Note: Hi, this is my first Cowboy Bebop fic so please excuse any major
mistakes I make now and in the possible future. In your review feel free
to correct me and I apologize now and thank you for doing so. I recently
saw Cowboy Bebop for the first time and am now hooked though I've only seen
the movie Knock on Heaven's Door which is really good in case your
wondering. As with any of my fics I hope you'll review and I'm looking
forward to hearing what you think. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy.
A Familiar Face
Spike stood alone in the shadows of the large building as he looked around him, not really caring that he could be dead at any moment, ceasing to exist as though he'd never drawn breath. The doctors had said he was lucky to be alive, that the wound from Vicious's sword should have killed him. If Faye hadn't tracked him down and found him he would have. He hadn't thanked her for it. Sometimes he wondered if it had been a joke on him that he'd lived, a punishment for the crimes he'd committed and the lives he'd ended. It was his punishment to live without Julia. He'd thought about simply shooting himself; it wouldn't have been hard and yet he was still alive, because Jet and the rest of them wouldn't let him. Ein and Edo had come back too when they'd heard about his condition, this was the first time they'd let him out of their sight. They really shouldn't have, there was a good chance he wouldn't get out of this alive, didn't really care either way.
He didn't care a lot about anything anymore including his life but there was something he had to do before he died and it was that very thing that had brought him to the base in the middle of the night. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out the well-folded photograph he'd acquired and looking at the picture, his heart rate excelerating as it always did whenever he looked at it though it was stupid and pointless. She resembled Julia in a lot of ways, her hair was a darker blonde but if she wore her hair loose and had bangs one would know them for sisters right away. The creased picture wasn't of the best quality and it wasn't a recent one either but it didn't really matter either because it was the person in the picture that mattered. The girl whose face he looked at with pain filled brown eyes was somewhere in the building behind him and he was going to get her out of there if it killed him. Maybe he'd get lucky and it would, he really didn't give a damn anymore.
"Well it's now or never." Spike whispered under his breath as he pulled out his well used handgun, running his finger along the barrel of his weapon of choice as he composed himself and allowed only the mission ahead to remain in focus. Normally he wouldn't have risk his neck if there wasn't any profit in it for him but she was the only thing of Julia left in the world and she'd want him to help her sister, to see to it that she remained safe. And her sister appeared to attract trouble as much as her older sister Spike thought as he moved out of the shadows as though he were simply out for a stroll instead of about to break countless laws and unspoken rules. It had been a while since he'd really had a purpose and Spike was going to complete it, what he had to do to achieve it really didn't matter to him. Ten minutes later with the body count well over a dozen a barely winded Spike was into the maximum security building and was well on his way to reaching his target. Thanks to a very informative guard who'd been eager to plead for his life he knew where he was headed and with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in a long time. It had taken him months to get this far; Julia had done a good job of hiding her sister's existence from the world and given her occupation he wasn't surprised. If Vicious had known about the sister he would have used her to get to Julia, most likely killing her just to spite her.
He would never have known she existed if Julia hadn't made arrangements for a letter telling him about her to be given to him after her death. So here he was in this base and ironically enough the biggest thing he couldn't help but wonder about was what other similarities there would be between the two sisters. According to the files he'd managed to get on her she'd become a doctor and a major in the army by the time she was nineteen and had managed to evade Oz for several months which was no small feat. Apparently she'd become quite a thorn in Oz's side and Spike couldn't help but wonder how angry the Duke must be to have a girl who was barely more then a child putting some heavy duty wrenches in his way. The females in the family must really love to piss off high-ranking people Spike thought as he shot out a camera with a twisted grin. Let's just hope that this time he could prevent one of the females from dying because of it. Turning around a corner he pulled the trigger and the guard walking his way was dead before he had time to scream. Walking over he passed the holding cells till he came to one where he could just make out the figure of a young girl. Coming to a stop in front of the cell he stared into the shadows of the cell and wondered what the hell he'd been thinking.
"Nice shot." A female voice said with a faint Chinese accent as her words broke through his thoughts. She'd remained sitting and showed no visible signs of distress despite the fact that there was a dead body quite close by who'd just been killed before her eyes. Given her profession dead bodies were probably a normal sight and Spike couldn't help but wonder what kind of a world they lived in that this was normal. War, such a stupid waste of lives and resources.
"Thanks, you Sally?" Spike said casually as though they'd simply met at a store or the park instead of an Oz compound. He was living on borrowed time as it was yet he appeared to be in no hurry as they regarded each other with curiosity born from the unknown.
"Maybe, depends on who's asking." The voice said with a hint of amusement but she stood up and came slightly closer though not close enough to grab. "Maybe you should tell me why you're looking for her."
"I'm here to break her out of here." Spike said as he turned his back to her. Walking over to the dead body he snatched a card from the man's belt and walked over to where the locking system for the cell was. "I don't have much time so you'd better decide whether you're Sally or not. I'm betting that you are personally."
"And what are you expecting out of this?" The woman asked drawing close enough that the well -lit hallway provided enough light for him to see that her hair was a dark blonde. She was moving closer to the door as well. "My mother always told me not to go anywhere with strangers."
"The name's Spike." Spike said with a wide smirk at her spunk, he could see why she'd survived as long as she had. "Now we're not strangers anymore so lets get moving okay."
"Spike Spiegel?" The woman said drawing right up against the bars so that he could see her face clearly. "Is that your name?" She asked staring at him with blue eyes that were Julia's eyes in a different face.
Up close he could see the differences plainly but he could still see Julia in her face and Spike nearly reached out a hand to touch her face before he realized what he was doing. Lowering his hand he stared into her blue eyes and tried to ignore the pull of them. "You've heard of me?" Spike asked as he casually pivoted and shot two soldiers rushing in before they'd even thought to draw their own guns. "I'm flattered."
"I'll go with you." Sally said and looking pointedly at the lock Spike grinned and with a pressing of a few buttons the cell door opened and she stepped out. "Got an extra one for me?" Sally asked raising an eyebrow as she motioned towards his smoking handgun. Raising an eyebrow Spike reached behind him and pulled out the gun he kept strapped behind his back and handed it to her. Accepting the gun Sally whirled around and sent out a stream of bullets towards the north door which three very stupid soldiers had been about to open. Oz soldiers weren't known for their intelligence, just their lousy aim. Nodding Spike began to casually walk towards the south door and raising her own eyebrow Sally followed, occasionally firing a warning shot as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Covering his back Sally accepted the extra shells he pulled from his pocket and slipping them into her own followed him out. As the sound of quite a few approaching soldiers reached their well-trained ears the two took off at a run, ignoring the bullets that whizzed by them.
As they made their way through the hallways and passages the two didn't speak and if they did it was only to direct or get them to duck. Working as a team the two managed to get out of the building and were in Spike's ship and blasting off before the base even realized what was happening.
"Why are you here?" Sally Poe asked looking over at the man who sat beside her without comment. Julia had mentioned him in a few letters and she had a feeling from the way he'd looked into her eyes that his relationship with her sister wasn't platonic. Her sister had always attracted men like bees to honey and Sally wondered how long the two had been a couple. Her sister hadn't written to her in several months but she'd said in her last letter that she was going into hiding so she hadn't really been expecting any. This guy had struck her as being better then Vicious though and Sally was happy that her sister had dumped the bastard. She'd never actually met Vicious but given the guy's name she was willing to bet that he wasn't exactly someone she wanted her sister involved with. Not that her opinion had mattered when Julia had gotten involved with Vicious before but she'd give Spike her stamp of approval when she saw Julia next. "So did Julia send you to find me?"
"Yes." Spike said, not taking his eyes off the screen as he waited to see what game Oz was playing. They hadn't sent any ships after them and that alone made him suspicious. Put that in combination with how easily they'd gotten out of there and Spike was suspicious as hell.
"Are we meeting her somewhere? I haven't seen her in a while." Sally said leaning up against the seat. Her cell definitely hadn't been the Ritz and in comparison this was looking pretty good to her.
"What?" Spike said looking over at her in shock, she didn't know? But that couldn't be.yes it could he realized as he stared at her before forcing his searching eyes back to the front. After all, he was the only one who knew about the connection, no one would have known to contact her about it. He'd paid for Julia's funeral and burial, he hadn't even been sure of where to find Sally until a few days ago. "No, she won't be meeting us Sally." He said in a voice devoid of emotion. "Just sit back, we'll be near a drop off point soon, some friends of yours should be waiting there for you."
Staring at his profile Sally felt a chill go down her spine as her senses kicked in with painful clarity. Something was wrong here and she had a sinking feeling that she knew why Julia wouldn't be meeting them. Julia had said she'd gotten herself into a dangerous situation and was in a lot of trouble, from Julia's description she didn't think Vicious was the type to take rejection well either. "Is she dead?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Four months ago."
"How?"
"She was shot, she died quickly, she didn't feel any pain." Spike said looking over at her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the front again. He didn't talk about Julia but she deserved to know, even if it killed him inside to think about her much less talk about it. She shouldn't have felt any pain, she shouldn't have died period.
"Was she alone?" Sally asked hoping not as she too stared straight ahead as she refused to break down and cry. There was a time and a place for everything and now was definitely not the time to lose her composure. He'd said it was quick but it wouldn't be the first time a person had said that to a grieving family when it wasn't true. She'd done it herself too many times to count.
"I was with her." Spike said so softly that she almost missed it.
"I'm glad." Sally said and though her mind raced with a thousand questions she could see much in the brief glances he'd given her to know that he was in an extreme amount of pain. He must have loved her very much and Sally found comfort in that. She was alone in the world now she realized with a feeling of helplessness, there was no one left. She and Julia had been orphaned in their teens and the grandmother that had taken over raising them was dead as well. Why she wondered as she stared aimlessly at the sky, why was she left here to suffer without them? Losing the battle tears began to stream down her face though she remained silent as she grieved for her loss. Life had never been fair but every time she looked around she wondered why she bothered to fight when so many didn't seem to care anymore. Was that why god had spared her so far? So that she would fight the fight others avoided. Death looked far more appealing. 'Who killed her? Was it Vicious?"
"Indirectly, he hired the men." Spike said biting his lip to keep from saying anymore then he needed to.
"Is the son-of-a-bitch dead?" Sally asked without emotion and Spike wasn't surprised to see pure and unadulterated hatred now burning in her eyes though most would have missed it. He could read her as well as he'd been able to read Julia. He had the same intent after Julia had died and he'd done what Sally wanted to do.
"Yes."
"Did you kill him?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"She left me a letter telling me a bit about you, asked me to watch out for you." Spike said as he fought the need to hold her. Instead he took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it over her limp one. "Why she thought I'd do you any good is beyond me."
He's dead inside Sally thought turning her eyes to his face as she saw the thoughts that had been running through her head clearly on his face. He's lost his will to fight she thought and for some reason that thought made her will to live come to life before the idea of death could take her over. Her sister had loved this man; she didn't know how she knew that but she did and maybe she couldn't bring her sister back or change anything from the past but she could do her sister this last favour and help the man she'd loved so much. "Had she lived you probably would have ended up my brother-in-law." She said rather then asked.
"Possibly." Spike said without looking at her that she thought was more of a give away then his emotionless words.
"I don't have anyone now, Julia was my only family. She was the most important person in the world and I'll probably never get over losing her. But I guess in a way she left me a brother to take her place. I've always gotten along better with guys then girls anyway." Sally said rubbing the remainder of her tears from her eyes with the back of her hands. "I don't know about you but I could use a family right about now or I'm going to sink."
"People I care about die."
"So do mine." Sally pointed out.
Spike stared at her and realized she was quite serious. Was that why Julia had asked him to watch out for her sister, because she'd known that he'd be lost without her? Had she sent him to her sister because she knew that he'd need her as much as she needed him? It was crazy really, he didn't even know her and yet, and yet without even realizing it the fingers he'd set on her cold ones had laced with hers. Staring down at them he looked at them then back at her again. "Okay."
NoTE: Well? What did you think? I know it's a crazy idea but I noticed the similarities when I looked up pics of Julia and I just had to do this fic, it was in my head demanding to be written. As I said before please review and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next chap. Also if possible please let me know everything you know about Spike and Julia's pasts cause I don't know as much as I'd like.
A Familiar Face
Spike stood alone in the shadows of the large building as he looked around him, not really caring that he could be dead at any moment, ceasing to exist as though he'd never drawn breath. The doctors had said he was lucky to be alive, that the wound from Vicious's sword should have killed him. If Faye hadn't tracked him down and found him he would have. He hadn't thanked her for it. Sometimes he wondered if it had been a joke on him that he'd lived, a punishment for the crimes he'd committed and the lives he'd ended. It was his punishment to live without Julia. He'd thought about simply shooting himself; it wouldn't have been hard and yet he was still alive, because Jet and the rest of them wouldn't let him. Ein and Edo had come back too when they'd heard about his condition, this was the first time they'd let him out of their sight. They really shouldn't have, there was a good chance he wouldn't get out of this alive, didn't really care either way.
He didn't care a lot about anything anymore including his life but there was something he had to do before he died and it was that very thing that had brought him to the base in the middle of the night. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out the well-folded photograph he'd acquired and looking at the picture, his heart rate excelerating as it always did whenever he looked at it though it was stupid and pointless. She resembled Julia in a lot of ways, her hair was a darker blonde but if she wore her hair loose and had bangs one would know them for sisters right away. The creased picture wasn't of the best quality and it wasn't a recent one either but it didn't really matter either because it was the person in the picture that mattered. The girl whose face he looked at with pain filled brown eyes was somewhere in the building behind him and he was going to get her out of there if it killed him. Maybe he'd get lucky and it would, he really didn't give a damn anymore.
"Well it's now or never." Spike whispered under his breath as he pulled out his well used handgun, running his finger along the barrel of his weapon of choice as he composed himself and allowed only the mission ahead to remain in focus. Normally he wouldn't have risk his neck if there wasn't any profit in it for him but she was the only thing of Julia left in the world and she'd want him to help her sister, to see to it that she remained safe. And her sister appeared to attract trouble as much as her older sister Spike thought as he moved out of the shadows as though he were simply out for a stroll instead of about to break countless laws and unspoken rules. It had been a while since he'd really had a purpose and Spike was going to complete it, what he had to do to achieve it really didn't matter to him. Ten minutes later with the body count well over a dozen a barely winded Spike was into the maximum security building and was well on his way to reaching his target. Thanks to a very informative guard who'd been eager to plead for his life he knew where he was headed and with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in a long time. It had taken him months to get this far; Julia had done a good job of hiding her sister's existence from the world and given her occupation he wasn't surprised. If Vicious had known about the sister he would have used her to get to Julia, most likely killing her just to spite her.
He would never have known she existed if Julia hadn't made arrangements for a letter telling him about her to be given to him after her death. So here he was in this base and ironically enough the biggest thing he couldn't help but wonder about was what other similarities there would be between the two sisters. According to the files he'd managed to get on her she'd become a doctor and a major in the army by the time she was nineteen and had managed to evade Oz for several months which was no small feat. Apparently she'd become quite a thorn in Oz's side and Spike couldn't help but wonder how angry the Duke must be to have a girl who was barely more then a child putting some heavy duty wrenches in his way. The females in the family must really love to piss off high-ranking people Spike thought as he shot out a camera with a twisted grin. Let's just hope that this time he could prevent one of the females from dying because of it. Turning around a corner he pulled the trigger and the guard walking his way was dead before he had time to scream. Walking over he passed the holding cells till he came to one where he could just make out the figure of a young girl. Coming to a stop in front of the cell he stared into the shadows of the cell and wondered what the hell he'd been thinking.
"Nice shot." A female voice said with a faint Chinese accent as her words broke through his thoughts. She'd remained sitting and showed no visible signs of distress despite the fact that there was a dead body quite close by who'd just been killed before her eyes. Given her profession dead bodies were probably a normal sight and Spike couldn't help but wonder what kind of a world they lived in that this was normal. War, such a stupid waste of lives and resources.
"Thanks, you Sally?" Spike said casually as though they'd simply met at a store or the park instead of an Oz compound. He was living on borrowed time as it was yet he appeared to be in no hurry as they regarded each other with curiosity born from the unknown.
"Maybe, depends on who's asking." The voice said with a hint of amusement but she stood up and came slightly closer though not close enough to grab. "Maybe you should tell me why you're looking for her."
"I'm here to break her out of here." Spike said as he turned his back to her. Walking over to the dead body he snatched a card from the man's belt and walked over to where the locking system for the cell was. "I don't have much time so you'd better decide whether you're Sally or not. I'm betting that you are personally."
"And what are you expecting out of this?" The woman asked drawing close enough that the well -lit hallway provided enough light for him to see that her hair was a dark blonde. She was moving closer to the door as well. "My mother always told me not to go anywhere with strangers."
"The name's Spike." Spike said with a wide smirk at her spunk, he could see why she'd survived as long as she had. "Now we're not strangers anymore so lets get moving okay."
"Spike Spiegel?" The woman said drawing right up against the bars so that he could see her face clearly. "Is that your name?" She asked staring at him with blue eyes that were Julia's eyes in a different face.
Up close he could see the differences plainly but he could still see Julia in her face and Spike nearly reached out a hand to touch her face before he realized what he was doing. Lowering his hand he stared into her blue eyes and tried to ignore the pull of them. "You've heard of me?" Spike asked as he casually pivoted and shot two soldiers rushing in before they'd even thought to draw their own guns. "I'm flattered."
"I'll go with you." Sally said and looking pointedly at the lock Spike grinned and with a pressing of a few buttons the cell door opened and she stepped out. "Got an extra one for me?" Sally asked raising an eyebrow as she motioned towards his smoking handgun. Raising an eyebrow Spike reached behind him and pulled out the gun he kept strapped behind his back and handed it to her. Accepting the gun Sally whirled around and sent out a stream of bullets towards the north door which three very stupid soldiers had been about to open. Oz soldiers weren't known for their intelligence, just their lousy aim. Nodding Spike began to casually walk towards the south door and raising her own eyebrow Sally followed, occasionally firing a warning shot as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Covering his back Sally accepted the extra shells he pulled from his pocket and slipping them into her own followed him out. As the sound of quite a few approaching soldiers reached their well-trained ears the two took off at a run, ignoring the bullets that whizzed by them.
As they made their way through the hallways and passages the two didn't speak and if they did it was only to direct or get them to duck. Working as a team the two managed to get out of the building and were in Spike's ship and blasting off before the base even realized what was happening.
"Why are you here?" Sally Poe asked looking over at the man who sat beside her without comment. Julia had mentioned him in a few letters and she had a feeling from the way he'd looked into her eyes that his relationship with her sister wasn't platonic. Her sister had always attracted men like bees to honey and Sally wondered how long the two had been a couple. Her sister hadn't written to her in several months but she'd said in her last letter that she was going into hiding so she hadn't really been expecting any. This guy had struck her as being better then Vicious though and Sally was happy that her sister had dumped the bastard. She'd never actually met Vicious but given the guy's name she was willing to bet that he wasn't exactly someone she wanted her sister involved with. Not that her opinion had mattered when Julia had gotten involved with Vicious before but she'd give Spike her stamp of approval when she saw Julia next. "So did Julia send you to find me?"
"Yes." Spike said, not taking his eyes off the screen as he waited to see what game Oz was playing. They hadn't sent any ships after them and that alone made him suspicious. Put that in combination with how easily they'd gotten out of there and Spike was suspicious as hell.
"Are we meeting her somewhere? I haven't seen her in a while." Sally said leaning up against the seat. Her cell definitely hadn't been the Ritz and in comparison this was looking pretty good to her.
"What?" Spike said looking over at her in shock, she didn't know? But that couldn't be.yes it could he realized as he stared at her before forcing his searching eyes back to the front. After all, he was the only one who knew about the connection, no one would have known to contact her about it. He'd paid for Julia's funeral and burial, he hadn't even been sure of where to find Sally until a few days ago. "No, she won't be meeting us Sally." He said in a voice devoid of emotion. "Just sit back, we'll be near a drop off point soon, some friends of yours should be waiting there for you."
Staring at his profile Sally felt a chill go down her spine as her senses kicked in with painful clarity. Something was wrong here and she had a sinking feeling that she knew why Julia wouldn't be meeting them. Julia had said she'd gotten herself into a dangerous situation and was in a lot of trouble, from Julia's description she didn't think Vicious was the type to take rejection well either. "Is she dead?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Four months ago."
"How?"
"She was shot, she died quickly, she didn't feel any pain." Spike said looking over at her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the front again. He didn't talk about Julia but she deserved to know, even if it killed him inside to think about her much less talk about it. She shouldn't have felt any pain, she shouldn't have died period.
"Was she alone?" Sally asked hoping not as she too stared straight ahead as she refused to break down and cry. There was a time and a place for everything and now was definitely not the time to lose her composure. He'd said it was quick but it wouldn't be the first time a person had said that to a grieving family when it wasn't true. She'd done it herself too many times to count.
"I was with her." Spike said so softly that she almost missed it.
"I'm glad." Sally said and though her mind raced with a thousand questions she could see much in the brief glances he'd given her to know that he was in an extreme amount of pain. He must have loved her very much and Sally found comfort in that. She was alone in the world now she realized with a feeling of helplessness, there was no one left. She and Julia had been orphaned in their teens and the grandmother that had taken over raising them was dead as well. Why she wondered as she stared aimlessly at the sky, why was she left here to suffer without them? Losing the battle tears began to stream down her face though she remained silent as she grieved for her loss. Life had never been fair but every time she looked around she wondered why she bothered to fight when so many didn't seem to care anymore. Was that why god had spared her so far? So that she would fight the fight others avoided. Death looked far more appealing. 'Who killed her? Was it Vicious?"
"Indirectly, he hired the men." Spike said biting his lip to keep from saying anymore then he needed to.
"Is the son-of-a-bitch dead?" Sally asked without emotion and Spike wasn't surprised to see pure and unadulterated hatred now burning in her eyes though most would have missed it. He could read her as well as he'd been able to read Julia. He had the same intent after Julia had died and he'd done what Sally wanted to do.
"Yes."
"Did you kill him?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"She left me a letter telling me a bit about you, asked me to watch out for you." Spike said as he fought the need to hold her. Instead he took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it over her limp one. "Why she thought I'd do you any good is beyond me."
He's dead inside Sally thought turning her eyes to his face as she saw the thoughts that had been running through her head clearly on his face. He's lost his will to fight she thought and for some reason that thought made her will to live come to life before the idea of death could take her over. Her sister had loved this man; she didn't know how she knew that but she did and maybe she couldn't bring her sister back or change anything from the past but she could do her sister this last favour and help the man she'd loved so much. "Had she lived you probably would have ended up my brother-in-law." She said rather then asked.
"Possibly." Spike said without looking at her that she thought was more of a give away then his emotionless words.
"I don't have anyone now, Julia was my only family. She was the most important person in the world and I'll probably never get over losing her. But I guess in a way she left me a brother to take her place. I've always gotten along better with guys then girls anyway." Sally said rubbing the remainder of her tears from her eyes with the back of her hands. "I don't know about you but I could use a family right about now or I'm going to sink."
"People I care about die."
"So do mine." Sally pointed out.
Spike stared at her and realized she was quite serious. Was that why Julia had asked him to watch out for her sister, because she'd known that he'd be lost without her? Had she sent him to her sister because she knew that he'd need her as much as she needed him? It was crazy really, he didn't even know her and yet, and yet without even realizing it the fingers he'd set on her cold ones had laced with hers. Staring down at them he looked at them then back at her again. "Okay."
NoTE: Well? What did you think? I know it's a crazy idea but I noticed the similarities when I looked up pics of Julia and I just had to do this fic, it was in my head demanding to be written. As I said before please review and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next chap. Also if possible please let me know everything you know about Spike and Julia's pasts cause I don't know as much as I'd like.