Hello everybody, well, here it is, the next chapter I'm sorry to say.
Everyone hold a candle for Ein, for I am afraid he meets his demise in this
chapter. I'm sorry, but I felt it necessary for the story. I'm afraid I got
a little gruesome with the description, but please don't hate me! Read the
chapter and tell me what you think! Although I'd like to dedicate this
chapter, I don't want to offend anyone by dedicating a gory chapter to
them! So I'll just say thank you to all my fellow fanfiction-ers and my
loyal reader! Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop, and I also don't own the Frank Sinatra song "My Funny Valentine" which is featured in this fic, but I do own the latest sick, super-villain Brad Jacobson, a.k.a. Obsession.
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The company was two floors above their starting point when the howls started. Spike stopped mid-step as they reached his ears, his pupils dilated and his mouth slacking as if he'd just been hit over the back of his head with a blunt object. Faye and Jet had been running behind Spike and hadn't heard Ein's howl of pain. Perhaps that was their reason for not slowing down when they saw him stop and running into him, all three of them falling to the ground. "Spike! What the Hell do you think you're doing," Faye yelled from on top of the pile up, "stopping in front of us like that! We have to find Ein!"
"Shhhhh", Spike said, holding up a finger near his lips, his head down next to the floor listening for another call. No more then a second later it came, a sound rooted in suffering, but where was it coming from?!
"Was that Ein?!" Jet asked, concern filling his features mixed with the terror in his voice. "Where's it coming from? Which floor's it on?" A third howl met their ears; this one mixed with a kind of whines that issue from a struck dog. Spike, Jet, and Faye got up off the floor, their heads turning this way and that trying to find the general direction of the sound. They knew it was below them, but was it to their left or right? Was it in a completely different direction on the other side of the ship? They knew their time was running out when a forth howl came from the tortured canine, this one little more then a quiet whine that was barely audible through the steel floors that made up the Bebop.
"He's below us, we know that much," Spike said turning to the other two. "I'll go find him, you two say here or go up to the control deck and check the cameras for Obsession or Ein." He turned and was about to run off when a red finger-nailed hand grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"No way Spike, we're coming with you to find them," Faye said, her emerald eyes meeting Spike's crimson, "find Ein, and you find Obsession. Jet and I aren't going to let you face that maniac alone, not a snowballs' chance in Hell!" (A/N: Aside from being the Bane of Punctuation and the Quote Queen, I'm also the Clique Princess, doncha know! ^_^)
"Listen, we don't have time for this heroic loyalty crap Faye!" Spike said, prying Faye's hand off him. "I'm the faster runner, plain and simple!"
"Bu..", Faye started but Spike was already all the way down the hallway and was heading down one of the floor-connecting steel ladders. "Are we really going to just stand here and let him go off alone?" A low noise came up from the floor, barely recognizable as one of Ein's cries for help.
"What was that you said again, not a snowballs' chance in Hell?" Jet said, and with that sprinted down the hallway to the ladder with Faye beside him. When they got there, they could just barely hear the sound of Spike's foot- falls, he had a big head start.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The low moan that Jet and Faye had heard a moment ago had spurred Spike on, that pitiful noise echoed through his head. "It's my fault; it's all my fault this is happening to you Ein", Spike though to himself, resisting the urge to punch himself in the face or slam his head into one of the walls of the hallway. No, he couldn't do that, he had to find Ein. Ein wouldn't die from this; Spike wouldn't have any more lives on his conscience. Over his years with the Red Dragons he'd lost many a comrade, and he blamed himself for each one of their deaths. He wouldn't allow Ein to be added to his list to hold memorials for! He couldn't believe he was having thoughts like this for a dog..but didn't that dog have a personality, didn't it have a soul?
His breathing was coming at a faster rate when he heard it; it was another moan like before, only this one cut off abruptly. It didn't fade away like the others, it just stopped and then there was silence. However, Spike had gotten one thing from that last noise, he now knew where Ein was, that sound had come from the end of the hallway one floor down. He back- tracked a few feet as fast as he could and slid down the ladder that led to the next floor, not bothering to use the rungs. That sound very easily could've been the bane of him, it was too suspicious. Spike feared what he would find as his feet hit the ground. There were no butterflies in his stomach, there were snakes, countless numbers slithering around inside of him trying to get out, biting him as he walked down the hallway. There was no lighting at the end, so he took out his oil lighter, flicking it on to see into the darkness. As soon as he did, he wished he hadn't, as there dangling in front of him was Ein.
Or at least it looked like Ein, if Ein had been a dark red dog. Every inch of his once brown and white fur had been dyed the hideous color by his own blood. His paws were slack but at odd angles as if they were broken in several places. Ein's underside in the area of the stomach and other such organs was completely devoid of skin and the muscle underneath had been mercilessly slashed open with what looked to have been nothing but bare hands and fingernails. With that gone, the intestines, liver, everything had spilled out and was now hanging mere inches from the ground in a trailing glob. Every once in a while something would slip from sheer gravity and the mass would fall a few centimeters closer to the floor, releasing blood or some other fluid that gave a steady 'drip...drip...drip...'.
The head had remained connected to the body and Spike was a little grateful for that, but only the smallest bit imaginable. The head itself was oddly shaped as if the scull and jaw had been broken and crushed in various places. The mouth was closed as if in a growl, teeth clamped shut, with the tongue sticking out in-between. It was just barely hanging on by a thin strip of flesh and veins. His right eye was hanging limp out of the socket, only connected by the optic nerve, but even that was slowly giving way. All of this was hanging by the neck from the ceiling exactly at Spike's eye level. Ein's corpse had been strung up by a length of his own intestines and it was slowly spinning from counter-clockwise to clockwise as the intestines coiled and uncoiled.
Spike felt a wave of nausea sweep over him as he watched the demented sight slowly turning as if by some imaginary breeze and dropped his lighter to the ground, the flame still burning. He put a hand over his mouth and leaned a hand against the wall trying to steady himself as his legs felt weak. However, just as he placed his hand on the wall, he pulled it away in disgust and grimaced, there was something wet on the walls. He held his hand up cautiously to his face, knowing was on it even before he'd pulled his hand away...blood. He looked around him on the walls, his breathing becoming a staccato melody; quick, jerky, erratic. All around him were splashes of blood, like somebody had thrown a paint-filled water balloon at the wall every few feet. But that wasn't paint on the walls; that was blood from Ein's head. Spike got a sickening image in his mind of Obsession holding Ein by his feet like a rag doll and every few steps swinging out at the walls, bashing Ein's head up against them. It brought to mind a question, were most of Ein's injuries pre or post mortem? Spike didn't want to think about that right now, putting his head in his bloody hand and shaking his head, the nausea still affecting his stomach.
He heard a noise at the end of the hallway opposite Ein and turned his head so fast in that direction that he left a bloody smear on his forehead from his stained hand. It was Jet and Faye coming down the ladder and running towards him. He was so happy to see them, he tried to move towards them, but his legs finally gave way out from under him and he fell face-down on the ground. Faye let out a small shriek and ran to his side, kneeling down beside him. With Jet's help they managed to turn him over so he was looking at both of them and Spike gave a small smile. "About time you guys got here," he thought to himself, eyes shifting from Faye to Jet.
"Oh my God, Jet he's hurt!" Faye said, running a hand over Spike's head where the blood had come off from his hand.
"I'm not hurt idiot," Spike said, trying to sit up but still feeling a bit nauseous, "it's just blood and it's not even mine." He motioned to the bloody smear on the wall that now had his handprint imprinted into it. Jet looked over and let out a gasp as his eyes moved around the walls that the limited light would allow him to see and Faye let out another shriek, but she wasn't looking at the walls. She was looking down towards the dead- end of the hallway, and Spike would've thought she'd seen Ein, except she was looking at the floor. "What is it Faye?" Spike asked, sitting up much to his stomach's complaint and looking at her. Her eyes were squinting and focused on the floor right by where Spike had dropped his still-burning lighter.
"Th-the deed is done," she stuttered out, her eyes slowly widening as they got used to the dark.
"What are you talking about Faye?' Jet asked, his gaze following Faye's until he was looking where she was and his breath caught in his throat. On the ground by the lighter was written a message.
"Spike. The deed is done, Now it's time to pay," Faye read cautiously, "I await your gift, On Valentine's Day." The message was written in blood and small strips of furry skin. Jet just sat there as Faye read the message and then turned his head to Spike.
"Where's Ein?" he said, his voice that fake kind of calm people talk in when they know something bad has happened. Spike picked up the lighter and taking a deep breath, held it above his head. He turned his head away so he wouldn't have to see 'it' again. No more then two seconds later, Faye let out a scream that would be enough to break glass. She then hid her face in Spike's leg, folding her arms over her head as if Ein's corpse would attack her. Jet on the other hand did nothing. He just sat there with a blank face for the longest time and then without warning his features darkened dangerously. His eye twitched as he turned and punched Spike across the face. Spike fell back onto the floor, just looking straight up. He felt Faye being pushed off his leg and Jet getting on top of him, punching him again. "This is all your fault you piece of shit!" he screamed, punching Spike in the jaw with his cybernetic arm. Spike lay there, accepting Jet's abuse, he knew he deserved it. Because of him and his hot temper, Ein was gone, forever.
Jet was about to punch Spike again and Faye was screaming in the background when they heard it. As if over some intercom, a familiar voice singing a song echoed around them.
'Is your figure less then Greek...Is your mouth a little weak...'
Spike recognized that voice, and when he heard it something inside him snapped. He filled with adrenaline and pushed Jet off him, standing up as he did. "Obsession you bastard! I swear if I ever see you I'm going to kill you! You hear me you demented little prick?!"
'When you open it to speak...Are you smart?'
Faye broke down completely on the floor, covering her head and crying.
'But don't change a hair for me, Not if you care for me...'
Now it was Jet's turn to yell. He heaved himself off the ground and screamed, "Get off my ship you asshole! If I catch you again, I will not be satisfied with just beating you up! If Spike doesn't get to you first I'll kill you myself!"
'Stay little valentine stay...Each day is Valentine's Day!'
With that Obsession's song stopped. Spike let out a frustrated scream and hit the wall as hard as he could. As he pulled his fist away, his knuckles began to bleed freely. "Hey, I got enough problems right now without you putting dents in my ship," Jet said, grabbing Spike by the wrist and examining the injured hand.
"Man do you run hot and cold," Spike said, pulling his hand away, "a second ago you were trying to break my face!"
"Can you blame me? But this is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves, with Obsession out there, we have to keep allies when we have them," Jet said with a smile. Spike smiled back and shook his head, rubbing his jaw.
Faye stopped crying and got up off the floor, walking up to Spike and Jet with tears still fresh on her cheeks, "I want off."
"What?" Jet said, clearly shocked by the comment.
"I said I want off this ship. It can be crewed by two people and you guys are always saying you want to get rid of me," Faye said, her hands balling into fists. "So I want off the ship, I don't want to die at the hands of some sick freak!" Jet was about to open his mouth to say something, but Spike got there first.
"Your call," Spike said, putting his arm around Faye's shoulder, leading her off and without a hint of sarcasm saying, "C'mon, I'll help you pack."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About and hour later, Faye had all her stuff packed into a suitcase and was standing by the hanger door. Jet had already said his goodbyes, saying that if they lived through this Faye could come back to the ship whenever she wanted. Now all that was left was saying goodbye to Spike. She stood there facing the hanger door with Spike next to her. "I'm sorry Spike," she said, "I guess that I'm not as strong as I thought I was."
"I don't blame you," Spike said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You gotta do what's best for you. Hey, I just rhymed there!" Faye gave a small smile to this; Spike did always manage somehow to add comedy to a serious situation. She turned towards him and hugged him, pressing up against him as she squeezed his chest. Spike stood there unsure of what to do and awkwardly put his arms around her. He rested a hand on her head and messed up her hair a little. "See you soon Faye," he said in a semi-cheerful voice. Faye nodded in agreement as she let go, a faint blush on her cheek for acting so emotional. She picked up her suitcase, smiled, and opened the door to the hanger..and was sucked right through.
All the air began to get sucked out of the hallway and Spike grabbed hold of the doorframe, sticking his head into the hanger. Everything that wasn't held down had been sucked out of the room through a hole large enough for a grown person to crawl through. "Damn you Obsession," Spike thought, looking all around the room for a sign that Faye was still on the ship and not floating through oblivion right now. It was getting harder to breath, so he sped up his eye-skimming search. "FAYE!" he yelled, seeing that she was still hanging onto the door handle for dear life and reaching his hand out. "TAKE MY HAND! QUICK!" She looked up at him and after a moment's hesitation; she reached her hand out and grabbed his. He pulled her in, closing the door as he did. Faye fell over on top of Spike as gravity was suddenly restored. They both lay there panting for a second when Faye finally spoke, "I, I think there's a hole in the hanger."
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Spike: *sits in a cage with Dream surrounded by protestors, but waving his arms around like crazy with a gleeful look on his face* YES!!! SPIKE/FAYE! Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!
Dream: *pulls him in as a protestor whacks their sign against the cage* Is that a confession oh ye of the big hair?
Spike: No, are you crazy?! It just means that I am right and you were wrong! You DID put some kind of a pairing in here!
Dream: No I didn't! It was too badly written to be any kind of pairing!
Spike: But!!
Dream: Listen, if you were going away from a loved one for a long time, wouldn't you want to hug them?!
Spike: But that's implying that she loves me!
Dream: *lets out a frustrated roar* You're impossible! Can we focus on the problem at hand here?!
Spike: Yah ok, why are we in this cage?
Dream: Because you left me to deal with animal rights protestors! These guys are brutal! I don't know how we're going to get out!
*chibi form of Obsession pops in*
Chibi Obsession: I can help you out for a price!
Spike: What's the-
Dream: Yah, sure, fine! What's the price?
Chibi Obsession: *pulls out camera* PHOTO OP!
Spike: *sweat drop* NO!
Dream: Yah, ok, fine! *grabs camera* Ok, pose!
*Chibi Obsession jumps into Spike's lap and hugs him, Spike looks like he's going to barf*
Dream: *takes picture* Ok, there, done! Now get us out!
Chibi Obsession: Very well! *transports them away to the Bebop* BYE SPIKE! *leaves*
Spike: I hate you SO much right now, you know that don't you?
Dream: Yah, yah, yah. Ok, this ending is nearly as long as the chapter! Anyway, I'll update soon! You have my solemn oath that this fic WILL be DONE by VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Spike: Why's that?
Dream: *falls over anime style*
"Remember this day; today...life is good!"
Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop, and I also don't own the Frank Sinatra song "My Funny Valentine" which is featured in this fic, but I do own the latest sick, super-villain Brad Jacobson, a.k.a. Obsession.
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The company was two floors above their starting point when the howls started. Spike stopped mid-step as they reached his ears, his pupils dilated and his mouth slacking as if he'd just been hit over the back of his head with a blunt object. Faye and Jet had been running behind Spike and hadn't heard Ein's howl of pain. Perhaps that was their reason for not slowing down when they saw him stop and running into him, all three of them falling to the ground. "Spike! What the Hell do you think you're doing," Faye yelled from on top of the pile up, "stopping in front of us like that! We have to find Ein!"
"Shhhhh", Spike said, holding up a finger near his lips, his head down next to the floor listening for another call. No more then a second later it came, a sound rooted in suffering, but where was it coming from?!
"Was that Ein?!" Jet asked, concern filling his features mixed with the terror in his voice. "Where's it coming from? Which floor's it on?" A third howl met their ears; this one mixed with a kind of whines that issue from a struck dog. Spike, Jet, and Faye got up off the floor, their heads turning this way and that trying to find the general direction of the sound. They knew it was below them, but was it to their left or right? Was it in a completely different direction on the other side of the ship? They knew their time was running out when a forth howl came from the tortured canine, this one little more then a quiet whine that was barely audible through the steel floors that made up the Bebop.
"He's below us, we know that much," Spike said turning to the other two. "I'll go find him, you two say here or go up to the control deck and check the cameras for Obsession or Ein." He turned and was about to run off when a red finger-nailed hand grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"No way Spike, we're coming with you to find them," Faye said, her emerald eyes meeting Spike's crimson, "find Ein, and you find Obsession. Jet and I aren't going to let you face that maniac alone, not a snowballs' chance in Hell!" (A/N: Aside from being the Bane of Punctuation and the Quote Queen, I'm also the Clique Princess, doncha know! ^_^)
"Listen, we don't have time for this heroic loyalty crap Faye!" Spike said, prying Faye's hand off him. "I'm the faster runner, plain and simple!"
"Bu..", Faye started but Spike was already all the way down the hallway and was heading down one of the floor-connecting steel ladders. "Are we really going to just stand here and let him go off alone?" A low noise came up from the floor, barely recognizable as one of Ein's cries for help.
"What was that you said again, not a snowballs' chance in Hell?" Jet said, and with that sprinted down the hallway to the ladder with Faye beside him. When they got there, they could just barely hear the sound of Spike's foot- falls, he had a big head start.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The low moan that Jet and Faye had heard a moment ago had spurred Spike on, that pitiful noise echoed through his head. "It's my fault; it's all my fault this is happening to you Ein", Spike though to himself, resisting the urge to punch himself in the face or slam his head into one of the walls of the hallway. No, he couldn't do that, he had to find Ein. Ein wouldn't die from this; Spike wouldn't have any more lives on his conscience. Over his years with the Red Dragons he'd lost many a comrade, and he blamed himself for each one of their deaths. He wouldn't allow Ein to be added to his list to hold memorials for! He couldn't believe he was having thoughts like this for a dog..but didn't that dog have a personality, didn't it have a soul?
His breathing was coming at a faster rate when he heard it; it was another moan like before, only this one cut off abruptly. It didn't fade away like the others, it just stopped and then there was silence. However, Spike had gotten one thing from that last noise, he now knew where Ein was, that sound had come from the end of the hallway one floor down. He back- tracked a few feet as fast as he could and slid down the ladder that led to the next floor, not bothering to use the rungs. That sound very easily could've been the bane of him, it was too suspicious. Spike feared what he would find as his feet hit the ground. There were no butterflies in his stomach, there were snakes, countless numbers slithering around inside of him trying to get out, biting him as he walked down the hallway. There was no lighting at the end, so he took out his oil lighter, flicking it on to see into the darkness. As soon as he did, he wished he hadn't, as there dangling in front of him was Ein.
Or at least it looked like Ein, if Ein had been a dark red dog. Every inch of his once brown and white fur had been dyed the hideous color by his own blood. His paws were slack but at odd angles as if they were broken in several places. Ein's underside in the area of the stomach and other such organs was completely devoid of skin and the muscle underneath had been mercilessly slashed open with what looked to have been nothing but bare hands and fingernails. With that gone, the intestines, liver, everything had spilled out and was now hanging mere inches from the ground in a trailing glob. Every once in a while something would slip from sheer gravity and the mass would fall a few centimeters closer to the floor, releasing blood or some other fluid that gave a steady 'drip...drip...drip...'.
The head had remained connected to the body and Spike was a little grateful for that, but only the smallest bit imaginable. The head itself was oddly shaped as if the scull and jaw had been broken and crushed in various places. The mouth was closed as if in a growl, teeth clamped shut, with the tongue sticking out in-between. It was just barely hanging on by a thin strip of flesh and veins. His right eye was hanging limp out of the socket, only connected by the optic nerve, but even that was slowly giving way. All of this was hanging by the neck from the ceiling exactly at Spike's eye level. Ein's corpse had been strung up by a length of his own intestines and it was slowly spinning from counter-clockwise to clockwise as the intestines coiled and uncoiled.
Spike felt a wave of nausea sweep over him as he watched the demented sight slowly turning as if by some imaginary breeze and dropped his lighter to the ground, the flame still burning. He put a hand over his mouth and leaned a hand against the wall trying to steady himself as his legs felt weak. However, just as he placed his hand on the wall, he pulled it away in disgust and grimaced, there was something wet on the walls. He held his hand up cautiously to his face, knowing was on it even before he'd pulled his hand away...blood. He looked around him on the walls, his breathing becoming a staccato melody; quick, jerky, erratic. All around him were splashes of blood, like somebody had thrown a paint-filled water balloon at the wall every few feet. But that wasn't paint on the walls; that was blood from Ein's head. Spike got a sickening image in his mind of Obsession holding Ein by his feet like a rag doll and every few steps swinging out at the walls, bashing Ein's head up against them. It brought to mind a question, were most of Ein's injuries pre or post mortem? Spike didn't want to think about that right now, putting his head in his bloody hand and shaking his head, the nausea still affecting his stomach.
He heard a noise at the end of the hallway opposite Ein and turned his head so fast in that direction that he left a bloody smear on his forehead from his stained hand. It was Jet and Faye coming down the ladder and running towards him. He was so happy to see them, he tried to move towards them, but his legs finally gave way out from under him and he fell face-down on the ground. Faye let out a small shriek and ran to his side, kneeling down beside him. With Jet's help they managed to turn him over so he was looking at both of them and Spike gave a small smile. "About time you guys got here," he thought to himself, eyes shifting from Faye to Jet.
"Oh my God, Jet he's hurt!" Faye said, running a hand over Spike's head where the blood had come off from his hand.
"I'm not hurt idiot," Spike said, trying to sit up but still feeling a bit nauseous, "it's just blood and it's not even mine." He motioned to the bloody smear on the wall that now had his handprint imprinted into it. Jet looked over and let out a gasp as his eyes moved around the walls that the limited light would allow him to see and Faye let out another shriek, but she wasn't looking at the walls. She was looking down towards the dead- end of the hallway, and Spike would've thought she'd seen Ein, except she was looking at the floor. "What is it Faye?" Spike asked, sitting up much to his stomach's complaint and looking at her. Her eyes were squinting and focused on the floor right by where Spike had dropped his still-burning lighter.
"Th-the deed is done," she stuttered out, her eyes slowly widening as they got used to the dark.
"What are you talking about Faye?' Jet asked, his gaze following Faye's until he was looking where she was and his breath caught in his throat. On the ground by the lighter was written a message.
"Spike. The deed is done, Now it's time to pay," Faye read cautiously, "I await your gift, On Valentine's Day." The message was written in blood and small strips of furry skin. Jet just sat there as Faye read the message and then turned his head to Spike.
"Where's Ein?" he said, his voice that fake kind of calm people talk in when they know something bad has happened. Spike picked up the lighter and taking a deep breath, held it above his head. He turned his head away so he wouldn't have to see 'it' again. No more then two seconds later, Faye let out a scream that would be enough to break glass. She then hid her face in Spike's leg, folding her arms over her head as if Ein's corpse would attack her. Jet on the other hand did nothing. He just sat there with a blank face for the longest time and then without warning his features darkened dangerously. His eye twitched as he turned and punched Spike across the face. Spike fell back onto the floor, just looking straight up. He felt Faye being pushed off his leg and Jet getting on top of him, punching him again. "This is all your fault you piece of shit!" he screamed, punching Spike in the jaw with his cybernetic arm. Spike lay there, accepting Jet's abuse, he knew he deserved it. Because of him and his hot temper, Ein was gone, forever.
Jet was about to punch Spike again and Faye was screaming in the background when they heard it. As if over some intercom, a familiar voice singing a song echoed around them.
'Is your figure less then Greek...Is your mouth a little weak...'
Spike recognized that voice, and when he heard it something inside him snapped. He filled with adrenaline and pushed Jet off him, standing up as he did. "Obsession you bastard! I swear if I ever see you I'm going to kill you! You hear me you demented little prick?!"
'When you open it to speak...Are you smart?'
Faye broke down completely on the floor, covering her head and crying.
'But don't change a hair for me, Not if you care for me...'
Now it was Jet's turn to yell. He heaved himself off the ground and screamed, "Get off my ship you asshole! If I catch you again, I will not be satisfied with just beating you up! If Spike doesn't get to you first I'll kill you myself!"
'Stay little valentine stay...Each day is Valentine's Day!'
With that Obsession's song stopped. Spike let out a frustrated scream and hit the wall as hard as he could. As he pulled his fist away, his knuckles began to bleed freely. "Hey, I got enough problems right now without you putting dents in my ship," Jet said, grabbing Spike by the wrist and examining the injured hand.
"Man do you run hot and cold," Spike said, pulling his hand away, "a second ago you were trying to break my face!"
"Can you blame me? But this is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves, with Obsession out there, we have to keep allies when we have them," Jet said with a smile. Spike smiled back and shook his head, rubbing his jaw.
Faye stopped crying and got up off the floor, walking up to Spike and Jet with tears still fresh on her cheeks, "I want off."
"What?" Jet said, clearly shocked by the comment.
"I said I want off this ship. It can be crewed by two people and you guys are always saying you want to get rid of me," Faye said, her hands balling into fists. "So I want off the ship, I don't want to die at the hands of some sick freak!" Jet was about to open his mouth to say something, but Spike got there first.
"Your call," Spike said, putting his arm around Faye's shoulder, leading her off and without a hint of sarcasm saying, "C'mon, I'll help you pack."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About and hour later, Faye had all her stuff packed into a suitcase and was standing by the hanger door. Jet had already said his goodbyes, saying that if they lived through this Faye could come back to the ship whenever she wanted. Now all that was left was saying goodbye to Spike. She stood there facing the hanger door with Spike next to her. "I'm sorry Spike," she said, "I guess that I'm not as strong as I thought I was."
"I don't blame you," Spike said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You gotta do what's best for you. Hey, I just rhymed there!" Faye gave a small smile to this; Spike did always manage somehow to add comedy to a serious situation. She turned towards him and hugged him, pressing up against him as she squeezed his chest. Spike stood there unsure of what to do and awkwardly put his arms around her. He rested a hand on her head and messed up her hair a little. "See you soon Faye," he said in a semi-cheerful voice. Faye nodded in agreement as she let go, a faint blush on her cheek for acting so emotional. She picked up her suitcase, smiled, and opened the door to the hanger..and was sucked right through.
All the air began to get sucked out of the hallway and Spike grabbed hold of the doorframe, sticking his head into the hanger. Everything that wasn't held down had been sucked out of the room through a hole large enough for a grown person to crawl through. "Damn you Obsession," Spike thought, looking all around the room for a sign that Faye was still on the ship and not floating through oblivion right now. It was getting harder to breath, so he sped up his eye-skimming search. "FAYE!" he yelled, seeing that she was still hanging onto the door handle for dear life and reaching his hand out. "TAKE MY HAND! QUICK!" She looked up at him and after a moment's hesitation; she reached her hand out and grabbed his. He pulled her in, closing the door as he did. Faye fell over on top of Spike as gravity was suddenly restored. They both lay there panting for a second when Faye finally spoke, "I, I think there's a hole in the hanger."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spike: *sits in a cage with Dream surrounded by protestors, but waving his arms around like crazy with a gleeful look on his face* YES!!! SPIKE/FAYE! Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!
Dream: *pulls him in as a protestor whacks their sign against the cage* Is that a confession oh ye of the big hair?
Spike: No, are you crazy?! It just means that I am right and you were wrong! You DID put some kind of a pairing in here!
Dream: No I didn't! It was too badly written to be any kind of pairing!
Spike: But!!
Dream: Listen, if you were going away from a loved one for a long time, wouldn't you want to hug them?!
Spike: But that's implying that she loves me!
Dream: *lets out a frustrated roar* You're impossible! Can we focus on the problem at hand here?!
Spike: Yah ok, why are we in this cage?
Dream: Because you left me to deal with animal rights protestors! These guys are brutal! I don't know how we're going to get out!
*chibi form of Obsession pops in*
Chibi Obsession: I can help you out for a price!
Spike: What's the-
Dream: Yah, sure, fine! What's the price?
Chibi Obsession: *pulls out camera* PHOTO OP!
Spike: *sweat drop* NO!
Dream: Yah, ok, fine! *grabs camera* Ok, pose!
*Chibi Obsession jumps into Spike's lap and hugs him, Spike looks like he's going to barf*
Dream: *takes picture* Ok, there, done! Now get us out!
Chibi Obsession: Very well! *transports them away to the Bebop* BYE SPIKE! *leaves*
Spike: I hate you SO much right now, you know that don't you?
Dream: Yah, yah, yah. Ok, this ending is nearly as long as the chapter! Anyway, I'll update soon! You have my solemn oath that this fic WILL be DONE by VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Spike: Why's that?
Dream: *falls over anime style*
"Remember this day; today...life is good!"