Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?
By roxyravette
Chapter 2Bitching Doesn't Solve Anything
The Red Tail. Her ship. Not Spike's. Not Jet's. Faye sighed. So how was it that they could up and decide what to so with it. Faye shifted in her uncomfortable seat. It really didn't help that it was cramped too. Spike shot her a foul look and she moved yet again.
"If you move anymore," he said evenly. "I'm going to blow the hatch and you can go flying out for all I care." Faye frowned at him from her position on his lap.
"This wasn't my idea, you know." she said hotly. "It's not my fault that you have bony knees." Spike chuckled.
"You're one to talk." he said as he shifted his knees, causing Faye to feel uncomfortable again. "You're the one with the bony ass." Faye seethed with contained anger. How dare he.
"This craft was built for one not two, lunkhead." she shot at him.
"Well it was either sit on my lap or Jet's." Spike retorted. "Who do you prefer?" Faye jabbed him in the stomach and Spike winced. He of all people should know the answer to that question, though she didn't feel like admitting it out loud.
"This is my ship." she whined, ignoring his question. "Since when could you pilot it?" Spike sighed loudly.
"We were just trying to be logical." he said exasperated. "I can't remember where I left my Swordfish." Spike slipped into silence and Faye mentally kicked herself. She stopped her complaining, having inadvertently reminded Spike of such a terrible event and the fact that his beloved fighter was missing. Faye glanced at his unreadable face one more time before she looked out the glass. They had entered Earth's atmosphere a little while ago and the pockmarked surface was coming into view. The barren landscape seemed to stretch for miles except for the few dwellings that seemed inadequate to call towns. People on Earth tended to live underground nowadays to avoid the sporadic rock showers that have plagued the planet since the infamous Gate Accident. It was hard to believe that they were flying over what used to be Hong Kong. They came upon the ruins and debris of the mighty Asian city quickly and no sooner had they reached there, they had flown into a vacant parking deck. As soon as Spike released the lock on the hatch, Faye jumped out, stretching her cramped muscles with the grace that a cat would envy. She reached up as if to touch the sky, letting tired muscles relax. An unexpected cough behind her interrupted her leisurely stretch. Spike had already unbuckled himself from the cockpit and was closing the hatch. Faye gave him an annoyed glance and continued stretching.
"It wasn't that bad of a ride, Faye." he chastised her. Faye grunted in disapproval.
"I just hope that we find Ed soon." she muttered. "I am not looking forward to the ride back."
"Jet's nearby so it won't be three in the pod Faye." Spike said. "If worst comes to worst, the Bebop is somewhere on Earth. Two trips won't be so bad." Faye shrugged nonchalantly.
"Still, I'm not going to enjoy it." Spike sighed and lifted the transmitter. The digital screen beeped consistently. "Ok, it says that Ed's Tomato is within a mile radius from here. She's nearby so it shouldn't be too difficult to track her down."
"Couldn't you get us closer?" she griped.
"I'd stop complaining if I were you Faye." he said slowly. "Besides, weren't you the one who wanted to do this anyway?"
"Yeah," Faye sighed. "But I think I'm regretting it now."
"C'mon." Spike said as he walked to the exit of the parking deck. "You want the bounty at least?" Faye crossed her arms and followed him.
***
Faye growled to herself as more bodies were pressed up against her. The were in the Underground, the portion of Hong Kong that had survived the gate accident. Its population of over five billion could definitely be seen. They had come in through an unassumingly empty subway station and taken the train to the deepest portion of the subversive city. The city was huge, big enough in size to rival the topside ruins. Faye shoved her away through the crowd and caught up with Spike. He acknowledged her with a glance and continued to stare at the transmitter. The neared a broken down housing development after long and stopped in front of the building doors.
"It says that the Tomato's signal is coming from in there." Spike told her. Faye cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms.
"Well let's go get her." She said excited as she pushed the button for the intercom. A harsh voice came over the com as soon as it was picked up.
"What?" asked a man's voice.
"We're looking for Ed, let us in." Faye answered just as rudely.
"There's no Ed living here." The voice replied. Faye punched in another random apartment number and asked the same question. Spike exhaled slowly and walked around the building to find a more exact location of Ed's terminal. The screen beeped and he was now closer. Spike frowned and continued walking. He was now twenty feet away. Ten feet. Eight feet. Spike looked up from the device and stared at an overflowing dumpster. On top of the trash lay Ed's most beloved possession. Spike put down the transmitter and reached up to take the Tomato off of the pile of garbage. It was a little worse for wear but seemed fine.
"Faye." he yelled to his errant cohort. He turned around to see her having her own yelling match with some woman from a random apartment. Setting down the computer, Spike made his way to the battling women. He got there in time to come in between the two women.
"Thank goodness I found you." he said , grabbing Faye's wrist. Both women gave him a confused look. Spike turned to the lady from the apartment. "I'm so sorry. My cousin here is a little slow and we got separated. She must think that we live here." Faye could hold her tongue no longer.
"But we were looking for Ed?" she cried angrily. Spike turned to face her. His voice was condescending but his eyes pleaded to follow along.
"Yes, I'm Ed." he said civilly. "You found me, so come let's go." Spike faced the annoyed older woman in her bathrobe and apologized one more time before dragging Faye to the dumpster.
"What was that all about?" she asked confused. Spike motioned to the Tomato and picked it up. Faye started at it blankly.
"Shit!" she suddenly cursed. "What now?" Spike shrugged and tossed the transmitter to Faye.
"Back to the Bebop for Plan B, I guess." he said as he walked back in the direction they had come with the Tomato. "Maybe Jet can fix what ever is wrong with it and get some ideas about what happened to Ed." Faye nodded and followed after him. They got back to the surface in no time at all and were once again prepared to leave. Spike shoved the Tomato in the cramped hatch and readied the craft for flight. He looked over to Faye who stood near the edge of the parking deck.
"Hey Faye," he called out to her. She turned around to look at him. "Give Jet a call and see if he's found anything." Faye picked up the transmitter and contacted Jet. He answered right away.
"Jet, have you found anything?" she said dryly.
"Yeah," he answered. "You?"
"Nothing but Ed's Tomato."
"What? Not even a trace?"
"No, it was in a dumpster when we found it." she explained. "What'd you find?"
"I've got a lead on the hacker and the virus. I'll meet you at the Bebop."
"Ok we'll see you there." Faye clicked the transmitter off and walked to the Red Tail. Spike was already in the cockpit.
"So what'd he say?" he asked. Faye tossed him the transmitter.
"He said-." Faye stopped. Spike looked at her dumbfounded.
"What?" he asked. Faye cocked her head to the side and turned around, scanning the parking deck area.
"Did you hear that?" she said listening.
"Hear what?" Faye shushed him and Spike listened. He heard nothing at first but sure enough, there was bark of a dog and the sound metal jingling. Spike gave Faye a sad look. He knew she wanted to find Ed but now she was deluding herself. "It's just some stray."
Faye looked at him angrily and walked in the direction of the sound. Spike sighed loudly for the umpteenth time today and unbuckled himself from the cockpit. Faye had stopped a few steps and he knew she was straining her ears for the sound of the phantom dog.
"Faye?" he questioned as she made no move to return to the ship. "We need to go. That wasn't Ein." Faye turned around swiftly and stormed back to the craft. Spike turned to follow as well but something out the corner of his eye caused him to look back. A wild and noisy whirlwind blew past him, causing him to stumble. There was a loud 'oomph' as Faye went down. The piercing yap of a dog came to Spike's dazed ears and he looked down to see Ein running in circles at his feet. Spike stared in amazement as the Bebop's temporary pet jumped into his arms and licked him furiously. If this was truly Ein then that meant …
"Faye-Faye!" a high-pitched voice squealed. Spike looked to see Radical Edward on top a very bewildered Faye. The Bebop's insane (though not legally) hacker seemed to hold onto her for dear life. The scene would have been touching except for the fact that Faye was looking a little blue from Ed's enthusiastic embrace. Spike scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Boy is this going to be a fun ride back. We're going to look like a three ring circus, ringleader and all."
***
"Ok, for the last time," Faye said tiredly as she leaned back on the couch. "Try it more slowly and a little more logical." Ed frowned from her seat on the yellow chair in the Bebop living room and looked away angrily. Her child like features marred by such a furious expression. Frustrated, she could barely contain the urge to twist the scrawny little bohemian's neck. She was trying really hard not to make it their talk into an interrogation. Taking a deep breath she tried again.
"We just want to understand what's going on." She motioned to Spike who was sitting next to her with Ein on his lap. His face wore a bored expression as he absent mindedly stroked Ein's fur. Faye looked back at Ed.
"Ed just got a box one day," Ed said finally. "And when Ed opened it there was a disk. So Ed put it on the Tomato and then Tomato went sayonara."
"So your computer crashed?" Spike asked. Ed nodded her head. "And you tried coming up with the anti-virus?" Again, she nodded her head.
"Why'd you open the file?" Faye asked. Ed gave Faye a thoughtful glance.
"I don't know." She laughed embarrassed. Faye nearly got up to threaten the kid, but Spike's hand caught her wrist.
"Look," he said. "Let's just wait until Jet gets here. He'll know what to do." Faye regarded him for a moment and finally gave up. She sat back down and Spike let go. She looked over at Ein, curled up in Spike's lap. She swore if that dog could talk, he'd have some stories to tell. Ein's dark eyes met hers and she made a face at him. The dog whined in response and suddenly perked up its ears. Faye listened as well.
"Speak of the devil." Faye thought as she heard footsteps coming from the hangers. Ein Jumped off of Spike and welcomed Jet with sharp yaps of joy. His little stub of a tail wagged furiously as Jet bent down to stroke the dog.
"I thought you guys didn't find anything but the Tomato." He said confused. Faye and Spike didn't have a chance to explain because Ed jumped from her seat onto Jet.
"Jet-person!" she cried happily. Jet smiled and gave her a half hug. Done with greetings, Jet set her down. Faye was the first to speak.
"So what was this new lead on the hacker and the virus?" she asked. Jet scratched his head and suddenly looked sheepish.
"About that-." he trailed off. A pair of light footsteps came to their ears. Everyone looked up to see a rather young woman come down the steps and face them. She wore a silk blouse the color of lilacs and a short black skirt. The outfit showed off every curve of her body. Her face was remarkably like Faye's, the same angular features and brown almond shaped eyes. Her straight black hair cascaded down her back to nearly past her waist. She stopped in front of them in black lace up heels and with hands on her hips. She smiled a closed lipped smile and spoke.
"I think that's where I come in." she said sweetly.
A/N: So there you have it. Chapter two of Dream Walking is finished. Hmm…so Jet brought in a hooker…Bad Jet Bad…but is she really a hooker…hold on for Chapter three (I'm punching out these chapter like crazy).Yeah, this was supposed to be "Never follow the White Rabbit" but one scene got to long and I had to just make it a separate chapter. Don't worry that's a good thing though. More room for me to write. The next chapter is definitely "Never follow the White Rabbit". It's the chapter with the action. As always review and if you feel the need to reread and review Blues in the Night, be my guest.