Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop

Bebop Zen

Session 11: Closure

            "You bastard!" screamed Eden regaining her senses. She struggled against her shackles then resorted to pulling steadily against them. The metal creaked and the restraints eventually gave way one by one under her effort. She stalked over to Vincent and clamped a hand around his neck slamming him against the control panel.

            Vincent remained calm. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted her dead," he choked out.

            "Yes, and I wanted to kill her!" spat Eden rage burning in her light eyes.

            "Are you going to kill me?" he asked in a weakening voice. "I guess…you are bound by the woman you used to be."

            Her grip on his neck loosened and her intense glare broke from his. As her hand slipped from his neck, he spread his arms and caught her in a tight embrace. She reluctantly relaxed against him though her arms lie limp at her sides as the shackles scraped the floor. One of his hands moved up to once again stroke her hair.

            "I want you to stay with me," he whispered. "You don't belong with them. They don't understand you."

            "But…I don't know you anymore," she responded weakly. "I…don't love you anymore."

            "You will. Give it time."

*** 

            "There they are," said Jet making visual confirmation of Vincent's ship through the bridge's windows. It was a tiny speck in space, but he knew that was it. "Is everyone ready?"

            "Yeah, let's go before I forget the game plan," said Spike dressed in his space suit and already heading for the hangar. Also dressed in her space suit, Faye wordlessly followed him. Truth be told, she was a little nervous about encountering Vincent again.

            "Ed, you know what to do," said Jet as he passed her in the common room.

            "Aye, aye, Captain!" she replied saluting him. Ein barked in agreement.

            Faye clambered up the side of the Swordfish and landed limps askew on Spike's lap. He sighed in agitation as she straightened out, pushing against his face for balance at one point.

            "Sorry," she mumbled.

            "I don't know how he comes up with these ridiculous plans," said Spike reaching around Faye to start up the engine.

            "It's not ridiculous. You distract him with your flashy moves, I sneak around and find Eden, Jet stays outside by the hatch to pick her up," said Faye.

            "Yeah, but why do you have to ride with me?" he complained.

            "Because, stupid, if I fly my own ship, Vincent will know I'm there. That's not good for sneaking around."

            Spike leant forward to grip the handles smashing Faye between him and the controls. A second later, the Swordfish took off. The Hammerhead coasted behind them.

            "So, whatever did happen between you two?" asked Spike in a low, even tone.

            Many disturbing images flashed through her mind and she struggled to find the right words to express herself. "He…he saved my life, kinda. Then he asked me to be with him after the world ended."

            "What did you say about that?"

            She smiled. "That I'd rather be dead than be with someone like him."

***  

            He knew they were on his ship before he even heard a shoe fall. He knew which hatch they slipped through also, even though they had barely made a noise. It was like a predator sensing its prey. Besides, he knew the day would come when he would once again battle Spike Spiegel. They were kindred spirits, destined to oppose each other.

            Eden wasn't with him and he knew that could possibly be a problem. She was close enough, though, that he felt he could protect her. He stood up from his seat at the control panel casting a glance at Lilith's dead body, which he hadn't bothered to move. It was a shame he had had to kill her. She would have been a valuable asset in his present situation.

            Spike cautiously peered around the bridge from the hallway. His heart sped up when he saw Vincent standing with his back to him. He then noticed the disturbing sight of Lilith's body surrounded by blood. After seeing her brain matter on the wall, he knew she was dead. Oh well, no time for being shocked.

            "Vincent!" he shouted, gun aimed once again. Meeting up with him this way brought back memories of their first encounter. He had damn near died by the hands of that man during that encounter. He briefly wondered if the same would happen today.

            "Spike Spiegel," drawled Vincent his back still turned on his opponent. "I thought we could settle this like real men. Simply shooting each other wouldn't show any skill on our parts."

            As an answer to Vincent's statement, Spike shot to kill. Unfortunately, Vincent was too fast. Within seconds, he dodged the bullet and kicked the gun out of Spike's hand. The men then had no other choice but to engage in combat without any weapon but their bodies.

~*~

            Faye heard a gunshot blast and jumped despite herself. She then heard assorted scuffling and crashing noises and knew the men were fighting. Damn testosterone. It was now or never. As she crept down corridors searching for Eden, she prayed Spike wouldn't have another one of his famous near death experiences.

            She heard some commotion coming from a room she almost passed. As slowly and quietly as she could manage, she cracked the door open and peeked inside. Eden sat on a bed cleaning off her bloody wrists. Faye nearly jumped for joy as she slipped into the room.

            Eden looked up from her task, startled. "Faye! What are you doing here?!"

            "Shhhhh!" hissed Faye. "Are you okay?" she asked glancing from the shackles lying on the floor to her friend's torn up wrists and ankles.

            "Yeah…I'm fine," she answered looking down with a dejected expression.

            "Good. Let's get out of here while Vincent's still distracted," said Faye with an urgent look in her eyes.

            Eden didn't answer. She merely rose to her feet and stood there. Faye grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room. Before she knew what happened, she felt cold steel collide with her head and immediately lost consciousness. Eden stepped back to let Faye's body collapse to the floor with a thud.

            "Eden, stay in the room," demanded Vincent with Spike's gun in his hand. She nodded meekly and sat back down on the bed.

~*~

            Spike woke with a start. That bastard had actually managed to knock him out. He sat up and shook his head clear. Faye was lying next to him out cold. It didn't surprise him. Vincent probably had their whole crummy plan figured out by now. Looking around him briefly, the ship reminded him of the Bebop. It wasn't an old fishing ship, but it had that older, worn industrial look to it.

            "Surprised you're still alive?"

            Spike's head snapped in the direction of Vincent's voice. "Not really," he lied in response.

            Faye moaned and shifted though she remained unconscious. Spike cast a worried glance at her almost immediately regretting his display of emotion.

            "She is quite attractive, isn't she?" said Vincent smiling at her fallen form. "I suppose that was one of the reasons I didn't kill her the first time we met."

            "Why did you kidnap Eden?" asked Spike trying to ignore his steadily rising rage. He hadn't liked the way Vincent had looked at Faye one bit.

            "I love her," answered Vincent matter-of-factly.

            "What about Electra?"

            Vincent appeared to flinch at the question. "It is better for Electra to believe I am dead," he said with a slightly sad tone to his voice.

            Silence ruled the room for a few minutes. Vincent slowly approached Spike sending him into fight or flight mode. Not really being one to back down, he jumped to his feet and fell into a fighting stance. As Vincent raised his arm, Spike noticed his Jericho was being aimed at his head. Panic raced through his mind though it didn't show on his face.

            "Well, Mr. Spiegel, if you're done asking questions, it's time to say good bye."

            Normally, Spike wouldn't have cared about the threat of death. He had faced it a countless number of times. The only thing that had made a difference, the only thing that changed his attitude, was a woman. Two to be exact, but only one was currently on his mind.

            "Are you going to kill her too?" he asked sternly.

            "Probably," said Vincent, his face an emotionless slate.

            What happened next could be best described as chaos. A gunshot fired. Spike tensed in anticipation of the impact, but instead saw a blur of motion fly past him. The thump of a falling body and another gunshot sounded. After this, Spike was finally able to gather what the hell had just happened.

            Jet lie on the floor to his right, bleeding. Faye was now conscious and holding her smoking glock. Vincent held his gored right hand that Faye had apparently shot. She climbed to her feet and took a step forward. Her gun was perfectly aimed at Vincent's forehead. Staring into his eyes she searched for an emotion, any emotion, that would convince her not to kill him. They seemed so cold and were the color of the darkest oceans she remembered from Earth. To her, he was like the walking dead. The spark of life had abandoned his eyes almost entirely.

            "Don't do it, Faye," came Jet's gruff voice as he struggled to his feet. There was blood soaking through his clothes on his right shoulder where the bullet had hit.

            "Why not?" she asked evenly.

            "Because…I want to kill the son of a bitch," he answered walking forward obviously in pain.

            Faye looked back at him, and then handed over her glock. He took it in his mechanical hand seeing his other arm was now useless. Getting a good grip on the gun, he walked until it was pressed firmly against Vincent's forehead. Vincent offered no resistance.

            "So…you're the man she fell in love with," he said staring into Jet's stern blue eyes.

            "I don't know if she loves me…but I love her, and I'll be damned if I let a sick bastard like you have her. She deserves better."

            Vincent smiled. "I suppose the dream is finally over then. I only have one request."

            "What's that?" asked Jet.

            "Take good care of her."

            "I will…for as long as she'll let me," said Jet.

            A final shot sounded and Vincent drew his last breath. His body collapsed near Lilith's and his blood mingled with hers. As Jet stared at him, he began to grow light headed. Spike noticed him stagger and lunged forward to catch his body before it fell. Faye joined in to help Spike ease their heavy comrade to the floor. They didn't notice Eden standing in the hallway smiling.

*** 

            Jet opened his eyes to behold the rotating blades of the ceiling fan. He tried to sit up, but pain coursed through his shoulder. It was then he noticed it was wrapped up in gauze.

            "Oh! You're awake!" said Eden rushing over to him.

            Jet's mind was in shock as he watched her dark hair settle around her shoulders as she knelt beside the couch to smile down at him. Tears fell from her lime green eyes as she leaned over to lay a light kiss on his lips. She then took his real hand in hers and gripped it tightly.

            "How do you feel?" she asked.

            "Wonderful," he responded smiling up at her. He was so elated that she had kissed him that he forgot he was in pain.

            "I heard what you said to Vincent."

            "You did?" he asked blushing slightly.

            "Yes, and I love you too," she answered.

            As she leaned her head against his chest, avoiding the wound, the only thing that Jet could think was that he was the happiest man in the galaxy.

~*~

            "Ow!" shouted Faye clenching her fists.

            "Stop being such a baby," said Spike dabbing at the gash in Faye's head where Vincent had pistol-whipped her.

            "You know…I really want to punch you right now," she said through grit teeth.

            "You can try, but I wouldn't suggest it," he said smirking at her.

            She growled, and then sighed. "It was a good thing Ed brought the ship to us last night. Otherwise, I don't know how we would've got Jet and the Hammerhead back.

            "Yeah, she's a little lifesaver sometimes with those hacking skills." He finished and sat back looking out the windows of the bridge.

            "Ed really likes Eden," said Faye with a faint smile.

            "Took to her in no time flat. Ed likes people who pay attention to her."

            Just as Spike finished speaking, Ed bounced onto the bridge. "Jet-person is awake and Eden-lady is hugging him!" she sang happily.

            "That's great," mumbled Spike trying to ignore the racket.

            "Well, it looks like things are back to normal," said Faye rolling her eyes.

Epilogue: The Calm After the Storm

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jet's POV

            Two months passed before my shoulder felt somewhat normal again. While I was healing, I took the opportunity to teach Eden how to cook. She ended up being a pretty damn good chef and insisted she do all the cooking from now on. We've become rather intimate during these months, and I must say, she's everything I had ever dreamed I'd find. I thought that part of my life was over, but I was apparently wrong. She's also taken to Ed like a mother giving the girl much needed feminine influence.

            One night, I remember teaching Eden how to trim the bonsai trees, which I wasn't all that great at clipping with my left hand. She proved to be an excellent student…actually, she was better at it than I was, never trimming too much. At one point, I sat and watched her work. She stopped and looked at me.

            "Jet…why do you take care of these bonsai?" she asked, her beautiful, bright eyes searching mine.

            "Because it's my Zen," I answered.

            "Zen?" she asked with a puzzled expression.

            "Yep. To me, Zen is a relaxed and focused state of mind…you get so involved in what your doing, you find peace in it," I explained.

            Understanding graced her features and she smiled warmly before returning to her inspection of the tree she was shaping.

            "So, I guess finding your Zen is like finding your peace in life," she said after some silent thought.

            "Exactly. Though, I must admit, bonsai trees aren't my only form of Zen anymore."

            I scooted closer to her on the bench and wrapped my functioning arm around her waist. She leaned against me and I kissed her cheek. Ed chose that moment, as she usually did, to burst into a fit of giggles from the door where she sat spying on us.

            "Come here, little girl!" said Eden in that rich and sweet voice of hers.

            Ed ran over to her laughing the whole way. Eden caught her in a hug pulling the girl onto her lap. She tickled her bringing forth delighted laughter from both of them.

            "We're like a family now!" said Ed while Eden hung onto her.

            "Yeah, I guess we are," I said awkwardly. Oddly enough, the thought hadn't occurred to me until the kid mentioned it. It was a comforting thought. I had always wanted a family of my own, though I kept that desire hidden and buried for far too many years.

            Ed escaped from Eden's arms to prance around the room. She stopped at the door.

            "Ed had never had a real family before," she said attempting to be serious. "But, now that I do, I'm glad it's with Jet-person and Eden-lady!" That said, she skipped away out of sight.

            "She's so cute," said Eden fondly.

            "Yeah…" I was just surprised the kid had actually referred to herself as "I" instead of "Ed" a couple of times.

            "I told you I regained most of my memories, right?" asked Eden turning to face me.

            "Yes," I answered.

            "Well…I used to be…a pretty bad person," she stammered uncomfortably, "and I used to love Vincent."

            "I gathered as much."

            "I…I just wanted you to know that I'm not that woman anymore…and it's all thanks to you." She smiled shyly at me.

            "Me? What did I do?" I asked genuinely confused.

            She wrapped her arms around my neck cleverly refraining from putting too much pressure on my injured shoulder. "You showed me who I really was." After saying that, she leaned over and kissed me.

            Life is good.

***  

Spike's POV

Life was good.

            Faye and I continued to bicker and catch bounties until Jet got better. It was a fine mixture of bliss and torture being with that woman. She knew how to piss me off and turn me on all in one foul swoop. She almost always presented some sort of challenge to me, but it was all right. I liked a challenge. And I think my sex life was at its prime thanks to her. She never left me lacking in that department.

            Three months passed as everyone got accustomed to each other once again. It was a little difficult trying to maneuver around one more female, a kid, and a dog, but I managed somehow. Faye moved into my room so that Ed actually had a place to sleep, though she neglected it.

            It was at the end of the third month that Faye started acting…strange. She had always been a bit standoffish, but that month she began to grow unusually distant. I tried to talk to her, ask her what was wrong, and all I got from her were vague responses.

            Then it happened.

            This may sound really stupid, but I didn't see it coming. I left to get supplies and when I got back to the Bebop, Faye was gone. No one knew where she had gone and thought I was overacting. I figured they were probably right. She probably just ran off to gamble or go on a shopping spree. When I went to relax in my room, I realized something was very wrong.

            Most of her stuff was gone along with her. That was when I snapped. I somewhat recall yelling, throwing and breaking things, and then being restrained by Jet…and Eden. When I calmed down, they tried to reassure me she'd be back soon. But a night turned into a week, and a week into a month…and she didn't come back.

            I don't know what I did to drive her off, but I do know one thing. I will find her. No matter what it takes.

Fin

~*~

Author's Note: Awwwww! What a crappy way for me to end this story, huh? I thought so, but it made it possible for me to continue it in the sequel and base it more on Spike and Faye. I've already written some of it, but with my hectic schedule, it may be a couple weeks before I post it. So, keep an eye out! There is a second part to this saga. I wouldn't leave you all hanging. I also hope I can get another Lethal Attraction chapter out too…that one is partially written too…..just not typed. Heh. Anyway, please don't hate me. I will redeem myself.