Disclaimer:  Cowboy Bebop isn't mine (though you have no idea how much I wish it was!!!!!!!!!!!)

Here are my reasons for creating a new character. First, I hate Julia. Hate her with a passion. In fact, you might be so lucky to see her killed, my way, with the help of Cullyn (oooh, she's gonna suffer!) Second, I just can't do a Spike/Faye fic. They seem more like siblings than lovers to me. And third, it's fun!

No Nothing

Chapter 1

The year was 2071, and the BeBop was drifting over a vicinity known as the Gates. Faye was seated on the couch, complaining about anything that crossed her mind while repeatedly shuffling a deck of worn playing cards. Jet could be found at the controls, patiently waiting for any news of some new bounty while cursing Faye's grumbling under his breath. Ed and Ein were running around chaotically, as was the norm.

Spike, however, stood in his usual cloud of smoke in a chamber of the BeBop only he knew about. The subject on his mind wasn't the usual bounty, Red Dragons, Vicious, or even Julia. It was something he'd lived by, and the thought often caused him great pain: a dream. This particular dream had been recurring for the past week or two, and was quite puzzling to him. Deep in thought, Spike puffed on his slowly disappearing cigarette as the memories flooded his mind. The small, dimly lit alley, cold metal of the gun in his hand, and a book at his feet. Daze, to be specific. And then the scared voice from the shadows asking, 'How do you escape this?'

"Still dwelling on the past?" a voice from the doorway asked. Slowly turning, Spike caught sight of Jet, leaning against the frame.

"Not this time," Spike said, stomping out his cigarette. "How're things out there?"

With a derisive grin, Jet answered, "No new prey, Faye's bitching about something or another, and Ed and Ein are running around like lunatics. In other words, the usual."

"Wonderful," Spike said sarcastically. Then, with an accusing eye, he rounded on Jet. "How'd you find me? I thought you didn't know about this place."

"I didn't, until about five minutes ago. Honestly, you can't expect to hide from people when you're smoking those things," Jet said, gesturing towards the cigarette Spike had readily placed behind his ear.

Pulling the fag from its holding place, Spike lit it and said, "Damn." Just then, Ein came dashing into the room and tripped over a slight overhang, causing him to tumble. Not able to regain his posture, the dog rolled head-on into the wall next to Spike's legs. "Sometimes I wonder if this dog's really as smart as he's cracked up to be," Spike said, just as Ed came in and repeated the process. "I stand corrected." With that, Spike left the room and its recent occupants.

Outside, things weren't much better. Simply put, Faye's whimpering had gotten to the point of aggravation. "Spike, what're we supposed to do around here? There's nobody out there for us to catch, nothing to do around here, I'm starving, and nobody will play Poker with me! This is pointless!"

"Faye," Spike said in a casual tone, "shut up." At these words, Faye got up and stormed off in a huff. "Honestly, I don't know why we put up with her."

As if in answer, the communication controls started to go off in alert. Jet didn't need calling, since he was there almost instantly. "Finally," he said in relief. Flipping a switch, the image of the two usual hosts of Big Shot appeared on the screen. The image was broken and the sound was non-existent, but they could gather enough from the picture to see the name of their new benefaction. "Hey Ed," Jet said while trying to restore the image, "What can you find about Jenni Nox?"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, Ed will find out for you!" Ed exclaimed as she plopped down in front her ultimate hacking device, Tomato.

Faye stood next to Ed, looking over her shoulder at the first glimpses of their legacy. A virtual 'Wanted' poster showed up on the screen, along with some tidbits of information. "She's pretty," Faye commented, somewhat bitterly.

Spike and Jet rushed over, much faster than normal, at Faye's statement. To his subliminal glee, Spike found that Faye wasn't lying. Jenni Nox appeared as a young woman of twenty-four years. Her straight elbow-length bluish-black hair, pale skin, blood red pout, and black eyes accentuated her mystique. The black Fedora hat, common of criminals many years past, sat jauntily atop her head, and her expression was one of melancholy.

"And she's worth nine-million woolongs," Jet noted with interest.

Spike stepped away from the penetrating gaze of their objective. "What's she wanted for," he asked, more a comment than a question.

"Lookie here . . . she's been a baaaaaaaaaad girl," Ed said while shaking her head and pulling up some more detailed information pertaining to Miss Nox. "She's a genius hacker, big time dealer of Fairy Sprinkles -"

"Er, 'Fairy Sprinkles'?" Faye asked in confusion.

Turning around, Spike tapped the ash of his cigarette into a nearby ashtray and said, "A very popular drug among the underground syndicates, and also very expensive. Gives the user a sort of euphoric high like they're in a fantasy world, and they're supposed to see fairies.  Also used as a poison for their enemies, when taken in large quantities."

"Righty-o!" Ed exclaimed as she switched her attention back to Tomato. "Our new 'friend' belongs to a group called the Black Cobras, sits pretty high in command, and wrote a book called Daze around seven years ago." Spike jumped a bit at the mention of the book, but managed to quickly conceal this. After a pause, Ed asked, "Er, who're the Black Cobras?"

Jet shook his head. "Never heard of them."

Everybody automatically turned to face Spike. In mid stride, he stopped to look at his co-hunters. "Why're you looking at me?! The answer's sitting right in front of you." Although he knew all too well who they were, Spike wasn't in the mood to dwell on his past connections.

"Oh! Right you are, Spike," Ed said as she spun back around to face Tomato. Madly typing into the computer, she said, "This might take a while . . ."

Jet and Faye wandered off to their own devices and left Ed and Ein sitting at Tomato.

Staring out one of the many windows of the BeBop, Spike let his mind wander once again. However, his state of solitude didn't last long. "What's got your mind going?" a voice Spike immediately recognized as Jet's asked.

"Let's just say I'm starting to take in some of that dream stuff you're always going on about," Spike said, his brow furrowed in thought.

Jet was in slight shock. "Since when have you started listening to my dream babble?"

With an implausible grin, Spike said, "I always have. I just never let you know."

"Whatever you say," Jet said airily as he walked away.

Spike stood gazing out into space for a while longer before joining Ed and Ein. "Find anything on the Black Cobras yet?"

Excitedly, Ed replied, "Yes, yes, yes! Come take a looksie!" Moving aside to make room for Spike, Ed pulled up a screen on Tomato and stood to the side.

"Hmmmmm . . . a powerful yet secret crime syndicate on Mars . . . holds on to the ideals and memories of old Earth . . . Name taken from a prevalent coalition of the once prosperous city of London, England, before the Gates Incident. Nothing new there." Spike was about to leave, when the haunting memory of his dreams and their strange connection to the object of his monetary desire flooded him. Spike called Ed over to him. "Do you think you could find something regarding her whereabouts?"

Grinning, Ed said, "Ed can get into any information database with Ed's dear Tomato, as long as it's hooked up to the Internet!" With that, Ed set to work retrieving their much-needed data. As soon as he'd stood up, Ed yelled, "Spike-person, wait! Ed got what you wanted! Yes, Ed succeeded!"

"Great," Spike said as he leaned over Ed's shoulder to read the information. "Nox . . . Where is she . . . There! She's on Mars. But iwherei on Mars?"

Ed excitedly pointed to a global projection, where the name 'Nox' appeared right in front of their faces. "Good work once again, Ed," Spike said as he walked off to join Jet in the kitchen area. "Where's Faye?" he asked quietly.

Jet motioned over his shoulder to Faye, who was seated on the couch, flipping through frequencies. "That won't keep her busy for long, so if you're gonna go, go now."

"That's what I was thinking." Spike grabbed Faye's gun from the counter and his from the refrigerator before making to leave the room. "And if anybody asks," he said, taking out an almost full pack of cigarettes and throwing all but one in the trash, "I ran out of cigarettes."

Uncertainly, Jet asked, "Can I throw stuff away until you get back?"

"No, since I'll want those when I return."

Spike snuck past Faye and into the hangar, where his Swordfish II was kept. Nonetheless, before getting in, he 'accidentally' transferred every last drop of fuel in Faye's Redtail to his own craft.

Opening the hangar, Spike was off to Mars to find their means of payment, as well as the answer to his burning questions.

Review, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!