Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Sunshine of the Bounty Hunter's Mind ❯ Chapter 1

Title: "Eternal Sunshine of the Bounty Hunter's Mind"
Fandoms: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Cowboy Bebop"
Author: jadelitfireflies
Rating: R (for language and hinted sexual situations)
Format: Screenplay. This, I'm embarrassed about, sort of. I suppose I can't help it, though. I have the screenplay formatted correctly at scriptbuddy dot com, but I assume that because of the recent restrictions of ff dot net regarding indentations, it won't work. It still looks presentable, though. If for some reason you'd rather read the correctly formatted version, feel free to e-mail me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Eternal Sunshine or Cowboy Bebop or the respective characters. I used a few lines from both the movie and the anime to create atmosphere. If you recognize it, it isn't mine.

Author's Note: I'm rather proud of this one, to tell you the truth. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated; anything you have to say, don't hesitate to inform me, all right? And with that:

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE BOUNTY HUNTER'S MIND

BY

JADELITFIREFLIES

FADE IN:

INT. BEBOP LIVING ROOM - DAY

SPIKE lays spread-eagled on a yellow couch staring at a
ceiling fan. He passes a hand over his eyes.

SPIKE
Man, am I hungry.

CUT TO: HANGAR

Spike enters and is seen preparing the SWORDFISH II for
takeoff. He runs his fingers along a scratch on the ship's
side. He curses.

INT. SWORDFISH II - DAY

Spike clicks on the COM-LINK and waits for JET'S face to
appear.

JET (com-link)
You ready, Spike?

SPIKE
Yeah.

JET (com-link)
Whitney Hagas Matsumoto. He's the
head of some company called Lacuna
Enterprises. You heard of it?

SPIKE
That the place that does the
memory jobs?

JET (com-link)
Yeah. He's really screwed up this
time. The ISSP wants him on more
than a couple charges. He was last
seen in TJ - they think he moved
his practice down there. It's -

SPIKE
(frowns)
I'm out of here, Jet.

JET (com-link)
What?!

Spike shuts the com-link off. He sets a course for Mars.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY

Spike is standing facing a woman, JULIA. It is raining. They
avoid eye contact.

SPIKE
Excuse me.

JULIA
It's raining -

SPIKE
(smirking)
It's always raining.

JULIA
But I have an umbrella.

He pauses before slipping his hands in his pockets to join
her.

EXT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - DAY

Spike is staring at the sky in the middle of a sidewalk. A
drop of rain falls into his left eye. He blinks, fiddles
with it, and curses. He is standing before a door, sign
which reads: LACUNA ENTERPRISES.

CUT TO: WAITING ROOM

At the front desk, a young woman straightens her nurse's
uniform before deciding to unbutton the top three buttons.
She slips on a name tag that reads FAYE VALENTINE. A woman,
SALLY, approaches.

SALLY
Sally. Sally Young. I just can't
take it anymore. My best friends -
that accident -
(chokes on her
tears)
And she looked just like you.

Spike approaches the desk.

FAYE
(to Sally)
Please sit over there, ma'am.

SPIKE
Hey. Ms. ...
(reading)
Valentine, might you tell me what
this card means?

FAYE
(paling)
You shouldn't have seen this.

SPIKE
Just tell me what it means!

FAYE
Please sit down, sir. The doctor -

Spike brushes past.

FAYE
Hey! Dammit, why won't anyone
listen to me?!

We follow Spike, who kicks through a curtain with a sign on
it which reads "OFFICE." A man in a chair, WHITNEY, cowers
to the wall. He knocks over a soda on his papers. Spike
slams his hand, with the card, on the center of Whitney's
desk.

WHITNEY
Woah!

SPIKE
Are you Whitney Hagas Matsumoto?

WHITNEY
Nice to meet you.
(pause)
I think...
(eyes widening)
You're not a cop, are you?

SPIKE
(drawing a gun)
Start talking!

WHITNEY
A bounty hunter, then? ... Let me
see that card.

Spike flicks the card at Whitney, who picks up the soda can
and takes a sip. He finds it empty and tosses it into the
far corner where it lands with a dull CLANG.

WHITNEY
(reading)
This is to notify you that Julia -
(chokes)
Who the hell are you? Where did
you get this?

SPIKE
You're... telling me this is true?

WHITNEY
I'm sorry. I, uh, wish there was
something I could do -

SPIKE
(smirking)
I hope you don't mind, but I'm
going to collect on your bounty.

WHITNEY
You don't want to do that! I...
uh, let me make you a deal! I'll
give you the full treatment on the
house. Huh?

SPIKE
As if.

WHITNEY
Well, I'm the only one who knows
how to reverse the process, too.

SPIKE
... it's reversible?

WHITNEY
(scratching his
head)
Er... well, everything's
reversible. Except maybe death.

SPIKE (VO)
I died a long time ago.

INT. SWORDFISH II - NIGHT

Spike is listening to "GOODNIGHT JULIA" as it plays on a
small music box. He leans forward, closing his eyes, before
throwing the object to the back of the ship. It is still
heard.

INT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - DAY

OPERATING ROOM

Spike is lying on a table. A group of NURSES is surrounding
him while Whitney positions a tangle of machinery over his
head. Among them are GREN and VICIOUS.

WHITNEY
A little help here, Gren?

GREN
(readjusting
something)
Like this?

WHITNEY
No! Of all the incompetent -

SPIKE
Your methods seem really reliable,
Dr. Matsumoto. Are you sure I
can't smoke in here?

WHITNEY
There's medical equipment. No.

Spike swallows his cigarette.

WHITNEY
(making a face)
Well, we're all ready. Now
concentrate on your memories of
Julia.

Spike closes his eyes. We see what he sees: a shot of Julia
humming at his bedside. Rescuing him from outside her
APARTMENT. Standing in front of a pool table. Lying next to
him in bed. Facing him in a graveyard.

GREN
They had an interesting
relationship.

WHITNEY
Is he unconscious yet?

GREN
He should be. That shot I gave him
should have knocked him out cold.

WHITNEY
(standing)
No use in my hanging around here,
then.
(calling)
Vicious!

VICIOUS
(appearing from
the far corner)
What?

WHITNEY
Uh... oh, there you are. Wipe him
clean while I go get a drink. And
get that damn bird out of here.

He leaves.

GREN
He's a real nice guy.

VICIOUS
Quiet. Concentrate.

CUT TO: WAITING ROOM

Whitney heads for the front door. Faye is still at her desk.

FAYE
Where are you going?

WHITNEY
(stopping)
We need more supplies. I'm just
going out to get them, Faye.

FAYE
(watching him
leave)
Liar. He always says that. He's
always lying.

CUT TO: OPERATING ROOM

Vicious is staring at a MONITOR. SPIKE'S MEMORIES appear and
are deleted automatically.

VICIOUS
Julia.

GREN
What?
(beat)
That hacker girl did a good job,
didn't she?

VICIOUS
A girl?

GREN
You don't remember? I guess you
weren't here. No, that's right.
You weren't here.

VICIOUS
I am always here.

GREN (cont'd)
She had a name as long as mind.
"Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky
the Fourth." "Grencia Mars Elijah
Guo Eckener." ... My memories
haven't been deleted.

VICIOUS
This woman has been here before.

GREN
What? Who?

VICIOUS
Julia.

GREN
Let me see.
(he walks over)
Oh. I remember her. You don't see
many women like her anymore.
There's Faye, but she's... well,
she's Faye.

FAYE
(entering)
You were talking about me? Hey,
who's this guy?

GREN
(reading the
clipboard)
Spike Spiegel. He was that girl's
boyfriend

FAYE
(sitting)
That Matsumoto guy left again.

GREN
Yeah, he's always leaving.

FAYE
So, you're frying his brain?

GREN
Everyone's just doing what he
asked us to do. We're not frying
anything.

FAYE
... Of course not.

Vicious stares at the monitor. Spike remembers standing
beneath a street sign with an umbrella, and Vicious seems to
recognize the place.

FAYE (cont'd)
What's up with him?

GREN
Don't pay any attention to him.
You know what he's like.

Vicious stands abruptly and exits. A few moments later, he
is followed out by a raven.

FAYE
What the hell's a bird doing in
here?

Gren is now watching the video. Spike's memories pause on a
shot of a man dying; on-screen, the man chokes on his own
blood, wincing.

GREN
Maybe it just wanted in from the
cold.

FAYE
It's a hundred degrees outside.
It's the middle of the summer.

EXT. CALLISTO FIELD - NIGHT

Spike is waking up in the center of a snowdrift. Snow is
still falling. He raises a hand to look at it.

SPIKE
I'm not dead. How about that?

INT. BEBOP LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Spike wakes up on the couch from earlier. He is sweating.

SPIKE
It's hot in here. Too hot.

JET (OS)
Spike! Food!

We follow Spike to the kitchen. Two plates of bell peppers
and beef are sitting on the counter. He stares at one.

SPIKE
We have beef this time?

JET
Sort of.

SPIKE
(making a face)
What do you mean, "sort of?"

JET
"Sort of" means "sort of." It's
more... sea rat than beef.

SPIKE
Uh... yeah.

He notices a strange envelope on the counter. While Jet's
back is turned, he snatches the envelope and pockets it.

JET
Sea rat's pretty good, huh, buddy?
It's my specialty.

SPIKE
Oh yeah. This food tastes
terrible.

SPIKE'S BEDROOM

Spike kicks off his shoes while landing on his bed. He takes
out the envelope.

SPIKE
(reading)
Lacuna Enterprises. Sounds fishy.
(opening it and
discovering a
card)
"Spike Spiegel has had Julia" -
(pause)
Julia? Who the hell is Julia?

He shuffles through the envelope and pulls out a small floppy
disk.

LIVING ROOM

Spike sits before a computer console, holding the disk in
one hand.

SPIKE
This is not my idea of a practical
joke, Jet.

He pauses and rifles through his suit for a pack of
cigarettes. He find one, sticks a cigarette in his mouth
without lighting it, and sits back in the chair. He places
the disk on the table the computer is sitting on and stares
at it.

SPIKE
(raising an
eyebrow)
This is ridiculous.

After a short moment he shoots forward and slams the disk
into a drive. He is visibly uncomfortable. An audio
transmission pops up on screen with a soft PLINK.

FAYE (audio transmission)
Please state your name for the
record.

SPIKE (AT)
I'm just another patient. It
doesn't really matter.

SPIKE
(eyes wide)
What the hell is this?

FAYE (AT)
Please state the name for the
record, sir.

SPIKE (AT)
Spike Spiegel. Are you happy now?

FAYE (AT)
Just smashing. Please tell me
where you met...
(pause)
Julia.

SPIKE (AT)
I met her a long time ago. It's
old business now.

FAYE (AT)
(sighs)
You're a difficult one, aren't
you. What do you remember about
her?

Spike stares at the ground. His cigarette hangs from his
mouth and, noticing this, he takes a moment to light it.
During this time, the tape is silent.

SPIKE (AT)
She was... another part of me,
something I'd lost along the
way...
(break)
But there's nothing I can do for
her now.

FAYE (AT)
And that's why you're here, isn't
it. Another hopeless person.

Spike leans toward the computer, ready to remove the disk.

FAYE (AT)
You really are just another
patient.

He takes the disk from the computer. The audio transmission
FIZZLES in protest and the screen blacks out.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Vicious is walking down the street seen in Spike's memories.
The bird from earlier sits on his shoulder. Spike and Julia
stand near an apartment building.

VICIOUS
Julia.

Julia enters the building, and Spike turns in Vicious'
direction to start back down the street.

VICIOUS
What are you doing here, ...
Spike?

SPIKE
Don't want any, thanks.

VICIOUS
That woman.

SPIKE
What?

VICIOUS
You were with a woman.

SPIKE
(pause)
Who are you? You know, mom always
said not to talk to strangers, and
all.

Vicious stares up at the apartment complex. Bits of paper
cascade to the gray sidewalk from a partially open window.
Spike throws up his hands and walks away.

INT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - DAY

SPIKE'S POV

FAYE (OS)
You know why I started working
here?

GREN (OS)
Why?

FAYE (OS)
I can't remember anything about
myself anyway.

We switch from Spike's POV and see Faye and Gren sitting in
front of the monitor.

GREN
You mean you had this done?

FAYE
I don't know. Who cares? If you
can't remember anything you can't
remember, right?

GREN
I guess. I dunno. It just seems
really...

FAYE
Pathetic, right?

GREN (cont'd)
... sad. To not know anything
about yourself, I mean.

FAYE
(pause)
It's just cheating, Gren. It's
just like playing poker...

GREN
Erasing people's memories?

FAYE
No.Not having any.

GREN
You just... you just don't have a
deck of cards, is all.
(beat)
Sorry, I'm not making sense. I'm
tired.

FAYE
Well. I'm tired, too.

GREN
(watching the
screen)
I don't know how he could just do
that, though.

FAYE
Huh?

Faye scoots closer. We close up on the screen.

INT. CHURCH - DAY

Spike is walking through a medieval-looking CHURCH. It is
dark and static, although dusk light filters through one,
large, stained-glass window.

SPIKE
A church?

He continues walking. There is no one in any of the pews. A
small COUGH is heard. Spike turns.

SPIKE
What are you doing here?

There is no answer. He places his hands in his pockets and
approaches; he pauses after seeing a figure nearby and
before running to it.

SPIKE
Julia!

The figure is two-dimensional. It is a cutout of Julia but
lacks eyes and a mouth.

SPIKE
Who the hell did this?
(pause)
I've been here before.

Spike jogs toward a nearby door and pushes through it,
fiddling in his jacket for cigarettes. The cityscape of MARS
begins to fade.

SPIKE
Well, I'll be damned.
(slumping)
I'm actually erasing her.

He shrugs and closes his eyes.

EXT. BUS STOP - NIGHT

Spike is sitting on a bench, staring up into the rain.

SPIKE
Damn.

Voices are heard overhead.

FAYE (OS)
So where is he now?

GREN (OS)
Dunno. I don't see her anywhere.

FAYE (OS)
Maybe he's thinking about her. You
know, daydreaming?

Spike glances around.

SPIKE (VO)
Who said that?

GREN (OS)
Hey, Faye...

FAYE (OS)
Yeah?

GREN (OS)
Shouldn't you be doing something?

FAYE (OS)
What's that supposed to mean?!

GREN (OS)
Well, aren't you worried about me?

Spike sits up, placing a palm to his forehead.

SPIKE (VO)
It's loud!

FAYE (OS)
What could you do to me?

GREN (OS)
Well... I could touch you, or try
to kill you... we are alone here.

FAYE (OS)
You don't really seem the type to
be interested in women.
(beat)
Doesn't it bother you that I said
that?

GREN (os)
(pause)
No.

CUT TO: MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES

Gren in Faye are in a corner, eating something.

FAYE
(shuddering)
Are you sure he's out cold?

GREN
Are you saying I'm incompetent,
too?

FAYE
It's like being in a room with a
dead body.

GREN
I've never seen a dead body.

FAYE
I was just saying.

GREN
(staring at Spike)
He's dead to us, anyway.

FAYE
Because he's a patient here?

GREN
No.I mean because he's
unconscious.

Faye seems put-out by her own question. She shifts as if
uncomfortable.

FAYE
When's that lunkhead doctor coming
back?

GREN
Dunno. Maybe he won't come back
this time.

We close up on Faye's eyes until all we can see is the
reflection of the screen in them.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY

SPIKE
Where the hell am I?

He is facing the counter in a convenience store. A woman,
ANNIE, stands behind it but does not say anything. The room
is static. A can floats above he floor where it would have
fallen.

SPIKE
I've got to stop eating those
shitaki mushrooms.

Spike sees Julia pass by the store window and freezes.

SPIKE
Julia!

He runs around the can but does not miss kicking it or a
shelf. Things fall to the ground with a CLATTER as he SLAMS
open the door and follows her. He accidentally steps in a
puddle with a SPLASH.

SPIKE
Damn. Julia!
(louder)
Julia!
(at her pause)
You're not a cut-out. Do you hear
me talking to you?

JULIA
Spike? Is that you?

SPIKE
(gripping her hand)
Julia! What the hell is going on?

JULIA
You're erasing me, Spike. You know
that.

SPIKE
(as if in
realization)
I'm doing this.
(pause)
Matsumoto said there was a way to
reverse it! That son of a bitch!

JULIA
... Spike...

SPIKE
You. Did it first.
(break)
... So you just decided to forget
about me?

It grows dark. Everything is heavily shadowed.

SPIKE
Just like that, huh?
(he laxes)
And I'm just a ghost now.

The now-altered memory disappears.

INT. SWORDFISH II - DAY

Spike speeds by at a low altitude over Mars. Outside the
window, the same graveyard from earlier slows as he passes.
It begins to blur and fade as he does so.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Vicious stands at the top of a metal staircase. It is
raining, each drop making a dull PING as it lands. He is
perfectly still. Below him, Julia approaches.

VICIOUS
(pause)
Hello.

JULIA
Hello.

VICIOUS
I came to pick you up. These are
for you.

He holds out a dozen roses. The action and dialog seem
awkward, as if he is playing a part.

VICIOUS (cont'd)
They wilted in the rain.

JULIA
Who are you?

VICIOUS
You don't remember?

JULIA
No.

VICIOUS
I met you in a graveyard.

A flash of the graveyard. The man standing where Spike once
stood is now a blurred figure.

INT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - NIGHT

Faye and Gren sit back to back, leaning against a wall. Cups
and tea bags are scattered throughout the room and a
teakettle is dormant on a hot plate plugged into an outlet
from which some medical equipment has been disconnected.

GREN
It's funny. We could have raided
Matsumoto's alcohol cabinet.

FAYE
Did you want to, Mr. Saxophone?
You still could, you know.

GREN
Please don't call me that. I
haven't played in a long time.
(beat)
Anyway, I'm sure he counts the
bottles.

FAYE
(after an awkward
silence)
That lunkhead doctor isn't back
yet.

GREN
(sardonically)
You worried about him?

FAYE
As if.

She stands. Her nurse's uniform has ridden up and she lazily
tugs it down. She leans against the wall.

FAYE (cont'd)
You got any matches?

GREN
This is a medical facility. ...
Sort of. What do you think?

FAYE
You're really annoying, you know
that?

He hands her a book of matches. She lights a cigarette.

GREN
That might really screw that guy
up.

FAYE
(following her own
thoughts)
He just can't stop. It's like he's
running and he can't catch his
breath.

GREN
I meant... I meant that guy in the
bed over there.

FAYE
(pause)
Why should I care? I don't even
know him.

GREN
I... guess. You - you never know,
right?

FAYE
Yeah.

She looks at him sharply.

FAYE (cont'd)
I guess you don't. You're a really
odd one, Gren.

GREN
It's just this whole memory
business. It messes with how I
think.

FAYE
I don't want to talk about this
anymore.

GREN
O-okay. Thanks, Faye.

FAYE
Don't say stuff like that.

GREN
I can't thank you for something
you did?

FAYE
It's selfish. Just like that.

GREN
What?

FAYE
(angered)
You just sit there so calmly,
passing it off on me like it's
nothing. Like nobody would care if
you just up and died.

GREN
I'm not -

FAYE
Whatever. I saw the form in
Whitney's trash can. It doesn't
matter, right?

She drops the cigarette and ashes it out with her boot.

FAYE (cont'd)
You pass everything off on me and
then you go off to die. I'm not a
priest, Gren.

GREN
I don't know what you're talking
about.

FAYE
Well. That's okay, then. If you
want to fry your brain like this
guy, I'm not gonna stop you.
(beat)
Men are such total idiots.

Gren is silent. Faye stands up rigidly and leaves the room.
Gren remains sitting and does not notice the screen on which
Spike's memories are being displayed has switched to a
static shot of the earth from space. The shot expands to
fill the entire screen.

INT. SWORDFISH II - DAY

We see Spike sitting in the cockpit, smoking.

JET (intercom)
I can't do anything, buddy.

SPIKE
Oh, well. Guess I'm going to have
it land it myself, then.

SPIKE (VO)
I remember this.

He sits next to himself in the cockpit.

JET (intercom)
Hey, Spike -

SPIKE
(shutting off the
com-link)
Damn.

FUTURE SPIKE
I thought I was going to die.

Although both Spike and his future self are sitting next to
each other, they do not interact. From the front of the
ship, but coming from all directions, "Goodnight Julia" is
heard on the music box. After each play it CLICKS.

SPIKE
I don't suppose I have anything to
drink in here.
(pause)
This is really pitiful.

Through the front window, the Earth is seen to tilt up
toward them, filling the cockpit with bluish-white light.
The skyline is littered with asteroids and remnants of the
moon gate.

FUTURE SPIKE
(pause, as if in
narration)
I was already dead.
(beat)
"Earth is a really ugly planet."

SPIKE
Earth is a really ugly planet.

SPIKE
(at the same time
as his future
self)
Mars makes a much better landscape
for dying.

FUTURE SPIKE
You'll never change.

He stares to his right. The side of his face is the only
thing we see.

SPIKE (OS)
"Goodnight Julia." Heh.

FUTURE SPIKE
(closing his eyes)
Well, she's not here.

INT. THE LOSER BAR (FRANCHISE) - NIGHT

Whitney is sitting at the bar on the far end. He stares at
the liquid in the glass before him and swirls it twice. It
SLOSHES. The bartender clicks on the TV and tunes it to BIG
SHOT. Whitney does not look up. We watch his reflection in
the drink.

PUNCH (OS)
Hey, there, bounty hunters! How
y'all doin'?

JUDY (OS)
My, what do we have today? Oh, I'm
all in shivers!

PUNCH (OS)
It's a good day for bounty hunters
everywhere, because the bounty is
now double high!

JUDY (OS)
(reading)
Whitney Hagas Matsumoto. Oh, just
look at those eyebrows!

PUNCH (OS)
Hey, now, this guy's a criminal!
He's been erasing people's
memories!

JUDY (OS)
(confused)
Their memories?

Whitney runs a hand through his hair.

WHITNEY
Can't you turn that off?

BARTENDER
Hey, relax a little! You're safe
here. I've got a bounty on my
head, too.

Whitney raises and lowers his eyebrows. He downs the liquid
in his glass.

EXT. SIDEWALK - NIGHT

Vicious and Julia are walking. A rose falls into a puddle
from the bouquet Vicious is still holding.

JULIA
What is your name?

VICIOUS
Vicious. You are Julia.

JULIA
I am.

INT. POOL HALL - NIGHT

HALLWAY

There is little to no light. Spike is walking with his hands
in his pockets in an outfit distinctly different than
before.

SPIKE (VO)
It was like the darkness before
dawn.

He approaches a scarred wooden door. He runs his hands over
it before pushing it open.

SPIKE (VO)
Julia is here.

The door opens into a pool room. Julia turns to face the
door. All activity and noise ceases. Vicious lurks behind
her.

SPIKE
(breathily)
Julia.
(with anger)
Why the hell-
(beat)
Why the...

JULIA
Vicious...
(backing up)
Who is that?

VICIOUS
He's a stray cat. A beast who
wanders.

SPIKE
Look, buddy, that's -

Julia is visibly confused. Spike advances toward her and
takes her by the shoulders.

SPIKE (cont'd)
Julia, look at me! Julia!
(off her shirking
away)
What the hell is going on here?

VICIOUS
I think you should leave.

Spike's eye twitches. He stalks off to a corner and sits
down, watching them. Vicious continues playing pool with
Julia and two other men - SHIN and LIN. Julia whispers
something. After a moment, Vicious approaches the bar while
passing Spike's table.

VICIOUS
(pause)
Get out of here, Spike. She
doesn't belong to you anymore.

EXT. THE LOSER BAR (FRANCHISE) - NIGHT

SIDEWALK

A CRACK of thunder. Faye stares up at the sky and curses as
it starts to rain. She runs to get undercover of the awning
and stops before the window.

FAYE
"Supplies?" My ass.

Each raindrop, as it falls, makes a dull metallic PLUNK on
the awning. It leaks in several places. Faye pushes the hair
out of her eyes. We see Whitney at the bar, head in his
hands, unmoving.

FAYE
Well, if he wants pity. I'd never
give him any.

BAR

Faye enters. A bell RINGS loudly and twice as she opens the
door and lets it slam. The bartender emerges from a back
room.

BARTENDER
Why, good evening, Ms. Valentine.
(beat)
I haven't seen you in a while. Are
you looking for Dr. Matsumoto?

FAYE
(pause)
Who are you? ... That's a stupid
question. You're a bartender.

She approaches the bar, removing a pair of white gloves as
she does so. She sits four stools away from Whitney.

BARTENDER
The usual, Ms. Valentine?

FAYE
The usual? I've only been in here
twice.

BARTENDER
(laughing)
That's true. You've only been here
twice without Dr. Matsumoto.

FAYE
What? ...you're crazy, old man.
Just give me whatever you think my
usual is.

The bartender stares at her for a moment and then begins
mixing her drink. During this time, Whitney has not moved.

FAYE
Whitney Hagas Matsumoto.
(pause)
Do you actually have a PHD in
anything or did I announce you
properly?
(beat)
So, doctor, I see you're erasing
your memories manually. Well, I'm
(MORE)

FAYE (cont'd)
sure you'll be chipper for Gren.
When you did mine, were you drunk?
Is that why I work for you,
Whitney? Because you fucked up -

WHITNEY
Stop it, Faye.

FAYE
Oh, so you're sober enough to
talk. Well, great.

The bartender hands her the drink. She gulps down half of it
and coughs.

FAYE (cont'd)
Or maybe I was frozen somewhere
for fifty years and still have
amnesia. Jesus, I don't know. I
could be some sort of vegetable,
like that Spike Spiegel guy -
maybe I'm just fucking dead, or
something. But I don't appreciate
it. I walk into places and people
know me when I've never seen them
before. I have a fucking "usual."
So what is it, Matsumoto? Did you
fry my brain, too?

WHITNEY
(pause)
Technically, no one really knows
anything about themselves. We're
always dying, and we're always
coming back to life. Some of us
just do more of one than the
other.

FAYE
I don't know what you're talking
about. Maybe you are drunk.

WHITNEY
I wish I was drunk. I wouldn't
have to see your pretty face
covered in tears.

FAYE
Their raindrops, Whitney.

WHITNEY
Well, same thing. What I'm - what
we're doing isn't wrong, I don't
think. We need the money, Faye. We
have so many debts to pay off!
There's the clinic... the barcode
on the back of my neck... and that
stuff just doesn't go away.

FAYE
I didn't ask you that. If I'd
wanted you to rationalize Lacuna
Enterprises to me, I'd have let
you know.

WHITNEY
I don't know what to tell you. All
I really know how to do is
persuade people.

FAYE
And anyway, you've just made the
situation worse. Now you've got a
bounty on your head. The ISSP and
every bounty hunter that watches
Big Shot is after you because you
did something to someone with this
memory shit.

WHITNEY
(tired)
I... know, Faye.

FAYE
Well, I'm glad. But tell me
something, Dr. Matsumoto: how did
I come to be employed by the
wonderful Lacuna Enterprises? Did
I apply for this job?

WHITNEY
(beat)
You were Sleeping Beauty. And I
was - well, I thought I could be
Prince Charming. The cryo clinic -

FAYE
(snapping in his
direction)
The cryo clinic?!

WHITNEY
Yeah, it's true. You were
sleeping. And I - I fell in love
with you, then.

FAYE
You're - you're lying!

WHITNEY
It's not a lie, Faye.

FAYE
(staring at her
hands)
I don't believe you. How could I
ever believe you? You wait three
years just to tell me in the Loser
Bar - hey, Faye, I found you in a
test tube. Let's pool our debts
and when I fake my own death
again, you can pay them off. Well,
no thanks.

WHITNEY
It wasn't like that.

FAYE
Then tell me, Matsumoto: what was
it like? Or did I know before and
you fried that out of me, too?

WHITNEY
You're... not being fair. First
off, stop saying I've "fried your
brain."

Faye downs the rest of her drink. Her face falls.

FAYE
(defeated)
But how could I ever know that,
Whitney? Isn't the whole... the
whole thing, one lie after
another?

He is silent. Faye rises and heads toward the door,
forgetting her gloves on the counter. Whitney does not turn
around.

WHITNEY
Well, I can tell you one thing
that's true.
(pause)
I fell in love with you while you
were sleeping. I fell in love with
Sleeping Beauty.

Her face is shaded by her bangs. She leaves the bar. In the
background, Whitney reaches over to take her gloves and run
them through his hands.

INT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - NIGHT

A sweeping shot of the operating room. Gren seems almost
comatose, staring at the screen. Spike's memories are still
being shown upon it. Spike, distant and blanketed by
darkness, remains stationary.

In the next room, Faye is using a crowbar to break into a
file cabinet. It refuses to open. She curses and struggles
with the crowbar until it loudly crashes open, spilling a
few files onto the floor. She frantically pools them at her
feet and shuffles through them.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Spike stands beneath a metal staircase. Everything is fuzzy.
The memory moves jumpily. Julia walks backward toward him
from around the opposite corner. Her movement are
interrupted every other frame. She stops when next to him.
It begins to rain, a dull ROAR.

JULIA
Spike? Are you ready to go?

SPIKE
It depends. Go where?

JULIA
(laughing)
Come on!

She drags him around the corner. They are in a courtyard,
the middle of which is flooded with rainwater. Children in
one corner are playing with a ball but their faces are
distorted, blurred. Julia leads Spike into a small alleyway.

SPIKE
Well, you're quite an excited
little woman. Are you planning to
attack me out here?

They make a sudden stop. Spike leans up against a wall. He
searches through his jacket for cigarettes, removes one, and
lights it.

JULIA
(out of breath)
Spike.

SPIKE
That's my name.

JULIA
Listen to me, Spike. The -

Her voice drops off and is unrecognizable. Spike's cigarette
falls from his mouth.

SPIKE (VO)
That's not how it was.

SPIKE
That's not how it was!

He grabs her shoulders while her figure becomes more
blurred. She fades into nothing more than an outline.

SPIKE (cont'd)
Julia! Dammit, Matsumoto! I'll -

JULIA
Spike!

Julia is standing in a shadowed doorway nearby.

JULIA (cont'd)
Think, Spike. Where are you?

SPIKE
(he thinks)
I'm asleep somewhere.

JULIA
Then, wake up.

SPIKE
I can't wake up.

JULIA
It's all just a dream, Spike.

SPIKE
A dream I can't wake up from! I
won't remember!

JULIA
Then run. Get out of here.

SPIKE
What...
(squinting his
eyes)
What am I talking to? You're just
a cheaper form of me. You're just
all in my head. You'll be gone by
morning.

JULIA
They're trying to kill -

SPIKE
I asked for this. That Matsumoto
guy said the process was
reversible. But I didn't want it
reversed.

The street stretches between them. His side slants down
toward hers, drastic.

SPIKE (cont'd)
I'm just an unforgiving kind of
guy.

JULIA
It doesn't have to be like this.
I'm not leaving.

SPIKE
It's just a dream.
(smirking)
Pretty soon, the dream will be all
over. Just like that.

He removes the Jericho from an inside pocket. He fires once
at Julia. She is hit directly between the eyes and seems to
fall in slow motion backward. The sound of the shot ECHOES as
pigeons on the nearby roof become agitated and frantically
fly away.

Spike stands still. He lowers the Jericho. We watch Julia's
fallen body, which does not fade away. Blood begins to pool
around her. We close up on Spike's face as his eyes widen in
what seems to be horror.

SPIKE
JULIA!

He drops the gun and runs to her. As he does so, the street
stretches further and further apart, growing more narrow,
the scene growing more dark. Spike's form is in stark

contrast to his surroundings and almost seems to glow.
Finally, the area clears to reveal he is on a rooftop. It is
cold and frozen. He stumbles.

SPIKE (VO)
I couldn't find her. I couldn't
find her!

A heavenly body, Earth or Jupiter, illuminates a thick cover
of clouds above his head. The light only touches a few feet
ahead of him.

SPIKE (VO) (cont'd)
Matsumoto...

He falls and lands on his behind. He is propped up by his
hands.

SPIKE
I don't want to do this anymore. I
don't...
(vehemence)
I don't want this anymore! Take it
back! Matsumoto!

He becomes more and more agitated but does nothing but sit
cross-legged. It begins to rain, and as the clouds thicken,
the light filters away but strangely illuminates a patch
nearby: Julia's bloodied corpse. Spike stares into the sky.
A raven soars overhead.

INT. BEBOP LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Spike and Jet are facing each other on opposite couches.

JET
Are you sure this thing is safe?

SPIKE
(smoking)
I dunno. He's got a bounty on his
head.

JET
Yeah, and you've had several.
(pause)
I threw the watch into the sea on
Ganymede.

SPIKE
(annoyed)
We're not going back to get that
now.

JET
No. The thing's tomorrow. I'm not
missing it.

SPIKE
Got cold feet?

JET
Be serious. This is big stuff,
Spike.

SPIKE
(settling down for
a nap)
Yeah. Well, whatever happens...
happens.

Jet seems undecided. He is staring at a brochure from Lacuna
Enterprises which seems to have come from a baggie marked
"EVIDENCE."

JET
"Whatever happens... happens,"
huh?

INT. RED TAIL - NIGHT

An audio transmission has finished playing but still
registers static. A box of files litters the floor and space
next to her. Faye crumples toward her lap, crying.

INT. BEBOP LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Jet has fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. He appears
to be having a nightmare.

JET'S NIGHTMARE

A woman, ARISA, is walking away in the rain. She turns
slightly to face him.

JET
Wait.

He jolts awake.

JET
(running a hand
over his head)
The same dream again.

On the coffee table sits a gray watch. It is water-damaged.

INT. JULIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

It is a very plain room. A ceiling fan whirs quietly, and
Julia is sitting on a wooden chair next to Spike's bed. She
is humming.

SPIKE (VO)
That same old song.

Julia registers that he is awake and leans in to look into
his eyes.

SPIKE
It's not going to stop.

JULIA
No.It won't.
(beat)
There isn't anything. It's just
like this.

SPIKE
Well, at least you're not dead.

JULIA
It won't be much longer.

Spike stares at her, falling in and out of consciousness. A
tear lands on his face.

INT. JULIA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

The room is arranged differently. It is obvious the memory
takes place at a later date than the previous scene. Spike
and Julia lay on the bed, Spike half on top of her, her hand
tangled in his hair.

SPIKE (VO)
I could have died right then. But
I was already dead.

JULIA
Do you think... it will stay like
this forever?

SPIKE
(mumbling)
It's all like a dream.

JULIA
Do you think we'll ever wake up?

SPIKE
(he turns on his
side, smirking)
Maybe.

JULIA
(while staring at
the ceiling)
It's raining.
(pause)
Before I met you, Spike, I was
just another one of those...
people. The world was a syndicate
I had no part in.

SPIKE
(taking this
seriously)
I've never belonged anywhere. I
guess I always liked Mars better,
though.

JULIA
No.When I was a girl I didn't
want anything to happen in my
life. I just wanted to live, and
then to die. A blank space, with
nothing in-between.

SPIKE
(raising an
eyebrow)
And what about me?

JULIA
What about you? You're here and
I'm here. I met you in a
graveyard.
(pause)
That has to say something about
us, Spike. We met each other in a
graveyard.

SPIKE
There's never anybody there.

JULIA
I was... I had always been there.
Forever. And then you were there,
too.
(pause)
You won't leave me, will you?

SPIKE
(sarcastically)
I don't know. There are plenty of
other sado-masochistic blonds out
there.
(beat)
It was raining that day, too,
wasn't it.

At his words, it begins to rain, first a trickle, and then
the droplets breaking through the ceiling to cover the
entire room. Spike and Julia sleep.

SPIKE (VO)
(as the memory
fades)
Please... please, let me keep this
one.

INT. MATSUMOTO'S OFFICES - NIGHT

Gren uses the teapot to break into Whitney's alcohol
cabinet. He clears the bottles out with a swoop of his hand,
and they scatter on the floor. Some of them break; liquor is
spilled all around his feet. He places his hands far apart
on the counter the cabinet is above, seemingly catching his
breath. Gren turns and pads over the broken glass, slipping
and catching himself on the door frame, and exits the
offices.

EXT. A ROOF - NIGHT

Vicious leans against a chimney on a dark roof. Beneath him,
there is an intersection and a parked, red convertible. To
his right, a water tower and the lights of a city -
presumably one on Mars, as the edge of the crater the city
is in is also seen nearby - are prominent. Vicious is
holding a sword.

VICIOUS
Julia.
(pause)
Julia will die.

Vicious' bird flutters from a nearby light post to land on
his shoulder. Vicious closes his eyes and walks toward the
center of the roof.

INT. LA FIN - DAY

Arisa retrieves a manila envelope from outside of the bar.
She opens the envelope and removes a disk.

EXT. A CRATER ON EARTH - DAY

A young girl lays on her back on a pile of electrical
equipment. Her reddish-orange hair sticks out wildly beneath
goggles pushed back haphazardly on her head. She listens to
herself talking to Faye on an audio transmission.

GIRL (audio transmission)
Edward didn't want to do this, you
know.

FAYE (AT)
(seems confused)
"Edward"?

GIRL (AT)
Ed's father forgets about her and
leaves her alone, alone!
(melodrama)
To die in the desert and fry to
bones and ashes!
(with a hint of
pride)
So Ed decides, let Ed forget
Father-person, too. Then Ed and
Tomato won't be lonely.

EXT. MARS STREET - DAY

As always, it is raining. Spike stops at a booth where
flowers are being sold and purchases a dozen red roses. He
walks away and down the street, but drops a rose in a
puddle. He does not turn back for it.

EXT. SEA OF GANYMEDE - DAY

Jet sits on the landing platform of the Bebop next to a
tangle of equipment. He is holding the watch - now
water-damaged - in his hands. He frowns.

INT. JULIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

All the blinds are closed, giving the room a blue hue. The

sound of rain hitting the windows is an ever-present
background noise. A chair has been placed in front of the
only window without blinds, and Julia sits in this chair.
Spike approaches from the other room.

JULIA
This is it, isn't it.

SPIKE
(hesitant)
Yeah, you're right.

"Goodnight Julia" is heard from Julia's direction. We see
her hands holding the small music box.

JULIA
(as if reading her
lines)
So, you're leaving?

SPIKE
(wryly - with
regret)
I don't really have a choice.
(pause)
Come with me?

JULIA
You know that I can't.

There is silence. Spike stands awkwardly.

SPIKE
(examining his
shoes)
When all of this is over -

JULIA
You had to say it. I knew you were
going to before you did.

SPIKE
You always knew everything about
me.
(continuing off
his last)
When all of this is over, I want
you to find me.

JULIA
I might not be able to.
(commentary)
It's still true.

SPIKE
You'll find me after all of this.
Look for me here. I'll be waiting
for you.

JULIA
(unmoving)
I am always here.

SPIKE
(forgetting his
lines, for the
moment)
Why did you do this?

JULIA
Why did you, Spike?

SPIKE
You started this. Why?

JULIA
(tearing)
... I don't know.
(pause)
You have to give me the paper now.
I already know what it says. You
still have to give it to me.

Silently, he folds the paper and waits for her to stand. She
approaches him, and as she does so, he takes her hand and
places the paper in it.

SPIKE
You're going to tear it up later.
You threw it out the window. Seems
like a waste of trees to me.

JULIA
(while crying)
I couldn't bear to look at it.
(pause)
Walk away. It's your turn to
leave, now.

Spike considers this. He places his hands in his pockets,
removing any emotion from his face, and turns toward the
door. The room grows darker every second.

JULIA
(barely audible)
Spike... Spike, wait.

SPIKE
You said it yourself - that's it.
There isn't anything left.

JULIA
At least say good-bye?

She approaches his turned form and wraps her arms around
him. Her head is buried in his shoulder. She slips the music
box in his pocket.

SPIKE
(attempting to
sound like his
normal self)
Good-bye, Julia.

JULIA
Spike.
(burrowing further)
Good-bye, Spike.

We follow him as he walks out of the apartment and down the
back metal stairs. Behind him, the apartment building decays
and collapses upon itself. As he is walking, memories of
himself and Julia move by quickly and disappear before we
can recognize them. After a moment, he can no longer
continue walking and sits on a nearby bench. He takes out
the music box and winds it up as the scene disintegrates.

EXT. BEBOP LANDING PLATFORM - NIGHT

There is a great deal of noise as Spike lands the Swordfish
II and quickly hops out of it. There is obviously something
wrong with him. The Bebop seems to be somewhere on Mars.

INT. BEBOP LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Jet sits on the smaller couch, staring at the watch on the
table. Spike has just entered.

SPIKE
Yo, Jet.
(noticing the
watch)
Oh.

JET
Let me guess. You're hungry.

SPIKE
I'm really starving.

Jet leaves to prepare their meal, and returns minutes later
with "bell peppers and beef" - sans beef. During the time he
has been gone, Spike has been staring at his hands. His
eyebrows raise as the food is brought in. Jet sits on the
opposite side of the table and both of them begin eating.

SPIKE
(mouth full)
This food tastes terrible.

Jet pushes the plate away from himself and picks up the
watch again.

SPIKE (cont'd)
Jet...
(criticism)
The thing's broken.

JET
I know.
(pause)
Are you still going after
Matsumoto?

SPIKE
Now why would I do that?
(off his silence)
No.

Spike rises and heads to the door.

JET
Just... tell me one thing, Spike.

SPIKE
What?

JET
All the time you've been doing
this... has it all been for the
girl?

SPIKE
She's dead.
(pause)
You know that. There's nothing I
can do for her now.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY

Spike places a dozen roses on Julia's gravestone. The scene
seems to repeat itself, with Spike standing in different
positions, as if he has done this over and over.

SPIKE (VO) (AT)
(as the scene is
continuously
repeated)
There once was a tiger-striped
cat. This cat died a million
deaths, revived, and lived a
million lives.

Again, with the actions repeated in different positions,
Spike walks away.

SPIKE (cont'd)
The tiger-striped cat cried a
million times, and then he died,
too. Except this time...

FADE OUT.