I'm back! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Oh, and I haven't left a disclaimer in a while, but just so you all remember, I do not own Cowboy Bebop, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. Darn! Anywho, read on!

On the deck of the Bebop once more, the trio gave their final farewell to Edward.

"Gawrsh! It sure was nice of ya to introduce us to yer friends, Ed!" Goofy smiled.

"Even if they weren't very nice!" Donald squawked in an agitated tone.

"It's nice of you three to be Edward's friends!" the girl replied. "Are you sure you can't come back?" she asked, aiming her golden eyes at Sora.

"Well I don't really know." He answered.

"I'm sure the King can arrange somethin' up for us," Goofy hopefully added.

"You know a king?!" Edward shouted.

"That's right!" Goofy replied. "His majesty, King Mickey! A-hyuck!" Edward laughed along with Goofy, amused by his peculiar chuckle.

Sora turned his gaze toward the water. He watched as the distant sun danced along the rippling waves that bounced off of the ship's hull. He marveled at the reflection of the massive, red planet that held his attention in its orbit. As he listened to the waves chop below him, he suddenly noticed Edward staring up with expectant, amber eyes.

"We'll come back," he said dreamily. "This won't be a forever goodbye."

"Well, see you soon!" Donald quacked, turning to step onto the stepladder on the side of the Bebop.

Just then, a loud pop could be heard, and a tiny projectile whizzed past Donald's hat. "Wak!" the duck shouted as he ran for cover behind Goofy. Edward peered over the ledge of the ship, spotting a speeding car flying in the direction of the docks. A man in black dangled from the passenger side window, aiming a pistol. Goofy pulled out his trusty shield and Sora and Donald stood by, Key Blade and Staff in hand. Edward contorted in surprise, miraculously avoiding the flying bullets. She craned her head just enough to still see what was happening. The car swerved to the left and stopped nearby, men leaping out, focusing on the neighboring fishing boat. The trio of voyagers stood ready to fight and defend.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, somewhat rhetorically. Edward stood slightly behind Sora, eerily calm.

"That doesn't usually happen, nope!"

Goofy held his shield strongly in front of him, slowly moving closer to the two youths. "We gotta protect Ed!" he exclaimed, only glancing at Sora for a second before returning his attention to the commotion.

"You get her outta here!" Donald quacked as he held his scepter at the ready.

Wordlessly, Sora nodded, taking the girl by the wrist. Swiftly, he ushered her back toward the hangar as she craned her neck to watch the other two. Ein peeped out from the threshold of the hangar, his disc-like ears twitching with caution. His tail wagged as Edward reached him, and he seemed grateful that Sora had been there to help. He followed the two of them as they scurried toward the corridor. Donald and Goofy soon followed behind.

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Edward shuffled into the common room once more. "There's danger ahand! There's trouble at foot!" she shouted excitedly.

"Don't you mean at hand?" Sora asked.

"Or afoot," Goofy added with a chuckle.

The quartet stumbled into the common room where Spike sat on the old mustard yellow sofa, his feet resting on the metal coffee table before him. Jet had paused in his pacing in front of his computer screen. Faye reclined across from Spike; her long legs were crossed as she filed her nails.

"What's going on?" Jet shouted. Edward leapt into a firm stance and pointed her fingers like guns.

"Pew pew pew! Pew pew pew pew!" She exclaimed energetically.

"There was a car driving by, and these guys jumped out and started shooting their guns at that other ship!" Sora explained, blindly pointing in the neighboring ship's general direction.

"And one of them almost hit me!" Donald fumed. His feathers puffed as he continued to fuss in muffled quacks.

"That was exciting!" Edward grinned. Sora could swear that the corners of her lips were literally stretching from ear to ear.

"Only you, Ed," Spike smirked from behind the butt of a cigarette. Faye raised an eyebrow in a silent objection. He didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe we should go see what's going on," Sora said, glancing back and forth between his two comrades.

"Are you crazy?!" Jet exclaimed. "According to what you just told me, those men are armed and dangerous. You're not goin' anywhere."

"But--"

"I said 'no'," Jet gruffed, cutting the boy off with an undeniable paternal instinct. Sora relaxed into a state of submission, shoving his hands into his pockets and slowly shuffling his boots.

"You don't think it could be a bounty head, do you?" Faye asked the room in general. Sora perched on the end of the couch beside Spike.

"Sounds like a small fry bounty," Spike answered. "I don't wanna get mixed up in somebody's grudge match. Too boring."

"How do you know that's all it is?" Sora asked.

"I don't," he answered bluntly.

"I guess indifference is just the key to everything, isn't it?" Faye smirked, flashing a hint of camaraderie in Sora's direction, if only to get someone on her side. Spike pulled out another cigarette.

"Glad you see it my way, Faye," he answered with a smirk, flipping open his zippo.

"Don't you get money for catching bounties?" Sora said to Spike curiously. "You just want to pass that up?"

"It wouldn't be enough to cover the expenses for any damages he causes," Jet gruffly contributed, jerking a thumb in Spike's direction. "That and we need to keep food on the ship, we need fuel and amenities-"

"Enough already, Jet. I think they get it," Spike grumbled.

"He's a little bitter," Faye said quietly to Sora. She cocked her eyebrows, affirming her statement.

"Knock it off, you two," Jet said. "In case you've forgotten, we do have bigger fish to fry."

"Speaking of which," Spike said, "I can't wait for the meal we get out of catching this Gambini guy." He exhaled a puff of smoke, which inadvertently assaulted Sora's nose and eyes on its way to the ceiling fan. The boy began to cough.

"Uh," Goofy interjected, "do ya think smoking is such a good idea?" he asked, stepping toward Sora with concern. Spike looked up at the strange newcomer, annoyed, but then curious.

"You look familiar…" he mused, throwing Goofy off.

"Uh, gawrsh. I don't think we've met before…"

Sora recovered from his cough and began breathing shallowly. Donald stepped forward as well. "What he was getting at was, what's the big idea? You made Sora cough with that thing!" He fanned Sora's face with his feathered hand.

"Yeah," Goofy helped.

Jet glanced up from his computer screen, turning in his chair.

Spike leaned back into the cushions of the couch, feeling harassed. He wondered what he could say to get these apparently bold and fearless adventurers to lay off.

Faye smiled, noticing Spike's discomfort. She was decidedly glad that she had foregone having a cigarette to groom her nails.

"Spike, you know the rule," Jet said, breaking the tension.

"Rule?"

"You know," Faye said haughtily. "The one Jet implemented when his little friend came over?" Jet rolled his eyes with a groan.

"Ah. That one," Spike replied. "How could I forget?"

"Aw, don't start with that again! It was nothing!"

Faye pursed her lips, returning to her nails.

Disregarding Jet's flustered state, Spike climbed off of the couch, still annoyed, and made his way to the exit. Faye smiled, resting her emery board atop her knee.

"The same goes for you, Faye!" Jet called over his shoulder as he turned, eyeing her.

"Ugh," she groaned. "If that's your pathetic attempt at subtlety, I guess I'll leave. I could use a cigarette anyway." The woman rather ungracefully uncrossed her legs and lurched into a stance. Flipping a lock of violet hair from her eyes, she made her way out of the common room.

Jet stared after her wearing a puzzled expression, but rapidly gave up with a sigh of defeat. "Drama queen," he grumbled, rubbing his bare head. He turned and plopped back into his seat near his ship's computer.

Noting the empty seats, Donald and Goofy began to occupy them. Edward skipped over to the travelers, plopping energetically onto the couch between Sora and Goofy. Donald sat in the chair where Faye had been. Sora turned in his seat to look at Jet, who sat at his computer. "Good rule," he said, resting his chin on the back of the couch. Edward turned as well, quietly mimicking the boy.

"Well," Jet said, rubbing his head, " I am the considerate one. Those two can be a bit selfish sometimes." He decided to leave it at that, noting to himself that dwelling on the subject often soured his mood.

"So," Donald spoke, "what are you guys working on?"

"We're catching a bounty," Jet replied matter-of-factly.

"Well yeah, but what exactly does that entail?" Sora said, almost in an irritated huff. The fact that these bounty hunters were so secretive and covert frustrated him. Just about everyone else that he and his mates had encountered in the past had welcomed him into their lives and asked him for help solving mysteries, defeating Heartless and Nobodies, and assisting with hunts and quests. It was very unusual that he'd been so easily brushed aside. He was beginning to wonder if these people were good guys or bad guys. Before he could grow suspicious, Jet supplied him with an answer.

"First off, it entails keeping contact with the I.S.S.P. They usually can't tell me everything I need to know, so then we do research to find out as much as possible. We excavate through file databases and biographies, sometimes we do inquiry searches and travel on foot when we know we're in the general area. Then, when we get close enough, that's when the really dangerous stuff comes in. There's definitely some shit that hits the fan a lot of the time, depending on what kind of bounty we're dealing with. It just gets hairy after that, which is why I'd rather keep you out of it; it's for your own protection. Now if I were you, I'd rather keep my nose out of this kind of thing and stay alive. Wouldn't you?"

The speech seemed well thought out and rehearsed. It was almost as if he had given it numerous times before. Sora's frustration melted away to an extent, but he still felt a little hurt by Jet's blunt message and gruff tone. He blinked, heaving a sigh of understanding, resigned to defeat. It didn't seem like Jet was going to budge at all. Unless…

"Well," he began, turning and standing from his seat on the couch, "if that's the case, why don't we help you out until that hairy point?" He casually strolled around the couch and made his way to where Jet was sitting at his computer. "That way, nothing bad happens to us if you don't want it to, and you have more of a leg up on how to solve this problem."

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "Sounds good!"

"We can pull out before you get anything on yer fan! A-hyuck!" Goofy smiled.

Jet paused, turning to look at the three quest seekers when Edward reappeared. "Eight heads are better than five!" the girl sang, popping into Jet's peripheral vision. He turned to look at the bright-eyed girl, visibly stiffening as she gave him her best "please" face. He wouldn't exactly call them puppy dog eyes, but something about the girl's expression softened him. He rubbed his fleshy hand over his eyes wearily and as his bushy brows rose, he saw Sora and his crew, looking more eager and determined than ever.

Sora stood proudly and tall, his arms crossed over his puffed chest. Jet noticed he wore a smirk not unlike one he'd frequently seen before. Donald stood in front of the boy to his right, bearing a similar stance, his weight shifted on a contraposto. Goofy stood behind Sora to his left, fists resting on his hips as he gave a proud, yet reassuring, smile. Jet couldn't help but feel that it was all posed and rehearsed.

He opened his mouth, but before he could utter a protest, he felt a pair of thin, tanned arms wrap around his trunk. "Papa!" Edward sang cheerfully, grinning up at his bearded chin. The burly man gently removed Edward's arms from his body and turned back in his seat to face the computer again. The girl looked at him curiously as Ein padded up to take a seat at her side. Sora, Donald and Goofy all stared at him as well, waiting for a reaction.

"You can start by getting all the details. Ed, fill them in, will ya? We'll go over the rest later," the man finally replied brusquely.

"Aye-aye!" the girl replied, giving him a salute. The trio of travelers exchanged glances of relief before looking to Edward for more. "Meet Ed's Tomato!" she exclaimed, skipping to the coffee table to point out her laptop.

Hope you liked it! It's a lot longer than the last two chapters combined, so It should be more to your liking. Reviews are greatly appreciated! 3 3 3

PPL :3