Hiya! I hope you like this story! And if you don't please feel free to tell me and stuff. I've never done a story like this really, but yeah. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I wrote it all at once and so you get it all at once. Cowboy bebop is my favorite anime and Spike is one of the best hotties!!! Spoilers if you haven't watched the whole anime, so becareful of that.
She gave a satisfied sigh, and then started bandaging up her bleeding wrist. Ein whined at her side, as if scolding her acts.
"Hey Faye!" Jet shouted from the couch, "Come check out our new bounty."
"Just a minute!" Fay called back, hurriedly cleaning up the mess she had made.
She walked into the main room, coming up behind Jet.
"So how much he worth?" she asked, leaning in close to Jet to get a better view of the screen.
"Ten million woolongs."
"Ooo! That's five mill each!" she squealed in delight.
"It's 3.3333333333333333333333333…" Ed added in.
"Nope, you stay out of this one!" Faye warned the red-head.
"Awwww…. that's no fair Faye-Faye!!" Ed whined
"So, name, stats, what you got?" Faye asked Jet, ignoring Ed's complaints.
"He ain't got one. He's like you Faye, his records were lost while being held in the hospital."
"Sounds fun." Faye said with a sarcastic smile.
"We do have a picture of him and the place where he's hiding out." Jet added.
"If they know where he is why hasn't any one caught him already?"
"The report says he's slipped off into the Mars underground, and police aren't welcomed down there." he elaborated.
"It seems fishy to me." Faye said, "But woolongs are woolongs and we could always use more."
"Alright, I'll set the navigation and we'll be there in half a day." Jet responded.
"Good, I'm going to my room and taking a nap." Faye yawned.
"Wait, there's something else I wanted to discuss." Jet suddenly said his face now stony.
"What is it now, Jet? I told you before, it's not me who keeps hiding you pruning shears, ask the kid." Faye responded grumpily.
"It's not that." Jet sighed
"Then what is it?" Faye impatiently asked.
"Well, it's almost been a year, and we are already going to Mars for this bounty…" he trailed off.
"Oh. That." Faye softly said.
"Can we visit him?" Ed eagerly asked, as though it was all Faye's decision.
"He would visit us." Jet pointed out.
"He would complain about it before hand…." Faye stated, "Sure, why not. Let's go after we nab the bounty."
"Yay!!! Ein, did you hear? We get to go visit Spike-Spike!!" Ed shouted as loud as she could, while Ein barked cheerfully and wagged his stump.
"Oh, and Faye." Jet added after Ed and Ein had pranced away.
"Yeah?"
"Since when do you wear long sleeves?" he asked.
"Since I felt like it!" Faye snapped back, nervously tugging at the sleeve making sure her bandages weren't visible, "And besides, it's cold on this drafty old ship!"
"Hey, don't say that about the Bebop!" Jet shouted at Faye's retreating back.
Faye went to her room and buried her face in her pillow. It's been a year already. she thought sadly, A year since Spike's past caught up with him. Faye cried bitterly into her pillow. She hated to cry, but she needed to, nonetheless. Since Spike left, his remaining team mates had a hard time picking up his slack; they didn't get nearly as much money. Ed was showing promise as a sharp shooter, though (which was surprising since her face was always so close to the computer screen) as well as in more physical fighting.
Faye got up and looked hard in her full-length mirror.
Look at how much I've changed… she thought as she wiped the tears from her face. She had decided to let her hair grow out, and it now hung in a pony tail down to her shoulder blades while her bangs, usually tucked behind her ears, hung in her face. Faye walked to her closet and flung open the door. All of her clothes now were more modest, and she mostly wore pants. She just never felt like showing off her body anymore. Actually, she didn't feel like doing much of anything these days.
"I'm an idiot." she growled, burying her face in her hands, "Mourning over a man who couldn't even love me."
Faye reached into her dresser drawer and found a pair of scissors she usually used for mending and altering her clothes, and sat down on the floor. She rolled up her sleeve slowly, and started to unwrap her wrist. The cut she had made earlier was just starting to scab. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the cold metal against her pale skin; an inch or so below the other cut.
"Hey Faye-Faye! What cha doooin'?" Ed shouted, bouncing into the room.
Faye quickly unrolled her sleeve and stashed the bloody bandage under her thigh. "Just thinking." she responded, playing with the scissors in her hand.
"Really?" Ed asked, setting herself down next to Faye.
"Y-yeah and I'd rather be alone right now."
"I think a lot too." Ed replied, ignoring Faye's protest, "A lot of the time I think about Spike, too, Faye."
Faye turned in shock to look at Edward.
"That Spike-person… he knew a lot of things." Ed continued her face serious, and her eyes blankly staring at the wall.
Faye was amazed. Ed had grown up a lot; she was getting closer and closer to woman-hood.
"Right, Faye?" Ed asked.
"Huh?" Faye asked back, finally coming out of her own thoughts.
"I said: we better get some sleep before we reach Mars." Ed repeated while running her fingers though her short, wirery hair.
"Oh, yea, we should." Faye agreed.
"Alright! See you later then!" Ed cheerfully said right before she leaped up and bounded from the room.
Faye rolled up her sleeve a bit, and looked down at her scarred arm. She also hated having to hide, usually she cut while doing a bounty and blamed it on the bounty heads them selves, but before this one they hadn't gone after a bounty in a while. Faye sighed and wrapped her arm back up. She crawled into bed, and fell fast asleep.
"I don't know how you survive with out me there to save your butt all the time." Spike chuckled.
"S-spike? But yo- you are…" Faye trailed off.
"Dead?" Spike finished for her, "Yeah, whether you'll say it or not, I am."
"Then, how….?" she trailed off, obviously confused.
"Because this is all a dream." he answered.
"A dream? Are you sure?"
"Yup, and its time for you to wake up."
Faye woke suddenly. So suddenly she jumped and nearly knocked Ein, who was sleeping on her feet, off the bed.
"Stupid dreams!" Fay grumbled, as she beat up on her pillow. She lay there a while before she finally got up. Faye found she had tears in her eyes and she quickly swiped them away angrily.
She looked around the ship and found no one else awake.
"I must have only been asleep for a couple of hours." she thought. It was so quiet on the Bebop when no one else was awake…
Faye decided to go take a shower to pass the time. She soaped up and rinsed down and let the hot water beat down on her. When she was done, she flopped down on the couch wearing a bright yellow, long sleeved peasant top with bright red, vinyl pants. She clicked on the T.V. and started surfing thought the channels.
Suddenly, Spike was standing in front of her. She gasped and sat straight up on the couch.
"Fell asleep, huh?" he said with a sly smile
"I-I guess so." Faye softly answered, still in shock of how fast Spike appeared.
"We really got to stop meeting like this. I'm dead, I've got… dead people stuff to do." Spike said, sitting down next to Faye on the couch.
"How do you think it makes me feel?" Faye asked, staring at the floor.
"Huh?" he responded smartly.
"When you sleep, you're supposed to get away from the stress of reality… but my dreams just make the pain worse." Faye wailed, tears forming in her eyes.
"What pain?" Spike asked, oblivious to the feelings of the heart, as usual.
"The pain of losing you!" she shouted, and then adding softly, "You broke my heart, Spike. I am no longer the Faye Valentine you knew."
Faye and Spike sat in silence for a while. Just soaking up what had just passed.
"I think the real world calls again," Spike finally said, "but I have one more thing to say."
"What?" Faye mutters miserably.
"I'm sorry I broke your heart, but I couldn't have loved you back because my heart was broken, too. And fixing it killed me."
"Spike, I-" Faye tried to say, but a pressure on her side took all the air out of her lungs and she woke gasping for air; finding Ed sitting on her.
"Ed! Get off me!" Faye wheezed, pushing the red-head off of her.
"Good morning Valentine!" Ed cheerfully shouted from the floor.
Faye sighed and shook her head gently, looking to see what was on the television.
"Today, we'll be talking about syndicates and their affects on people's lives." a reporter started.
Faye clicked off the T.V. and wandered into the kitchen to see what Jet is cooking.
"We'll be at Mars in a few hours." he said, while stirring something that smelled delicious.
"Alright." Faye responded, leaving him to his cooking.
She wandered back and found Ed still sitting on the floor.
"What's the matter with you today?" Faye asked, squatting down next to the other girl.
Ed didn't answer, but Faye could tell something was wrong; Ed wasn't smiling from ear to ear.
"Come on, you can tell me anything. Were sisters, remember?" Faye said, trying to get something out of the younger girl. Ed just hung her head even lower and kept quiet.
"If you don't want to talk, that's fine." Faye said in an off-hand manner as she rose and sat on the couch, trying to bait Ed.
"He's gone." Ed muttered after a while.
"What was that?" Faye asked placing her hand on top of Ed's shaggy head.
"Spike's gone. Really gone." Ed whispered.
"Yes, he his." Faye whispered back in a soothing and comforting voice, while running her fingers through Ed's hair.
"But why?!?" Ed suddenly yells, standing up, "Why did he go and die!?"
Faye gawked at the young girl, at a loss for words; she had been wondering the same damn thing since Spike's death.
"Who the hell knows." came Jet's voice from behind them.
Faye and Ed turned and looked at Jet expectantly, waiting for a better answer.
"He was crazy, and tried to live more than one life…But the world don't work that way. No one can be someone else. Who he used to be, and who he was trying to be just couldn't live together in harmony." Jet finished, "Now come on, foods ready."
They reached Mars with no complications with the ship or otherwise. Ed had talked herself into going with them again though. But all they had to do was find out how to get to the underground first, so Faye didn't care if she tagged along for that stuff.
"Ed, you stay with Jet, this time." Faye ordered, "I've got some places to visit."
"Be careful, and don't get hurt, Faye-Faye!" Ed shouted as she rode on Jet's shoulders going the other direction.
Faye went off to the bad side of town, knowing it would be the best place to find information on the underground. She found the shadiest bar she could and walked in like she owned the place. The bar was packed, which Faye found strange since it was only mid-morning. She had a hard time finding a seat, but she found one way in the back. Faye sat down and ordered a beer, then hung back and watched the place from behind her sun-glasses.
Only one guy stuck out as suspicious. He was an older man with frizzled hair and ratty clothes. His clothes looked to poor to be able to afford a drink, but his clean-shaven face looked too rich for his clothes.
"You've come to the right man." she could just hear him say to a nervous looking man sitting across from him, "I can get you to the underground, but it'll cost ya a drink."
Faye watched as the younger man bought the older one a drink.
"Ah! That was good!" the older man grinned, downing the alcohol in one gulp.
"Well, pops?" the younger impatiently urged.
The old man took a moment to look around suspiciously, and scribbled something on a napkin then handed it to the other man, who left in a hurry.
Faye finished her drink, and walked over to the now-vacant seat opposite the old man.
"Why hello there, sweet thing. What you lookin' for?" he said, implying dirty answers with his eyes.
"I'm looking for a person." she replied.
"Hey, I'm no squealer." the man said scooting back, warily.
"I'm no cop! I'll get you two rounds of whatever you want to drink." Faye coolly said, calling the nearest waitress over.
"Fine." the old man accepted after a moment of thought. After giving his order, he turned back to Faye, "Who you lookin' for, miss?"
"He doesn't quite have a name, but he's hiding out underground somewhere." she explained.
"Oh, you mean John Doe. You must be another one of his honeys." the man said knowingly.
"Yeah, John." she nodded.
"He said he was expectin' somebody, but I didn't expect it to be something so fine." the man whispered, and then scribbled directions on another napkin, "This is how you get underground."
With a nod, Faye slipped off her chair and shoved the napkin in her pocket. She didn't utter another word to the man, just left the bar, leaving the old fellow to pay for her drinks as well as his own.
Faye headed back to the Bebop quickly. She found Ed and Jet had already been back for a while.
"Found anything?" she questioned.
"Nope, nothing. Zilch-o!!" Ed loudly answered.
"Did you?" Jet asked. Faye dropped the napkin in his hand.
"Just the directions to get to the underground." she smirked.
Jet examined the napkin awhile.
"Hey! Me and Ed passed by this place!" Jet suddenly exclaimed.
"Which one, which one?" Ed asked eagerly.
"The Nest." Jet answered, "But these directions don't make any sense."
"Read 'em to me." Faye ordered.
"All bad birdies fly to the Nest, but to get to big momma they gotta do their Best." Jet read.
"It must be some kinda code." Faye commented.
"Best is capital! So, it's important." Ed pointed out.
The three bounty hunters thought awhile.
"I guess the only way to figure it out, is to go to the Nest." Jet suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Faye replied.
"Yippie!" Ed added.
"Oh, no. You stay here!" Faye and Jet warned the little girl in a very parent-like manner.
"Aww! Me and Ein always miss all the fun!" Ed pouted, while picking up Ein and squeezing him.
"Just play chess or something." Faye said as her and Jet walk out.
The partners enter 'the Nest' a couple hours after the sun set, and bar was already jumpin'.
"Let's split and look for anything that has to do with the word Best." Jet ordered quietly. Faye nodded in response. She wandered over to the bar fist and took a seat on the only un-occupied bar stool.
"Can I buy you a drink? You look down." a handsome man almost immediately asked her.
"Sure, stranger." she replied with a small smile.
"Ey bartender!" he called out to the man behind the counter.
"Yes?" the barkeep answered quickly.
"Get my friend here the best yah got." he replied.
The best? Faye thinks, Perhaps that's the best the directions referred to.
"The Best?" That sounds expensive." Faye commented, stressing 'best.'
"No worries baby, big momma will take care of it." he simply said back.
"But this birdie's been flyin' along time and needs a place to rest." Faye responded.
"Then finish your drink." he said before disappearing into the crowd.
With a flourish the bartender set her glass on top of a napkin in front of Faye.
"Uh…thanks." she muttered before downing the whole glass in one gulp. As she lowered her glass she noticed something on her napkin; like writing on the inside. Slowly, she opened it up. 'Back room, password: Gin and Tonic' the napkin reads. With a quick glance around, she headed in Jet's direction.
"Faye! Did yo-" he started. Faye shoved the napkin in his hand and whispered.
"Wait a bit before coming in after me."
This time Jet took her commands and nodded, shoving the napkin in his pocket.
Faye calmly walked over to a door marked 'Back storage area' and quickly ducked inside. Unlike the sign said, the room was completely empty of anything stored. The only thing in the room is a big, beefy man guarding a door. Faye walked up to the man boldly.
"What you lookin' for, ma'am?" he said in a deep voice.
"A Gin and Tonic." Faye smartly answered.
The bodyguard grunted and moved aside to open the door; Faye slipped inside and the man closed the door quickly behind her. Before Faye lied a dark staircase.
"I wonder how far down it goes…" Faye's voice echoed down the stairwell as she took the first step. The stair had a slight curve, and after a while Faye figured she was pretty far underground because the air and the walls became damp.
Suddenly, a light blazed from around the next curve and Faye walked into a giant underground city. She stared in awe of its magnificence. It wasn't just some hole in the ground like she thought it would be; it was a well-built place. From this point, Faye had no idea what to do, her only option was to wait for Jet and hope he had some idea where their bounty was. Faye hid in a shadowy alley that had a perfect view of the stairway.
"Jet sure is taking his sweet time." Faye muttered to herself after ten minutes or so, "But I guess those stairs would be hard on that old man's leg."
After a few more minutes, Faye's impatient side got the best of her.
"I'll just find the guy on my own, then!" she huffed, walking away from the stairs.
There was a semi-constant stream of people moving along the road Faye was on; most of them looked quite normal, there was even some children running about.
Should I just ask someone? Faye thought, but who would I ask?
"Hey purdy lady!" a gruff voice said beside Faye.
Faye turned in alarm, to find an intoxicated man stumbling along next to her.
Here's my chance! He probably won't even remember talking to me! Faye excitedly thought.
"Whadda doin' down here?" the drunk asked.
"I-I'm looking for a friend of mine…" she answered with her cutest voice.
"Really?" the man asked scooting closer to Faye.
"Y-yeah," she continued, "my boyfriend actually."
"Oh." the man downheartedly says, but doesn't lessen his closeness, "Does he have a name?"
"Sorta." Faye answered, "John Doe."
"Him, eh? Last house on Jupiter." the man grumbled, pointing at a street.
"Thank you." Faye smiled and gave the man a polite bow.
"My pleasure miss." the man smiled back, staring down her shirt.
Faye jogged away, disgusted.
"There's not enough real men in this world." she grumbled to herself as she turned onto the street the drunk pointed out.
Last house, huh? Faye glumly thought to herself as she set down a long row of small houses. When she reached the end of the street she made sure she had her gun handy.
"Hello?" she shouted through the door of the house. There was no answer, in fact there was no noise at all; Faye began to worry. She took her gun completely out of her pocket and walk into the house.
Faye walked wearily in to the house. Almost faster than her eyes could follow, a shadow figure raced out and knocked the gun from her hand.
"Another bounty hunter for John Doe's head? the voice asked.
"You got me, but you're not John, are you?" Faye asked, hoping for some stall time so she could find a way out of this.
The voice laughed, "Most people don't figure that out."
"I was always a good guesser." Faye responded, "Is he also paying for your drinks at the bar upstairs?"
"Heh. You know the way of the world, girl." the shadowy man responded, "At least you know it isn't personal." Faye heard the click of a gun being cocked.
This is it. Faye thought mournfully, This is how I die.
She heard the gunshot and closed her eyes… Spike, all those times you saved my butt, and now I'm left alone to die.
"Faye-Faye!" Ed's voice shouted.
"Huh?" Faye stupidly answered, opening her eyes. Edward stood back-lit in the door way, a gun in her hand.
"I got him in time, right? He didn't shoot you?" Ed asked, coming over to Faye with worry in her eyes.
"Yes… you got him first." Faye weakly answered, letting Ed help her up.
"Well, come on. Jet already caught the bounty-man." Ed explained, pulling Faye out of the house and onward.
"Oh, so that's how you knew where to find me… and why Jet never followed me." Faye realized.
"Yeah. We thought you would realize after a while, but then the bounty guy said that you would be dead already and then he told us and Jet was really really worried and I ran as fast as I could and now we are going to visit Spi-Spi!" Ed explained in one breath.
Faye sighed, "Let's just get back to the Bebop first."
Three bounty hunters and a dog walked up to a plain-looking grave stone with no inscription in a shabby-looking cemetary. The youngest, a tomboyish girl, placed a bushel of roses on top of the tombstone and stood back in line with the rest. The four stood a moment in silence. Then, they left the raven haired woman there alone.
Faye kneeled down in front of Spike's grave.
"Spike…" she quietly started, "I don't blame you. I always knew it wasn't your fault you couldn't love me, I just always refused to believe it." Faye gave a small, sad smile, "But you have no excuse not to recognize me in the next life!" Faye stood up and brushed off her knees. "But visit my dreams again, okay?" she whispered.
"Whatever." she heard the wind sigh.
THE END!!!! Oh ja, did you like it? Y'know I often said I hated Faye, but she grew on me when I watched the show a few more times...Juila on the other hand... (that Bidnach stole my Spike!!!!) And I am a sucker for sappy endings, a hopless romantic if you will. I guess I've typed enough and most of you won't read this any way, so, THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!!!!!! I hope that got your attention