It Begins (Dun Dun Duuuuuun)

A/N: Ok, so wow. I was under the impression that no one like Ed and that it was my sole duty as a dedicted fan to make her a good impression. But was I surprised by the reveiws I've gotten form people who love her just as much as I do. So thanx Guys and Kudos to you all!

Disclaimers: In the sole interest of all those big mean lawful types who stomp on small coffee business's and never sign petitions to save the elusive albino singing merma-opilus, I do not own Cowboy Bebop, and I am not associated with the show in any way except that it is my favorite anime and I love it. The ideas for this story are mine. Spike, Faye, Ed, Jet, and Ein are not.

Claimers: Tamochi, Korey and Shang are 700% mine. So you suits can't have them! that is all. And on to the show.

"So what exactly is the plan anyway?" Faye asked , impatiently tapping her foot on the ship's floor. Metallic clangs echoed off the wall and Spike neatly kicked her ankle to get her to stop.

Sometimes, they really did act like children.

Spike and Faye were standing behind Edward, who was typing on Tomato. The bright yellow glow of the screen reflected off of the pair's brown and green eyes as the watched Ed curiously. The girl's finger's moved over the keyboard quickly and smoothly to a rhythmic dance that the young hacker knew all too well.

"Ed? What's the deal? Didn't you hear me before?" Faye whined.

"Quiet Faye, Faye, Ed is in the zooone." said Ed, almost singing the last word.

"Just get as much information on the kid as possible," Spike broke in, "Jet said he had a bad feeling and we want to know if there's a reason behind it."

"Aye Spike person." said Ed over her typing.

They watched as the program Edward used to get what she needed on the net swarmed unto the screen. Soon the computer was just a box filled with jumbled letters, numbers, and smiley faces. Neither Spike nor Faye understood what it meant, but by the way Edward looked at it, with her jaw set and a serious look on her always smiling face, she knew exactly what it telling her. Almost as if it was a language that she had studied her whole life.

By power of 'no other alternative', it was the guess of the crew that Korey had no parents, because any attempt at finding word on his family was a dead end. So now the search of the Ganymede orphanages had begun. But it was unbelievably hard to get anything from child databases. Ed still did it, it was just really hard.

It came time for a confirmed password to be entered in order to log in, and all that was seen was a comical, blooped head, pull at the box with it's determined and well animated teeth. It tugged until a hole ripped into the screen.

"Ed is in the network." Ed informatively pronounced. "Korey must be found, but where is he? Where has Chen-li gooone-o, where is he aaaat? Ah hah!"

Faye leaned over the child's shoulder to see what the revelation was.

"Korey is missing."

Faye sighed at this, "We already knew that, Ed. Give us something important."

"No," said Spike, shaking his head. "Look at the date," he pointed out, raising his finger an tapping on the screen.

"It says he became missing from the orphanage for over a year. It was their responsibly to find him since he had been there for more than three."

"But how did he get there to begin with?" Faye wondered aloud.

"He just showed up." Spike shrugged, scanning the writing on the screen for an answer.

"Apparently he seemed happy enough and then one day he vanished, but his uncle adopted him after he came back."

"He just showed up and was adopted, no questions asked?" Faye asked skeptically.

"No no Faye Faye," Ed corrected. "His uncle had to adopt him. Statement said that he was being harassed by city policemen after he found Kooorey, and so he had to claim him or go to jail. Naughty naughty."

"Ed, What does this guy look like? And what's his name?"

Ed typed a bit more, and then a profile of a man came unto the screen, it was accompanied by a headshot, as well as all his personal data.

"Tamochi Shakura, huh?" Spike commented, "Not very friendly looking is he?"

"That little frightened kid ran away from a public orphanage to be with that freak? That place must have been horrible!" said Faye.

No one noticed how Ed had sunk back into the chair she was in, until Spike looked down and saw her wide eyes.

"What's the matter with you, kid?"

All Ed said in response was, "Bad man, very bad man."

A harsh bark of the welsh corgi resonated from behind the three, causing then to turn and look at Ein. Jet was just coming through the door, so it was their assumption that he had barked at him.

"He's very very bad." Ed stated again firmly.

"How do you know?" Faye questioned, leaning forward for a better look. "I'll bet you've never even met him.

"Says here," Spike continued in an attempt to keep the focus, "The Tomachi has quite a criminal record and that his adoption efforts for Chenli did not come easy."

Faye looked at him, "So how did he even get the kid if his records were bad? Don't you have to be an upstanding citizen to take on a responsibility of a child?"

Jet fielded this one, "This world is corrupt, it's a sad thing but it's true, the only reason this guy got what he wanted was probably to get Korey off the state's welfare."

"No no no," said Ed. "He can't be the bad guy, not him, it's bad scary man, not Korey."

"She's got a point," said Spike. "Why would a kid care about star gates? Or even the ISSP? If I had it, I'd bet a lot of money on the idea that Shikura is using his "nephew" in his own little schemes in exchange for something else."

"They don't exactly look related," Faye agreed.

"Wait a minute," Jet stalled the conversation so he could catch up, "Are you trying to tell me, you think the person with the bounty on his head isn't the bad guy, but a an innocent accomplice? And instead of finding a kid that would be more than easy enough to catch, you want to bring this guy-" Jet jabbed his thumb at Tamochi's picture on the screen, - "into the police's limelight, hence forth , nobly saving the kid who everyone thought was responsible , from a lifetime in prison?"

Spike snorted and lit a cigarette, "No, actually, I was going to bring the little punk in and get my money, I could care less if he was innocent or not."

"Aw, Spike," Jet tsk'ed, "Just when I thought you had grown a heart and a conscience."

"Oh, don't start with that crap again, Jet. If he got himself into that mess, than it's his problem, I just want some bell peppers and beef with some actual beef in it!"

"Wait a minute," Faye interrupted. "Wait, wait, wait, I thought you didn't like hackers, Spike. Why are you going through all this trouble to find him?"

Spike looked a little guiltily before answering, "It's a big reward and we're getting desperate."

"But there was another guy up on Big Shot for the same price, he's a little more your type don't you-

Spike took Faye roughly by the arm, "Can I talk to you alone Faye?" He pulled her out of the common room, and down the hall until they had reached the rotating corridor that led outside. Spike stopped in front of it, where he was sure he was out of earshot of the other two, and Faye viciously jerked her arm out of his grasp.

"Hey! What is your problem?"

"Listen, I promised Jet I'd take Ed with me the next time I went on a mission."

"So?"

"Think about it, Faye. Now honestly, how do you think Ed would perform on a trip that involved people shooting at her?"

Faye thought about it for a moment. She pictured Spike stuck behind a pillar in the dark with his back to the stone, trying to keep Ed from running into the line of fire while also trying to get a few good shots in. Her vision included a bullet ripping through Spike's shoulder and then him slumping to the ground, while Ed danced around hysterically at the site of blood.

"Faye? What the hell are you smiling about?"

Faye didn't realize she was smiling at all, but she didn't feel the least bit guilty about it either.

"Nothing, Spike. But I understand what you're saying. A hacker hunt would be low-key enough for someone that eccentric.

"Good," Spike nodded. "Then there's nothing else to say, except of course, that your coming along as well."

The vision continued relentlessly all the same, this latest version involving Faye running to help and getting pounced on by Ed and two large neanderthalegic men picking her up and carrying her to the mountains, ready to make her a dual bride. She saw them walk off with her draped on their shoulders, the loin cloths on their hips flapping in the wind.

Needless to say, she really wasn't smiling anymore.

"What!?" She screamed (Yeah, Jet and Ed definitely heard that).

"Well if you want your share," Spike said smoothly, "Then I'll be damned if your going to sit in this cushy place and do nothing."

"No! How could you?" Faye exclaimed, "You're controlling me with money! That's so unfair!"

"You're going then?" Spike asked cheekily.

"Yes," Faye grudgingly replied.

The crew prepared for the journey about to unfold. Jet decided it was his duty to hold down the fort. And the problem of transportation was soon the only obstacle holding them back.

"She can't ride in my ship," Faye snuffed, "There's no way in hell."

"Maybe she could ride in the Swordfish," Spike began," But, there may not be enough room."

"Ed can do it," said Edward, staring up at her spiky-headed comrade. "Watch Spike-person, watch how small Ed can be." The very strange girl then preceded to roll herself into into a tightly compacted human ball, and to add to it, rolled along the floor backwards. She then rolled unto her feet again and stood up proudly.

"See, Spike-person? Ed can do it!" she swore proudly.

"Ok," Spike said decisively, "I guess Ed's riding with me."

It took a while for the crew in general to get ready after that. Faye was seen preening herself for so-called "worthier men" in the Bebop bathroom. Heavily applying lipstick and perfume to her body, as well as combing out and perfecting her hair. So as not to be caught unprepared of course.

Spike was gathering as much artillery as he could from his room and among various places on the ship. He walked into the common room, his arms loaded with a machine gun, a can of nerve gas, two pairs of hand cuffs, a long knife, a handgun, a flamethrower, a shotgun, and an electric tazer.

He bent over and dumped his collection on the couch, when he heard Jet clear his throat behind him.

"You do remember that this is just a child right?"

Spike laughed nervously and slapped himself in the forehead for the second time that day, "Of course old buddy, I was just taking inventory," he posed, patting the machine gun convincingly.

Jet snorted in disgust and left the room.

Spike picked through the pile and ended up with only the handgun, the handcuffs, and the can of nerve gas, in the instance that their little blue friend was feeling "wiry".

Meanwhile, Ed was in her deep dark, room, hidden somewhere far inside Bebop. The task of what she should bring was a hard one. She had only been outside Bebop a few times, and it was never to do much of anything. So what would she need? She gazed around her sparsely furnished room. There was a bed and desk, as well as a mini dresser with three pairs of shorts and two shirts. The only removable thing in her room was Tomato. So Ed shrugged, and pulling some rope out, created a make-shift backpack, so she could bring it with her. As a hacker, what better tool did she have other than her computer? Exactly.

As soon as she was certain the rope was secure, she ran out of he room squealing, and then giggled madly when the noises bounced off the empty halls and were delivered back to her.

She boarded the swordfish happily in front of Spike and curled up behind the driver's chair. Where she contently fell asleep. Spike smiled at her quiet snoring as he cruised toward the northern part of Ganymede, Jet had already cleared them for landing, and the ride was uneventful. He and Faye pulled into the many hangers lining the streets on Ganymede. And he gently woke Ed up.

"Is it time for the adventure, Spike-person?" She asked groggily.

Spike nodded and smiled, and Ed's body broke into it's livelihood. She jumped out of the ship and screamed with joy, ending with a couple circles and summersaults. This was finally her chance to shine, to show her friends exactly what she was made of, and there was no way she would blow it.

But the mission was destined to fail, and though it wouldn't be Ed's fault, it was definitely because of her.

A/N: Not a great cliff-hanger, but not bad if I do say so myself, and I don't.

r/r:

Sanima: No one will stand a chnce with Spike and Ed on the case! Tis' true!

Crazyhanyoued: I believe you changed your name. Yes, yes, go and watch session 11 mamy times. For that one is my favorite, And if you see a stranger, follow him.

MalletWielderofDoom: I'm actually starting to feel intimidated by ther mallet, please put it away before you scare the children.

Thank you everyone for the reveiws, you are all very kind!