A/N~ Well...Heh! I got the OST No Disc thingy...Yeah, it's the 2 soundtrack and I don't have any of the other ones...but it's got Green Bird on it and I'm happy. ^_^ So the song in this chappie is Don't Bother None...Great song that I don' t happen to own at all...Listen to it if you've got it...


Disclaimer: Who? Me? No, you got the wrong person...You sure? No? Well, I can tell you one thing...The characters over there, see them? I don't own them...Don't own nuthin. Just an innocent bystander. Yup, that's me...Zip de de...


///...Okay, 3, 2, 1, Lets Jam!...///



Chapter Two: Knockin' on Your Tombstone


She was pretty sure there had been a plan involved, but like most plans, it'd gone out the window after the first gun shot had been fired. Or maybe before that, she wasn't really sure, and as she sat there on the dirt dusted floor among the shards of glass, she really didn't care.

You see, it'd gone like this.

Ed had found a bounty, an easy bounty, with lots of cash on its head, and a nice lead; the man was hiding out in a museum on earth. Then Jet had gotten all "let's go after it" and she'd agreed because...Well, she'd just blame it on momentary insanity...Anyway, she'd agreed, and of course, she'd been given all the hard work that had to be done while the others were lounging about at the Bebop probably laughing themselves silly at her current predicament.

Come to think of it, how the hell would they even know what her predicament was?

Aw, scratch that, she decided, and came to the conclusion that she'd just pretend that they knew.

So while they were laughing and probably eating every tiny minuscule ounce of food on that piece of junk Jet called a ship, she'd been in this goddamn café dodging bullets for her pitiful life and wondering why the hell someone would turn an old museum into a café.

Yup, she thought, what a wonderful life.


///...Readin' my paper in Roy's café

The ol' guy next to be is loud as day

Rambled and rambled while eatin' his pie

He dropped his wallet, now its mine uh huh...///


So she'd been sitting there, on one of those red covered bar stools, sipping at a soda 'cause she'd been too broke to order a beer, when this old grey man comes striding in. Figuring it was the bounty head, she'd just smiled and fiddled with her clear straw, watching the ice move around in her drink.

He'd sat down next to her and ordered a pie, out of all things, with whip cream and a cherry on top. She'd stared at it hungrily for a moment before smirking at him and asking what his name was.

His response was, "Verily."

"Verily, eh?"

"That's right missus, but most people call me Vere," and then he'd had the mind to wink at her.

Rolling invisible eyes in her mind, she'd grinned at him and whispered, "Be kind enough to buy a girl a drink?"

And he'd started to nod, even begun to open his mouth...

But he hadn't been able to get much further...

You see, that's when the gun fire had started.


///...Sorry old man but that's jus' the way that is

Don't bother none

Won't help at all to worry 'bout it...///


A bullet had ripped through the air inches from her face, she'd felt her violet hair fling forward and watched a hole form in the bartenders skin, just above his heart. After that, she'd flung herself to the floor, forgetting the old guy, and cursing loudly, afraid he was dead and she'd lost her bounty.

Groaning, she'd crawled across the floor, gun in hand, and headed to the back of the bar, to hide in the safety of the shadows and stools.

But the guys in black and gray trench coats didn't really seem to care whether or not she hid or went running out, they were all up in the Vere guys face.

And the man had the mind to just sit there and eat his pie, whip cream included.

The leader of the pack, a nineteen year old or so woman with blue hair that went to her chin, stuck a gun under his nose and asked if he wanted to live or not.

He'd replied, "Seems I don't have a choice, Amber, but I'd like to finish this pie."

The five or so odd syndicate members hadn't even glanced at each other, just stood there with a stoic calmness that reminded her of someone she really didn't want to think about right now.

That's when she'd noticed the windows were all blown away, and no one was in the café except her, the old guy, and the syndicate people. Just a lovely, lovely day.


///...Picked up the wallet and slipped out side

Walked around and walked around and walked around town

I found my nerve and a good place to hide

Only to find no cash inside uh-huh...///


Amber,( that was the girls name with the blue hair, right? She thought that's what the old guy had said) had frowned decisively and cocked her gun. "You gotta go, you know that. We all know what you did, but I want to know why, before you fall face first into your bloody whip cream."

"I like whip cream."

Amber just stared at him, the kind of look that reminded Faye of Jet. Either eat the meatless food or starve.

"The Hawk Clan had much more to offer. A higher place. I've even seen the office. Nice and clean."

"Our place is clean."

"Yeah, but you know, I was always a Vicious kind of guy."

Those words condemned him, and the whip cream splattered as his face landed. "Oh yeah?" Amber inquired, "well, you're the last. Here's your wonderful prize."

And then she'd dropped something onto the floor and waltzed out, the other syndicate people following closely behind her.

And that's what had happened, all happy and such...And there was a friggin piece of glass in her foot.

"How'd that happen?" She demanded as she limped over to the 'present' and stared down at it. "Oh just what I wanted," she muttered sarcastically, "a nice shiny bomb."

As if to confirm her words it beeped twice, as the 3 minutes turned to a 2.

"Well, what do you have for me?" She asked the dead guy and reached into his coat pocket, "Ahhh, a wallet? And...what's this? A disc of some sort? Music, maybe?" Shrugging, she stuffed it into her shorts and sauntered out the door as the bomb read 1:30.


///...Oh well I guess that's just the way that it is

Don't bother none

Won't help at all to worry about it...///

But the day just got better when she got 'home'.

"What do you mean you lost the bounty?"

Flopping down on the couch and dramatically placing a pale hand on her forehead, Faye choose to reply, "That's what I said, wasn't it? Died in his whip cream."

"Nothing good comes from Earth."

"Nothing good comes from anywhere," she countered with a grumble before asking, "Where's Ed?"

A scratching noise and then, "Ed's right hereeeeeee, Faye-Faye!!!"

"And I didn't even get a drink..." Faye moaned in sudden realization.

"Yeah, and I didn't get anything to pay the bills or fuel the Bebop," Jet mumbled darkly in reply before waltzing off, probably to butcher his bonsai trees, or whatever they were called.

"Didja bring something back for Ed?"

Sighing, Faye muttered, "No, Ed..." But at the sad look on the girls face that echoed the one in her soul, she found her hand in her pocket. "Well, maybe..."

"Maybe something supeerrr speciallll and neattt for Edward?"

"Yeah..." Let's see what you've got old man. "Hmmm...Some cash cards, those are mine, and...what's this? You can have it..."

"AHHHHH!!!! A thingymagigerybober," Ed crowed before hopping up and down and holding it aloft as if it were a godsend.

"...Yeah..."

Silence.

"Faye-Faye?"

"Yup?"

"...What is this something suppeer specialll and neattt for Edward?"

"...It's a card..."

"Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Well, Ed, umm...That's the special thing about it, you have to figure out what it is exactly...so, ah, have fun with that. Yeah."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" And then she was bouncing off with Ein running at her heels.

Faye put her head in her hands. The buisness shaped card had had three numbers on it, and she hoped, really hoped, almost prayed, it didn't come back to haunt her.

But as for these cash cards...

"I'm going out Jet!"

///...Oh well I guess that's jus' the way that it is

Don't bother none

Won't help at all to worry 'bout it...///


And the day just got better.

Turned out there wasn't any cash on the dead guys cards. The casino guy had just shook his head at her and pointed to the door. She'd sulked out and turned to roaming the streets.

Only to find herself at the church.

She wasn't exactly sure why her feet had brought her here. She supposed that underneath it all she did have some feelings for the dead fluff of hair, but he was gone and she'd learned not to linger...

Hadn't she?

All the same her feet were climbing those stairs, looking down the rows of pews, the same place she'd almost died. But he'd saved her...

And she thought...well, she didn't really know what to think...so she just continued walking till she found herself out back, in the graveyard.

"Kinda desolate," she found herself saying as she stared at the dozen or so tombstones closest to her. Over there, by that tree, that was where his tombstone rested, the man with two-different eyes. The man who'd been more cat than human.

She found herself standing over it. "You were always a lunkhead, till the day you died." But then she thought, she wouldn't want someone to say that to her tombstone if she were dead, so she decided to try again, "I suppose, I miss ya, Spike." It was hard to say his name.

"I mean, you weren't really...well, I didn't know anything about you, and I still don't, but maybe that was part of your...charm..." She paused, what was she doing? "But I did learn something, one little thing, at the end. You were a hopeless romantic, and you'd die for anyone you truly cared about, and you did, didn't you? And I'm left here wondering, if it was truly worth it, if she was worth it?"
"I mean...She was pretty and all that, and deadly. But...I don't know...Which one of you did she truly love...If you were here right now you'd be glaring and cussing me into the ground, but you can't, so I'm one up on you, lunkhead."

"You said you left to find out if you were truly alive, but are any of us alive? Maybe...it has to do with happiness...If you were alive right now..." she trailed off.

A breeze blew the leaves across the graveyard, billowing her hair foreward and into her face.

Somewhere behind her was the patter of feet and a voice that asked, "Who the hell are you?"

Yes, just a wonderful, wonderful day.


///...Cowgirl, it ain't that bad...///


A/N~ I think this one's a little shorter than the other's but at least it's updated sooner, correct? I'll try to be good. And the person who said the "Who the hell are you?" well, it probably isn't who you think it is, and it isn't the other one either. *hums* Heck, right now my muse is looking at me oddly, silently asking if even I know who it is. But I'm not telling...So be quite Mr. Muse...


Responses:


Koyasha1:Booyaka! I hope you aren't disappointed with this chapter, though. I wrote it a little differently...


Saladin-Stories: *Grins happily* Thank you!


Ophelia-cat: Wow! That was a really, really, really, really, nice review! Thanks!


Liz012014:Well, here's another chapter, hope you liked it.


Sanima: Don't we all? Spike is just so awesome. And I know he probably did die...but you know what? I don't care. He's still alive. Really. He is. He lives in my house. Anyway, I only saw one star go out in the end, and that could have been Vicious's star. Unless I missed something in the anime..Wow, I started ranting on your response for some reason. Must be lack of sleep.


Review. Because it's good for you. Like ice-cream. It just is. Yum .