Cowboy Bebop
Boys are Back 5
"Owie! Faye-Faye, that stings!" Ed squealed as she squirmed.
"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't sting" Fay grunted between her teeth. She tried again to apply the cream to Ed's injuries, and again, Ed squirmed away. Fay sighed, rubbing her forehead. She had a headache. "You want those to heal quickly, don't you?"
"Hey, Ed" Spike said from window, where he was leaning, puffing dejectedly on his cigarette. Ed peaked over the chair where she was hiding to look at Spike. He held out one hand, balled up into a fist, and waved it around a little. Ed's eyes followed his hand, like a moth dancing around a flame. Spike eventually opened his fingers to reveal some small pieces of candy, and Ed scrambled past Faye to eagerly gobble them, almost taking Spike's hand with it.
"Hey! Don't I get any."Faye was cut off when Spike put a finger to his mouth. She waited. Within a matter of moments, Ed was sound asleep.
"You shouldn't have any trouble now" he muttered, and went back to gazing out the window.
Faye stood there, stunned for a moment. The feeling of unreality came over her again. She treated Ed's wounds absently, her eyes never really leaving Spike. He stood with his back to her, his head in his hands, his arms resting on their elbows in the windowsill. He still displayed that trademark slouch of his shoulders. He seemed to be thinking of something else.
After tending to her own bruises, Faye stood up and came up behind Spike. She hesitated, then reached out, and placed a hand on his shoulder, just trying to make sure this was all real. He did not seem to even notice.
"All right Spike." she said, almost fearing what she would hear in response, "Time to start talking. Who was that guy? Why was he after me? How did Ed get here? Even better, how did you get here? You're supposed to be dead. I saw you're body."
"Take it easy with the questions, Faye" he muttered as he turned to face her, rubbing his temples, "The past couple of days have been hard on me."
"Hard on you?!" she shouted, disbelieving that she was even having this conversation. "I almost got killed by a guy who could have been you're twin brother, and then you come back from the dead, and then I get the hell kicked out of me, and you're saying its hard on you?"
He silenced her by holding up a hand. He sighed, walked over to the small table, the only other piece of furniture in this small hotel room he'd been able to rent with what little woolong he had on him. He slumped down into the chair that accompanied the table, and leaned his head back, trying to think of the best way to explain.
"All right. It all started about a two months ago."
Spike sat, alone in an empty room. He kept reaching up and feeling his face, his chest, his arms, having trouble believing that he was still here. He stubbed out his fifth cigarette into the small ashtray sitting on the table. He did not know who these people were, but they seemed to know him well. They had his suit, all cleaned up, without even a hole in it from all the time's he'd been shot. They even had a pack of his favorite smokes in the pocket. Now, all he could do was wait till someone explained things to him.
"You know, you really shouldn't chain-smoke, it's a terrible habit" came a voice from across the room. He wheeled around to find himself gazing at a man who was about his height, but much narrower in his shoulders. He wore a white lab-coat, and carried a clipboard. He walked over to Spike, looked down at him for a moment, and then slapped him firm across the face.
Spike launched himself up, ready to lay this man out for that, but something held him back. The stranger was just scribbling notes on his pad, as if nothing had happened. "Good." he muttered, smiling to himself. "It looks like you're nervous system is functioning perfectly."
"What the hell are you talking about? Why am I even here?" Spike demanded, grabbing the stranger by his shirt collar
"Mr. Spiegel, there is no need for that. All will be explained." Spike released him, and watched as he straightened his collar, and then sat down in a chair opposite Spike's. He gestured or Spike to sit, and when he did, he smiled and said "Anything I can get for you? Coffee, juice? Or something stronger? I know you're fond of the bottle."
"Who are you?" "Spike cut him off. "How did I get here? And who was that other guy?"
"Well, I am Dr. Cornelius, and you are in a genetics lab. And that other person was you.and Vicious. I suspect there is a little of you're other friends in there too."
"What?" Spike asked, his cigarette falling from his mouth.
Cornelius leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "I see I will have to go right back to the start of things. Tell me Mr. Spiegel, what is the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"
Spike hesitated a moment, as if savoring the taste of some fine dish. His mouth hung open, trying to find words. He thought, thought hard.
"I remember.the fight with Vicious.stumbling down the stairway.then.cold.dark."
"You were dead, for a little while, anyway." Cornelius said as if he were giving Spike the weather. He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "So was Vicious. But, we managed to resurrect the both of you. Did a good job too, considering how rushed we were?"
"Resurrect." Spike said, the word seemed to echo in his mind.
"You see." Cornelius said as he stood up and came around the table. "The Syndicate went into a state of chaos after you're little fracas with Vicious. All their leaders turned on each other, and they began to crumble. Many of their top people were apprehended by the ISSP. But, a few managed to avoid capture, and decided that new leadership was needed if they were to stay in order. They needed Vicious back.
"That is where we came in. The remaining Syndicate leaders contracted this facility to take the preserved body of their fallen leader, repair the damage done to his body, tissue by tissue, and restore him to jumping, screaming, sword swinging life.
"But" he held up a finger, as if pointing to heaven, "They decided it would not be enough to just have Vicious back. They needed some new blood infused into their organization, someone with the proper vision who would help them reach new plateaus. That's where you came into the mix. You see, they preserved you're body as well, for reasons I cannot begin to fathom. They wanted us to repair you as well, wipe you're memory, and reprogram you to be Vicious' partner in crime. Like two peas in a pod, neh? Would you like a stick of gum?" he held out a pack of mint gum to Spike, who just stared, stunned by all the news. When he said nothing, Cornelius unwrapped a stick of gum, chewed in it for a moment, and then continued.
"Somewhere along the way, they decided it would be a good idea to have a third body in the mix. An enforcer, if you will. Someone with the strength and ability to carry out your and Vicious' orders once you were both firmly in position as The Syndicate's new leaders. So they asked to see what we could do.
"So, we just combined some samples from you and Vicious, and created someone totally new. The sums of all you're best, and worst parts. Project 801, the person who was in the tank next to you when you awoke. I suppose you should be happy, you are a daddy now, after all. Or is he more like you're brother?"
Spike sat, dumfounded for a moment, before he stood up, his face turned down into a sneer.
"You.you grew someone.from part of me?" he growled, his fists clenching up.
"Don't forget, we made him from Vicious too." Cornelius stopped when he saw the way Spike was tensing up. "Now, before you try to use any of you're fancy pants martial arts on me, Mr. Spiegel, please let me finish. You see, it seems that 801 did not just inherit skill and strength from you and Vicious. He inherited you're rebellious, independent nature's as well. You see, once you feinted, he decided to fly the coop. Make a break for it."
"What?" Spike said, getting tired of all of this.
"I'm saying he's gone and run away, Mr. Spiegel. Right after you feinted, he savaged some of our people and made away in the ship The Syndicate made for him. That's why I'm here talking to you now. We want you to bring him back to us."
Spike launched himself at Cornelius, grabbed his collar, and yanked him forward till they were so close that Spike's breath fogged up Cornelius' glasses.
"You're the ones who made that.that thing! And you want me to make up for you're screw ups? I never even asked to be here!"
"Now, now, Mr. Spiegel, you'd get to be doing what you love! Just like you're days as a bounty hunter, chasing after the criminals. We even have you're ship, we managed to buy it from an ISSP auction. And we."
"Back to the loneliness." Spike said, dropping Cornelius literally on the floor. The narrow shouldered scientist landed on his butt, his clipboard clacking on the floor next to him. "Back to one day drifting into another, back to smoking cigarettes and having nothing to eat.no peace, no quiet. you expect me to trade peace for that? You're insane." Spike started to trudge away, searching for a door.
"Actually, we had a different sort of trade off in mind." Cornelius said with a smirk. The moment he said this, a whole piece of one of the walls seemed to slide away, to reveal a tank much like the one Spike had been floating in. And inside it, there was a naked, female figure. When Spike saw it, he froze. He recognized the face of that person floating in the red goo.
"My God." he said in whisper, "Julia!"
"The bullets almost severed her spinal chord" Cornelius said as he came up alongside Spike. "But, The Syndicate got her to us in time. We've almost repaired her entirely. All she needs is a final jolt that will spark her back to life. We can restore her, Mr. Spiegel. Just like the Sleeping Beauty, being awoken by her lovers kiss. What do you say?"
Spike reached out, touched the glass of the tank, and tried to pretend he was touching her face. Gazing into her eyes again. And he knew what he had to do.
"And so, here I am." Spike finished his story, and leaned back in his chair, waiting to see how Faye would react.
She stood there, trying to absorb all that information. Maybe it was too much to take in all at once, Spike thought.
"I can't believe you're still chasing after her!" Faye burst out suddenly. Evidently she had absorbed it just fine.
"Faye" he groaned as he got back to his feet "You don't understand."
"I understand fine!" she continued to shout, "You're still chasing after the woman who brought you nothing but trouble! And after they gave you a whole new chance to live!"
"I came back to help you, and all you ever brought me was trouble, didn't I?" Spike said suddenly. Faye gasped, felt a lump form in her throat. Spike and she had had some pretty sour exchanges in the past, but he had never said something so vicious to her.
Spike hesitated a moment, as if he were thinking of apologizing, but then thrust it aside, and resumed his place in the windowsill. Faye stared down at the floor for what felt like a long time, and then finally came up behind Spike.
"So.what do we do now?"
"Hakkou won't come after us now that we're all together. He'll look for a softer target, one he is confident he can handle on his own."
Hakkou."
"I guess that's what he wants to be called. It means 'sad fate.'" Spike shrugged.
"So, what do you think he's going to do."
"He hasn't left the planet yet. I can tell that much." Spike reached up and placed a hand on his head. "I can.feel him, inside my head.like a scream echoing. He hasn't left yet. So we're safe for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll try to track him down."
"And if he decides he doesn't want to go with you?"
"He will. He doesn't have a choice in the matter. Neither do I." He flicked his last cigarette down into the streets, and then turned to Faye. "There's room on that bed for you and Ed. I'll take the first watch, just to make sure he doesn't try for you again. Get some sleep Faye. Tomorrow, we start searching."
Tomorrow's a big day cowboy.
Boys are Back 5
"Owie! Faye-Faye, that stings!" Ed squealed as she squirmed.
"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't sting" Fay grunted between her teeth. She tried again to apply the cream to Ed's injuries, and again, Ed squirmed away. Fay sighed, rubbing her forehead. She had a headache. "You want those to heal quickly, don't you?"
"Hey, Ed" Spike said from window, where he was leaning, puffing dejectedly on his cigarette. Ed peaked over the chair where she was hiding to look at Spike. He held out one hand, balled up into a fist, and waved it around a little. Ed's eyes followed his hand, like a moth dancing around a flame. Spike eventually opened his fingers to reveal some small pieces of candy, and Ed scrambled past Faye to eagerly gobble them, almost taking Spike's hand with it.
"Hey! Don't I get any."Faye was cut off when Spike put a finger to his mouth. She waited. Within a matter of moments, Ed was sound asleep.
"You shouldn't have any trouble now" he muttered, and went back to gazing out the window.
Faye stood there, stunned for a moment. The feeling of unreality came over her again. She treated Ed's wounds absently, her eyes never really leaving Spike. He stood with his back to her, his head in his hands, his arms resting on their elbows in the windowsill. He still displayed that trademark slouch of his shoulders. He seemed to be thinking of something else.
After tending to her own bruises, Faye stood up and came up behind Spike. She hesitated, then reached out, and placed a hand on his shoulder, just trying to make sure this was all real. He did not seem to even notice.
"All right Spike." she said, almost fearing what she would hear in response, "Time to start talking. Who was that guy? Why was he after me? How did Ed get here? Even better, how did you get here? You're supposed to be dead. I saw you're body."
"Take it easy with the questions, Faye" he muttered as he turned to face her, rubbing his temples, "The past couple of days have been hard on me."
"Hard on you?!" she shouted, disbelieving that she was even having this conversation. "I almost got killed by a guy who could have been you're twin brother, and then you come back from the dead, and then I get the hell kicked out of me, and you're saying its hard on you?"
He silenced her by holding up a hand. He sighed, walked over to the small table, the only other piece of furniture in this small hotel room he'd been able to rent with what little woolong he had on him. He slumped down into the chair that accompanied the table, and leaned his head back, trying to think of the best way to explain.
"All right. It all started about a two months ago."
Spike sat, alone in an empty room. He kept reaching up and feeling his face, his chest, his arms, having trouble believing that he was still here. He stubbed out his fifth cigarette into the small ashtray sitting on the table. He did not know who these people were, but they seemed to know him well. They had his suit, all cleaned up, without even a hole in it from all the time's he'd been shot. They even had a pack of his favorite smokes in the pocket. Now, all he could do was wait till someone explained things to him.
"You know, you really shouldn't chain-smoke, it's a terrible habit" came a voice from across the room. He wheeled around to find himself gazing at a man who was about his height, but much narrower in his shoulders. He wore a white lab-coat, and carried a clipboard. He walked over to Spike, looked down at him for a moment, and then slapped him firm across the face.
Spike launched himself up, ready to lay this man out for that, but something held him back. The stranger was just scribbling notes on his pad, as if nothing had happened. "Good." he muttered, smiling to himself. "It looks like you're nervous system is functioning perfectly."
"What the hell are you talking about? Why am I even here?" Spike demanded, grabbing the stranger by his shirt collar
"Mr. Spiegel, there is no need for that. All will be explained." Spike released him, and watched as he straightened his collar, and then sat down in a chair opposite Spike's. He gestured or Spike to sit, and when he did, he smiled and said "Anything I can get for you? Coffee, juice? Or something stronger? I know you're fond of the bottle."
"Who are you?" "Spike cut him off. "How did I get here? And who was that other guy?"
"Well, I am Dr. Cornelius, and you are in a genetics lab. And that other person was you.and Vicious. I suspect there is a little of you're other friends in there too."
"What?" Spike asked, his cigarette falling from his mouth.
Cornelius leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "I see I will have to go right back to the start of things. Tell me Mr. Spiegel, what is the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"
Spike hesitated a moment, as if savoring the taste of some fine dish. His mouth hung open, trying to find words. He thought, thought hard.
"I remember.the fight with Vicious.stumbling down the stairway.then.cold.dark."
"You were dead, for a little while, anyway." Cornelius said as if he were giving Spike the weather. He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "So was Vicious. But, we managed to resurrect the both of you. Did a good job too, considering how rushed we were?"
"Resurrect." Spike said, the word seemed to echo in his mind.
"You see." Cornelius said as he stood up and came around the table. "The Syndicate went into a state of chaos after you're little fracas with Vicious. All their leaders turned on each other, and they began to crumble. Many of their top people were apprehended by the ISSP. But, a few managed to avoid capture, and decided that new leadership was needed if they were to stay in order. They needed Vicious back.
"That is where we came in. The remaining Syndicate leaders contracted this facility to take the preserved body of their fallen leader, repair the damage done to his body, tissue by tissue, and restore him to jumping, screaming, sword swinging life.
"But" he held up a finger, as if pointing to heaven, "They decided it would not be enough to just have Vicious back. They needed some new blood infused into their organization, someone with the proper vision who would help them reach new plateaus. That's where you came into the mix. You see, they preserved you're body as well, for reasons I cannot begin to fathom. They wanted us to repair you as well, wipe you're memory, and reprogram you to be Vicious' partner in crime. Like two peas in a pod, neh? Would you like a stick of gum?" he held out a pack of mint gum to Spike, who just stared, stunned by all the news. When he said nothing, Cornelius unwrapped a stick of gum, chewed in it for a moment, and then continued.
"Somewhere along the way, they decided it would be a good idea to have a third body in the mix. An enforcer, if you will. Someone with the strength and ability to carry out your and Vicious' orders once you were both firmly in position as The Syndicate's new leaders. So they asked to see what we could do.
"So, we just combined some samples from you and Vicious, and created someone totally new. The sums of all you're best, and worst parts. Project 801, the person who was in the tank next to you when you awoke. I suppose you should be happy, you are a daddy now, after all. Or is he more like you're brother?"
Spike sat, dumfounded for a moment, before he stood up, his face turned down into a sneer.
"You.you grew someone.from part of me?" he growled, his fists clenching up.
"Don't forget, we made him from Vicious too." Cornelius stopped when he saw the way Spike was tensing up. "Now, before you try to use any of you're fancy pants martial arts on me, Mr. Spiegel, please let me finish. You see, it seems that 801 did not just inherit skill and strength from you and Vicious. He inherited you're rebellious, independent nature's as well. You see, once you feinted, he decided to fly the coop. Make a break for it."
"What?" Spike said, getting tired of all of this.
"I'm saying he's gone and run away, Mr. Spiegel. Right after you feinted, he savaged some of our people and made away in the ship The Syndicate made for him. That's why I'm here talking to you now. We want you to bring him back to us."
Spike launched himself at Cornelius, grabbed his collar, and yanked him forward till they were so close that Spike's breath fogged up Cornelius' glasses.
"You're the ones who made that.that thing! And you want me to make up for you're screw ups? I never even asked to be here!"
"Now, now, Mr. Spiegel, you'd get to be doing what you love! Just like you're days as a bounty hunter, chasing after the criminals. We even have you're ship, we managed to buy it from an ISSP auction. And we."
"Back to the loneliness." Spike said, dropping Cornelius literally on the floor. The narrow shouldered scientist landed on his butt, his clipboard clacking on the floor next to him. "Back to one day drifting into another, back to smoking cigarettes and having nothing to eat.no peace, no quiet. you expect me to trade peace for that? You're insane." Spike started to trudge away, searching for a door.
"Actually, we had a different sort of trade off in mind." Cornelius said with a smirk. The moment he said this, a whole piece of one of the walls seemed to slide away, to reveal a tank much like the one Spike had been floating in. And inside it, there was a naked, female figure. When Spike saw it, he froze. He recognized the face of that person floating in the red goo.
"My God." he said in whisper, "Julia!"
"The bullets almost severed her spinal chord" Cornelius said as he came up alongside Spike. "But, The Syndicate got her to us in time. We've almost repaired her entirely. All she needs is a final jolt that will spark her back to life. We can restore her, Mr. Spiegel. Just like the Sleeping Beauty, being awoken by her lovers kiss. What do you say?"
Spike reached out, touched the glass of the tank, and tried to pretend he was touching her face. Gazing into her eyes again. And he knew what he had to do.
"And so, here I am." Spike finished his story, and leaned back in his chair, waiting to see how Faye would react.
She stood there, trying to absorb all that information. Maybe it was too much to take in all at once, Spike thought.
"I can't believe you're still chasing after her!" Faye burst out suddenly. Evidently she had absorbed it just fine.
"Faye" he groaned as he got back to his feet "You don't understand."
"I understand fine!" she continued to shout, "You're still chasing after the woman who brought you nothing but trouble! And after they gave you a whole new chance to live!"
"I came back to help you, and all you ever brought me was trouble, didn't I?" Spike said suddenly. Faye gasped, felt a lump form in her throat. Spike and she had had some pretty sour exchanges in the past, but he had never said something so vicious to her.
Spike hesitated a moment, as if he were thinking of apologizing, but then thrust it aside, and resumed his place in the windowsill. Faye stared down at the floor for what felt like a long time, and then finally came up behind Spike.
"So.what do we do now?"
"Hakkou won't come after us now that we're all together. He'll look for a softer target, one he is confident he can handle on his own."
Hakkou."
"I guess that's what he wants to be called. It means 'sad fate.'" Spike shrugged.
"So, what do you think he's going to do."
"He hasn't left the planet yet. I can tell that much." Spike reached up and placed a hand on his head. "I can.feel him, inside my head.like a scream echoing. He hasn't left yet. So we're safe for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll try to track him down."
"And if he decides he doesn't want to go with you?"
"He will. He doesn't have a choice in the matter. Neither do I." He flicked his last cigarette down into the streets, and then turned to Faye. "There's room on that bed for you and Ed. I'll take the first watch, just to make sure he doesn't try for you again. Get some sleep Faye. Tomorrow, we start searching."
Tomorrow's a big day cowboy.