Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, Or any of the characters in it.
Mysteries Within
Chapter 1: A Worried Friend
"For all I know, Spike could still be alive and living at some dump in god knows where, Faye," came the all too familiar voice of Jet Black. His back was turned to Faye, as the fumes of shitake mushrooms filled the air.
"Sometimes you got to let things go. We cant afford to be associated with the man, let alone find him ourselves. You don't want to get involved with the Syndicate."
"I know Jet, but sometimes I worry about the guy. It's been what, a month since we last saw him? The idiot could at least check back to the Bebop!" exclaimed Faye, her right hand covering her face in disgust.
"How about I fix you something to eat? Shitake mushrooms with Wassabe sauce!"
Faye had no immediate response. Her head rested comfortably on the couch pillow, the upper portion of her body contorted to fit on the couch while the bottom half leaned slightly to her right on the floor. She let out an exaggerated sigh, sheer agony let loose from her immediate troubles and doubts. Her eyelids drew downward, offering a more relaxed state of mind.
"The fool…" she said quietly to herself. "Why won't he come back? Why!"
"Maybe because he's found a better life? You know, we cant live like this forever," came a booming voice from the stove.
"You heard me Jet?"
"Of course. Who cant ignore such a loud and annoying whine such as yours, Faye?" Jet Chuckled at that remark.
Faye, of course, wasn't very amused with his sense of humor. She turned around to get a better view of Jet's preoccupied backside, quickly prying off her right heel and thrusting it for his head. The whizzing sound wasn't nearly loud enough for the rather quick Jet to pick up as the butt of the heel clunked him on the back of his skull. The shoe proceeded its course, ricocheting off his head and landing itself on the ground below Jet's feet. Jet turned around to see an unhappy expression on Faye's face. He bent over to examine the shoe, then gave the shoe a gentle toss back into the lap of Faye Valentine.
"Ouch, what was that for?" said Jet, still rubbing the red spot on the back of his head in pain.
"You know, I think I'm going to take a cold shower…I need to clear my head."
As the gentle trickle of the icy water slid down her bare body, Faye began to envision random occurrences and possible outcomes concerning Spike. Considering how reckless he was in going to locate Julia, Faye was constantly haunted by vivid depictions of Spike, and they weren't pleasant images. She instantly fell into her own little word as the water ran down her tightly sealed eyelids. The noticeably distinct color of Spike's hair gave way to her first question, but left other questions in the air.
"Sp-Spike? What are you doing?"
The highly detailed image of a rather skinny man flashed into her mind. It was Spike, for she could recognize that sly smirk anywhere. The two met eye to eye in what seemed to be a great banquet hall of some sorts. Draped upon the walls were red banners, appearing to have words on them, but they were not legible. The hard, marble floor was stained with a thick, red substance and littered with the corpses of what appeared to be a thousand men. Through it all, Spike appeared to be completely calm for such a situation.
"Why are you here? Won't you come back to the Bebop?"
She had the most concerned look on her face, as if she wasn't even sure of what she was saying. The Green haired man just winked at her comment, sticking both hands into his pocket and walking off into the distance. Faye found herself drawn to his aura, his mere presence drifting her to follow in his footsteps. Past aching bodies barely living, straight into pools of blood, the aura took her on a disturbing journey riddled with unexplainable scenery.
"Wait Spike…where are you going? Come back Spike, come back…"
She glided across the marble floor until the figure came to a stop. Slowly, the image of Spike turned back around to acknowledge her. However, Faye did not stop walking until she hit what seemed to be…a shower head? Her eyes drew up, the agony of her aching forehead awaking her from her daydream. She gently rubbed the bright red circle across her forehead. She retracted her face about an inch before realizing she was still in the comfort of her own shower, and not at some foreign hall.
"OW! That really hurt!" She exclaimed, so loud that Jet could here her from the kitchen.
"Faye, are you alright?" he asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm fine."
She twisted the shower knob to stop the cold water flow, mumbling curses to her own stupidity. Out of the shower she stepped, wrapping a robe around her bare body and fixing her hair with a white towel. She drew the tie to the robe nice and tight before stepping out of the bathroom and into the dining area. The overpowering odor of Shitake mushrooms was enough to curdle her empty stomach.
"Ah, great timing. The mushrooms are waiting in a bowl for you," said Jet.
"…I'm not feeling all that hungry right now Jet. I keep having these weird relapses involving Spike. I think Spike is trying to contact me."
Jet couldn't help but laugh out loud at how ridiculous Faye sounded. "I'm sure if Spike needed anyone's help, YOU wouldn't be the person he'd contact first."
Again, Jet's cruel sense of humor was doomed to get him into trouble. Out from the side of Jet's frame came a speeding open palm, heading in the direction of his left cheek. All that could be seen was the red handprint, the mark left by an angered Faye Valentine. Jet found himself in the same predicament, wondering why in the world she would resort to unnecessary violence for such a thing as simple as a friendly joke.
"Jet, I'm serious. I'm really not in the mood for this. Do you think we could at least go into town and attempt to find him?"
"Why are you so concerned all of a sudden? Did something happen between you two? You know as well as I know that Spike is more than capable of handling himself on his own. He really doesn't need our help."
"It's nothing special, I just think that he needs us now more than ever. I can tell when Spike means business, and the last I saw, he meant business. I'm just worried about how deep he's got himself in with this whole Syndicate ordeal."
"You know he doesn't want us to get involved in his personal conflicts. Sometimes you got to know when to stay out, Faye. I'll tell you what, why don't we land this big boy on (Planet) and we search a bit? If Spike doesn't want our help, we take off, but at least we'll know where he is. Sound good?"
"Oh Jet, would you really do that? For me?" Faye's entire face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree.
"Not for you. I…am a bit concerned also. I know, I know, its not like me to care about what that idiot gets himself into, but that doesn't stop me from sympathizing. Now, shall we eat?"
Faye and Jet each reached for a bowl of Shitake mushrooms, plunging in to it like they hadn't eaten in weeks. In reality, they hadn't had a good bounty since Spike left. As much as the two loved to hate him, he did assist in bringing in his share needed for a decent meal on the ship.
A/N: Ok, this is the very first chapter of my very first fan fic. It may have been a bit dried out, but hopefully as the story will continue to pick up. I hope you enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to you input.
