Beef: NYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH! I haven't updated in a minute, yo! (Getting in touch with my inner gangster) Anyway, sorry this took so long. It's just with spring break and all these blasted speaches and projects and what not. I did, though, CONQUER A MOUNTAIN! GOATS AND ALL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MT.ALCHEMY BEEF WILL FOREVER RULE... um... ALL OF THE WOMBAT POPULATION! Yes, fear me!

younggun: Don't worry, my plot won't be wasted like some stupid stoner drunk person. You know what, you deserve a cookie too. Hands cookie

BloodCrested: Hell yes you got a cookie. A BIG 'OL one at that! See, aren't I a awesome writer?

What to expect in this chapter: Mom's, a little girl, a grocery store, a boy eating a bike chain, bike beating, an old lady, milk, some cake, action, and DEATH! W00T! (I know you've all been waiting for it...)

Now on with the tale!


Willow's happiness continued as spring dawned upon the planet. She lived happily with her Mother, and all thoughts of Vicious slowly but surely crept out of her head. At first she was paranoid, she was positive that Vicious would come out of no where and kidnap her in the night. She feared going out alone for a period of time because she was almost positive syndicate men would be standing their waiting for her. That's why when no one came to claim her she was so surprised. It was almost as if Vicious completely forgot about her, which didn't bother her at all. She loved living with Julia, and soon became attached to the home. The guest bedroom soon became her own and she and her Mom went out to buy her new clothes, shoes, everything. It was like she was starting a brand new life, and just that was enough to keep her content.

These are the exact thoughts that filled Willow's head as she was headed to the grocery store. Her Mom needed more milk to make homemade cookies for dessert. Among other things, Julia taught her daughter how to bake. She made many trips to the grocery store, about twice a week, and began to get to know the workers. The store was family owned, on the small side but still had everything you need, and it was close to her home. In her mind, that was enough reason for it to be her favorite store.

Willow's head phones were on full blast as a cold blast hit her when she entered the grocery store. She looked around at the small store with beige walls and the scent of ripe vegetables pulling at her nose. She was on her way over to where the milk was located when she was stopped by someone who grabbed her around the waist.She let out a small gasp of surprise, then kicked with all of her might at the person who had grabbed her. Apparently she hit them with enough force to let her go and knock them on the ground.

"Want some more jack-" She turned around and saw it was her friend, Vince, who had grabbed her and was now on the ground rubbing his butt with a hurt expression on his face.

"Your no girl, you a monster, ya know it?" He replied to her actions.

"I'm so sorry Vince! I thought you were some pervy old man looking for a sweet young thing or something like that! It was just natural instinct to attack!" Willow explained to her friend.

"And attack you did you beast! Now I can't feel my butt and my legs are twitching for who knows what reason but it probably has something to do with your damn ninja move!" He responded as he tousled around his grass green hair.

"Not my fault your weak." She replied smugly.

"Weak?"

"Yes. Weak. You couldn't even withstand my LIGHTEST kick."

"That's just 'cause YOUR. A. BEAST."

The two glared at each other for a minute or two, then cracked up laughing. Vince had become Willow's best friends in the months she has lived with Julia. They met when Willow was sent to go to the store to get a few things for dinner. As she was leaving the apartment, she saw a boy who was struggling to get his bike chain off his bike. Willow stared at him for awhile, but finally decided to help him when he resorted to biting the chain to get it off.

"Um... Excuse me? Do you need some help with that, or is the chain meant to be eaten?" Willow asked as she approached the boy.

"Oh, um, yeah... My uh, chain. It's jammed." He told her as he stood from his squatting position and slightly blushed.

"It's jammed, huh?" She asked as she leaned down toward the bike and chain.

"Yeah, I tried everything. The key won't open it and I tried to pick it several times... It's probably cursed or something. It want's me to be late."

"Late for what?"

"I work down at the grocery store at the end of the street. You know, the little family owned one?"

"Really? Cool, that's where I was just headed. Maybe you can escort me there after you give me that metal pole over there." she said while pointing to a sturdy metal rod leaning against a crate.

He walked over and handed the pole to her. She took it and nodded her head to single her thanks, and with that she began to mercilessly beat the lock with the metal pole.

"What are you doing! ARE YOU CRAZY, YOU'LL KILL MY BIKE!" He screamed at her as she continued to bang.

"Hey, do you want it freed or not?" She replied with a small smirk of joy.

"NOT IF YOU BREAK THE BIKE TO-"

He stopped in mid yell. The lock snapped off and the chain slithered off the perfectly intact bike. Willow dropped the pole at her side and bent down to pick up the beaten lock. She looked it over, smiled at her handy work, and gave it to the boy.

"See," She stated, "If at first you don't succeed, beat the crap out of it."

She began to walk off with a satisfied smile but then the boy began to follow her, "That. Was. AWESOME!" He gushed at her.

"Nothing really." Was all she replied as he continued to praise her.

When they finally reached the store, Willow helped the boy as he parked his bike.

"Hey, I never got you name, did I?" He asked as the finished the parking job.

"Oh, it's Willow, and you?" She asked extending her hand.

He grabbed it and shook it eagerly, "I'm Vince. Hey, do you want me to show you around the store? I mean there's not much to see except some beef growing ice in the freezer... But still, I wanna get to know you better so you can teach me how to beat the crap outta people."

Willow looked at him and laughed, "I would love to see your beef, and I'll teach you to beat the crap out of anything you want."

That's where the friendship began. Vince was only a year older then Willow (15) and had green hair that went to his shoulders in a sort of spiky cut. Bangs danced over his crystal blue eyes and he always had a smile on his face. He had a great sense of humor, and was very likable. He also lived in the same apartment complex as Willow, so they visited often. It was the first real friend that Willow ever had, and she loved him dearly.

"So, wench, feel like helping me up anytime soon." He asked her, breaking her away from the flashback.

"Maybe... Then again maybe not you swine." She told him with a smile, then extended her arm to help him up.

He took it with a smile and hoisted himself to his feet. He brushed off his shirt and then looked at his friend, "So, what brings you too this fine establishment this lovely evening?"

"My Mom's making cookies and needed some more milk." She told him as they began the descent back to the milk.

"What kinda cookies?"

"Peanut butter... I think."

"Awesome. I love it when you guys bake cookies. The whole apartment complex smells good for days. Of course, if your allergic to cookies or about to vomit then they probably hate you. Cookies and allergies and vomit don't mix well. But cookies and milk do. Am I rambling?"

Willow chuckled, "Just a little," She replied as she headed over to the cash register to pay for the milk.

"You know what? If you give me something, I'll give that milk to you for free." Vince told Willow in a playful manner.

"No, Vince, I will not sleep with you."

"I DIDN'T MEAN THAT! I MEANT GIVE ME SOME OF THE COOKIES YOUR GONNA BAKE!" He retorted with a small blush, glad that no one else was in the store to hear what Willow just said.

"Calm down! I was just playing with you! Besides, won't your uncle get mad at you for giving away food to the costumers?"

"Screw him. He thinks he's all high and mighty just 'cause he owns the store." Vince replied as he placed Willow's milk into a bag.

"Well, that is kinda important..."

"Just take the milk and go. I'll deal with the wrath that is my family, OK?" He said, extending the bag.

Willow took the bag and was on her way out the door, "Fine. It's a deal. I'll be sure to poison the batch we give you. Later Vince!"

"Thanks, Ms. Sincerity," Was all Willow could here Vince say before the heavy grocery store door closed and she stepped back out into the spring warmth. It was a beautiful day. It was sunny and warm, people were out everywhere walking there dogs, or playing with children. It was days like these that were so rare to Willow. She never would have dreamed she would be standing there back a couple of months ago. She took a deep breath and began to walk slowly back to her house. She wanted to treasure the moment. The moment of true freedom.

Willow had almost reached her house when she decided she didn't want to go home yet. 'It's too nice out to be stuck inside cooking all day... But what do I do with this milk?' She stared at the gallon of pure white in dismay. She wasn't going to walk around the city with a gallon of milk in her hand, but what else was there to do? 'I can't just leave it here and piss off Mom...'

She was just about to head home when she saw a God send. One of her more elderly neighbors was on her way home, Willow decided she would take the milk home for her.

"Hey, Mrs.Fletcher (hee hee! Sorry...)," Willow ran up to her eagerly.

"Yes, dear?" She asked Willow with a smile.

"Can you take this milk up to my Mom and tell her I'll be a little late but not to worry?"

"Of course I can," She took the milk from Willow, "Now go and have fun."

"I will! Thanks!"

With that, Willow took off running. She didn't know where she was running exactly, she just knew she had too run. She ran past street after street, building after building, all around the city. She wanted to fully enjoy her freedom, and what better way was there too? She ran and ran, screaming and laughing as she did. She knew people probably thought she was crazier than a loon, but she didn't care. Energy coursed through her veins and she picked up speed. Running and running and running, until something made her stop.

"Come on little girl, come play with us. We'll have LOADS of fun."

"No! Go away!"

Willow spotted a small girl, no older than 7 or 8, being hassled by two boys that looked to be about 16 or 17. They were in a dark alley, and the girl was sitting in a corner, clutching her legs to her chest. Her bright violet eyes sparkled with terror as she kept trying to make her self smaller and smaller.

"Damn you, you little bitch!" The taller bully screamed and slapped her hard across the face.

"You should know by now that no is not an option stupid little wench!" The other one screamed at her, and then proceeded to kick her hard.

Willow looked at the little girl and couldn't help seeing herself there instead of the child. Her mind was plagued with terrible flashbacks of beatings that she didn't deserve, cruel punishments, and Vicious. Willow clenched her fists. No one should ever go through what she went through and it made her stomach turn to see it happen to others. The girls screams brought Willow back to her senses.

"Hey bastards, why don't you come play with someone a little more grown up?" Willow made her way into the alley way.

"Who the hell are you?" The taller bully asked as they focused their attention from the girl, back to Willow.

"I'm the person who's gonna kick your asses for being such pigs towards a little innocent girl."

"Is that so? I don't think you know who your dealing with sweetheart." The smaller of the two spoke.

"Of course I do. Low life SCUM who doesn't belong anywhere in this solar system. Your sucking up all the air good people deserve, not you."

"You'll pay for that one you bitch!" The smaller yelled.

"And you'll pay for calling me a sweet heart."

The two thugs made a low growling noise, then they both took a gun out of a holster on there pants and pointed it straight at Willow.

"Oh, nice toys," She said with a smirk, "but they're a little on the small side, and I was told not to play like that."

"Small, huh? Let's see what you say when you covered with bullet holes!" The taller one said with a grin of satisfaction on his face.

"I probably won't say anything because I'd be dead if I was covered with bullet holes. Man, you people are idiots." Willow replied nonchalantly.

"That's it, TIME TO DIE!" The smaller one yelled and was about to shoot his gun right into Willow's chest, but that never happened. She kicked the gun out of the smaller thugs hands and then kicked him directly in the face.

"Wh-wh-what th-the hell?" Was all the taller thug could say before Willow whirred around and slapped the gun out of his hands. He watched it slide across the gravel in horror, then tried to make a stab at Willow. He was too slow, and as soon as he dived for her, she moved out of the way and elbowed him hard as she could in the middle of his back. He let out a grunt, but began to crawl towards his gun. He reached out to it only to have his hand crushed by Willow's boot.

"I'll give you one chance asshole. If you leave now I won't have to mutilate you." Willow spat down at him.

He began to growl again, but then his face turned from a frown into a small smile. "Go ahead. Try and kill me. I dare you."

It was a change of heart, a very fishy change of heart. Willow knew that he had some sort of plan in that small brain of his. She glanced down at the gun in front of her on the ground and then knew exactly what his plan was. The reflection on the gun showed the smaller thug was standing right behind Willow with a knife in his hand. Willow's eyes got big as she saw him lift the knife higher and higher.

"Sweet dreams." The taller thug said with a grin.

She saw the knife come down, but she moved just in time. She twirled herself out of the way and proceeded to watch the knife go deeply into the taller thugs chest instead of her own. Blood came gushing out of the wound as the taller man's eyes got huge with pain and fear. He hacked up blood as the younger one kneeled above him in disbelief.

"B-br-brother..." The younger one stuttered out, as tears began to form in his eyes, "BROTHER!"

The younger brother latched on to his older brother back, avoiding the wound as he wailed and asked for forgiveness. The older brother tried to respond, but all that came out was blood. Then his eyes went blank, and it was obvious he was gone. The younger one continued to sob on his brother with no sign of stopping for a while. Willow, after watching the men during the death scene, stood up from her crouched position and walked over to the younger thug.

"Please forgive me, but what happened justified your actions. You should have known sooner or later this sort of thing would have happened, with the lifestyle you lead and all." Willow said as she stood over the brothers.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING," The younger brother spat, "He was my only family, we had each others backs always. We had no one else. Then you... YOU MONSTER! YOU HAD TO KILL HIM! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"As I recall, it was you who stabbed him, and I do know something. I know the pain and fear that little girl went through and I'll be damned if I just sit there and watch you beat her. Sorry for your loss, but I have no sympathy for scum."

The younger brother stared at Willow for a while longer, anger shining brilliantly in his eyes. She was sure he would lash out and attack her, but he never did. Willow stood up and made her way to the little girl. She hid her face inside her arms the whole time curled up in a ball. This made Willow happy, she shouldn't see people die at the age she is.

"Hey..." Willow reached out to the little girl, but she flinched and slightly whimpered once her hand touched her arm.

"Wh-who are y-you?" She managed to stutter out.

"Don't worry, your safe now. I got rid of all the bad guys, they'll never bother you again." Willow responded in her most soothing voice and then gave the little girl a cheerful smile.

The little girl lifted her tear stained face to look at Willow. She was a mess. Her chocolate brown hair which was neatly in braids before, now looked ratty and dirty. Her light blue dress now had huge splotches of brown. Her face was covered with dirt with lines to show where the tears had ran. She looked helpless, but then she smiled back at Willow.

"Thank you." The little girl said with a smile.

"No problem. I've been in that type of situation before, I know how scary it is. Now, let's get you home OK?"

The child nodded and Willow covered her eyes as she passed the corpse. The emerged into the sunlight, and with it came the girls happiness and also her talkative side.

"Hi! I'm April and I'm 7 years old today. Who are you?" She asked cheerfully as she grabbed Willow's hand.

"Oh, I'm Willow. I'm 14, did you say your 7 today? Is it your birthday?" Willow asked quizzically.

"Sure is. See, I was having a party with my Mommy and a few of my friends down at the park. Then, Mommy made me mad when she said I couldn't open presents, eat cake, OR play games until all the guests got to the party. This made me mad. It's my birthday and I wanted to do what I wanted. So I ran away farther than I ever ran before, I usually just stop at the park gate. Then those boys started bothering me. I told 'um to stop but they wouldn't." She explained very matter-of-factly.

"Your parents must be worried sick..." Willow replied as she stared off into the slowly approaching park.

"As you can see, I didn't get very far but it still felt far."

"It's probably better that you weren't far away. Someone your age should never wander too far from their parents."

It was silent for a while, then April grabbed Willow's hand and asked, "Hey, you said you had gone through the same thing I did? Did bad people hit you too?"

Willow looked down at the wide-eyed little girl and gave her a small smile, "Yes, by VERY bad people. But don't worry, the bad people are all gone now. Every. Single. One."

"Well, that's good. If they ever come back though, just call on me and I'll be there lickety-split to save you like you saved me! BAM!" April finished as she punched at the air. Willow laughed at the little girl's enthusiasm as both girls were greeted at the front of the park by April's frantic Mother.

"APRIL! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU! WE'VE ALL BEEN WORRIED SICK! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CLOTHES, YOUR FACE? WHO IS THIS!" The middle aged woman spazed at her daughter as she began to straighten her dress, and fix her hair.

"Mommy calm down! I'm fine!" The girl struggled to regain composure from her Mother.

"You don't look fine! Did this WRETCH hurt you in any way?" April's Mother spat at Willow.

"This WRETCH saved me from being hurt really bad Mommy," She said as she pulled away from her Mom and went over to grab Willow's hand again, "Some boys began to beat me up, as you can see by my cheek, but than Willow here came and saved me! You should have seen her! I don't want to know what would have happened without her Mom!"

"Really? I'm so sorry for calling you a wretch. Thank you so much for saving my daughter, how can I ever repay you?" The Mother bowed to Willow.

"Oh, you don't have to do anything. Just knowing she's OK is good enough for me. Really." Willow responded as she began to wonder what time it was. Her own Mother was also probably worried sick.

"No, I must repay you in some way..."

"Um... How about a slice of birthday cake and the promise that you'll keep a closer eye on your daughter?"

"It's a deal. April, go get your friend a slice of birthday cake. Make it big."

April nodded and sprinted towards the cake. There were a few moments of awkward silence as Willow watched April cut the cake a HUGE chunk out of her birthday cake. Some kids began to whine because they wanted big pieces too, but April slowly walked back to Willow and handed her the cake.

"Thank you so much, now I must go." Willow said as she turned to leave.

"Wait, aren't you going to at least eat with us?" April's Mother asked.

"I'm sorry, but I got to go home to my own Mother now." She began to trot towards the exit.

"WAIT! Will I ever see you again?" April asked saddened by the fact her cool new friend couldn't stay.

"Of course I will. Just keep being good OK? Have a happy birthday April! Bye everyone!" Willow waved with one hand, held the cake with the other, and began to run home.

The children saying good-byes sounded more distant as her feet hit the pavement as hard as they could to reach home. Willow knew the cake was slowing her down, so she gave it to a random homeless person on the street and kept running. She ran and ran, as fast as she could go. By the time she reached her house she was out of breath. She gasped as she entered the building and began her decent to the top floor. All the fighting and running took a lot out of her. All she wanted to do when she got home was flop on the couch and read. As soon as she entered the house, though, she knew that was not going to happen.

"Hey Mom, sorry I'm la-" Willow began.

"SHHH! Willow you must hide! Please, quickly!" Julia whispered in a panicked voice as she dragged her daughter to a closet in the back of the living room area.

"But Mom, why?" Willow asked with heavy confusion on her voice.

"Please stay in here and make no noise. Oh God, I knew this was coming." Was all Julia said as she shut the closet door with her daughter inside.

'What the hell is going on,' Willow thought to herself, 'I've never seen Mom so shook up. I wonder what's up? Oh well, I better stay quiet. Hey, this is a good time to rest up, catch a breather. Maybe some crazy stalker is in the building, but who would break into this place. That is unless it was...'

Willow heard a loud bang as the door crashed open and what sounded like a set of people with heavy boats entered the apartment. Willow heard Julia fumble to her feet, she must have been sitting on the couch, then a third set of boats slowly stepped into the room. Each click sounded magnified as Willow listened on in intensity.

"Why, hello Julia."

A Voice. Willow knew that voice. She hated the voice. She clenched her eyes and hoped it was all just a bad illusion she had created in her mind, even though she knew the harsh reality of it was real. Tears streamed down her face. She sounded out the name softly in the closet.

"Vicious..."


Beef: BUM BUM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Well. It sucks to be Willow right now, lemme tell you. I'd just kill myself if I was in her position.
Random noodle: No you wouldn't, you chicken swine.
Beef: Well, which is it? A chicken or a swine? OR A CHICKEN SWINE CHIMERA!
Noodle: That's it. That's the one.
Beef: Don't you find it odd that you, a noodle, is calling me a Chicken swine?
Noodle: No, not at all really.
Beef: Neither do I. Hey readers, do you wanna know the true identity of the old lady named Mrs.Fletcher?
Readers: Not really.
Beef: OH WELL! SHE'S A NAZI SPY WHO LEFT THAT JOB TO BECOME A FLAPJACK TYCOON AT IHOP!
Readers: .
Beef: Well, it's the truth. Hope you liked this chapter. I really need to work on making chapters quicker. Please have paitence. In the next chapter I'm pretty sure you'll meet the Bebop crew, but then again, what the hell do I know.
Noodle: I hope a lot. Your the freaking author for Pete's sake!
Beef: Who's Pete?
Noodle: You got me.
Beef: Well, more later. BYE!