Author's Forward

Greetings! Welcome to my second Cowboy Bebop fanfic. This one is going to be quite a bit longer and more involved than my first one, so I'll actually be posting in installments. Let me give you a brief overview of what's happening in this fic:

This fanfic is called "The History of Julia". It will be an account of the drama that takes place around Julia before the TV series starts, as well as what she is doing during the time period in which the series takes place.

I have decided to do something a little different with this fic than what you see in most fics. I am going to write this story for all audiences, meaning I will introduce the characters anew so that seeing the show will not be a prerequisite for understanding this story.

Well, that pretty much does it for the overview, happy reading!

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Legal Disclaimer

I did not create Cowboy Bebop. I also did not create the following characters: Spike, Mao, Shin, Lin, or Julia. All other characters mentioned in this chapter are of my creation. This story is also of my creation, so don't take it.

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"The History of Julia"

Story by TheSilverFox06

Proofread by Cyberwraith9 (all grammatical and spelling errors are his fault)

Chapter 1: "In the Beginning"

"Spike!"

A tall, skinny, oriental man laid sleeping on the couch, as he often does. He opened his deep brown eyes just barely wide enough to see who had woken him from his slumber.

"Spike, wake up!" the same voice commanded.

Spike slowly sat up and fixed his forest green fro, which he somehow managed to make look stylish instead of stupid. After a yawn that should have dislocated his jaw, Spike turned to greet his waker.

"Hey Mao, what's up?" he murmured.

Standing before Spike was a portly man, also oriental, of average height and thinning hair. He wore an expensive suit, and a cheerful smile.

"We just got some new members," began Mao as he pointed to two boys who looked like they were fresh out of high school. "This is Shin and Lin. They're identical twins."

"Ya' don't say," Spike sarcastically said, as he stood up to crack his joints.

Mao looked at him. "Now Spike, you know you're not supposed to be talking to me like that. I am your superior after all."

Spike raised an eyebrow as he looked at Mao. They had been speaking to each other as if they were buddies for some time. Then Spike remembered the presence of the new members. "Right. Sorry, sir," said Spike with another hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Anyway," continued Mao, "I'm assigning Lin to train under you. Shin will be given to Carson. I want you to start right away."

"Yes sir," replied Spike. He walked up to the boys and stopped in front of them. "Which one of you is Lin?"

"Me, sir!" shouted the boy on his right.

"Come on," said Spike, as he turned toward the door. Lin took one look back at Shin as he started to leave, then hurried to catch up to Spike.

"Follow me," Mao said to Shin, and headed in the opposite direction.

* * *

Spike and Lin walked slowly down a long hallway with a row of lights along the ceiling.

Lin looked up at Spike and asked, "What will we be doing first, sir?"

"Personal combat training," replied Spike, without looking at Lin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. "And don't call me sir. Call me Spike." He lit the cigarette.

"Those are bad for you, you know."

Spike stared at Lin. "This is nothing. What's bad for you is being here - being part of the Syndicate. You know what we do, right kid?"

"Yeah, I know. Organized crime."

"It's a filthy business. People get killed every day. It's even worse than the twentieth century mob you read about in history class. Do not take it lightly." Spike turned his head forward again.

"Then, why are you here?"

Spike didn't respond. He stopped in front of a door and slid a key card to open it. Behind the door was what looked like a gym, a weight room, exercise pads, and other various physical training equipment.

Spike began to walk in with Lin close behind him. "Welcome to my dojo."

* * *

Later that night, Spike walked into his apartment and fell onto his bed. "Man," he said to himself, "That kid really wore me out today. He's got quite a bit of spunk in him." Despite being tired, Spike didn't feel like sleeping. Slowly, he got up and headed for a bar.

Spike opened the door to his favorite watering hole, and quickly found all of the familiar faces. Lonnie, the bartender, had his hands full with drinks at the bar, while Rhonda, the waitress, was serving appetizers to a table. Spike was just about to sit down to order a cocktail and some hot wings when a disturbance broke out in the corner of the bar.

A big, burly, tattoo-laden man loomed over a woman sitting on a bar stool.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know what you were doing last night!" the man shouted.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dane," replied the woman, as she turned her head away. Even when she was yelling, the woman's voice had a deep, mature, almost enchanting tone.

"Don't lie to me!" Dane said as he rose his hand. Just before his open palm was about to land on the woman's frightened face, Dane's head got blindsided by a fist connected to the lanky right arm of Spike.

"You shouldn't treat a lady like that" Spike said to Dane in a suave, yet serious voice.

Dane looked up to see Spike with his eyes narrowed, and no expression in his mouth. "Why don't you mind your own business!" yelled Dane. He got up and swung his massive fist at Spike. In a split second, Spike had sidestepped the attack and thrust a knee into the brute's solar plexus. Dane fell to the ground with a blank look on his face.

After shaking his head in disbelief of the man's stupidity, Spike turned to the woman. She was a tall beauty, with a perfect figure and wavy blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. She was like a goddess. "You should probably get out of here before he wakes up."

Almost surprised at being addressed by her savior, the woman stuttered out a response. "Y-Yeah. I guess I should really go home now, huh?"

"Bad move" Spike said with narrow eyes. "He'll just come looking for you there."

"R-Right... I know! I'll stay at my friend's house for a few days, then catch a ride to Ganymede. I've always wanted to live on Ganymede. I've heard the view of Jupiter is breathtaking," the woman said with a blush.

"Ganymede, eh? Never been there. Anyway, let me walk you to your friend's house. It's getting late."

"Okay, sure. My name's Julia, by the way."

"Spike."

"Spike - that's an interesting name. Nice to meet you... and thanks."

* * *

The next morning, Spike went through is regular walk to "work". After passing by the same old vendors for a mile or so, he arrived at the Red Dragon Clan's headquarters on Mars. He was greeted immediately by Mao and Lin when he entered.

"You're late."

"I had a late night," explained Spike, scratching his leg as he hung his head with sleepiness.

"I have a hit for you. Someone in the lower ranks has been leaking information. He's an easy target, so I want you to bring Lin along with you for training purposes. Here's the guy's profile."

Spike took the file of papers and began to review them. The first thing he saw was the name and picture. "Dane Krueger," he said aloud.

"You know him?" Mao asked.

Spike responded with only a chuckle, and started to walk toward the garage with Lin in tow.

Mao turned around to face Spike. "Spike!" he called out. Spike stopped and looked at Mao. "Don't get the kid killed in his first job."

Spike faced forward again and continued walking without giving any response, verbal or otherwise.

* * *

Spike drove a Syndicate-owned car out of the garage with Lin sitting in shotgun. The ride was smooth and quiet... too quiet. Spike looked over at Lin and saw that he was shaking from nervousness.

"Relax. This guy's an easy training target; he's too low in the ranks for the Syndicate to even issue him a firearm."

Lin looked at Spike and smiled.

After fifteen minutes of driving, the two men arrived at Dane's apartment building. However, just as they pulled up to the curb, they saw a man get into his car and drive away.

Lin looked at the man, then at the target's profile. "That's our man," he said to Spike.

"I know," Spike replied. He pressed the accelerator and began to move forward again.

They followed Dane's car for about five minutes until he arrived at another apartment building. They parked 4 car lengths behind him, then waited for him to enter the building. After taking a deep breath of preparation, Spike and Lin got out of the car and headed in.

On the second floor of the building, Spike and Lin found a door kicked in and Dane inside, with a confused look on his face. "Where is she..." he muttered to himself.

"Who are you looking for?"

Dane whirled around to find Spike aiming a pistol at him. "You! You're that punk from the bar."

"And you're the punk who's been leaking information" Spike said with a grin.

Just then, Spike heard the sound of a boot hitting the hardwood floor in the hallway outside the apartment. He spun around and saw Julia standing in the doorway. Dane saw this as an opportunity and ran for the window. He dove through, and fled down the fire escape with cuts on his arms.

"There goes our hit!" yelled Lin.

Lin started to chase after Dane, but Spike put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "It's not worth it."

Julia looked back and forth at the two men, then said in a soft voice, "Hit? You guys are from the Syndicate. Spike... I should have known. I should have known that you wouldn't be any different from all the other bad men I've met."

"Julia..." Spike said in an apologetic voice.

Lin looked at Spike with a serious and professional face, and said, "You know what you have to do, Spike."

"I know!" Spike snapped at Lin. He slowly rose his gun, and aimed it at Julia's forehead. Julia didn't even move. She stood there with a sad look in her face. She wasn't scared. She wasn't nervous. Just sad. Almost as if to say, "I'm ready for my life to end."

After a full ten seconds of silence, Spike lowered his gun, and addressed Julia. "I'm going to get in trouble for this. Come on."

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Woohoo! A cliffhanger! What will happen to Spike and Lin? Will Julia accept help from Spike? Tune in to find out in the next chapter of "The History of Julia".