Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop
Session 9: A Tragic Past
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Spike sprinted after the kidnappers all the way to the abandoned city. He spotted them near an old ship nestled amongst the wrecked buildings. The man practically tossed Eden to the woman and she disappeared into the ship. The man merely stood there as if waiting. Spike approached him with his gun aimed for his head.
"Spike Spiegel…how nice to see you again," said the man with a smirk.
Spike blinked as his grip on his gun nearly faltered. "Vincent?" he asked trying not to sound as surprised as he felt.
"You remember me. I'm flattered."
"But…you're supposed to be dead," said Spike narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Electra killed you. I saw them haul off your body."
Vincent chuckled. "Yes, she did try, didn't she? I suppose a woman in love doesn't aim too well."
"Well, my aim will be much better, I assure you," said Spike squeezing the trigger. The gun kicked slightly under his steady grip and he looked ahead in shock to see Vincent charging him, unharmed.
Soon, the gun went flying to the ground with a puff of dust and Spike felt the impact of a boot on his jaw. He fell to the side and quickly recovered with a smile on his face. This was the style of fighting he loved best. Man to man…no weapon but your own body. He sent a well-aimed retaliation kick to Vincent's head, which barely fazed him. Spike readied himself for another kick when he felt a strange little prick in his neck. He didn't pay much attention to it until he tried to kick and fell to the ground dizzy. Vincent loomed over him when he looked up from his sitting position. He could've sworn he had a wistful expression on his face from what he could make out through blurred vision.
"It has been a pleasure to fight you again, Spike," he spoke in his low, even voice. "Unfortunately, I don't have the time to continue. I believe I see Faye approaching. Tell her I said 'hello'."
"You…coward…" choked out Spike as he fell to the ground on his side, the strength draining from his limbs. He looked up at Vincent's retreating form and noticed that the woman was standing at an open hatch. She must've been the one that shot him with the tranquilizer. This being the second time he had been duped in such a manner, he silently cursed the person who invented them. The world turned black seconds later.
Faye ran to Spike's unconscious form as the hatch to the ship closed and it's engines loudly fired up. It showered them in dust and foreign particles from buildings as it lifted off the ground. Faye shielded Spike's body with her own as the dust settled and the ship disappeared into the sky.
Knowing his M.O. for encountering villains, Faye quickly searched his body for bullet holes and lethal injuries. No blood. Nothing but a dart in his neck. She hoped it wasn't poison. She quickly yanked it out and threw it aside. Trying to wake him proved futile. He was out like a rock.
"Dammit!" she swore pounding her fists on the ground and kicking up more dust. "You may be skinny, lunkhead, but I don't know if I can carry you all the way back to the ship."
A sudden scuffling sound near them caused Faye to draw her retrieved gun and aim. She sighed when she saw it was only Jet, stumbling to the rescue. He used the surrounding debris to brace himself as he walked towards them, but seemed to be must less dizzy.
"Is he okay?" was Jet's first question in reference to their accident-prone comrade.
"Yeah," she responded looking down at him sleeping peacefully. "I think they nailed him with a tranquilizer. He's snoring."
Jet offered her a weak smile. "That kid sure loves to sleep. Let's get him back to the ship. Shouldn't be too bad if we both carry him."
Faye nodded as Jet scuffled over to the two. They hoisted sleeping beauty up so that they each had one of his arms over their shoulders. He stirred slightly and groaned, but remained unconscious afterwards. As they treaded across the barren wasteland surrounding the town, headed for the ship, Faye knew Jet was horribly upset. But, like the stereotypical man he was, he remained silent about the whole issue. Just glancing at his face told her all she needed to know, though. You didn't live with a man for a couple of years and not be able to read his facial expressions.
The two laboriously trudged onward as the blaring sun moved across the deceptively clear azure sky.
***
Titan was a desolate, barren planet. Eden could barely comprehend why anyone would want to war over the piece of rock. It's only saving grace was that it had a natural atmosphere. The only moon of its kind. Maybe that was why Earth and Mars were both so eager to develop it. She did, however, understand why Earth would want it seeing their planet was in ruins from the Gate Accident. But, Mars? Greedy, selfish bastards. They had plenty of developed cities already and were the Super Power of the known universe. Perhaps they thought they were entitled to everything they found and wanted. They were like spoiled children.
All political opinions aside, Eden didn't mind being at war in the least. She loved combat. She craved combat when they were training her and her sisters at that godforsaken complex on Mars. She had been on Titan long enough to see the worst of the bloody battles take place, and contribute her fair share of casualties. Earth was losing. Mars was like the modern day Germany. Nobody equaled them in combat ability.
Currently, the Mars troops were taking a little much needed R&R after their latest and successful battle. As she strode by the large ships and tents cratered in sand that consisted of their camp, she gazed at the hundreds of dead bodies littering the land in the distance. Some of them were her kills, she thought proudly. The sight did not disturb her.
"Eden!" came a loud female voice distracting her. She gazed over her shoulder to see Zillah sitting nestled in a crater surrounding a ship with two men. Of course, with the baggy clothes and turbans everyone wore as a uniform, it was hard to identify anyone. Eden could find Zillah blindfolded, though. Her and her nearly identical sister had a very deep bond. They'd been extremely close their entire lives. She slid down the sand crevice to say hello.
"Hey, Zillah…found some new friends?" asked Eden as she knelt down before the three and gave them a sly smile.
"Yes, I did," said Zillah happily. She was always cheerful and positive. A regular social butterfly. "This is Gren and his friend Vicious," she said indicating to the appropriate person as she introduced them.
"Hello, men," said Eden with an authoritative tone in her voice taking advantage of the fact that she knew they ranked lower than herself.
"You must be the Eden we've been hearing so much about," said Gren smiling as he shook Eden's hand. "Beside what Zillah has said about you, I've heard rumors that you're incredible on the battlefield."
"Thanks, I do try," said Eden averting her eyes to glare at Vicious. He stared back at her evenly with cold, pale eyes. She knew that look. It was the look only a killer could produce.
"I'll bet you have plenty of confirmed kills, don't you, soldier?" she asked furtively as Gren and Zillah stared at them curiously.
"What does it matter?" asked Vicious looking away as if disinterested and bored.
His comment took Eden by surprise for a moment and she was glad he wasn't looking at her to see her startled response. "I think perhaps you have forgotten why we're on this damn rock, soldier," she retaliated harshly. She did so love a good conflict and this guy looked like quite a worthy opponent.
"I believe that you take the war and your love of killing a bit too far…soldier," responded Vicious standing up and momentarily glancing at Eden. He gave her a ghost of a smirk then walked away.
"Oh, don't listen to him, Eden!" said Zillah instantly clinging to her fuming sister's shoulders. "He was just joking around."
"Somehow, I don't think he's the type to joke," said Eden trying to calm her rising temper. "Smug, fucking bastard."
Gren laughed as he adjusted the large gun leaning against his shoulder. "That's just Vicious. You either love him or ya hate him."
Eden threw off her sister and stood up. "Well, I'm about to go teach him a lesson in respect," she said stomping off in the direction he had disappeared.
"Wait a minute!" shouted Zillah trying to run after her sister. She felt a strong hand restrain her.
"Let her go," said Gren pulling Zillah back down beside him as he sat down. His warm, deep blue eyes met her light green ones as he smiled. "They'll be fine, and I believe you and I were having a conversation before we were interrupted."
~*~
"Vicious!"
He stopped when he heard her powerful voice behind him. So, she wanted a confrontation after all.
"Eden," he said turning around, his frigid, piercing eyes locking with hers. "I would suggest that you drop your childish pride immediately, or you may not like what I do."
"And I would suggest you go to hell," said Eden matching his intense glare with her own. "I've never been one to back down from a fight."
In an act of pure instinct and impulse, Eden charged at Vicious and clocked him across the jaw, quite hard. She then kneed him in the stomach as he recoiled from the punch. He fell to his knees and she was about to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head when he suddenly caught her leg in an iron grip. More quickly than she could comprehend, he swung her around until her body collided painfully with the ship and slid to the sand below. She was dazed at how he seemed to match her own genetically tampered reflexes. There wasn't much time to ponder this thought as Vicious pressed his body to hers and she felt the cool blade of his knife digging into her neck.
"You may think that you are the best at what you do," he whispered into her ear sending chills down her spine. "But, I assure you…I am much, much better."
"Vicious!" yelled Eden suddenly awaking from her slumber. She sat up covered in sweat to discover she was on a strange ship. Her hands and feet seemed to be handcuffed and chained to a wall. The chains were long enough to afford her some movement, though. Observing the ship, it reminded her of the Bebop with its worn metal interior. The bridge before her had ancient looking control panels and a large window that offered her a view of the dark expanse of space beyond. Other than that, it was surprisingly empty. It didn't look like a place people lived or frequented.
"Did you have a nightmare?" asked a deep, monotone voice startling her.
"Yes…well, not really," said Eden refusing to look at him. "It was actually just a bad memory."
Vincent knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands so that she was forced to stare directly into his eyes. "What about our time together on Titan? Do you consider those bad memories?"
This sent Eden's mind spinning into the past once again…
~*~
"Zillah. Is something wrong?" she asked sensing her sister's distress.
"I found something…" replied Zillah. "I found…a man."
"Is he one of ours?" she demanded.
"I…don't know…" answered Zillah.
"Then why didn't you kill him?"
"Because he's wearing a strange uniform! I didn't want to kill him if I wasn't sure who he was!" protested Zillah waving her arms around in frustration. "Will you please just come and look at him? He seems scared."
"I highly doubt that," muttered Eden trudging after her sister. They walked for a while before finding the man alone in some desolate area far from the camp. The war was nearly over, Mars having thoroughly decimated the Earth troops. There were still some stragglers, though, and the Home Base had ordered some of the soldiers to stay behind for a bit longer. The three surviving sisters, Lilith, Eden, and Zillah were among the few still there.
Upon advancing on the man, who did indeed look scared and confused, Eden immediately identified his uniform. "Mars Special Forces," she said aloud confirming this thought when she grabbed the man's hand and shoved up his sleeve. There on his wrist was the symbol of his unit tattooed in stark, black ink.
"How can you be sure…?" asked Zillah as she timidly hovered around her sister.
"Apparently, you didn't pay any attention when they were schooling us," snapped Eden showing her sister the tattoo. "This is the mark of the Mars Special Forces, Team 7. They're fucking elitists that got themselves slaughtered at the Battle of Cronos."
"So, they all supposedly died in the last great battle," said Zillah gazing at the man confused. "How come he's still alive?"
"He must have went insane and ran away," she said looking at him piteously. "Soldier…do you know where you are?"
The man shook his head somewhat comforted by her gentle tone.
"Do you know your name?" Eden further questioned.
"V…Vincent," he responded. It was the only thing he could remember. "I don't know how I got here…I don't even remember who I am. And the butterflies…everywhere…"
Eden and Zillah stared at him perplexed.
"Did he say 'butterflies'?" asked Zillah.
"I think so…Hey, let's get you back to our camp. I need to consult Home Base on this one," said Eden rubbing her temples in exhaustion.
~*~
Home Base had told Eden and Zillah to keep him safe for the remainder of their time on Titan. They knew who he was but would disclose no information. As the weeks passed and the few stragglers were killed off, the two women grew close to Vincent. They re-taught him how to shoot, which he was excellent at. Eden taught him the art of hand-to-hand combat. They even let him go on a few excursions with them to wipe out remaining enemy camps. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy destroying things and proved an efficient killer. Eden admired his spirit, and unlike Vicious, Vincent was very warm towards her. He considered her his savior. The two soon fell in love.
They became inseparable during the last few weeks they were together. They braved the sand storms, trained, and even killed together. Frequently, they would sneak off into the sand drifts not to be seen again for hours. Zillah didn't really want to think about what they were doing, though she had a pretty good idea. It was a week until the pick-up date and the three received an unexpected but not unwelcome guest.
"Lilith!" exclaimed Eden and Zillah running up to their sister and hugging her. Lilith had been stationed at another camp fairly far away from theirs.
"It's so good to see you again!" said Lilith smiling fondly at her sisters.
"Where's the rest of your team?" asked Zillah innocently.
"Oh, I left them," said Lilith. "I wanted to be with my sisters before we left. Don't worry, they'll be just fine without me."
The four got along quite well for about five days. Then, tragedy struck. Little did Eden know that Lilith had become obsessed with Vincent and had been secretly trying to seduce him without much luck. He continued to believe they were just good friends. So, on the sixth day, Lilith went insane with rage upon seeing Eden and Vincent kissing. She simply wasn't accustomed to not getting her way.
Eden laughed at her sister at first, believing her to be merely throwing a temper tantrum like she usually did. When Lilith pulled out a machine gun and aimed it at her, she quickly ceased laughing.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Lilith?" she asked frowning and stepping away from Vincent, who remained silent as he scowled.
"If I can't have him too, then I'll kill you both!" screamed Lilith.
"Oh, stop being such a spoiled brat!" yelled Eden terrible pissed off her sister would even dare to say such a thing. "You don't always get what you want, so get over it already."
Lilith looked like she was on the verge of tears after Eden's little speech. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch?! You treat everyone like shit and they love you for it! I hate you, Eden! I hate you!!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs.
"You're acting like a child," said Eden crossing her arms and haughtily sticking her nose in the air. "It's not my fault people like me better than you. Now, put down that goddamn gun before you hurt someone!"
Lilith's face lit up a bright red as her entire body began to shake with adrenaline. Soon, she squeezed her eyes shut, opened her mouth, and let out a high-pitched scream as she fired off a burst of rounds from her machine gun. She was in the throes of a blind fit of rage and never paid attention to what she was doing. When she stopped and opened her eyes breathing raggedly, she fell to her knees in horror.
Eden was backed up against the tent her and Vincent had been standing in front of with a look of terrified shock etched on her beautiful face. Beside her lie Vincent's body slumped to the ground. He weakly grasped his stomach as blood began to spill through his fingers and drip down his pants. And in front of Eden lie Zillah face down in the sand. She could see where the bullets tore through her delicate torso and left gored flesh on her back. Blood poured from the wounds with every weak heartbeat she still possessed.
It was only then that the trauma of warfare truly touched Eden. And it immediately began to drive her stark raving mad. Lilith could barely constrain her and suffered a severe beating before Eden collapsed sobbing profusely. She continued to sob until the ships came to pick them up the next day. Lilith was greatly disturbed by her actions and was able to medically treat Vincent well enough to keep him alive before pick-up. Sadly, Zillah was dead minutes after being shot. She buried her dead sister all the while trying to get Eden to respond to her. By the time the trio reached the Headquarters, Eden was practically catatonic. She eventually began to talk again, but didn't remember anything that had happened. She was soon sentenced to cryogenic freezing, where she slept peacefully unaware of her tragic past.
***
Spike shifted and stretched. He felt like he had just taken a long, relaxing nap. He yawned half entertaining the thought of going back to sleep when he remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
"Vincent!" he shouted bolting upright on the couch. He nearly fell off the side of it with the sudden movement.
"What did you say?" asked Faye looking at him as if she had seen a ghost. She was sitting on the chair across from him reading a book. The book was now forgotten as it slid out of her fingers and fell to the floor.
Spike swung his legs over the side of the couch and rubbed the back of his neck. "I barely recognized him…he cut his hair and shaved…but that voice…I'd know that voice anywhere," he said as if he barely noticed Faye was still sitting there.
"Vincent was the person that kidnapped Eden?!" asked Faye standing up with a look of shock. "I thought you said he was dead?"
Spike wearily looked up at her, and then lowered his head shaking it. "Apparently, he's alive and well. He said to tell you 'hello'. Do you guys know each other or something?"
Faye never responded. She did, however, turn a couple of shades whiter than usual. Spike looked up at her again questioningly. "Where's Jet?" he asked after realizing she wasn't going to answer him.
"I don't know…I think he's working on the ship," said Faye sitting down again. "He's not taking this very well at all."
"I figured," replied Spike simply.
"Well…this is just great. We have no leads and our only clue is that a psycho kidnapped her," said Faye looking every bit as tired as she felt. "And who was that woman? I'm pretty sure it was the same woman that attacked her that one day."
"That was Lilith, Eden's sister," came Jet's voice as he entered the common room wiping off his greasy hands with a rag. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you guys, but…Eden's past isn't pretty."
"I know who the guy is," announced Spike glancing at Jet.
"You know the accomplice?!" asked Jet surprised. He ran over to the couch staring expectantly at his comrade. "Well? Who is it?"
"Do you remember Vincent?" asked Spike.
~*~
Spike, Faye, and Jet had stayed up half the night trying to formulate a plan of action. Jet had come clean with everything he knew about Eden's past and Spike had told all he really knew of Vincent, which wasn't much. Jet eventually went to bed proclaiming he thought better when rested. After a few moments of silence, Faye stood up and tried to brush past Spike. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down on the couch next to him.
"Where are you going?" he asked attempting to slide an arm around her waist.
"To bed," she stated throwing his arm off and standing up again. As she sauntered down the hallway, he followed. He followed her all the way into her bedroom. Sitting on the edge of her bed he patiently watched as she took off her shoes and stripped off her jeans.
"Need any help with that?" he asked his eyebrow twitching mischievously.
"Oh, you're still here? I didn't notice," joked Faye throwing her discarded shirt at him. "Do you want something? Or are you just sight seeing?"
"Sight seeing," he responded. "Wish I had a camera."
"Hey!" said Faye grabbing her pillow and beating him with it. "Get the hell out, you pervert!"
Spike laughed easily yanking the pillow out of her grasp. He picked up Faye's half naked body and tossed her playfully onto her bed before pinning her down with his own body. She squirmed giggling beneath him as he kissed her neck.
"That tickles! Stop!" she laughed. He obeyed her and they locked eyes as he rested his forehead against hers. "Do you think we'll find her?" asked Faye mesmerized by his eyes until they slid shut and he sighed.
"I hope so…" he said rolling onto his side and staring off into space, "but from the sound of it…I don't think so."
Faye watched him as he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. Soon, his breathing became soft and even. She crawled under what little covers she could get to and laid an arm on his chest as she settled in. If Jet was feeling anything like she did the night Spike left to die, she truly pitied the man.
To be continued….
Author's Note:
Okay…this session was a hell of a lot easier to write than the last one. I think my writer's block finally died. You know, I had an English teacher who said that writer's block doesn't really exist. It's just all in our heads. Anyway, I focused waaay too much on Eden's past, but I thought it needed to be done in order for the story to work. You know…I never intended for this fic to be more about Jet and Eden, but I guess that's the main plot. That's why I started my new story "Lethal Attraction". A chance for me to focus more on Spike and Faye. Well, hope you liked it ^_^ Let me know what you think.
To my reviewers:
Kendra Luehr: I'm glad you're so excited about my fic ^_^ I get so serious about it I forget to get excited. I think I might do the love scene thing towards the end of the story…as long as I'm not banned for it's content! I noticed you can write lemony scenes as long as their not too graphic…do they call those "lime" or something??? I don't know…I kinda new to the terminology here. Remember to study! And update!
Rashaka: I'm glad you enjoyed most of the story ^_^ Sorry the last one seemed a little OOC, I actually had a difficult time writing it and I think that lent to Spike seeming weird. I'll try to keep him more Spike-like in the future…it just gets hard every now and then. Oh, and does "mary-sue" mean you base the character after yourself? I'm not sure…but I think that's what it means. If that is the case, Eden's not a mary-sue. I'm really nothing like her (i'm too weird~.^). I swear 0.o Thanks for the constructive criticism, though! It keeps me on my toes!
Outis: Yeah, Vincent is supposed to be dead, but I vaguely explained why he survived in this session. I did start the new story and I promise not to forget this one! Far too much going on…though it may wrap up within four sessions or so…there's no telling with me! Hope you liked the Eden stuff, thanks for reviewing! ^_^
Red-Tenko: Thank you! ^_^ I loved Vincent's character…but I have this thing with loving deranged characters. They're so fun to work with! Electra is not going to be in the story, but as you saw, Gren and Vicious made an appearance ~.^ I thought it was fun to write the "stunned Jet" scenes! Hehe…maybe I'll write more…though poor Jet is a little side tracked at the moment. Hmmm…Friends…I've seen a couple episodes but don't know it well. I'm mostly a cartoon gal ^_^
Pimpin Satan: Hehe…don't worry, I'm lazy too! Horribly, at times…Yes, Vincent is similar and yet so different from Spike. That's why I think they make great opponents. Hope I did a halfway passable job at making up the Titan War history. Good observation about the war, though…it was deep ~.^ I wasn't too confident about the Spike Faye interaction in the last chapter, so thanks for the boost ^_^
Redeve: Thank you ^_^ Good point on the indepth quality of the characters and story. If we kept them too in character, I don't think half our stories would work. But that's just my opinion. Hmmm….a moment between Vincent and Faye…Good idea! Yeah, I'm subtly changing Spike to actually give a damn about someone *gasp* I believe he would be different when he starts falling in love. God knows I was a simpering idiot when I was in love! 0.o hehe…thanks for the review!
Cbdbz247: Thank you! ^_^ How lovely! I'm glad I have decent descriptive writing. I know I could be more descriptive, but I don't want to over do it. I'll do my best to bring you more Spike and Fayness! ^.^