The remainder of the trip lasted as the crew members took turns navigating the ship and checking in on Velvet as she slept in the entrance of the ship. By now, Edward was piloting the ship and had stopped for fuel, so another hour or so remained before they would reach home. Nema and Vash were taking naps on the beanbag chairs, but after a while Nema awoke and felt the pangs of hunger in the pits of her stomach. She hadn't eaten in about two days; her nerves from her encounter with Knives were still abuzz and prevented her from consuming barely anything, but she needed something at this point, nerves or none. Nema quietly got up from her beanbag, being careful not to wake Vash from his deep sleep as he snored quietly. Nema tiptoed to the back room next to the main entrance where she kept a secret stash of hidden foods that she didn't want Vash getting his hands on just yet. They were imports of dried fruits from Brazil that her dad sent her a while back. Mangoes, apricots, peaches, apples, bananas, all sorts of delicacies that couldn't be found on Gunsmoke where barely any vegetation could survive. Nema quietly slid open the door and tiptoed into the dark room. She got out her lighter and fired it up so she could see her surroundings better with the small flame. As she neared the wooden boxes which contained these sought-after snacks, Nema noticed a startling sight:

Someone had broken into the box.

Nema felt slight anger and exasperation form in her mind as she looked at a trashed sack on the ground which once held dried mango bites... Whoever had tapped into her rations and scarfed them up like this was going to be in serious trouble the minute she found out. She crouched down and surveyed the bag, when all of a sudden, Nema felt the impact of the wooden handle of a broom come flying down on her skull.

Nema gave off a loud grunt and cursed a few times as she dropped the lighter that was in her hand. She quickly looked up and grabbed the damned broom and thrust it out to the side, hearing a figure stumble a bit and fall to the ground on the other side.

Nema stood up and saw a small fire that was caused by the lighter beginning to form, and she quickly reacted by stomping it out. Once she had finished this, she walked over to the figure and picked up the empty bag. She lit up her lighter once again and shone it on the perpetrator, who was none other than a disheveled and angry Velvet, who scowled at Nema and attempted to scurry away. Nema shook her head and grabbed onto the back of Velvet's robe, pulling her back as she gave off a slightly-condescending laugh.

"...The hell was that for?!" Nema inquired as Velvet struggled against her.

"...It's one thing to take my prized mango bites, but to whop me across the head is another thing. Jeez, no wonder Ed left you back here by yourself..." Nema reasoned as she looked at Velvet, who by now had her head hung low and was still pitifully sitting on the ground. Suddenly, she looked up at Nema and glowered.

"...Both you cunts should have left me alone completely..." Velvet shot off as Nema whistled condescendingly.

"Whoooooo listen to that! Looks like you've got quite a mouth on ya. Where'd you learn to talk like that? Must've been all that brothel-talk... " Nema stated as she slightly chucked at Velvet's attempt to cut her down a few notches.

Velvet averted her makeup-smudged eyes and stared at the floor. Nema crossed her arms and snarkily grinned at Velvet, who gave off a defeated expression when she knew Nema wasn't gonna fight her on this.

"That's what I thought..." Nema continued as she looked at Velvet still sitting on the floor. She moved the broom over and crouched by Velvet.

"Look, I know you're still pretty pissed about what went down earlier, but you don't have to scrounge for food down here by yourself. You can always ask for something, we're not gonna bite you..." She explained as Velvet still pouted. Nema rolled her eyes at Velvet's silence and sighed a bit before getting back up. She threw down the other packs of dried mango at Velvet's feet and Velvet glanced up at her.

"...Ah, who am I kidding. The mango's not what's important. Knock yourself out..." She grumbled as Velvet blushed in embarrassment. She began to walk away until she heard Velvet speak.

"W-wait a second... Are these rare or something? Why were they all packed up like this in boxes back here?" She asked.

Nema stopped in her tracks and smiled a bit.

"...You really don't know that much about Gunsmoke, huh? I guess after being cooped up in Tharsis for all those years, it's understandable..." She said as Velvet wrinkled her nose at her.

"I've been to Gunsmoke! I just don't know why these are so special to you, they don't seem all that important. The reason I broke into them in the first place was because I thought they wouldn't be missed that much...That's all..." Velvet whined as she crossed her arms and turned away. Nema laughed and turned to face her.

"...Ah, like I said... It's not a big deal, Velvet. It's nothing more than a gift my dad sends me every month or so..." She said as Velvet still looked on in a confused manner.

"Your father?"

"Yeah... See, since you've been to Gunsmoke before, I don't have to tell you that practically nothing can grow there, especially mangoes. And my dad grows them in his garden back in Brazil and sends some to me each month, but since they have to be shipped from earth and run the risk of spoiling, he dries em out so they'll still be edible when they get here. It may seem like a small thing, which it probably is, but it still reminds me of him every time I get some in the mail." She explained.

"Oh, I didn't know..." Velvet said as guilt settled into the pit of her stomach.

"It's fine, there was no way you could have known. Besides, he's supposed to send some in sometime soon. Maybe we can split a pack then, that is, if you want to..." Nema said as she gave Velvet a smile. Velvet sheepishly returned the smile and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"...Oh! And I almost forgot to say: My name is Nema. I'm co-captain of this small ship. You've probably already met Vash and his girlfriend Edward, who's the other captain..."She said as she sweetly smiled at Velvet.

"...Is that the girl with the red hair?" Velvet inquired as Nema nodded.

"...She's his girlfriend?! Then why was he out trying to purchase services from me?!" Velvet asked as Nema chuckled.

"It was just a setup. They had an understanding...of sorts. I mean, they haven't made it official yet, but it's pretty obvious that they really care about each other. You'll see what I'm talking about later... Until then, you're always welcome to make yourself at home and come talk with us for a bit if you want..."

"...BUT I KISSED HIM. I can't go in there just yet! I'll feel like a complete jackass in front of everyone..." Velvet exclaimed.

"...Well, I completely understand if you're not ready. I mean, we just kind of took you without asking, but I think you'll understand why eventually. And Vash really isn't the guy he portrayed when you were with him. He's actually really sweet and is a total goofball. You'll love him and Edward. They'll make sure you're taken care of... And just so you know, none of us are going to impose anything on you or make you feel like less of a person. We're not gonna hurt you or make you feel bad..."

"...Well thanks, I guess.." Velvet said as she wiped some of the smudged makeup off her face.

"Now that I'm woken up, I'm gonna go make some soup to eat for lunch. You're more than welcome to have some if you like. I'll bring it to you...Also, there's a small bathroom near the back if you want to wash your face and clean up a bit. That box next to you has some spare clothes in there that you may want to change into. Just make yourself at home and know that you can always come in the front when you're feeling it. I'm gonna go make that soup now..."

And with that, Nema left Velvet by herself for the remainder of the trip. She brought her some soup and saw that Velvet had changed into one of Nema's old sundresses from a few years ago. It was white and had red hearts scattered throughout the material. Nema had worn it to a Valentine's Day dance at the military academy she attended a few years back and forgot about it completely... It was a tad skimpy and she remembered having to be sent home from the dance on the count of it being "too revealing". Oh, weren't those were the times...

The reminder of the trip lasted another hour before they reached home in Little Arcadia. Edward carefully landed the Xanadoom and everyone else filed out, except, Velvet was missing. Nema searched for her all throughout the ship and pled for her to come out, but she got no response. After a good thirty minutes, she found a note written on the back of one of the mango packs. It was from Velvet. Nema read the cursive handwriting and received the following message:

"Don't bother to look for me any longer. You've already

Gotten me out of Alabaster's grasp, but now it's time I

Make a living on my own. Thanks for the kindness and

Hospitality, but I think it's for the best if I left. Take care."

"Oh no..." Nema thought as she exasperatedly rubbed her temple. "This isn't good..."

Edward came inside the ship and saw Nema sitting with the letter. She approached her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Did you find anything?" She asked as Nema handed her the letter. Edward read it and slowly turned it Nema.

"Oh good grief. What about Knives? ...We've got to find her..." Edward stated as Nema nodded her head.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. It'll only be a matter of days before he makes it here... We have to make sure she's with us when he is...but still. I have my doubts about handing her over to him just yet... I don't know if he's prone to hurting her..." She said as Edward gave off a nervous look.

"I really shouldn't have ventured out on my own like that..." Nema said as she covered her face and rubbed her temple. "Now we've all been thrown into the mess.."

"Hey, Nema. You were just trying to help is all... Knives is the one to be blamed. If we can find Velvet in the next few hours, we should be fine... Don't panic just yet. Vash will know how to deal with him. If all else fails, we'll just go somewhere else for temporary shelter. But we can't lose hope just yet..."

Nema sighed and took her hand off her face. She looked over at Edward and blinked.

"You're right...We shouldn't worry just yet. Let's just tell Vash that we need to form a quick search party and what we need to expect in the next couple of days... Just in case we can't find her right away..."

So Nema and Edward got up and informed Vash on the current matter. Vash vowed that he would stay as long as they needed him and would keep on the lookout for Knives. They set out in search of Velvet in three different sections of town. Nema checked downtown while Edwars checked city square. Vash took on the outskirts of town, just in case Knives decided to show up early. All searched and searched in vain, that is, until Nema stumbled across a peculiar group of men who were behaving in a rather rowdy manner. They had with them a woman, and when Nema looked closer, she saw that her prayers had been answered.

"...Bingo..." She whispered as she went in for the kill.