Let's try to find item first. Worry about fighting crooks if item is not here."

Neptune had her hands full with a few items that she had found, hoping that one of them was the item they were after, "What about these dealies? Hmm, that historian fella said Miamoato's weapon was a spear, right?"

Given that the weapon they were trying to piece together was a spear, and they already found what was likely the smallest part of it, the rest of the spear pieces had to be the most obvious parts. Compa had her mind stuck on what was THE most obvious part, "Just look for some big wood, or a long stick, or something! Let's see..."

Heero picked up what appeared to be the parrying guard of a spear. What caught his eye was the crest on the plate, "This looks to be similar to the part we found."

As she was looking at the item in Heero's hand, IF began to make the same connection. The brunette held her hand out to the party's leader, wanting to see the weapon piece they had recovered in the forest, "Hey, let me see the butt-spike we got in the forest."

The amnesiac goddess reached into her pocket and pulled out the item in question, "Okay… You're not gonna take it and sell it for a quick cell phone case fix, are ya?"

IF was mildly annoyed that the purplenette would suggest such a thing. "Don't be a fool! Look at this crest and that round plate over there..."

As the Guild Moderatist drew attention to the physical characteristics of the item, Compa and the rest of the party could see the similarity, "Oh, it has the same crest! Does this belong to Miamoato, too?"

A curt nod was IF's response to the nurse in training, "No doubt about it. This must be the parrying guard. See? You slide the shaft through here, then attached the blade."

If the search for the Trust Spear mirrored the other three weapons the party had recovered, then they had half of the parts needed to put the spear together. The Moderatist from before overheard the group celebrating their lucky break, "Sounds like you found what you wanted. I've heard a story about the hero Miamoato before..."

Naturally, Neptune wanted to know the story the Guild member had about the legendary hero, "Really?!Oh man,I so totally wanna hear it!"

"After fighting the goddess, Miamoato lost his lover to the king of this area at that time. He challenged the man to many duels. I heard the weapons he used back then are stored in a cave on Lowee. You might find something else valuable there..."

The thought of having to travel to a cave was stirring up an unpleasant memory for Compa, "Another cave, oh dear! Nep-Nep, did you hear that?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was causing the nurse in training to panic. The party had been caught in a cave-in brought about by Arfoire while she was using her Conversation disguise. Lyrica couldn't understand why she was letting the incident bother her now, "You're not gonna let that one incident scare you, right?"

Compa shivered at the thought of being trapped in a cave again. Sure, the party made it out, but she didn't want to go through such an experience again. "But what if we get trapped again and can't get out? I'll never become a real nurse!"

IF had a tired look on her face as she listened to the ditzy nurse complain about a problem that happened long ago, "Do you hear yourself? First of all, we're not gonna caught in another cave-in. Second, even if that did happen, you know Heero could probably blast a way out of the cave, right?"

Although he didn't like the idea of levying his most powerful asset just to get the party out of a cave-in, if push came to shove the Gundam pilot knew he would do it, "Before we start worrying about something that might not even happen, we should look for the cave first. We'll deal with any problems as they arise."

Since the party didn't know what cave to search, Neptune went to the party's disembodied helper to find their next destination, "Hey, Z? We kinda need some help here!"

The Zero System did not even need to ask what the party's leader needed from her. She had already started the process of finding the next weapon part before the amnesiac even called, "(I have already found the cave you are looking for. It is on the northern most island, and it happens to be the only cave on said island. You shouldn't have any problem finding it.)"

Zero's prompt and concise response was welcome news to Neptune, as was evident by the broad smile that spread across her face. "Awesome! Thanks, Z! Seriously, why can't Histy be as helpful?"

Judging by how upbeat their leader was, the rest of the party assumed that Zero had come through for them yet again. Lyrica was the first to pry for an answer, "So… what did Z say?"

Heero relayed his partner's message to the rest of the group, "According to Zero, our next target is on the northern most island. We should head out immediately."

Xxx

Following Zero's directions, the party traveled to one of the islands surrounding Lowee and came upon the cave that was supposedly used to store the hero Miamoato's weapons.

The party descended into the cave, though shortly after entering they came across a woman. Upon seeing the group, the woman responded in a rather hostile manner, "Ugh! Who're you tramps?!"

A deadpanned expression was all that registered on IF's face, "(This bitch is a regular ray of sunshine, isn't she?)"

Unlike IF, Neptune seemed oblivious to the woman's rude comment, "Huh? What's this girl doing here all alone? Excuse me, what're you doing?"

"I-I'm sorry. Oh, please… Please forgive me!"

The woman's first comment made the girl seem rude and unapproachable, and for no apparent reason her personality did a complete one-eighty. Neptune didn't why the girl was apologizing to them in the first place. "What? Forgive you...? Did you do something naughty?"

"I believed in him… I knew he was coming to find me… but I couldn't keep waiting in a different castle… Please! Don't tell the plumber I'm happily living with another man!"

Nothing in what this woman said made sense to the group. Something about waiting in a castle and a plumber? Not only did they not understand what she was talking about, they didn't care enough to figure out she was ranting about, "I dunno who you're even talking about..."

Apparently the woman wasn't convinced, and decided to try and bribe the party to keep silent about something clearly didn't know or even have any interest in knowing. "Oh, I ask this of you! In exchange, have this. It's the hero Miamoato's Trust Spear!"

The woman dressed like a princess reached over toward a group of stalagmites and fished out a long shaft, "It's just the shaft, but it's the real deal, I hear. My boy toy said he found it here. I'm sure it's quite expensive…!"

Nisa just stared at the spear shaft, unsure of what to make of what was going on, "She's just… giving it to us? But we don't even-"

Before the heroine could utter another word, Lyrica quickly silenced her with a hand across her mouth. Using her free hand the songstress held up her index finger toward her mouth, indicating that Nisa needed to stop talking, "(She doesn't need to know that we don't know!)"

Even though they stood to gain a piece of the weapon needed to save Gamindustri, Compa seemed offended by the woman's actions, "Hey, you shouldn't give other people's stuff away like that. Plus, don't you feel sorry for your ex-boyfriend?!"

IF swiftly moved to cover Compa's mouth before she caused the woman to reconsider her offer, "I-Idiot. Compa, just shut up and..." The brunette turned her attention to the spear shaft, and once she saw the crest on it knew that it was the genuine article. "Ooh, this has the same crest. It's definitely Miamoato's."

IF received the spear shaft from the 'princess,'who promptly covered her face with her hands out of shame, "I'm so, so sorry… I'm no longer pure… I can't even say I'm a princess or anything now…!"

As far as the party was concerned, they had what they came for and didn't need to stick around. IF didn't want to put up with the 'princess' anymore, and thus tried to bid a convincing farewell. "We, uh, we got it! We'll not tell a soul about this, so have a, uh, great life!"

With spear shaft in hand, the party vacated the area before the 'princess' started ranting again. Once outside, IF breathed a sigh or relief, having expected the search for the weapon part to take longer, "Phew. I'm glad we found it."

Compa was appalled with the Guild Moderatist for having taken the spear shaft from the woman, "How could you just take that from her? We sold our noble hearts and good intentions for this. She betrayed her ex-boyfriend!"

Even though it was a subject close to the heart of any innocent girl, Lyrica wasn't about to listen to the nurse in training complain about it when they were trying to accomplish something more important, "Compa, I don't want to be THAT girl… but who cares? We're trying to save the world, why should we worry about some lovers quarrel caused by a princess that can't be faithful?"

IF nodded in agreement. They had just acquired the third part of a weapon needed to save Gamindustri, and the nurse in training was complaining about an unfaithful princess? Clearly Compa didn't have her priorities straight, "This isn't the time to care about something like that. We've got our priorities, too."

Seeing what they had now, Neptune noticed they were still missing what she believed to be the most important part of the weapon, "We're still missing the spearhead."

Unlike the first to pieces they had found, the party didn't get a hint as to the location of the next part. With nothing else to go on, IF referenced the hint received from Histoire. "Histoire said to look in a snowy forest, so…"

Histoire said the weapon was in a snowy forest, but as the party had pointed out before, not only were there several forests around Lowee, but they were all covered in snow. IF pulled out her pink cell phone and began to go through her list of contact, "I'll see if the Guild can't find out where the last part is. In the meantime, we should probably take a break."

Even though IF said she would use her connections to handle the issue of finding the last part of the Trust Spear, Heero didn't feel like waiting that long. Not when he had access to a source of information that was arguably more reliable.

Xxx

The party took a break from searching for the final piece of the Trust Spear, since they would have to wait for IF's sources to find it. As they waited, Neptune asked a question of the brunette… a rather insensitive one at that, "Iffy, have you been gaining weight?"

IF's took on a red hue as she put down her phone. She was rather self-conscious about the subject, "Sh-Shut up! I still look a lot better than you."

Neptune took offense to IF's pointed comment. "What's that mean?! I was just being an honest girl scout. Are you denying my kindness?!"

Since everyone else in the group was there, they heard Neptune's 'kindness,' rather they failed to see any of it in her rude question. Compa tried to put a stop to the argument before a real fight broke out between the two girls, "Please don't fight..."

Despite the nurse's pleas to the contrary, the party's leader showed no sign of backing down. "Nuh-uh, no way! I ain't gonna let this slide today. You're always bustin' my chops!"

IF was in just as volatile a mood as the purplenette in front of her, "That's because you're so incredibly difficult. I'll crack open that head of yours to release all that air!"

Most of the other party members began to back away as a fight seemed inevitable. Lyrica took cover behind a bed, poking her head out to observe the two girls, "Can we not do this? I meant, we're one part away from having the last weapon. We should be feeling good about ourselves, not pick fights with each other!"

Red started tugging on IF's jacket in some attempt to stop her from pursuing her course of action, "Don't do it, Iffy! I can't start losing wifeys, I don't even have ten yet!"

It was apparent to Compa that there was no stopping Neptune and IF from going at it. "This is an explosive situation… They won't listen… No fighting..." Since she couldn't stop them, she decided to settle on another method to end the dispute, "Time for Special Forces Compa to mediate! As an officer of the peace, I suggest you settle this with a boxing game!"

Silence filled the air as the rest of the party processed what their healer had just suggested, Finally, Nisa broke the silence as she asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "You want them to settle this with a boxing game?"

Neptune needed a moment to remember what game the nurse in training was referring to, "I know that one. You hold the controllers like gloves and move around, right? You can play bowling with it, too!"

Compa happened to have the game on hand, holding it up for those present to see, "Yeah, real fights are a no-no, but you can release all the stress you want in this game!"

She didn't really care how they settle the matter, IF just wanted to deliver some much deserved comeuppance to the party's leader, "It's a deal. I'll show you my golden left hook!"

There was some slight hesitation on Neptune's part as she tried to meet the brunette's taunt, "B-Bring it! I'll show you my golden, friendship… sunshine… uppercut!"

A very weak and obviously made up threat, but it didn't really matter at that point. With the method of battle decided and the venue being… the living room, the girls went about moving the furniture so as to give the two girls enough room for their pseudo fight.

Once the game had booted up and the girls were set, Compa pretended to serve as the referee for the match, "Let's begin. In this corner, team Red, the troublemaker from the sky… Neptune!"

The nurse in training was doing a rather good job in setting the mood for the fake battle. So much so that Neptune was getting excited for it. "Ooh, nice one, Compa!"

"And in this corner, team Blue, the moody money maker… IF!"

Even though it was for dramatic flair, IF was still rather offended by the nurse in training's description, "Wh-What did you call me?!"

Ignoring the brunette's complaint, Compa continued with her officiating, "Heaven or Hell! Let's rock!"

It may have been a battle in a game, but the others in the room were becoming quite invested. Even Gust, who was something of a pacifist, was interested to see how things would turn out, "Gust is curious to see how match ends."

Neptune and IF started their video game boxing match, looking to settle their dispute through virtual violence. A few minutes in, Neptune saw an opening to attack the brunette's game avatar, "There! Hiyah!"

IF wasn't about to lose the battle against the party's leader, throwing out one of her fists toward the TV with controller in hand to prevent the purplenette from getting a cheap shot, "Hmph! Tyah!"

Neither girl was willing to concede… even if it was just a game. After another five minutes both Neptune and IF were panting from all the physical activity they had done. Neptune wiped the sweat of her forehead while still trying to catch her breath. "Ahhh… hahhh… I'm getting all sweaty!"

IF reached for a nearby towel and wiped down her face, feeling similarly drained, "Yeah, this is a pretty awesome workout!"

Somewhere during the game, Neptune and IF had all but forgotten why they had been mad in the first place and were more interested in the game itself, rather than the reason for playing it. Compa had noticed that the two were enjoying themselves and weren't no longer acting so hostile to one another, "Oh, look at them having fun. I'm glad gaming helped them make up!"

This was the first time Neptune and IF had gotten into a fight and resolved it themselves both peacefully and without Heero's intervention. A fact that was not lost on the others. Lyrica voiced her approval on the matter, "You two managed to stop fighting all on your own. I'm sure Heero is proud of you both."

It was only once she heard the name of the lone male member of the party that Neptune realized that she had not heard Heero's voice once during the earlier argument. In fact, she had kind of expected him to speak up at some point.

Neptune looked around the room, and found that the Gundam pilot wasn't there, "Hey, where's Heero?"

Unlike her fellow party members, Gust knew that Heero had left the safe house long before Neptune and IF had even started the argument that led to them playing the boxing game, "Heero said he would look for info on last part of Trust Spear."

IF couldn't understand why the Gundam pilot felt the need to go searching for information when she had already said she would take care of it, "I have my sources in the Guild looking into it, why would he need to go out himself?"

"Because Heero said he had more reliable source."

Neptune didn't really care about the weapon part, what she did care about was the fact that there was a 'Neptune stalker' on the loose in Lowee that she believed was after Heero, "But there's a weirdo snoopin' around that might steal Heero from me! Why didn't you say something earlier?!"

Now it was Gust's turn to be confused. "Gust thought everyone else knew."

Throwing done her controller, Neptune grabbed her sword that was lying next to the coat hanger and bolted out the door. It wasn't long before the rest of the girls ran out the door in search of the lone male party member.

Xxx

Time was something that the party didn't have much of, and it was for that reason that Heero went in search of Lowee's Oracle; Mina Nishizawa. It wasn't that he doubted IF's contacts, it was just that they couldn't afford to wait around for the Guild to find the last part of the weapon when Arfoire was drawing closer to completing her plan.

One thing Heero knew was that the Oracles of Gamindustri had information on just about everything pertaining to the landmass they were associated with. Twice already he had been provided with information on the weapons, and Heero was hoping that Mina would be able to help with the matter of the Trust Spear just as Chika and Kei had.

While he didn't know what the off duty Oracle's schedule was, he knew that all he really needed to do was search for two particular little bundles of energy, and Mina would most likely be right behind them.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before he heard some commotion from further down the street and the boy caught sight of the twins running about. Ram and Rom ducked behind a tree as an angry shopkeeper ran by.

Ram looked to be laughing to herself, while Rom was just following after her sister. As soon as the outspoken sibling turned around and saw the Gundam pilot. Ram tugged on her sister's arm while pointing at the Perfect Soldier, and the twins ran up the street to meet the boy.

The two girls skid to a halt in front of the boy, and almost immediately asked if he was available, "You're not doing anything are you, Heero? You should play with us!"

Heero looked down at the two girls that were hoping he would be their playmate. Sadly, he needed something else at the moment, "I cannot entertain you at this time. I have important business to deal with."

Ram's cheeks began to swell up as the Gundam pilot turned her down. "Why not? You haven't played with us in a while. And we're bored."

Even though she was still somewhat shy, Rom was somewhat more at ease around the Gundam pilot, joining her sister in trying to convince the boy to spend time with them, "Please play with us..."

Before Heero could get another word out, the voice of a familiar Oracle/babysitter interrupted them, "There you two are. Must you cause so much trouble for everyone?"

Looking up from the twins, the Gundam pilot saw Mina approach them. Once she had caught up, the Oracle gave a polite bow the Perfect Soldier. "We meet again. I apologize if the twins caused you any trouble."

Heero shook his head. If anything, the twins had just provided him with who he was looking for, "I was hoping I could ask you something, and knew that the twins would be my best chance of finding you. I'm looking for the spearhead of a weapon called the Trust Spear. I was wondering if you knew where I might be able to find it."

Mina was puzzled as to why the boy would search for the weapon, but it wasn't as if she had a reason not to answer his question, "I don't know where the spearhead itself is… But I do know of a place you could try searching." The Oracle turned around and pointed at the island directly in front of them. "Supposedly, the partner of the hero Miamoato lives in the forest on that island. If the spearhead isn't there, you should at least be able to find out where it is."

It wasn't quite what Heero was hoping for, but it was a lead nonetheless. Seeing as the Gundam pilot's question had just been answered, Ram tried once more to get the boy to play, "Now that you got what you wanted, you can play Doctor with me and Rom. You be the doctor, and we'll be the patients."

Much to the dismay of the twins, their caretaker had other plans for the two girls, "I'm sorry, but you two still have some studying to do."

Ram turned to look at the Oracle of Lowee, clearly displeased with the prospect of studying instead of playing with the Gundam pilot. "But Heero's here and we have gotten to play yet! Don't cock-block me!"

Mina face turned a bright shade of red as she covered her own mouth, as ifshe had just her something scandalous. "Ram! Where did you hear that?!"

The energetic twin sister flashed a grin as she responded to Oracle, "From one of big sis's books. I dunno what it means, but it sounds funny."

Heero watched as Mina muttered something to herself before grabbing the twins by their wrists, "I don't know what book it was you read, but you should be reading more appropriate books."

Rom squirmed slightly, trying to free herself from the Oracle's tight grip, "But… we haven't gotten to play yet..."

"You can play with Heero next time. Right now, you two need to thoroughly educated on what you should and shouldn't read."

It wasn't long before the trio was out of sight, leaving Heero alone with the information that had been imparted on him by Lowee's Oracle. It wasn't long before the silence around him was broken again, this time by Neptune as she came running up to him.

The amnesiac quickly check the Gundam pilot to see if anything was wrong with him, "Why did you go off by yourself, Heero? Did that crazy stalker come after you? Did she do anything to you?! I'll beat her up if she did!"

Heero placed his hands on Neptune's shoulders to keep her from moving around, "Neptune, calm down. Nothing happened to me. I didn't run into any stalkers. I just came out to ask a source of mine where we can find the last part of the weapon."

Neptune watched the Perfect Soldier for a moment before going on. "...You sure?"

A nod was the boy's response to the party's leader. "I don't know if the part is there or not, but we do have our next destination."

Just as the two wrapped up their conversation, the rest of the party showed up to check on the boy. Once it was apparent he was neither harmed or afflicted by some condition, the girls found themselves at ease.

Heero looked over at the island Mina had directed him to for their search of the final part of the Trust Spear, "Now we know where to go in order to find the last piece. It would be best to head out now in order to verify if it is still there."

IF checked her phone to see if she had received any messages from the Guild, only to find that there was nothing in her messages, "You've got some source. My connections in the Guild still haven't found anything."

Neptune started urging the party towards the floating island, wanting nothing more than to wrap up their search for the Quartet Arms, "Let's hurry up and nab that part so we can beat up that evil goddess and save the world! I mean, she's not gonna beat herself up."

Xxx

Following the lead given to them my Mina, the party ventured to an island that was particularly thick with vegetation. Someone claiming to be the partner of the legendary hero Miamoato was supposed to be living in this forest, and should at least know where the spearhead of the Trust Spear was, if they weren't in possession of it.

The trek through the forest was eerily quiet. Too quiet for that matter. The remains of dead monsters was already sending Heero warning flags that there was something else there that had claimed the entire forest as it's own, "I doubt we're going to find the spearhead without some opposition this time."

Because there wasn't that many places to check in the area, it didn't take long for the party reach the back of the forest, as well as the cause of all the dead monsters. Waiting in the back was a 'Dark Dragon,' a monster that looked exactly as one would image a dragon to appear. With midnight black scales, sharp teeth and talons, and devilish horns protruding from it's head.

It may not have been a big dragon, roughly the size of an adult human in height, but there was an air of menace about the creature that made it seem more threatening than it looked. Nisa raised her fist against the monster that she presumed was guarding the spearhead of the fourth weapon, "So you are the one that bars us from completing the weapon. Know this monster, we shall slay you and assemble the weapon needed to save this world. Justice will prevail!"

Neptune had her sword ready in anticipation for a battle, "All we gotta do is beat down the monster and we'll get that last part, right? This should be easy."

Unlike the amnesiac, Heero wasn't about to throw caution to the wind, not when they didn't know what the monster was capable of, "Don't underestimate the enemy. It could very well put you or someone else in danger. For now, we should gauge the target's capabilities."

Nisa charged at the monster to deliver the first blow. The Keeper of Justice ducked under the monster as it tried to swipe at her with one of it's claws while punching the creature in the side of it's head. Even though her attacked landed, the dragon seemed unfazed by it.

Seeing that her punch didn't do much to the monster, Nisa quickly backed away before the Dark Dragon got any ideas about trying to counterattack. The heroine's failed attacked prompted Neptune to try her hand at it, "My turn! Back me up, Compa!"

Heeding the request of their leader, Compa lifted her oversized syringe and fired at the scaly monster as Neptune charged in. The syringe fired bullets bounced off the monster's scaly hide, and Neptune's sword failed to cut through as well.

The multiple failed attacks only served to irritate the monster, and in response, it raised it's head to inhale before regurgitating fire. Nisa charged into Neptune, knocking both the amnesiac and herself out of the way, while the rest of the party dispersed to avoid getting struck by the Dark Dragon's fire breath.

From what Heero could see, the dragon wasn't particularly powerful. What made it such a threat was how durable it's scales were. If they were going to win, they needed to wear down or destroy them, "That being the case..."

Utilizing his HDD, the Perfect Soldier choose the Nu Gundam as the suit he would use against the durable monster. A brief flash of light ensued, followed by three shots from the Gundam's beam rifle. All three shots hit the same location on the monster's body, slightly melting the scales that were in the way. "If enough thermal attacks hit the target, it's defenses will fall."

With the plan being to wear down the Dark Dragon's scales, the Nu Gundam followed up with a single shot of the shield mounted beam cannon and an all-range attack from the Fin Funnels. While shot from the beam cannon didn't do much on it's own, the flurry of beam fire from the funnels caused the dragon's scales to rapidly deteriorate, and even tore up the thin membrane that made up it's wings.

Gust had been busy making a potion when the assault had started. By the time she was done, the young alchemist held a vial of liquid that was bubbling furiously. Gust tossed her concoction at the reptilian monster, resulting in an explosion that broke off segments of the softened scales.

Now that there was an opening in the monster's tough hide, the party was able to inflict real damage on the creature. Red tossed her frisbee at the Dark Dragon, followed by a bolt of lighting conjured up by Lyrica's guitar. The frisbee struck the dragon's exposed head, knocking it off balance, while the lighting hit it's now exposed underbelly, stunning the monster.

Without the scales blocking their attacks, the Dark Dragon was quickly falling apart. Neptune tried once more to cut into the monster, "This time, for sure!"

Running up to the disoriented dragon, Neptune swung her sword at it's neck. The blade of her sword didn't bounce off like it did before, but it didn't cut very deep either. An audible thud drew Neptune's attention to the Nu Gundam that had just landed behind her.

Drawing the beam saber from it's backpack, the Gundam drove the thermal saber into the Dark Dragon's neck and roughly drew it out from the side, decapitating the dragon in the process. Shortly after the head had been removed, the dragon's body collapsed to the ground.

After the Nu Gundam return it's beam saber to it's charging rack, the suit disappeared and left Heero in it's place. The boy looked at the remains of the deceased monster, commenting on the way the creature fought, "A strong defense alone can only get you so far. A strong offense is necessary, otherwise your defenses won't save you."

With the dragon now dead, the area was effectively free of monsters. Neptune was quick to boast of the party's achievement, "All right-a-roni! We pummeled most of the beasties here!"

Heero was trying to figure out how Neptune could claim that they had dealt with the monsters in the area when it was clearly the work of the dragon they had just killed. Compa seemed more focused on the lack of a spearhead, or any clues on where it could be, "But no hero's weapon. This must be the wrong place… What a bummer."

As the group mulled over their options, a dinosaur like creature with green skin approached them, "...Could you be seeking the Trust Spear of a certain hero?"

Neptune was momentarily surprised by the creatures sudden appearance before making a face out of disgust, "Ewwy-spewwy! A lizardy… crocadiley… No. A dinosaur thing."

IF wanted to know how such a creature was capable of speaking their language, "How in the…? Well, this is Lowee… Such things are normal here. Cool. I've never seen one before!"

"Yes, sorry, I am indeed a talking dinosaur. Thank you for ruining the precious ecosystem in this forest."

Neptune brushed off the talking dinosaur's comments like they were nothing, "No need to apologize and no need to thank us, either."

The talk of the forest's ecosystem aside, what got IF's attention was the dinosaur's mentioning of the hero's weapon, "Did you mention the Trust Spear? Do you know anything about it?!"

"Yes, of course. I played with Miamoato a long time ago, along with my friends of assorted colors. I was once his partner. I've passed down stories about him, like how he became a hero. Why are you seeking his spear?"

If they tried to beat around the bush, the creature might not tell them what they wanted to know. IF thought it better to just tell the dinosaur what they knew… even if it sounded ridicules to anyone not in the know. "To defeat a twisted goddess. All the monsters in this world are her doing. If you can tell us anything, please..."

"Then you'll use the same path the four heroes took to Celestia?"

The fact that the creature knew all of this proved that it wasn't lying about being the partner of Miamoato, "You just know it all, huh?"

"Fine. You may take this spearhead belonging to the Trust Spear."

IF took the spearhead from the dinosaur with Neptune proclaiming their success, "Yippee! I'm glad this dinosaur isn't eating us and pooping us out as little spotted eggs, but giving us gifts instead!"

It was moments such as this that the others in the party wondered just where Neptune got the idea for such crude comments. Compa took the spearhead from IF and fitted it to the rest of the Trust Spear, "Nep-Nep, look. It fits perfectly on the end of the shaft!"

The attachment of the spearhead marked the completion of both the Trust Spear and the Quartet Arms. With all four weapons in hand, the party could now reach Celestia and face Arfoire. The dinosaur imparted some final words of wisdom on the group, "Don't underestimate the power of a goddess. Be careful and save this world, like the four heroes once did."

Neptune was feeling confident in the party's chance of succeeding. They had prevailed over every enemy they had encountered during their travels, and didn't expect the outcome of their impending battle with Arfoire to be any different, "With a party like ours, there's no way we can lose."

As much as he didn't want to burst Neptune's bubble, Heero knew that until they actually faced the evil goddess there was no way to tell if it would just be another battle, or something more difficult, "Before we start making such claims, we should see Histoire and discuss our next move."

They needed to wait until the following day to travel back to Planeptune, but the party was in high spirits now that they had the Trust Spear in their possession. The party began the walk back to the entrance of the forest, and ultimately their safe house.

Along the way, Heero suddenly pulled Red to the side. She may have been the newest member of the party, but he still felt that she was affected in some way by the appearance of his Gundam.

Red had been taken completely by surprise, but immediately assumed that something mature was about to ensue, "What are we doing here? Are we about to do something naughty? We should get Iffy involved if we are!"

Heero wasn't sure what the red headed girl was going on about, but it didn't really matter to him, "We aren't doing anything. I need to ask you something."

The Wifey Hunter was curious about what the Gundam pilot had to ask her. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, the boy pressed on with the question he had asked the other members of the party, "The incident that occurred on Planeptune… Did it affect you in any way?"

At first Red didn't know what the boy was getting at, but then pieced it together that he thought she had something against him. The red head shook her head, shooting down any thought that she held the Perfect Soldier in contempt. "No way! It was surprising at first, but it's giant robot! Girls go crazy for that kind of thing."

It wasn't quite the response he had expected to receive, but it sounded as though Red wasn't upset with him, "You're not upset?"

"No… but you really should tell us this kind of stuff sooner. We're supposed to be friends, after all."

Like the other girls, Red used the word 'friend' as her reason for not distrusting the boy. Each time he heard them say that, it made Heero realize more and more just how much of a blunder it was on his part to keep the Wing Zero a secret from them. "I see..."

Red waited for a moment to see if the Gundam pilot had anything else he wanted to ask her, "So… was that it?"

Heero looked back towards the others, who only now realized that Heero and Red were behind them, "Yes… that was it. We should head back now."

As they made their way back to the others, Red tried to get the boy to help her with her personal goal. "Just remember, you're also my one and only hubby! You gotta use that S rank charisma of yours to help me get a hundred wifeys!"

It was certainly charming to the young girl go on about her goal, though Heero felt that Red put too much stock him. There was still one more person he needed to ask this same question to, though it would have to wait until the party returned to Planeptune. The girl's had all but dispelled any doubt Heero had experienced prior to asking if they didn't trust him… and perhaps he too could really start to view them as friends, just as they did him.

Xxx

Me: "We're finally done with the search for the Quartet Arms. I was trying to mirror my own in-game experience with finding the weapons, which explains the distinct lack of action… which is why I shorten the chapter."

Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "I'll say. These chapters were kinda boring."

Me: "Now that the search is over, we should finally be over the lull and be back to some real action."

Heero: "Perhaps now Neptune will stop complaining."

Neptune: "I'll stop complaining once we get a really romantic scene!"

Me: "Great… then I won't hear the end of it a while."

Compa and IF: (Enter ACCC from Lounge) "Why should you be the only one to have a romantic scene with Heero? We're just as important to the story, Nep-Nep."

IF: "Nep only thinks she's the most important because she always takes up Heero's time."

Me: "Can we not do this right now? Save it for another time. Anyway, as I mentioned in the Intro Corner, I hope you guys will consider following me on Twitch. Just punch my name into the twitch search bar. We'll hang out, and chat about the status of the coming updates, and have a laugh when I die in a game." (Looks down at watch) "We should wrap this up now." (Points at Compa and IF) "You two can wrap up this segment for us. We'll head back and start working on the next update."

Compa: "We can do it! Right, Iffy?"

IF: "Sure, whatever. I'm getting something out of this right?"

Me: "Sure, why not. Let's get back to work, peeps."

Me, Heero and Neptune: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)

Compa: "So do I say one part and then you say the other?"

IF: "Why do something like that? We should just say it at the same time. It's less of a hassle that way."

Compa and IF: "Please read and review this chapter, and please look forward to the next update."

Compa: "You know, Iffy, you and Nep-Nep never finished that boxing match. We don't know who won."

IF: "We'll get around to finishing that. Though I'm sure it's obvious to everyone that I'm gonna win."

Compa and IF: (Leave ACCC through Left Entrance)