Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop.
A Life Full Of Saturdays: Dream A Little Dream
She had seen it coming. The tiny child that could witness events before they even happened had watched herself awaken Vicious on another planet, thus giving him time to pull the switch on Blair. But she thought that maybe, just maybe she could change the way Fate had their destinies planned, but to no avail. Serenity had failed miserably and was now watching the stoic man with leering eyes. She hated him even though she had never met him in her entire life. Everything she knew about him had been received through mental images during the nights. At this point, all Serenity could do was pray that Spike had made it to Faye in time.
Faye stared into the endless sea of stars. The universe seemed to keep going and going before her, yet she knew where she was going. She was going home. To the Bebop. Where she belonged. It was funny, she hadn't realized how much the tortured ship meant to her until she watched Blair fall by her hand. He had slipped through life because of her and as she watched him hit the ground, it hit her that she only had one place to go to now. She had struggled with that fact for some time after she left Blair. She knew she'd have to face Spike sooner or later and apologize to her crewmates for leaving them in the first place. Neither fit her very well. Or she could run away. She was infamous for her disappearing acts and it would prove to be to her benefit in the longrun. But Faye Valentine was tired of running. She had been running for so long and was growing tired of starting all over. She pulled into the hanger of the Bebop, expecting Edward to pounce on her as soon as she stepped out of the cockpit. Yet the hacker was nowhere to be seen or heard.
Faye poked her head out into the living quarters, catching the sound of soft moans from Spike's bedroom. So the cowboy was getting his kicks? Faye let the anger subside. Who was she to trail after Spike like a little lost dog and lecture him for his womanizing ways. She'd leave that job to Jet. Speaking of the captain himself, where is the bald geezer, Faye wondered. It was not like the crew to desert the ship like this. If it had still been docked in the harbor, than Faye would not worry. They would've have been on ground, with numerous excuses for disappearing. But the Bebop was floating in space, without a single soul wandering its floors. Well, with the exception of a satisfied Spike. Faye shook her head and began her journey to the shower. She would need a long, hot, steaming shower after this day.
Spike's hands discovered every part of the temptress at that moment. Everything from her lips, to her arms, all the way to her shapely legs. And the woman straddling him was committing her own adventure with his body. Her mouth teased his neck and was slowly moving over to his chest when he caught a glimpse of a yellow jumpsuit clad, heliotrope haired siren that he had thought to be hovering over him instead of walking the halls. That could only mean one thing. Spike gulped as he was thrown back to the bed with the edge of a dagger gracing his neck. The woman morphed into a redhead beauty before his mismatched eyes.
"Who are you?" The woman's eyes were now nothing but sly slits.
"Do you really think you're in the postion to be asking questions?" Spike was knocked unconcious by the blunt handle of the weapon before he could answer.
Faye scrubbed away the night's memories in the scalding water. It was a little extreme, yes, but she felt renewed afterwards. Now all she had to do was get the warring feelings for the cowboy in the other room out of her head and heart. Maybe he could feel the same way. No, he had made that quite clear the night he spoke Julia's name instead of her own. Her mind was as clear as glass afterwards. She would let her feelings go away with time and find someone else. That was always possible, right?
She finally managed to get dressed and head into the control room. She would go there sometimes to think and stare at the stars. She remembered always wanting to see the bright balls of light up close, never getting the chance until now. Her father would've loved to watched them this close wih her. It were times like these that she wished for her family to miraculously appear and sweep her away, back home. But she had visited the pile of rubble before Spike ran off, finding nothing but lost memories of a happy child and a lonely woman. Out of the corner of her emerald eye, Faye caught the angry gleam of a katana edging near her and she quickly ducked, but not before obtaining a nasty gash across the back. Yet she didn't scream out in pain. She was too astounded to react to the cut that would probably scar her flawless flesh. She crouched down in the dim light of the control room, waiting for her attacker to walk out of the darkness.
He was just like how she remembered him. Cold, unmoved by any emotion except by the name of Julia. More than anything she wished she had her Glock, then she would shoot the bastard back into Hell where he belonged. Lucky for her, there was a small pile of salt from where Ed was conducting one of weird experiments earlier. She wrapped her palm over the white dust, grabbing a handful. The salt may be the only way she was going to get out of this one alive.
"Hello Faye." That voice. She hated that voice. And she even started to panic when it wasn't followed by the cool tone of Spike. But she put all of it behind her and kept an impassive aura about her, complete with a seductive smirk.
"Well well well. Who would've thought i'd run into you again, Vicious?" He took another step towards Faye, ready for her to pull out a gun at any moment. But the confrontation was too exciting to pass up. For days he would fantasize about taking Spike's prized bounty huntress away from him and martyrize her until she screamed out his name in pain. It was almost too much for him to handle. Yes, he had dreamed about that day, until she turned down his offer to come into the Syndicate with him. Since that night, he vowed to crucify her for her objection. "What do you want?"
"So hostile, aren't you Faye?" She was growing agitated by the second.
"What else is there to be? Stop playing games with me Vicious. What do you want?" He smiled coyly at Faye and returned his katana to its sheath at his side.
"I'm going to let you reconsider my offer in joing the Red Dragons." Faye cringed and went in for her attack.
"Go to hell!" Vicious winced in pain as the salt entered his vision, but he was quickly over it and on Faye's heels, knocking her into the wall. Faye could've completely ignored her wound if Vicious hadn't slammed her back first. His katana was pressed firmly against her throat, causing her chin to tilt in his direction.
"Tricky tricky tricky. I didn't want it to come down to this." As if his words were a signal, the lights of the Bebop flickered on, enlightening Faye of just how dangerous the situation was. There, in one spotlight, lay a battered Jet whom was bleeding from his head. And next to him sat an equally unconcious Ed, snoring lightly with Ein twitching beside her. No wonder she hadn't heard them. In the next spotlight, stood a bulky man and a redheaded woman, the man bearing Spike's limp form and the woman holding on to a struggling Serenity. Tears stained the child's flushed cheeks, making Faye almost pity her. But Faye knew that it was the kid who brought Vicious back into the world of the living. Vicious pressed his weight upon Faye's body, making her want to gag from his closeness.
"I'm sorry! Faye! Don't do whatever he says!! Please!!" Serenity's tiny voice was blocked out by the bulky man's fist, who somehow managed to balance Spike on one arm.
"Now then, you will either join me or have your comrades die in front of you. Which will it be?" Faye flinched under Vicious' choices. But she couldn't let her friends die because of her imcompetence.
"Don't do it Faye..." Spike's strained voice broke the silence. When had he regained conciousness?
"Spike..." His voice shattered Faye's heart. She couldn't let him die now because of her. She lowered her head in shame, unable to look Spike in the eye once she said it. "Fine.." Vicious simpered maliciously and grasped Faye's forearm.
"I knew you'd change your mind. Come. We'll take your Redtail." He paused beside the man and woman. "Blow up the ship." Faye's beryl irises widened and she fought against Vicious' brute strength.
"No!! We had a deal!! You're not living up to your part of the bargain." Vicious grinned.
"Oh but I am, Faye. I said you either join forces with me or watch your friends die in front of you. You and I will be far away by the time they breathe their last breath."
Spike had reached full conciousness as he heard of the fate his former compatriot had in store for him and the Bebop crew. He attempted to squeeze out of the heavy man's grip but got hit upside the head for the stupid exertion. And Faye. Faye was now Vicious' property. She had become his personal play thing without even knowing it. Sure Faye and him had their bad days but he wouldn't wish that fortune upon anyone. He watched the man and redhead set the timer for ten minutes and leave, giving Spike his chance. He skidded over to Edward, slapping her lightly to wake her up.
"Ed....Ed.....EDWARD!!!" She fluttered her amber orbs open and tried to comprehend the earlier events.
"Ed is out, come back in five minutes." Spike rolled his discorded eyes and slapped the hacker a little harder then before.
"ED!"
"Huh? Spike-person? What's going on-pawn?"
"There's a bomb on the ship. I need you to disengage it." He quickly untied her as she set to work, mumbling to herself about salt, whatever that meant. Jet, however, was an entirely different story. Spike had to waff a cigarette before the old man's nostrils to get him to wake up. And when he did, he lit in to Spike for letting his guard down. Spike was a little more than peeved, considering the Bebop wasn't even his ship to begin with. Besides, how was he to know that it wasn't Faye kissing him and whispering sweet nothings. And then it hit him like a speeding bullet. He remembered listening to the conversation she had with Ein, expressing her days after awakening in the most simple of words. He had also remembered how she had told Whitney that she was without a identification mark, like he had. The woman who had seduced Spike was equipped with her own bar code identification. Dammit. Why didn't he catch the before?
Ed wiped her brow as she disaffiliated the bomb. She stopped the clock at exactly thirty seconds before the explosion. Jet sighed and spoke sweet nothings to his pride and joy. Spike hovered over a fallen Serenity, who refused to look at any of the crew. She had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She had sent Snow White to the upmost evil. He tossed an ice pack towards her, feeling a bit sorry about her bruised cheek. Serenity was a generous kid and didn't deserve to be tossed around like a potato sack. But she had made the grave mistake of bringing back Vicious. Everyone would pay for it dearly in the end.
"You must hate me." Her voice was a little more than a whisper. "I put you and the crew at risk. And sent Faye into the hands of that beast." Spike squatted beside her, lighting a cigarette to clear his mind.
"Hate you....no. Incredibly pissed off.....you betcha. But I don't think you had much choice in the matter, right? And Faye, well, she chose that road." Serenity's eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"How can you be so cold? You're going to go after right?" Spike remained silent. Sure, he'd go after her. He was the protagonist after all. Every story had their romani in distress, their disgruntled parental figures, the highly eccentric child that hacks into monosystems, and the handsome, chain - smoking prince. Well, not EVERY story. The Bebop was unique like that. But Spike had no idea in where to begin. Vicious had created his name in numerous cities and any planet could be housing him. It was a delicate situation that had to be handled with care. Spike mentally laughed out loud. Since when did he ever give a damn about handling delicate situations with care? A few minutes later, Jet was desperately chasing him down while Serenity sat on his shoulder, trying to bandage the poor man's head.
"Spike!! Where are you going at a time like this?!"
"He has Faye, Jet. I thought you be a little concerned. Besides, you're no shape to go save her." Jet sighed and swiped at the little girl mending his skull.
"Things like this need planning. You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Spike jumped into the cockpit of the Swordfish and smirked at his comrade.
"I'm going to go get my woman." Serenity and Jet gawked at the cowboy as Ed spun around in the exhaust the former monoracer created. Jet scratched at the itchy gauze, wondering just exactly when Faye had become Spike's woman.
A Life Full Of Saturdays: Dream A Little Dream
She had seen it coming. The tiny child that could witness events before they even happened had watched herself awaken Vicious on another planet, thus giving him time to pull the switch on Blair. But she thought that maybe, just maybe she could change the way Fate had their destinies planned, but to no avail. Serenity had failed miserably and was now watching the stoic man with leering eyes. She hated him even though she had never met him in her entire life. Everything she knew about him had been received through mental images during the nights. At this point, all Serenity could do was pray that Spike had made it to Faye in time.
Faye stared into the endless sea of stars. The universe seemed to keep going and going before her, yet she knew where she was going. She was going home. To the Bebop. Where she belonged. It was funny, she hadn't realized how much the tortured ship meant to her until she watched Blair fall by her hand. He had slipped through life because of her and as she watched him hit the ground, it hit her that she only had one place to go to now. She had struggled with that fact for some time after she left Blair. She knew she'd have to face Spike sooner or later and apologize to her crewmates for leaving them in the first place. Neither fit her very well. Or she could run away. She was infamous for her disappearing acts and it would prove to be to her benefit in the longrun. But Faye Valentine was tired of running. She had been running for so long and was growing tired of starting all over. She pulled into the hanger of the Bebop, expecting Edward to pounce on her as soon as she stepped out of the cockpit. Yet the hacker was nowhere to be seen or heard.
Faye poked her head out into the living quarters, catching the sound of soft moans from Spike's bedroom. So the cowboy was getting his kicks? Faye let the anger subside. Who was she to trail after Spike like a little lost dog and lecture him for his womanizing ways. She'd leave that job to Jet. Speaking of the captain himself, where is the bald geezer, Faye wondered. It was not like the crew to desert the ship like this. If it had still been docked in the harbor, than Faye would not worry. They would've have been on ground, with numerous excuses for disappearing. But the Bebop was floating in space, without a single soul wandering its floors. Well, with the exception of a satisfied Spike. Faye shook her head and began her journey to the shower. She would need a long, hot, steaming shower after this day.
Spike's hands discovered every part of the temptress at that moment. Everything from her lips, to her arms, all the way to her shapely legs. And the woman straddling him was committing her own adventure with his body. Her mouth teased his neck and was slowly moving over to his chest when he caught a glimpse of a yellow jumpsuit clad, heliotrope haired siren that he had thought to be hovering over him instead of walking the halls. That could only mean one thing. Spike gulped as he was thrown back to the bed with the edge of a dagger gracing his neck. The woman morphed into a redhead beauty before his mismatched eyes.
"Who are you?" The woman's eyes were now nothing but sly slits.
"Do you really think you're in the postion to be asking questions?" Spike was knocked unconcious by the blunt handle of the weapon before he could answer.
Faye scrubbed away the night's memories in the scalding water. It was a little extreme, yes, but she felt renewed afterwards. Now all she had to do was get the warring feelings for the cowboy in the other room out of her head and heart. Maybe he could feel the same way. No, he had made that quite clear the night he spoke Julia's name instead of her own. Her mind was as clear as glass afterwards. She would let her feelings go away with time and find someone else. That was always possible, right?
She finally managed to get dressed and head into the control room. She would go there sometimes to think and stare at the stars. She remembered always wanting to see the bright balls of light up close, never getting the chance until now. Her father would've loved to watched them this close wih her. It were times like these that she wished for her family to miraculously appear and sweep her away, back home. But she had visited the pile of rubble before Spike ran off, finding nothing but lost memories of a happy child and a lonely woman. Out of the corner of her emerald eye, Faye caught the angry gleam of a katana edging near her and she quickly ducked, but not before obtaining a nasty gash across the back. Yet she didn't scream out in pain. She was too astounded to react to the cut that would probably scar her flawless flesh. She crouched down in the dim light of the control room, waiting for her attacker to walk out of the darkness.
He was just like how she remembered him. Cold, unmoved by any emotion except by the name of Julia. More than anything she wished she had her Glock, then she would shoot the bastard back into Hell where he belonged. Lucky for her, there was a small pile of salt from where Ed was conducting one of weird experiments earlier. She wrapped her palm over the white dust, grabbing a handful. The salt may be the only way she was going to get out of this one alive.
"Hello Faye." That voice. She hated that voice. And she even started to panic when it wasn't followed by the cool tone of Spike. But she put all of it behind her and kept an impassive aura about her, complete with a seductive smirk.
"Well well well. Who would've thought i'd run into you again, Vicious?" He took another step towards Faye, ready for her to pull out a gun at any moment. But the confrontation was too exciting to pass up. For days he would fantasize about taking Spike's prized bounty huntress away from him and martyrize her until she screamed out his name in pain. It was almost too much for him to handle. Yes, he had dreamed about that day, until she turned down his offer to come into the Syndicate with him. Since that night, he vowed to crucify her for her objection. "What do you want?"
"So hostile, aren't you Faye?" She was growing agitated by the second.
"What else is there to be? Stop playing games with me Vicious. What do you want?" He smiled coyly at Faye and returned his katana to its sheath at his side.
"I'm going to let you reconsider my offer in joing the Red Dragons." Faye cringed and went in for her attack.
"Go to hell!" Vicious winced in pain as the salt entered his vision, but he was quickly over it and on Faye's heels, knocking her into the wall. Faye could've completely ignored her wound if Vicious hadn't slammed her back first. His katana was pressed firmly against her throat, causing her chin to tilt in his direction.
"Tricky tricky tricky. I didn't want it to come down to this." As if his words were a signal, the lights of the Bebop flickered on, enlightening Faye of just how dangerous the situation was. There, in one spotlight, lay a battered Jet whom was bleeding from his head. And next to him sat an equally unconcious Ed, snoring lightly with Ein twitching beside her. No wonder she hadn't heard them. In the next spotlight, stood a bulky man and a redheaded woman, the man bearing Spike's limp form and the woman holding on to a struggling Serenity. Tears stained the child's flushed cheeks, making Faye almost pity her. But Faye knew that it was the kid who brought Vicious back into the world of the living. Vicious pressed his weight upon Faye's body, making her want to gag from his closeness.
"I'm sorry! Faye! Don't do whatever he says!! Please!!" Serenity's tiny voice was blocked out by the bulky man's fist, who somehow managed to balance Spike on one arm.
"Now then, you will either join me or have your comrades die in front of you. Which will it be?" Faye flinched under Vicious' choices. But she couldn't let her friends die because of her imcompetence.
"Don't do it Faye..." Spike's strained voice broke the silence. When had he regained conciousness?
"Spike..." His voice shattered Faye's heart. She couldn't let him die now because of her. She lowered her head in shame, unable to look Spike in the eye once she said it. "Fine.." Vicious simpered maliciously and grasped Faye's forearm.
"I knew you'd change your mind. Come. We'll take your Redtail." He paused beside the man and woman. "Blow up the ship." Faye's beryl irises widened and she fought against Vicious' brute strength.
"No!! We had a deal!! You're not living up to your part of the bargain." Vicious grinned.
"Oh but I am, Faye. I said you either join forces with me or watch your friends die in front of you. You and I will be far away by the time they breathe their last breath."
Spike had reached full conciousness as he heard of the fate his former compatriot had in store for him and the Bebop crew. He attempted to squeeze out of the heavy man's grip but got hit upside the head for the stupid exertion. And Faye. Faye was now Vicious' property. She had become his personal play thing without even knowing it. Sure Faye and him had their bad days but he wouldn't wish that fortune upon anyone. He watched the man and redhead set the timer for ten minutes and leave, giving Spike his chance. He skidded over to Edward, slapping her lightly to wake her up.
"Ed....Ed.....EDWARD!!!" She fluttered her amber orbs open and tried to comprehend the earlier events.
"Ed is out, come back in five minutes." Spike rolled his discorded eyes and slapped the hacker a little harder then before.
"ED!"
"Huh? Spike-person? What's going on-pawn?"
"There's a bomb on the ship. I need you to disengage it." He quickly untied her as she set to work, mumbling to herself about salt, whatever that meant. Jet, however, was an entirely different story. Spike had to waff a cigarette before the old man's nostrils to get him to wake up. And when he did, he lit in to Spike for letting his guard down. Spike was a little more than peeved, considering the Bebop wasn't even his ship to begin with. Besides, how was he to know that it wasn't Faye kissing him and whispering sweet nothings. And then it hit him like a speeding bullet. He remembered listening to the conversation she had with Ein, expressing her days after awakening in the most simple of words. He had also remembered how she had told Whitney that she was without a identification mark, like he had. The woman who had seduced Spike was equipped with her own bar code identification. Dammit. Why didn't he catch the before?
Ed wiped her brow as she disaffiliated the bomb. She stopped the clock at exactly thirty seconds before the explosion. Jet sighed and spoke sweet nothings to his pride and joy. Spike hovered over a fallen Serenity, who refused to look at any of the crew. She had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She had sent Snow White to the upmost evil. He tossed an ice pack towards her, feeling a bit sorry about her bruised cheek. Serenity was a generous kid and didn't deserve to be tossed around like a potato sack. But she had made the grave mistake of bringing back Vicious. Everyone would pay for it dearly in the end.
"You must hate me." Her voice was a little more than a whisper. "I put you and the crew at risk. And sent Faye into the hands of that beast." Spike squatted beside her, lighting a cigarette to clear his mind.
"Hate you....no. Incredibly pissed off.....you betcha. But I don't think you had much choice in the matter, right? And Faye, well, she chose that road." Serenity's eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"How can you be so cold? You're going to go after right?" Spike remained silent. Sure, he'd go after her. He was the protagonist after all. Every story had their romani in distress, their disgruntled parental figures, the highly eccentric child that hacks into monosystems, and the handsome, chain - smoking prince. Well, not EVERY story. The Bebop was unique like that. But Spike had no idea in where to begin. Vicious had created his name in numerous cities and any planet could be housing him. It was a delicate situation that had to be handled with care. Spike mentally laughed out loud. Since when did he ever give a damn about handling delicate situations with care? A few minutes later, Jet was desperately chasing him down while Serenity sat on his shoulder, trying to bandage the poor man's head.
"Spike!! Where are you going at a time like this?!"
"He has Faye, Jet. I thought you be a little concerned. Besides, you're no shape to go save her." Jet sighed and swiped at the little girl mending his skull.
"Things like this need planning. You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Spike jumped into the cockpit of the Swordfish and smirked at his comrade.
"I'm going to go get my woman." Serenity and Jet gawked at the cowboy as Ed spun around in the exhaust the former monoracer created. Jet scratched at the itchy gauze, wondering just exactly when Faye had become Spike's woman.