Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Cowboy Bebop: Insomnia ❯ Wayward Traveler ( Chapter 2 )

Cowboy Bebop: Insomnia

By: Sara Angeldust

Session 2: Wayward Traveler

~~~~~~~~

I can’t recall myself

How I went down.

Did I get shot,

Or shoot myself?

I’d like to say hello,

I’d like to say I care.

I’d like to let you know.

Yet, nothing here’s the same with me

Nothing here’s the same with me.

~~~~~~~~

Disclaimer:

Standard disclaimer applies. I do not own the Cowboy Bebop characters mentioned throughout this story. The only ones that are mine are Rain, Bren, Gendrig, Dane, and any other new ones you may find. I am doing this simply for pleasure and not getting any money for it. ~~~~~~~~~

The anguish, sorrow, and hatred dripped from her like acid rain. She walked slowly, and with a slight limp down the street, rain drops falling un-ceremonially down her body, her leather jacket and sleeveless green shirt beneath it completely soaked.

How could she have not seen it before? Not noticed all the signs earlier? Now it was too late, and that was fine with her, she was getting out. Though she had to admit, she was doing it with a bit more noise than she really wanted.

Any minute now the guys chasing her would find her again, and she would have to run. She really detested feeling like the prey, especially wounded prey, her leg pounding from the gunshot wound, her side stinging from a bullet that had breezed too close to her skin. This reminded her of her own weapon and she twitched her fingers, still feeling the gun in her left hand. Without any real effort, she pulled another cartridge from her jacket pocket, throwing the spent one away into the street, loading the new. How long had it been since she had lost those men? Two minutes, three? However long it was, they were too slow. And what about him? She had clearly seen his face, his physical features all she had ever thought them to be.

As she checked to make sure the safety was off of her gun, she began to hear the sounds she had been waiting for. The man from the bar had slowed them down, and they had decreased in numbers, but the syndicate guys were back on her trail, maybe two blocks away. She could hear their feet pounding behind her, and turned to shoot at them, the sound of her gun somewhat of a comfort. ~~~~~~~~~ 1 hour earlier ~~~~~~~~~

Who would ever have thought that he, Spike Spiegel, would be back on Mars. Let alone back in the same area where he had spent so much of his life in the Red Dragon Syndicate. And not just in the same city, but the exact same neighborhood, in the exact same bar he had inhabited so many years ago, it seemed. He stifled a laugh at his own humor as he took another drink of his gin, his arms lying relaxed on the bar, his head bent down staring at nothing.

He could still remember Faye yelling at him, calling him stupid and every other word in any language that meant he had lost his mind. She had screamed at him questions of why he was being so suicidal and stupid. Really, he had to wonder that himself. Only an idiot would go back to someplace that had caused him so much grief in the past, let alone a place that had tried to kill him…twice, and probably still wanted him dead. That was, if they even thought him alive to begin with.

So many truly believed he had died that last time, and in reality, he had. It had really felt as if he had died and been reborn again, waking up in a familiar place, yet with not so familiar emotions swimming through him. And now, back at this place, he was trying to finally place those old lives in a box and shove them in the attic. It was proving more difficult then he had thought, but what better place to start then at the beginning, right?

He shifted in his stool as he listened to the sounds around him, taking them in as they came. The man behind the counter was a familiar face. Bren, they called him, and he had been there even before Spike had joined the Syndicate. He was a messenger for them, and a spy of sorts, listening to talk between drinking buddies to be transmitted to those that wanted it, and could pay the price he demanded. He wasn’t really that old, maybe in his mid forties, young to the world, and ancient to the syndicate. He still had his dark brown hair, cut short to the back of his neck. His gray eyes were the same as well, a steely color, never revealing the emotions or thoughts he carried beneath. He was also some what of a burly guy, an attribute that had increased since the time Spike had last seen him. He had been working out, and almost religiously by the looks of his bulging biceps.

"Must have gotten boring without me around." Spike said in his cool manner, taking another sip of his drink.

Bren shrugged his shoulders, knowing Spike well enough to know what he was talking about.

"It wasn’t something I didn’t take advantage of." He said as he dried another glass and put it back in it’s place on the shelf.

Spike tipped his glass to the man and finished it off, nudging it forward for more. Bren took it without comment, returning with another.

The men tolerated each other in silence, the contemplative air between them thick. Spike thought he was doing pretty well for his first time back since Vicious’s death. He’d probably have a good buzz going before long and be able to shrug off his thoughts by then. Which ever way the dice fell, he was going to get rid of this place for good, maybe actually start something worthwhile this time around.

It was like an F5 came ripping through the door when the young woman walked in. Spike could smell the Syndicate all over her, and even though she entered with calmness and a tranquility that almost seemed deadly, he couldn’t remove his glance from her. Something was starting and he took another swig of his drink, trying to drown it away.

~~~~~~

Rain walked into the bar with a bit of a giddiness about her. She saw few faces turn to look at her, but she knew everyone knew she was there. Her hands in her pockets, she walked steadily up to the bar, taking a seat 3 away from a stranger that she could not get a good look at. She put her elbows up on the bar and sighed slightly. Bren recognized her immediately and came over, a strange look on his face.

"Here alone?" He asked, pulling a glass from the shelves behind him, he knew what she would want.

Rain stared back at him, giving him a knowing look. Bren had asked about the men that always followed her anywhere outside of the syndicate. Gendrig’s orders. She was not allowed out of the small cropping of main syndicate buildings without someone to tag along. Why? Probably because Gendrig was possessive with his toys. Even on assassination trips she always had a few guys with her, even though he knew damn well she could handle any situation alone, but apparently Bren knew nothing about the events that had occurred just hours before. He wouldn’t know yet about her ascension, nor about Gendrig's public release of her existence. She smiled slightly as she took the drink he handed her, sipping it lightly.

"I thought I’d try it alone for once, you know, air out my wings." She said as she finally turned to glance at the man sitting beside her.

Rain froze slightly, her lips still on the curve of her glass. Her eyes must have been messed up, either that or the lighting was terrible in the bar, but she knew what she was seeing. She knew both Bren and the guy had seen her twitch, but she tried to act natural about it, changing her body language to look just as if she had been startled that she wasn’t alone at the bar. It was useless though, she saw the guy tense up, he could probably read the word Syndicate written all over her. Bren just smiled, cleaning the counter with laughter on his face.

Rain glared at him, her eyes asking him why he hadn’t told her He was sitting next to her. Bren’s shoulder’s shrugged, a, ‘you didn’t ask’ response. Rain relaxed, realizing there was nothing she could do about the situation, just to ride it out.

She gave him a good look this time, knowing that he knew she had noticed him, so there was no more need for secrecy. He looked different than she had seen on screens and in old holographs. He was taller, older looking, although she couldn’t imagine he was any older than 33, maybe even 30. His dark green hair was messy looking, though controlled at the same time, giving his face somewhat of a halloed look. His blue jacket revealed fluid muscles and a hidden gun that she wouldn’t forget, his lazed body language telling her that he was just as care free and laid back as she had heard. Yet he was deadly, she didn’t need someone to tell her that. He could move like water, free flowing, yet quick to kill. His eyes told of years beyond his age, and she tried not to look into his eyes, failing for an instant.

She could tell he was measuring her up as well, taking in her thigh high boots, shorts, green sleeveless shirt and black leather jacket as a cover up, which it was, for at least one gun and several knives. They were evenly matched, even more so than the man would care to know. Her age could tell lies that most men less experienced than him would believe in an instant, but this man, this free flowing man, knew better. He eyed her cautiously, but seeing no threat in her own lazed manner, pretended to ignore her, pulling a pack of cigarettes from inside his jacket pocket.

Those things will kill you. She told him mentally, taking another sip of her drink.

They sat in silence for at least a half hour, her drinks coming and going, none of them alcoholic. She was too tense to try and dull her brain this night, while the guy beside her was trying his best to keep his down. She could tell it would take a lot to get him stinking drunk, but he was trying.

Throughout this time Bren watched the door, expecting the ones who should have been behind Rain to show up any minute, but when they never did he began to get a nervous twitch. He finally began to realize something was up and Rain could see the glare in his eye when he looked at her. She just smiled, she loved to make him twitch.

It wasn’t much past midnight, and the bar was settling down. Rain could count on her hands the number of people still sitting and enjoying themselves. She was still sober, and he was still trying to drink himself into a stupor. So when the door opened Rain knew who it would be, and she was prepared for it. As the door closed and opened noisily she re adjusted herself in her seat, using the motion to aquaint herself with the location of all her weapons. She didn’t want to start a fight with anyone, but she knew this one wasn’t going to be pretty.

She stayed staring at the bar top as someone sat down next to her. She didn’t need to look up, she knew it was Dane; they would use anyone to get her to comply with Gendrig’s wishes, and they knew her relationship with Dane.

He sat down quietly next to her, killing any kind of joy she was feeling at her newly accosted freedom. As he placed his hands on the bar he stayed looking at the top, trying to ignore the five other guys that had come with him.

"He sent you to fetch me, didn’t he?"

Rain replied, her tone quiet, yet blunt. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see the kind of men Gendrig had made to tag along with Dane. All five of them were pretty strong, she knew them all. They were ruthless as well, some of the best enforcers that Gendrig had ever taken in. Two looked their part, bulging muscles and scared faces hidden under jackets that did nothing to lighten their ferocity. The other three were men you’d expect to see in some elite company, but Rain knew their true business dealings, and none of them were nice.

She heard Dane sigh as he pulled his hair back from his face, taking a glance down the bar at the guy sitting down there. Dane’s eyes gave him a curious glare, and Rain noticed the guy flicker his gaze at Dane; the two men knew the other was there. Rain, nudged Dane, a sign that he didn’t have to worry about the other guy, and Dane figured so; the man looked like syndicate material, even if he was playing the part of a drunkard.

"He’s serious Rain, he made these guys come along." Dane said, ignoring the guy on the other end of the bar.

She shrugged her shoulders, she knew that.

"I don’t care what he thinks, and I don’t care who he sends after me." Her gaze flickered to the glass in front of her, an uncharacteristic look of sympathy in her eyes, but she refused to look at Dane.

"I don’t want to drag you into this Dane, but I’m sure that’s why Gendrig sent you; he knew I wouldn’t want to get you involved. You were collateral."

Dane sighed.

"You don’t have to protect me Rain, I’m not a child. You’re the one I’m worried about."

She held back a grunt. He was older than her, of course he wasn’t a child, but in this world she was his senior, and his friend; she didn’t want to see him get hurt.

"There’s nothing you can do about me, worry about your family. And don’t get yourself killed." She said, pulling some money out of her pocket. As she placed it on the bar she stood from her stool. She noticed the other guy twitch at her movements, his body tensing. He too knew something was going to happen.

"Dane, when I shoot you," She said almost as a whisper, still not looking at him, but at the five men in front of her, sizing them up. "Stay down, and don’t come after me."

She heard Dane take a quick breath and attempt to say something, but it was too late. She put her hands in her jacket and proceeded to saunter casually towards the door and the five men. She hoped she could keep this less violent than she was expecting it to be.

As she reached the door, one of the business looking men stepped up to her, half blocking her exit from the door.

"Are you ready to go back then?" He said with a glint in his eye. She could feel the fight emanating from him, and it almost made her giddy herself. Though she hated to admit it, she loved a good fight.

"Of course not." She said snidely with a smirk. The five men took this as their cue, but none of them got a move in edgewise. Before any of them could blink Rain pulled her gun from the holster on her thigh, turning her torso with lightening speed to fire two shots at Dane. She didn’t know if she’d hit him or not, but her aim wasn’t usually off. When she turned she noticed that the guy that had been sitting next to them had already jumped up and over the bar. So much for being drunk.

Turning back, the five men had already gone into motion. They tried to jump her, two with knives, but she managed to kick and punch her way through them, contacting one guy in the face with her gun barrel. She shoved through the blundering men and straight through the door, the handle breaking with her pure strength as she shoved on the wooden frame. As she tore ass down the street she could hear fighting sounds from the bar and the running of footsteps behind her. The shots came later as her feet carried her through alleyways and past closed shops, her mind blazing faster and faster.

~~~~~~~

It was a gutsy move, especially for a young girl that didn’t seem to have much strength. Yet when she pummeled her way through the five men and broke the door with such ease he knew he’d done well not to underestimate her. In her wake to escape she’d shot the man whom he’d assumed to be a friend of hers. Spike had grabbed him after the shots had been fired and pulled him over the bar with him. Only one of the bullets had hit him, blood forming on his shirt over his shoulder. But Spike knew the wound was the least of his problems, especially if his hunch about this being a syndicate related incident was right. The girl was a runaway if he’d ever seen one, and he’d known many.

"Shit!" The guy next to him swore, ripping off a part of his shirt as he caught his breathe, tying the torn piece around the bleeding wound on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Spike asked, slightly preoccupied with trying to pull out his gun and find out where the remaining men were at the same time. The guy grunted a response that Spike took as a yes as he tried to tie the cloth with his teeth, his eyes slightly glazed from the stress of events.

"You’re an idiot." He said as he finished, trying to find his own gun. Spike could hear footsteps getting closer to the bar; Bren had vanished as well.

"That’s what they tell me." He said back, edging towards the end of the bar. Spike was just in time to catch one of the larger men off guard as he came walking to the edge. A quick kick unsettled the lug, but he still managed to get his gun between him and the bar. Spike dodged the bullet with only centimeters to spare, shooting off his own gun. The guy hit the ground with a thud, but Spike didn’t know if he was dead or not. His aim had been off lately, and he really didn’t know what he’d hit. The guy didn’t move as Spike stood, his eyes and that other sense telling him that the other four had gone off after the girl.

"Shit."

"You’ve already said that." Spike said in response to the guy’s choice words, checking his pocket for extra cartridges; he found three.

"I’m surrounded by maniacs," The guys said as he stood up and leaned against the bar, his gun out where he could use it, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. "her for doing that and you for getting involved. They’ll be after you once they’ve gotten her you know?" He said, giving Spike a gaze filled with remorse and hard knowledge, which confirmed with Spike that this was related to the syndicate.

He shrugged his shoulders, he knew it far too well. But unlike the girl, he had a few more options. He could leave and never come back, which was what he should have done in the first place; or go after the men and kill them so they couldn’t report him to whoever it was they were placed under. Option two was being far too nice, since it would get the girl out of whatever trouble she was in as well. Spike searched his pockets for his cigarettes, what he’d been making of a nice alcoholic buzz completely was gone, he was worked up now. As he lit one and put the pack away he stashed his gun, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Not my problem. Good luck though."

Option one was definitely looking like the way to go.

"Wait, hold on wait! You’ve got to help her."

Spike stopped at the broken door way as the guy came running around the bar. It was the first time Spike had gotten a good look at the guy and noticed he was nothing more than a kid. He couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one, and his eyes were too innocent for the type he knew to be in the syndicate. It tugged on something within him and he told it to shut up.

"Look kid, I don’t have time for…"

"Look, I know I’ve got no right to ask," He pleaded as he pulled his blonde hair back from his face, looking pitiful. "but, if anyone can help her it’s you, I mean, look at you."

Spike raised his eyebrow at the comment and held back the urge to see what the kid meant, but he already knew he’d noticed his fighting skills. Damn kid was perceptive.

"Look, I really…"

"You’re a bounty hunter right?"

Spike’s interest peaked. The kid was really perceptive.

The guy noticed he’d hit a nerve and leaned hard against the door way, blocking Spike from leaving. His eyes went wily and desperate at the same time, and his words were hurried.

"Almost all of those guys have huge bounties on their heads, syn…" His voice faltered, but Spike wasn’t shocked by what he was saying, he knew. "syndicate or not, they won’t be missed or searched for if they’re turned in."

Spike sighed and threw his finished cigarette on the ground. Option one was slowly fading into the streets.

"And what do I get for doing this besides the bounties? It doesn’t seem like a balanced game to me."

The blonde guy gave Spike a look, but smirked.

"If you stop Rain from being killed I’ll pretend this little meeting never happened, Spike Spiegel."

Spike couldn’t hold back the shock on his face, and he wanted to punch the satisfaction off of the kid’s face, but found he couldn’t. His face quickly turned stoic again and he glared at the kid, trying to decide if he’d seen him before.

"Spike Spiegel…"

"Is dead." The kid finished for him, pleading with his eyes. "And he’ll stay that way if you just do this small thing and help her, I know you can."

"What if I kill you and just leave?" His words were slightly heated, but Spike was still uneasy about how easily this kid had known who he was, even if he’d been "dead" for almost two years.

"You would have done it already." He retorted back, glaring Spike down. "Come on, time’s running out."

Spike sighed, he hated it when he was backed into a wall.

"How do you know I just won’t leave here and kill them all, that girl included?"

The kid’s eyes became sentimental for a second and his body posture lazed, he held his shoulder lightly, looking out towards the street; rain threatening the graying sky.

"I don’t know, for some reason I feel like I can trust you." His eyes turned from the street back to Spike, sincere. "You remind me of her."

Spike held back an odd smile as he found himself walking out of the bar, his hand moving to find his gun again.

"Thanks, and the name’s Dane!" The kid yelled after him as Spike followed the disturbed streets for which way they’d all gone. He kicked himself mentally. Damn second option, and damn his sentimentality.

~~~~~~~

After Dane had told her that Gendrig wanted to see her with so many people around, Rain become extremely suspicious. She walked alone to the giant chamber where the triad and Gendrig held trials and, her mind a buzz with what this was meaning. Somehow she thought she had an idea, but she didn’t like it.

She entered the giant room and heard hushed husky voices, there was probably more than twenty or so people in there. Just as she remembered it, the room was lavishly decorated. Tapestries and gems hung from places on the huge walls and the ceiling held an extremely large chandelier. This room was a testament to the Syndicate’s power, or at least, their past power. She knew they’d be expecting her, so she didn’t hesitate to step out to the middle of the huge audience floor, the huge dragon beneath her feet sinister in eye and body. The voices stopped, and it hadn’t taken long for Gendrig to show himself, dressed rather formally in a Chinese looking garb, standing below the platform where the Triad sat.

The Triad was nothing of their former self. After Vicious had slaughtered them in an attempt to take over the syndicate, they’d been left with nothing. With the Triad out of the way Vicious would have taken over, but after Spike had killed him nothing had been left. So after Gendrig took it he’d replaced the Triad with bumbling idiots. Sure, they looked the part in their garb and mannerisms, but they were nothing to what their cousins had been. They were men who’s family didn’t find them worthy to be in such high positions, and when Gendrig offered them the coveted positions under him, they’d grabbed at it like starving men. They were under his thumb, as they’d failed in gaining any followers of their own. These men were only puppets, and no matter what it got them, they knew it.

So Rain stared blankly up at the three, wishing she could burn holes into their flesh with her eyes. When Gendrig stepped forward she bowed to him politely, wondering why he was smirking so.

"Glad to see you’re feeling well. No scars I hope?"

Rain tried not to smirk as he spoke his words loudly, a show for everyone else. She wanted to laugh at his comment about scars; he could only imagine.

"Of course not sir." She said back, keeping her own voice only loud enough for him and the Triad to hear.

"Good, excellent. Now, for the matter at hand."

Gendrig turned from her and addressed the Triad now. Rain tried to keep her curiosity in check, but still wondered what he needed all these people here for. Around her stood about twenty or so of the most influential people in the syndicate. She recognized businessmen and black market dons a like, none of them looking happy to be there. She saw Lucian and held back the urge to spit on him. Something here was weird.

She half listened as Gendrig addressed the Triad, trying to think of things she’d have to do after whatever this was, was over. But certain words began to catch in her mind, and she began listening again.

"And so, with the council of the Triad, it has been decided that Chaos will take her position beside me, second to only I and the Triad."

Rain tried not to cringe at the use of the formal name she’d never used. Chaos had been what Gendrig had called her since she could remember, but to keep what she really was underneath the noses of those who didn’t need to know someone had named her Rain. She’d liked the second name better, and had never used Chaos.

As reality hit her she tried not to look taken back, letting a blank expression take her face instead of the shock she felt inside. Second to only him? This was bad. She didn’t want to be any higher up in the syndicate’s ranks, she was fine being the shadow that followed him, now she was the enforcer that stood beside him.

Murmurs started all around her, but she blocked them out. She gave Gendrig a nasty look, but he ignored it, motioning her to follow him out of the chamber and into a back hallway that lead to a room, his office.

They’d left the syndicate members rather abruptly, but she didn’t care, Gendrig was up to something. As he sat down at his desk he opened a drawer and pulled something out, tossing it on the large desk between them.

"Was that wise?" She questioned, referring to the display he’d made.

Gendrig put his elbows on the table and shrugged.

"Whether it was or not it’s just up to you to follow my orders, understood?"

She nodded back, the same dance they’d done for years. She’d question his authority, he’d give her a simple and blunt answer, and she’d leave it at that. She didn’t really care if she ever got a straight answer from him, she already knew what he was thinking. His authority had been questioned when the enforcers had demanded that Rain be "tested". Gendrig didn’t like others playing with his toys, and this was his way of making this toy real. She had more power than the enforcers now, more power than Lucian. They were going to be really pissed and she didn’t want to deal with it.

As she stared at the desk she noticed that the thing he’d put down was a picture, and she tried to get a good look at it. All she could make out was the upper body of a man, his dark green hair somewhat messy and chaotic, his face handsome yet stern at the same time. His blue suit was barely visible underneath a black trench coat, and Rain didn’t need to ask if he had been in the syndicate, even if he looked rather young.

"A son of yours?" Rain questioned, knowing very well that Gendrig wasn’t the type to have had children, but she was pissed; she wanted to mess with him.

Gendrig ignored her words and slid the picture over to her. Rain picked it up and looked closely, feeling like she should know this man.

"So…"

"That’s your father."

Rain’s eyes betrayed her, widening slightly in shock. He was lying, it couldn’t be…

"You’re lying." She spat, her emotions getting the better of her. But Gendrig just smirked.

"One of my more successful projects, and I don’t lie."

Rain set the picture down before she turned and left the room in a hurry. She would never be coming back, not now; not ever. ~~~~~~~~~ Now ~~~~~~~~~

Rain shook the memory of earlier out of her head as she turned on her toes, swinging into an alley as she reloaded her gun. She figured she’d gunned down at least one, but the other two were still coming at her. The wound in her leg throbbed, and it had been joined just a short time before by a nasty shot to her abdomen. She’d tried not to let the wound get to her, but even she could only take so much. Since she was still able to run she figured it hadn’t hit any vital organs, but she was still trying to be careful.

She could still hear the footsteps behind her, and she hid in a door way right before she heard the shots fired. They stopped for a second, but the guy knew she was there, the door frame was only a make-shift barricade. Dropping to her knees she came out and shot at him. The change in her position had taken him off guard, but he still managed to keep his aim. Another shot wedged itself in her shoulder, and she held back a moan of pain as blood pooled over the wound. One weak moment and she was dead, this guy was way too close. Her own shot connected with his arm and she turned to run before he could recover. She now found herself puffing for breathe, damning everything she could think of.

Damned bastards, they’ve gotten better.

The pain was getting to her and suddenly Rain’s vision fizzed out. When her sight came back she had to put her hand out in front of her to stop herself from hitting a wall at her dead sprint. She used the momentum to shove herself towards the left and down the rest of the alley, but it had been a warning. She was getting extremely dizzy from the blood loss, and she could still hear the guy coming after her.

"Hide." She huffed. "Just got to hide now."

As she came to the end of the alley it opened back up into the streets. She knew this part of town, it was getting near the edge of the syndicates’ main grounds and she tried to hold back her sigh of relief for when she was actually safe. As she gripped the side of the brick she touched her other hand to her side, the gun still in her hand. She was bleeding pretty badly, and if she didn’t get somewhere quick she’d probably bleed to death. She heard drops of blood from her leg wound and the added abdomen wound drip to the ground and took that as a cue to move. There weren’t many people in the deserted street and she ran across it to another alley, dodging the impending running foot steps.

She finally gasped out loud as she saw where she was, her body slacking. It was a dead end, a dead fucking end.

Rain collapsed at the end of the alley, checking her pockets for any ammo left. There was none, so she sat down and face the entrance with her gun bared, her right hand clutching her bleeding side.

So this is how it’s going to end? She thought to herself as the things around her fazed in and out of her vision. Her blood loss was making her dizzy, and she could see the barrel of her gun wavering in front of her. She felt wet cold forming under her jacket and dripping down her side and knew the bleeding wasn’t stopping, the rain washing it into a puddle of light red around her. If she was going to die either way, she was at least going to get a good couple of shots in before the bastard got her.

As she waited the footsteps came at a run towards the alley, and her blurred vision made out a man standing at the end of the alley, about twenty-five feet from her. She saw the figure stop as he saw her sitting with her gun bared towards him, her attacker pausing in his actions.

"Not…alive." She spat as she fired off a shot, but the man was lightening fast, and dodged it. Her hand recoiled far too much from the shot, and she found that she didn’t have the energy to fire again. She let her hand fall to her side as the man came to her, but something was different.

The figure wasn’t one of the burly men, nor was it wearing a suit like the others. Dark green hair was matted to the man’s face as he knelt down beside her, pulling back her jacket to check her wounds. She could barely make out the hazel of his eyes beyond her blurred vision, but she could see worry in them.

A stupid grin fell on her face, but she couldn’t help it, something in her was happy.

She saw his lips move but she couldn’t hear what he’d said. As he pulled off his blue jacket to try and stop her bleeding she found his hand and touched it lightly, the skin warm and strong. She blinked her eyes slowly as she found the words in her throat somewhere, her mouth smiling as she never had before.

"Hi dad. It’s so nice to finally meet you."

She saw him stop in puzzlement. She’d gotten it wrong, only one of his eyes was hazel, the other was some odd shade of green, and she knew it wasn’t real. As the fog folded over her eyes she tried to reach up and touch those eyes. One of them was showing her the future…

~~~~~~~~~

The girl’s words had shocked Spike into motionlessness as he pressed lightly against her side, trying to stop the bleeding before she died right there. He stared, completely confused at what she meant. She was so close to death, it wouldn’t be odd if she was reliving some childhood memory. It didn’t really hit him that she might not be until he noticed the color of her hair, a light green; and her eyes, the shade of hazel his one was.

"Hey, hey don’t fall asleep, what did you mean, hey!"

But his words didn’t stop her from passing out, her hand falling on his lap from only getting half way to his face. He wondered what he saw there, but pushed it aside; she was going to die if he didn’t get her help.

Spike wrapped the girl in his jacket and delicately picked her up, trying not to anger her wounds. Before he stood he took the communicator out of his pocket, quickly switching the channel on.

"Jet, how’s our medical supply stock?"

It took a moment for him to respond, but Jet came on the line.

"Full, why?"

"Good."

"Hey Spike, what the hell!.." But he’d switched it off before Jet could finish, standing with the girl in his arms. Why was he getting all the strays?

~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note:

I can’t believe it, I actually wrote a second chapter. *dies* It’s been almost a year since this came out. Well, I’m slow, what can I say? ^_^ I don’t know how long the 3rd chapter will take, but I have a pretty good idea for it, so hopefully it won’t be a year like last time.

Thank you to those on Mediaminer.org who reviewed this and re inspired me to continue writing, I trully appreciate it. Anyway, until next time, review if you wish, but I won’t cry if you don’t.