Phoenix, Part Two
By Bella

"You're awake. I was beginning to worry," a familiar voice greeted.

"Julia?" Gren managed to say, his voice cracking. He opened his eyes, waiting for them to regain their focus. His guess was right. "How did I get here? How did you get here?"

"I've been here for some time. I was getting approaching the planet when I saw your ship slowly limping by. I hurried in thinking that the pilot was in trouble and was surprised to find you behind the controls. If I hadn't seen you, one more day you would have been a goner," Julia explained with her usual sad smile.

"Why did you save me? I didn't care if I died," Gren protested as he studied the layers of golden hair that fell around Julia's shoulders.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. When I saw that it was you, I suddenly realized how lonely I was and how much I wanted to see a familiar face."

"You're hiding," Gren commented.

Julia nodded. "Let me get you some water."

Gracefully she stood up and walked over to the counter where a picture of water was. Gren took the opportunity to study his surroundings. He found that he was under ground in some kind of cavern. Water dripped somewhere. It was a small area with only the essentials needed to survive. He sensed that she didn't want to talk about the subject and he let the matter die.

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple of months since I found you, before that I have no clue."

"Vicious still around?"

"He's why I am hiding down in Titan. This will be the last place he will think of," Julia replied in a bitter one. "Yet, I won't be able to see Spike."

"I met your friend. He helped send my ship down here. He had wanted to send an ambulance but I wouldn't allow him. He asked about you."

Julia let out a soft sigh. She then handed Gren a glass of water. Gren eagerly took it, quickly drinking the cool refreshing water.

"If you want I can find Spike and tell him where you are," Gren suggested after putting the cup down.

"Why would you want to do that? You still have a bounty on your head."

"Not now. My time was almost up. It should be over now. We can say that this is a returned favor for you saving me."

"Vicious will quickly find out."

"Then that is a risk we have to take. If Spike means that much to you, I will make sure he knows you are here."

Julia looked up at Gren questionably. She didn't quit understand why someone would take such a risk to deliver a message. Gren was an unusual person, whom she felt she could trust. Being the way her life is she found that it was hard to trust anyone.

"Thank you, Gren. You have no idea how much this means to me," Julia whispered.

*****

"The question is where am I to find Spike?" Gren asked himself as he stared out into space. He could see the planet Earth slowly coming into view. Gren had a feeling that he wouldn't find anything. It was a worth a shot.

After a few hours, Gren landed his battered ship near a rocky area. A big pit was near by left over by a meteor shower or rock shower. Much to his surprise he found himself near an orphanage. Children were running about and climbing all over the rocks. They stopped as soon as they saw Gren approaching. Gren smiled.

"Have you come to give us a home?" one of the children questioned hopefully.

"I am sorry, but unfortunately I am looking for someone," Gren answered, with sorrow in his eyes. He knew what it was like to live a lonely life. But these children were young; he knew that someday they would be leading their own lives and that some of them would have families to go to.

"You're a bounty hunter?" another child asked, his eyes filled with awe.

Gren laughed. "Far from it, but I am looking for a bounty hunter."

"I was wondering whom was entertaining the children," a nun greeted with a smile. "They were rather quiet, so I thought it would be wise to see what was going on. You are new here. How my I help you?"

"I am looking for a particular bounty hunter. Word has it he was around here, or at least his crew members were," Gren stated and pulled out a picture of Spike, a picture that Julia had handed to him before he had departed.

The nun took the picture and studied it for a bit. "I haven't seen the young man, but I have seen two of his crew members. A young woman and one of my children to be exact."

"The young woman what did she look like?" Gren asked, already having an idea of who she could be. Gren listened as the nun gave a quick description. "Faye," he murmured another ghost from the past.

"That's her name," the nun commented. "Please come in and eat with us. It's time for supper."

Gren smiled. "Thank you for the offer. Do you have an idea of where she went afterwards?"

"Unfortunately I do not."

Gren quickly found himself being herded by the children. He didn't have much of a choice of where he wanted to go. They all seemed eager to have another person among them. Once supper was finished the children quickly led Gren into their antics and games. He didn't mind one bit. He was enjoying himself. It had been a long time since he had been among others.

When the children fell asleep he decided it was time to move on. "Thank you for your hospitality, sister. I have to say that this was the most fun I had in years."

"It is a shame that you have to leave so soon. The children certainly enjoyed your company. They will miss you."

"If things go smoothly, I would love to return here. I have found that I am at peace down here," Gren replied.

The nun smiled. "You are always welcomed here."

With a smile, Gren climbed back into the ship. "Earth wasn't a complete waste of time," he commented once he left the planet's atmosphere.

*****

What was Jet trying to pull? A vacation? This was very uncharacteristic for the team. Spike paced back in forth. Did Jet actually think that they were a family? What a crazy thought. They could have been using the money on actual food or repairs that the ship needed constantly. Spike sat on top of his ship and lit a cigarette.

"There you are, Spike. I figured I would find you here," Jet greeted.

"So what's the true reason behind this madness?" Spike said as he blew out some smoke.

"I knew that I couldn't full you. Someone informed me of a major bounty. No one is going to know about this yet. They hadn't released it on the Big Shot yet. The locations I narrowed the choices for Ed to pick from, were locations our bounty likes to hide.

The reason why we are posing as vacationers is that our bounty is already wary of others. He had stolen the latest weapon from the Arms Corporation, which could easily destroy almost an entire planet. Basically, we have to be careful of our approach."

"Who's the guy we're after?"

"He goes by the name Loki."

*****

Author's Note: I am not sure if I got some of these facts straight, if any one knows that I wrote something wrong, please inform me so I can fix it. Just keep in mind that this is an alternative universe story.

Disclaimer: I don't own CowBoy Bebop.

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