A/N: Wow! Sagan Fox finally gets off her ass and updates! I'm really sorry it's been so long, I've been having a lot of trouble with this chapter. And it probably shows. Fortunately I got two one-shots and the first chapter of a new Trigun fic out of it, so it's not a total loss. Many thanks go to my beta-reader, Discordia the Goddess of Irony for reassuring me that this chapter DOESN'T suck, and for being my partner in crime. Couldn't have the strength to actually post my writing without ya! ^_~ (Insert shameless plug for the fanfic of the abovementioned Discordia) Just read it! It's good, and I beta-read it myself!
(Spike walks in)
Spike: Are you done yet? This is tiring. Not even Wantanabe was as torturous as some of you fanfic writers. And if I have to near-death experience one more time, I'm going to claim
Atheism and enjoy the peace and quiet. (Lights a cigarette)
(Sagan Fox snatches cigarette out of his mouth)
Sagan Fox: I told you not to smoke those around me. This means another week on the leash.
Spike: Bitch.
Sagan Fox: Wanna push for two, because I certainly don't mind having you in captivity. (Evil grin)
(Spike grumbles and walks away)
Anywho, read, enjoy, and review. Especially that enjoy part. All flames will be met with a berserker author clad only in fire wielding a katana. And that isn't a pretty sight, folks. On with the show!
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Jet was the first to rise that morning. After showering and dressing, he remembered that Dr. Hall had given them antibiotic cream for Ed's wound to prevent infection. Though she rarely slept there, he went into her room to look for her. He noticed that her few possessions were missing, but dismissed it, as she usually scattered her things about the ship.
Let's just hope she isn't building a bomb with them, he thought as he entered the living area. Still, she was nowhere to be found. Jet was beginning to become annoyed. The last thing he wanted was for her to act, well, like herself, and damage the healing wound.
You'd think getting shot would teach the kid to stay out of the ducts. I really don't feel like searching the ship for her right now. He poked his head into his bonsai room, and prayed they if she WAS in there, she hadn't hurt his trees. Again he didn't find her, and scratched his head and went back into the hall, bumping into a groggy Spike.
"Erg...hey, watch it." He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the light.
"Have you seen Ed? It's time for her to take her antibiotics." He asked, and followed Spike into the galley. Spike switched on the coffeemaker and yawned, leaning against the counter.
"Nope. She up in the pipes again?"
"I don't know, and I really don't want to go searching the whole ship for her."
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere. She always turns up."
Jet began searching the cabinets of the galley, remembering Ed's affinity for secluded hiding places. All he found were pots, pans, and more than a few dead cockroaches. No longer annoyed, he was now becoming worried. It wasn't like her not to be close to the kitchen in the morning. The voracious girl was usually first in line for breakfast.
"Would you help me look for her? I don't want her running around and tearing that wound back open."
"Yeah, yeah..." mumbled Spike as he poured the coffee. It's too early for this. Maybe we should start sedating her. He wandered over to the docking bay and called out for her. "Ed! Where are you? Get your butt out here! It's too early to look for you, damn it!"
That's when he noticed Ein lying next to a computer panel. His footsteps woke the sleeping dog, who began to bark loudly and run erratic circles around Spike. Ein bit down on the cloth of Spike's sweatpants and tugged him toward the panel.
"Hey! Stupid mutt, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ein released him and returned to running circles around Spike and barking. Spike let out an angry sigh, when he recognized Ed's trademark messy handwriting on a slip of paper on the panel. He picked it up and read it out loud.
"Going away. Bye bye. Shit..." He broke into a run to find Jet. Stupid girl! Why the hell did she run off? I swear, women don't operate on logic. Damn kid won't last a week on Mars. He found Jet looking for her on the bridge. Jet looked up and saw Spike, and instantly knew something was wrong.
Spike handed him the note and said, "She's gone."
Jet scanned the slip of paper and growled. "Damn! What the hell is she thinking?"
At that moment Faye groggily stuck her head into the room. "What's going on, why is everyone in here?"
"Ed's run off," said Jet, and tossed Faye the note. Her eyes widened slightly, and she tossed it to the ground.
"Are we going to go look for her?"
Spike leaned back against a wall and searched the pockets of his sweatpants for cigarettes. "She chose to run off. Maybe she doesn't want us to look for her. Or maybe she just wants attention. I wonder where she picked THAT trait up?" he said as he cast a sideways glance to Faye.
"Shove it, Spike. Besides she never sought attention like that before. Maybe her wound was infected and she was delirious."
Jet calmly shook his head. "I doubt it. Anyway, we have to look for her. She won't last very long on the streets of Mars."
"She lasted fine alone on Earth. She'll be fine on Mars, too." said Spike in his usual calm, collected demeanor.
"Mars is a lot different than Earth, Spike. You should know more than anyone else. There are different kinds of dangers, ones she probably has no experience with. You know what Ed is like; she'll trust anyone who feeds her. There are people who would prey on her, and I didn't just spend 350,000 woolongs saving her to let her go off and get killed!" Jet barked, and pounded his fist on the console.
"We have to go get her. You came after me when I left. She deserves the same." said Faye, who then rushed off to change into her usual yellow vinyl outfit. Jet could tell that both she AND Spike were scared for Ed. And he had to admit that he was too. She may be a genius, but she was still a child.
Spike pushed himself off the wall and left as well, muttering, "The only reason you went after her is because she stole our money." His emotional detachment and loud annoyance only hid the fact that he wanted to find her and bring her back. Despite his professed hatred for 'animals, kids, and women with attitudes', he had somehow come to accept living with all three, which surprised even him. Spike Spiegel was not one for change unless he himself made the choice. He quickly changed into his usual suit, and regrouped with Jet and Faye in what passed as the ship's living room.
"So. What are we going to do?" he said, and lit the first cigarette of the day. The light menthol taste and nicotine entering his system soothed him, clearing his mind for the task ahead.
"We canvass the area on foot. She couldn't have gone very far yet. At most she's only been gone 10 hours. We each take a different direction and work out from there."
"That's it, we just look on foot? What if she hitched a ride on something? She could be in a completely different city by now!" said Faye. "Isn't there some other faster way to look?" She could be long gone; we could never know what happened to her. She had better be ok, or I may have to wring her neck myself for making me worry like this. Please be ok, kid.
"Alright then, I'll scout out the city's ports while you two canvass the area. Something tells me she hasn't left the city, but it won't hurt to check." Jet stopped himself. He couldn't believe that for once he actually agreed with Faye. Oh well, he thought, I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. I hope that kid hasn't gone and gotten hurt again.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Spike threw away the spent cigarette butt as he lit another. Hmm, he thought, usually I don't light up another one for another 45 minutes. I knew that kid would be the death of me. She's going to make me die of lung cancer at this rate. She had better be ok.
All three left in silence, Jet to the Hammerhead and Spike and Faye to the small bridge connecting the ship to the dock. All three prayed silently for Ed's safety and quick return beneath three stoic exteriors created by years of disappointment and years of witness to just how hard and dangerous the world could be. Edward was not ready to face that world alone, and they all knew it. Without realizing it, they came to need her innocence and light on the ship as much as her hacking skills. Their un-erasable and unfortunate pasts had left all three cynical and hardened, and even if they didn't want to admit it, it did them a world of good to know that there were still those who were truly innocent and good in this chaotic and uncaring universe. Even if it was only to let her go again into a less treacherous environment, they needed to get her back. They would find her, or they would die trying.
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Fini! Please review!! I LIVE for reviews!
(Vash walks in)
Vash: Saaaaagaaaan...you promised you'd come visit with ME next...
Sagan Fox: You know I love you Vash-san...I'll be right there. Be a sweetie and draw my bath?