-
Faye threw her jacket onto her bed as she sat down with a scowl. How could he just leave like that? In the last few weeks, she thought she'd figured him out. He'd never given any indication that he'd pull stakes and vanish without saying a word. Oh, sure, he'd tell the tagalong women from the insurance company good-bye, but her? No. Nothing. It was something she'd expect of Spike, a complete disregard for anyone else's feelings. Especially hers.
Never should've trusted a damn priest.
Her rigid posture relaxed when she noticed something wrapped around the beta tape lying atop the monitor in her quarters. "What's this?" she murmured as she crawled to the other end of her bed. When she picked up the tape, a piece of paper, along with something else, fell away from it. Unfolding the paper, she found a few words in Wolfwood's handwriting scrawled upon it.
'Have a little faith.'
Her gaze shifted to the glittering piece of jewelry lying before her. Her fingers carefully curled around the chain and she realized what it was - a cross, similar to the one Wolfwood wore around his own neck. Looking back to the note, she noticed the P.S.
'Listen to yourself.'
Upon inspection, she found the beta tape was no longer rewound to the beginning. After she put the note aside, her half-trembling fingers grabbed the tape then shoved it into the machine. Once she turned on the monitor, she saw her younger self, decked out in much more conservative clothes, smiling and waving her pom poms.
"I'm cheering for you!" the girl brightly exclaimed.
As the young Faye continued to cheer, her gaze lowered to the cross Wolfwood had left behind. This was his good-bye. It was more comforting than any words could've possibly been. Holding the cross close, a smile on her face, she watched herself - a person who was so happy and so free.
-
Vash pushed open the door to one of the plant generators - the central energy generator, to be exact. The hinges squeaked loudly, echoing throughout the spherical container. Usually, some sort of machinery would be running, but thanks to Phineas Blake, the generator was damaged, leaving its source of power alone ... without purpose.
As he entered, he removed his sunglasses, tucking them away inside his coat. Broken glass crunched underneath his feet as he walked towards the dim bulb in the center of the room. He'd sensed her presence long before he'd entered and she'd responded, to his relief. As he approached, the source of power to the barely functioning generator stirred. Vash placed both hands to the glass bulb, gazing at the beautiful creature inside, separated from the rest of the world.
No, don't, he thought, when she moved towards him. Rest, sister. Their connection was stronger now and he felt the abandonment she did. The humans simply left her behind when their energy generator was rendered useless. They've forgotten you, haven't they? He closed his eyes. I'm sorry they did this. You deserve better.
When his eyes opened, he found himself gazing into the bright red, innocent orbs of the energy plant. Her hands moved to mirror his own on the glass. The tattered angelic-like wings hung limply down her naked back. Her feelings of frustration, of being forgotten by those she'd spent so many years providing life giving energy for struck him deeply. Humans were capable of such terribly cruelty as well as awe-inspiring acts of kindness. They were such a mystery.
I can help you, he 'told' her. You can be free. He noted her puzzlement when she 'heard' that. "Free". The word held no meaning for her. She'd known only a life of servitude. Vash and his brother, they'd experienced more than the miserable life this beautiful creature had. The energy you're capable of producing, I can use it. He paused, listening to her inquiry. To help someone. Friends of mine. They need you. I need you.
Inside, the hands moved as if to touch the face of the 'brother' who showed concern for her.
I won't force you to do this, sister. After I show you what I need you to do, you should decide. He sighed heavily. His heart sank when he thought of what his plan required. But all of those who depended on this particular plant, they'd gone. He couldn't leave her here, not this way, either. If he'd have known about Phineas Blake before now, he would've been there sooner.
Leaning his forehead against the glass, Vash sighed again. Close your eyes, he thought to her. I'll show you what I need you to do. He waited for her eyes to close and then he followed suit.
Using their strong telepathic bond, he created visions of the lights he'd seen in the skies for the last week inside of her mind. Beyond the colors themselves, he delved deeper and opened up their true nature so she could see what caused the spectacle. Clusters of particles, hidden in subspace, they waited ... waited for that one burst of energy to bring them to life. A flash, then a shimmering portal, almost identical to the one that brought the Bebop to Gunsmoke, emerged into the mind's eye of the plant. The swirling was almost hypnotic. An anomaly was created as a result of the massive energy spike.
Vash's eyes opened and so did hers. She stared into his brilliant green eyes made slightly murky by the filthy glass of her cage. She understood immediately what he asked of her. Yet, she hesitated to answer.
The skies won't stay this way forever, sister, he thought, a hint of desperation in his tone. They'll go as easily as they came.
Lowering her gaze to the floor, her hands slid away from the glass. Should she refuse, she would remain forgotten. However, she had no doubt that Vash would take care of her in her cell, the prison she could never leave. The other option, though, it gave her a chance at this ... "freedom" Vash had spoken of. An existence beyond the bulb she'd spent her entire lifespan, working for the benefit of people who'd so easily walked away from her.
Her gaze lifted, looking to the top of the bulb. Somewhere, up there, was something more than what she'd known. She was curious about it. What was out there? What was on the other side? Was it this 'freedom' word? Or something more? If helping Vash's friends could open that door, she would gladly walk through it.
Having made her decision, she met Vash's gaze then nodded once.
-
Jet reclined in the pilot's seat, staring out the forward window of the Bebop's bridge, thoughtfully smoking a cigarette. The sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention. In the reflection of the glass, his visitor was revealed.
"Vash ever come back?" he asked as Spike neared.
Spike leaned against one of the consoles, folding his arms across his chest. "I haven't seen him. The women from the insurance company are convinced he'll be back. They know him better than we do."
"I wonder what's in that town?" Jet exhaled a cloud of smoke, side- glancing at his colleague. "He thinks it'll get us home, you know."
"You still the optimist?"
He shrugged and took another drag off the cigarette. "You still want to destroy the ship?"
"We have no choice." He lifted his head, looking at Jet's profile as the other man continued to gaze out the forward window. "Wolfwood's already moved on. Soon, the others will."
"Ed won't be happy when that day comes."
"That's life. A lot of shit happens that we don't like."
"I know." He flicked the ashes off the end of the cigarette. A long silence passed between them. "Look, Spike, if this idea Vash has doesn't work ... "
Spike looked at Jet when the man trailed off. "What?"
Heaving a defeated sigh, Jet bowed his head and murmured, "We'll do what you want. We'll remove the temptation. Give up. Make ourselves the newest colonists of this desert rock."
"Jet!" Ed appeared on the bridge. "Vashy is back!" Having delivered her message, she vanished just as suddenly as she'd arrived.
Jet took one final drag on his cigarette. "Let's see what miracle our friend has up his sleeve."
-
"They're coming!" Ed jumped onto the couch then balanced herself on the back of it as she smiled at Vash. "Vashy bring back any souvenirs?" she eagerly inquired. She frowned when he turned over empty palms. "Awww."
Faye shook her head as she leaned back on the couch. Whatever this was, she hoped it wouldn't take too long. The regular poker game in April City started soon and she had a good deal of money to play with tonight. One of the best things about being stuck on Gunsmoke was that the people here weren't wise to her particular card tricks. If they suspected her of cheating, they couldn't figure out how she did it.
"Welcome back," Jet greeted Vash as he came into the room.
"What's all this about?" Spike asked as she sat down on the couch with Faye.
"I know of a way to get you back to your own time and space." He saw the blank look on Spike's face. The man didn't have a bit of hope left. Faye only rolled her eyes as she sighed. Another non-believer. Jet, on the other hand, stepped forward, apparently interested.
"How?"
Vash looked at him. "It's a long story. I just ... know this will work."
"What will?" Spike asked, rather annoyed he'd been dragged down there for this. "Unless you have a time machine stashed in another town, I don't see how you can just know this idea of yours will work."
Vash's gaze shifted to Spike. "You don't have any faith in me?"
The question took Spike by surprise. The dead seriousness of the tone had thrown him as well. Vash meant his question, it wasn't sarcastic.
"That depends," Faye spoke up when it became obvious that Spike wasn't. "How do you plan to do it?"
"What are they saying?" Meryl whispered as she tried to peek around Milly to see into the room. They'd left at Vash's request. She wanted to know what was going on. If his plan might be dangerous.
"Shhh." Milly placed a finger to her lips. "I can't hear if you keep talking."
"I need two days," Vash replied in answer to Faye's question.
"Why two days?" Jet asked.
"I told you, it's a long story." One you'd never fully understand, probably. He would've liked to tell them. At least Jet. He was the only one with any hope left.
"The night's young. Start telling." Spike reclined on the couch, draping his arms over the back of it and waited for Vash to continue.
Ed gazed up at Vash, wide-eyed. She cocked her head to one side when her friend looked down on her. She was curious about his plan, too. How did he know he could make another hole in time and space? Did he have magic powers? She'd suspected he was more than what he appeared to be since they'd first met. He even tasted different than everyone else.
Vash sighed. "Did you notice the lights in the sky this last week? In the evenings?" He watched them exchange glances, shrugging. So, they hadn't. "It's a rare occurrence in this part of the universe. I can make it work for you. I need two days to do it, though. Your ship, it can fly now, right, Mr. Black?"
Jet nodded. "Everything is fixed. Just need a direction to go in."
"I'm not clear on how 'lights in the sky' are going to get us home." Spike still wasn't convinced that there was good enough reason to bother with this.
"Give me two days and I'll show you, Spike."
He stared Vash. That was the first time he'd called him anything other than 'Mr. Spiegel'. After a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see what it'd hurt to wait. Jet?" He looked to the ship's captain. "What do you think?"
"I'm curious," he said with a shrug of his own.
Vash smiled before turning to Faye. "Faye?"
She snapped out of her daze when she heard Vash say her name. She glanced at Jet then settled her gaze on Spike next to her. If Vash's idea worked and they did return to where they belonged, things would go back to normal. The same ol', same ol'. On this planet, however, she had a real chance of getting something she'd wanted for a long time.
"What do you want to do?" Spike asked after Faye stared at him, oddly, for almost a full minute.
For once, she had to consider somebody other than herself. Turning to Vash, she said, "You have two days. No more. Got it?"
Vash nodded. "And you?" he asked as he squatted down in front of Ed, a semi-smile on his face. "What do you think?"
Ed stopped petting Ein, surprised. "Huh? You want to know what Ed thinks?" she asked, pointing to herself.
"You're part of this crew."
She glanced over her shoulder at the three adults. They, too, appeared surprised by Vash's asking for her opinion. None made a comment to contradict what he'd said about her being a part of the crew, though. Her gaze shifted back to him. Finally, she let out a breath. "Vashy gonna come with us?" she asked, hopeful.
His smiled faded. "No, Ed, I have to stay where I belong." A hand rested on top of her head when she frowned at his response. "I wish I could go with you, but I'm needed here."
"Can I stay here?"
Vash's hand slipped away from her head as he sighed softly. As much as he would miss her, he had to let her go. She would never be safe on this planet. Not with Knives out there. "You can't stay with me," he gently replied. "I can't take care of you the way they can." He nodded to Spike, Jet and Faye.
Ed fought back the tears. She'd had so much fun here and she wanted to stay with Vash. And Milly. Even though he'd asked her what she'd thought, she had no real choice. He told her she couldn't stay and, since the others wanted to go home, she was forced to do the same.
"If you want Ed to leave ... Ed will leave," she whispered. She jumped to her feet, brushing away the falling tears as she fled the room.
Vash's head dropped. "That didn't go quite how I'd wanted."
"She's just a kid, Vash. She'll understand when she gets older," Jet assured him. "You're only doing what's best for her."
"Am I?" he asked as he looked up to Jet.
"Yes. You know you are, too. I can tell by the look in your eyes."
He sighed, shaking his head. He'd made friends with many people over time. Very few caused him pain like this when he parted ways with them, either by choice or unfortunate circumstance. Rem would want Ed to go home, where she belonged and would be safe from harm. Yes. He'd made the right decision. Only the right decision could cause that kind of heartache.
He rose to his feet. "Two days, I'll be back." He pulled out his sunglasses, even though it was night, then he put them on. He didn't want them to see the tears in his own eyes. Not today. He looked over to the other three. "When I return, you'll go home."
They watched in silence as Vash left the room.
-
Ein pawed at Ed, whining in concern for his human friend. She sat in one of the Bebop's corridors, curled up in a corner, crying. The girl ignored him and continued to sob into her palms. She didn't understand Vash. They'd had a lot of good times together in the last few weeks and he didn't want her to stay. Wasn't he her friend? Wasn't she his? The thought of leaving and never seeing him again... She didn't want to go back to her own time if that's what had to happen. Why couldn't they just all stay?
Meryl stopped at the opposite end of the corridor, a sympathetic look on her face when she finally found Ed. The girl was terribly upset over the prospect of leaving Vash. It often amazed her, this ability the man had to enrapture people. Not only children, but adults. Lately, she couldn't imagine her life without him. Any thoughts of a Vash-free existence were quickly expelled from her mind.
"Ed?" she gently said as she approached her. She came to a halt when Ed lifted up her head, her tear-stained face fully visible. "Are you all right?" She'd never been very good with children, this was more Milly's area. She didn't have the large family and barely kept in touch with the one she had.
"Why can't I stay?" she asked between sniffles.
Meryl sighed, not sure how to explain the why in terms that Ed could understand. I should've had Milly to come with me, she thought. She would know what to say.
"Why does he want me to go away?"
"He doesn't want you to go, Ed, you just ... have to." Meryl bit her lower lip when that didn't help the situation any. "Don't you miss home? Where you're from?"
Ed wiped away her tears. "This is home. The Bebop." She patted the wall she leaned against then frowned. "I don't want to go back to Mars. Wanna stay."
Kneeling down, Meryl tried another angle. "Vash is always traveling. We don't stay in one place for a long time. You should have some ...stability. Like you have here." She gestured to the ship. "You belong here."
Ed slumped down against the wall, groaning sadly. "Ed doesn't belong anywhere." She lifted her gaze to Meryl. "How come you get to stay with Vashy all the time?"
"It's my job. I've told you that before."
"But you like him?"
Her brow furrowed. "He may be annoying, frustrating and incredibly stupid at times, but, yes, I like him." She paused, noticing the way Ed looked at her. "When did this become about me, anyway?"
Ed studied her for a few moments then said, "You can't leave him, right?"
"Not until my employer says otherwise."
Suddenly happy, Ed sprang from the corner and landed in Meryl's lap with a grin. "Yay! Then Merry-Meryl and Milly can help take care of Ed when Ed stays!"
Groaning, Meryl's head dropped. "No, we can't. Vash is only doing this because he cares. Can't you understand that?" She looked at the girl, who was depressed all over again. "He's not sending you away because he doesn't like you, it's because he does."
Ed crawled away from Meryl and went back to sulking in her corner. No one wanted her around. She couldn't stay where she was happy and Vash wouldn't come with them.
"This isn't easy for him," Meryl softly continued. "I know he'd rather have you around. He can't. If you're really his friend, you'll do as he wants. No matter how much you don't like it."
Ed looked up at her. "If he told you to go away, would you?"
"Well ... no. My job keeps me with him."
"What if it wasn't your job? Would you then?"
She briefly glared at the child. Why did she have to ask it that way? Despite her actual feelings on the matter, she replied, "Yes, if I thought he was trying to help me."
The girl eyed her with a certain amount of suspicion. She wasn't sure Meryl told the truth on that one. Still, it appeared she had no other choice except to believe her. "All right," she sighed. "Ed'll do what Vashy wants and go back with the others."
Inwardly, Meryl sighed with relief. Ed's hesitation had concerned her. She thought the kid had picked up on her lie about leaving Vash, should he tell her to go. Luckily, she'd gotten away with it. She rose to her feet and extended a hand to Ed. "Milly's probably worried about you. Let's find her."
Ed grabbed Meryl's hand and pulled herself off of the floor. "You think Vashy can send us home?" she asked as they walked down the corridor together.
Meryl thought on it for a minute. She'd seen many impressive things in the time she'd been with Vash, some of them nothing short of miracles. And that's what it would take to get the crew of the Bebop back where they belonged - a miracle.
"I think ... "she began after a short silence. "... that if anyone can do it, it's him."
-
More to Come ...
Song Title Used: "Keep Hope Alive" by The Crystal Method