Apologies for the mix-ups earlier. Apparently Session Two was posted again instead of Session Three...oops! This is the correct chapter!

Session Three

Leon sat on the stairs leading down into the Bebop's hangar, a cigarette burning mostly forgotten between his fingers. He rested his elbow on his knee, chin propped in his hand, attempting to sort out everything that had just been thrown at him. After being bombarded with more questions by Faye, Jet finally put a stop to the interrogation and gave Leon some space to think.

He tried to sort the facts into two categories-what he knew for sure and what might be true.

What he knew for sure: the Red Dragon Syndicate and the crew of the Bebop all mistook him for Spike at first glance. Even he had to admit he was a dead ringer for the man. He now had a Syndicate chasing him down to restore their lost honor, which meant they'd make a scapegoat out of him even if he wasn't the right man. He'd been offered a place on the Bebop to escape the Syndicate. His ship was out in the harbor and he wasn't sure how he'd manage to get it without raising Syndicate attention. His last name wasn't Riley.

What might be true: he might be Spike and Julia's son, born of some sort of secret tryst, since not even Spike's closest companions knew he existed. But besides a lot of coincidence, there was no proof for this claim. Unless Spike could come back from the grave to confirm it. Or he could find his mother. Leon sat up straighter. Maybe they could find Julia. Jet and Faye both seemed to know who she was, so maybe he could find his mom after all these years and get the truth out of her.

Leon stared at the thin curl of smoke rising from his cigarette. Just like the little wisp, disturbed by even the soft puff of his breath, life was fragile. Even the lightest nudge sent it careening in unknown directions.

He heard footsteps on the stairs above him. He looked over his shoulder to see Jet silhouetted in the light spilling from the Bebop's main deck.

"Mind if I join you?" Jet asked.

Leon shrugged.

Jet took that as a yes and walked down a few steps until he was level with Leon. He sat down beside the boy and pulled a cigarette from his own pocket. Leon offered him his lighter. Jet took it and lit his cigarette, then handed the silver lighter back to Leon. Leon put it in his pocket. Jet took a draw on the cigarette and breathed out slowly.

"It's a lot to think about, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Leon said. "It is."

"How are you feeling?"

Leon shrugged again. "Lost, I think."

Jet was silent.

"What am I supposed to feel about all this, Jet?"

Jet looked over at Leon. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if all this is true, I just found out I have a father and he's dead, all at the same time."

Jet frowned. "I know it's tough, believe me."

"You have a similar experience?" Leon asked.

"No, not similar. But I've been through Spike's death before. More than once."

"More than once?"

Jet nodded, smoke tracing the lines of his face. "Spike was reckless and he lived for the feeling of the moment. If life was quiet, he was dead. The man lived on adrenaline and intuition."

Leon smiled a little. "Sounds exciting," he said.

"It was, usually. But Spike had wounds deeper than the ones I could see. And they caught up to him eventually, slowly sapping his strength until they took all he had to give."

"Was it a suicide mission then?" Leon asked quietly. "When he fought the Syndicate?"

"Hard to say. He certainly talked like a man going to die. But he told Faye that he was going to see if he lived," Jet trailed off.

"Sounds complicated," Leon said.

"It was. We didn't even get a proper good-bye. I'd only known Spike about four or five years, but I'd always just figured we'd be partners till the end. That's why you shocked me so much when I first saw you."

"Is that why you want me on the Bebop?To be Spike again?"

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a little bit true. Spike left a big hole in all our lives when he left the Bebop. But, no, I don't want you to be Spike. That's asking a little much, don't you think? I just thought it'd be an easier way to avoid the Syndicate for you. Plus, you look like you could use a little something to line your pockets, kid."

"How'd you guess?" Leon asked grimly.

"Call it a cowboy's intuition," Jet smiled.

"A meal would be nice," Leon admitted. He tried to think back to the last thing he'd eaten, only to realize he didn't remember. Probably cold rations on his last hunt.

"I can't promise anything glorious, but we've got some noodles at least."

"At this point, I'd take anything," Leon said. His stomach chose that moment to growl.

Jet laughed.

"Hey, Jet, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Earlier when I mentioned my mother's name, you and Faye reacted pretty sharply. I take it you knew her?"

"I knew about her. Faye met her once."

"Could we find her?" Leon asked. "To see if I really am Spike's son?"

Jet sighed. "I hate to tell you this, kid, but Julia, if she really was your mother...she...she was killed that night as well."

Leon felt like a hole suddenly opened up beneath him. "Oh. By the Syndicate?"

"Yes. And I think it's only fair you know that both Spike and Julia were Syndicate."

Leon stared at the steps beneath him, watching the floor of the hanger through the perforated metal.

"Spike got out of it all. That's when I met him. But Julia stayed. And something about that never sat right with Spike. He wanted her to come with him."

"Why'd she stay?" Leon asked. He couldn't imagine anyone willingly wanting to be a part of a Syndicate.

"Familiarity, protection, power, leverage, who knows," Jet said. "Once a Syndicate sinks its claws in you, you don't usually get to leave. Spike was one of the lucky ones."

"Then why'd he go back?"

"Because he knew someone had to stop the evil that the Dragon had become."

"But it didn't work," Leon said, feeling his heart sink even more. "Wasn't it Red Dragon that chased me today?"

"It was," Jet nodded. "Who can say what Spike thought he'd accomplish that day fifteen years ago. All I know is that the Red Dragon was silent for a long, long time. And they have nowhere near the influence they used to. Or the leadership. It wasn't really the Dragon Spike went to fight that day. It was the snake."

Leon looked puzzled.

"A man named Vicious. He and Spike were Syndicate together, but Vicious decided to take a darker path and Spike didn't follow. They never made up their differences after that. Vicious just wanted power and Spike realized that someone had to stop him from taking that or else we'd have a lot more than just a few dead men on our hands."

"So he sacrificed himself in order to save the greater good," Leon took a draw on his cigarette.

"I'd like to think that was the end goal, yes," Jet said.

"Looks like I've got a lot to live up to then," Leon said, a grim smile twisting his lips.

"Just don't go following in Spike's footsteps too closely," Jet said.

"Don't worry, old man, I don't plan to die anytime soon. Not if I can help it." Leon scrubbed his cigarette out on the stairs.

"I am not an old man," Jet muttered.

Leon chuckled. "So, if I do join the Bebop, how are we gonna retrieve my ship?"

It was Jet's turn to smile. "Well, if you do join the Bebop, we might have a better offer."

"You gonna give me a new ship?" Leon asked, incredulous.

"Oh, she's not a new ship," Jet said. "But she's a good ship. C'mon." He stood up and motioned Leon to follow. Leon followed Jet through the hanger, behind the Hammerhead. There was another ship resting on the floor beyond the Hammerhead, a bulky robotic thing with two arms and a bubble cockpit.

"That?" Leon said, putting his hands in his pockets and shrugging.

"No, not that. That's Faye's Redtail. She'd kill me if I tried to give it to you. No, this is what I had in mind." Jet ducked behind the Redtail into the back of the hangar where Leon caught the gleam of something sleek and red. He rounded the Redtail to see a gleaming red racer, all smooth lines and aerodynamic alloy. She had a plasma cannon mounted on her front and missile launchers slung under her wings.

Leon whistled. "She's beautiful."

Jet smiled. "She was his."

"Spike's, you mean?"

Jet nodded, running a hand wistfully down the ship's flank. "Her name is Swordfish."

Leon walked around the ship, admiring her from all angles. "You'd just give her to me?"

"Well, she's been sitting here collecting dust for fifteen years. We never got around to giving her up, so you might as well put her to good use. Besides, she's your legacy, really."

"Wow," Leon breathed.

"Go ahead and hop up there, see if you like her." Jett gestured at the cockpit.

Leon clambered up the side of the Swordfish, dropping easily into the open cockpit. He settled into the pilot's seat like he'd been born in it, the controls molding to his hands like the ship had been made for him. He felt the bandages on his cheeks stretch as a wide grin split his face.

"Why would you let this baby sit for fifteen years?" Leon asked incredulous.

"It just didn't feel right to take her out," Jet said.

Leon looked over the edge of the cockpit. He hadn't realized Jet heard him.

"But it seemed wrong to get rid of her. So I've done maintenance on her to keep her in working order and we've taken her for a spin or two to keep her engine running."

"Oh, man, she's a beast," Leon said. "You're serious, you'll give her to me?"

"She's all yours. That is, if you're joining the Bebop."

"Jet, you dirty scoundrel, I'm in."

And for a moment, it wasn't Leon sitting in the old familiar cockpit, but Spike with his feral grin and lazy grace.