The Tiger Striped Cat
'There once was a tiger-striped cat. This cat died a million deaths, revived & lived a million lives, and he was owned by various people who he really didn't care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat which meant he was free. He met a white female cat & the two of them spent their days together happily. Well, years passed & the white cat grew weak & died of old age. The tiger-striped cat cried a million times, & then he died too. Except this time, he didn't come back to life...' He said in his mind.
He had played this over in his mind a million times since that day. He didn't know until now how much meaning that story had in his life. That he and the tiger-striped cat were a lot alike. And not alike. Had he not yet met his white cat? Is that why he was back from the dead again? Was Faye, not Julia, meant to be his white ca...
He tapped his foot impatiently and stopped thinking. Where the hell was the ISSP when you needed them? It had been nearly two hours now since downing his mark's ship and making the arrest. Damned cops.
"Damnit." He said. His patience running thin. His stomach grumbled at him and he looked down,
"Don't you start too." He squatted and rolled back onto the dirt underneath The Swordfish. He leaned against the front landing strut and glanced back to Baker, still out cold. He patted himself down, looking for another smoke but after finding the pack and discovering it to be empty. The look on his face went blank,
"Of course. Just my luck. Can this get any better?" He chuckled to himself and shut his eyes, crossing his arms over the back of his head. He scowled and readjusted himself, struggling to achieve comfort. A few twitches and twists and he closed his eyes again, this time slowly drifting into a deep sleep. It felt nice. To be able to rest like this. Without having to worry about anyone else disturbing him. To just be alone for once and be with his thoughts. Memories of the good old days. He remembered the finer times with Jet and the laughs they'd had. And the close calls too. A smile crossed his face when he saw Faye's face. He thought that odd. Had he really felt good about remembering her and all of her attitude? He found it odder still that he didn't mind reminiscing of the kid and the dog. Where had they run off to? He wondered briefly on that and then his mind floated to Julia. That bothered him. Just then though, he was made briefly aware of the fact that he wasn't alone. His eyes opened and as they slowly regained focus, staring right into his face were a pair of enormous amber eyes...
"WHAT THE?!" His eyes shot open and he flattened himself against the landing gear.
"Spike person is alive Ein! Wooowwww!" Came the voice. It started to get much clearer for him when an all too familiar 'Bark!' followed her statement. It was painfully obvious when Ein jumped right into his crotch and propped himself up onto Spike's chest to lick at his face.
"I must be dreaming." He said softly. But despite the rude awakening, it was a good dream. He was beginning to wonder if he'd ever run into any of the crew on his travels. He'd spent so many years in hiding. Playing it low key to avoid drawing attention to himself and to fully recover. He guessed it was somewhat unavoidable though and he knew he'd run into one of them sooner or later. He was silently glad that it wasn't the she-devil right off the bat.
"Edward had heard what happened to Spike-person! Edward was sad. Tried tracking you down and all around for your funeral but when Edward found nothing, she began to wonder! And now you're here! And alive! And OH! Edward has to tell everyone! Jet-person and Faye-Faye will want to kn..." She was cut extremely short as Spike quickly clapped his hand over her mouth.
"Edward. I don't want anyone to know just yet. This has to stay our little secret for now. Okay? Think of it as a game and we've got to win it. And if Faye and Jet find out too soon, we're going to lose. Alright?" He managed a small smile and let his hand drop. Ed simply nodded in agreement and slumped back down onto the ground. Only then was it made apparent to Spike that the kid, wasn't really a kid anymore. She'd grown up, matured and filled out into a beautiful young woman. He blinked as he watched her begin to dig into her backpack, intently searching for something. He turned his gaze to Ein, who was also staring at him. He could only wonder what the little mutt was thinking. Smart little bastard. His thoughts danced back to when Ein first came into the picture. The bounty that got away and how ended up with a dog instead. He shook his head and received a confused whimper from Ein.
"Spike-person. Catch!" Edward chimed as she tossed a little silver square into his lap.
"Huh?" His brow perked as he caught it. Realizing it was a small photo frame.
"When we were all together. When Ed was still with the family and we were okay." She said, her cheerful tone dropping now, turning slightly melancholy. Her excitement all but faded away and for the first time, she sounded normal. The child that was Ed was gone and all that sat in front of him was a stranger he didn't recognize. Maybe his staying hidden wasn't such a good idea after all. He was so out of touch with a lot of things.
The photo showed them all: Spike with a big grin on his face, elbow propped onto Jet's shoulder. Faye in all of her beauty and attitude with her arms crossed looking at them like they were idiots. Ein on his hind legs, paws resting on Jet's leg while Ed sat in front of them all cross legged on the floor. Her head in her palms, smiling contently. There was a bit of writing in the bottom corner. It simply read:
Home.
He choked back a bit of sorrow. He never had even an inkling that he meant so much to any of them. Especially Ed. He glanced up from the photo and watched as a single tear trickled down Ed's cheek. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes,
"I'm just glad that you're okay." She said softly. She'd also gotten taller. Tall and lanky as a kid. Taller and fuller now as she rose to her feet. "You can keep that if you want. To remind you of better times." Ein chimed in another bark and a whimper.
"Where are you going Ed?" Spike said, a hint of pain mixed with curiosity in his voice.
"Away. You probably don't want us around to ruin the surprise and Ed doesn't want to make Spike-person upset." She said in a low voice. She shouldered her backpack and patted her thigh and turned, walking away slowly. Ein glancing back to Spike one last time.
'Children and pets.' He thought to himself.
"Ed?" He called after her. Standing up and dusting himself off, he watched her stop and turn around.
"Yes?" She said, raising her hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun.
'You're gonna carry that weight Spike.' Said a familiar voice in his head.
"You know. It won't be as fun without you to help me out. You can stick around if you like." He said, sticking his hands into his pockets, grinning and leaning back against the hull of his racer.
Ed's face beamed like a fireworks show.
Ein barked questioningly. Odd how he understood the little mutt.
"Yah, you too Ein." He said, managing a weak smile.
"Y...you mean it?" She asked. Her eyes glowing with excitement.
"Of course I do. Come on. Let's figure out our next move. Can't do it without you Ed."
"YaaaaaaaAAAHHHHHhahahahahwee eee! Spike-person is baacck!" She sang. Running back to him at full speed. She leapt at him and wrapped herself around Spike in a long hug. Her face was hidden, but he knew she was crying. She sniffled a few times and after a few seconds. She let go.
"Ed promises not to lose the game!" She said, saluting and pulling out her Tomato.
The roar of ship engines above made them all look up. The ISSP was finally arriving to take in Spike's catch. It was over with quick. Nathaniel never even woke up. Spike's cocky grinned returned as they hauled him into the back of the transport. Boy was he going to have a rude awakening in a little while. As the white ISSP carrier flew off into the distance, Spike returned his focus on his two friends. It was odd. He wasn't quite sure of what he was experiencing. But he liked it. He was realising that he actually did care and that people cared for him. He wasn't getting soft. He was evolving.
"Ed. We need to find Je..." but he was cut short.
"Already ahead of you, bahaha!" Ed had donned her goggles and had been busy tracking The Bebop, The Hammerhead and Jet's com all at the same time,
"Ganynanamededamede. Jet is on Ganymede!" She sang.
"Figures. Well old buddy. It'll be just like old times." He said, scooping up Ein in his arms and climbing into the cockpit of his ship,
"Well? What are you waiting for?" He called down to Ed, who looked up at him. Wearing an eerily large smile on her face.
"Ed has also found Faye-Faye!" She said, turning Tomato towards Spike, a red dot blinking on her screen.
The white cat. He stared at the screen intently, lost in thought. Had he revived this millionth time, now finally free from his owners to be himself and find love?
~Fin
See You, Space Cowboy...and Cowgirl
4:36pm 28th September, 2012