... What, are you all expecting something?

Get reading already!

"... Compa?"

"Yes, Chris?" The party of three, now newly assembled with- guess who- the purple-haired girl at the head (based on what she declared), sat watching the scenery fly by, taking the tram-rail to... where were they headed again?

"Where are we going? I wasn't told, even though I asked... what... ten times?"

"Eleven, actually!" Purple-hair burst out, holding up a finger and grinning widely. It almost looked cute, had it not belonged to the same girl that had so rudely prevented him from even ASKING in the first place! "I counted while I was explaining the whole plan to Compa!"

"... Really? Oh, and I didn't, uh... catch your name..." Glitch rubbed the back of his neck nervously, shrinking a bit in his seat as a result of his condition of a type not to be described yet for story purposes. However, purple-hair took that in an entirely different direction.

"Oh~? Why the sudden shy act, Chris? Hmm~?" She leaned forward with a sly smirk, getting mere inches away from Glitch's quickly reddening face. "Not falling for me already~, are you? I can see that blush under your hood~..." She giggled as she saw him reduce to incoherent stutters, even more so now that Compa was looking on.

"Neptune! It isn't nice to tease someone like that." She berated, wagging her finger in a big-sister like manner. The teen next to her was silently grateful for her intervention, as Neptune caught the drift and backed up to her seat opposite the other two.

"Oh, fine! So, Compa." Neptune directed her attention to the nurse-in-training, giving her an excited expression and squirming a little bit in her seat. "Where're we headed? I can't wait! This is a good dungeon, right?"

To that, Compa merely nodded and smiled, saying nothing as Neptune's squirming intensified, and even added a little bit of excited mutterings. Creepy? Yes. Cute? Eh. Glitch pulled on his hood with nerves all jumbled, having never been in any... dungeon before, unless he counted that time he fell into a cavern.

That wasn't fun... at all.

"H-hey, now, Chris. Don't act so nervous." Compa stuttered out, putting on a sheepish smile as she noticed the teen's actions. "You're the guy here! Don't lose your cool already."

"Oooh! Maybe that isn't his job!" Again, Neptune and her random outbursts... "Maybe he's the party member archetype that's all shy and cute, and likes adorable things and he's gentle and doesn't like conflict but knows how to protect himself!" Of course, Glitch was about twice as embarrassed about what she had said... mostly cause some of it was true. "Which means..."

"Means what?" Compa looked at Neptune with- oddly enough- stars in her eyes, her interest piqued by Neptune's fantasizing. "Don't leave me in suspense, Neptune!"

Her ruse did indeed work. "Which means... he's already in lo-"

"ARE WE EVEN THERE YET?" A loud call from under the hood beside Compa startled the girls, who looked at Glitch in surprise and shock. He looked around slowly after the scream subsided.

"... What? Is something wrong, girls?"

"EEEEWWW! What is that thing?" Neptune cried out as a little lump of slime jumped on her back out of nowhere, prompting her to buck it straight off. "That's... a slime? Compa!" She turned on her heel to face the resident (ha ha) nurse of the party, looking a little more upset then she seemed to let on.

"You said this was a GOOD dungeon! Why is there a slime? Those are always low-leveled!" The girl gave her companion a rather confused look, then snapped her fingers.

"Ohhh~. We're too low-leveled to face any bigger dungeon than this, Neptune." Compa explained in her usual manner, eyes wide and adorable in moe fashion and what-not. "I thought you mean 'good for our level' when you asked that. Which this is, by the way." Neptune put on her signature pout, but said nothing and looked around.

"... Hey, where'd that Dogooey... go?" She stared at something just past Compa, making the nurse stare at her in confusion before turning around to get at least a glimpse of whatever had Neptune's...

"Chris!" The teen was busy holding the Dogooey carefully, turning it about to check it for any injuries. "Careful! Don't start a confrontation! It's a dangerous monster, no matter how slimy!"

"... What? This thing's just a child." The teen pointed out carefully, clutching the Dogooey close to him. It certainly looked like it was enjoying the attention. "You can't just beat it... or shoo-"

"I KNEW IT!" Neptune interrupted him in the most random- and rude- fashion, pointing at him with a smirk that only she could pull. "You are the shy and caring archetype! SOOO knew it! So who is it, eh?"

"H-huh?" Glitch was giving her an odd look under his hood, backing away a few steps just in case. Of course, there just HAD to be something behind...

Oh, dear...

A vermin had be sneaking up on the group while they were busy with Glitch's apparent addiction to adorable things, and was slightly surprised by Glitch's inverted approach. Nonetheless, it was ready to strike- but never got the chance.

With one quick motion, something was unhooked from Glitch's belt. A few spins and an spiking to the floor later, he stood gripping a double-headed telescopic spear. The vermin on the business end- well, one of them- twitched a bit before splitting into a collection of data. Glitch flicked a switch on the spear's center and watched as the blades split, retracted into the shaft, and was quickly replaced on his belt. He glanced over at the girls... who indeed were wearing shocked expressions.

"... What?" He tilted his head in an innocent manner, either ACTUALLY confused as to why the girls were looking at him like that, or putting on a really convincing innocent act.

Either way, they believed it. "That... was... AWESOME!" Neptune cried out with a laugh, using the power of legendary hug-tackle attack, referred to affectionately as the 'glomp' on Glitch. Of course, he was sent to the ground with the purple-haired hyperactive girl over top of him, ranting on how awesome that was and how he must've been some awesome powerful warrior from Green Heart-knows when a loud squeal from Compa was audible over Neptune's random ranting.

The purple-haired youth looked over at the apprentice nurse, following the trembling finger up to a... large... spider... thing... with a giant-ass sword. Glitch looked up- or down?- from his position, quickly turning pale.

"... Oh, crackers."

The team had gotten to their ready positions, but, as Glitch noticed... none of them moved. Not the Guard Vermin, not Compa... not even that tumbleweed in the corner.

It's weird what you notice when you're not moving.

However, he quickly grew irritated at the lack of action. Who wouldn't? Rules be damned, he rushed forward with his spear in hand, deciding in a rare moment to take a little action.

Meanwhile, Neptune was talking to herself! Wait... no, no she wasn't.

"So... wait, what? Oh, Histy!" The purple-haired girl smiled widely as she listened to whatever this 'Histy' was going on about, Compa looking on in confusion. She even began to feel a little left out, but both girls were ignoring the third teen, being tossed about by the Vermin in a comical manner. "Oh, so I... wait, wha?" She tilted her head in confusion as she searched around... wherever she kept her items, producing a compact disk. She held it out in silence for a moment, following some kind of instruction.

It took a little while, and in that time, Glitch had skidded to a halt near Neptune. A light suddenly shot out from seemingly Neptune herself, enveloping her body and- somehow- the teen next to her. Compa covered her eyes, not wanting to be blinded by the display.

It took a little while to subside, but when it did... oh, when it did... Compa laid eyes on the girl that was standing in Neptune's place; drab in a futuristic, purple and black skintight suit, she was a whole lot more... well, developed than the hyperactive, immature girl that was standing there earlier. As she studied the new 'Neptune', Compa noticed something odd...

Just who was that kneeling next to her?

LE GASP! Cliffhanger? Who knows...

Anyway, sorry if this seems half-assed. n I admit, I was rushing it a bit, cause I was distracted half the time by Funyans. But hey, it's something!

At least...

~Mercury