Title: The Fates Decide
By: DragonLady
Disclaimer: I own my computer, this story, and a shiny red truck. The characters belong to other people in a land over the ocean. I make no claim to them, other than to ask permission to play with them once in awhile.
Summery: Um, well... Most of you will probably be very confused (not to worry- this story confuses ME!) As best as I can summarize it, this is (kinda) a crossover between Cowboy Bebop and Big O. I started out with this mainly because of the many similarities I found between the two series. I won't go into too much detail about that considering I mention some of those similarities in my story. Suffice to say, Spike and Roger, and Faye and Angel both have the same American voice actors in the shows. That, honestly, was the first thing that got me thinking about a crossover. Gosh- this thing has really grown since then! I have this massive, overwhelming THEME that I want to carefully bring out in the course of this story. I beg you all to have patience with me as I write this out. It seems really cool in my head- I hope it remains so as a posted story. Before I let you go- I ask one small favor.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! This is what helps me write!
Thank you. (bows)
Paradigm City
The report of the gun still echoed in his ears. A sharp pain exploded in his shoulder, and he clenched his teeth to hold back a cry of agony.
Inexplicably, the sound of a piano boomed around him.
Roger Smith jerked awake, sitting up quickly in his large bed. Ignored, his sweat-soaked pillow slid to the floor. The phantom pain vanished from his forehead as he wiped a hand across his face. Glancing at the clock, he flopped back on his bed again. "Dorothy, it's ten- DAMNED- am, have a heart!" Despite his muttering, the piano continued playing in the other room. Grumbling to himself, Roger rolled from the bed and pulled on his bathrobe, stalking from his room.
In the other room, Dorothy was just finishing the first stanza. Raising his hand, Roger pointed at her, clenching his teeth. Then, shaping his hand in a fist, he turned, wordlessly, and went back to his room to take a shower. Yep, it was gonna be a day all right.
Twenty minutes later, and feeling two hundred percent better than before, Roger sat down at the table for breakfast. "Good morning Master Roger. Sleep well?" Taking a sip of juice, Roger glanced up at his faithful butler. "Morning Norman. The night was bliss, as usual." Seeing through the façade, Norman, none-the-less, handed Roger his morning paper. "Would you care for Eggs Benedict this morning sir?" Roger nodded, engrossed in his reading. "That would be fine Norman, thank you." The older man smiled. "No need to thank me, sir. Dorothy cooked breakfast this morning." Before Roger could respond, Norman had left the room.
The afternoon passed slowly, honeyed light drifting across the floor with the movement of the sun. At precisely 2 pm, a visitor came to the door.
Roger was on the patio when Norman announced the guest. Smiling, Roger straightened his tie, and turned. "How do you do Miss.... Angel?" The woman smiled at his expression. "Roger, dear, it's good to see you again too!" Hiding his feelings behind a polite smile, Roger held out his arm. "Would you like to sit, have a drink?" Angel leaned against the cool stone of the outer wall. "Thank you, I'm fine. Besides, I'm not staying long." Leaning against the balcony, Roger folded his arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" The blonde smiled, twirling a shapely finger through her hair. "What, you don't think I dropped by simply to share your company?" Returning the smile, Roger straightened. "I'm sure there's more to it than just pleasant conversation." Angel opened her purse, retrieving a battered silver watch from the depths. "And it's not even my birthday." Replied Roger as he took the timepiece from her outstretched hand. Ignoring the sarcasm, Angel continued. "It belonged to Dr. Eugene Blake. As you probably heard, he was killed last evening at around eleven fifteen." Roger's brows pulled together. "According to the police, he died of natural causes." Holding up the watch, he looked her in the eye. "And if it was murder, what are you doing with this?" Angel folded her hands. "It showed up at my door this morning, along with this." Roger looked up as she passed him a large envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper. The letters X.P.D.- H.H.Q. were written there in a bold hand. No other writing was present. "What does it mean?" Angel shook her head. "I don't know. I am certain, however, that Dr. Blake is the one that sent it to me." Squinting his eyes at the letters, Roger frowned. Grunting, he passed the objects back to Angel. "I still don't know what this is about, or, for that matter, what your involvement is. And how do you even know that this is his watch?" Angel caressed the tarnished silver gently. "Simple.... I gave it to him."
Roger and Angel sat across from each other in the dining room. Untouched cups of coffee slowly cooled before them. "Tell me, why do you think it was murder?" Angel looked down at her hands, all pretense gone. "About four years ago, I met Eugene.... Dr. Blake, at a nightclub called the Calypso. He was with about six colleagues at the time, sitting around discussing dry medical text. A friend introduced us."
Roger nodded. "Let me guess, he was stricken by your beauty?"
Angel's mouth opened in a slight huff. "Uh, not exactly. In fact, he accused me of acting too shallow to hide my intelligence." Roger laughed, trying to picture the look on her face when she heard that. "No doubt endearing himself to you in the process."
Angel smiled sadly. "Yeah. Can't say we really hit it off right from the start. However, I suppose we both gave each other another chance. I saw him again about five months later. This time around, I didn't plan on letting him get the upper hand. Of course, it took him about three seconds to destroy my intentions. In fact, I never could talk to the man without him seeing right through me. But.... somehow, I didn't care. Somehow, I felt like I could trust him." She brushed her hand across the cracked face of the watch. "I gave him this about two years ago. No matter what he was doing, he was always late. I used to tease him about it all the time! As a doctor, you'd think promptness would be second nature." Roger looked at her with a half-smile. "You've never had to sit in a waiting room before." Standing up straight, Angel pressed the watch into Roger's hand. "Two nights ago, Eugene called me to say his life was in danger. He told me that a project he was working on was being threatened, that it was prompting questions that certain people would rather not have answered. He wanted to meet with me last night."
Roger studied her face. "You didn't meet with him, did you." Angel shook her head, staring at her shoes. "It was suggested to me that I stay out of it." Roger stared, taking her arm suddenly. "Angel, who suggested it!" Tearing out of his grasp, she met his eyes coldly. "That doesn't matter, they weren't the ones behind it." Dropping his hands, Roger returned her look. "Why should I look into this? What is your interest Angel- and don't say it's because he's an old friend! I know you." Dropping the other item to the table, Angel strode for the door, pausing for a moment to look over her shoulder. "When you find out who killed him, you'll realize why this is in everyone's interest." Flipping her hair, she walked through the door.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.I had such a hard time deciding whether to post this here or under Big O. In the end- I was swayed by numbers. There are a lot more stories posted under Bebop- therefore more people are checking out this part of the site. I swear- the Bebop guys will show up soon- please keep reading!
By: DragonLady
Disclaimer: I own my computer, this story, and a shiny red truck. The characters belong to other people in a land over the ocean. I make no claim to them, other than to ask permission to play with them once in awhile.
Summery: Um, well... Most of you will probably be very confused (not to worry- this story confuses ME!) As best as I can summarize it, this is (kinda) a crossover between Cowboy Bebop and Big O. I started out with this mainly because of the many similarities I found between the two series. I won't go into too much detail about that considering I mention some of those similarities in my story. Suffice to say, Spike and Roger, and Faye and Angel both have the same American voice actors in the shows. That, honestly, was the first thing that got me thinking about a crossover. Gosh- this thing has really grown since then! I have this massive, overwhelming THEME that I want to carefully bring out in the course of this story. I beg you all to have patience with me as I write this out. It seems really cool in my head- I hope it remains so as a posted story. Before I let you go- I ask one small favor.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! This is what helps me write!
Thank you. (bows)
Paradigm City
The report of the gun still echoed in his ears. A sharp pain exploded in his shoulder, and he clenched his teeth to hold back a cry of agony.
Inexplicably, the sound of a piano boomed around him.
Roger Smith jerked awake, sitting up quickly in his large bed. Ignored, his sweat-soaked pillow slid to the floor. The phantom pain vanished from his forehead as he wiped a hand across his face. Glancing at the clock, he flopped back on his bed again. "Dorothy, it's ten- DAMNED- am, have a heart!" Despite his muttering, the piano continued playing in the other room. Grumbling to himself, Roger rolled from the bed and pulled on his bathrobe, stalking from his room.
In the other room, Dorothy was just finishing the first stanza. Raising his hand, Roger pointed at her, clenching his teeth. Then, shaping his hand in a fist, he turned, wordlessly, and went back to his room to take a shower. Yep, it was gonna be a day all right.
Twenty minutes later, and feeling two hundred percent better than before, Roger sat down at the table for breakfast. "Good morning Master Roger. Sleep well?" Taking a sip of juice, Roger glanced up at his faithful butler. "Morning Norman. The night was bliss, as usual." Seeing through the façade, Norman, none-the-less, handed Roger his morning paper. "Would you care for Eggs Benedict this morning sir?" Roger nodded, engrossed in his reading. "That would be fine Norman, thank you." The older man smiled. "No need to thank me, sir. Dorothy cooked breakfast this morning." Before Roger could respond, Norman had left the room.
The afternoon passed slowly, honeyed light drifting across the floor with the movement of the sun. At precisely 2 pm, a visitor came to the door.
Roger was on the patio when Norman announced the guest. Smiling, Roger straightened his tie, and turned. "How do you do Miss.... Angel?" The woman smiled at his expression. "Roger, dear, it's good to see you again too!" Hiding his feelings behind a polite smile, Roger held out his arm. "Would you like to sit, have a drink?" Angel leaned against the cool stone of the outer wall. "Thank you, I'm fine. Besides, I'm not staying long." Leaning against the balcony, Roger folded his arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" The blonde smiled, twirling a shapely finger through her hair. "What, you don't think I dropped by simply to share your company?" Returning the smile, Roger straightened. "I'm sure there's more to it than just pleasant conversation." Angel opened her purse, retrieving a battered silver watch from the depths. "And it's not even my birthday." Replied Roger as he took the timepiece from her outstretched hand. Ignoring the sarcasm, Angel continued. "It belonged to Dr. Eugene Blake. As you probably heard, he was killed last evening at around eleven fifteen." Roger's brows pulled together. "According to the police, he died of natural causes." Holding up the watch, he looked her in the eye. "And if it was murder, what are you doing with this?" Angel folded her hands. "It showed up at my door this morning, along with this." Roger looked up as she passed him a large envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper. The letters X.P.D.- H.H.Q. were written there in a bold hand. No other writing was present. "What does it mean?" Angel shook her head. "I don't know. I am certain, however, that Dr. Blake is the one that sent it to me." Squinting his eyes at the letters, Roger frowned. Grunting, he passed the objects back to Angel. "I still don't know what this is about, or, for that matter, what your involvement is. And how do you even know that this is his watch?" Angel caressed the tarnished silver gently. "Simple.... I gave it to him."
Roger and Angel sat across from each other in the dining room. Untouched cups of coffee slowly cooled before them. "Tell me, why do you think it was murder?" Angel looked down at her hands, all pretense gone. "About four years ago, I met Eugene.... Dr. Blake, at a nightclub called the Calypso. He was with about six colleagues at the time, sitting around discussing dry medical text. A friend introduced us."
Roger nodded. "Let me guess, he was stricken by your beauty?"
Angel's mouth opened in a slight huff. "Uh, not exactly. In fact, he accused me of acting too shallow to hide my intelligence." Roger laughed, trying to picture the look on her face when she heard that. "No doubt endearing himself to you in the process."
Angel smiled sadly. "Yeah. Can't say we really hit it off right from the start. However, I suppose we both gave each other another chance. I saw him again about five months later. This time around, I didn't plan on letting him get the upper hand. Of course, it took him about three seconds to destroy my intentions. In fact, I never could talk to the man without him seeing right through me. But.... somehow, I didn't care. Somehow, I felt like I could trust him." She brushed her hand across the cracked face of the watch. "I gave him this about two years ago. No matter what he was doing, he was always late. I used to tease him about it all the time! As a doctor, you'd think promptness would be second nature." Roger looked at her with a half-smile. "You've never had to sit in a waiting room before." Standing up straight, Angel pressed the watch into Roger's hand. "Two nights ago, Eugene called me to say his life was in danger. He told me that a project he was working on was being threatened, that it was prompting questions that certain people would rather not have answered. He wanted to meet with me last night."
Roger studied her face. "You didn't meet with him, did you." Angel shook her head, staring at her shoes. "It was suggested to me that I stay out of it." Roger stared, taking her arm suddenly. "Angel, who suggested it!" Tearing out of his grasp, she met his eyes coldly. "That doesn't matter, they weren't the ones behind it." Dropping his hands, Roger returned her look. "Why should I look into this? What is your interest Angel- and don't say it's because he's an old friend! I know you." Dropping the other item to the table, Angel strode for the door, pausing for a moment to look over her shoulder. "When you find out who killed him, you'll realize why this is in everyone's interest." Flipping her hair, she walked through the door.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.I had such a hard time deciding whether to post this here or under Big O. In the end- I was swayed by numbers. There are a lot more stories posted under Bebop- therefore more people are checking out this part of the site. I swear- the Bebop guys will show up soon- please keep reading!
