Chapter 10

The days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to a year. Finally, they were married... in secrecy. Vash had seen Jinx suffering, the strain of having to hide their love... this was a promise. A new hope.

Jinx fingered the golden ring that hung from a chain around her neck, then slipped it down her blouse. She gazed up at Vash, and he smiled down at her.

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

She took his hands in hers. "I can't wait." She whispered, giggling.

Vash smiled uncertainly. She caught the look.

"Don't worry. We'll both tell him." She hugged him, then smiled. "Will a donut help?" She asked sweetly.

His head snapped down to stare at her, eyes like saucers. "Donut?"

"Yes, donut." She laughed, smiling wickedly. Her hands vanished behind her back, and a small light flickered. She pulled them back round front, a donut box held in hand.

Vash's face lit up and he lunged for the box. His hand fell on air; the box was gone. And so was Jinx.

"Over here!" She called in a sing-song voice.

Vash whipped around and ran after her, eventually pinning her onto the bed. The both were laughing now, out of breath. She surrendered the box, and Vash snatched it eagerly, devouring the contents.

"You know my weakness." He said after he had finished, smiling at her.

"To bad you don't know mine." She smiled and giggled.

Vash grinned. "Shall I find out?"

He lunged at her.

She squealed with delight, squirming wildly beneath his touch. He stopped abruptly.

"Jinx... are you... ticklish?"

"No!" She said to quickly, with a face that read: Yes, VERY!

He grinned evilly. He tackled her again, his hands digging into her sides. She began squealing again, laughing hysterically.

"Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!" She panted between hysterics, vainly trying to escape the Typhoon.

He stopped, his hands pinning hers above her head. They both were still a moment, panting and giggling. They stared into each others eyes; the unspoken connection consumed them.

Jinx smiled up at him.

"It seems I'm at your mercy, Vash the Stampede." she purred in his ear.

"Seems so." he whispered back lovingly. "I've defeated the great Nyx the Sorceress."

He leaned down and kissed her. She eagerly returned it, pressing her lips against his. Then he pulled away gently, grinning.

Knives was gone.

Vash and Jinx had fruitlessly sought him the next morning, only to find the empty bed with no trace of anyone. Starr was just as baffled. What would Knives just up and leave in the middle of the night?

Vash tried desperately for hours to contact him, straining his brain, screaming the words in his head. Silence. It was as if he didn't exist.

A week passed. Eventually Starr was gone too. Though she left a note in her wake, which read: "I've gone looking for Knives."

And that was that.

Jinx watched Vash; this was hard on him and she knew she was the problem. His wife... or his brother?

Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"Vash, lets go look for him."

"No, I should go alone."

"Then go."

"I can't leave you here all alone."

"Why?! Come on, Vash! What do you think will happen?"

"I won't leave you alone!"

"Humph!"

She rose and stalked out of the room without a second glance. Vash starred after her sadly, and shut his eyes.

He had a plan... but she couldn't be a part of it.

The Doctor sat calmly in front of his computers, grinning. A red light blinked excitedly, flashing on and off, on and off.

"Well, well..." he mused.

Suddenly a young boy burst into the room.

"Doctor, there's...!"

"Someone at the door? Yes, I know. He's come back."

The boy stared after him, perplexed. "What? Who??"

They hurried down the corridors of the ship.

"I cant' remember the last time I opened this door." he grinned, punching in numbers on a key pad. The heavy metal door ground open; sunlight flooded in. They shielded their eyes from the sudden light at the silhouetted figure approached.

"Vash." The Doctor hailed in greeting. Then he paused. "Who...?"

Vash held a girl in his arms gently, her long hair fluttering in the wind. She was unconscious.

"Please..." The outlaw said desperately.

The Doctor beckoned him and led him to a room. Vash lay the girl on the bed carefully, and then turned away.

"I can't stay long. I've got to find Knives."

"You still haven't faced him?"

"No, I did. We had a truce for a while... then he suddenly vanished. I have to find him."

The Doctor nodded as the boy sulked in the background.

"And the girl?"

Vash gazed at her sadly for a moment. "Her name is Jinx. Please... take care of her until I return." He pulled a note from his pocket. "Give her this when she wakes."

The Doctor accepted the note, and Vash turned to leave.

"Going so soon?"

He paused. "There's not a moment to waste."

And he was gone.

Where was she?

Jinx listened carefully to the world around her, her eyes still tightly shut. Her head was throbbing, as if she had the beginnings of a massive hangover. But she didn't drink. She never drank. The last thing she could remember was sitting in the bedroom with Vash...

"Vash?" She attempted, but could only mouth the word. She tried to concentrate.

Suddenly she became aware of a voice above her. They were talking. But the words made no sense to her. She couldn't think.

She tried to open her eyes. The light of the room blinded her, and she raised a sluggish hand to block it out.

"Vash?" She managed to whisper.

Someone touched her arm. She shied away from the touch, her mind furiously trying to grip reality.

"Vash?!" She was panicking now. Where was he? Where was she?

"Can you hear me?" The voice sounded far away and distant. "Jinx?"

"How... do you know... my name?" She said with effort. Everything began to come into focus.

"Vash told us; we're friends. Are you alright? Are you in any pain?"

"Vash?" Her eyes fluttered open and landed on the short, bald man in front of her. "Where's Vash?"

"He left. He said to give you this when you woke."

He extended the letter to her. She reluctantly pulled herself up, and tore open the note, reading quickly.

Then she crumpled up the note, swearing under her breath. She pulled herself out of bed, and tried to head for the door, but the man caught her wrist.

"I can't let you leave like this." He said, pulling her effortlessly back to the bed. "Vash's orders."

"I don't care, I'm going after him!" She tried again, but she was too weak. What in the world had happened to her...?

"I can't let you do that." He repeated.

She sighed. She'd lost. "Alright. Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am the Doctor. As to where you are, it's better if you see yourself, but not right now."

"What happened to me?"

"I don't know, Vash showed up here two days ago with you in his arms, and told us to take care of you. He was going to go looking for Knives."

She swore again. "That idiot. I'll kill him." She shook her head.

"And who are you?" The Doctor asked.

She looked up and tried to smile. "I can't tell you." She held up the note. "Vash's orders."

A few days later, the Doctor lead her through the extensive corridors. Something sparked in her mind.

"Could this be... a SEEDS ship?"

He glanced back at her. "Very good. You're right, but there's more."

She gave him a puzzled look. "More?"

He smiled, and opened a door to his left. Sunshine filtered into the hall, and the Doctor stepped outside, motioning for her to follow.

"Oh, my God...!"

She looked over the railing. All she could see was clouds and sky. The ship... was flying.

"How...?" She began.

"It's a SEEDS ship that didn't quite crash during the Great Fall. With help from Vash, we've managed to keep it aloft all these years."

"This... is amazing! I've never seen the lost technology so well preserved."

"Yes. It's our sanctuary."

"'Our'?"

"Come, I'll show you."

He lead her back through the hallways, and eventually came to a large, steel door. He opened it, and stepped inside. She followed suit, and gasped.

People were everywhere. Hundreds of them! Children, adults, elders... and then dogs and cats too. But that wasn't the most amazing thing.

The room... was a Geo plant.

Trees, bushes, grass, and flowers filled the room. Crops grew in a corner. Children ran around, playing, climbing trees.

It was paradise.

"This is amazing." She said in awe, trying to take it all in.

"Yes." The Doctor replied simply. "It's our home."

People stopped what they were doing, and stared at her as they walked by. Whispers echoed around them.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked the Doctor uncertainly.

"No. You have to understand... they've never been in contact with anyone from the outside before, besides Vash."

"Oh." She nodded sadly.

"Don't worry, they'll accept you soon enough. They trust Vash."

"How did you meet Vash?" She said after a pause.

"You are aware that his left arm is a prosthetic?"

"Yes." The image flashed across her mind.

"We found him in the desert on one of the rare occasions we venture forth. He was nearly dead: he was covered in wounds, and to top it off his arm had been blown off. He was in bad shape... but we took him back with us, and helped him. We gave him an arm, and in return he helped us understand how to live here." He paused, looking around at the many people. "Without him, we'd have probably ended up dead."

Jinx nodded. "That's Vash, all right. How did he loose his arm?"

"Knives shot it off."

She tripped.

"What?!"

"Remember Lost July?"

She bowed her head. "Yes."

"They got into a fight there. Knives shot off his arm, and after that, the town was just... gone. No one knows what happened. Not even Vash."

"Not even Vash?"

"He can't remember anything about it, except that he knew he did it."

They walked on in silence.

"I need to find Vash."

"I'm sorry, Vash said that we had to keep you here."

"You can't keep me here."

"The ground is iles below us."

She smiled.

And then she started running. The Doctor and the boy called Brad were running after her, calling her name. She skidded up to the door, and opened it. The sun poured into the room. She launched herself out into the open.

"Jinx, please!" The Doctor cried desperately as she climbed up atop the railing. "It's suicide!"

She grinned. "No, it's not. Not for me."

And then she swan dove off the rail, plummeting through the clouds.

"NO!"

Then she circled up again, appearing in front of them.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You..." The Doctor just stared at her. "How...?"

Brad just gaped at her.

"Sorry, but I've gotta go find Vash." She bowed. "Thank you for your kindness. I hope to see you again someday!"

And she disappeared into the clouds.

"Well." The Doctor chuckled. "I'll be. Come along, Brad."

Jinx plunged through the clouds; her hair whipping behind her. The ground came closer and closer. She let out a laugh of pure joy, but it was lost in the roar of the wind. Her palms glowed, the power reverberating the air around her. She started to level out, and soon she could stroke the ground as she flew. Then she started to concentrate on contacting Vash. She felt him... but she couldn't get through to him. He was blocking her out. She swore softly.

That idiot. When I find him...

Suddenly she felt someone else... who? Knives? Certainly not... could it be...?!

Hello? She thought, listening eagerly for the reply.

Jinx? Came the shocked the reply. Is that you?!

Starr!? She nearly fell out of the air. She landed roughly.

Jinx! Can it be? Where are you?

Um... I'm not really sure. Where are you?

There was a pause.

Mei City.

I'll be right there.

She threw her hands above her head, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she stood in front of the gate of Mei City.

Starr was running toward her.

"Jinx!"

"Starr!"

They hugged, hoping up and down in excitement.

"Where is Vash?" Starr asked after a moment.

"I don't know." She replied truthfully. "He basically ditched me to go looking for Knives. You know how he is."

"Yeah."

"So what about you? Any luck? You learned how to communicate telepathically!"

"Yes, I did! I've been trying to contact Knives for a long time now. There's like a wall he's put up. I can't even trace him."

"Same for Vash! I guess they don't wanna be found."

"Well then... let's go find 'em!"

She gave her a wicked smile. "Let's!"

Yeah... I ramble alot. Hope ya like.

Jayrynn