Chapter 4
You Owe Me
"Spike get out of here, now!" Angel yelled.
"You promised me money, and I can't see how you're going to get it to me if you're chained up like that," he has some weird excuses.
"Stupid! I can't give you the money if you're dead!" she yelled back, still trying to get out of the chains. ~How long did he say before I was back to normal? My memory of those last few moments is still fuzzy~ 'Even after you wake up, you won't be able to use your powers for a few hours.' ~Dammit! How the hell am I supposed to get through this then?!~
"You should have listened to the girl and left, Spike," Shouka stood, his sleeve soaked in blood. "Now, you won't make it out alive."
"How many times have I heard that one before?" Spike aimed his gun again, but couldn't seem to hold it. For some very strange reason, he was becoming very tired. He heard Angel yell something, but she seemed very distant. He could barely make out the words.
"Spike, Spike you have to resist it. Stay awake, don't let him get to you." He tried to focus on what she was saying but it was almost too hard.
"Shut up, bitch!" Shouka was having a difficult time concentrating with her yelling. He tried to get back into her mind but found himself blocked out. "So you have shields, I can get passed them without much effort." He punched Spike in the gut, not hard enough to knock him out, but enough to cause him to fall to the floor.
"Spike! Leave him alone, Sho-" that break in her concentration was all he needed to get through. The bounty hunter was no longer a main concern. He was not going to give her any more chances. He squeezed her mind until he felt something break, like a thread snapping under extreme pressure. He let up the force a little to see if there was any change. He watched her face carefully. She just stared into space blinking occasionally. He let off most of the pressure, leaving on just enough so he was still in her mind. If he noticed something odd, he wouldn't have to worry about her putting up walls again. Slowly, he unchained one arm, then the other. Nothing changed, not her expression, not the direction of her eyes, not even a muscle twitched. He finished with the chains and just watched her for a minute, just to be sure. The final test, he took out the small pocketknife from inside his jacket and drew a line across her arm. The blood swelled up and beaded, and still no change at all. She was his.
Spike drew himself up onto his arms. "What did you do to her?" he choked out.
"I've broken her mind and spirit," Shouka said triumphantly. "She is mine, she will do whatever I tell her to. She has no freewill of her own."
"What? You're out of your mind! That's impossible," Spike shook his head, trying to get off the ground.
"Why? Because she's strong? I've got news for you, without her powers she's normal and relatively weak," Shouka sure does a lot of sneering.
"What d'ya mean, 'without her powers'? How the hell is that possible?" Spike was getting a little confused.
"Her powers are inactive, they don't work. How else can I explain this simple concept to you? She is a normal human, sort of," don't get all high and mighty yet, Shouka. "Now, it's your turn to not have a mind."
"No way," Spike aimed his gun again and fired. It hit Shouka in the leg, but the pain caused him to withdraw any influence from both Spike and Angel's minds. Now, he had his chance and took it. The bullet went straight through its target: Shouka's skull. Bye-Bye, evil, twisted telepath. He got up very easily now and ran over to Angel. Her dark eyes were still blank and staring. "Dammit!" He wasn't thinking about the money anymore. He picked her up, wrapped in a sheet. (Because the outfit she was wearing was skimpy enough to embarrass Faye) He carried her out to his ship and laid her down in the back. It was a little cramped, but she fit. About an hour into the flight back to the Bebop, he heard a small sound, a gasp of air. He looked back and was surprised to see she was moving, only a little but moving.[And I bet you thought all hope was lost, didn't you?]
She looked around a minute. "It worked, great," she breathed quietly.
"What worked? I thought you were... whatever the hell he did to you," Spike said, facing forward again to pilot.
"No, it was a self-induced trance," Angel explained.
"A what? Are you saying you were okay that entire time?"
"Sort of. I put myself in a trance so that he would think he had won, otherwise he might have actually won. I can't even imagine being like that," she said with a shiver. "Ah, thanks for the sheet." She pulled it closer around her shoulders blushing.
"Was it true what he said about your powers?" Spike asked, still a little worried.
"Kind of. It was that stupid tranquilizer, it disabled my powers for a while. I think they are back, though. That's probably why I woke up," she explained. "I'm glad too. Thank you for getting me out of there. Why did you follow me?"
"I guess I figured he would do something, you know so your plan wouldn't go smoothly. It looks like I was right."
"That it does. But what I meant was more why did you even care?" she let her curiosity show.
"I don't know. But it looks like you owe me big time for this one," he actually smiled.
"I know," she smirked at that remark. "How can I repay you? The 15 million won't be a problem, I have direct access to Shouka's account, and he won't miss the money. But I owe you my life. By the way, exactly how many people owe you their lives?"
"I dunno, too many," he really didn't know how many.
"You're quite the hero, for a bounty hunter," she remarked.
You Owe Me
"Spike get out of here, now!" Angel yelled.
"You promised me money, and I can't see how you're going to get it to me if you're chained up like that," he has some weird excuses.
"Stupid! I can't give you the money if you're dead!" she yelled back, still trying to get out of the chains. ~How long did he say before I was back to normal? My memory of those last few moments is still fuzzy~ 'Even after you wake up, you won't be able to use your powers for a few hours.' ~Dammit! How the hell am I supposed to get through this then?!~
"You should have listened to the girl and left, Spike," Shouka stood, his sleeve soaked in blood. "Now, you won't make it out alive."
"How many times have I heard that one before?" Spike aimed his gun again, but couldn't seem to hold it. For some very strange reason, he was becoming very tired. He heard Angel yell something, but she seemed very distant. He could barely make out the words.
"Spike, Spike you have to resist it. Stay awake, don't let him get to you." He tried to focus on what she was saying but it was almost too hard.
"Shut up, bitch!" Shouka was having a difficult time concentrating with her yelling. He tried to get back into her mind but found himself blocked out. "So you have shields, I can get passed them without much effort." He punched Spike in the gut, not hard enough to knock him out, but enough to cause him to fall to the floor.
"Spike! Leave him alone, Sho-" that break in her concentration was all he needed to get through. The bounty hunter was no longer a main concern. He was not going to give her any more chances. He squeezed her mind until he felt something break, like a thread snapping under extreme pressure. He let up the force a little to see if there was any change. He watched her face carefully. She just stared into space blinking occasionally. He let off most of the pressure, leaving on just enough so he was still in her mind. If he noticed something odd, he wouldn't have to worry about her putting up walls again. Slowly, he unchained one arm, then the other. Nothing changed, not her expression, not the direction of her eyes, not even a muscle twitched. He finished with the chains and just watched her for a minute, just to be sure. The final test, he took out the small pocketknife from inside his jacket and drew a line across her arm. The blood swelled up and beaded, and still no change at all. She was his.
Spike drew himself up onto his arms. "What did you do to her?" he choked out.
"I've broken her mind and spirit," Shouka said triumphantly. "She is mine, she will do whatever I tell her to. She has no freewill of her own."
"What? You're out of your mind! That's impossible," Spike shook his head, trying to get off the ground.
"Why? Because she's strong? I've got news for you, without her powers she's normal and relatively weak," Shouka sure does a lot of sneering.
"What d'ya mean, 'without her powers'? How the hell is that possible?" Spike was getting a little confused.
"Her powers are inactive, they don't work. How else can I explain this simple concept to you? She is a normal human, sort of," don't get all high and mighty yet, Shouka. "Now, it's your turn to not have a mind."
"No way," Spike aimed his gun again and fired. It hit Shouka in the leg, but the pain caused him to withdraw any influence from both Spike and Angel's minds. Now, he had his chance and took it. The bullet went straight through its target: Shouka's skull. Bye-Bye, evil, twisted telepath. He got up very easily now and ran over to Angel. Her dark eyes were still blank and staring. "Dammit!" He wasn't thinking about the money anymore. He picked her up, wrapped in a sheet. (Because the outfit she was wearing was skimpy enough to embarrass Faye) He carried her out to his ship and laid her down in the back. It was a little cramped, but she fit. About an hour into the flight back to the Bebop, he heard a small sound, a gasp of air. He looked back and was surprised to see she was moving, only a little but moving.[And I bet you thought all hope was lost, didn't you?]
She looked around a minute. "It worked, great," she breathed quietly.
"What worked? I thought you were... whatever the hell he did to you," Spike said, facing forward again to pilot.
"No, it was a self-induced trance," Angel explained.
"A what? Are you saying you were okay that entire time?"
"Sort of. I put myself in a trance so that he would think he had won, otherwise he might have actually won. I can't even imagine being like that," she said with a shiver. "Ah, thanks for the sheet." She pulled it closer around her shoulders blushing.
"Was it true what he said about your powers?" Spike asked, still a little worried.
"Kind of. It was that stupid tranquilizer, it disabled my powers for a while. I think they are back, though. That's probably why I woke up," she explained. "I'm glad too. Thank you for getting me out of there. Why did you follow me?"
"I guess I figured he would do something, you know so your plan wouldn't go smoothly. It looks like I was right."
"That it does. But what I meant was more why did you even care?" she let her curiosity show.
"I don't know. But it looks like you owe me big time for this one," he actually smiled.
"I know," she smirked at that remark. "How can I repay you? The 15 million won't be a problem, I have direct access to Shouka's account, and he won't miss the money. But I owe you my life. By the way, exactly how many people owe you their lives?"
"I dunno, too many," he really didn't know how many.
"You're quite the hero, for a bounty hunter," she remarked.