Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Rain ❯ Death of the Crimson Dragon ( Chapter 3 )

"Absolutely not!" Jet shouted as Spike and Eve stepped off the Swordfish II and into the hanger.

Spike rolled his eyes. "You really don't get a choice, Jet."

"What about Faye?" Jet asked.

"What about her? Her opinion means squat to me. She's always stealing from us and running off, and you let her stay here, why not Eve?" Spike asked.

"Faye isn't a bounty head! Eve, the Crimson Dragon, is! Are you nuts, man!" Jet asked.

Eve felt small. Her eyes averted to the floor as Spike argued with the impressive man that was Jet Black. She knew who he was, she had known him when he was with ISSP, everyone had known about the `Black Dog'. He had been a fear of hers for a long time, and now she was supposed to live with him? Him and this `Faye'? Was Spike nuts? "Spike…" she called.

Spike turned from his ranting friend to the cowering woman behind him. She seemed terrified of Jet, although he couldn't figure why. "What's wrong, Eve?"

"I knew this wouldn't work out, Spike. Your friend is not going to welcome me, neither is the woman. It was a nice dream, Spike, but I can find my own way," she said as she turned and walked out of the hanger into the open air.

"God damn it, Jet! What the hell is wrong with you? She has no where to go! The syndicate cast her out, if she leaves now, she'll get taken down by some nobody of a cowboy and then she'll go to jail!"

"The syndicate cast her out? Why?"

"Because of Yenrai's death."

"Was she involved?" he asked.

"She was supposed to protect him but Viscous manipulated her to be away that day. Now she's been cast out. She's alone, Jet, and she's an old friend."

"Fine, she can stay! But she better pull her weight around here, unlike a pair of lazy, big mouthed, idiots I know!" he growled.

Spike smirked. "Believe me, Jet, she's a harder worker than Faye and I combined."

"That doesn't sound any better."

"She can cook," Spike said.

"She can?"

"A hell of a lot better than you, at least."

"Well, why didn't you say so? Go, grab her and I'll get a room set up for her," Jet said enthusiastically.

~*~*~*~

Six months. That was how long Eve had been with the Bebop crew. She had grown close to them, like they were her family. Faye was like a sister, a sister that bickered constantly. Jet had become her older brother, always looking out for her. Ed, the newest member of the crew, was her crazy little sister who was a genius. Eve loved it. Ein followed her everywhere; he had become a constant companion and was, for a dog, a great conversationalist. She had abandoned the name Eve, and had cropped her hair short and spiky. She had become the ships resident chef and also helped out as a mechanic. She had purchased a zip craft and now helped with the tracking and catching of bounty heads.

Eve, the Crimson Dragon, was dead to the world. Now Rain Kage stood where Eve had once been afraid to venture. She had changed her tattoos, the red dragon was now silver, and the kanji words for rain and dream where on her shoulder blades. The barcode was replaced by a black rose, further destroying who she once was. She was free. Free of the shadows, free of the syndicate, free of it all.

"Hey, guys, chow time!" Rain called from the kitchen.

There was a sound of thundering feet as the other five members of the crew ran to the kitchen to retrieve their meal. Rain rolled her gray eyes and smiled as she filled the plates of the hungry humans and filled the bowl of the patient corgy with a thick stew. "Eat hearty guys!" she cheered.

The group then migrated into the living area and began to chow down.

"Mmrph! Another masterpiece, Rain!" Jet called.

"Yeah, how is it your food always tastes good?" Faye asked.

"Call it a gift," Rain said as she took a seat. Ed had finished her stew and was now mimicking Ein and licking the remnants off of the bottom of the bowl. Rain chuckled and shook her head. "With the bounty we hauled last week, I was able to afford some chicken and some fish. I also bought protein bars along with the usual stock of ramen."

"Alright! That should last us," Jet cheered.

"Protein shmotein, dancing goat cheese!" Ed sang.

Rain shook her head. "I'm finished. Faye, Spike, you're on cleaning duty this week!" she called as she left the room.

Faye and Spike winced as Ed giggled and danced up the stairs wearing her bowl as a hat. Jet smiled as he stood and walked towards the kitchen. "Man, she's really trying to get you two slobs to help out," he sighed.

Faye glanced to Spike. "I call kitchen and living area!" she shouted.

Spike groaned. That meant he had to clean the bathroom and the hanger. "Damn," he swore.

~*~

Rain sighed as she leaned against her door. She had been feeling tired all week and yet, she didn't really know why. Ed came dancing up to her wearing her `special soup hat' as she put it. Actually, it was just the bowl she had recently eaten out of. Rain rolled her eyes. "Edward!"

Ed froze. "Yes, Rain?" she asked.

"Take the bowl off your head, give it to Faye and go take a bath before Spike has to clean the bathroom. And Ed?"

"Yes'm?"

"I'll know if you faked it," Rain stated.

Ed gulped, Rain could get scary fast. Ed then nodded. "Yes, Rain, Ed will be good."

"Then you can have a special treat once your clean. Tell Jet that I said it was okay."

"Yay! Ed will get squeaky clean and then Ed gets a treat!" she sang as she scrambled down the hall towards the bathroom.

Rain stood still for a moment before she heard Spike shouting, which meant that Ed had just thrown him out of the room with his cleaning utensils in hand and locked the door. This was becoming way too normal. Rain then noticed that the hall was spinning slightly. She blinked and attempted to clear her head, but to no avail. She then grasped the wall and noticed that it was far cooler than her skin. It almost burned it was so cold. Rain gasped for air, but her lungs felt blocked. What was happening? She then felt her eyes droop as she noticed Spike coming towards her.

"Ed did it again!" he complained. He then noticed something was wrong. "Rain?"

"I feel… hot… so tired and hot… can't breathe," she gasped as she collapsed to the floor.

"Rain!" Spike called as he ran to her side and lifted her into his arms. Her skin was burning up and her eyes were glassy and half-lidded. "Rain, stay with me!"

"Help me, Spike."

"I will, Rain, I will," he reassured as he scooped her into his arms and ran towards Jet's bonsai room. "Jet!"

Jet was sitting quietly, trimming his bonsai when Spike burst in, carrying a half-conscious Rain. Jet glanced to Spike and then to her. "What the hell?"

"Something's wrong," Spike stated.

Jet placed his good hand on Rain's forehead only to jerk it back. " She's burning up!"

"I know, she also said she couldn't breathe."

Jet nodded. "Okay, lucky for her we're still on Mars, I'll contact the hospital, we can fit two people in her zip craft, you can take her there."

Spike nodded and then ran for the hanger. Quickly, he placed her in the small area behind the pilot's seat. He then started up the engines and was soon on his way to the closest hospital.

~*~*~*~