Author's Notes 4/23/02:
Hey Everyone! Sorry I took forever and a day (ok, so it was actually a month) to get the next chapter on the go. I had a dear friend die in a car wreck recently, and it rather tempered my desire to write for a little while. Now, I have the juices flowing once again, and have a fresh and delicious Chapter for all you Ed and Ein fans. Enjoy!
~Windresss
Bending the Spoon.
Chapter 3: Paranormal
A crack of thunder beneath a cloudless sky, and all the world went silent.
*****
Spike saw the flare of light from the barrel of the gun a split second before his body collided with Hakeem's, sending them both flying to the pavement. His hands fisted in the taller man's collar, jerking him up as he cocked his opposite fist back.
"..You..." Punch. "...Better..." punch. "..Not..." Punch. "...Have.." Punch "...Killed her..." he finally paused, panting as he stared down at Hakeem's expression. The oily skinned villain's eyes were rolling back in his head.
'Good.'
He released the enemy, the darker man's head hitting the pavement with a sickening thud that went unheard. Spike was staring at the still form collapsed on its side near the shattered store window...
"oh, god, no..."
'Let this be a joke...Let her be sleeping like she does on the Bebop...She's fine...SHE'S FINE!' He rose, his long stride growing hasty, until he was running, hell-bent for leather, across the street to the limp body of the young girl.
*****
Ein's eyes flashed open, the pained cry of the one holding him piercing to his heart. She hit the pavement hard, but her body curved about his own, cushioning him from the brunt of the landing.
The Welsh Corgi shifted his thick body in her grip, stretching to see her face where it pressed against his neck. He whined, trying to get her attention...trying to get -anything.-
But Ed was still, so still. And Ein's delicate senses picked out the copper tang of her blood, painting the concrete a striking red. He whined again, louder, until he was wailing his fear to the empty street.
Nothing was fine anymore.
Ein's howl faded, his ears laying flat in despair. He pressed his snout into the crook of her shoulder, burrowing against her as droplets of salty warmth matted down the fur on his cheeks.
Nothing was fine...anymore..
*****
At the soft touch of Ein's thick coat through her fingers, elation filled Edward. She had him, he wasn't going to die. Her arms curled in, tugging the small, yet comfortingly heavy dog into her arms, where she wrapped him in a hug, her face pressing to the thick patch of fur on his neck.
She girl's breath caught at the sound of the gunshot, forced from her lungs when fire tore through her side. Pain like she'd never experienced flared up her body, threatening to take the use of her arm, her leg....God, she couldn't think for the pulsing of agony in her stomach.
'I'm not...letting...Ein...Go..' Her teeth gritted tightly, a jaw quivering with the effort. She lifted her head to bore the copper pools of her gaze into Hakeem's smugly grining countenance. She watched with satifaction as his smirk faded, and tried to speak. Her lips hissed, and remained silent..But Hakeem knew...
"..You.... Can't...Have...him..."
And the man was sent flying by the brunt of Spike's body. But Ed didn't care. He'd seen what she wanted him to see. Her body was growing weaker, her energy seeming to drain from that very hole in her side. '..Can't...drop Ein..'
She felt her figure give, knew she couldn't avoid it. So her lanky form curved instinctively, wrapping around the small ball of fuzzy heat in her embrace, and she collapsed to the unforgiving pavement, pain filming over her thoughts, locking them away.
And that was fine. She didn't want to think. Not when she had all she needed, right here in her arms.
*****
Hakeem's black lips had slid away from his rotting teeth in a leering grin. He took perverse pleasure in watching a red mist splatter from the girl's side where he hit her, its deep shade splattering against the brick wall behind her.
'Go on, frail...go on and fall..' He saw her falter, chuckled as she struggled to remain standing. But Hakeem's mirth suddenly died in his throat.
She was staring at him. Staring at him with the deepest pools of tempered bronze he'd ever encountered. It wasn't the hate he saw there that gave him pause, though it flared bright in her molten gaze. It was the determination. Though he couldn't hear her, Hakeem was certain that she spoke.
"You...Can't... Have...him.."
Unsettled, he was taken off guard as the smaller man he had been fighting slammed into him
'Dammit!' This Spike Spiegel was just as good as the rumors said he was. And now Hakeem didn't have his gun. He groped for it on the ground where they had landed. Looking up, he quailed under the power of the anger in the man's mismatched eyes.
Punches rained down on his face, and he could barely hear through the sound of his nose breaking into smaller and smaller pieces, "..You...better.... not.... have...killed her.."
Then merciful darkness took him.
*****
Spike stumbled, then fell to his knees before her frail form, eyes widening at the growing pool of gleaming crimson watering the parched concrete. It seemed surreal in the grotesque art it created...
His finger jabbed his comm., once, then over and over again until Jet's face appeared on the screen, sounding more than slightly annoyed, "Whaddya -Want!?-"
He didn't say a word, just turned to the comm. in Ed's direction. Silence filled the connection or a long moment, then... "I'm on my way."
Spike dropped the comm., reaching then for Ed. A quietly intent snarl made him pause, and he looked to the small dog wrapped in her embrace. Deliberately, he spoke, "..Ein, its me."
The growling faded almost immediately, replaced by a whimper that mirrored a child's helpless cry. Spike rubbed his fingers through the Corgi's fur once, "I'm going to have to turn her over, Ein..." The dog seemed to accept that, and Spike gently rolled her limp for to her back.
Released from her hug, Ein nosed under her neck, lifting her head as he crawled beneath her neck. He lay down then, patiently, Ed's head pillowed by his midsection.
Spike could see the wound now, the bullet have apparently been designed to do anything but a clean job. Her side was all but ripped from her, her precious life force steadily flowing from the opening. 'aw, hell'
Glancing around, Spike noted with some cynicism the emptiness of the street. No one dared venture out to help them...not in this port. He jerked off his coat, balling it up and pressing it hard against the wound, while Ein watched with apprehensive eyes.
"I've got to stop the bleeding, Ein.." For some reason, Spike felt the need to explain himself to the Dog, as if he were the relative that watched his surgery. 'Maybe I need to convince myself as much as I do Ein..'
His lips tightened, and he pulled his loose tie from his neck, lopping it around the girl and knotting it as tightly as he could manage, sufficiently holding the jacket's bulk against her injury.
".... Now.... I wait.."
He exchanged a glance with Ein, and dropped his head, nodding. 'He's right...Jet better get here soon.'
***Whew, now we've got Jet in here too! Well, GOOD! I like Jet. In Fact, I think my next Ed fic will be about Ed and Jet....but that's a WHOLE nother story (Literally). For now, lets stick to this, ok? Thanks guys! R & R!!***
Hey Everyone! Sorry I took forever and a day (ok, so it was actually a month) to get the next chapter on the go. I had a dear friend die in a car wreck recently, and it rather tempered my desire to write for a little while. Now, I have the juices flowing once again, and have a fresh and delicious Chapter for all you Ed and Ein fans. Enjoy!
~Windresss
Bending the Spoon.
Chapter 3: Paranormal
A crack of thunder beneath a cloudless sky, and all the world went silent.
*****
Spike saw the flare of light from the barrel of the gun a split second before his body collided with Hakeem's, sending them both flying to the pavement. His hands fisted in the taller man's collar, jerking him up as he cocked his opposite fist back.
"..You..." Punch. "...Better..." punch. "..Not..." Punch. "...Have.." Punch "...Killed her..." he finally paused, panting as he stared down at Hakeem's expression. The oily skinned villain's eyes were rolling back in his head.
'Good.'
He released the enemy, the darker man's head hitting the pavement with a sickening thud that went unheard. Spike was staring at the still form collapsed on its side near the shattered store window...
"oh, god, no..."
'Let this be a joke...Let her be sleeping like she does on the Bebop...She's fine...SHE'S FINE!' He rose, his long stride growing hasty, until he was running, hell-bent for leather, across the street to the limp body of the young girl.
*****
Ein's eyes flashed open, the pained cry of the one holding him piercing to his heart. She hit the pavement hard, but her body curved about his own, cushioning him from the brunt of the landing.
The Welsh Corgi shifted his thick body in her grip, stretching to see her face where it pressed against his neck. He whined, trying to get her attention...trying to get -anything.-
But Ed was still, so still. And Ein's delicate senses picked out the copper tang of her blood, painting the concrete a striking red. He whined again, louder, until he was wailing his fear to the empty street.
Nothing was fine anymore.
Ein's howl faded, his ears laying flat in despair. He pressed his snout into the crook of her shoulder, burrowing against her as droplets of salty warmth matted down the fur on his cheeks.
Nothing was fine...anymore..
*****
At the soft touch of Ein's thick coat through her fingers, elation filled Edward. She had him, he wasn't going to die. Her arms curled in, tugging the small, yet comfortingly heavy dog into her arms, where she wrapped him in a hug, her face pressing to the thick patch of fur on his neck.
She girl's breath caught at the sound of the gunshot, forced from her lungs when fire tore through her side. Pain like she'd never experienced flared up her body, threatening to take the use of her arm, her leg....God, she couldn't think for the pulsing of agony in her stomach.
'I'm not...letting...Ein...Go..' Her teeth gritted tightly, a jaw quivering with the effort. She lifted her head to bore the copper pools of her gaze into Hakeem's smugly grining countenance. She watched with satifaction as his smirk faded, and tried to speak. Her lips hissed, and remained silent..But Hakeem knew...
"..You.... Can't...Have...him..."
And the man was sent flying by the brunt of Spike's body. But Ed didn't care. He'd seen what she wanted him to see. Her body was growing weaker, her energy seeming to drain from that very hole in her side. '..Can't...drop Ein..'
She felt her figure give, knew she couldn't avoid it. So her lanky form curved instinctively, wrapping around the small ball of fuzzy heat in her embrace, and she collapsed to the unforgiving pavement, pain filming over her thoughts, locking them away.
And that was fine. She didn't want to think. Not when she had all she needed, right here in her arms.
*****
Hakeem's black lips had slid away from his rotting teeth in a leering grin. He took perverse pleasure in watching a red mist splatter from the girl's side where he hit her, its deep shade splattering against the brick wall behind her.
'Go on, frail...go on and fall..' He saw her falter, chuckled as she struggled to remain standing. But Hakeem's mirth suddenly died in his throat.
She was staring at him. Staring at him with the deepest pools of tempered bronze he'd ever encountered. It wasn't the hate he saw there that gave him pause, though it flared bright in her molten gaze. It was the determination. Though he couldn't hear her, Hakeem was certain that she spoke.
"You...Can't... Have...him.."
Unsettled, he was taken off guard as the smaller man he had been fighting slammed into him
'Dammit!' This Spike Spiegel was just as good as the rumors said he was. And now Hakeem didn't have his gun. He groped for it on the ground where they had landed. Looking up, he quailed under the power of the anger in the man's mismatched eyes.
Punches rained down on his face, and he could barely hear through the sound of his nose breaking into smaller and smaller pieces, "..You...better.... not.... have...killed her.."
Then merciful darkness took him.
*****
Spike stumbled, then fell to his knees before her frail form, eyes widening at the growing pool of gleaming crimson watering the parched concrete. It seemed surreal in the grotesque art it created...
His finger jabbed his comm., once, then over and over again until Jet's face appeared on the screen, sounding more than slightly annoyed, "Whaddya -Want!?-"
He didn't say a word, just turned to the comm. in Ed's direction. Silence filled the connection or a long moment, then... "I'm on my way."
Spike dropped the comm., reaching then for Ed. A quietly intent snarl made him pause, and he looked to the small dog wrapped in her embrace. Deliberately, he spoke, "..Ein, its me."
The growling faded almost immediately, replaced by a whimper that mirrored a child's helpless cry. Spike rubbed his fingers through the Corgi's fur once, "I'm going to have to turn her over, Ein..." The dog seemed to accept that, and Spike gently rolled her limp for to her back.
Released from her hug, Ein nosed under her neck, lifting her head as he crawled beneath her neck. He lay down then, patiently, Ed's head pillowed by his midsection.
Spike could see the wound now, the bullet have apparently been designed to do anything but a clean job. Her side was all but ripped from her, her precious life force steadily flowing from the opening. 'aw, hell'
Glancing around, Spike noted with some cynicism the emptiness of the street. No one dared venture out to help them...not in this port. He jerked off his coat, balling it up and pressing it hard against the wound, while Ein watched with apprehensive eyes.
"I've got to stop the bleeding, Ein.." For some reason, Spike felt the need to explain himself to the Dog, as if he were the relative that watched his surgery. 'Maybe I need to convince myself as much as I do Ein..'
His lips tightened, and he pulled his loose tie from his neck, lopping it around the girl and knotting it as tightly as he could manage, sufficiently holding the jacket's bulk against her injury.
".... Now.... I wait.."
He exchanged a glance with Ein, and dropped his head, nodding. 'He's right...Jet better get here soon.'
***Whew, now we've got Jet in here too! Well, GOOD! I like Jet. In Fact, I think my next Ed fic will be about Ed and Jet....but that's a WHOLE nother story (Literally). For now, lets stick to this, ok? Thanks guys! R & R!!***