Searching for Salvation

Chapter Three, The Love of Venus

Author's Note: Sorry if the chapters are short, but I'm getting them up quickly, and I don't have time to write long stuff. Besides, I was originally planning for this to be a one shot tragedy. But, if you keep reviewing, I'll keep writing. Who cares about college grades?

Spike was always laughing...laughing at me, the world...but mostly at himself, I think. If I had known from the beginning that he meant to die as he killed Vicious... Well...it doesn't matter anymore, I probably would have loved him anyway. The road to hell really is paved with good intentions...and that's all I've ever had, it seems...

The rickety, useless little ship Spike had bought just barely got him on the soil of Venus' surface before it broke down. He sold it for scrap and went over in his mind the conversation he'd had with Jett.

"Faye lived with me back on Ganymede for about two years... Then she said something about not being able to forget and disappeared. I haven't heard from her since, and I don't want to. I gave that bitch all I had...still wasn't enough to make her forget you. Mark my words, Spike, you'll never find Faye until you stop looking. Then, she'll be right there, and you'll kick yourself for not seeing her sooner." Jett's tired old eyes had glimmered with a spark of life before they dimmed and he raised the bottle to his lips again. Faye had really done a number on him, whether she'd known it or not.

The sands of Venus were hot against Spike's old shoes, quickly heating his feet and making him walk faster around the city than he would have otherwise. He questioned all passersby, entered every bar, brothel and casino, and finally got a clue: Faye went back to Earth.

Without even thanking the woman who'd told him, he sped out of there like a cat on fire. He would find her, he knew he would.

And when he did, he would fall to his knees and tell her how much he loved her, no matter how she might have changed.

Earth was a green and blue jewel against the blackness of space, partially hidden by fluffy white clouds and, in places, thunderstorms. It was the most beautiful planet in the solar system, maybe because it was where human civilization had begun, the planet the species continued to call home, no matter how far they traveled or how inhabitable they made it. It was the beginning of all things for humanity, and what better place to find and finish things with Faye?

Everyone on Earth seemed to know who Faye was, but none of them knew where to find her. They all said the same thing: ask the old woman outside the Interplanetary Cryogenic Research Facility. So, Spike went.

End Chapter Three, Chapter Four coming soon.