DISCLAIMER:I don't own Kool and the gang, the song called jungle boogie or the twilight zone, though I visit it from time to time^^;
COWBOY BEBOP-JUNGLE BOOGIE
Jet sat at his desk, staring woefully at the row of bonsai plants. They were all suffering
from horrible clipping mistakes and some had severed trunks. Jet wasn't sure any of them were
still alive. "Goddamnit!" He bellowed, slamming his metal fist down on the desk. Jet eyed the
pair of shears in his right hand, as his left placed a cigarette between his lips. A thin hand
held a flame to Jet's cigg, as a youthful, sarcastic voice followed. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Spike
chided, lighting a smoke of his own. "You know, you really should just give those things up
Jet." Jet turned wearily to face his partner, pointing the shears at him with a scowl. "Can it,
Spike. I swear I've almost got the hang of this." Jet retorted, wiping bits of green from the
shears. Spike backed up a bit, palms up. He didn't like the shears being so close. "And besides,
it's very relaxing." Jet continued, still scowling at Spike. "Yeah, sure Jet." Spike said,
watching Jet as he put the shears away. "You look real relaxed right now, for a serial killer."
Jet turned to say something back, but Spike was already walking out the door. Hands in his
pockets. Whistling that same tune, that real easy, smooth tune he'd picked up somewhere. Jet
went back to his trees, taking a long hard look at them. "Should I really just give up learning
how to do this?" Jet muttered to himself. As if in response to Jet's question, one of the trees
with a severed trunk fell to the desk, snapping in two as it landed near Jet's hand. He exhaled
deeply, blowing smoke as he eyed the poor tree. "Well, there should be more on the way." Jet
assured himself, standing up and deciding to find something else to do.
Faye was sitting in her Redtail, keeping a lazy eye out for her prey as she fought to stay
awake. "Why are these guys always late when I'M waiting for them?" Faye asked herself, looking
out at empty space. The delivery schedule she'd 'borrowed' from a big-time drug dealer, said
that a major shipment was supossd to come through here at five thirty. That shipment was
being transported by one Rally Tripwire, a 34 year old male with a long history of drug
smuggling. His bounty was 3 million wulongs, providing she caught him in the act and turned in
the shipment. With just him the bounty would be cut down to 1.5 million. Faye gazed at the
chronological display on the dashboard and sighed. "It's almost seven, where IS he!" Faye
huffed, shifting in her seat as she dug the lighter out of her shorts. She lit a cigarette
calmly, taking a long, slow drag. A huge roar of thrusters made her eyes go wide as her ship
began to shake. A freighter ship roared closely overhead, barely missing the Redtail's rudder.
"Well it's about TIME!" Faye shouted, more excited than angry as she grabbed the controls.
She pushed her thrusters to catch up to the massive ship. As she brought the Redtail
alongside the driver's viewport, Faye switched her speaker system on. "Rally Tripwire, stop
right there!" Faye warned, as she maneuvered one of the Redtail's gun arms to rest on the
viewport. Rally gaped at the huge cannon only inches from his face, and panicked. His foot
stomped on the accelerator out of pure shock, as he brought the freighter's rear end around.
Faye gasped as it scraped along the Redtail's hull, glaring at the paint missing from the gun
arm. "Didn't you hear a word I said?!" Faye yelled after him, giving chase. "What the hell is
this?" Rally asked in a voice that betrayed his fear. He shot a nervous glance in the rear view
mirror, and saw the girl's ship was almost on him again. They were entering a loading zone now,
and Rally spied a dock crates were being loaded from. This crazy woman may get him, but with no
evidence he'd be a free man in 24 hours. Faye saw the freighter swoop low as she neared it,
gasping as she saw the loading dock. "He wouldn't.... " Faye started, growling with rage as
she watched Rally dump the shipment. "Oh well, it's still 1.5 million." Faye reasoned, loading
the ship's missle arm. Rally saw the missles coming, but they were way too close to be dodged
in a ship this size. "Hell, I guess that's that." Rally muttered, smirking innocently
as Faye's ship overtook his crippled freighter and pointied both gun arms directly at
the viewport. "I give up, Miss." Rally whined, hands high in the air. "Save that for the cops,
jerk." Faye replied, opening his door and scowling as she tossed him into her ship, giving his
head a kick for stress relief.
Rally passed out immediately, as Faye closed the hatch and headed back to the bebop.
Faye knew it would be impossible to recover the drugs now, but she still watched as they were
mistakenly loaded into a freighter. It had what looked like a huge bonsai tree, painted on it's
side.
Spike stood quietly outside the prison, waiting for Faye to finish turning in the bounty.
He had to admit she'd done a great job catching him. No big hassles. Spike took a final drag
from his cigarette and put it out, before starting another one. "Man, I hate waiting.." He
muttered, leaning against the building. It wasn't long before Faye came through the door,
smiling at the cash card in her hand. Spike followed as she walked away, she seemed a little TOO
happy. Faye looked back and saw Spike, she slowed down until he was walking beside her.
"One point five million." She teased, watching Spike eye her cautiously.
Spike smirked, figuring she could do what she wanted with it. She'd caught him fair and square.
"Off to the races?" Spike inquired. Faye reacted to the question with a thoughtful look.
"Hmm, not this time. Think I'll finally get that shower replaced." Spike blinked as his jaw
dropped, nearly losing his cigg. "You'll what?" Spike asked bewildered. "Get the shower
replaced, I said" Faye repeated. "It's not good to spend all your money freely you know,
sometimes you have to be careful." Spike blinked again. "Careful?" He repeated, amazed.
"Yeah, one of us has to be, Spike." Faye answered, winking at him as she waved. Spike still
stood in amazement as she climbed into her Redtail and took off. "She's messing with me.." Spike
reasoned. It was the only answer. No way was she actually going to be responsible.
Spike was still getting his mind around it as he guided the swordfish into the bebop's hangar.
"Well?" Jet asked, curious as to how Faye screwed THIS one up. Spike climbed down from the
ship's hull, walking past Jet as he answered. "Well, she caught him." Jet's face took on a look
of disbelief. "She did? Nothing went wrong?" Spike kept walking as he replied. "Not a thing, it
was a clean shot." Jet shook his head, chuckling as he rested it in his palm. He had a thought
and called out a final query as Spike opened the door. "So what's she going to do with the
money?" Spike stopped at that, facing the hall beyond the doorway. Jet knew that would do it.
No matter how she got it, Faye always lost her money on gambling. That was a universal fact.
"She said she was going to have the shower replaced." Spike said finally. She's WHAT!?" Jet
cried, waiting for the end of the world to hit. With Faye being effective AND practical, it had
to be right around the corner. Spike walked out, calling to Jet a minute later. A delievery was
waiting for him.
Spike scratched his head as he peered at the freighter. The huge bonsai on the side was comical
to him, yet extremely boring. "Oh, I see." Spike quiped as Jet signed for the package and waved
as the feighter took off. "Now that Faye's not wasting money anymore you're filling in, very
thoughtful of you." Jet gave him a look that signified the fine line Spike was on.
"If you don't like my hobbies, you can just get the HELL off my ship, Spike-o" Jet warned,
grinning. That grin was in Spike's opinion, the scariest look Jet had. Spike lit up a cigg, and
was about to make a comeback. Jet saw it coming and cut him off. "If you're worried about
a ride, I'm sure that guy will come back and give you a lift. If I painted your skinny ass green
you'd be the world's largest bonsai tree, Spike." Spike gave up, seeing that things were just
not right today. First Faye catches a bounty and spends the money wisely, then Jet decides to
grow a sense of humor. "Funny, I thought the twilight zone would be more colorful.." Spike
mused, walking behind Jet. "Ok, here we are." Jet announced, unpacking the bonsai plants and
setting them down on his desk. He dumped the dead ones into the trash, then tossed the empty box
to Spike, who deftly stepped aside and kicked the box out the door. "Wait, these don't look
right.." Jet noticed, examining the trees more closely. "They don't?" Spike asked, bending over
to peer at them over Jet's shoulder. "No, they don't." Jet repeated, annoyed at Spike's
ignorance in the subject. "They smell kinda weird too." Spike put in, sniffing the air.
Jet put a hand on his bald head, trying to figure out what was wrong with them. "Ed smells
something stinky!" Edward exclaimed, running into the room on all fours. She skittered to a halt
at Spike's feet, peering up at the table. "They smell weird!" Spike looked down at her,
rubbing his chin. "Hey Ed, do you like salad?" Spike asked her. Ed nooded happily, grinning
madly. Jet looked at Spike, who looked back at Jet with a smirk. Jet knew what he had in mind,
and agreed with him 100 percent. How much weirder could Edward get, anyway?
Faye smiled as the new shower was loaded into her ship. "High pressure water system, fully
posable head and three different massage settings." Faye remarked, thinking about the hot water
cascading down her body. She had a brief thought of Spike being in it with her, holding her
close. The sensation of his hands on her body mixed with the relaxing water. And the steam...
Faye shook the idea quickly, rather surprised at herself. Finally being in love was something
she still wasn't used to. The man closed the hatch of her ship, with the shower neatly tucked
inside. One of the best things about shopping for Faye was having someone else to the work for
you. "Thank yoouu." She cooed, as the man gave her a recepit and smile.
As Faye climbed into the Redtail, a freighter slowed to a crawl outside the store.
A huge bonsai plant was painted on it's side. Faye stopped half inside the ship, and stared at
it blankly. She felt her mind was trying to remember something, but couldn't.
Her eyes widened, as people began taking the trees from the ship to the store.
They looked almost like...It couldn't be. Faye blinked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Her mind recalled to her horror, that Jet had said something about getting more trees today,
that all of his were dead. Her mind flashed to the drugs Rally Tripwire had dumped just before
she'd caught him. They had been loaded onto a ship full of bonsai trees.
If there were only one or two of those freighters around..."Oh SHIT." Faye hissed, closing the
hatch quickly as she scrambled to get the ship off the ground. As it sped through the air,
Faye hoped she got to Jet before those plants did. If she wasn't in time, Jet and the others
could be in some real trouble. Just once she wished for a nice big bounty with no problems.
Faye's mind wasn't at all eased when she docked on the bebop. No one had opened the hangar.
She'd had to wait until the ship's sensors identified her ship and let her in.
She jumped from the Redtail's cockpit, dashing to the bridge as fast as she could. She heard
music coming from the rec room. Very bizzare music, it sounded like that stuff from way back.
Disco, was it called? The door to the rec room opened in front of her, and Faye could do nothing
but stand in shock. It WAS disco, and Spike and Jet were moving in such strange ways. She would
be laughing her head off if she wasn't so scared. Another song started up, as Spike and Jet
turned to face her. They were both wearing sunglasses, both holding microphones in their hands.
Faye opened her mouth to ask a question, but no words came. Faye saw a big machine behind them,
she remembered it slightly from her past. She was pretty sure it was called a karaoke machine,
but couldn't remember what it was used for. And then, Faye found out.
Words came up on the machine's huge screen, as Spike and Jet began singing them out loud.
"Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang. his voice sounded pretty good, in spite of all Faye's jokes.
"Get down with da boogie!" Jet sang, sounding much more like a black guy than usual.
"Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang. "Get it on!" Came Jet's voice. "Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang,
"Get up, with da GET DOWN!" Jet sang. "Jungle Boogie!" Came Spike's voice. "And shake it
around!"Jet sang. iT was so bizzare Faye feared that the drugs must be fatal, killing the user
with acts of utter insanity. Jet and Spike strutted past each other, walking as if the gravity
on the ship had been tripled. Spike pointed his finger to the floor, then to the ceiling, but
nothing was there.
Wait, there was Ed, hanging from the ceiling fan and squealing like a monkey. A skinny,
orange-haired monkey with goggles. Spike began singing again while Jet was beside him, pointing
at Spike with every word Spike sang. Uh! Get it!" Spike sang. "Feel the funk y'all, let it
floooow!" Spike grunted along with Jet, as they busted all kinda of moves. Jet crossed his arms
back and forth, squatting low to the ground while Spike was cartwheeling, punching and kicking
to the music. Jet started singing again, as Faye rasied her gun, contemplating ending their
misery herself. "Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" Spike sang, grunting and kicking
around the room. "I'm talking 'bout the jungle boogie!" Jet sang, holding his head as it swayed
back and forth. "I say UH, HEY! Get down, say UH! HUH! Can ya feel it y'all?" Jet was on a
roll, moving in ways Faye didn't think were possible for a man his size. Faye fired the gun,
unable to bear it any longer. Two shots rang out and the music died abruptly. Edward cried out
and laughed madly as the celing fan gave way, crashing to the floor as she jumped off.
Ed fell on the floor, convulsing with laughter. All three of them were. Spike was gigling at
the top of his lungs, his face was so red Faye thought it resembled a big hairy apple.
Jet stopped suddenly, looking up at Faye with childish mischief gleaming in his eyes. In his
mouth, was one of her bras. "Ahhhhghhh!" Faye exclaimed, embarrased, enraged and confused all at
once. Spike jumped up from the floor, landing on Jet's back. He grabbed the bra strap hanging
from either side of Jet's mouth and let out a 'yeeehaaa!' Jet made the most deep-throated horse
imitation Faye had ever heard, and ran around the room on all fours. Edward saw them and jumped
on Spike's shoulders as they passed her. Jet ran circles around Faye, as she cringed and held
herself tightly. "Would you guys cut it out for God's SAKE!!" Faye screamed, feeling like she'd
stepped into an alternate dimension composed only of weirdness. Jet stopped, and Spike tipped an
invisible cowboy hat to her. "I'm a cowboy, Faye! Wanna be my cowgirl?" Spike asked, grinning in
a way that made his boyish features seem frightening. "NO!" Faye screeeched, kicking him in the
chest. Spike toppled off Jet's back, while Ed scrambled over him and took the straps. "Giddyap,
Jet-horsey-person! Let's round up some cowpokes!" Edward exclaimed, giggling as Jet pawed his
arms in the air and ran off on all fours again. They were headed for the door. Faye thought that
if they got out of the room, they'd trash the whole ship for sure. "Oh no you don't!" Faye
cried, blocking their path. She put her heel firmly on Jet's bald head, stopping their movement.
"What the hell is with you guys!" Faye asked in desperation. Jet began gnawing on her foot as
if it were a muzzle, while Ed jumped off of Jet's back. She ran over to Spike, who was laying on
the floor. His hands and feet were moving like he was trying to do jumping jacks. Edward joined
him, laying down across from him so their feet were touching. Faye scowled at them, gritting her
teeth and looked back at Jet. She glared at him, waiting for just one more stupid move.
They stared each other down, until Jet finally stopped chewing on her boot and opened his mouth
to speak, his eyes bloodshot. "Faye shoe taste no good. Horsey like Faye undies better."
"JEEETTTT!!!!" Faye screamed louder than she ever had before, so loud that she hurt her own
ears. She brought her fist down on Jet's head with a loud crack. Jet fell to the floor,
unconscious. Faye was breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. She stormed over to Spike and
Edward, who were still doing the weird jumping jacks. "What the HELL are you guys doing?!" Faye
screeched, fed up with all of the idiocy. Spike stopped, blinked and looked at Faye innocently.
"Making snow angels." He said simply. Edward nodded, singing as she moved. "Snowwyy snowwy
snoowyy angeels!" Faye rasied an eyebrow and gritted her teeth again. She couldn't believe this
was happening, she had to be dreaming. "There's no snow." Faye informed the two. Spike looked
up at the ceiling, reaching a hand to the air. "Yes there is, see? Right here in my hand,
Faye." Spike held his empty palm out for her to see. "If it's on your hand, why isn't it melted
by now?" Faye asked , feeling like a preschool teacher. "It's MAGIC snoooow." Ed answered, as
Spike looked at his own hand in wonderment. "Yeah...MAGIC SNOW...Whoa.." Spike said dreamily.
Faye sighed heavily. She has given up. There was only one way to fix this. She had to find Rally
and make him tell her how to counteract the drugs. She hoisted Spike over her shoulder, ignoring
him as he kept asking where they were flying to, and why was everything upside down? She laid
Spike carefully in the cargo bay, tucking a blanket under his head and kissing his forehead.
She dragged Jet to the cargo bay as well. Edward followed her curiously. Faye looked back at
her, seeing that she was perfectly normal now. "Edward, do you know what happened?" Faye asked
her, slumping Jet over against some crates. Ed nodded. "Jet-person got some weird smelling
bonsai. Spike-person made Ed eat the bonsai. Ed didn't like the bonsai, so Ed spit it back to
Spike-person. Spike person and Jet-person ate them all. Then they played with Edward!"
Faye blinked, understanding but not. It was just like Ed to be immune to drugs that make people
crazy. "But now Spike-person and Jet-person are sleeping, who will play with Ed?" Edward sat on
the floor, looking sad. Faye bit her lip. She coudn't leave her here with Spike and Jet, who
knew what those two would do if they woke up? "Edward." Faye said, bending down on one knee and
looking at Ed. "Do you want to play with Ed now too?" Ed asked, looking hopeful. "Yes Ed, we
can play now. Just the two of us." Faye said convincingly, smiling faintly at Ed. "We're going
to play a game Edward." Faye continued. Ed listened with anticipation. Ein arose from his nap,
trotting past the girls as Faye explained her plan to Ed. He gave the girls a passive glance
and a bark, then kept walking. Next to his dish Faye saw a plant, untouched. There was one
left. All she needed for evidence. They might get that other 1.5 million yet. "Ein doens't like
the bonsai. Neither does Edward." Faye smiled and nodded at her. For once the brat and the dog
really were the smarter of the crew. Before she left with Edward, Faye made it a point to
reclaim her underwear from the rec room. She comtemplated getting a lock for her door when this
was all over.
Rally Tripwire whistled happily as he strolled out of the jail cell. He knew it would happen
this way. With no evidence, the police couldn't touch him. His boss didn't seem to share his
good mood though. "Rally..." Boss Fujitsu growled as he escorted Rally out of the building.
"You disapoint me." Rally flinched slightly, holding the front door for Fujitsu as a sign of
good will. "What else could I do?" Rally whined as they walked down the steps together.
"If that bitch had caught me with a shipment, it'd be bad for you too." Fujita put his hand on
Rally's chest, stopping his movement. "That is entirely beside the point, and you know it."
Fujita said sounding even angrier, yet calm. Rally was scared to death of his boss for that
very reason. He'd never in his life met a man so composed, so cold. You wouldn't even know
if he was going to get rid of you, until you woke up with a bullet in your head.
Fujita began walking again, as a car pulled up in front of them. The back door opened, and out
stepped Rally's sister Layla. "Are you alright?" She asked, concerned as she motioned for him to
get into the car. Fujita stepped ahead of Rally and got in first, as Rally gave his sister
a weak smile and nodded. "Guess I screwed up pretty bad, huh sis?" He said apoligetically.
Layla smiled back at him, shrugging her shoulders. "No one knows what will happen from day to
day." She assured him. Rally took some heart in that, and got into the car. Layla circled around
to get in beside him. Rally looked at her, confused as she shut the door and pushed him over.
He was now tightly pressed bewteen the two other occupants, and feeling very nervous.
A loud click made Rally turn to Fujita, who was looking at him with an eeire grin.
Rally had taken his gun out, fearing the worst. But Fujita was unarmed, or at least
his gun was still hidden. The click had come from his lighter as Fujita lit a cigar.
Rally sighed with relief, and felt a hard object pressed against his other side.
He turned back to his sister, horrified as she put the gun to his forehead.
"Sis?" Rally whimpered, as Layla pulled the trigger. The last thing Rally heard was his
sister's voice echoing in his mind, mixing with the gunshot. "No one knows what will happen,
from day to day..." Rally slumped over onto his sister's lap, who cradled his head in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Rally." She whispered, looking completely unmoved.
Faye narrowed her eyes she put down the binoculars. "Some family." She remarked, looking over at
Edward. The two had decided to stake out the prison and wait for Rally to be set free.
But now there was no linking him to the drugs. Faye knew from experience that dead men yield
no bounties. Faye stood up and took aim with a gun, something Edward had cooked up especially
for this job. She fired a tracking bug at the departing car's fender, smirking as it stuck
there. "Got the signal?" Faye asked Ed, ducking back behind the wall. "Yess! Loud and clear
Faye-Faye!" Edward replied, not comprehending the meaning of 'stealth mission'.
"Shhh.." Faye warned her, putting a finger to Ed's lips. "Be quiet, remember?" Edward nodded,
pursing her lips together to show she wouldn't say anything else. Faye peeked around the corner
again, making sure the car was out of sight. "Ok, let's go." Faye said quietly, watching Ed pack
up her laptop. Faye got into the Redtail and took something from the dashboard.
As Edward climbed inside Faye held out her hand, watching as Ed stared at the ring she held.
"Take it, it's yours." Faye said gently, smiling as Edward slowly closed her hand around it.
She looked completely mesmerized by it, as if it were a precious ruby. "You're giving this to
Edward?" She gasped, never expecting a gift from Faye of all people. "It has a microphone
inside, in case we get seperated." Faye explained. "I have one in my bracelet too, so if you
get in trouble use that ring to talk to me. Ok?" Edward nooded, smiling slightly but still in
shock from the gift. "Ed thanks you!" Edward cheered, hugging Faye tightly. "Shhh!" Faye
reminded her, but hugged her back all the same. She wondered exactly when it was Edward
had started to grow on her. On a ship with two grown men and a dog, they shared a certain
kind of sisterhood. Faye never had a sister before, it felt kind of good.
Fujita eyed Layla's curving figure as she went into the washroom to change. A grin formed on his
face. Such a lovely girl, so in control of herself, not letting her feelings stop her ambition.
Fujita wished she could take over for him now, and he could retire. But alas, that was not the
way things went. He had to die, before she could replace him. And a fine replacement she would
be, someone who would see his fluorishing company grow under her leadership.
Fujita looked around the spacious mansion, admiring the glass windows surrounding him.
A fitting symbol of his stature in the world. His time was near, he was certain of that. But he
had no regrets. The old must make way for the young after all. Fujita grinned wider, feeling
delicate hands glide over his shoulders.
"Layla..?" Fujita blurted out. Layla put her lips close to his ear, whispering a yes.
Fujita was rather surprised at Layla's sudden action, but at his age he wasn't about to pass
up a chance like this. The air smelled wonderfully of wet female skin, and damp fabric.
Fujita breathed it in thankfully as he leaned his head back in the chair, anticiplating
the sight of Layla's beautiful brown eyes. He only saw a flash of gleaming steel, as
Layla drove the knife through his eye. Fujita screamed as he tried to escape from the chair,
but Layla's other hand was holding him in place, and he only succeeded in making the wound
worse. "I'm sorry, Goro.." came Layla's sweet voice again, and as before her face showed no
emotion whatsoever. "Layla Tripwire." Faye said calmly, aiming her gun as she stood in the
doorway.
Layla turned around slowly, still holding the knife. The towel fell loosely away from her body
as she stood, landing silently over boss Fulita's corpse. "Won't you please come quietly?" Faye
asked, being as polite as she could to someone who had just murdered her brother and her
benefactor in cold blood. "Who are you?" Layla asked, her voice taking a threatening tone.
Faye thought she saw somwthing in Layla's hand, glistening with the moisture from her skin.
Faye realized it was a string, but not in time. Layla cartwheeled to the washroom door,
throwing the knife as she avoided the first gunshot. Faye saw the knife coming and rolled to the
side, throwing herself at Layla. Faye landed on top of her, holding the gun to Layla's closed
eyelid as she screamed in pain. "Eye for an eye, is that how it goes?" Faye hissed. She saw
Layla flick her hand briefly, the string still tied to it. The knife flew towards Faye as she
turned, and sank deep into in her shoulder. Layla shoved Faye off of her naked body,
scrambling to her feet as she pulled on the string. Faye screamed aloud in pain and fell to her
knees, forcefully pulling the knife out. She held it tightly in her grip, so she and Layla
were in a of tug of war. Ever with her wound, Faye was winning. But Layla wasn't going to play
fair. She reached over to Fujita's body, withdrawing a pistol from his trousers. "I'll ask
again, who are you?" Layla said, leveling the pistol at Faye. "Shit!" Faye hissed, seeing her
gun off to her left. Her shoulder refused to let her grab it, and without it she had no chance.
Or perhaps, she had one. "My name.." Faye said, bringing her arm up to her face. Layla seemed
that she would hold off shooting until Faye told her. "My name is EDWARD!!" Faye shouted into
her bracelet, thrwoing the knife in an arc as she dove for her gun. Layla followed the move
and fired as Faye ducked behind the washroom door. The door was only wood, lousy protecttion
from bullets. Layla kicked the door in, finding Faye on the other side waiting. Faye's gun
crossed Layla's and both women froze. It was now a standoff, but Faye didn't have use of her
good arm. She was going to miss, was afraid she'd miss, thought that she would miss, and that
would ensure that she did. A loud, buzzing noise made Layla turn, training her gun to the sound.
Faye's jaw dropped as Edward came crashing through the glass on her motor scooter. Layla
fired off the entire clip, and Edward dodged easily, striking poses that seemed almost funny.
Layla screamed in frustration as her gun clikced empty, and could only watch as Ed zoomed past
her, pressing the taser to Layla's arm. She fell to the floor instantly as Edward skidded to a
halt, standing on Layla's body victoriously. "Ed!" Faye exclaimed, wincing as she gave her a
thunbs up. "Faye-Faye!" Ed replied, grinning madly as always. "Edward heard you! Edward came!"
Faye stepped over Layla's body, looking curously at the taser in Ed's hand. She was holding it
over her head as if it were her sacred weapon. "But the taser..where did you?"
"Jet-person gave it to Ed." She answered, holding it out for Faye to see. "Jet-person said it
was only for emergencies. Was this an emergency?" Faye smiled, mussing Ed's hair with her good
hand. "It sure was, you saved me." Faye said, looking at Edward thankfully. Ed laughed and
nodded, jumping onto Faye's back. "Is she dead?" Ed asked cautiously, pointing the taser at
Layla over Faye's shoulder. Faye knelt down and took her pulse, sighing with relief. "No, she's
alive. But her skin's so hot..Must be from the water." Edward scratched her head, not
understanding the connection. "Come on you, let's go." Faye suggested, giving Ed a piggyback
ride to the ship. It hurt a little with the shoulder, but Ed was incredibly light. And she
thought Ed deserved something for doing such a good job. Faye went back to the mansion for
Layla, wrapping the towel around her again. She was only worth 50 thousand wulongs as Boss
Fujita's heir, she had the pictures of both murders to prove that. All in all it hadn't been
a bad deal. She just hoped the drugs wore off by the time she and Edward got back to the ship.
Faye glanced back as she guided the Redtail skyward. Edward was sprawled on top of Layla, who
was still out cold. She was stretching Layla's eyelids and letting them snap back, all the while
looking at her new ring. She really seemed happy with it, Faye thought.
"You can keep that you know." Faye informed her, smiling slightly. "All girls should have at
least one good piece of jewelry." Ed blinked at her, confused. "What makes Ed's ring good?"
She asked innocently, studying the ring. "It's a very good ring, it lets us stay close."
Faye explained, wondering if there was anyway to explain such a thing to Ed. "Oh yeah, Edward
can use it to talk to Faye-Faye! Ed can talk to Faye-Faye anytime Ed wants now!"
Faye shook her head, she wanted Ed to know the real reason she had given her the ring.
"No, that's not it Ed." Faye corected her, seeing the bebop looming in the distance.
Edward blinked again, laughing nervously. "Can you keep a secret?" Faye asked her,
knowing she couldn't. "Umm..Yes!" Ed answered, chewing on a few strands of Layla's hair.
"Ok." Faye said, glancing back at Ed once more. "That ring is a gift, from you to me. It's
something you can remember me by, even if I'm not around someday. Understand?" Ed frowned
slightly, upset at the idea of Faye being gone. "That's why Ed's ring is good?" She asked
slowly, setting the ring on her head. "Yes, that's right Ed." Faye told her, smiling. She did
understand after all. "I don't want you to ever take it off. Always wear that ring ok?" Faye
added, hoping she wasn't setting herself up for some annoyance later on. "OK!" Ed exclaimed,
sliding the ring back onto her finger. "Ed won't ever take it off!" Faye nodded, feeling like
someplace inside of her was brighter somehow. She liked having a little sister, insane or not.
"Does Faye have a good ring from Spikey?" Ed asked, unaware of what she was implying.
"No!" Faye quickly corrected, ending the conversation. But as she thought about the hot shower
that awaited her, the steam and the relaxing sensations. She imagined Spike holding her again,
making the sensations even better, caressing her body as he touched her hand and placed a ring
on her finger. Or perhaps a neckalce, fitting perfectly around her neck. Faye came out of her
fantasy quickly, shocked at herself again. She decided it would be best to shower alone, for
now.
SISTERS IN CRIME..............................
JET:Aw damnit....
SPIKE: Oh no, don't tell me.
FAYE:...It's horrible...Terrible.
ED:It's yucky!!!
JET: Come ON people, it's not that bad!
SPIKE:Oh, yes it is.
EIN: *whine*
ED: Ein thinks so too!
JET: Fine then! Starve! I'll eat the whole damn thing!
SPIKE: Not the food Jet...
JET: Huh? What were you guys talking about then?
SPIKE: Next episode, It's a hard knock life.
FAYE: It's all so wrong!!
COWBOY BEBOP-JUNGLE BOOGIE
Jet sat at his desk, staring woefully at the row of bonsai plants. They were all suffering
from horrible clipping mistakes and some had severed trunks. Jet wasn't sure any of them were
still alive. "Goddamnit!" He bellowed, slamming his metal fist down on the desk. Jet eyed the
pair of shears in his right hand, as his left placed a cigarette between his lips. A thin hand
held a flame to Jet's cigg, as a youthful, sarcastic voice followed. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Spike
chided, lighting a smoke of his own. "You know, you really should just give those things up
Jet." Jet turned wearily to face his partner, pointing the shears at him with a scowl. "Can it,
Spike. I swear I've almost got the hang of this." Jet retorted, wiping bits of green from the
shears. Spike backed up a bit, palms up. He didn't like the shears being so close. "And besides,
it's very relaxing." Jet continued, still scowling at Spike. "Yeah, sure Jet." Spike said,
watching Jet as he put the shears away. "You look real relaxed right now, for a serial killer."
Jet turned to say something back, but Spike was already walking out the door. Hands in his
pockets. Whistling that same tune, that real easy, smooth tune he'd picked up somewhere. Jet
went back to his trees, taking a long hard look at them. "Should I really just give up learning
how to do this?" Jet muttered to himself. As if in response to Jet's question, one of the trees
with a severed trunk fell to the desk, snapping in two as it landed near Jet's hand. He exhaled
deeply, blowing smoke as he eyed the poor tree. "Well, there should be more on the way." Jet
assured himself, standing up and deciding to find something else to do.
Faye was sitting in her Redtail, keeping a lazy eye out for her prey as she fought to stay
awake. "Why are these guys always late when I'M waiting for them?" Faye asked herself, looking
out at empty space. The delivery schedule she'd 'borrowed' from a big-time drug dealer, said
that a major shipment was supossd to come through here at five thirty. That shipment was
being transported by one Rally Tripwire, a 34 year old male with a long history of drug
smuggling. His bounty was 3 million wulongs, providing she caught him in the act and turned in
the shipment. With just him the bounty would be cut down to 1.5 million. Faye gazed at the
chronological display on the dashboard and sighed. "It's almost seven, where IS he!" Faye
huffed, shifting in her seat as she dug the lighter out of her shorts. She lit a cigarette
calmly, taking a long, slow drag. A huge roar of thrusters made her eyes go wide as her ship
began to shake. A freighter ship roared closely overhead, barely missing the Redtail's rudder.
"Well it's about TIME!" Faye shouted, more excited than angry as she grabbed the controls.
She pushed her thrusters to catch up to the massive ship. As she brought the Redtail
alongside the driver's viewport, Faye switched her speaker system on. "Rally Tripwire, stop
right there!" Faye warned, as she maneuvered one of the Redtail's gun arms to rest on the
viewport. Rally gaped at the huge cannon only inches from his face, and panicked. His foot
stomped on the accelerator out of pure shock, as he brought the freighter's rear end around.
Faye gasped as it scraped along the Redtail's hull, glaring at the paint missing from the gun
arm. "Didn't you hear a word I said?!" Faye yelled after him, giving chase. "What the hell is
this?" Rally asked in a voice that betrayed his fear. He shot a nervous glance in the rear view
mirror, and saw the girl's ship was almost on him again. They were entering a loading zone now,
and Rally spied a dock crates were being loaded from. This crazy woman may get him, but with no
evidence he'd be a free man in 24 hours. Faye saw the freighter swoop low as she neared it,
gasping as she saw the loading dock. "He wouldn't.... " Faye started, growling with rage as
she watched Rally dump the shipment. "Oh well, it's still 1.5 million." Faye reasoned, loading
the ship's missle arm. Rally saw the missles coming, but they were way too close to be dodged
in a ship this size. "Hell, I guess that's that." Rally muttered, smirking innocently
as Faye's ship overtook his crippled freighter and pointied both gun arms directly at
the viewport. "I give up, Miss." Rally whined, hands high in the air. "Save that for the cops,
jerk." Faye replied, opening his door and scowling as she tossed him into her ship, giving his
head a kick for stress relief.
Rally passed out immediately, as Faye closed the hatch and headed back to the bebop.
Faye knew it would be impossible to recover the drugs now, but she still watched as they were
mistakenly loaded into a freighter. It had what looked like a huge bonsai tree, painted on it's
side.
Spike stood quietly outside the prison, waiting for Faye to finish turning in the bounty.
He had to admit she'd done a great job catching him. No big hassles. Spike took a final drag
from his cigarette and put it out, before starting another one. "Man, I hate waiting.." He
muttered, leaning against the building. It wasn't long before Faye came through the door,
smiling at the cash card in her hand. Spike followed as she walked away, she seemed a little TOO
happy. Faye looked back and saw Spike, she slowed down until he was walking beside her.
"One point five million." She teased, watching Spike eye her cautiously.
Spike smirked, figuring she could do what she wanted with it. She'd caught him fair and square.
"Off to the races?" Spike inquired. Faye reacted to the question with a thoughtful look.
"Hmm, not this time. Think I'll finally get that shower replaced." Spike blinked as his jaw
dropped, nearly losing his cigg. "You'll what?" Spike asked bewildered. "Get the shower
replaced, I said" Faye repeated. "It's not good to spend all your money freely you know,
sometimes you have to be careful." Spike blinked again. "Careful?" He repeated, amazed.
"Yeah, one of us has to be, Spike." Faye answered, winking at him as she waved. Spike still
stood in amazement as she climbed into her Redtail and took off. "She's messing with me.." Spike
reasoned. It was the only answer. No way was she actually going to be responsible.
Spike was still getting his mind around it as he guided the swordfish into the bebop's hangar.
"Well?" Jet asked, curious as to how Faye screwed THIS one up. Spike climbed down from the
ship's hull, walking past Jet as he answered. "Well, she caught him." Jet's face took on a look
of disbelief. "She did? Nothing went wrong?" Spike kept walking as he replied. "Not a thing, it
was a clean shot." Jet shook his head, chuckling as he rested it in his palm. He had a thought
and called out a final query as Spike opened the door. "So what's she going to do with the
money?" Spike stopped at that, facing the hall beyond the doorway. Jet knew that would do it.
No matter how she got it, Faye always lost her money on gambling. That was a universal fact.
"She said she was going to have the shower replaced." Spike said finally. She's WHAT!?" Jet
cried, waiting for the end of the world to hit. With Faye being effective AND practical, it had
to be right around the corner. Spike walked out, calling to Jet a minute later. A delievery was
waiting for him.
Spike scratched his head as he peered at the freighter. The huge bonsai on the side was comical
to him, yet extremely boring. "Oh, I see." Spike quiped as Jet signed for the package and waved
as the feighter took off. "Now that Faye's not wasting money anymore you're filling in, very
thoughtful of you." Jet gave him a look that signified the fine line Spike was on.
"If you don't like my hobbies, you can just get the HELL off my ship, Spike-o" Jet warned,
grinning. That grin was in Spike's opinion, the scariest look Jet had. Spike lit up a cigg, and
was about to make a comeback. Jet saw it coming and cut him off. "If you're worried about
a ride, I'm sure that guy will come back and give you a lift. If I painted your skinny ass green
you'd be the world's largest bonsai tree, Spike." Spike gave up, seeing that things were just
not right today. First Faye catches a bounty and spends the money wisely, then Jet decides to
grow a sense of humor. "Funny, I thought the twilight zone would be more colorful.." Spike
mused, walking behind Jet. "Ok, here we are." Jet announced, unpacking the bonsai plants and
setting them down on his desk. He dumped the dead ones into the trash, then tossed the empty box
to Spike, who deftly stepped aside and kicked the box out the door. "Wait, these don't look
right.." Jet noticed, examining the trees more closely. "They don't?" Spike asked, bending over
to peer at them over Jet's shoulder. "No, they don't." Jet repeated, annoyed at Spike's
ignorance in the subject. "They smell kinda weird too." Spike put in, sniffing the air.
Jet put a hand on his bald head, trying to figure out what was wrong with them. "Ed smells
something stinky!" Edward exclaimed, running into the room on all fours. She skittered to a halt
at Spike's feet, peering up at the table. "They smell weird!" Spike looked down at her,
rubbing his chin. "Hey Ed, do you like salad?" Spike asked her. Ed nooded happily, grinning
madly. Jet looked at Spike, who looked back at Jet with a smirk. Jet knew what he had in mind,
and agreed with him 100 percent. How much weirder could Edward get, anyway?
Faye smiled as the new shower was loaded into her ship. "High pressure water system, fully
posable head and three different massage settings." Faye remarked, thinking about the hot water
cascading down her body. She had a brief thought of Spike being in it with her, holding her
close. The sensation of his hands on her body mixed with the relaxing water. And the steam...
Faye shook the idea quickly, rather surprised at herself. Finally being in love was something
she still wasn't used to. The man closed the hatch of her ship, with the shower neatly tucked
inside. One of the best things about shopping for Faye was having someone else to the work for
you. "Thank yoouu." She cooed, as the man gave her a recepit and smile.
As Faye climbed into the Redtail, a freighter slowed to a crawl outside the store.
A huge bonsai plant was painted on it's side. Faye stopped half inside the ship, and stared at
it blankly. She felt her mind was trying to remember something, but couldn't.
Her eyes widened, as people began taking the trees from the ship to the store.
They looked almost like...It couldn't be. Faye blinked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Her mind recalled to her horror, that Jet had said something about getting more trees today,
that all of his were dead. Her mind flashed to the drugs Rally Tripwire had dumped just before
she'd caught him. They had been loaded onto a ship full of bonsai trees.
If there were only one or two of those freighters around..."Oh SHIT." Faye hissed, closing the
hatch quickly as she scrambled to get the ship off the ground. As it sped through the air,
Faye hoped she got to Jet before those plants did. If she wasn't in time, Jet and the others
could be in some real trouble. Just once she wished for a nice big bounty with no problems.
Faye's mind wasn't at all eased when she docked on the bebop. No one had opened the hangar.
She'd had to wait until the ship's sensors identified her ship and let her in.
She jumped from the Redtail's cockpit, dashing to the bridge as fast as she could. She heard
music coming from the rec room. Very bizzare music, it sounded like that stuff from way back.
Disco, was it called? The door to the rec room opened in front of her, and Faye could do nothing
but stand in shock. It WAS disco, and Spike and Jet were moving in such strange ways. She would
be laughing her head off if she wasn't so scared. Another song started up, as Spike and Jet
turned to face her. They were both wearing sunglasses, both holding microphones in their hands.
Faye opened her mouth to ask a question, but no words came. Faye saw a big machine behind them,
she remembered it slightly from her past. She was pretty sure it was called a karaoke machine,
but couldn't remember what it was used for. And then, Faye found out.
Words came up on the machine's huge screen, as Spike and Jet began singing them out loud.
"Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang. his voice sounded pretty good, in spite of all Faye's jokes.
"Get down with da boogie!" Jet sang, sounding much more like a black guy than usual.
"Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang. "Get it on!" Came Jet's voice. "Jungle Boogie!" Spike sang,
"Get up, with da GET DOWN!" Jet sang. "Jungle Boogie!" Came Spike's voice. "And shake it
around!"Jet sang. iT was so bizzare Faye feared that the drugs must be fatal, killing the user
with acts of utter insanity. Jet and Spike strutted past each other, walking as if the gravity
on the ship had been tripled. Spike pointed his finger to the floor, then to the ceiling, but
nothing was there.
Wait, there was Ed, hanging from the ceiling fan and squealing like a monkey. A skinny,
orange-haired monkey with goggles. Spike began singing again while Jet was beside him, pointing
at Spike with every word Spike sang. Uh! Get it!" Spike sang. "Feel the funk y'all, let it
floooow!" Spike grunted along with Jet, as they busted all kinda of moves. Jet crossed his arms
back and forth, squatting low to the ground while Spike was cartwheeling, punching and kicking
to the music. Jet started singing again, as Faye rasied her gun, contemplating ending their
misery herself. "Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" Spike sang, grunting and kicking
around the room. "I'm talking 'bout the jungle boogie!" Jet sang, holding his head as it swayed
back and forth. "I say UH, HEY! Get down, say UH! HUH! Can ya feel it y'all?" Jet was on a
roll, moving in ways Faye didn't think were possible for a man his size. Faye fired the gun,
unable to bear it any longer. Two shots rang out and the music died abruptly. Edward cried out
and laughed madly as the celing fan gave way, crashing to the floor as she jumped off.
Ed fell on the floor, convulsing with laughter. All three of them were. Spike was gigling at
the top of his lungs, his face was so red Faye thought it resembled a big hairy apple.
Jet stopped suddenly, looking up at Faye with childish mischief gleaming in his eyes. In his
mouth, was one of her bras. "Ahhhhghhh!" Faye exclaimed, embarrased, enraged and confused all at
once. Spike jumped up from the floor, landing on Jet's back. He grabbed the bra strap hanging
from either side of Jet's mouth and let out a 'yeeehaaa!' Jet made the most deep-throated horse
imitation Faye had ever heard, and ran around the room on all fours. Edward saw them and jumped
on Spike's shoulders as they passed her. Jet ran circles around Faye, as she cringed and held
herself tightly. "Would you guys cut it out for God's SAKE!!" Faye screamed, feeling like she'd
stepped into an alternate dimension composed only of weirdness. Jet stopped, and Spike tipped an
invisible cowboy hat to her. "I'm a cowboy, Faye! Wanna be my cowgirl?" Spike asked, grinning in
a way that made his boyish features seem frightening. "NO!" Faye screeeched, kicking him in the
chest. Spike toppled off Jet's back, while Ed scrambled over him and took the straps. "Giddyap,
Jet-horsey-person! Let's round up some cowpokes!" Edward exclaimed, giggling as Jet pawed his
arms in the air and ran off on all fours again. They were headed for the door. Faye thought that
if they got out of the room, they'd trash the whole ship for sure. "Oh no you don't!" Faye
cried, blocking their path. She put her heel firmly on Jet's bald head, stopping their movement.
"What the hell is with you guys!" Faye asked in desperation. Jet began gnawing on her foot as
if it were a muzzle, while Ed jumped off of Jet's back. She ran over to Spike, who was laying on
the floor. His hands and feet were moving like he was trying to do jumping jacks. Edward joined
him, laying down across from him so their feet were touching. Faye scowled at them, gritting her
teeth and looked back at Jet. She glared at him, waiting for just one more stupid move.
They stared each other down, until Jet finally stopped chewing on her boot and opened his mouth
to speak, his eyes bloodshot. "Faye shoe taste no good. Horsey like Faye undies better."
"JEEETTTT!!!!" Faye screamed louder than she ever had before, so loud that she hurt her own
ears. She brought her fist down on Jet's head with a loud crack. Jet fell to the floor,
unconscious. Faye was breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. She stormed over to Spike and
Edward, who were still doing the weird jumping jacks. "What the HELL are you guys doing?!" Faye
screeched, fed up with all of the idiocy. Spike stopped, blinked and looked at Faye innocently.
"Making snow angels." He said simply. Edward nodded, singing as she moved. "Snowwyy snowwy
snoowyy angeels!" Faye rasied an eyebrow and gritted her teeth again. She couldn't believe this
was happening, she had to be dreaming. "There's no snow." Faye informed the two. Spike looked
up at the ceiling, reaching a hand to the air. "Yes there is, see? Right here in my hand,
Faye." Spike held his empty palm out for her to see. "If it's on your hand, why isn't it melted
by now?" Faye asked , feeling like a preschool teacher. "It's MAGIC snoooow." Ed answered, as
Spike looked at his own hand in wonderment. "Yeah...MAGIC SNOW...Whoa.." Spike said dreamily.
Faye sighed heavily. She has given up. There was only one way to fix this. She had to find Rally
and make him tell her how to counteract the drugs. She hoisted Spike over her shoulder, ignoring
him as he kept asking where they were flying to, and why was everything upside down? She laid
Spike carefully in the cargo bay, tucking a blanket under his head and kissing his forehead.
She dragged Jet to the cargo bay as well. Edward followed her curiously. Faye looked back at
her, seeing that she was perfectly normal now. "Edward, do you know what happened?" Faye asked
her, slumping Jet over against some crates. Ed nodded. "Jet-person got some weird smelling
bonsai. Spike-person made Ed eat the bonsai. Ed didn't like the bonsai, so Ed spit it back to
Spike-person. Spike person and Jet-person ate them all. Then they played with Edward!"
Faye blinked, understanding but not. It was just like Ed to be immune to drugs that make people
crazy. "But now Spike-person and Jet-person are sleeping, who will play with Ed?" Edward sat on
the floor, looking sad. Faye bit her lip. She coudn't leave her here with Spike and Jet, who
knew what those two would do if they woke up? "Edward." Faye said, bending down on one knee and
looking at Ed. "Do you want to play with Ed now too?" Ed asked, looking hopeful. "Yes Ed, we
can play now. Just the two of us." Faye said convincingly, smiling faintly at Ed. "We're going
to play a game Edward." Faye continued. Ed listened with anticipation. Ein arose from his nap,
trotting past the girls as Faye explained her plan to Ed. He gave the girls a passive glance
and a bark, then kept walking. Next to his dish Faye saw a plant, untouched. There was one
left. All she needed for evidence. They might get that other 1.5 million yet. "Ein doens't like
the bonsai. Neither does Edward." Faye smiled and nodded at her. For once the brat and the dog
really were the smarter of the crew. Before she left with Edward, Faye made it a point to
reclaim her underwear from the rec room. She comtemplated getting a lock for her door when this
was all over.
Rally Tripwire whistled happily as he strolled out of the jail cell. He knew it would happen
this way. With no evidence, the police couldn't touch him. His boss didn't seem to share his
good mood though. "Rally..." Boss Fujitsu growled as he escorted Rally out of the building.
"You disapoint me." Rally flinched slightly, holding the front door for Fujitsu as a sign of
good will. "What else could I do?" Rally whined as they walked down the steps together.
"If that bitch had caught me with a shipment, it'd be bad for you too." Fujita put his hand on
Rally's chest, stopping his movement. "That is entirely beside the point, and you know it."
Fujita said sounding even angrier, yet calm. Rally was scared to death of his boss for that
very reason. He'd never in his life met a man so composed, so cold. You wouldn't even know
if he was going to get rid of you, until you woke up with a bullet in your head.
Fujita began walking again, as a car pulled up in front of them. The back door opened, and out
stepped Rally's sister Layla. "Are you alright?" She asked, concerned as she motioned for him to
get into the car. Fujita stepped ahead of Rally and got in first, as Rally gave his sister
a weak smile and nodded. "Guess I screwed up pretty bad, huh sis?" He said apoligetically.
Layla smiled back at him, shrugging her shoulders. "No one knows what will happen from day to
day." She assured him. Rally took some heart in that, and got into the car. Layla circled around
to get in beside him. Rally looked at her, confused as she shut the door and pushed him over.
He was now tightly pressed bewteen the two other occupants, and feeling very nervous.
A loud click made Rally turn to Fujita, who was looking at him with an eeire grin.
Rally had taken his gun out, fearing the worst. But Fujita was unarmed, or at least
his gun was still hidden. The click had come from his lighter as Fujita lit a cigar.
Rally sighed with relief, and felt a hard object pressed against his other side.
He turned back to his sister, horrified as she put the gun to his forehead.
"Sis?" Rally whimpered, as Layla pulled the trigger. The last thing Rally heard was his
sister's voice echoing in his mind, mixing with the gunshot. "No one knows what will happen,
from day to day..." Rally slumped over onto his sister's lap, who cradled his head in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Rally." She whispered, looking completely unmoved.
Faye narrowed her eyes she put down the binoculars. "Some family." She remarked, looking over at
Edward. The two had decided to stake out the prison and wait for Rally to be set free.
But now there was no linking him to the drugs. Faye knew from experience that dead men yield
no bounties. Faye stood up and took aim with a gun, something Edward had cooked up especially
for this job. She fired a tracking bug at the departing car's fender, smirking as it stuck
there. "Got the signal?" Faye asked Ed, ducking back behind the wall. "Yess! Loud and clear
Faye-Faye!" Edward replied, not comprehending the meaning of 'stealth mission'.
"Shhh.." Faye warned her, putting a finger to Ed's lips. "Be quiet, remember?" Edward nodded,
pursing her lips together to show she wouldn't say anything else. Faye peeked around the corner
again, making sure the car was out of sight. "Ok, let's go." Faye said quietly, watching Ed pack
up her laptop. Faye got into the Redtail and took something from the dashboard.
As Edward climbed inside Faye held out her hand, watching as Ed stared at the ring she held.
"Take it, it's yours." Faye said gently, smiling as Edward slowly closed her hand around it.
She looked completely mesmerized by it, as if it were a precious ruby. "You're giving this to
Edward?" She gasped, never expecting a gift from Faye of all people. "It has a microphone
inside, in case we get seperated." Faye explained. "I have one in my bracelet too, so if you
get in trouble use that ring to talk to me. Ok?" Edward nooded, smiling slightly but still in
shock from the gift. "Ed thanks you!" Edward cheered, hugging Faye tightly. "Shhh!" Faye
reminded her, but hugged her back all the same. She wondered exactly when it was Edward
had started to grow on her. On a ship with two grown men and a dog, they shared a certain
kind of sisterhood. Faye never had a sister before, it felt kind of good.
Fujita eyed Layla's curving figure as she went into the washroom to change. A grin formed on his
face. Such a lovely girl, so in control of herself, not letting her feelings stop her ambition.
Fujita wished she could take over for him now, and he could retire. But alas, that was not the
way things went. He had to die, before she could replace him. And a fine replacement she would
be, someone who would see his fluorishing company grow under her leadership.
Fujita looked around the spacious mansion, admiring the glass windows surrounding him.
A fitting symbol of his stature in the world. His time was near, he was certain of that. But he
had no regrets. The old must make way for the young after all. Fujita grinned wider, feeling
delicate hands glide over his shoulders.
"Layla..?" Fujita blurted out. Layla put her lips close to his ear, whispering a yes.
Fujita was rather surprised at Layla's sudden action, but at his age he wasn't about to pass
up a chance like this. The air smelled wonderfully of wet female skin, and damp fabric.
Fujita breathed it in thankfully as he leaned his head back in the chair, anticiplating
the sight of Layla's beautiful brown eyes. He only saw a flash of gleaming steel, as
Layla drove the knife through his eye. Fujita screamed as he tried to escape from the chair,
but Layla's other hand was holding him in place, and he only succeeded in making the wound
worse. "I'm sorry, Goro.." came Layla's sweet voice again, and as before her face showed no
emotion whatsoever. "Layla Tripwire." Faye said calmly, aiming her gun as she stood in the
doorway.
Layla turned around slowly, still holding the knife. The towel fell loosely away from her body
as she stood, landing silently over boss Fulita's corpse. "Won't you please come quietly?" Faye
asked, being as polite as she could to someone who had just murdered her brother and her
benefactor in cold blood. "Who are you?" Layla asked, her voice taking a threatening tone.
Faye thought she saw somwthing in Layla's hand, glistening with the moisture from her skin.
Faye realized it was a string, but not in time. Layla cartwheeled to the washroom door,
throwing the knife as she avoided the first gunshot. Faye saw the knife coming and rolled to the
side, throwing herself at Layla. Faye landed on top of her, holding the gun to Layla's closed
eyelid as she screamed in pain. "Eye for an eye, is that how it goes?" Faye hissed. She saw
Layla flick her hand briefly, the string still tied to it. The knife flew towards Faye as she
turned, and sank deep into in her shoulder. Layla shoved Faye off of her naked body,
scrambling to her feet as she pulled on the string. Faye screamed aloud in pain and fell to her
knees, forcefully pulling the knife out. She held it tightly in her grip, so she and Layla
were in a of tug of war. Ever with her wound, Faye was winning. But Layla wasn't going to play
fair. She reached over to Fujita's body, withdrawing a pistol from his trousers. "I'll ask
again, who are you?" Layla said, leveling the pistol at Faye. "Shit!" Faye hissed, seeing her
gun off to her left. Her shoulder refused to let her grab it, and without it she had no chance.
Or perhaps, she had one. "My name.." Faye said, bringing her arm up to her face. Layla seemed
that she would hold off shooting until Faye told her. "My name is EDWARD!!" Faye shouted into
her bracelet, thrwoing the knife in an arc as she dove for her gun. Layla followed the move
and fired as Faye ducked behind the washroom door. The door was only wood, lousy protecttion
from bullets. Layla kicked the door in, finding Faye on the other side waiting. Faye's gun
crossed Layla's and both women froze. It was now a standoff, but Faye didn't have use of her
good arm. She was going to miss, was afraid she'd miss, thought that she would miss, and that
would ensure that she did. A loud, buzzing noise made Layla turn, training her gun to the sound.
Faye's jaw dropped as Edward came crashing through the glass on her motor scooter. Layla
fired off the entire clip, and Edward dodged easily, striking poses that seemed almost funny.
Layla screamed in frustration as her gun clikced empty, and could only watch as Ed zoomed past
her, pressing the taser to Layla's arm. She fell to the floor instantly as Edward skidded to a
halt, standing on Layla's body victoriously. "Ed!" Faye exclaimed, wincing as she gave her a
thunbs up. "Faye-Faye!" Ed replied, grinning madly as always. "Edward heard you! Edward came!"
Faye stepped over Layla's body, looking curously at the taser in Ed's hand. She was holding it
over her head as if it were her sacred weapon. "But the taser..where did you?"
"Jet-person gave it to Ed." She answered, holding it out for Faye to see. "Jet-person said it
was only for emergencies. Was this an emergency?" Faye smiled, mussing Ed's hair with her good
hand. "It sure was, you saved me." Faye said, looking at Edward thankfully. Ed laughed and
nodded, jumping onto Faye's back. "Is she dead?" Ed asked cautiously, pointing the taser at
Layla over Faye's shoulder. Faye knelt down and took her pulse, sighing with relief. "No, she's
alive. But her skin's so hot..Must be from the water." Edward scratched her head, not
understanding the connection. "Come on you, let's go." Faye suggested, giving Ed a piggyback
ride to the ship. It hurt a little with the shoulder, but Ed was incredibly light. And she
thought Ed deserved something for doing such a good job. Faye went back to the mansion for
Layla, wrapping the towel around her again. She was only worth 50 thousand wulongs as Boss
Fujita's heir, she had the pictures of both murders to prove that. All in all it hadn't been
a bad deal. She just hoped the drugs wore off by the time she and Edward got back to the ship.
Faye glanced back as she guided the Redtail skyward. Edward was sprawled on top of Layla, who
was still out cold. She was stretching Layla's eyelids and letting them snap back, all the while
looking at her new ring. She really seemed happy with it, Faye thought.
"You can keep that you know." Faye informed her, smiling slightly. "All girls should have at
least one good piece of jewelry." Ed blinked at her, confused. "What makes Ed's ring good?"
She asked innocently, studying the ring. "It's a very good ring, it lets us stay close."
Faye explained, wondering if there was anyway to explain such a thing to Ed. "Oh yeah, Edward
can use it to talk to Faye-Faye! Ed can talk to Faye-Faye anytime Ed wants now!"
Faye shook her head, she wanted Ed to know the real reason she had given her the ring.
"No, that's not it Ed." Faye corected her, seeing the bebop looming in the distance.
Edward blinked again, laughing nervously. "Can you keep a secret?" Faye asked her,
knowing she couldn't. "Umm..Yes!" Ed answered, chewing on a few strands of Layla's hair.
"Ok." Faye said, glancing back at Ed once more. "That ring is a gift, from you to me. It's
something you can remember me by, even if I'm not around someday. Understand?" Ed frowned
slightly, upset at the idea of Faye being gone. "That's why Ed's ring is good?" She asked
slowly, setting the ring on her head. "Yes, that's right Ed." Faye told her, smiling. She did
understand after all. "I don't want you to ever take it off. Always wear that ring ok?" Faye
added, hoping she wasn't setting herself up for some annoyance later on. "OK!" Ed exclaimed,
sliding the ring back onto her finger. "Ed won't ever take it off!" Faye nodded, feeling like
someplace inside of her was brighter somehow. She liked having a little sister, insane or not.
"Does Faye have a good ring from Spikey?" Ed asked, unaware of what she was implying.
"No!" Faye quickly corrected, ending the conversation. But as she thought about the hot shower
that awaited her, the steam and the relaxing sensations. She imagined Spike holding her again,
making the sensations even better, caressing her body as he touched her hand and placed a ring
on her finger. Or perhaps a neckalce, fitting perfectly around her neck. Faye came out of her
fantasy quickly, shocked at herself again. She decided it would be best to shower alone, for
now.
SISTERS IN CRIME..............................
JET:Aw damnit....
SPIKE: Oh no, don't tell me.
FAYE:...It's horrible...Terrible.
ED:It's yucky!!!
JET: Come ON people, it's not that bad!
SPIKE:Oh, yes it is.
EIN: *whine*
ED: Ein thinks so too!
JET: Fine then! Starve! I'll eat the whole damn thing!
SPIKE: Not the food Jet...
JET: Huh? What were you guys talking about then?
SPIKE: Next episode, It's a hard knock life.
FAYE: It's all so wrong!!