Epilogue: Bebop Waltz

"That's all you can do in this world, no matter how strong the current beats against you, or how heavy your burden, or how tragic your love story. You keep going." ~ Robyn Schneider, Extraordinary Means, 2015

A few days later, after Faye was discharged from the hospital, the crew was back on the Bebop and left Mars, wanting to get away from the planet for a little while, to recover from all of this. As they left the planet, Spike stood on the bridge of the ship, staring down at Mars.

He knew he'd be back someday, probably pretty soon, but leaving had a different meaning this time. After all, everything was different. So many were gone. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. While the prospect of that left Spike a little apprehensive, he also knew it was a good thing, too. He'd gained a lot more; more than he ever expected to have in his life. And he wasn't going to forget that. Not ever again.

He exhaled. Good and bad, it was a lot. But worth it.

He walked into the common room, finding Faye, Jet, and Elektra sitting around. Faye and Jet were smoking cigarettes; Elektra was leaning against Jet. Spike saw Faye smoking and gave her a droll glare; she simply shrugged. Rolling his eyes, Spike sat down next to Faye, putting his arm around her. Faye picked up another cigarette, handed it to Spike. She lit the cigarette for Spike and he inhaled a drag.

"Thanks," Spike said.

"Sure," Faye replied.

They all sat in silence for a long time. Their minds on contemplating the whole ordeal they just went through; everything they survived, everything they experienced, everything they had gained, and, most importantly, how nothing would be the same again.

"So," Elektra said, breaking the silence. "That… that was…"

"Yeah," Faye agreed.

"Yup," Spike said.

"Mm-hmm," Jet nodded.

"What are we gonna do now?" Elektra asked.

"Who knows," Jet answered.

Spike and Faye stared at the ashtray, having both just put out cigarettes then Faye leaned against Spike. "We could…" Faye began.

"Here we go," Jet groaned. "We're not going to any racetracks, Faye."

"I was just gonna say… we could take it easy for a while. Call me crazy, but I don't feel like being shot at or shooting a gun right now."

"Actually, I'm with her," Elektra agreed.

"Same," Spike added.

"I think it's funny all of you sound like you're expecting me to argue," Jet declared.

A signal from Ed came through on the computer. Jet leaned forward and hit the button.

"Jet-person!" Ed shouted as she appeared on screen.

"Ed," Jet replied, "what's up?"

"Edward wanted to ask something."

"What is it?"

"Edward was wondering if Edward and Ein could come back to Bebop. Edward and Ein have waaaaaayyyyyyy more fun on Bebop. And…" Ed stopped and a warm, sweet smile came on her face. "…Edward misses her friends."

Ed's simple admission made everyone smile. The rest of the crew looked at Jet, who looked back at the others, "What?"

"Your ship," Spike said.

"Yeah. And?"

"Your call," Faye added.

"Since when?" Jet asked.

"Since now." Elektra kissed Jet on the cheek.

"Oh, good," Faye smirked. "He's actually gonna smile now."

"Shut the hell up," Jet declared.

Faye held her smirk.

Jet looked back at the screen, "Alright, Ed. You're back in."

"YAAAAY!" Ed shouted.

"We'll be near Earth in a few hours."

"Edward will send coordinates!"

"Alright," Jet said. "See you then." He cut the transmission.

"Looks like we're back to full strength," Faye declared. She smiled and shrugged, "Have the full family back together."

Everyone smiled with her.

"Life's gonna be pretty interesting from now on."

"Looks like it," Spike agreed.

"Yeah," Jet said. "Yeah. I'm good with that."

"Me, too," Elektra said.

"Works for me," Faye smiled.

Spike stared at Faye, lovingly, "Best news I've heard in a long time."

The Adventure Never Ends…

See You Next Time, Space Cowboys and Cowgirls…

A/N: And we have come to the conclusion of our tale, my friends. I want to thank EVERYONE who favorited, reviewed, followed, and read this story. I started almost exactly two years ago, July 6, 2018 to be exact, and it got more immersive and expansive as I went along. I love the stories that do that!

I'm gonna update my other fan fic page by adding this story pretty soon. So, if you see this story again, under the name RavenT2, don't worry! It's still me!

Now, as for my feelings for this story, I love, love, love Cowboy Bebop, as I've said before, and the ending, while perfect for the show itself, was always crazy for me as a fan. As a fan fic writer, getting to do more with the characters and the story was loads of fun! Plus adding Elektra, who I LOVED from the movie, was so great! This story was so much fun to write and get deeper and deeper into. I wanted to make sure I kept everyone in character as possible, and I think, for the most part, I succeeded. Bottom line, I loved this story; I loved writing it and I loved how it turned out. And I'm a little sad to see it end.

So, what's next for me? Well! That's a good question. I have a few other stories I need to get to. BUT! I do have a sequel for this story in the early planning stages. I was gonna say what might happen in the sequel but let's leave it as a surprise. I mean, there's not telling when I might get to it.

I want to thank space-cowboy656 for the inspiration for me doing a Cowboy Bebop chapter story in the first place. Go read "All Along the Watchtower", which is still in progress. It's a very fun read!

To everyone else, thank you all so so so so so much for this! From the bottom of my heart, it meant so much to me to have so much support for this story. It was near and dear to my heart and the response made it even better.

Thank you and see you space cowboys and cowgirls!

Bang.