Yay! I finally got this up! It's the sequel to 'Blood & Amnesia', which I
co-authored with LadySilverDragon2 and put under her pen name. I know this
took a long time for me to get up, and I'm sorry, but it's here now!
For all of you who have not read the other story, this is the back ground - Faye goes to a hospital to sell some blood and finds an amnesiac Vicious, who she decides to get revenge on for killing Spike. She tells him she's his wife and takes him home and decides that she is to make him fall in love with her so she can break his heart and then kill him. The plan backfires as he is now a very caring person who devotes himself to making her happy, and she begins to think she really does love him when she wakes up one morning to find that he has regained her memory and is walking out on her. After he leaves, she leaves a note on the Internet for Ed asking for help and the little girl shows up on her door step - and that's where the other story left off! Now, for the sequel, which shall consist of Faye trying to bring back her true love!
~~~~~
There was a mechanic humming on the subway, something almost soothing and familiar about it - I guess it was because it was so rhythmic that I enjoyed it. I'd been plagued with a horrible, pounding headache earlier that day, but now I felt much, much more...confident?
Ed was sitting beside me, cross-legged on the cold, metal seat, her laptop cradled on her knees. She had all that head gear stuff on again - whatever it was - the equipment that covered her eyes and connected to her computer through thin, snaky cords. Her hacking gear. Or something. Whatever.
"So, why Faye-Faye looking for Vicious again?" she inquired in that girlie, squeaky voice of hers. For someone who had once looked an awful lot like a boy, Ed was turning out to be a pretty teenager, although she still hadn't mastered the art of language.
"I told you," I muttered, my chin biting down on the heel of my hand, which was tilted up slightly so that my lips pressed to my palm and therefore muffled my already mumbled speech. My elbow was starting to develop a sore spot from where it was digging in to the window sill. "I love him."
"But he killed Spike-person?" It was really more of a question, like, was that assumption a mistake? Had he really murdered Spike? After all, how could I love him if he had? I was glad Ed didn't readily judge me like I knew Jet would.
"Yes, he did," I said quietly. "But he's changed." Oh, and had he ever changed. I felt tears come to my eyes as I recalled how we had met after the whole Spike trauma, how he had been in the hospital with amnesia. I was the only one he remembered, though it was more fondly than otherwise, and I decided to feed him lies (we were married, we were in love, ect.). My original purpose had been revenge, but it hadn't worked out that way. Vicious, in his blank state, had been void of any hate and had shared nothing with me but tenderness and a cute kind of affection. So I had fallen in love, like most dumb girls do... Like I'd done before with Spike, and even though he said he'd be with me forever, he'd left me the moment he regained his memories... But the love remained, and I kept telling myself that deep down, Vicious was a different person than his exterior suggested. Hence why I was tracking him down with the help of one eccentric little girl.
I jerked out of my reverie to glance at the redhead sitting beside me. I'd taken her shopping earlier and bought her a pair of khaki capris and a lime green T-shirt, having beforehand commented to her that redheads always looked pretty in green. So naturally, when we went to the store, she bought the most obnoxious shade of the color she could find. I had used the trip to question her on what she had been up to. Turns out she had SOMEHOW tracked down her dad, and all had been well for a few months, but history has a funny way of repeating itself. One day he dropped her off at a daycare center, and after a few weeks, it was determined he wasn't coming back. Ed, of course, wasn't surprised - she decided to set out on her own again and had been traveling around, hacking into systems here and there, until she randomly picked up on my message. I don't know what surprised me more - that she had actually responded, or that she had purposely been looking for material on the old crew of the Bebop, just to make sure we were doing well. We used to have a lot of fun together, she explained, and she had been hoping for one more adventure.
Ein nuzzled at my ankles, whining. It had been a hassle to convince people to let him aboard, but somehow we had accomplished it. People were still staring unappreciatively at the mutt as well as its owner - for many a reason, I'm sure, including the way she jerked back and forth and waved her arms in the air as she hacked, but I ignored them. "Hey, kid, found him yet?"
"Uh-huuuuuuuuh," she replied in that ever chipper tone. "He's rebuilding the syndicate. The police reports say he's already been arrested once for drug dealing."
I perked up, interested. "Really? Where is he now?"
"Yup. I'll show you when we get there. We're reeeeeeaaaaaaally close!"
"Alright," I sighed, brushing a dark strand of hair from my face. "You help me get Vicious back, and I swear I'll adopt you."
~~~~~
"Wait, Ed, he's here?" I blinked in surprise at the huge building looming over the three of us - Ed, Ein, and myself. It was massive, all stone and terribly cold with bars on the few windows. When the girl had said he had been arrested, the thought that he would still be in jail had never even crossed my mind. Not my Vicious.
I had to laugh inwardly at that.
This was not the same Vicious I had dealt with only a few months ago. So, I suppose the question at hand would be, which one was the real Vicious? The gentle man who was eager to please and said he'd love me always, or the cold hearted monster that had killed Spike and ordered Julia's death?
We walked briskly up the tall, wide steps to the jailhouse, the dog trailing at my feet. I felt fairly confident until we stepped through the swinging doors, and then every bit of resolve just melted away. Luckily, Ed was able to keep her wits about her, and even though I must've looked like a real idiot, just standing there and letting a thirteen year old do all the talking for me, I almost shook with relief when the man behind the desk nodded and led us down the hall to a room, where he invited me to sit at a table but asked Ed to stay outside. Ed nodded. Apparently, she was now my niece and Vicious was once more my husband.
I was alone with a guard for a few moments before the door opened again and Vicious was led in, his hands cuffed before him, a serene look on his face. His lips twitched a little at seeing me, and his pale eyes glinted with madness. Obviously, he had known that 'your wife is here to see you' really translated into 'that woman is stalking you still'.
"Hello, Vicious," I said in a low voice, casting my eyes down to the table before he could give me one of his infamous glares. I heard the chair legs scrape as he pulled it out and then carefully sat down, a cold, tense atmosphere smothering the surrounding area.
"What do you want now?" His voice sounded tired.
At that point, I really didn't know what I wanted. It had never occurred to me we'd meet like this, or that he'd even ask me that question. So, I sat there, gaping at him like a fool, not moving, not speaking - not even thinking.
He cocked his head slowly to the side and heaved a sigh. "I have recovered my entire memory, Miss Valentine. There is no doubt about that. If you came here intending to lie to me again, it will not hold any ground."
The guard in the corner of the small conference room looked bored, not paying attention at all. We, in turn, ignored him.
"I just want you back," I blurted out. "That's all, ok? I want my Vicious back, the one that called himself Benjamin and loved ice cream and hated to dress all in black." I eyed his outfit, suspicious as to why he was still in his syndicate uniform instead of the usual orange jumpsuit. "You can't tell me he did not love me. I KNOW he did."
"He died, Faye," Vicious said smoothly. "He died the moment I awoke."
With trembling hands, I placed my fingers over his, which lay on the table, cool as ice. "Fine then," I whispered. "I just need one more thing."
He waited for the request, unblinking, unsmiling, unfeeling.
"Tell me you don't love me. Tell me that and I can go away and live the rest of my life with no regrets."
Slowly, he withdrew his hands from mine, answering in that same, gruff tone, "I don't love you."
Tears came unbidden to my emerald eyes, streaming from the corners and down my cheeks to meet in a collective stream at my pointed chin. "Alright," I whispered. "That's all I needed to hear."
And as I stood up to leave, I was aware of his eyes on me, and when I walked out that door, I had to shoulder past a man who was coming in to inform Vicious his bail had been paid. At the main desk, I collected Ed and Ein, only to turn and see Vicious striding towards me, now free to leave. And though I turned to leave, making my way stiffly to the front door, he fell in step with me out front and we walked silently side by side down the stairs until we came to the sidewalk and parted into opposite directions.
He never saw me glance over my shoulder at his retreating back, regret flashing over my face.
And I never saw him do the same.
~~~~~
Alright, guys, review and I'll get the next chapter up quick as a wink! ~_^
For all of you who have not read the other story, this is the back ground - Faye goes to a hospital to sell some blood and finds an amnesiac Vicious, who she decides to get revenge on for killing Spike. She tells him she's his wife and takes him home and decides that she is to make him fall in love with her so she can break his heart and then kill him. The plan backfires as he is now a very caring person who devotes himself to making her happy, and she begins to think she really does love him when she wakes up one morning to find that he has regained her memory and is walking out on her. After he leaves, she leaves a note on the Internet for Ed asking for help and the little girl shows up on her door step - and that's where the other story left off! Now, for the sequel, which shall consist of Faye trying to bring back her true love!
~~~~~
There was a mechanic humming on the subway, something almost soothing and familiar about it - I guess it was because it was so rhythmic that I enjoyed it. I'd been plagued with a horrible, pounding headache earlier that day, but now I felt much, much more...confident?
Ed was sitting beside me, cross-legged on the cold, metal seat, her laptop cradled on her knees. She had all that head gear stuff on again - whatever it was - the equipment that covered her eyes and connected to her computer through thin, snaky cords. Her hacking gear. Or something. Whatever.
"So, why Faye-Faye looking for Vicious again?" she inquired in that girlie, squeaky voice of hers. For someone who had once looked an awful lot like a boy, Ed was turning out to be a pretty teenager, although she still hadn't mastered the art of language.
"I told you," I muttered, my chin biting down on the heel of my hand, which was tilted up slightly so that my lips pressed to my palm and therefore muffled my already mumbled speech. My elbow was starting to develop a sore spot from where it was digging in to the window sill. "I love him."
"But he killed Spike-person?" It was really more of a question, like, was that assumption a mistake? Had he really murdered Spike? After all, how could I love him if he had? I was glad Ed didn't readily judge me like I knew Jet would.
"Yes, he did," I said quietly. "But he's changed." Oh, and had he ever changed. I felt tears come to my eyes as I recalled how we had met after the whole Spike trauma, how he had been in the hospital with amnesia. I was the only one he remembered, though it was more fondly than otherwise, and I decided to feed him lies (we were married, we were in love, ect.). My original purpose had been revenge, but it hadn't worked out that way. Vicious, in his blank state, had been void of any hate and had shared nothing with me but tenderness and a cute kind of affection. So I had fallen in love, like most dumb girls do... Like I'd done before with Spike, and even though he said he'd be with me forever, he'd left me the moment he regained his memories... But the love remained, and I kept telling myself that deep down, Vicious was a different person than his exterior suggested. Hence why I was tracking him down with the help of one eccentric little girl.
I jerked out of my reverie to glance at the redhead sitting beside me. I'd taken her shopping earlier and bought her a pair of khaki capris and a lime green T-shirt, having beforehand commented to her that redheads always looked pretty in green. So naturally, when we went to the store, she bought the most obnoxious shade of the color she could find. I had used the trip to question her on what she had been up to. Turns out she had SOMEHOW tracked down her dad, and all had been well for a few months, but history has a funny way of repeating itself. One day he dropped her off at a daycare center, and after a few weeks, it was determined he wasn't coming back. Ed, of course, wasn't surprised - she decided to set out on her own again and had been traveling around, hacking into systems here and there, until she randomly picked up on my message. I don't know what surprised me more - that she had actually responded, or that she had purposely been looking for material on the old crew of the Bebop, just to make sure we were doing well. We used to have a lot of fun together, she explained, and she had been hoping for one more adventure.
Ein nuzzled at my ankles, whining. It had been a hassle to convince people to let him aboard, but somehow we had accomplished it. People were still staring unappreciatively at the mutt as well as its owner - for many a reason, I'm sure, including the way she jerked back and forth and waved her arms in the air as she hacked, but I ignored them. "Hey, kid, found him yet?"
"Uh-huuuuuuuuh," she replied in that ever chipper tone. "He's rebuilding the syndicate. The police reports say he's already been arrested once for drug dealing."
I perked up, interested. "Really? Where is he now?"
"Yup. I'll show you when we get there. We're reeeeeeaaaaaaally close!"
"Alright," I sighed, brushing a dark strand of hair from my face. "You help me get Vicious back, and I swear I'll adopt you."
~~~~~
"Wait, Ed, he's here?" I blinked in surprise at the huge building looming over the three of us - Ed, Ein, and myself. It was massive, all stone and terribly cold with bars on the few windows. When the girl had said he had been arrested, the thought that he would still be in jail had never even crossed my mind. Not my Vicious.
I had to laugh inwardly at that.
This was not the same Vicious I had dealt with only a few months ago. So, I suppose the question at hand would be, which one was the real Vicious? The gentle man who was eager to please and said he'd love me always, or the cold hearted monster that had killed Spike and ordered Julia's death?
We walked briskly up the tall, wide steps to the jailhouse, the dog trailing at my feet. I felt fairly confident until we stepped through the swinging doors, and then every bit of resolve just melted away. Luckily, Ed was able to keep her wits about her, and even though I must've looked like a real idiot, just standing there and letting a thirteen year old do all the talking for me, I almost shook with relief when the man behind the desk nodded and led us down the hall to a room, where he invited me to sit at a table but asked Ed to stay outside. Ed nodded. Apparently, she was now my niece and Vicious was once more my husband.
I was alone with a guard for a few moments before the door opened again and Vicious was led in, his hands cuffed before him, a serene look on his face. His lips twitched a little at seeing me, and his pale eyes glinted with madness. Obviously, he had known that 'your wife is here to see you' really translated into 'that woman is stalking you still'.
"Hello, Vicious," I said in a low voice, casting my eyes down to the table before he could give me one of his infamous glares. I heard the chair legs scrape as he pulled it out and then carefully sat down, a cold, tense atmosphere smothering the surrounding area.
"What do you want now?" His voice sounded tired.
At that point, I really didn't know what I wanted. It had never occurred to me we'd meet like this, or that he'd even ask me that question. So, I sat there, gaping at him like a fool, not moving, not speaking - not even thinking.
He cocked his head slowly to the side and heaved a sigh. "I have recovered my entire memory, Miss Valentine. There is no doubt about that. If you came here intending to lie to me again, it will not hold any ground."
The guard in the corner of the small conference room looked bored, not paying attention at all. We, in turn, ignored him.
"I just want you back," I blurted out. "That's all, ok? I want my Vicious back, the one that called himself Benjamin and loved ice cream and hated to dress all in black." I eyed his outfit, suspicious as to why he was still in his syndicate uniform instead of the usual orange jumpsuit. "You can't tell me he did not love me. I KNOW he did."
"He died, Faye," Vicious said smoothly. "He died the moment I awoke."
With trembling hands, I placed my fingers over his, which lay on the table, cool as ice. "Fine then," I whispered. "I just need one more thing."
He waited for the request, unblinking, unsmiling, unfeeling.
"Tell me you don't love me. Tell me that and I can go away and live the rest of my life with no regrets."
Slowly, he withdrew his hands from mine, answering in that same, gruff tone, "I don't love you."
Tears came unbidden to my emerald eyes, streaming from the corners and down my cheeks to meet in a collective stream at my pointed chin. "Alright," I whispered. "That's all I needed to hear."
And as I stood up to leave, I was aware of his eyes on me, and when I walked out that door, I had to shoulder past a man who was coming in to inform Vicious his bail had been paid. At the main desk, I collected Ed and Ein, only to turn and see Vicious striding towards me, now free to leave. And though I turned to leave, making my way stiffly to the front door, he fell in step with me out front and we walked silently side by side down the stairs until we came to the sidewalk and parted into opposite directions.
He never saw me glance over my shoulder at his retreating back, regret flashing over my face.
And I never saw him do the same.
~~~~~
Alright, guys, review and I'll get the next chapter up quick as a wink! ~_^