AN: Whew, sorry it took so long to get out, but writer's block hit half-way through the chapter, and then I was grounded from everything computer related. ^^;; Anyway, this is a Julia chapter, I hope you enjoy it, and I don't own Cowboy Bebop or "Building a Mystery".
-Rhyein/Aozame
*
You come out at night
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
and the vampires roam
*
I stood in the darkened room quietly. It'd been a long time since I'd been back. The red answering machine light was the only thing I could see clearly in the dark. I wonder why I came back… I think it's because I wanted to see what would happen with Vicious. When Shin told me that he was staging a coup, I had to come. To see if he'd succeed… or maybe I just want to get caught. Coming back here would make it easier on them to catch me.
So many memories.
Vicious… Me…
Spike…
I moved toward the answering machine light and pushed the button. It was Shin, of course. He was the only person on Mars that knew where I was.
"The Elders are going to be on the move. It's dangerous over there as well. Please hurry."
I took off my sunglasses and the room became a bit clearer, but not much. The Elders knew what Vicious was planning. He was going to get caught.
A knot rose into my stomach at the thought of Vicious being killed.
He had become too cold. Too calculating… Too brutal. That is why the Elders didn't want to give him the succession. It's my fault too. I was bored with his ruthless ambition. It was exciting when I first met him, but he changed. He still loved me dearly, but as the years went by and the body count rose, he started to change… Until Spike.
Then for a while, he was back to his old self. Spike was young and innocent and carefree. Everything Vicious was not. He was contagious. Vicious began to smile more again. It was wonderful… Until the Elders decided the order of succession.
Spike was next in line, and Vicious was after him.
*
You strut your rasta wear
and your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came
You're building a mystery
*
I sat down and sighed, the sun was beginning to come up and it would soon be too dangerous to stay here.
Vicious resented Spike being before him in the succession line. Vicious had been with the Syndicate longer, Vicious had worked harder, he deserved it more… he used to rant that all the time whenever Spike wasn't around. He began to get colder again, not only toward Spike, but toward me. He began working late and so I was lonely and would go places with Spike.
I don't know when I realised I loved him. It came on rather gradually since I was convinced that I loved Vicious… and I did… I still do… But that man is not Vicious. He's a bloody beast, a fallen angel… He's not the Vicious I know.
Spike is still an angel. He's not a beast like Vicious is… or like me.
I heard that he's a bounty hunter… Working with three other people. I think their names were Jett Black, Faye Valentine and I can't remember the other one.
I laid down on the bed and sighed. It was cold. The bed I shared with Vicious… The bed I shared with Spike.
I think I deserve to get caught.
*
You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls
*
I don't know what to do anymore. I'm tired, so tired of running. I've been running for almost three years. I just want to go somewhere that they either can't find me, or just let myself get caught and hope that they kill me quickly.
I heard Spike was on Mars. He's becoming somewhat famous now. That might be bad for him since he's technically dead. The Elders might decide he's a threat and go after him. Maybe I can find him. I guess the airport's the best place to start…
I pulled my coat around myself tightly. It was a cold rain. The kind that always brought bad things, like pneumonia… snow… men… or death.
My red umbrella popped open perfectly and I put it over my head as I walked toward my red sports car. I don't know why I have this obsession with red. It's a dangerous obsession when you're on the run. You stand out too much. Especially when the rest of the world is as grey as it is. Or maybe I don't stand out. Maybe the world just looks grey to me. I jumped into my car and started the engine, thinking of Spike. I used to tell him that we were only watching a dream. That life wasn't reality, it was only in our minds. I'm not sure that I believe that anymore.
*
You wear sandals in the snow
And a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window
Without your shadow getting in the way
*
I drove down the wet roads, toward Tharsis. That was where Spike was, and where the Red Dragon was. I was headed into the belly of the beast for that man. He always made me do crazy things like that… and he didn't even know he did it. Vicious never made me do crazy things just to see him. He was cold, calculating, silent. I guess that's what attracted me to him. His ambition… his silence. I knew he was going places, and I guess I latched on for the ride. He never really told me anything, not even about himself. I know that Mao saved his life once. The Elders wanted to kill him, but Mao talked them out of it… and now Mao's dead, at Vicious' hand. I guess it serves him right for thinking he could control the uncontrollable.
No. I shouldn't think things like that. Mao was Spike's foster father. He took Spike in when no one else would. He was the only person in the syndicate, other than Vicious and myself that had a hold on Spike's wild nature. He was a wolf like Vicious. A lone wolf. Except while Vicious would only kill anyone that got too close, Spike would lash out, bite, snap, do anything to scare them away, but he wouldn't kill them. However, anyone that was stubborn enough to keep pushing after all the scratches and bites they got from Spike, he would usually die for them.
He was willing to die for Mao and Vicious… and me.
As I left town, the skies began to clear, and I could put the top down. Mars was truly a beautiful place when you didn't have to worry about anything.
Too bad there were two black cars trailing me.
*
You're so beautiful
With an edge and charm
And so careful
When I'm in your arms
*
I began to speed up. The airport wasn't really that far away to begin with. Would they really risk trying to kill me in a crowded place like an airport?
Probably.
I stepped on it, swerving through the cars in front of me hazardously. I spun around a corner and into the airport parking lot. I whizzed past the vehicles and around a water tower. I saw the two cars coming after me, and a woman in yellow step into the road, and fire two shots at them, blowing the second car's tire, causing them to flip. I drove up next to her, and she jumped into the back. We sped out of the airport with one car still on our trail. She fired at him again, and blew another tire.
Damn she's a good shot.
I stopped the car for a while and we smoked a cigarette.
"You saved me," I said to her.
"Same here."
"You're a good shot."
"I was getting bounties with it."
I glanced at her. "A bounty hunter...?"
"Although now I'm kind off on a break 'cause there's something going on. You look like you have something going on, too. It might be good to pair up with another woman. How about it? Wanna be my partner?" she asked me. I thought about it for a moment. It might be nice to pair up with someone else for a while, I get tired of being alone all the time.
"I have... something to do," I replied finally.
"Oh. Too bad." She shrugged and put out her cigarette.
"Do you know any bounty hunter hangouts?" I wonder if she knows Spike…
"I can help if you want to put a bounty on someone."
"I'm looking for a bounty hunter… I'll drive you back," I told her finally.
*
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
*
After I finished my cigarettes, she climbed into the front. We were silent for a few minutes.
"So what's your name?" I asked finally.
"Faye. Faye Valentine," she replied.
"Faye?!" I repeated, surprised. I wonder if she's the same Faye that works with Spike?
"It's a common name… What's yours?"
"Julia."
"Julia?!" She sounded surprised too. I wonder what he told her about me.
"It's a common name," I repeated. We drove back to the airport in silence. My mind wandered. I began to wonder if Spike even cared about me anymore.
This Faye was pretty, and smart… Another type of girl that you just can't leave alone. It made me wonder if he and her…
Why should I even care? It's been three years. He's male, he's human… It's not like we were married or anything. Why should I expect him to wait for me, when he probably thinks I'm dead anyway.
*
You woke up screaming aloud
A prayer for your secret god
You feed off our fears
And hold back your tears oh
*
Maybe he does still love me. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know. I know I still love him… but yet… there's something… is it guilt? That all of this happened to him because of me?
I know it's my fault.
My fault he's a bounty hunter. My fault Vicious is trying to kill him. My fault that he's dead to the Red Dragon. My fault he was kicked out of the line of succession. My fault… For everything.
We pulled into the airport parking lot.
She can give him a message for me. He doesn't have to do it… and if he doesn't come then I'll know. I'll know he blames me. I'll know that he doesn't love me anymore.
*
You give us a tantrum
And a know it all grin
Just when we need one
When the evening's thin
*
She got out of my car and turned to me.
"I'm glad I met you," I said to her.
"Me too. Um, have I seen you somewhere...?" I adjusted my sunglasses and tried to breath calmly. It's now or never.
"If... you see Spike again... Tell him that I will be waiting there. He'll know what I mean. Tell him that I'll keep waiting..."
"Why...?" she demanded, seemingly surprised and horrified that I knew Spike.
"Good-bye, Faye Valentine." Then I smiled at her and stepped on the gas. Leaving her behind me.
The sky turned grey again as I left the airport. I put the top up and drove toward the place we were supposed to have met so many years ago. It was going to rain more.
I hate rain.
*
You're a beautiful
A beautiful fucked-up man
You're setting up your
Razor wire shrine
'Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully
You're building a mystery…
