Dammit, Aaron Jilis, I know you're here! Faye thought indignantly, scanning the seedy bar for her bounty head. Sure, the boys had enough money for food and other necessities, but a girl needed pocket money. Faye, in particular, needed a lot of pocket money.
Hence her presence in the seedy bar.
Wait… She whipped out a scanner she'd filched while Jet was sleeping. The face matched. Faye put a hand to her gun and slid over to him. "Hey there."
His eyes didn't make it to her face. "How much?"
"WHA-" Faye started, then settled for a growl. She grabbed his hair in one hand while switching the grip of her other to the barrel of her pistol. Faye brought her knee up into Aaron Jilis' face, then proceeded to give him a spirited beating to the head with her gun that lasted for several minutes.
"Don't even think about it." she snarled, aiming at a man to her right that was reaching to his side. He dropped the offending limb, looking sheepish.
Faye dragged her bounty head out of the bar by his hair, quite pleased with herself, all things considered. She was really getting better at this. All I needed was practice. That's my second since I left the Bebop! Hanging around with those losers must have been sucking all the luck- and, hell, Faye, let's be honest, intelligence- out of me. She sung under her breath as she slung Jilis into the Redtail, taking care to cuff him first- utilizing something else she'd "borrowed" from Jet.
*
The only problem was getting to the Bebop. Edward considered her options.
She couldn't guide the ship through space, let alone the Gate. There was no way she'd be able to control it that long. And based on the reception to her news, they definitely wouldn't be coming to, let alone landing, on Earth.
Hmm. The most expedient thing to do would probably be to acquire a temporary crew to get to Mars.
Shopping!
Edward ceremoniously placed her goggles on her face and turned her attention to the Tomato. "Searching, searching, give me a present!" she commanded, zooming through the possibilities.
*
Ainsley looked over at Brendan. "What the hell's going on?!"
"I don't know!" he spat, madly fiddling with the controls. "It's gone berserk! Won't do a damn thing!"
Mary Anne laughed. "The ship's been possessed!"
"You're not helping." Ainsley pointed out.
Mary Anne shrugged. "If he can't do anything, what could I do? Besides, I think it's funny."
Brendan kicked the control panel with a final, vehement curse and stalked off to his room.
Mary Anne settled back into a plush chair. "At least we have a nice ride."
"If you discount the possibility that this 'nice ride' will become our coffin."
"You're so negative." she said lazily.
"And you're just a floater. You float through everything, drifting through as though you were a wisp of cloud or something." Ainsley retorted.
"Well, if I'm just a wisp of a cloud, whenever I come up against something hard I can just breeze right through it." Mary Anne reasoned.
Ainsley merely rolled her eyes and waited for the end of the ride.
*
Edward stopped the ship and surveyed it. The Ignis glittered back at her. It was small, but would serve her purpose.
Brendan burst out onto the deck and looked around suspiciously.
"Hiiiiiiiiiii!" Edward called, waving. Ein stood on his back legs and barked.
Two women came outside. One of them waved back at her and the other jumped to the ground and started walking in her direction.
Edward ran up to her. "Hi!"
The woman quirked an eyebrow. "Hi." she flatly repeated. "Were you the one who did that to our ship?"
Edward nodded vigorously, still smiling. "Uh- huh!"
"Might I ask why?"
"Edward needs a ride." she told Ainsley. "Edward wants to ride with you!"
Ainsley drew back. "With us? Whoa, kid, hold on. You can't come with us. Where are your parents? Who's taking care of you?"
The girl drew herself up proudly. "Edward takes care of herself. And Ein, too!" The dog barked in agreement. "Father- person doesn't care that Edward is gone. Father- person leaves Edward behind on a regular basis."
"Listen, kid, we're not taking you-"
"But Edward needs a ride."
"We can't help you."
"You just wander around." Edward pointed out. "All Edward wants is a short ride to Mars. And Edward can help you! Edward has lived on a ship before."
"No." Ainsley folded her arms beneath her breasts.
Edward had hoped it wouldn't come to this. "Edward is coming with you. If you do not take Edward, Edward will put a bounty on your heads and tell the police what you do for a living. All Edward is asking for is a short ride to Mars. Is it really worth all that trouble just to refuse Edward?"
"You little brat." Ainsley said huffily, in a manner that strongly reminded Edward of Faye. She studied the girl's eyes for a long moment, finally huffing heavily and heading toward the ship.
Edward skipped along behind, Ein at her heels.
*
It had been three days since Edward's call, and Jet was beginning to hope that the girl hadn't been able to find her way to the Bebop.
He should have known better than to underestimate Radical Edward.
Faye stomped into the Bebop's common room. Jet craned his head back to look at her, and even Spike's eyes rolled toward the door.
"Lost at gambling again?" Jet guessed.
Faye growled and stalked toward her room.
"Faye- Fayeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" came a very familiar voice, followed by a bark. Edward's vividly red head poked into the room, topped by the Tomato. Ein dashed past her, straight to Jet.
"Edward?" Jet asked, petting Ein, who had jumped into his lap.
Edward laughed and ran to Jet and Spike, only taking time to set the Tomato down on the table before perching herself on the back of the yellow couch Spike lay on. "Do we have food?"
Jet struggled to control a grin and only had partial success; a lopsided smile graced his rugged face. "Yeah, we have bell peppers and beef."
"Urgh." Spike's bandages said.
Jet shot him a dirty look, to which Spike innocently replied by studying the ceiling. "Listen, just because you've been eating it for a while…"
Spike's mismatched eyes closed.
"I can't believe it. He's asleep!" Jet headed toward the kitchen.
"Sleeping, sleeping, always sleeping! Spike Spiegel Sleepyhead." Edward sang, taking her things to her old room. "Lunkhead, sleepyhead. Lunkhead, sleepyhead."
Alone in the kitchen, Jet allowed the silly grin free rein as he fixed Edward a plate and filled Ein's old bowl.
A/N: Just like the last chapter, I know, but I'm probably going to do something different next. I'm starting to get a little anxious- there wasn't really any point to this story, except insisting that Spike isn't isn't isn't dead. This might turn into a Spike/ Faye. What do y'all think? Eee, I don't know what to do… ah well. I'll figure something out. Virtual chocolate to anyone who reviews! And my thanks to PimpinSatan and SpecterQueen (*crosses fingers* Here's hoping I got your names right…). Cookies to them.