Thanks for all the reviews guys. Its nice to know you're enjoying it and the characters are on target. Personally I felt they were both a little out (Ed doesn't count because she's supposed to be out…out in space)

Anyway, is anyone hapy to see Andy return. He was so cool I couldn't help bringing him back.

If you want to see Spike again then you'll have to wait, that is, if he's even alive still.

Enjoy chapter 6


Chapter 6: And Then There Were Two.

It felt good to be spaceborn again. Finally the Bebop was back where she belonged, amongst the celestial heavens filled with the glittering white starbursts against that black ocean backdrop.

Jet stood firmly by the east observation deck, his arms folded tightly across his chest and eyes narrowed to a singular point. The only sound, aside from the unnoticeable hum of the Bebop's beautiful engines, was his stomach growling for food. It fell on deaf ears as he continued to stare hard to the east.

He didn't move when someone called his name either. Like a stone statue standing ever vigilant, it was only on the inside that he almost had a heart attack at the sudden sound of the word JET, was that his name? Finally, after what felt like forever, he tore himself from the stars to see the samurai wannabe, Musashii.

"What do you want?" he said, unfolding one arm toward the stars and then refolding it under his cybernetic one.

Musashii rose from his knees, his forehead had been almost touching the deck as he bowed before Jet like an ancient Samurai before his Shogun master. "I wished an audience with my masters. And honourable lady Valentine was busy. She told me to ask you about a Red Herring for her,"

Jet smirked and rested his palms against his hips. "It looks like she fooled you good,"

"Do you know where honourable lady Valentine's Red Herring is?"

"Yeah, I guess you're looking at it," Jet said, shaking his head slowly and walking past Musashii, who had bowed his head once more.

"I do not understand," he said, catching up with Jet as they headed down toward the galley.

Jet didn't answer him. His thoughts had moved to his stomach now and all he could think about was the last of those chicken wings he'd sent Musashii out for before they took off. How Faye had pleaded with him to take off and leave the fool behind. She really was cold hearted sometimes; but only sometimes.

It was a shame they couldn't pick up Ed for this. It would make things go that much quicker but she was in the wrong direction. Besides, taking a fathers daughter away wasn't on Jet Black's; 'list of things to do before I die.' Instead of the red headed lunatic they had to make do with Musashii and his horse. A poor substitute for the girl and her dog. Actually, since when had it been her Dog? He mused as he rummaged through the cupboards for the grill rack.

Andy chattered on in Jets ear as he finally managed to get dinner under way. Although from the looks of things, Faye had been hungry at some point and eaten half of the chicken. She really did seem more giving lately, in the good old days she'd have just hogged the lot and blamed it on someone else. Jet smirked, complemented by the fact she'd left him some food, but splitting it with sword boy meant three pieces each. Maybe Faye had been right about leaving him behind?

As Jet cleaned his plate, using his tongue to wash off the last of the barbecue sauce, it dawned on him that Musashii hadn't shut his mouth since before he started cooking.

Jet sat on that old fading yellow chair, Musashii across from him on the sofa looked so eager for answers. Like an expecting kid. It was Spike, that seemed to hold the attention of him like a tightly wound vice. He seemed to have the idea that Spike was some kind of hero who was the hope and dreams of every man and woman in the galaxy. Perhaps that was true if the Bebop could be called a galaxy. Musashii needed shutting up.

"You ever heard the story about the old expeditionary on earth," Jet asked, watching Musashii rub his two brain cells together in the hopes of starting a fire.

"No," he said at last.

Story time with Jet, here we go again, " When Earth was still being discovered, long before space travel," Jet began, watching Musashii as he nodded his head vigorously, "There were two men, trying to reach the tip of the world, in a kind of race. The thing was, that this place happened to be very hard to survive in, even with the proper equipment they needed to ration their food and tread carefully,"

"Why didn't they just take Zip-crafts?"

Jet slapped himself in the forehead. His mind reeling at the question, eventually he managed a long steady breath and said, "This was before Zip-crafts, Musashii." Then, as Musasgii continued that child like head nodding, Jet continued, "Each man and his team wanted to reach the south pole first so they could say they were first. They were best.. One of them was a great explorer, well both were actually, but one of them thought too much of himself."

"And he won right, because he was the best?"

"No. He died. He pressed on hard but kept getting side tracked and everything went pair shaped for him. Even after he knew it was too late, he'd surely lost the race by this point, he kept trudging on, trying to reach that magic place so he could say, at least he got there,"

"Did he make it?" Musashii said, leaning forward like he was at a drive-in theatre and Jet was the screen.

"I don't remember," Jet admitted, embarrassedly, "But I do remember he died, either trying to get there or after he got there. The point is, he didn't make it back home,"

"Oh, I get it," Musashii said with a knowing grin on his face, "Spike never got home either, like the hero…right,"

Jet clenched his fists, he really did need to spell it out for this jackass, "Wrong. Spike was the guy who made it. Spike made it back home. You're the guy who died,"

"Huh, me. But why do I die,"

"Because you're following in Spike's footsteps. Your pursuing him, trying to be like him and all you do is look up to him because he was a better cowboy than you,"

"It is a great honour to have duelled wi-"

"Shut up a minute." Jet snapped, raising a hand, "If you keep trying to be like the guy whose better than you, you'll end up stuck in one place and never getting anywhere," He paused and waved a hand at him, "Take a look at me. Spike was my buddy and comrade, but I never tried to fight him, I never even wanted to learn how to fight like him. Just like he never asked how to fly or fix the Bebop. Musashii, figure your self out. Quit copying people who beat you. Quit saying; at least if I can get there,"

They locked eyes for a moment, the shaken Musashii looked as though Jet had just belted him around the face with the aft end of the Bebop. The only sound between them was the uncomfortable creak of the leather furniture.

Musashii opened his mouth to say something, but the sound never arrived. Instead there was a deafening flood of the Bebop's emergency sirens and arcs of red emergency lights passing across the bulkheads. Then, all at once the Bebop's emergency channels opened to a flood of static and the whine of frequency tuning.

"Planet Hopper Bebop," someone started in a gruff voice.

"Who the hell is that?" Jet growled, standing to attention and sliding his hand down to the Walther P99 pistol on his waist.

The reply -but not answer- came less than a second later as the voice continued, "Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded. We have reason to believe you are harbouring a fugitive,"

Jet grabbed a portable transmitter from the coffee table and flipped to the open channel, "Who is this?" he demanded, hurrying toward the observation deck.

"That's not your concern, I have no quarrel with you Jet Black. Just the fugitive on board your ship,"

Jet couldn't believe it, someone just turning up out of the black like this and accusing him of aiding criminals. Who in the hell had ever been a criminal on board his ship…oh wait, everyone except him. They must be after Musashii, neither Faye or himself had any problems with the law lately. Whatever that idiot Musashii had done was going to buy him a one way ticket into custody.

Jet arced back to see Musashii's shocked pulled-back eyes and flushed cheeks. Jet growled, "What did you do?"

The answer came from the transmitter, "Jet, you better cut those engines quick if you don't want this to get ugly,"

Wait, that voice. Jet clicked the communicator on again, "Fatty, is that you?"

"Lucky guess, Jet. Now I want that bounty head you're stowing and I don't like to ask twice."

"You got it all wrong Fats, I had no idea he was-"

A door at the other end of the observation deck cycled open and Faye Valentine stepped through. Her Glock thirty was in one hand and a cigarette smoked almost to the butt was in the other. She wore those dark sunglasses she wore on the rare occasion she forayed into gambling on card games.

"Jet!" she said, pounding across the decking toward him. "You gotta find Spike,"

"What?" Jet Black couldn't remember the last time he was this confused.

"Hey," Fats was talking now, "I know you're sweet on her Jet but little miss Valentine's worth a cool fifty mil,"

What, he was here for Faye. Since when was she tagged at fifty mil? "Fats, what the hell are you talking about?" Jet wasn't really asking fatty, he just wanted an answer, any answer.

Faye was by the opposite door now, ready to go into the docking hanger. She yelled, "Jet get the docking bay open. I'll take Red-Tail and get outta here. You and And-Musas-whatever the hell your name is, gotta find Spike,"

"Wait, Faye, Why do you have a bounty on you,"

She smiled at Jet, like he was a kid with no idea how the world worked and that the answer should be obvious. When she told him, "It's the collection agency, they want their money again," it was obvious, obvious enough to make Jet feel stupider than a share holder for Ganymede rock farming.

"Shit, alright Faye." he shouted as she disappeared and he instinctively went for the bridge. He clicked the transmitter over to Faye's frequency and clipped it onto his belt.

"Come on Jet, hurry up," she crackled over the communicator as the sound of Red-Tails life cap hissed shut in the background.

Jet slammed his palm on the docking override control, no time to even out the pressure, "Sorry about that Faye," Jet said as he watched Red-Tail tumble clumsily out into the open void, through the window panels.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning Jet," she snapped back.

Faye's zip craft rolled around before righting itself and taking off past the fat blocky ship that her pursuer was in charge of. Jet watched as she spun one eighty and gave fatty some missile meringue pie for desert. Then like a twinkling red star to the north, she disappeared. A fraction of a moment later, Jet and Fatty exchanged a series of expletives and then Fatty was on his way, chasing fifty million woolongs of emerald eyes, yellow cloth and violet hair.

When things finally quietened down -and by quieten down that meant Jets heart had stopped trying to crack through his rib cage, jump into hammerhead and take off after Faye- Jet slumped back at the Bebop's controls. It was up to Musashii and Jet to find Spike now, though Faye Valentine wasn't about to hand herself over. She could handle herself and she damn well knew where Spike was. That emerald glint in her eyes when Ed told them had lit up the entire ship.

It was only minutes after the fact, as they came up on the hyperspace gate that Jet realised how much he reeked of sweat. His forehead and overalls were soaked from the brief incident and now he felt the strong urge to take a shower. Unfortunately that would mean leaving Musashii alone to explore the ship. Maybe later, maybe when they were safely at the other end of the solar system, on the wrong side of the Jovian system, then maybe he could take a shower.

Some people didn't appreciate the beauty of nature. Some people liked to say calling this, nature was a lie because men had made it. But it took Jet Black's breath away every time he saw that hyperspace gateway open. That big gold ring with all those flashing lights and the little control centre hovering close by, processing all the receipts and making critical judgments about who might be a danger to other gate users.

And that was just on the approach. Jet's blood flushed to the surface of his usually pallid skin as he watched his transaction go through and the green light blink on. Then there was that beautiful starburst of ice white and ocean blue that rip roared its way into his plane of reality. Hyperspace occurred naturally, just like real space, so to call it man made was a crock of shit. Anyone who denied beauty because a scientist developed something to show it was an idiot. After all, were the stars not a natural thing of beauty because they were viewed through a star-ships view port. Jet suddenly realised he was staring east again.

A few minutes later and the Bebop was through the event horizon. The Eastern region of space was gone and Jet found the multi-spectral streaks of hyperspace were tearing past his vision. He breathed out heavily, only now realising he'd held it in throughout the entire translation process.

Musashii was behind him, by the charter dais that, back in the old day, was used to display the water charts and hot spots for fishing. Now it was just a glorified shogi board.

"So, it looks like we're gonna find master Spike-san soon,"

"Shut up, Musashii,"

"Humblest apologies master J-"

"Andy!" Jet bolted around and locked eyes with him, "If you don't cut it out with that samurai talk then I'm gonna stick those swords some place real uncomfortable,"

Musashii gulped, covering his katana and wakazashi scabbards, bowed and said, "Sorry, but we are gonna find Spike, right?"

"That's the plan," Jet said, turning back to hyperspace outside, "Listen up Musashii, you're here to help and that's it. If Ed or Ein had been able to come along you'd have been off this ship in a heartbeat."

"I understand, it is difficult to welcome outs-"

"I ain't finished yet. Like I was saying, its just you and me now. I never thought I'd say this but I'd give anything for Faye to be here right now. You're a poor substitute but you'll have to do,"

"I will do my best to uphold the Bebop's honour,"

"If that's what you want to do then you best do everything I tell you. From what I remember of your cowboy days you couldn't go to a masquerade party without stuff blowing up. In fact I remember it very well,"

Musashii got the message pretty quick after that. It was obvious in his hurt eyes and the bobbing of his Adams apple. He understood well enough though. He wasn't a Bebopper. There had only ever been five Beboppers and there was no room for more in that special little family.

Jet felt his guts fall into his feet. What if something happened to Faye, or what if Spike wasn't even alive; that was still a possibility. Ed and Ein were gone and after this, maybe Jet would be back to the solo act he'd once been. The solo act he'd always threatened to go back to in the old days. Threatening to zip the others up in their sleeping bags and eject them into space. Maybe if they'd just taken care of things a little better and maybe thanked him once in a while for fixing up their ships. Hell, it took the death of a would-be lover for Faye Valentine to say thank you or sorry. A would-be lover, did faye really feel that strongly about Spikenah, no way,

Well, Jet thought as he came back to himself, it won't matter too much longer. Soon he'd now how it was going to be in his future. But thinking about it, dammit he didn't want that solo act, he wanted the old days back. Fixing the ships and putting up with Eds insanity was a piece of cake compared to going to bed in a silent ship everyday. What had Faye once told him…Human beings are pack animals, they need companionship to survive. She'd always said she didn't need it, Spike was the same--though he never said it. They were both damn liars. Jet Black was no liar, he needed companionship, he needed comrades as much as they did him.

Fate would soon decide how it would be. When they reached Hyperion.