Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Hey, Goddess? It's Me, Edward! ❯ Homemade Memories ( Chapter 1 )

Note: From the moment she first mentioned them abandoning her, I wondered who Ed's parents were. Then I saw her father in "Hard Luck Woman," and it got me to thinking. So, here's what I thunk…uh…thought. I kinda stole the title from an old Judy Blume (I think it was hers, anyway) book called "You There, God? It's Me, Margaret."

Summary: Ed (and Ein) search for the missing half of her family.

Hey, Goddess? It's Me, Edward!

Chapter 1: Homemade Memories

"You got it, Macintosh?!"

"Yeah! And it's Macintyre!"

"Whatever!"

The big man known as Applederry to his young assistant and "that big crazy guy" to others stood up and wiped some sweat from his forehead. Mapmaking was a lot harder than most people thought…especially when you updated every five to ten minutes. It was a thankless job, an endless job, and a non-paying job (and therefore not really a job).

Not that it ever stopped them, though.

He turned, spotting a falling meteor in the distance. "There's another one! C'mon, Mackenzie!" he shouted, sprinting over to the van.

"It's Macintyre!!!" his assistant shouted back, diving onto the roof of the van.

Applederry jammed his boot down on the accelerator and took off, heading for the still-smoking hole that was just beyond his line of sight. He drove over a ridge and slammed on the brakes, not because he'd nearly hit something or drove off a cliff, but because he could hardly believe his eyes. He didn't even notice when his young assistant when flying off the roof and tumbled to the ground.

Sitting next to the crater, laptop in hand and goggles donned, was his kid.

Ignoring the moans of pain from his assistant (who was most likely broken in half, and that's if he was lucky), Applederry broke into a wide grin as he climbed out of the van. "Francois!" he called in his loud voice.

It took a moment longer than he expected, but the child looked up and broke into a similar (but much more practiced and MUCH wider) grin. "Papa-person!" She leaped up as fluidly as a tiger might and ran at him, her bare feet hardly touching the ground.

Applederry caught her as she dove into his arms, laughing like mad and squeezing so hard he thought her arms might burst from the strain. "Back so soon?" he asked when she calmed down a bit. "Thought you'd be heading out with those two guys you were with."

She shook her head and smiled. "They were okay, but Ed wanted to be with you."

"Ed, huh?" He tousled her wild hair roughly. "Guess it's good enough for me if you'll answer to it."

There was a bark from seemingly nowhere, and then a little dog came running around the van, stopping at Ed's feet.

She bent down and picked him up. "Meet Ein!" she said, holding him up.

Applederry patted the dog's head. "He yours?"

She shrugged. "Ein is Ein's. But he's with Ed for now, just like Ed is with you for now."

"Fair enough."

Macintyre grunted quietly as he crawled towards them. "Mr. Applederry, sir! Don't…forget…the maps…" He moaned and fainted.

Applederry slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot!"

Ed grinned and held up her laptop proudly. "Already got it, Papa-person!"

Applederry blinked and stared at the screen. Sure enough, she'd gotten all the data on the crash site. "Well, how about that? She's faster than you, Mackenzie!"

Macintyre, still being unconscious, didn't reply.

"Well, Fran-er, Ed-welcome aboard!" Applederry patted Ed's head, nearly knocking her over in the process, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

* * * * *

Macintyre woke up with his right arm in a sling and a huge bump on top of his head. Thankfully, the former didn't hurt too much, and the latter was covered by an icepack.

His watch told him it was just after ten, which meant Mr. Applederry would be getting dinner ready. If he was lucky, it'd be vegetables. If he wasn't, it'd be tofu. Applederry was a huge health nut, and Macintyre himself was a vegetarian, but even he wouldn't touch some of the things his employer ate.

So Macintyre was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't having either.

"Mushrooms?" he asked as he sat down at the table.

"That's right," Applederry said from the stove. "Ed brought a bunch in her bag, and there's no sense in wasting them."

Ed was already gobbling down as many mushrooms as she could fit in her mouth at once, so Macintyre quickly scooped some onto his plate. They turned out to have a very exotic taste, and were quite delicious. Even Ein ate a few before he came down with what seemed to be a unique case of hiccups.

* * * * *

Now that he only had the use of one arm, Macintyre was forced to stay inside the van while Applederry and Ed did all the map work. It was just as well, since Ed worked a lot faster and more accurately than Macintyre did on his best days. Pretty soon, she was even doing most of the cooking and the laundry as well. That left Macintyre with absolutely nothing to do…except play with Ein, who never really seemed to get tired. He was a lot like Ed in that respect.

All went fine for about two months, when Macintyre could no longer contain his curiosity. So one night, when Applederry had insisted on cooking (and wrestled a frying pan away from Ed in the process), he went over to where Ed was trying to teach Ein to walk on his hind legs.

"Ed, I was wondering…do you know whatever happened to your mother?" Macintyre asked quietly, so that Applederry wouldn't overhear him.

Ed paused and looked up at him. "Ed isn't sure," she said after a long moment. "Ed never asked."

"Well, maybe you should. You seem like a nice kid and all, but don't you ever wonder where you came from?"

Ed nodded. "That's why Ed came to stay with Papa."

"It's just that I've been his assistant for almost five years now, and he's never mentioned her. He's only mentioned you once or twice, but he was usually talking in his sleep. I kept wondering who Francois was…"

Ed wandered over to the stove and tugged on her father's arm. "Papa, do you remember Mama at all?"

Applederry froze as if someone had fired a gun right next to his ear.

"Papa?" Ed asked quietly, looking worried.

The big man sighed wistfully and sat down. "Something told me this day would come, when you'd want to know more about her. I promised myself I'd be a man about it, and that I wouldn't shed a single tear…"

Ed climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why would you cry about Mama?"

"Oh, it's not her I'd be crying about," he muttered, tousling her hair. "It's you. The moment you learn more about her, you'll want to run off with Ein and find her."

"You could come, too," Ed offered.

Applederry shook his head. "No, Francois. My place is here, making maps. Your mother and I parted for a good reason, and I have to respect it. She wouldn't want me to come looking for her. You, though, I think she'd be more than happy to see again."

"What was she like?"

He smiled and chuckled softly. "Like an angel, but shorter. Lot like you, really. Small and thin, but pretty and powerful. Had a mind on her, that woman. Smartest person I ever met. Guess I was lucky to have her as long as I did."

"You're smart, too, Papa," Ed protested, but he shushed her.

"You don't know smart until you've seen her, Ed. Oh, I can fool the average fellow, but her…she was in a class by herself. Eyes like emeralds, and never looked a day over 20 the whole time I knew her."

"She was really pretty, then?" Ed asked excitedly.

"Beautiful. The Earth wasn't made good enough for that woman."

"Is that why she left?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. She left because she was happy."

Ed frowned. "But…"

"I don't really understand it myself, Francois. But I guess her mind was too far beyond my own. All I remember is the last thing she said to me. `All my life, I've searched for the perfection I'd lost. At last, I've rediscovered it here with you and our Francois, dear. It's perfect…so perfect…too perfect. And I'm not worthy of it any longer.' Just like that, she was gone."

"Then…is that why you left me, Papa?" Ed asked.

"You've got it all wrong, Francois. I left you because your mother told me to. There's one thing she always told me, each and every day after you'd been born: `The greatest minds are the ones that learn to think for themselves. I want our little Francois to be the greatest.' She kept saying that any kid could learn something from a book or a teacher, but her kid was gonna learn from life. And you did, didn't you? Smart as a whip, too, just like she was."

"You mean she wanted me to turn out this way?"

Applederry chuckled and shook his head. "No. I'm saying she knew you would."

Macintyre started to ask how that was possible, then decided it was better not to interrupt.

"Then…Mama wants to see me?" Ed asked quietly.

"She will see you," he replied. "Sooner or later. When you're ready to go to her, just let me know. I'll point you in the right direction, and then it'll be up to you and Ein."

"But don't you need me here, Papa?"

Applederry smiled. "I want you here, Ed. But I managed to do this job before you got here, and I'll manage when you leave. Won't be the same without you, but we'll make it work."

* * * * *

It was another month before Ed decided to go. Macintyre's arm had healed up enough where he could work and do his chores again, and Ed's supply of mushrooms was running out.

There was some debate about how she'd get anywhere, though. Macintyre thought it would be a good idea to contact the Bebop, but Applederry outright refused to. He said that they had their own lives and that it wasn't their right to intrude on it.

Finally, Macintyre agreed to let Ed borrow his old scooter. It didn't look like much, but once Ed had attached a working motor to, it would do about 85 mph when she floored it.

On the day that Ed was to leave, Macintyre stuffed her bag with enough food to last about three weeks, if she was careful. The only other things she planned on taking were her computer equipment and Ein.

"Now, remember, Ed," Applederry told her. "Just because you're looking for one parent doesn't mean you have to forget about the other. You need anything, you just let me know, okay?"

Ed stood up straight and saluted him. "Yes, sir!"

He smiled and ruffled her hair. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Daughter!" Macintyre hissed under his breath.

But Ed only grinned and leaped into her father's arms. "Bye, Papa," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll tell you Mama you miss her."

"You do that." He watched her place Ein in her backpack and hop on the scooter. "So long, Francois."

The scooter roared to life and zoomed away. Ed glanced over her shoulder and waved with one hand. "BYE, PAPA! BYE, MACKAROO!"

"MACINTYRE!" Macintyre sighed. "Ah, close enough. I'm gonna miss that kid."

"So am I, Macrane," Applederry whispered. "C'mon, let's get back to work."