Cowboy Bebop
Boys are Back
4
"Spike" Faye's mysterious assailant snorted, the contempt in his voice clear as day. "Its just as well. Saves me the trouble of tracking you down later."
"I don't want anymore trouble than I need, 801."
"Stop calling me that!" The stranger screamed at Spike, the rage in his eyes blazing like a forest fire. His hand went into his trench coat, and emerged, the hilt of a sword clutched tight in his fingers. "I am not a number! Not an imitation! I have a name! I am Hakkou! I.am.a man!"
With those final words, he reached into the inside of his coat and withdrew a long sword. The instant his hand disappeared into his coat, Spike cocked the shotgun he was holding, and fired off a shot. Faye's jaw dropped as she watched Hakkou swung his sword and sliced the bullet that had been fired at him in mid air, like a professional baseball player hitting his homerun.
Hakkou lunged at Spike, swinging his sword over his shoulder, around, over his head, trying to cleave Spike from head to groin. But Spike threw his shotgun up, blocking the blade as it game screaming down at his head. As the two weapons collided, Spike tried to launch a kick at Hakkou's shins, but Hakkou stomped one of his feet down onto Spike's, trapping him in place. They both glowered at each other, and then reared their heads back, and slammed their foreheads together as they both attempted a head butt.
They both grunted, stumbled back from each other. Hakkou tried to take a swing at Spike's abdomen, but Spike quickly took a jump back, the blade swinging less than an inch from his body. He launched forward with a kick, intending to hit Hakkou's chest as if there were a bull's-eye mark printed on it. But Hakkou sidestepped, grabbed his ankle, yanked him forward, and smashed an elbow into his chin.
Faye watched the fight unfolding. She held her gun up, attempted to take aim, but they moved at a speed that was simply amazing. She could not get a solid fix on Hakkou, and she did not want to hit Spike.
As Spike fell to the floor, stunned by Hakkou's blow, Hakkou reached into his coat once again, and withdrew a pistol. He unloaded a clip in Spike's direction, but hit only air as Spike scrambled out of the way, the bullets coming so close they left small tears in his clothes.
Spike made a lunge for the shotgun he had dropped, but received a kick in the face as Hakkou moved to meet him. As Spike fell back, Hakkou retrieved the shotgun and took aim at Spike, laying prone on the floor. But the next shot came from Faye, not him. He dropped down into a split, a movement that stunned Faye, and after her shot whizzed over the top of his head, he came back up.
As Hakkou went down, Spike leapt toward Faye, tackled into her, and threw her down behind some turned over tables, ducking down for cover as Hakkou shot at.
"Spike!" Faye gasped as he slumped down next to her, "How did."
"No time to explain" he said, dismissively, waving a hand at her. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a crumbled pack of cigarettes, stuck one into his mouth, and reached then felt around his pockets for a book of matches. Finding none, he turned to Faye. "You got a light?" Faye's jaw dropped, struggling to believe that a dead man could be before her, trying to light a cigarette, even as an assailant she had never seen before was trying to kill them. She shook her head slightly, and Spike groaned. He cocked his pistol, getting ready, and then instructed her "I'm going to draw his fire. When he takes aim at me, I want you to hit him with everything you've got. Understand?" She nodded, and readied her own gun.
Spike waited for a count of three, and then leapt out from their cover. Hakkou followed the movement over the barrel of the gun, but then, to Spike's utter astonishment, he turned to where Faye was standing up from, anticipating their plan perfectly. He fired off a volley of shots at Faye, who immediately ducked back down. Spike muttered a curse, and tried to think or what to do next.
As if by some divine intervention, Hakkou stopped shooting, and grunted loudly, his face contorting. A growling noise rose to Faye and Spike's ears. All three of them turned their gaze down, and Faye felt her jaw drop once again. Was that.Ed, gnawing on Hakkou's ankle?
Hakkou raised up the gun, intending to bring the butt end down onto Ed's skull, but Faye and Spike leapt into action before he could make the blow. Spike lunged in, and landed a hard kick square into Hakkou's chin, and Faye flowed by striking him hard across his face with her fist. Hakkou grunted, stumbled back against the bar, and fell over it, his body disappearing over the side.
Spike jumped up into the bar, preparing to take aim down at Hakkou, but was interrupted when several small, orb shaped objects flew up over the bar and clacked on the floor. Spike's eyes grew large, and he immediately leapt down, grabbed Faye and Ed both by the arm, and shouted "Get down!"
He pulled threw the two of them under some of the tables that were still standing, and then ducked down himself just as the grenades detonated, sending small shards of metal flying in all directions. Faye shrieked as one shard of shrapnel flew by and left a small gash on her ankle, but otherwise, they all went unharmed. The explosion ignited the alcohol that had been spilled everywhere, and the flames rose quickly to engulf the room.
Spike looked up, and saw Hakkou standing on the bar, slowly sliding his sword back into its scabbard. He looked down at Spike, their eyes locking, and then drew his lips back in a snarl that Spike could only imagine seeing on the face of a wild animal.
"So help me, I'll see you burn yet!" Hakkou hissed, and then leapt from the bar and darted out the door, disappearing before Spike could do anything.
His instinct was to follow Hakkou, to track him down at finish with him. But necessity told him otherwise. The sound of Faye and Ed gasping as the flames licked nearer to them made him stay.
He leapt over a puddle of fire, threw the table they were hiding under away from them, and held his hand out. Faye gripped it firmly, lifting Ed up with her other arm, and then followed as he led them out the door, and into the streets. The sound of sirens were growing close.
Faye wrapped an arm around Spike's shoulder, the cut on her ankle making it a little harder to walk, and Ed wrapped one of her small arms around Faye's waist, the both of them leaning on Spike for support.
"Who was that guy?" Faye asked him, trying to read any type of reaction on his face. But Spike was cold as steel, solid as granite.
"He's me Faye. Part of him, anyway."
Welcome back, cowboy.
Boys are Back
4
"Spike" Faye's mysterious assailant snorted, the contempt in his voice clear as day. "Its just as well. Saves me the trouble of tracking you down later."
"I don't want anymore trouble than I need, 801."
"Stop calling me that!" The stranger screamed at Spike, the rage in his eyes blazing like a forest fire. His hand went into his trench coat, and emerged, the hilt of a sword clutched tight in his fingers. "I am not a number! Not an imitation! I have a name! I am Hakkou! I.am.a man!"
With those final words, he reached into the inside of his coat and withdrew a long sword. The instant his hand disappeared into his coat, Spike cocked the shotgun he was holding, and fired off a shot. Faye's jaw dropped as she watched Hakkou swung his sword and sliced the bullet that had been fired at him in mid air, like a professional baseball player hitting his homerun.
Hakkou lunged at Spike, swinging his sword over his shoulder, around, over his head, trying to cleave Spike from head to groin. But Spike threw his shotgun up, blocking the blade as it game screaming down at his head. As the two weapons collided, Spike tried to launch a kick at Hakkou's shins, but Hakkou stomped one of his feet down onto Spike's, trapping him in place. They both glowered at each other, and then reared their heads back, and slammed their foreheads together as they both attempted a head butt.
They both grunted, stumbled back from each other. Hakkou tried to take a swing at Spike's abdomen, but Spike quickly took a jump back, the blade swinging less than an inch from his body. He launched forward with a kick, intending to hit Hakkou's chest as if there were a bull's-eye mark printed on it. But Hakkou sidestepped, grabbed his ankle, yanked him forward, and smashed an elbow into his chin.
Faye watched the fight unfolding. She held her gun up, attempted to take aim, but they moved at a speed that was simply amazing. She could not get a solid fix on Hakkou, and she did not want to hit Spike.
As Spike fell to the floor, stunned by Hakkou's blow, Hakkou reached into his coat once again, and withdrew a pistol. He unloaded a clip in Spike's direction, but hit only air as Spike scrambled out of the way, the bullets coming so close they left small tears in his clothes.
Spike made a lunge for the shotgun he had dropped, but received a kick in the face as Hakkou moved to meet him. As Spike fell back, Hakkou retrieved the shotgun and took aim at Spike, laying prone on the floor. But the next shot came from Faye, not him. He dropped down into a split, a movement that stunned Faye, and after her shot whizzed over the top of his head, he came back up.
As Hakkou went down, Spike leapt toward Faye, tackled into her, and threw her down behind some turned over tables, ducking down for cover as Hakkou shot at.
"Spike!" Faye gasped as he slumped down next to her, "How did."
"No time to explain" he said, dismissively, waving a hand at her. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a crumbled pack of cigarettes, stuck one into his mouth, and reached then felt around his pockets for a book of matches. Finding none, he turned to Faye. "You got a light?" Faye's jaw dropped, struggling to believe that a dead man could be before her, trying to light a cigarette, even as an assailant she had never seen before was trying to kill them. She shook her head slightly, and Spike groaned. He cocked his pistol, getting ready, and then instructed her "I'm going to draw his fire. When he takes aim at me, I want you to hit him with everything you've got. Understand?" She nodded, and readied her own gun.
Spike waited for a count of three, and then leapt out from their cover. Hakkou followed the movement over the barrel of the gun, but then, to Spike's utter astonishment, he turned to where Faye was standing up from, anticipating their plan perfectly. He fired off a volley of shots at Faye, who immediately ducked back down. Spike muttered a curse, and tried to think or what to do next.
As if by some divine intervention, Hakkou stopped shooting, and grunted loudly, his face contorting. A growling noise rose to Faye and Spike's ears. All three of them turned their gaze down, and Faye felt her jaw drop once again. Was that.Ed, gnawing on Hakkou's ankle?
Hakkou raised up the gun, intending to bring the butt end down onto Ed's skull, but Faye and Spike leapt into action before he could make the blow. Spike lunged in, and landed a hard kick square into Hakkou's chin, and Faye flowed by striking him hard across his face with her fist. Hakkou grunted, stumbled back against the bar, and fell over it, his body disappearing over the side.
Spike jumped up into the bar, preparing to take aim down at Hakkou, but was interrupted when several small, orb shaped objects flew up over the bar and clacked on the floor. Spike's eyes grew large, and he immediately leapt down, grabbed Faye and Ed both by the arm, and shouted "Get down!"
He pulled threw the two of them under some of the tables that were still standing, and then ducked down himself just as the grenades detonated, sending small shards of metal flying in all directions. Faye shrieked as one shard of shrapnel flew by and left a small gash on her ankle, but otherwise, they all went unharmed. The explosion ignited the alcohol that had been spilled everywhere, and the flames rose quickly to engulf the room.
Spike looked up, and saw Hakkou standing on the bar, slowly sliding his sword back into its scabbard. He looked down at Spike, their eyes locking, and then drew his lips back in a snarl that Spike could only imagine seeing on the face of a wild animal.
"So help me, I'll see you burn yet!" Hakkou hissed, and then leapt from the bar and darted out the door, disappearing before Spike could do anything.
His instinct was to follow Hakkou, to track him down at finish with him. But necessity told him otherwise. The sound of Faye and Ed gasping as the flames licked nearer to them made him stay.
He leapt over a puddle of fire, threw the table they were hiding under away from them, and held his hand out. Faye gripped it firmly, lifting Ed up with her other arm, and then followed as he led them out the door, and into the streets. The sound of sirens were growing close.
Faye wrapped an arm around Spike's shoulder, the cut on her ankle making it a little harder to walk, and Ed wrapped one of her small arms around Faye's waist, the both of them leaning on Spike for support.
"Who was that guy?" Faye asked him, trying to read any type of reaction on his face. But Spike was cold as steel, solid as granite.
"He's me Faye. Part of him, anyway."
Welcome back, cowboy.