Requiem for a Dragon

Disclaimer: Bebop. Not mine. It's not fair! NOT FAIR! GAAHHHH!

A/N: Spike is dead. No changing that. But hey, we do what we can. Honestly, this is just a shot at a "what if he didn't die" thing. And as long as I'm talking, let me just say Agent Orange is the CB fanfiction god.

Chapter 1: Let Me Go

"Fucking lunkhead… went and got himself killed! God DAMN! I told him… I told him to leave the past alone, and what does he do? Idiot!" Faye tossed a bag against the wall, one of several already piled up. "Well, then, I'm not going to be here to mourn for his stupid ass. I'm out of here."

"Probably not a good idea, Faye."
"You know, I'm sick of people spying on my conversation."
"Spying? You're not exactly quiet, Faye." Jet sighed. "Look, you can't just run off. You have a bounty on your head."

She smirked. "Who's going to hunt me? You?"

"I just might, Romani girl. If you're leaving, I guess I can't stop you… but you're not taking my money."
"I have my own."
"Well, there's a surprise… Take care, alright?"

She smiled, a bit sadly. "You bet." She grabbed a few of the bags and walked out to the Redtail. She tossed them in and hopped in herself. "So long, space cowboy." The doors opened, and the Redtail suddenly shot off, headed unmistakably for Mars.

"Gonna be quiet around here… bout damn time…" Jet sighed and started up a game of Go. "Spike was always hopeless at this game anyway. No strategy."

"Guess… you never were really alive then, Spike? That what you tried to say? Bullshit…" Faye sighed. "Guess this is it, then? The final chapter for the Bebop? We're all on our own now, you idiot… except for Ed and Ein, we're all alone. Happy with yourself? Didn't think so. Maybe if you were still around… maybe we could go back to the old days, huh? You and Jet used to be partners all on your own… miss you, you stupid poofy-haired little asshole." She turned on her radio and sang along with the song that came off. You're singing off key… "Shut up. Nobody asked you."

A man walked through the desert. His left eye was red. His right was brown. And there was a small group of people, along with a dog. Corgi, his memory told him. A teenaged girl looked up, then suddenly jumped to her feet, running up to him. Her hair was fiery red and bounced wildly as she dashed at him, arms spread out in the kind of airplane-imitation you'd expect from an eight-year-old. "Spike-person! Heeheehee, long time no see!" The girl blinked. "Well, Ed is a poet, and she did not even know it! How fun! So what brings the dead guy to our little corner of the universe, huh, Spike-person?"
He blinked. "Dead? I'm confused."

"Yep, yep, Spike-Spike dieeeeedddd… Ding-dong, you're dead, bye bye, you will be missed!"

"So I'm dead? God's got a strange sense of humor… and who the hell are you, kid?" The man pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, the destroyed cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. He lit it, then pocketed the lighter. The girl blinked.

"Ed is Ed, silly Spike-person. You know Ed! And Ein, too, you know the doggie too!"

"Well. That'll teach me to open my mouth. But honestly kid… I have no clue who you are… and I hate dogs." He walked past the girl. "In any case… I'm dead. No reason left to be here." He disappeared into the distance, a wanderer in the middle of nowhere.

"Spike-Spike… Our numero uno buddy person is acting awfully strange, Ed thinks, doggie-person! We must investigate! To the Edmobile!" She rushed over to the small camp, quickly setting up her small moped.
"Leaving again, Françoise?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Edward ran into an old friend from the past! And he's dead! Or at least, that's what the news said. I dunno though." Edward pouted. "Spike-Spike didn't look very dead to me. So Ed… Is gonna investigate! Cowgirl Edward is on her way, dead friend!" The moped suddenly shot off, the small Corgi chasing desperately after the dust cloud.

Welcome back, space cowboy…

A/N: Yes, it begins. Wait till the fun part! Let's just say I intend to at least KINDA bring Bebop full circle here, which means a possible reuniting of the crew, and of course at least a slight cameo of Electra Ovilio! Muahahahah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop. If I did… I would rule over all the known universe. Alas.