The crew of the Eden's Zero all split off to search for Cynthia along the shore of Seven. The planet was a very popular tourist spot, perhaps even divorced from the conflicts of the cosmos. Or at the very least, relaxing enough to where people were able to forget their worries. Either way, it made searching for one woman a very difficult task for all but the one who ironically already found her. Rebecca, Homura, and Kleene were walking along the shore while searching for Cynthia with little luck. "Tis much harder than I anticipated..." Homura admitted, also fanning herself just slightly. The temperature of Seven was just a tiny bit hot, but she was still handling it well.
"People are saying they've at least seen her around, but I had no idea she'd be so active." That was the hardest part, Rebecca thought. If felt like they were just missing her.
"I'm sure we'll find her soon!" Kleene had a cheerful smile. "And it's a little nice to take a break for a change. I know we have to be fighting a lot, but..."
"I get it." Rebecca said while taking out her B-Cube, just admiring the way Seven looked. It really was a beautiful planet and the people were having fun. "But it's moments like this that remind me what we're fighting for. Oh, I know...I should make another video soon! Did you know the people actually liked Blair last time?"
"I thought she would have scared your audience off." Homura admitted.
"Apparently some people like that. At least, so far as they're no immediately in the vicinity of said scary woman." Rebecca said with a sweat drop. It's all fun and games until they have to deal with it.
"Speaking of Blair, where did she go?" Kleene asked while looking around.
"Oh, you know her. She'd much rather look on her own than go in a group." Rebecca replied.
"I see her." Homura said. She blinked a few times and pointed in the direction Blair was. It was a beach, and Blair was a beautiful woman, so it was only a matter of time until some guys tried to hit on her. "...She is being hit on."
"Oh boy." Rebecca had a sweat drop.
"...I can see her annoyed face." Kleene was also sweating. The longer they watched, the more of a scowl they could see on Blair's face.
"...That's her angry face." Homura added.
Rebecca then noticed Blair's left arm twitching a bit. While Blair did forgo her weapons, her Therion arm was still extremely lethal. "And that's her murder face. Time to step in...!"
"...How many times do I have to tell you. I'm here with my...crew." Blair paused briefly. It was her inability to call the Eden's Zero her friends that didn't make her claims believable. She couldn't be their friend after she went back on her promise and killed Aiden. That secret wasn't exactly gnawing away at her, but that sense of guilt did make it difficult for her to accept their friendship.
"It sounds like you're not here with anyone!" One of the men said with a wide grin.
"Come on, why not spend some time with us!" Another man said. They were kind of crowding around her, which was testing the limits of Blair's patience.
"Besides, with a scowl like that, I can't imagine anyone else who's gonna want to spend time with you. You should consider yourself lucky!"
Blair's eye twitched. She was holding back but she knew she would lash out soon enough. "I'm about to-!"
"Blair!" Rebecca rushed over with Kleene and Homura following suit. "There you are! We were looking for you."
"Holy shit!" The men turned when Rebecca showed up. "Is that Rebecca!?" They suddenly ignored Blair and went to Rebecca. They were her 'fans' recognizing her for her channel and her more...mature content.
"This is our lucky day!"
"Uh..." Kleene looked at Homura.
"This will not end well." Homura nodded. In case those men decided to get too handsy, she was prepared to strike them.
Rebecca sighed. She knew where this was going. "Sorry, guys. I'm here with my friends, and Blair here is one of them. So if you don't mind..."
"Oh, come on, you can spare a little time for us, can't you? You and those other two beauties." One of the men said while checking out Homura and Kleene.
"Yeah. After all those videoes, I'm eager to see how sexy you can be in person!" One man said while reaching out for Rebecca's wrist with a surprisingly eager grip.
"...You should really let go..." Rebecca said with a scowl. "You won't like what happens next."
They wouldn't, because Blair was tired of these unhelpful men. Her Therion arm exploded to life and she loomed over them all with a frightening aura. "Listen up, assholes. You've got until the count of one to leave them alone and fuck off somewhere, do you understand me? If you don't, you won't be leaving this planet alive. The last thing you'll see is my arm, got it?"
"...Holy shit...!" Blair did successfully intimidate the men, who all fled at the threat.
Blair's arm returned to normal and she let out an aggravated sigh. "Damned idiots..."
"Thanks..." Rebecca said with a smile. "That was pretty annoying, wasn't it?"
"You're telling me. Geez..." Blair glanced away awkwardly. "...You all have good timing. I was about to make that a lot worse."
"That's what we're here for." Kleene had her arms behind her back. "We're your friends! So of course we have your back."
"Friends? That's, uh..." Blair wasn't sure what to say. "Aren't you jumping the gun a little bit?"
"Not at all." Homura shook her head. "When you boarded our ship, even if for your own gain...you became one of us. You're family."
"And we stick together!" Rebecca winked.
"Ah..." Blair was taken aback by this. But she immediately turned around and started to walk off. "Enough about that. We're looking for someone, aren't we?"
"...She really doesn't like being vulnerable, does it...?" Rebecca had a small smile.
"I think she's warming up to us." Homura smiled. "She stood up for you quite fast."
"I think she likes us." Kleene said. But quietly.
.
.
"Whew..." Geno wiped some of the sweat from his brow. He was searching along with Hermit and Omega.
"What's the matter, too hot for you?" Hermit leaned forward with a teasing grin. "You should get out more."
"Haha..." Geno rolled his eyes at Hermit's teasing. He knew it was in good fun. "But yeah, it's pretty hot here. I've never been off of Delta Ridge before, so the climate of another planet is a lot to get used to..."
"You know when we merge, we generally have good temp regulation, right?" Omega asked from inside of the device on Geno's wrist.
"Yeah, but...this is fine. It's a new experience." Geno replied. He liked the sun, the sound of the waves, the sights...it was all new and fun. So he'd deal with the minor downsides. "But I'll feel a lot better when we can actually find Cynthia."
"It feels like everyone we ask has seen her but we just miss her. How much does this girl move around." Hermit said while rolling her eyes.
"Someone even said she was dragging someone along with her as well." Geno pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've never known the annoyance of someone being so close, yet so far, until just now." It was then that his stomach growled as well.
"...Someone sounds hungry." Hermit glanced at Geno.
"...I. Might have skipped breakfast." Geno admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Guess we're taking a break." Hermit gestured for Geno to follow her. If Seven had plenty of things, it was food stalls. A popular relaxing location like this had plenty of things to eat! "Take your pick."
"Uh...The Star Mango place sounds nice." Geno suggested.
"Do you really think that's going to fill you up?" Hermit quirked a brow. "That doesn't sound filling."
"Hey, food is food." Geno grinned. "C'mon, I'll get you some too. My mom gave me plenty of money to use before I left."
"Oh, you sure?" Hermit blinked, surprised by the offer.
"Sure I'm sure! I think the person who got me out of my shell deserves a little treat." Geno replied with a nod, leading the way to the Star Mango stand. Hermit scratched her cheek sheepishly before following Geno. She also felt mildly annoyed because she could feel Sister's annoying grin about this somewhere...whatever, she wasn't present right now, so this was fine.
"Welcome!" The man behind the counter said. "Here for some Star Mango?"
"Yup. Two bowls, please!" Geno said.
"We've been pretty popular today!" The man said with a chuckle. He prepared two bowls of Star Mango for Geno and Hermit, and Geno paid for the both of them. "We even had the big B-Cuber Couchpo here!"
"...Hey." Omega whispered.
"...One more bowl, actually." Geno said with a sweat drop. And he had to pay for a little bit more, so Omega could indulge in some Star Mango as well.
"Couchpo was here?" Hermit wasn't surprised at all. "She probably lost her mind when she saw all this food around. She's having a field day right now."
"Oh, before I forget." Geno held up the picture of Cynthia he had on his phone. "We're looking for this person, have you seen her around? We heard she was around on this planet somewhere."
"Oh! That's Cynthia!" The man said. Hermit and Geno's eyes went wide. "She was here earlier with Couchpo, actually!"
"WHAT!?" Hermit and Geno exclaimed in unison.
"Why didn't she say anything!?" Omega groaned.
"...Because she ran off before I showed her the picture...!" Geno face palmed. That was his fault.
"I can't believe she's found her and been hanging around her this whole time!" Hermit placed her laptop on the counter and opened it up. She contacted Couchpo's phone to get in touch with her. It took a few minutes, but Couchpo did answer.
"Huh? What's up, Hermit? I'm a little busy right now..." Couchpo said. She was eating, as one may expect.
"Are you with someone right now?" Hermit asked.
"Yeah! There was a nice girl here who's showing me around!" Couchpo nodded.
"Black hair. Blue eyes?" Geno asked.
"How'd you know?" Couchpo asked, surprised at the apt description.
"That's Cynthia!" Hermit and Geno shouted at once.
Couchpo's eyes went wide. She didn't even ask the girl's name! "Whoa, really!?"
"Where are you right now?" Geno questioned.
"Uh. The sushi food stand...it's so good. I've been reviewing so much food!" Couchpo was just making more and more content off this place. She was completely winning.
"We'll be right over!" Hermit closed her laptop, quickly shoveling the rest of the Star Mango into her mouth. Geno had to do the same before they rushed off.
"...So much for enjoying the food for a bit." Shrugging, Omega dumped his bowl of Star Mango into his mouth, then quickly returned to Geno's device.
.
.
"Eh? Who were you just talking to?" Cynthia tilted her head.
"My crew!" Couchpo smiled. "I completely forgot to ask your name."
"Oh, I'm Cynthia Viscard!" Cynthia beamed. "So sorry, I was just excited to show someone around!"
And it wouldn't take long for Geno and Hermit to arrive on the scene. "Cynthia...! There you are!" Geno said.
"Wh...?" Cynthia laid eyes on Geno for the first time in years. So she was absolutely surprised to see him. "Geno!?"
"So, so that's her." Hermit crossed her arms. Cynthia was...somehow cuter than in the picture. She furrowed her brows for some reason.
"What are you doing here!?" Cynthia approached Geno with a big smile. "I haven't seen a familiar face in years! How's everyone back home!?"
"Uh..." Geno rubbed the back of his neck. Cynthia really was out of the loop concerning the fate of her father and Delta Ridge. They had a lot to catch up on, but now wasn't the time. "I can tell you later. But I can tell you've been here for a while, are you alright?"
"I'm fine! My ship has been stuck here for so long, though. I don't know what's wrong with it." Cynthia frowned. She then glanced at Hermit, blinking at her, and then Geno. "...Hey. Who's your friend?"
"I'm Hermit. The Mind of the Eden's Zero." Hermit introduced herself.
Cynthia took a closer look at Hermit. "An android? Huh...I always wondered who'd get Geno out of his shell once I left. I'm guessing you did, huh? Not bad." She teased.
"Oh, come on, not you too..." Hermit glanced off to the side.
Geno let out an awkward cough. "Um, what's wrong with your ship? Maybe Hermit and I can try fixing it?"
"The two of you?" Cynthia furrowed her brows. Well, it wasn't like she had anything else to do. "Okay, sure. I'm stumped. Come with me!" Cynthia ushered for everyone to follow. Couchpo did too, but not before grabbing some sushi along the way.