And here's the second chapter of a new purpose, hopefully this will suffice as a sufficient charismas present for you while I get back to work on my unwavering heart story for the meantime (I want to plan the next arc out before writing it)
disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing or Atelier Sophie
Heero began to feel himself begin slowly stir awake but utilizing his training as a soldier for operation meteor he refrained from opening his eyes or even causing the slightest change in his heart rate.
Recalling the previous events from before Heero had previously lost consciousness, he recalled how he was sucked into some black hole while on a simple patrol through the ruins of a destroyed colony, was visited by someone he was reluctantly forced to trust or maybe something he had never met in order to irrationally cheat death only to have his body mysteriously sustain a multitude of injuries which left him in a vulnerable state which in turn led to him almost being killed by creatures that looked like they came straight out of a child's cartoon.
Thinking about it now Heero almost wanted to believe that it was just a bizarre dream and that he was back on the spearhead but he knew that wasn't the case, he wasn't the type to randomly dream all that up out of the blue.
Taking a few moments to listen, the former gundam pilot heard no source of footsteps, shuffling, talking, or anything else that would have indicated anyone was nearby at the moment, which was a good indicator that he was alone.
Quickly opening his eyes the perfect soldier wasted no time in scrutinizing his new environment, from what he saw he could immediately deduce he wasn't in any type of infirmary or any place that was modern by his world's standards. The location in question appeared to be a house of some kind just above the size of a cabin albeit a bit akin to one.
There were various pieces of furniture, a few room dividers, two beds, one of which he was currently occupying, and quite a few piles of books scattered around the place making Heero briefly wonder if whoever lived here was studying a particular field or if reading in general was a hobby for them.
The house seemed to lack any type of appliance to speak of with the closest thing being a fan but somehow the teen got the feeling it was not electrical.
Sitting up Heero found himself in for a rather convenient surprise when he discovered that he wasn't in nearly as much pain as the previous time, in fact almost all of the cuts he had were seemingly gone now leaving the teen both baffled and a bit frustrated.
While he was grateful to be in far better condition than he was in when he had initially arrived, this would be a lot easier to deal with if Heero didn't have to worry about the state of his body changing so drastically without any logical explanation. Maybe whoever brought him here had treated him? He had no bandages on and there were no items within his line of sight that would hint at such a thing.
Getting up and walking around a bit, Heero further confirmed he was alone in the house before walking around the place and finding a peculiar item on the opposite side of one of the room dividers from the bed he was previously in.
A large cauldron that showed signs of wear and tear from a combination of age and use sat in the middle of the house. What drew the teen's attention was a light pink colored liquid that filled the cauldron and held a faint glow.
Heero wondered just what the said liquid was, some kind of chemical? It didn't really have the smell of any type that the mobile suit pilot knew of. Whatever it truly was it was a question that would have to wait for a later date, right now Heero needed to head out and find out where he was.
"I see the alchemy cauldron has caught your attention." A female voice said.
The former gundam pilot was genuinely shocked when he heard that unknown voice, when he had initially woken up he listened for sounds of anyone being nearby and followed up scrutinizing the room to make sure and considering the small size of the place it was impossible for anyone to be hiding here since there was no place for them to conceal themselves.
For what little Heero could make out of this situation he had his hand gun destroyed in that last bout before he found himself here and his combat knife was now also gone so he was essentially unarmed, still considering the previous situation he was in where he had nearly lost his life upon being pulled through that worldly rift it was a safe enough bet to assume that whoever brought him here was likely the same person who had saved his life or was someone who knew that individual meaning that whoever this new voice belonged to was someone who didn't have any hostile intentions, simply put there was a very good chance that there was actually no need to act rashly.
Turning towards the source of the voice the former gundam pilot was once more caught off guard when the source of the voice turned out not to be a person pursay so much as a green colored book with multiple tags between the numerous pages of the book itself. "..."
"Judging by your silence I'm guessing this is your first time encountering a talking book."
Shaking himself out of his initial stupor the perfect soldier replied. "I can honestly say there's no such thing where I come from."
"Yes, even here it seems that a talking book isn't something people normally encounter."
Considering a talking book was something straight out of an imaginative fantasy it wasn't exactly surprising, if not for the events leading up to this point Heero was sure he'd have tried to convince himself that this had to be a hallucination.
He recalled that the stranger who saved him from his first of two near death experiences (three if one included the time he self-detonated) had informed him that this place was going to be vastly different from the world he came from. If those gelatin creatures and this book were enough of a hint they really weren't kidding.
Still Heero found himself having a hard time internally coming to grips with the idea that things like dome shaped gelatinous creatures with a set of beady looking eyes and a basic smile which were actually quite hostile and talking books existed.
If not for the fact the former was as previously noted hostile to the point that under the right circumstances could very honestly kill a person Heero would have written this world off as one the was worthless for his hopes due to how it initially came off as a child's fantasy world.
"You seem to be doing far better thanks to Sophie's efforts." The book said.
"Sophie? I'm guessing she's the one responsible for saving me from those gelatin things that attacked me?" Heero inquired.
"Yes, she stumbled upon you while she was according to her account, investigating a bunch of metal meteors that fell from the sky."
"Metal meteors?"
"Yes, unusual I know but that's how she described them, she even went as far as to say one had the shape of a giant metal hand which was missing some of its fingers and a thumb.
"I….see. Would you by any chance know where this place is?"
"Oh, this is an Atelier on the very outskirts of a town called Kirchen Bell." "Understood." Heero said wanting to make his exodus.
"Might I have your name?" The book suddenly asked.
The teen mused over the option before deciding there was no real harm in it. "Heero Yuy."
"Heero? Hmm, that's quite a unique name, I'm Plachta by the way, nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Before either Heero could say anything more or Plachta could reply further the front door to the Atelier opened revealing three new arrivals.
The first was a girl who looked to be around Heero's own age with short red hair and eyes of the same color, in terms of attire she wore a head cloth over her hair, a blouse shirt with the bottom half covered by a corset and a red skirt the went down almost to her knees and brown boots along with a blue coat which Heero recalled seeing before he had lost consciousness.
Did that mean this girl was the person Heero had to thank for saving him? He'd have to find that out in a little bit.
Turning his gaze to the next individual he saw it was another female somewhere around his age who had long blonde hair that went all the way down her back and yellow eyes, she wore mostly white clothing that clung to her entire body like a bodysuit with the addition of a dark green coat which was far thinner than the first girl's along with an almost helix shaped metal piece of armor surrounding her left arm and a pair of glasses.
The final individual was a male also in their teens who was well on the heavier side in the weight department wearing a red long-sleeved shirt that barely fit him due to said weight with a white scarf around his neck along with blue jeans, a hat, and brown boots.
The first girl with the blue coat was the first to speak up. "Plachta we're ba- Your awake?!" The girl exclaimed, now referring to the teen soldier upon noticing him.
The heavy-set boy spoke up next. "Woah Sophie I didn't think your berg medicine would be this effective considering your usual luck."
"Hey!" The girl identified as Sophie exclaimed.
"He's right Sophie you still have much to learn before you can truly be considered an Alchemist." Plachta said.
Alchemist? As in an individual that had the ability to convert one material into something different? Well the very idea was hard to believe but after what Heero had witnessed so far and what he was witnessing now in the short time he's been here it would have been too easy to brush it off.
If an opportunity ever came around Heero might try to observe alchemy but that would have to wait until he had a far better grasp on his personal situation first.
"I am an Alchemist, it's just some of the things I try to make go wrong from time to time." Sophie rebutted.
"Well at the very least you have proven to have some potential for the trade."
"I even thought up a new recipe for bombs."
"Very good, It's seems having you go out and broaden your horizons was the correct idea."
"I'll be sure to right the recipe into you." Sophie then turned her attention back to Heero.
"It's good to see that you're feeling better than you were before when those Punis were attacking you, I'm Sophie by the way and these are my friends Monika and Oskar." Sophie said referring to the blonde girl and heavy-set boy."
"It's good to see your conditions' improved." The former said before the latter followed up. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise, I'm Heero Yuy."
"I see. Are you from around here?" The girl named Monika asked.
"No I'm from a very far away land where some of the things I've encountered here can't even be found"
"What happened to you before we found you?" Oskar inquired.
"I was caught off guard by those things you referred to as Punis."
"How did that happen? Punis aren't exactly known for setting any type of ambushes." Monika said.
"As I said before I come from a really far away land where some of the things here can't be found there, so I had no inkling as to what a Puni was when I first encountered them."
"I suppose their docile appearance is what allowed them to catch you off guard am I correct?" Plachta asked.
"Yeah. I won't be making that mistake twice."
"It would certainly be in your best interest not to, If you ever go out traveling you should never let your guard down, there are more than a few monsters that have non-threatening appearances but taking them lightly can very well cost you your life."
"There's no need to worry; like I said, I won't make that mistake twice." With that Heero was about to announce that he was leaving but was cut off by the growling of his stomach.
The sound earned a giggle from Sophie. "I guess you're quite hungry."
"Evidently." Heero mused.
"If you can wait for a bit I can make some snacks."
"I appreciate the offer but I don't have anything to give you in compensation at this moment."
"There's no need to worry about that, I'm helping you because I want to, besides I was already planning on making them for myself and my friends."
"Alright; also there's something I wanted to ask you Sophie."
"Okay. Do you have I request for me to make something with alchemy?"
"Not exactly though I'll admit I'm a bit curious about how this alchemy works but I wanted to confirm something Plachta informed me of just before you and the others arrived"
"What was it?"
"Were you the one to save my life and treat my injuries?"
"To be honest I had a bit of help from both Monica and Oskar but yes and I did make the berg medicine to heal your wounds."
"Thank you, I promise I will find a way to repay you, whatever it takes."
"Oh there's no need to do that."
Heero was caught off guard by the reply and unintentionally let the sense of surprise show on his face. "But you saved me from certain death and even went out of your way to nurse me back to health even though I'm little more than a complete stranger."
"Yes, because like I said before I wanted to help you, not because I was looking to get some type of pay out of it, there's nothing wrong with extending a helping hand to someone who needs it and whether you're someone I know or not doesn't matter, what does is that I managed to help you when you needed it the most."
Heero found himself a bit off put by this girl's generosity, first she saved him from monsters they called Punis and brought him back from the brink of death, to say that the teen boy owed this girl everything for securing his second chance at life when he almost had it ripped from him upon arriving to this new world might have been sugar coating things but for this girl not to care for any of that…..
The only other individual that had ever showed Heero this amount of kindness was Relena after Heero announced that he was going to kill her. To meet someone else who was this willing to help him even though he was as he had just noted no more than a mere moment ago a complete stranger to this girl was one of the last things he could have ever expected.
At the very least Heero felt indebted to this girl, if the opportunity to repay her kindness ever shown itself the perfect soldier would act on it. However his current priority as gathering as much information about this world as he could and from there likely just establish himself work wise so he had income and from there try to figure out what he could truly do with his life beyond fighting miserable wars.
Honestly a large part of the mobile suit pilot still felt unsure of where he was truly supposed to start, how did normal people find meaning in their personal lives? For the life of him Heero could not come up with the slightest inkling of an answer.
"So Heero I'm curious what were you doing out near pilgrim road?" Monica inquired.
"Traveling in order to see new places and discover new things." Heero replied.
It wasn't a lie per say since Heero had never been here so to say he was seeing new places wasn't a stretch, and as for discovering new things, to say the least he hadn't seen a talking book or a Puni before now.
"Does that mean you're from a faraway land?" Oskar asked.
"That would be one way to put it." Heero replied. "The place I come from has many different things that serve to differentiate from here."
"Does your homeland have any unique plants?"
Heero was confused by that particular question, he was admittedly a bit wary of these people he had just met asking for information since he wasn't sure how he could ever tell any of them that he came from a different world, not that he wanted to since it would likely lead to them asking for things that Heero had no intention of disclosing, but to ask about plants. Well it wasn't a harmful question but it certainly was not one the teen could have ever anticipated, granted he had just met Oscar but even so he (And likely no one else) could have expected that type of inquiry. "From what I've seen since coming here the plants are the same."
"I see!" Oscar exclaimed.
"I'm curious, aside from myself what else here is completely foreign to you?" Plachta inquired
Heero could have said that in a sense almost everything considering the technology here seemed to be medieval level if the inside of the Atelier as anything to go by but that answer would just lead to the type of questions Heero didn't want to answer. "As I said before Punis for one thing along with whatever other monsters can be found in these lands and also I haven't ever seen any type of alchemy where I come from.
"Is that why you said you were curious about alchemy?" Sophie asked.
"Yeah, I heard that it was a method for turning one material into another, but I never had a chance to witness it."
Plachta thought a bit about Heero's interpretation, there were people who did not know much about alchemy but most of them had some general idea of what it was either by witnessing it firsthand or laying eyes on an item that was the result of it, at least compared to Heero's idea of alchemy. She had to wonder just where the boy had come from that the knowledge of alchemy almost didn't exist. "Turning one material into another might be one adequate way to describe alchemy at its very base but the power of alchemy is capable of far more than just that alone."
"In what way?"
"It can be used to create many different items such as the berg medicine Sophie used to treat your wounds and more complex items that can cause far more phenomenal things to happen, but it might be better just to have you witness it for yourself, it should it least deepen your understanding of alchemy."
"Since that's decided I'll get started on making the sweets." Sophie declared before heading over to her cauldron and proceeding to add whatever ingredients she needed before stirring the liquid inside the cauldron with a paddle.
To the perfect soldier's surprise the ingredients Sophie used were…not what he could have imagined, the first item he saw Sophie use looked like a spiked plant of some kind. Whatever it was, it was not something the Heero had ever seen before back in his world, the next item on the list of ingredients as even further from something Heero could have imagined.
A type of transparent blue fluid was the next item to go in the cauldron, a part of Heero had a sneaking suspicion that the said fluid came from a Puni which had him wondering just how in the world was it or the other ingredient for that matter ever supposed to make any type of edible sweet.
The final item was something that could actually be called conventional especially when compared to what went into the cauldron before, a piece of wheat. While easier to imagine being used to make food Heero couldn't wrap his head around the idea of it being able to fulfill that purpose when being used in tandem with a spiked plant and fluid that might have come from a monster.
Still since Sophie wasn't making the sweets through the traditional cooking method but using this alchemy that Plachta had told him a bit about he wasn't brushing off the possibility of success.
It took some time, around thirty to forty minutes before that process was done, when the moment of truth came the liquid inside the cauldron began spinning at a faster pace than Sophie was actually stirring it at before a light suddenly arose from the liquid of the cauldron and briefly overtook the entire inside of the atelier before a fair number of what looked like, cookies maybe? Floated into Sophie's hands.
"So did that broaden your understanding of Alchemy?" Plachta asked the teen pilot.
"Yes; I have to admit I have never seen anything like it." That admission might have been an understatement and a major one at that, The alchemy that Sophie displayed didn't simply change one material into another, it created an entirely new object that by all logic it should not have been able to.
"Here, try this." Sophie said before handing Heero a few of the simple sweets and moving on to give her friends their share. Heero immediately took a bite out of the snack and discovered it didn't taste anything like what he had anticipated.
Meanwhile Sophie smiled at her friends and Heero alike. "So how are they?"
The first to reply was Monica. "Um Sophie….these are salty."
"What?!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah these are salty, still good though." Oskar added.
"Oh." Sophie said looking a bit dejected before turning to Heero. "What about the ones I gave you?"
"They're the same, still they'll help me sustain the energy I need going forward so I appreciate you doing this for me."
"Your welcome." Sophie said finding her spirits lifted by what Heero had said.
"Speaking of going forward. Do you have any idea what you plan to do from here?" Plachta asked.
"I'll be looking into finding whatever work is available so I can gain a source of income."
"Did you come here without any money?" Sophie asked.
"It's not so much that as it is that the currency I have wouldn't be worth anything here. Is there any mercenary work I might be able to find, or odd jobs around town?"
"There is a café run by mr Horst that I can take you to in a bit if that'll help they have various odd jobs posted there."
"I'd appreciate that."
Sophie then turned her attention back to Plachta. "Okay let's wright the new recipe into you."
"Very well." With that Plachta floated over to Sophie who in turn pulled out a pen and began writing into Plachta's pages, once the process was done Plachta floated in midair glowing for a few moments before the said glow faded away.
"So do you remember anything?" Sophie inquired.
"yes, apparently I am a reference book whose purpose is to store and record knowledge pertaining to alchemy."
Heero raised an eyebrow. "Do you have memory loss?"
"Well until now I couldn't remember anything except my name from the moment I awakened and met Sophie the other day."
"You say you just recently awakened, does that mean you were asleep for a long period of time."
"Yes, in fact I feel like it's been more than a few decades since awoke maybe even longer."
"Maybe that might have something to due with your memory loss."
Plachta silently pondered Heero's suggestion on the matter of her situation before replying. "you may be right, still thanks to Sophie we now have a way to restore my memories."
"I assist you if I'm able to."
"I certainly be grateful." The sentient book then turned her attention back to the alchemist in training. "Sophie you and the others should hurry and take Heero to the café so he'll have time to do one of the jobs that allow him to earn a fair amount of Cole."
"Right." Sophie replied before she and the others lead Heero outside the atelier which as Plachta described was located on the outskirts of the town, the mobile suit pilot was able to see the town a fair distance away but still within walking distance.
From the looks of it the settlement of Kirchen bell appeared to be around the medieval period in terms of advancement, it wasn't an unwelcome sight by any means, in fact maybe it was just the opposite, if this other world was this far behind his own world in terms of tech that meant he wouldn't have to worry about the use of mobile suits or other destructive weapons that could be used to take countless lives which would make it easier for the teen to focus on settling into a more peaceful life.
It would defeat the entire purpose of him even agreeing to come to this place if he was caught up in another war.
"Oh yeah before I forget, here's your knife back." Sophie said whilst pulling out Heero's combat and handing to him.
"Thank you, I suspect I'll be needing it in the near future,"
"Do you intend to take jobs fighting monsters then?" Monica asked.
"Fighting is my primary specialty but I'm able to carry out various miscellaneous odd jobs when the need arises."
"That's good it'll make it easier for you to earn a good deal of cole, Horse posting a hole variety of different jobs."
"I'll keep that in mind."
As the group continued walking through the town Heero continued taking in the sights, he had to admit the scenery was pretty pleasant, there were occasional workers here and there one of which appeared to be working on a construction project of sorts which the teen contemplated assisting with sometime in the future if it yielded the needed income, there were also numerous kids who didn't seem to have a care in the world which could have been taken as another positive indicator of this world's peaceful state, the teen pilot certainly didn't have any desire to see any fellow child soldiers.
It didn't take long for the group to arrive at a plaza with a fountain in the center and what looked to be a few vendors, the most notable landmark was a church of sorts which looked enough like one someone would find on earth, beyond that it was more of the same scenery as Heero was led down another street leading to the southeast.
From the looks of it Heero surmised that it was more than likely something akin to a down town area since it appeared to have a high number of shops and the like, Heero might have to check if there was a place he could purchase a better weapon, he wasn't placing his hopes in obtaining any type of fire arm to replace his destroyed handgun but at the very least he could look into obtaining a sword, it would leave him in a better position to fight whatever monsters he might encounter, all he had as of now was his combat knife.
"Oscar you better not run off tomorrow, you promised to help me with the store!" A new voice called out causing Heero and the others to turn in the direction in had come from and see a middle-aged woman with orange hair tied in a bun and well-maintained figure.
"I won't mom." Oscar moaned out earning a giggle from both Sophie and Monica to let out mutual giggles."
The lady in question then turned her gaze to Heero and smiled. "I've never seen you around here before. Are you a traveler by any chance?"
"Yes, I come from faraway lands."
"Welcome to Kirchen Bell, I'm Marguerite by the way, it's nice to meet you."
"likewise, I'm Heero Yuy."
"Heero? That's a unique name if I've ever heard one. Well if you ever need fresh vegetables my store has no shortage."
"Noted, I might come by in the future."
"Oh Ms marguerite I actually wanted to place an order later today." Sophie said.
"My stores open until sundown I'll be waiting."
With that the group continued until they arrived at the café and entered. The interior certainly had the feel of a café but the counter along with all the various drinks lining the shelves behind it gave the place an appearance more akin to a bar, so much so that Heero might have mistaken the place for one.
Standing behind the counter was a man at least in his mid-thirties if not forties with combed back greying brownish hair who immediately addressed the alchemist in training upon seeing her. "Ah Sophie, are you here to take on another request?"
"Not exactly but I have someone who is."
The proprietor then turned to Heero. "I don't suppose she's referring to you is she young man?"
"She is, I'm Heero Yuy, a traveler from a faraway country but I don't currently have any of this land's currency."
"I see, so you're hoping to procure some quick work to make a bit of income am I right?"
"That's correct."
"I do have something simple enough available; the only catch is that it will involve fighting monsters, granted the most basic of them but it will still entail some degree of danger."
"I understand, fighting monsters is right up my ally anyway."
The other three teens present all gave Heero looks of uncertainty or doubt at his statement which was understandable, when they first saw him he was on the verge of being killed by Punis which probably didn't leave the impression of someone who was overly strong, granted he was already injured before the fight started and somewhat caught off guard during the initial encounter but still it would take the right actions to prove he wasn't hopeless in a fight.
"I'll come with you." Sophie suddenly announced.
The perfect soldier gave the red head a baffled look "You've already done a great deal for me already."
"If I let you go by yourself I'd be worried about you, besides, you need a guide since you've never been to this country before."
"Fair enough." Heero conceded. As reluctant as he was to take advantage of Sophie's advantage when he currently was unable to do anything to return the gesture he knew the young alchemist was right, he didn't even completely know his way around Kirchen Bell as of yet let alone the lands outside of it.
'I'll have to look into getting a map in the near future so I can better navigate this world.'
"Pilgrim road has had an increasing infestation of Punis as of late so I've received a request to take care of them before they completely overtake the place."
"Understood I'll head there right away; I just need to know the direction of its general location."
"Of course, it's to the southeast."
"Thank you." The that simple reply Heero immediately left the establishment and luckily the entryway leading outside of Kirchen bell was in immediate sight and by glancing at the position in the sky the teen pilot had gleaned an idea of what direction was southeast assuming the night and day cycles worked the same way as they did on his world's version of earth.
"I know your eager to make Cole as quickly as possible but you shouldn't be too reckless we didn't help Sophie bring you back and let her treat you just so you could get hurt again the same day that you regained consciousness." Monika warned.
"There's no need to worry, I don't plan on making Sophie's efforts wasted."
"See that you don't, I wouldn't be happy if I found out or saw you done in after what I did to save you." Sophie said leveling the perfect soldier with a stern look.
The teen pilot couldn't help but smile at the amount of concern that the young alchemist was showing him though it was unneeded since no Puni was ever going to be able to get the jump on him again now that he was aware of their nature in spite of what their appearance would have led the average individual to believe. "No need to tell me twice."
Sophie smiled. "I'll be holding you to that."
The walk to pilgrim road was a long one as expected but luckily it only took an hour and a half before the group reached their destination.
The place in question looked relatively plain with a few fences and empty shacks on either side of the road, so far the only thing that stood out was that as horse had informed him and the others that there were indeed a lot of Punis lurking around the place. "I suppose its fortunate that no one seems to reside here." Heero mused.
"The shacks out here are only used as temporary lodgings for anyone making a pilgrimage to the church, no one actually ever lives here." Monica replied whilst drawing and readying her rapier, all the while Oscar (a bit to Heero's confusion) simply held his shovel at the ready. "The plants will be in danger though if we don't take care of this."
Sophie held a staff with a red orb attached to the top firmly in her hands and the perfect soldier from another world pulled out his combat knife,
About three of the nearest Punis took notice of the group and began rolling towards them before each blue gel monster flung itself at a different target, one went for Oscar, another for Monica, and the last one for none other than the mobile suit pilot himself.
Oscar swung his shovel like a baseball bat into the oncoming monster sending it away from him while both Heero and Monica managed to swiftly dispatch of their respective opponent in the forms of a single swing (in the case of the former) and thrust (in the case of the latter) of their weapons.
The remaining Puni still determined to fight made another beeline for the group before Sophie held out her hand and what followed was a light of sort appearing in front of her before she swung at it with her staff sending the light in question on a collision course with the Puni.
The moment the light collided with the monster the Puni was defeated leaving behind a gel like substance that looked like one of the ingredients Sophie had used earlier that very day when making those intended sweets.
What really caught Heero's attention was how that attack Sophie had used was even possible, like with alchemy it defied any established laws of physics and perceived rationality by his own world's standards, how was it possible to use light itself as a weapon? The question would have to wait until the mission was completed, there were still a lot more Punis roaming the area.
Speaking of all the other Punis swarming pilgrimage road another splinter group had set their sights on all the teens that came to clear them out, this group consisted of four blue Punis and a single green one that displayed visibly more speed compared to the others but not by a huge degree.
Quickly readying his combat knife and running toward the next group of Punis Heero quickly dispatched of two of the Blue Punis and deflect a third one that flung itself at him, the next opponent to attack was the green colored Puni which only left Heero with just enough time to block the attack with the flat of his knife blade.
This other Puni wasn't just faster but packed more of a punch compared to any of its blue counterparts but ultimately was unable to break through Heero's guard and simply bounced off the knife before Monica closed in and damaged the green Puni with an upwards sing of her rapier.
Heero glanced back for the briefest moment and saw Oscar taking out a blue Puni with his shovel before turning his own attention back to the green Puni and throwing his weapon at it, the knife blade pierced through the green Puni's body reducing to it a mere gel material and lodged itself into the ground.
Heero was quick to reclaim his weapon before a good number of more Punis noticed the opposition to them.
"Here, I'll protect everyone!" Sophie suddenly announced before her staff began floating in front of her and began rotating like that of a clock hand before the area around all the teens glowed bright blue. "Aegis field!"
Once the glow died down Heero was left with little more than confusion, whatever that phenomenon that Sophie had just created did it didn't appear to have any visible effect on him or the others and it did not do anything to any of the remaining Punis.
Before Heero could ponder what Sophie had just done any further two more green colored Punis launched themselves at him simultaneously, he managed to block one of their attacks but the other kept on its collision course for his side causing the teen pilot to tense up.
After his previous encounter with the gelatinous creatures he was well aware that being rammed by even a basic blue one could easily result in major injuries and that was assuming the attack wasn't fatal so he could only hope that the attack from the incoming enemy didn't prove to render him unable to fight altogether.
The green Puni impacted the side of the mobile suit pilot's body but much to both his surprise and relief while the Puni had hit him with a considerable amount of force it didn't do too much substantial damage, in fact aside from a combination of making Heero stagger backward a few steps and a bit of bruising he was more or less okay. 'It's likely the effect of Sophie's latest action.' Heero deduced in his mind. If this was truly the case then the upcoming Alchemist was really proving to really come through multiple times over, the perfect soldier was really going to have to work hard to repay his debt to Sophie even if she did not feel the need for such a thing.
Speaking of Sophie the young alchemist to be ran towards the green Puni that had previously attack Heero and swung her staff at it knocking it away for the time being before being forced to dispatch of a Blue colored Puni that charged at her.
Heero meanwhile took the time to rush and run through the green Puni that he had successfully blocked before turning his attention to the one that Sophie had just swatted away with her staff in time to see it trying to charge him again. 'Not this time.'
As the green gelatinous monster launched its body at Heero like a makeshift projectile the perfect soldier pivoted his body to the side narrowly avoiding the attack while simultaneously swinging his combat knife at the bottom of the Puni's body.
His counter met its mark but it didn't do in the green Puni, fortunately Oscar who was nearby had taken the chance to rush the green Puni and deal the finishing blow with a swing of his shovel.
With the two green Punis now out of the way Heero with some assistance from Monica took time to mow down numerous stray blue Punis before being joined by Sophie and Oscar, the party of four spent the next few minutes taking out any Puni's in sight with occasional green ones putting up a bit of resistance until the remaining Punis began retreating from the area.
"Are we done yet? I'm worried about the local plants." Oscar mused.
Monica took a quick glance around. "Yeah Puni's are no longer trying to overrun this road so anyone hoping to make a pilgrimage to the church will be able to do so a lot more safely."
"Can you guys give me a few minutes? I want to gather the materials left behind by the Punis we beat." Sophie announced.
"Of course." Monica said
"Yeah, you need the materials for your alchemy don't you?" Oscar said.
"You've done a great deal for me in a single day, if anything I'll help you gather the materials in question." Heero said.
"Thank you."
With both Heero and Sophie began gathering any material left behind by the Punis. There were two distinct materials that many of the defeated Punis left behind the first of which were the numerous globs of slime eft behind which Heero discovered were much firmer than he had anticipated make much easier to retrieve them and the second were small ball shaped objects the size of marbles which had various colors.
One glance in Sophie's direction to see her gathering them told him all he needed to know before he began gathering the latter material, the process took a few minutes but with the perfect soldier assisting Sophie in gathering the materials she used for her alchemy it was sped up.
"Here is the last of the materials you were looking for Heero said giving Sophie some more of the ball shaped objects.
"Thank you. These are known a Puni balls by the way."
"I see."
"Anyway we should head back so you can collect the reward." Sophie said as she and the others began heading back towards Kirchen bell.
While the former gundam pilot didn't admit it out loud his debt to Sophie had just increased to the point where it might have essentially doubled, maybe even more so when the little things she had done for him were taken into account, had Sophie not made the decision to come here with Heero along with her friends the teen pilot would have been overwhelmed by all the Punis and subsequently killed, essentially the young upcoming Alchemist had saved him once more.
As the teen soldier contemplated what he would do going forward from here on out he couldn't help but smiled to himself as odd as it might have been, maybe while he was establishing himself in this new world he could assist Sophie in her endeavors to better her alchemy skill and help Plachta regain her memories.
From what Heero could gather from this trip he had a hunch that Sophie's career meant that she would be traveling to a lot of numerous places in order to gather ingredients which likely meant she would encounter more Punis as well as whatever other monsters this new world may have dad, if that was the case then he'd be there to fight by her side and protect her when the time came while he looked for a fulfilling purpose in life beyond one involving war.
I hope you all enjoyed this sorry if it felt like Heero might have been a bit out of character but I wanted him to have a positive first meeting with Sophie so I toned down any potential aggression, I don't think trying to force information out of her through violence like he does with other characters in different crossovers I.E. holding them at gun/knife point would be a good starting off point of the two protagonist of this story.
Also Sophie's kindness with saving him gave him reason to trust her in spite of having just met her, the fact that she essentially saved him from certain death should be able to tell even someone as wary as himself that she means on harm.
