A/N: Welcome, welcome, welcome, one and all!

T2 Angel is supremely proud to present Cowboy Bebop: Desperado.

Cowboy Bebop has always been one of my all-time favorite animes. From the moment I finished episode one, I knew I'd be watching more. After episode five, "Ballad of the Fallen Angels", this anime had me hooked, all the way, and it never let me go. And I never wanted it to. Well-written, fantastic characters, and PHENOMENAL music! I was inspired to write this chapter story by several people, including reading the story "All Along the Watchtower" by space-cowboy656. Go check that story out when you get the chance. This first chapter will have allusions to my one-shot story, "The Bravura of the Romani", so, if you notice them, that's where they came from.

I really hope you guys like this one! Because I am having so much fun writing it!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO COWBOY BEBOP OR ANY OF THE SONGS OR MOVIES REFERENCED IN THIS STORY! THIS IS A WORK OF PURE FICTION, FOR WHICH I RECEIVE NO PROFIT!

Alright, we're all clear! Let's dive in, Space Cowboys and Cowgirls!

Session I: Ain't No Grave

"There ain't no grave can hold my body down." ~ Johnny Cash, "Ain't No Grave", American VI: Ain't No Grave, 2010.

Faye sat with her legs pulled up to her chest, doing her best not to cry again. It had been over two hours since Spike left and she hadn't left the hallway where she had emptied out her clip. Jet hobbled into the hallway on his cane and saw her sitting on the floor. She lifted her head up and they stared at each other for a while in silence. He walked forward, stopped next to her, leaned his back against the wall, and pulled out a cigarette. He offered one to Faye and she took it. Jet lit her cigarette then his own.

Jet inhaled a drag and exhaled the smoke. "What a mess."

Faye took a puff of her cigarette. "Yeah," she said, absentmindedly. "A damned mess."

Jet stood in silence for a while longer. "Faye. I don't know what to tell you."

Faye exhaled. "It's okay. I don't know what to say."

"But I do know one thing." He pulled out the key to the Hammerhead. "One of us needs to go save that idiot." He presented to her.

She looked at the key and so badly she wanted to take it. But reality was stopping her. "He's probably already dead."

"So, what?"

Faye looked up at him.

"He's been dead before."

That one comment brought a spark of hope back to Faye.

"But, unlike all those other times, we can do something about it. He may not want us to but we're going to help him, whether he likes it or not." Jet looked down at her. "Are you in?"

That answer was easy. "Hell, yes," Faye said.

She stood up quickly, dropped her cigarette, took the key, and ran to get some weapons. She stopped, ran back, and, as much to her surprise as it was to Jet's, hugged him.

"Thanks, Jet," Faye whispered. She took off running for her weapons.

Jet was in shock, "Uh… no problem, Faye."

Once Faye was loaded up on weapons, she got in the Hammerhead and took off, heading for the Red Dragons Headquarters, trying to get ready for what she would find when she got there. She arrived at the high rise just after the sun was rising over the city and, once she was close enough to the building, saw Spike was on the ground with Red Dragon soldiers still around him.

"No," Faye whispered. She surveyed the scene, not quite sure how to best approach it. She didn't know if the Red Dragons were going to attack her if she got close. She decided to play it safe, though that was a relative word.

Faye flew closer, crashing into the remnants of the building, and proceeded to drop smoke bombs in the area. The smoke covered the entire area while Faye hooked herself up to a cable and descended down. She grabbed hold of Spike and hauled him and herself back up to the Hammerhead. She got them both back into the cockpit, hit the afterburners, and flew off.

Faye looked down at the unconscious Spike, seeing that he was smiling. "Spike?" she asked. She felt blood on her and saw it dripping on the floor of the cockpit, "Oh, God." She looked back at Spike. "Hey, Spike! Come on! Wake up!"

A call came through to the Hammerhead. Jet's face came through the video feed. "Faye, did you find Spike?"

"Yeah," Faye said, worriedly. "He's… he's in really bad shape. I, uh, I can't tell if he's breathing or not."

"Oh, hell," Jet said.

"I've gotta get him to a hospital!"

"Just bring him back here."

"No, he's in too bad of shape for that. Believe me, Jet. It's worse than all the other times."

"Faye…"

"I know, Jet. But… I have to risk it."

Jet thought about it. "Take him to Alba City, to Machan Hospital. I'll call in a favor. Just don't park the Hammerhead near there."

"Right," Faye said. She looked down at Spike. "Don't die. Don't die on me, Spike. Please."

Jet looked down, "Just hurry, Faye."

"Hurrying." Faye cut the transmission and headed toward Alba City.

It took Faye an hour to get to Alba City and another twenty minutes to find a car and drive Spike to the hospital. When she got there, she saw a doctor wave her toward a side door. She drove the car over and parked right by the door. The doctor was a dark-skinned man, seemingly in his late sixties; he was accompanied by a nurse, a younger, well-built man.

The doctor approached Faye as she opened the door, "Ms. Love, yes?"

Faye raised an eyebrow, "Uhh, yeah?"

"I thought so. I'm Dr. Jolton. Mr. Black said that you'd be bringing your friend, Mr. Heinz, because he was in an accident."

Faye caught that Jolton said Jet's surname and figured this was who Jet was talking about. "Yeah. That-that's us."

Jolton looked at his nurse, "Let's get him inside, Michael."

"Yes, sir," Michael said.

They carried Spike out of the car, got him on a gurney, and hurried to get him to an emergency room. As soon as they were there, Jolton went to work, patching up Spike's wounds, and starting the process of replacing the blood the bounty hunter had lost.

Faye stood at the door then realized that there was nothing more she could do. She took a few steps back, putting her hands over mouth to keep from crying.

Jolton looked at her and walked to the door, "If you wouldn't mind, my dear, there's a waiting room right down the hall. I'll come and find you once we've made some progress."

Faye gave a small nod and went for the waiting room.

After a few hours of sitting, Faye saw Jet walk into the waiting room. She looked up at him, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Any news?" Jet asked.

"Nothing yet," Faye said. "I'm… just waiting."

Jet exhaled. With nothing else to do, he sat down next to her, both of them staring straight ahead in concerned silence.

After thirty minutes, Jolton walked in, causing Faye to jump to her feet.

Jolton smiled, "He's out of danger. For now."

"For now?" Faye asked.

"He lost a lot of blood and sustained heavy trauma," Jolton said. "It's a coin toss to when, and if, he'll wake up. That and the fact that people may be looking for him."

"Yeah, that's a problem," Jet said, rubbing the back of his head.

"To that end, I took the liberty of securing some extra… security."

"Security?" Faye asked.

"Yeah, just to watch the hospital and whatever room I have to put him in, just in case."

Jet was surprised, "Thanks, Drew."

"Forget it, Jet," Jolton said. "I owe you for tons of crap. Let me see what I can about your leg, too, while I'm at it."

"Appreciate that."

"You know, with all of this, this will about make us even."

Jet laughed. "Yeah, it just might."

"You can both go see him now," Jolton said.

Jet and Faye walked over to the room where Spike was and saw him hooked up to all of the machines. Faye covered her mouth to keep from crying while Jet ran his hand over his face before dropping it.

They both looked at each other, silently asking the same question.

What do we do now?

Cydonia, Mars.

In an old mansion in a quiet neighborhood in Cydonia, Vega staring at the fire place. Vega had a slender build, similar to Vicious and was only about an inch shorter than the late leader of the Red Dragons. He was had jet black hair that slicked back and was wearing a black suit with a red shirt. And the red dragon symbol on a gold medallion.

Hagen and Kaito walked into the room, getting Vega's attention. Hagen was a completely clean-shaven man, stood about 6'5", and was built like a soldier. Kaito was about 5'10", a similar build to Vega, and sported a goatee and had long hair tied in a ponytail. Both men were dressed in black suits with red shirts, as well.

"Orders from Vicious?" Vega asked.

Hagen took a breath then declared, "Vicious is dead, boss."

Vega stared at them, blankly, the realization of what Hagen said slowly hit him. His eyes widened slowly and he whispered, "What."

"And you're never going to believe this. Spike killed him."

Vega jumped to his feet. He didn't move for a full minute before blinking. "Spike?! Spike killed Vicious?!"

"Yeah," Kaito said. "It looks like Shin died, too."

Vega let out an exasperated breath, "First, Lin dies and now Shin." He started to pace. "Wait, wasn't there word that Vicious was looking for Julia?"

"Yeah, but…" Kaito exhaled. "She's dead, too."

"So's Annie," Hagen said, quietly.

Vega felt all of the air leave him for a minute. He started to pace as he came to terms with everything. "Vicious, Julia, Lin, Shin, and Annie are dead. And Mao. The Van. What about Spike?"

"We think he's still alive," Kaito answered.

"What?! Where is he?"

"We don't know," Hagen said. "Some ship came out of nowhere, smoke bombed all of our guys who were still there, and took off."

"What ship?" Vega asked.

"No idea," Kaito answered. "Haven't gotten a clear report yet. It was zipcraft, our guys said. Maybe a tow-craft. After the smoke bombs, someone grabbed Spike and jetted out of there."

Vega kept pacing for a while, trying to think.

"Boss," Hagen said, "what are we gonna do?"

What are we going to do? That was a good question.

Vega considered it for a while, in silence. He'd never dreamed, when he joined the Red Dragons, that a day like this would come. He never expected there to be a day where so many leaders would die so quickly. There was a time where he, like others, thought Spike or Vicious would be the ones to take over the syndicate. Turns out he was half right but he never thought a day would come where Vicious would be dead and Spike would be alive. If anything, he thought they would kill each other.

But that still left the immediate problem. The Red Dragons. They needed a leader. They needed to exist. And they would.

Vega looked above the fireplace's mantle, at the Red Dragon insignia on the wall. "The Van are dead. Vicious is dead. But the Red Dragons are not. I refuse to let this syndicate die. Not while I have something to say about it." He looked at the duo. "Looks like our exile is over, boys."

Hagen and Kaito smiled.

"Send a call out to all of the members who are still alive," Vega said. "We'll meet at our secondary base in Tharsis."

"What's the plan?" Hagen asked.

"We start over. We rebuild. And from now on, my power is the only power."

"I like it," Kaito said.

"Works for me," Hagen said.

"One last thing," Vega said.

"What's that?"

"I want Spike. I want him found. And I want him dead."

See You Space Cowboy…

A/N: How was that start? Let me know what you guys think!

Next Session:

Spike is still in the hospital while Jet and Faye decide what to do next. However, when the Red Dragons come looking for Spike, they realize they have to move quicker than expected. But, Faye and Jet also learn that they have a new ally in the face of an old friend.

Next Session ~ Dangerous Crescendo