Back and bad. Still as terrible as ever, but at half the cost!
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.
#3: Truly Happy?
Jack followed John, Meia, and Jura to twin rows of houses in the large green field.
"Nice little place you got here." He said, looking the houses over.
"Yes, well, there are perks to being on the empress's good side, Barnette is in that one." Jura pointed to the farthest house on the right side. Their were two rows of three, because from what he had been told, all of the crew of the 'Nirvana' that had kids had decided to settle down to raise their kids for a few years. Ezra, whose baby had been onboard already for 2 years, stayed behind and would help train new dread fighters with the 'Nirvana'. Jack walked up, pulled open the door, and stepped inside. The lights in the house were off, and as it was now dark outside, was very dark inside as well. As his eyes adjusted, he walked inside until he found a door with light flowing from underneath. He knocked gently on the door, and hearing a muffled "come in" opened the door. Barnette sat on the bed, drying her eyes with a cluster of bunched tissues.
"What's the matter?" he asked with as kind of a tone as he could muster, which still seemed a little bitter after all the time he had had no need for kindness.
"You." She said, blowing her nose.
"And how is that a new thing?"
"It's not, but it's just been awhile."
"Ok, let me clarify, is there any specific thing that is making you so upset."
"Yeah, I'm just so glad that you're really here." She turned to face him, her eyes still shining as tears poured out. "When I figured out that it wasn't really you that had returned from that planet, and after Cage left, and I realized that it was you that I had shot, I didn't cry a single tear. In truth, I didn't really even feel all that sad." She started crying harder, and buried her face in her hands as Jack sat on the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She shifted, burying her head into his chest. "This is the first time I've shed a tear for you since we thought you betrayed us."
"Well, that's not surprising, I've caused you so much emotional pain since even before we were together, that you were just wore down to the point you didn't have any tears left." He said, a gentleness in his voice. "So, how did you guys end up here?"
"It was Meia's idea, she said that she saw this place one day while in the ring that looks down on the surface. She said it reminded her of what she envisioned when she thought about the world her mothers wanted to create." Barnette said, sniffling.
"Well, it is definitely a peaceful location." HE said admiringly.
"Yes, well we all wanted a nice calm place to raise our children for a while."
"Oh, so more than John and Vinn had kids?"
"Of course. Jura and Vinn had Tiffany, who is just looks just like her mother, though she does seem to take quite a few mannerisms from Vinn. She's a year older than any of the others, at six. John and Meia have Jamie, Who looks like she'll have the same slender figure as Meia, but has the same caring nature as John. Hibiki and Dita have Edward, a headstrong little boy like Hibiki, but he's got the hair and eyes of Dita. Duero and Parfait, they have Patricia, who is already smarter than most of adults here, and has long straight brown hair. Bart and Celtic have a very talkative little girl named Georgette, who has the confidence of Bart, with the looks of her mother. Finally, I have little Sophie, who as you've seen, takes after me."
"Yeah, I could, even if she didn't beat me. I noticed that she wasn't afraid in the least of me, when she showed me her little energy ball."
"Yeah, well it was more that she just wanted to show you it, she's the only one that can use the pexis power, and has been simply ecstatic about it, showing anyone who she can get to pay attention. You'll also see that she take after you in several respects. She's always been good humored, and share our interest in weaponry."
"What! Why would she take after me?" He asked quizzically.
"Well, because she's your daughter too." Barnette stated plainly. "And you had to almost die, leaving me alone to raise her!" Barnette seemed angry now, her voice rising. "How do you think she felt, being the only one who doesn't have two parents? Sure she seems happy enough, but she just hides it away."
"Well, than I can't say she doesn't take after me a lot less than you then, can I? And if I recall correctly, you were the reason I almost died." He kept his voice level, but felt a trace of irritation enter.
"Well, if you hadn't said the unexpected thing that made me think you weren't you, I would have shot you!" she was yelling now, her tears replaced by anger.
"Well if you had realized that I only said it so that you would leave and be safe, that wouldn't have happened!" Jack joined in yelling now, but it seemed to only fuel Barnette's anger.
Sophia, Jamie and Tiffany were all walking up to the house that Sophie lived in.
"Who was that guy who could make the purple?" She asked, hoping that someone knew.
"He was the bad man that made your dad go away." Jaime said timidly, as they here yelling coming from her friend's house.
"Sounds like he might be trying to make your mom go away, too." Tiffany said with a hint of worry.
"I'll see you later, I'm going to go see what's going on." Sophie said as she opened her door, and walked into the dark house. The yelling was coming from her mother's room, and was getting worse. Sophie was getting worried as she heard the strange mans voice answer her mothers, just as loud, but it seemed to not be very scary. Being in this secluded spot all of her life, she had never dealt with a conflict like this before, as all the parents were a close knit group of friends. She decided to play it safe. She walked over to a small table with a drawer in it. She opened the drawer, which held a magnificent golden box with gemstones bigger than her hand embedded into the surface. She had never told her mom that she knew that she kept the box here, or that she knew what was held within it. She popped open the box, and pulled out the small, shiny silver pistol, slightly tarnished from over the years. She had seen her mother walk over and remove the gun before. She'd be crying, and would sometimes just stare at it and put it back, like she was remembering something. Other times she'd place the muzzle on her chin, pointing up, and sit with her eyes closed, crying heavily. She'd always put it away after a while, but swore herself for being weak. Judging by the commotion that was now taking place, she was worried that he might really be here to hurt her mom. She swore that she wouldn't let that happen as she loaded the gun from her cabinet. Her mother had showed Sophie how to use various small firearms and was going to show her how to use the bigger ones when she got bigger. She walked down the hallway to her mother's room, and opened the door. She saw he cloaked man standing a short distance from her mother, both red in the face from shouting. She the man raised his arm, and Sophie though he was going to strike her mother. She leveled the gun at his chest and fired.
A pistol retort cut Jack off mid sentence as a bullet tore through his side and entered the wall. He collapsed in a heap. Barnette turned to her daughter with a horrified look.
"What did you do!" She asked, as Jack wasn't moving.
"I stopped the bad man who made daddy go away from hurting you anymore!" she cried.
"He isn't the bad man, he is daddy!" Sophie was shocked, she had just shot her own father. She dropped the shiny silver pistol as she stared horrified at what she had done, and Barnette broke into tears again. Sophie felt the burning sensation she had come to associate with tears, and fought to hold them off.
"Well, she certainly is your daughter." Jack said, as he stood up, clutching his side, and settled on the bed. They both stared at him in shock. "You see," He said, talking to Sophie, "Your mother liked to shoot me too. She just never tried hard enough. So, which house is Duero's, I think I'll pay him a "Welcome me to the Neighborhood" medical visit." Jack said, coughing, as both girls laughed. Barnette was happy he was finally back, and that Sophie had stopped their fight, and Sophie was glad to have a dad, and not to have killed him.