Okay, final chapter. I'm sorry for not thanking you guys for reviewing.
If you're mad, forgive me. Thankies for the reviews nice people! Oh
great, now I'm talking like Ed. Anywho, here's the last part to my story.
Enjoy! (Not coke, the story).
Oh yeah, and I've added last names to Mark and Luke in the previous chapters and in this one. So if you wonder where the last names came from, look in the previous chapters. And the secondary genre has been altered a bit. Just a reminder, in case you're wondering about anything. -Randall Flagg2
Ed was dragged backwards into the back room of the laboratory, all the while kicking and screaming and snarling like an animal in a hunter's net. Matthew Straker didn't mind this at all. He took it like one who had been there before and been through it all. It was difficult for him to control the girl as she thrashed madly in his grasp, but he managed. Soon enough, Ed was dragged back into the room and when she saw what was lying on the ground, she screamed even louder. On the ground was a wooden cross. Her cross. Ed's struggles became greater still and Straker was forced at last to let go of her. Ed charged towards the doorway when something heavy hit her in the back of the head. She fell to the ground and felt the heavy object strike her again, this time on one of her legs. She turned and saw her tormentor holding another instrument of pain, this one a long stick. Ed scrambled to her feet. It hurt like hell, but she had to escape or face the same fate that her friend had. Just before she could get out of the room completely, Straker struck her a third time, this time jabbing the stick into Ed's back like a sword. The stick struck her in the middle of her back, making her arch like a bow. The hacker gasped and fell to the ground, panting and moaning.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Straker chuckled. Ed snarled at him. Normally, getting Ed mad was the most dangerous thing a human could do, but Matthew Straker was not intimidated. This girl was nothing. Just a rebel who needed to be put to death. Sneering, he shoved his foot forward Her growl turned into a yelp of pain as he kicked her in the mouth, bringing blood to it. "If you're going to act like an animal, I'm going to treat you like an animal." He raised the stick and brought it slamming down on Ed's back. Ed tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. Straker continued beating her back until John entered the room. He held a large wooden mallet in his hand and large wooden nails in the other.
"You have done enough. Let us proceed with making her just like Christ." he said. Straker nodded his head. He drew from his robe a dagger and sliced it through Ed's clothes. Her slacks, tank top, and panties were sliced down the middle, just missing her skin. Before Ed could stop them, her clothes were peeled off of her like peanut shell halves.
"Stop it! Let Ed go!" she screamed.
"Oh I'm afraid we can't do that." Mathers said. "You have committed an unforgivable sin and must be punished for it. Bring her to the cross." Matthew Straker dragged the now naked Edward across the room and flung her onto the cross. She started to get up, but Straker hit her with the stick again and she fell back. She felt her wrists being held down by her tormentor. Ed screamed even louder as she saw Mathers advance on her. Straker forced down her right arm against the cross's vertical piece. Before she could move, Mathers positioned the nail over her wrist and pounded it into her with the mallet he held. Ed's face drained of color and turned parchment white. For a moment she was just laying there, devoid of any emotion over what was happening. Then she opened her mouth and pealed fourth deafening shrieks that would only come from the agonized throats of the damned. Blood flowed out of the deep wound like bloody ribbon flapping in the breeze. Mathers didn't seem to mind. She wasn't the first one he had heard in such agony. He pounded the nail twice more and the nail was fully embedded in the cross. He quickly grabbed up the girl's left arm and proceeded to do the same to it as well. Ed was now completely nailed to the cross, shrieking into oblivion. Matthew Straker came back with a holly headband with razor bits on them. Mathers took it and placed it on Ed's forehead. Her head lashed from side to side, each time causing the headband to cut it more and more.
"Help me with this. Go wake everybody up after that. I want them to witness this punishment as a warning to all that might bring outsiders into God's domain." John ordered. Matthew helped John heft the heavy cross and carry it through the doorway. Blood coursed down Ed's arms as she was carried down the hallway and back to the main room, leaving a red trail. Matthew did not need to wake the prisoners up after unlocking the door to their cells. The screams that were flowing out of Ed's mouth like a river woke them almost instantly. They went outside, closely followed by Luke Rawson and Mark Calhoun and gathered around the cross. Many were cringing at the sight before the. Many of the spectators were crying. Some had even fainted. Despite how many people they had seen executed in this manner over time, it was always new to them, each time being worse then the last. None of them dared draw away from that spot where the hacker had been mounted though. They had to watch. They knew what happened if they didn't. They only stood there, looking at the crucified Ed with expressions of terror on their faces. Only John Mathers and his followers were enjoying this. After all, wasn't it what she deserved? God was not mocked and neither were they.
"Take your time in your death Ed. You will be in hell soon where these people are going. Ray is waiting for you!" Mathers chuckled.
In sub-orbit, Spike Spiegal, Faye Valentine, and Jet Black were piloting the bebop towards Calisto. The time had come to find Ed and collect their bounty. They were hoping that Ed was alright. If she had gotten all those marks on her back for something she did wrong, who knows what they might have done to her. If anything had happened to her, they didn't know what they would do. They knew they loved her in their hearts, but they would not admit it. Bounty hunting was not normally a job where there was room for love. They were the exception to that rule.
"So where are we supposed to look for her anyway?" Faye asked. "She didn't give us exact coordinates on where in the middle of the eastern half of Calisto we should look."
"Just chill out Faye. We'll find her, and then we'll get our bounty. You did tell the authorities about where to find us right jet?" Spike said.
"Yeah. This time I did it right before we left, so we wouldn't get beaten to our bounty like we have in the past." he replied. As he finished Speaking, the bebop landed on the icy surface of Calisto. Spike got out first, closely followed by the other bounty hunters. Even Ein was tagging along with them. The corgi had been a bit down since Ed's absence and he was in the mood to settle things with whoever had taken Ed away.
The air was colder then Spike remembered since his last visit here when he had tried to find Julia and had ended up running into Vicious instead. At least they didn't need to wear spacesuits out here. After the gate accident, Calisto had somehow gotten enough air in what little civilization there was dwelling on it to spread over the planet. Still, it was incredibly cold and Spike wished he had brought his parka. As he shivered against the cold, Ein barked suddenly and raced ahead of them. They followed as quickly as possible. Ein stopped in front of a large boulder and barked towards the bebop crew, signaling for them to come towards him. Ein couldn't quite figure out why, but there was something about this boulder which intrigued him. It had Ed's scent on it, suggesting that she was nearby. He barked again.
"Is this it?" Spike asked, looking at the boulder. He didn't know how they had managed to hide a base underneath such a huge thing. Unless they had an underground machine of some sort to move it, he didn't know how they could do it at all. "I don't know what that dumb dog is thinking, but I sure don't-" when Spike looked down, Ein was gone. Where could that mangy dog have run off to? If he didn't show up soon, Spike was going to show him the end of his shoe, repeatedly. "Alright you dumb dog, get out here or I'll-" Spike began when Ein came out of the boulder! How was that possible? Ein barked and walked back into it. Spike finally got the message and followed suite, along with his comrades. "They made a boulder hologram! Pretty smart." Spike thought to himself as he stepped inside.
The interior of the boulder was as realistic as realistic could get. It was like breaking a rock in half and pressing it against your eye. Spike could understand how their ship's radar had missed the interior. The hologram was so well crafted inside as well as outside that the computer had mistaken it for a real boulder instead of an image and had thus been tricked into misjudging the data for the surface of Calisto. If only it knew how wrong it had been. It was nothing but icy rock, but it was rock which they could walk through as if it were air. It was confusing at first, finding there way through something that seemed to cover them entirely, but they did.
After awhile, Faye stumbled over something. When she knelt down to feel what it was, she felt a handle on it. Faye pulled on it and something opened up. Ein, smelling Ed's scent from where Faye was, went to where Faye was and suddenly fell a few feet into the ground. Spike and the others went to where Faye was and felt around where Ein had fallen. Where ground appeared to be was nothing at all. Jet smiled. They had found the entrance to the hideout of their bounty. They squeezed through the hidden door and descended into a murky cavern that led into a long tunnel. The three bounty hunters took out their guns. It was time to get what they had came for. They advanced down the hallway, watching carefully for anything that might be waiting for them, but there was nothing. There were no guards, not attack dogs, no cameras, no nothing. It was as barren as a tomb. They passed through some more rock wall holograms, but that was the only thing of interest. At last, they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. Intuition told them that the key to escaping financial debt and getting Ed back was behind that door.
"Password please." said a computerized voice. Just their luck, getting stuck with a door that was password operated. Now what would they do? Spike went first.
"Holiness?"
"Access denied." said the voice.
Jet tried his luck. "Heaven?"
"Access denied."
"Angels?" Faye asked.
"Access denied." They tried for a whole seven minutes, each time getting it wrong. It might have gone on like that forever if Ein had not decided to step in. The corgi strode up to the machine and laid down on it with his head on his paws. They were dumbfounded. What was he trying to tell them? Realizing it would take a bit more to help the crew understand what he was saying, Ein stood up a bit and then laid back down. He continued this in a little pattern as if he was bowing down to the computer voice.
Understanding at last what the plump dog was trying to say, the three of them said "Worship." all at once.
"Access granted." the voice said, and the door swung open.
The sight before them was unspeakable.
In the center of a large field was a wooden cross which people were standing around, expressions of disgust on their faces. Four of the people wore white robes and cruel smirks. At first, they thought it was just another crucifix that the prisoners, if that was what they were, had been brought to for ceremonial purposes. And then Spike heard horrible, mad screeches which made his heart race with athletic speed. The bebop posse couldn't see what was on it at first until they noticed a clump of red hair near the top of the cross. The truth sunk into them with dream-like slowness. Spike opened his mouth and yelled four words.
"OH MY GOD, ED!!!"
The bounty hunter rushed forwards and saw the awful scene before him. Ed had been crucified, her mouth letting out horrible screams which might have frightened even the toughest of animals away. Blood flowed freely down her arms, not gushing only because the wooden nails that had been so crudely pounded into her were blocking it. Judging from all the blood that covered the ground, Spike guessed that she had been on the cross for awhile. It was so unbelievable, that he couldn't believe it at first. Then he turned to look into the face of John Mathers, who was watching this grisly scene with a look of utter enjoyment on his face. The man in white turned to look at Spike.
"You've made it in time to see her die." he said.
Spike could have sworn that he was seeing red at that moment. His vision was hazy and he could feel dull, animalistic rage beginning to take over his mind. He wasn't aware that he had clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood. All he was aware of was that he was starting for Mathers and that he was snarling uncontrollably. He knew that this guy would be brutal, but not to this extent. Even Vicious wasn't this cruel. The sight of Ed nailed to a piece of wood had angered him into something that was dangerously close to insanity, maybe even beyond it. He didn't care about the bounty anymore. He didn't care about anything at the moment except for killing the sick fuck in front of him. Spike lunged at him with a snarl. Mathers ducked to one side and delivered a kick to Spike's ribs. The cowboy went sprawling to the ground. For a skinny guy, John was incredibly strong. Spike scrambled to his feet and looked at his companions who were staring in shock at Ed. "GET THEM!!" Spike roared. "HELP ME THE FUCK OUT AND GET THEM!!" The words worked. They snapped out of their trance and began to fire their guns. The prisoners ducked to the ground while John and his men dodged the bullets as best as they could. Faye and Ein charged forward, one of them shooting, the other getting ready to bite.
"Try all you want, pagans. You cannot defeat the grace of God." John said. He went for Spike and threw a punch at him. Spike started going Bruce Lee on his attacker, but Mathers was just as fast as he was strong. He blocked every punch and kick Spike threw at him and added a few punches of his own. Spike blocked them and the two sparred around the field, neither gaining the upper hand. Spike knew that he probably couldn't win against a guy who could move this fast, but he was going to try anyway.
"Think of Ed." his mind said to him. "Think of what will happen if you don't save her." Spike's fighting spirit was fired up and he began to speed up his attack.
Jet on the other hand, was circling the room, firing his gun and Luke Rawson. The man was fast, but not as fast as his leader. Jet fired shot after shot, missing each time. Rawson finally got close enough to knock Jet's gun out of his hands. Just as he did, Jet slammed his cybernetic arm into the man's stomach. Luke doubled over with a grunt. Jet wasn't as fast as Spike was, but he still had his strength. Before Rawson could regain his breath, Jet brought his knee flying up into the man's groin. Rawson screamed and fell to the ground. Jet took out some handcuffs and slapped them onto the man's wrist. One down, three to go.
"Jet!" Faye called. "Get Ed down and bring her back to the ship!" Jet ran to the cross and grasped one of the nails that held Ed to it. When he pulled on it, Ed screamed again.
"Ed," he said to the hacker girl, "this is going to hurt but I can't get you down unless I take the nails out." he said. Through a red haze of pain, Ed nodded her head. Jet pulled on the nail which seemed more like a tent stake with all the force he could muster. It jarred loose and Ed's arm flopped to the side like a ragdoll. Blood flooded out of her wrist in large gushes. Jet tore off a large piece of his shirt and blocked the wound with it as best as he could. It didn't stop the blood flow, but it slowed it down. Jet freed her other arm, plugged it up as best as he could, and took her down from the cross. He took her in his arms and began to race back towards the door. God in heaven, he hoped they could save her. Medical technology had increased greatly over the years, but Jet wondered if even the best doctors and surgeons could fix these wounds. They were deep and had punctured the veins in her body, and if they didn't get her some medical attention soon, she would die.
"Hurts." Ed whimpered in his arms. "Edward hurts."
"It's alright Ed. We're here for you. We're going to help you. You'll be alright." Jet was not aware he was weeping. He also failed to notice that Mark Calhoun was racing for him, his eyes bulging in crazed fury.
"Put her back you fucking dirty blaspheme! She must be punished for her sins!" Calhoun stopped as a furry shape jumped up from behind him and sank it's fangs into his legs. He fell forward and crashed onto the ground, face first. His nose broke and the blood began to gush almost immediately. Mark whirled on the welsh corgi which had latched onto him and seized it violently by it's throat. But Ein was not in a peaceful mood at the moment. These people had hurt him and Ed, and they were going to pay dearly. Ein growled and thrashed out Calhoun's grip and bit him on his other leg. At the same time, the man shoved his arm outward and caught the dog in his neck. Ein's yelped and let go. Calhoun struggled to his feet and lunged at Ein. Ein jumped to the side and tore at the man's cheek, taking a warm chunk of flesh. Mark screamed and fell back, kicking out his feet as he fell. One missed, but the other hit Ein in the mouth hard enough to knock out some of his teeth and break his nose. Ein and Mark both hit the ground at the same time, Mark hitting his head on a rock, knocking him out and splitting open the back of his head. Ein whimpered and lay on the ground, hoping that the others would finish things up in time. He was badly hurt and the fight wasn't over, but he had bought his masters time by taking out one of the attackers. That was enough for now.
Faye was dealing with Matthew Straker as best as she could. She was not the type of woman who needed protection, but she was having trouble keeping up with the blonde man. He was quite fast, and each bullet she shot at him missed him by a few feet. Faye fired more shots at him and was stopped when the man's powerful fist crashed into her mouth. Faye dropped her gun and threw a punch. It hit Straker in the stomach with amazing force, causing him to back off. That was all the time Faye needed. She jumped up and shoved her fist forward, hitting him in the neck this time. Straker gagged and clutched at his throat. Faye smirked. It was time to finish the job. She raised her gun and smashed it into Matthew Straker's head. The man crumpled to the ground. "Game over pal." Faye thought to herself.
As the Jet carried Ed off to the bebop and Faye and Ein rested from their fight, Spike continued to fight with John Mathers. The two of them had been trading blow after blow for quite some time, but neither showed signs of wearing down. Spike would hit him, get hit, and the pattern would continue in rapid succession. It seemed like something out of the bible. God and the Devil would duke it out through the entire book, but neither would win until the end when the Devil lost his powers and God threw down to burn and writhe in his own fire for the remainder of eternity. And if this was the holy book, then Michael and the angels were confronting the dragon at long last. Spike ducked behind John and threw some kicks at his face with blinding speed. He blocked them and charged at Spike like a bull. Spike sidestepped and charged after him. Mathers turned around and grabbed Spike up by his throat. He slammed his fist into Spike's chest, breaking the bounty hunter's ribs. Spike gasped in pain. John smirked at him.
"You tried to hard to find me and like a sinner you try to devour me. But in the end, God delivers me from the mouths of the lion and sets me down in his kingdoms. When I'm finished with you, I'll take your friends to and mount you up. Since you can't be saved, I'll have my disciples turn the crosses upside down to show who you were born of." he said. It was the wrong thing to say. Spike had had enough of this prick and what he did. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Spike kicked John Mathers in the face. John yelled in surprise and dropped him. Spike came at him, snarling.
"Fuck your religion and your beliefs you sick fuck!! Those rules and beliefs applied to the times they were written and not now! I really hate people like you. But the fact that you crucified people to kill them is going too far! I don't care if murder is a sin or not, I'm killing you here and now!" Spike roared. John jumped to the side as Spike tried to punch him again. Spike whirled around and kneed his opponent in the head. John's head jerked up. Spike wasted no time and head-butted him in the stomach. Spike then came back up and delivered an uppercut to Mather's face. His head rocked back and he fell to the ground. Spike fell on him and began to deliver a series of savage punches to his face and body intending to kill him for all that he had done. Spike's vision had become hazy again and he was barely aware of how badly he was beating the man. All he knew was that he was enjoying this, and that he wanted to see him suffer. Spike just may have killed him, had Faye not pulled him off.
"You've done enough, Lunkhead. If he dies, we won't get our bounty." she said. And Spike had definitely done enough. John Mathers' face had gigantic bruises and his nose was gushing blood. Both of his eyes were black as coal and blood was running from his mouth. He was unconscious. Spike finally calmed down. He made this man pay for what he had done to Ed and there was no more need to do anything more except turn him over to the authorities and collect the bounty on his head. Spike got up and looked at the prisoners. They were all staring at him in awe and amazement. Spike was guessing that these people had never seen somebody stand up to their captor before. Spike didn't want to stick around for talking and the such like. He just wanted to get out of here. As he began to walk towards Ein to pick the beaten corgi up, the door at the back of the room opened and Jet walked in with a group of police behind him.
Epilogue
Ed had just narrowly survived her punishment. She was almost drained of blood when Jet had gotten her to the hospital and it had taken two months for her to recover. He and Spike had stayed with her the entire time and had witnessed Ed's painful recovery. When Faye had asked them how they had fixed her, Spike would say "Don't ask." and leave it at that. Faye figured it was better left that way. How some doctors had managed to fix Ed's veins when she had lost so much blood and probably gotten splinters inside her arms was better left alone. As for the bounty they collected, most of it was used to pay for treating Ed and Ein's wounds. They were left with 10,000 woolongs, just enough to keep them going for six months.
As for John Mathers and his men, they were given to the authorities and sentenced to life in a maximum security prison. The laboratory equipment in the back of the compound was confiscated and junked. There was no mentioning of the people he had crucified. They had decided that such a business was better left unmentioned. The people he had captured had been taken and placed back in their original homes on the different planets. None of them spoke about what had happened between them and the madman who had controlled their lives for so long.
2 months later
"Wheeee!" squealed the voice of Ed as she sprinted down the hallway, spinning a terrified corgi around in her arms. Life on the bebop was good. Sure, Spike and Faye were fighting like cats and dogs, but she didn't mind. Things were back to normal. She was free from the terror which had controlled her life for that terrifying period of time. She would no longer live in fear of the monster who had killed a friend of hers. Ed was back on the bebop and she was here to stay. It had taken awhile for her to fully recover from the shock of her encounter on Calisto, but she got over it. For two months she had been very depressed, and she had lacked her usual bubbly bluster. She would sometimes wake up in the night screaming from nightmares of the place where she had been held prisoner and she wouldn't go back to sleep until Ein would sleep with her. She still had those dreams, but she had been getting better. Other then that, she was back to normal.
"Dinner!" Jet called from the kitchen. Those words never ceased to bring the kid and corgi rushing at top speed to the kitchen. Soon enough, Ein was eating a bowl of dog food and Ed was eating a steak. Everybody was particularly enjoying the food since it had been the first time in awhile that they had eaten meat that wasn't made out of Tofu. Spike even gave a small piece to Ein, which was quite out of character for him. Once again, some things were best left unexplained. Ed looked around the room with her happy gaze. Everything was back to normal.
Later in the night, sometime before ten thirty, Ed wandered down the hall, dressed only a red silk nightgown which Jet had bought her as a coming home present after she had gotten out of the hospital. Ed normally didn't like dresses, but she liked this one because it matched her hair perfectly and she liked the way it looked on her. She said it made her look shiny. Her mind was wandering again and Ed had a feeling where it was going to wonder to. All those memories of her imprisonment on that place raced into her mind. "No, just leave Ed in peace." she whispered into the darkness. The shadows of the bebop's hallway seemed to leap at her like wolves springing on a deer. Ed knew they would not harm her, but the way they resembled her tormentors made them all the more frightening. Ed turned around to go back to her room.
"Woof!" Ein's bark stopped her. She turned towards him and watched Ein come up to her. The corgi, sensing Ed's sadness, began to whine softly. Ed stroked his head. The warmness of his head calmed her, but it did not stop the sadness welling up in her. She looked at him again. Ein's eyes showed happiness and love in them. Love for her. The look that Ray had given her before he had died.
Before they had killed him.
"Did he really love me?" she thought to herself. Maybe he did, although she doubted it. Thinking of him brought tears to her eyes. She remembered his kindness, meeting him by falling on him, the laugh they had shared in the bathroom, the time they spent together in the mines. All of those converged on her like a guided missile. Overcome with grief for her friend, Ed sank to the floor and let out a wailing cry. None of the bebop woke up, despite her wild cries. Ein whimpered and nuzzled her. He couldn't stand it when she cried, which was very rare for her. Ed tried to say something to her companion but all that came out was a kind of "Waaahh waahhh waaahh." sound. Ed sobbed bitterly for her friend. Her cries eventually became sniffles, and she just sat there on the ground, thinking of her late friend. She got up and sat on her knees. After all she had gone through on Calisto, she had wanted nothing to do with God or anything related to religion. But she couldn't stop herself. She put her hands together and said a silent prayer for Ray. Then she got up. Ray was out there, somewhere. She knew it. And even if he only liked her as a friend, she knew he wouldn't want her to be sad. Ed went to her room and curled up under the blankets. Ein hopped up and fell asleep with her. Soon enough, they were sleeping and going into the land of dreams.
End.
That's it. Hope you liked it. Sorry for not thanking you for the reviews again. I just got wrapped up in my work since this was my first story. Bye. Randall Flagg2
Oh yeah, and I've added last names to Mark and Luke in the previous chapters and in this one. So if you wonder where the last names came from, look in the previous chapters. And the secondary genre has been altered a bit. Just a reminder, in case you're wondering about anything. -Randall Flagg2
Ed was dragged backwards into the back room of the laboratory, all the while kicking and screaming and snarling like an animal in a hunter's net. Matthew Straker didn't mind this at all. He took it like one who had been there before and been through it all. It was difficult for him to control the girl as she thrashed madly in his grasp, but he managed. Soon enough, Ed was dragged back into the room and when she saw what was lying on the ground, she screamed even louder. On the ground was a wooden cross. Her cross. Ed's struggles became greater still and Straker was forced at last to let go of her. Ed charged towards the doorway when something heavy hit her in the back of the head. She fell to the ground and felt the heavy object strike her again, this time on one of her legs. She turned and saw her tormentor holding another instrument of pain, this one a long stick. Ed scrambled to her feet. It hurt like hell, but she had to escape or face the same fate that her friend had. Just before she could get out of the room completely, Straker struck her a third time, this time jabbing the stick into Ed's back like a sword. The stick struck her in the middle of her back, making her arch like a bow. The hacker gasped and fell to the ground, panting and moaning.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Straker chuckled. Ed snarled at him. Normally, getting Ed mad was the most dangerous thing a human could do, but Matthew Straker was not intimidated. This girl was nothing. Just a rebel who needed to be put to death. Sneering, he shoved his foot forward Her growl turned into a yelp of pain as he kicked her in the mouth, bringing blood to it. "If you're going to act like an animal, I'm going to treat you like an animal." He raised the stick and brought it slamming down on Ed's back. Ed tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. Straker continued beating her back until John entered the room. He held a large wooden mallet in his hand and large wooden nails in the other.
"You have done enough. Let us proceed with making her just like Christ." he said. Straker nodded his head. He drew from his robe a dagger and sliced it through Ed's clothes. Her slacks, tank top, and panties were sliced down the middle, just missing her skin. Before Ed could stop them, her clothes were peeled off of her like peanut shell halves.
"Stop it! Let Ed go!" she screamed.
"Oh I'm afraid we can't do that." Mathers said. "You have committed an unforgivable sin and must be punished for it. Bring her to the cross." Matthew Straker dragged the now naked Edward across the room and flung her onto the cross. She started to get up, but Straker hit her with the stick again and she fell back. She felt her wrists being held down by her tormentor. Ed screamed even louder as she saw Mathers advance on her. Straker forced down her right arm against the cross's vertical piece. Before she could move, Mathers positioned the nail over her wrist and pounded it into her with the mallet he held. Ed's face drained of color and turned parchment white. For a moment she was just laying there, devoid of any emotion over what was happening. Then she opened her mouth and pealed fourth deafening shrieks that would only come from the agonized throats of the damned. Blood flowed out of the deep wound like bloody ribbon flapping in the breeze. Mathers didn't seem to mind. She wasn't the first one he had heard in such agony. He pounded the nail twice more and the nail was fully embedded in the cross. He quickly grabbed up the girl's left arm and proceeded to do the same to it as well. Ed was now completely nailed to the cross, shrieking into oblivion. Matthew Straker came back with a holly headband with razor bits on them. Mathers took it and placed it on Ed's forehead. Her head lashed from side to side, each time causing the headband to cut it more and more.
"Help me with this. Go wake everybody up after that. I want them to witness this punishment as a warning to all that might bring outsiders into God's domain." John ordered. Matthew helped John heft the heavy cross and carry it through the doorway. Blood coursed down Ed's arms as she was carried down the hallway and back to the main room, leaving a red trail. Matthew did not need to wake the prisoners up after unlocking the door to their cells. The screams that were flowing out of Ed's mouth like a river woke them almost instantly. They went outside, closely followed by Luke Rawson and Mark Calhoun and gathered around the cross. Many were cringing at the sight before the. Many of the spectators were crying. Some had even fainted. Despite how many people they had seen executed in this manner over time, it was always new to them, each time being worse then the last. None of them dared draw away from that spot where the hacker had been mounted though. They had to watch. They knew what happened if they didn't. They only stood there, looking at the crucified Ed with expressions of terror on their faces. Only John Mathers and his followers were enjoying this. After all, wasn't it what she deserved? God was not mocked and neither were they.
"Take your time in your death Ed. You will be in hell soon where these people are going. Ray is waiting for you!" Mathers chuckled.
In sub-orbit, Spike Spiegal, Faye Valentine, and Jet Black were piloting the bebop towards Calisto. The time had come to find Ed and collect their bounty. They were hoping that Ed was alright. If she had gotten all those marks on her back for something she did wrong, who knows what they might have done to her. If anything had happened to her, they didn't know what they would do. They knew they loved her in their hearts, but they would not admit it. Bounty hunting was not normally a job where there was room for love. They were the exception to that rule.
"So where are we supposed to look for her anyway?" Faye asked. "She didn't give us exact coordinates on where in the middle of the eastern half of Calisto we should look."
"Just chill out Faye. We'll find her, and then we'll get our bounty. You did tell the authorities about where to find us right jet?" Spike said.
"Yeah. This time I did it right before we left, so we wouldn't get beaten to our bounty like we have in the past." he replied. As he finished Speaking, the bebop landed on the icy surface of Calisto. Spike got out first, closely followed by the other bounty hunters. Even Ein was tagging along with them. The corgi had been a bit down since Ed's absence and he was in the mood to settle things with whoever had taken Ed away.
The air was colder then Spike remembered since his last visit here when he had tried to find Julia and had ended up running into Vicious instead. At least they didn't need to wear spacesuits out here. After the gate accident, Calisto had somehow gotten enough air in what little civilization there was dwelling on it to spread over the planet. Still, it was incredibly cold and Spike wished he had brought his parka. As he shivered against the cold, Ein barked suddenly and raced ahead of them. They followed as quickly as possible. Ein stopped in front of a large boulder and barked towards the bebop crew, signaling for them to come towards him. Ein couldn't quite figure out why, but there was something about this boulder which intrigued him. It had Ed's scent on it, suggesting that she was nearby. He barked again.
"Is this it?" Spike asked, looking at the boulder. He didn't know how they had managed to hide a base underneath such a huge thing. Unless they had an underground machine of some sort to move it, he didn't know how they could do it at all. "I don't know what that dumb dog is thinking, but I sure don't-" when Spike looked down, Ein was gone. Where could that mangy dog have run off to? If he didn't show up soon, Spike was going to show him the end of his shoe, repeatedly. "Alright you dumb dog, get out here or I'll-" Spike began when Ein came out of the boulder! How was that possible? Ein barked and walked back into it. Spike finally got the message and followed suite, along with his comrades. "They made a boulder hologram! Pretty smart." Spike thought to himself as he stepped inside.
The interior of the boulder was as realistic as realistic could get. It was like breaking a rock in half and pressing it against your eye. Spike could understand how their ship's radar had missed the interior. The hologram was so well crafted inside as well as outside that the computer had mistaken it for a real boulder instead of an image and had thus been tricked into misjudging the data for the surface of Calisto. If only it knew how wrong it had been. It was nothing but icy rock, but it was rock which they could walk through as if it were air. It was confusing at first, finding there way through something that seemed to cover them entirely, but they did.
After awhile, Faye stumbled over something. When she knelt down to feel what it was, she felt a handle on it. Faye pulled on it and something opened up. Ein, smelling Ed's scent from where Faye was, went to where Faye was and suddenly fell a few feet into the ground. Spike and the others went to where Faye was and felt around where Ein had fallen. Where ground appeared to be was nothing at all. Jet smiled. They had found the entrance to the hideout of their bounty. They squeezed through the hidden door and descended into a murky cavern that led into a long tunnel. The three bounty hunters took out their guns. It was time to get what they had came for. They advanced down the hallway, watching carefully for anything that might be waiting for them, but there was nothing. There were no guards, not attack dogs, no cameras, no nothing. It was as barren as a tomb. They passed through some more rock wall holograms, but that was the only thing of interest. At last, they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. Intuition told them that the key to escaping financial debt and getting Ed back was behind that door.
"Password please." said a computerized voice. Just their luck, getting stuck with a door that was password operated. Now what would they do? Spike went first.
"Holiness?"
"Access denied." said the voice.
Jet tried his luck. "Heaven?"
"Access denied."
"Angels?" Faye asked.
"Access denied." They tried for a whole seven minutes, each time getting it wrong. It might have gone on like that forever if Ein had not decided to step in. The corgi strode up to the machine and laid down on it with his head on his paws. They were dumbfounded. What was he trying to tell them? Realizing it would take a bit more to help the crew understand what he was saying, Ein stood up a bit and then laid back down. He continued this in a little pattern as if he was bowing down to the computer voice.
Understanding at last what the plump dog was trying to say, the three of them said "Worship." all at once.
"Access granted." the voice said, and the door swung open.
The sight before them was unspeakable.
In the center of a large field was a wooden cross which people were standing around, expressions of disgust on their faces. Four of the people wore white robes and cruel smirks. At first, they thought it was just another crucifix that the prisoners, if that was what they were, had been brought to for ceremonial purposes. And then Spike heard horrible, mad screeches which made his heart race with athletic speed. The bebop posse couldn't see what was on it at first until they noticed a clump of red hair near the top of the cross. The truth sunk into them with dream-like slowness. Spike opened his mouth and yelled four words.
"OH MY GOD, ED!!!"
The bounty hunter rushed forwards and saw the awful scene before him. Ed had been crucified, her mouth letting out horrible screams which might have frightened even the toughest of animals away. Blood flowed freely down her arms, not gushing only because the wooden nails that had been so crudely pounded into her were blocking it. Judging from all the blood that covered the ground, Spike guessed that she had been on the cross for awhile. It was so unbelievable, that he couldn't believe it at first. Then he turned to look into the face of John Mathers, who was watching this grisly scene with a look of utter enjoyment on his face. The man in white turned to look at Spike.
"You've made it in time to see her die." he said.
Spike could have sworn that he was seeing red at that moment. His vision was hazy and he could feel dull, animalistic rage beginning to take over his mind. He wasn't aware that he had clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood. All he was aware of was that he was starting for Mathers and that he was snarling uncontrollably. He knew that this guy would be brutal, but not to this extent. Even Vicious wasn't this cruel. The sight of Ed nailed to a piece of wood had angered him into something that was dangerously close to insanity, maybe even beyond it. He didn't care about the bounty anymore. He didn't care about anything at the moment except for killing the sick fuck in front of him. Spike lunged at him with a snarl. Mathers ducked to one side and delivered a kick to Spike's ribs. The cowboy went sprawling to the ground. For a skinny guy, John was incredibly strong. Spike scrambled to his feet and looked at his companions who were staring in shock at Ed. "GET THEM!!" Spike roared. "HELP ME THE FUCK OUT AND GET THEM!!" The words worked. They snapped out of their trance and began to fire their guns. The prisoners ducked to the ground while John and his men dodged the bullets as best as they could. Faye and Ein charged forward, one of them shooting, the other getting ready to bite.
"Try all you want, pagans. You cannot defeat the grace of God." John said. He went for Spike and threw a punch at him. Spike started going Bruce Lee on his attacker, but Mathers was just as fast as he was strong. He blocked every punch and kick Spike threw at him and added a few punches of his own. Spike blocked them and the two sparred around the field, neither gaining the upper hand. Spike knew that he probably couldn't win against a guy who could move this fast, but he was going to try anyway.
"Think of Ed." his mind said to him. "Think of what will happen if you don't save her." Spike's fighting spirit was fired up and he began to speed up his attack.
Jet on the other hand, was circling the room, firing his gun and Luke Rawson. The man was fast, but not as fast as his leader. Jet fired shot after shot, missing each time. Rawson finally got close enough to knock Jet's gun out of his hands. Just as he did, Jet slammed his cybernetic arm into the man's stomach. Luke doubled over with a grunt. Jet wasn't as fast as Spike was, but he still had his strength. Before Rawson could regain his breath, Jet brought his knee flying up into the man's groin. Rawson screamed and fell to the ground. Jet took out some handcuffs and slapped them onto the man's wrist. One down, three to go.
"Jet!" Faye called. "Get Ed down and bring her back to the ship!" Jet ran to the cross and grasped one of the nails that held Ed to it. When he pulled on it, Ed screamed again.
"Ed," he said to the hacker girl, "this is going to hurt but I can't get you down unless I take the nails out." he said. Through a red haze of pain, Ed nodded her head. Jet pulled on the nail which seemed more like a tent stake with all the force he could muster. It jarred loose and Ed's arm flopped to the side like a ragdoll. Blood flooded out of her wrist in large gushes. Jet tore off a large piece of his shirt and blocked the wound with it as best as he could. It didn't stop the blood flow, but it slowed it down. Jet freed her other arm, plugged it up as best as he could, and took her down from the cross. He took her in his arms and began to race back towards the door. God in heaven, he hoped they could save her. Medical technology had increased greatly over the years, but Jet wondered if even the best doctors and surgeons could fix these wounds. They were deep and had punctured the veins in her body, and if they didn't get her some medical attention soon, she would die.
"Hurts." Ed whimpered in his arms. "Edward hurts."
"It's alright Ed. We're here for you. We're going to help you. You'll be alright." Jet was not aware he was weeping. He also failed to notice that Mark Calhoun was racing for him, his eyes bulging in crazed fury.
"Put her back you fucking dirty blaspheme! She must be punished for her sins!" Calhoun stopped as a furry shape jumped up from behind him and sank it's fangs into his legs. He fell forward and crashed onto the ground, face first. His nose broke and the blood began to gush almost immediately. Mark whirled on the welsh corgi which had latched onto him and seized it violently by it's throat. But Ein was not in a peaceful mood at the moment. These people had hurt him and Ed, and they were going to pay dearly. Ein growled and thrashed out Calhoun's grip and bit him on his other leg. At the same time, the man shoved his arm outward and caught the dog in his neck. Ein's yelped and let go. Calhoun struggled to his feet and lunged at Ein. Ein jumped to the side and tore at the man's cheek, taking a warm chunk of flesh. Mark screamed and fell back, kicking out his feet as he fell. One missed, but the other hit Ein in the mouth hard enough to knock out some of his teeth and break his nose. Ein and Mark both hit the ground at the same time, Mark hitting his head on a rock, knocking him out and splitting open the back of his head. Ein whimpered and lay on the ground, hoping that the others would finish things up in time. He was badly hurt and the fight wasn't over, but he had bought his masters time by taking out one of the attackers. That was enough for now.
Faye was dealing with Matthew Straker as best as she could. She was not the type of woman who needed protection, but she was having trouble keeping up with the blonde man. He was quite fast, and each bullet she shot at him missed him by a few feet. Faye fired more shots at him and was stopped when the man's powerful fist crashed into her mouth. Faye dropped her gun and threw a punch. It hit Straker in the stomach with amazing force, causing him to back off. That was all the time Faye needed. She jumped up and shoved her fist forward, hitting him in the neck this time. Straker gagged and clutched at his throat. Faye smirked. It was time to finish the job. She raised her gun and smashed it into Matthew Straker's head. The man crumpled to the ground. "Game over pal." Faye thought to herself.
As the Jet carried Ed off to the bebop and Faye and Ein rested from their fight, Spike continued to fight with John Mathers. The two of them had been trading blow after blow for quite some time, but neither showed signs of wearing down. Spike would hit him, get hit, and the pattern would continue in rapid succession. It seemed like something out of the bible. God and the Devil would duke it out through the entire book, but neither would win until the end when the Devil lost his powers and God threw down to burn and writhe in his own fire for the remainder of eternity. And if this was the holy book, then Michael and the angels were confronting the dragon at long last. Spike ducked behind John and threw some kicks at his face with blinding speed. He blocked them and charged at Spike like a bull. Spike sidestepped and charged after him. Mathers turned around and grabbed Spike up by his throat. He slammed his fist into Spike's chest, breaking the bounty hunter's ribs. Spike gasped in pain. John smirked at him.
"You tried to hard to find me and like a sinner you try to devour me. But in the end, God delivers me from the mouths of the lion and sets me down in his kingdoms. When I'm finished with you, I'll take your friends to and mount you up. Since you can't be saved, I'll have my disciples turn the crosses upside down to show who you were born of." he said. It was the wrong thing to say. Spike had had enough of this prick and what he did. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Spike kicked John Mathers in the face. John yelled in surprise and dropped him. Spike came at him, snarling.
"Fuck your religion and your beliefs you sick fuck!! Those rules and beliefs applied to the times they were written and not now! I really hate people like you. But the fact that you crucified people to kill them is going too far! I don't care if murder is a sin or not, I'm killing you here and now!" Spike roared. John jumped to the side as Spike tried to punch him again. Spike whirled around and kneed his opponent in the head. John's head jerked up. Spike wasted no time and head-butted him in the stomach. Spike then came back up and delivered an uppercut to Mather's face. His head rocked back and he fell to the ground. Spike fell on him and began to deliver a series of savage punches to his face and body intending to kill him for all that he had done. Spike's vision had become hazy again and he was barely aware of how badly he was beating the man. All he knew was that he was enjoying this, and that he wanted to see him suffer. Spike just may have killed him, had Faye not pulled him off.
"You've done enough, Lunkhead. If he dies, we won't get our bounty." she said. And Spike had definitely done enough. John Mathers' face had gigantic bruises and his nose was gushing blood. Both of his eyes were black as coal and blood was running from his mouth. He was unconscious. Spike finally calmed down. He made this man pay for what he had done to Ed and there was no more need to do anything more except turn him over to the authorities and collect the bounty on his head. Spike got up and looked at the prisoners. They were all staring at him in awe and amazement. Spike was guessing that these people had never seen somebody stand up to their captor before. Spike didn't want to stick around for talking and the such like. He just wanted to get out of here. As he began to walk towards Ein to pick the beaten corgi up, the door at the back of the room opened and Jet walked in with a group of police behind him.
Epilogue
Ed had just narrowly survived her punishment. She was almost drained of blood when Jet had gotten her to the hospital and it had taken two months for her to recover. He and Spike had stayed with her the entire time and had witnessed Ed's painful recovery. When Faye had asked them how they had fixed her, Spike would say "Don't ask." and leave it at that. Faye figured it was better left that way. How some doctors had managed to fix Ed's veins when she had lost so much blood and probably gotten splinters inside her arms was better left alone. As for the bounty they collected, most of it was used to pay for treating Ed and Ein's wounds. They were left with 10,000 woolongs, just enough to keep them going for six months.
As for John Mathers and his men, they were given to the authorities and sentenced to life in a maximum security prison. The laboratory equipment in the back of the compound was confiscated and junked. There was no mentioning of the people he had crucified. They had decided that such a business was better left unmentioned. The people he had captured had been taken and placed back in their original homes on the different planets. None of them spoke about what had happened between them and the madman who had controlled their lives for so long.
2 months later
"Wheeee!" squealed the voice of Ed as she sprinted down the hallway, spinning a terrified corgi around in her arms. Life on the bebop was good. Sure, Spike and Faye were fighting like cats and dogs, but she didn't mind. Things were back to normal. She was free from the terror which had controlled her life for that terrifying period of time. She would no longer live in fear of the monster who had killed a friend of hers. Ed was back on the bebop and she was here to stay. It had taken awhile for her to fully recover from the shock of her encounter on Calisto, but she got over it. For two months she had been very depressed, and she had lacked her usual bubbly bluster. She would sometimes wake up in the night screaming from nightmares of the place where she had been held prisoner and she wouldn't go back to sleep until Ein would sleep with her. She still had those dreams, but she had been getting better. Other then that, she was back to normal.
"Dinner!" Jet called from the kitchen. Those words never ceased to bring the kid and corgi rushing at top speed to the kitchen. Soon enough, Ein was eating a bowl of dog food and Ed was eating a steak. Everybody was particularly enjoying the food since it had been the first time in awhile that they had eaten meat that wasn't made out of Tofu. Spike even gave a small piece to Ein, which was quite out of character for him. Once again, some things were best left unexplained. Ed looked around the room with her happy gaze. Everything was back to normal.
Later in the night, sometime before ten thirty, Ed wandered down the hall, dressed only a red silk nightgown which Jet had bought her as a coming home present after she had gotten out of the hospital. Ed normally didn't like dresses, but she liked this one because it matched her hair perfectly and she liked the way it looked on her. She said it made her look shiny. Her mind was wandering again and Ed had a feeling where it was going to wonder to. All those memories of her imprisonment on that place raced into her mind. "No, just leave Ed in peace." she whispered into the darkness. The shadows of the bebop's hallway seemed to leap at her like wolves springing on a deer. Ed knew they would not harm her, but the way they resembled her tormentors made them all the more frightening. Ed turned around to go back to her room.
"Woof!" Ein's bark stopped her. She turned towards him and watched Ein come up to her. The corgi, sensing Ed's sadness, began to whine softly. Ed stroked his head. The warmness of his head calmed her, but it did not stop the sadness welling up in her. She looked at him again. Ein's eyes showed happiness and love in them. Love for her. The look that Ray had given her before he had died.
Before they had killed him.
"Did he really love me?" she thought to herself. Maybe he did, although she doubted it. Thinking of him brought tears to her eyes. She remembered his kindness, meeting him by falling on him, the laugh they had shared in the bathroom, the time they spent together in the mines. All of those converged on her like a guided missile. Overcome with grief for her friend, Ed sank to the floor and let out a wailing cry. None of the bebop woke up, despite her wild cries. Ein whimpered and nuzzled her. He couldn't stand it when she cried, which was very rare for her. Ed tried to say something to her companion but all that came out was a kind of "Waaahh waahhh waaahh." sound. Ed sobbed bitterly for her friend. Her cries eventually became sniffles, and she just sat there on the ground, thinking of her late friend. She got up and sat on her knees. After all she had gone through on Calisto, she had wanted nothing to do with God or anything related to religion. But she couldn't stop herself. She put her hands together and said a silent prayer for Ray. Then she got up. Ray was out there, somewhere. She knew it. And even if he only liked her as a friend, she knew he wouldn't want her to be sad. Ed went to her room and curled up under the blankets. Ein hopped up and fell asleep with her. Soon enough, they were sleeping and going into the land of dreams.
End.
That's it. Hope you liked it. Sorry for not thanking you for the reviews again. I just got wrapped up in my work since this was my first story. Bye. Randall Flagg2