@febuwhump Prompt: Time Loop

@febuwhump prompt: time loop

***

It takes her three weeks to realize what's happening.

She's almost embarrassed that it takes so long but on the other hand... who ever expects to be repeating the same seven days ad infinitum?

All the stories she's read and the shows or movies she's seen have led her to believe this phenomenon (aside from being entirely fictional) is the sort of thing that takes place on just one day.

She forgives herself because grief is confusing. This has been her first suffering (that she can recall, anyway) and it has been A Lot. Bursts of tears randomly whenever she thinks of Spike-person's likely fate. Heart wrenching sorrow when she considers what might have become of Faye-Faye and Jet-person. The information out of Mars is sparse. The video feed is grainy. There are more questions than answers and her sadness is profound.

Ein does a lot of whimpering and snuggling at her side. His eyes are filled with remorse - but what could they have done? If she'd pushed for him to stay with Bebop-Bebop... could things have panned out another way?

When her father does not understand why she and Ein continue to howl at the sky... at first she assumes he has already forgotten about the news that broke his daughter. He is dreadfully forgetful. But when even MacIntyre seems surprised by the hellish scene being shown on the screen (not a replay like Ed thought at first) ...well, that confirms the existence of a time loop and one that has apparently only trapped herself and Ein.

Once she realizes what is happening however... The why of it becomes rather obvious. The week cycle ends on the most horrible note possible. Therefore, that must change. She has to break the cycle of sorrow to end the loop of time. She has to secure a happily ever after ending for her former companions and herself.

Stealing a monoracer is their first act and it does not go well. Dying in a blaze of glory is Spike's style and is clearly not the answer.

She hadn't planned to try breaking the cycle with her own demise (and poor Ein's as he'd been plopped on her lap) but it at least assures her that she is important enough to the madness of this situation to have a sort of failsafe in place. Still, she does not plan on dying again.

Waking up to the first day of their repetitive week is a comfort after the terrifying ordeal of smashing into flaming pieces on the unforgiving surface of the Earth. She and Ein spend that week celebrating life and making the most of their time with her father and MacIntyre. It is a necessary reset after the abrupt end they narrowly avoided.

After that though... When the week starts over fresh...

She doesn't waste any of the days. It only takes a couple repeats to ascertain how to get to old man Doohan as expediently as possible. From there it is a thing of ease to convince the grizzled and grumpy mechanic to lend her a refurbished zipcraft. He seems equal parts amused and disbelieving at her tale, but he is practical and earnest when instructing her on how to pilot the craft. The fact that she is telling the truth about her needs is immaterial to him. All he cares about is the fact that one of Spike-person's friends requires a fast ship and needs to know how to fly it.

By the fourteenth round of the same week, she feels confident enough in her fledgling skills to actually take to the stars.

Ein has used the time Ed spends under Doohan's tutelage to devise a flight plan. He researches travel times and flight paths of other vessels traveling to and from Mars during the week and comes up with the best option for their departure from Earth, Gate access, and arrival to Mars. Somehow he's even managed to finagle his way into the priority listing so their ship is able to cut to the front of the line to save even more time.

Time. Ed realizes she is grateful for the time loop. It saves them the significant trouble and messy hassle of figuring out time travel and all the complicated and conflicting mathematics involved therein.

Though, quite frankly, she is becoming more and more confident that if anyone could devise a time machine it would be her dear sweet Ein-woof-woof.

Ein's hacking skills are a cut above Ed's own, a fact she has been aware of (and in awe of) since the incident with poor Rosny Spanngen. Watching the data dog sneak into well-protected websites and run amuck there is like being an apprentice watching a master at work. He correlates all the data, he syncs the various systems to run smooth and grant them continuous access. He orchestrates all the fine details that will be necessary for their success.

Once they nail that portion of their mission, the real job begins.

Tracking the Bebop is a breeze. Determining the course of events that led to the breaking news report is also not terribly difficult. It is hard to stop themselves from interfering though. The few times they try (unable to stop themselves) it makes matters much worse. It only takes a few attempts (and their own grisly deaths) before they decide they cannot save the women Spike sees die. They aren't even able to help against the Syndicate fighters who bring the Bebop crashing down. Eventually they manage to school themselves into being solely observers so they can sort out all the factors at play.

Following the trackers on Spike and Faye's ships was simple enough even if they can't jump into action to change how any of that turns out. Figuring out how to find reliable medical help is a bit more frustrating - at least until they realize Spike and Jet have recently utilized a doctor who might be bribable. Backtracking to that point of discovery is exceedingly tricky just because it is almost too far back in the week for them to reach Doohan, convince him of Ed's capability so he'll borrow them the zipcraft without requiring no-longer-necessary training runs, and then rush through the Gates even with their front-of-the-line fast pass.

But once they have that information - once they can put that vital ally into play on the gameboard... That is everything nearly sorted out.

And now it becomes a matter of timing things precisely right.

After all, the threat has to be neutralized before the hero can be saved.

They could try and try and try again, but the emotional reality of seeing Spike devastate the building and then shuffle off the mortal coil... That's too much. Witnessing that with their own eyes for the first time, well, their plan is waylaid for a solid week as Ed and Ein grieve again. The brutality of his assault on the syndicate headquarters is gruesome enough, but to then see what the news bulletin fails to capture... Spike's faltering steps down the broad staircase...

The news lady whose coverage of the horrific event enlightened them to the massacre hadn't known the details and so when this all began (how many rounds ago? Ed has lost track) ...they only knew they'd have to ride in as calvary. To realize it is going to take more than just showing up to fix things... well, it is heavy.

Neither Ed nor Ein want to repeat this portion more than necessary. Even knowing it's gonna come down to a matter of seconds... Too soon and they interrupt the fight. Too late and he bleeds out despite intervention.

Once they throw caution to the wind and leap into the fray, rushing the good doctor into the ruins of the penthouse, it is all a blur. Faye-Faye and Jet-person show up in the Hammerhead and lay waste to the remaining suits on the platform. Faye hastens over to help Doc until Jet can reach their side and then she is gone in a flash, descending into the smoke and flames to eradicate the rest of the survivors.

Jet's eyes are wide when he sees Ed and Ein here in all this awfulness but his attention is pulled back to Spike when Doc demands his assistance. There's no time for questions or answers anyway - Ed and Ein are too busy on Tomato trying to keep the ISSP and the media from showing up and throwing a wrench into the works.

It's fortunate that all the law enforcement and emergency vehicles have kill switches that can be activated by hacking into the proper programs. Still, it's a lot of intense work for a few minutes. And then, equally crucial, reprogramming a heli-ambulance to navigate itself over to the roof sans operator...

All too soon (though the way she is shaking from adrenaline and anxiety makes it feel as if this last day has taken YEARS) they are clambering into the various zipcraft and departing at top speed from the scene of carnage. Rendezvous back on the Bebop and then Ed is too overcome by emotion and stress to do anything other than collapse into Jet's welcoming arms, blood soaked as they are.

She and Ein are home. They've done their best.

It's only when she wakes up to Ein's gentle tongue licking her cheek... Waking up stretched out on a familiar couch under the slow rotation of a familiar ceiling fan... Hearing voices that ease her mind and soothe her heart...

It's only then that she lets herself sob once more. A salty deluge of tears of relief. The warm sideways embrace of Faye as the older woman drops onto the couch beside her. The proud look in Jet's eyes as he takes the seat across from them. And then she notices Ein has moved to sit patiently at the foot of the ambulance stretcher that is set up in the open space across the table from the stairs into the living room, where Spike is unconscious but - judging from the calm beeps of the machines Doc is tending to - truly alive.

You can't go home again...

Faye remembers, now that she remembers everything, having read that once. It had been a book assigned for class and she had not found it especially compelling. Give her a steamy romance instead, or a thrilling crime novel, or even one of her grandfather's quaint wild west books (he had been endlessly fascinated by the gunslingers and saloon girls and the quest for undiscovered patches of land, of giving up everything in the pursuit of gold on just a whisper from an untrustworthy source)

Her grandfather had been a very interesting fellow. Faye remembers his eyes, green like her own, and his long silver hair, and his intimidating form. He had been a tall man and well built even into his declining years. For that matter, he hadn't declined much in those years before he met his end while rescuing people trapped in a collapsed apartment building after an earthquake while he was visiting the wild American west that had so captivated him during his life.

That had been one of the last pieces of news Faye had heard before boarding the shuttle for a brief foray into space. Her parents had scheduled the excursion months prior and had decided that her grandfather's spirit would be disappointed in them if they didn't go forward with their plans. He had always pushed for people to live life to the fullest, to have no regrets over adventures untaken.

They had tearfully discussed the necessity of making arrangements upon their return to Earth and had insisted to Faye that they look out on the world with eyes full of wonder and an appreciation for having the opportunity to float amongst the stars. Joyrides to space were still a fledgling business, though transport ships ferrying people and supplies to bases on Mars and other planets had been a thing for years now.

She remembers dreading their return. She didn't want to go home to a place so empty of her grandfather's prominent presence. It would have been odd, to go to a place so familiar and yet so decidedly changed.

And now...

Now there was no one at all left. Nothing at all left of the mansion even.

An emptiness filled her, reaching out of her fragile body to settle into the dust of emptiness that surrounded her. An empty lot, an empty heart, an empty life.

Whoever that asshole author had been... Well, he had been right.

She had spent so long trying to remember who she had been. Where she had come from. To remember if she had relatives out there who would welcome her unexpected return. But it had been a pointless struggle. What good were these memories now? Painful reminders of a bright eyed child with all the excitement of a brilliant future laid out before her... cherished moments with countless people who were all now ghosts or near enough like in Sally's case.

She had the memories now, though they felt like a stranger's life. She was too far removed from that idealistic kid.

So she lay down in the ruins of her life once upon a time and covered herself up with an imaginary blanket of closure (what else good was this closure for anyway) and she let herself stare up into the darkening sky and cry.

They hold my heart in their gun-totin' lil' hands

clever caption about regular outfits or sleepytime outfits idk man 

I just want them a happy ending!

They could pretend it's all in the name of getting the bounty but we all know what's really up...

yea

these lunkheads make my heart go pitter pat

sin’s twelve days of christmas gifts; 2023

spike spiegel & faye valentine ❄ happy holidays @kiraannwrites