Not Lost, Nor Faded

The child, blindly taking in his surroundings through tear-clouded eyes, saw a shadow cast over him. He drew back in terror, shaking and sobbing, wishing with all his heart that this was all a delusion, that he was really just at home, in bed, dreaming a horrible nightmare. He had already become lost, lost his parents, lost everything, and now he was alone in the dark and there was somebody watching him. He remembered what his parents always told him about strangers, and his fear increased tenfold. The tall man standing over him crouched down beside the boy, and all he could do was whimper. He could see the man's face now. Somehow, he was less afraid when he saw his eyes. There was just something about those eyes that gave the boy comfort. The man pressed a finger to his lips and whispered a quiet ssssshhhh. "It's okay. Don't be scared. It's alright now." The child's fear left him entirely. He suddenly felt completely exhausted, and was overcome by sleep in a matter of seconds.

Later, he didn't know how much later, he opened his eyes, and saw the one thing he had feared he would never see again - his home. If he had not been so groggy, he would have screamed and jumped for joy. But how did he get here? He looked up, and realised the black-clad man was standing there, and had carried him home. He vaguely questioned how he had known where to find his home, but he was too happy and to plain tired to really care. He looked up. "Are you�?" The man smiled.

"Yeah." The small boy smiled back and finally, unable to resist the urge any longer, ran up the steps and through the door to his house.

"Mommy! Daddy! I'm back!" His parents came rushing to him, their utter relief apparent in their actions and in their eyes. The questions came all at once. What happened, where were you, how did you get home? "Him, he brought me back!" said the child with excitement, motioning behind him. The parents looked on with utter confusion, for the silent savoir was already gone.

***

"Ericks!" Lina's eyes were wide with joy as she raced to greet her old friend. "Ericks, it's you!" It was him, undeniably. He had the same short, spiky hair he had when he had left, and those unbelievably green eyes that she had rarely seen behind his thick glasses. She greeted him with an enthusiastic half hug, half tackle. "Ericks, I never thought you'd be back." She was practically crying for joy. The tall blond man grinned.

"Neither did I, Lina. But I am now, right?" He sighed happily. "I feel like I'm coming home." She smiled back at him.

"You are." She stepped back, and Vash finally got a good look at her. She had allowed her short, red hair to grow out to roughly shoulder length, not to mention that she herself had grown quite substantially. A loose pair of black pants and a brown pair of boots recently replaced the tight jeans and big red boots that she had always worn before.

"It's been what, 7 years?" Lina nodded and Vash laughed. "That long, huh? That would make you� 19? You've changed."

"Can't say the same for you! You don't even look any older�" Lina regarded Vash with a look of confusion, until he interrupted.

"So, where do you live now? It took a while to track you down, you know. I didn't exactly expect you to move while I was gone." She grabbed him by the wrist and half-dragged him down the street. She was practically at a run now.

"Right over there!" She pointed to a large wooden house adorned with ornate carvings on the outside walls. Vash suspected that it was Lina's doing, she had always been a bit of an artist and all this time could only help her talent. The house was surrounded by a lush garden, a small marvel on an arid planet such as Gunsmoke. And sitting on the front porch, confined to a large, clunky wheelchair, was Lina's grandmother. Lina towed Vash up the steps, where he was greeted with the best enthusiasm someone of the old lady's health could manage. This saddened Vash a little, that old grandmother had always been a rather independent woman who had prided herself in taking care of Lina, and Vash suspected that it was now the other way around. She immediately announced that she would cook a gigantic dinner to celebrate the triumphant return of Ericks, and happily wheeled herself inside.

Alright, so maybe she hasn't changed that much after all. Vash smiled.

***

The second of the suns was finally setting, and the first 3 moons were already out. Vash stared out the window of his new bedroom with a contented look on his face. Finally, everything was over, and he was back where he could be happy. He felt horribly guilty at leaving the girls, and he missed them terribly (Meryl especially) but as long as they were around, he could never lead a peaceful life. He didn't want to be The Stampede anymore, and was more than happy to just be Ericks. As long as he was with them, he could never quite have that. It was necessary, of course, and right now he was happy. But sometimes� sometimes, it hurt.

A knock on the door broke interrupted his thoughts. "Ericks, are you in here? Ericks?" The door slowly creaked open. "Oh, there you are. Grandma's looking for you."

"Tell her I'll be down in a second." He gave one last glance out the window. "It really looks beautiful from here. You have such a nice place. What made you decide to move?" Your old house meant a lot to you, if I remember. I wonder...? Lina gave the most indifferent look she could muster.

"Oh, you know, this and that. It was mostly the aftermath of the bandits. Most everyone left, and we had no reason to stay in an abandoned town. Of course, the rumour that Vash the Stampede was around didn't exactly help either." Although he tried to hide it, Lina could see the incredible guilt plastered plainly across Vash's face. She sat down next to him on his bed, leaned over, and whispered, "Don't worry. I won't tell. You'll always be Ericks to me."

***

The next morning, Lina took Vash on a tour of her new town. Everywhere they went throughout the quaint village, people smiled, waved, and asked to be introduced. Vash, in all his years, had never been in a place quite as friendly as this. He loved every bit of it. It was most definitely a nice change of pace from being chased by bounty hunters. When the two of them stopped for donuts, a little boy looking to be around 5 or 6 eagerly met them. Lina greeted him with a hug. "Jeffie! Hi!" He squirmed out of her arms, giggling and messing up his short, light brown hair in the process. She crouched down beside him. "Hey, Jeffie, I want you to meet an old friend of mine. Say hello to Ericks." She motioned towards Vash. Grinning, the energetic little child extended a hand, which Vash bent over and accepted.

"Hi, Mister Ericks! I'm Jeff!" He looked over at Lina with a frown. "She's mean. She always calls me Jeffie!" Lina could only laugh. Vash tried his hardest to keep his smile a serious one.

Any more than this seemed beyond the kid's attention span, so he shouted a quick goodbye and ran off. "What was that all about?" Vash asked Lina with pleasant confusion.

"That, Ericks, is Jeff Bardson. Ball of energy, but a sweet little kid. I've known him pretty much his whole life, he's practically my little brother." She paused. "He's also our town's official walking miracle.

"A few weeks ago, his parents took him on a trip about 20 iles from here. Being the kind of kid he is, he got distracted and wandered off. His parents looked everywhere, but they couldn't find him. After a week, they gave up and came home, assuming he was gone forever, probably dead. A couple more weeks passed, and then one night he just showed up on their doorstep. Going by his descriptions, the last place he remembers being was at least 200 iles away. Nobody really knows how he could have got that far in the first place, but it's even more surprising that he found his way back. He� he keeps saying that he was saved by an angel." Her eyes misted over, and Vash was surprised to see that, despite her smile, she seemed to be fighting tears - of joy, of sadness, or of relief, he wasn't sure. "I wouldn't be surprised, really. Sometimes I think he's an angel himself." After a second, she snapped out of her apparent trance. "Now how 'bout those donuts, hm?"