Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Evil Angel ❯ Spike Unvoiced ( Chapter 6 )

Evil Angel 6/6

By Nix

Disclaimers… I don't own Cowboy Bebop and probably can't write it canon for beans.. so do see the real thing.

Warnings… Evil Julia, Spike in white… biggest warning.. I was just having fun, writing what appealed to me. You want really good Cowboy Bebop fic.. look up Agent Orange… she's the best.

But anyway, I'd still like to know if you enjoy this fic of mine.

Evil Angel 6/6

Faye held her favorite pillow to her chest with both arms. She'd been on her way to Spike's room, but what Jet was working on in the lounge got her attention. The older man looked positivly domestic, apron on, a plate of beef and green peppers under glass on the table behind him and there he was, making up a bed for Spike on the couch. Faye's eyes narrowed and she shifted her hold on her pillow. "Uh, what are you doing?"

He fluffed the pillow he had already positioned at least three times since she'd been watching and ignored her.

"I thought," she said, sounding a little less sure of herself now, because well, her motives might not have been as hidden to herself as she might have wanted, "I thought that he might like to sleep in his own bed, you know? Quieter in there."

"Have you ever slept in his bed? Uncomfortable as hell." Jet stood up, crossed his arms, then shifted his stance to scratch behind his head, hoping he was doing a good job of implying things that hadn't actually happened. "I really ought to buy him a new one, a wider one." He followed that with a smile, the kind of half guilty, but victorious smile that canary-eating-cats came up with easily.

Faye's nose twitched. This little war had started with their kiss, a kiss that she and her body had responded to like someone had yelled free money in a believable voice. The war over Spike's heart and sexual attention worked better than anything else to distract them both from the danger they were in and from the danger of admitting they actually liked each other. "You didn't sleep in Spike's bed. It's not sturdy enough to hold your weight." She smirked then and if she could have grown horns, she would have.

Jet tapped his foot, energy building up between them, zipping back and forth like the opening of a gate with no real way to be sure what would come out the side. "And what do you think you're doing? Taking your bedding in there? The way you dress, if he ain't bit yet, he ain't likely to." Jet smiled then as the horns Faye didn't have turned into out right flames. This fight felt like more familiar ground, felt much more normal than sharing his brandy or sharing kisses.

"You fucking ass," she spat, all the way past her tolerances, buttons pressed so deep she thought her soul could bleed, and then she launched at him, her favorite pillow a feather katana aimed at his head. The force caught him off guard and he went over to the side, hitting the couch, the second smack sent him over the back and he caught up the pillow he'd left out for Spike on his way. "What the hell do you mean the way I dress?"

Ed looked up from the corner where she'd set up her new computer. "Ed is BUSY," she yelled, obviously expecting that to have some kind of impact. "She is doing something IMPORTANT! Something important to Spike-person!"

Jet swung the pillow anyway, not pulling the impact at all and even though it was only foam, Faye fell back, sitting on the suddenly broken plastic covering over Spike's food, then rolling back as Jet stepped over the couch and whacked her again. "I mean! Don't," Whack, "Think," duck, "that anything," whack, whack, "has changed."

Faye was on her knees, favorite pillow torn now and bleeding white feathers. Her face still scrunched up with outrage, she doubled up her fists, and prepared to ram him. "Oh yeah?" She snarled and charged, not even noticing that Jet had stopped dead in his tracks. Ein barked. Ed lifted her goggles up to the top of her head and just sat there watching. Faye hit Jet, didn't phase him at all, and just slid down him and landed on her butt. That was when she saw him, the him that she and Jet were fighting over.

Spike stood in the door way, at the top of the stairs, hair slightly damp, but washed and fingered straight. He just stood there, eyes watching them with a kind of confused amusement. He wore a wedding suit, white silk with a high collar, silver satin frogs closing it at the collar and down his chest, white on white cranes embroidered throughout it, down the long sleeves. White satin pants covered lean legs, flowing around him as he fidgeted slightly, one foot bouncing.

Faye got to her knees, and Jet reached down and hauled her to her feet with a hand under elbow.

Ed stood too and Ein barked again.

Wedding Spike ran a hand through damp green hair and looked like they were putting him on the spot. "Look, I didn't mean to interrupt or anything, but I was told that my family was waiting for me."

"Spike," Faye asked, confused because his voice sound like him, he looked like him, but the inflection was wrong, the accent sounded perfect like some Martian TV announcer. And then there was the suit, something just sooo not Spike. "You get married and not invite us?"

Ed ran forward, grabbed Spike's hand like she would read his palm, then looked up into his eyes, searching with all genius half insane intensity. "Spike person remembers Edward?"

"Of course he does!" Faye said, indignant. He wouldn't forget Edward or Jet, or her! How could he?'

Spike caught hold of the railing with his other hand, not pulling free of Ed, acting so very un-Spike-like and not quite as strong as he would have liked, what with being on a ship with people who didn't seem to be quite normal. "I'm sure he does," Spike hedged, pretty sure that might not be the right thing to say, but it might cover okay.

"Spike," Jet spoke for the first time, stepping passed Faye as she sank down to the couch. "You shouldn't be walking around yet."

It took Jet only a few steps to reach where Spike was now holding onto the railing with all his strength. He went up two steps, slid an arm around Spike to help him walk to the couch, but instead Spike's knees buckled and Jet found himself with an arm full of white silk wrapped Spike. "I don't feel very good," Spike admitted and didn't resist when Jet bent just a little and scooped the taller man into his arms.

Ed sank down to the stairs and wailed, "Edward has FAILED! Edward is soo sorry! Edward has lost the mind of the Spike person!"

"What the hell are you talking about," Faye demanded, getting up from Spike's couch and snarling over the mess she'd made when she sat down. Quickly she brushed it off as well as she could, then laid the blanket down over it, grabbed both pillows and set them there under Spike's head as Jet laid him down. Faye knelt down by where Spike's head was and looked into his eyes, eyes that stared back at her without any recognition and Faye started to cry.

It wasn't like the drugged non-recognition of earlier.. This was real. Spike really didn't know her. "Spike, you shit! What happened to you? You were going to be okay, just a few hours ago! Remember, I'm tone deaf! You remembered me!"

Jet was on his knees too, all business, opening the shirt to see the wound they'd watched get closed not even a day before. Just a puckered scar, pink and ugly remained. "We have to get the hell out of here," he said, fearing a group with technology like that more than he wanted to know what they'd done to his partner. Leaving Spike with his shirt open, Faye combing his hair with her fingers, Jet rose and went to start the launch sequence.

Faye wanted to know though and she wanted to know now! Wanted to fix it. "Edward! What did you fail? What happened? Spike, don't you go to sleep! Spike Spiegel, you know who I am, don't you? You didn't forget me, did you?"

The man on the couch felt sad. He could hear the little girl sobbing and he felt the dog jump up on the end of the couch by his feet, and worse, he felt the thing start licking his leg, right above the white sock that had pooled around his ankle. He heard the desperation in the woman next to him, could even smell the fear on her, but he didn't understand. He really didn't know these people. Disgusted, he tried to move to close his shirt.

Not knowing them didn't explain why he felt sad though, why he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out to the woman's cheek, rubbing a thumb over her cheek, wiping away tears. She had the softest hair, fine and silky, and he wished he knew why she was crying for him. "Hey," he said, trying to smile, trying to joke, "I didn't kill anyone, did I?"

"Oh Spike," she wailed and he found arms wrapped around him, holding him tight, twisting him just a bit and making his very sore midsection demand some instinctive protection.

"Owwww," he howled and she didn't even bother to let go, just held him tighter, crying more, and he considered hitting her a couple times. "I said owww! Woman! You're hurting me!"

"Good," she snarked, but held him more gently, "I was so damn scared for you! Making like you didn't even know us! Spike! How could you?"

"Uh," he said, completely confused, but glad as hell that she wasn't twisting him around now. "I guess this means we are family, uh?"

Faye drew back, wiped her face, and studied him. "Spike, what's my name?"

He smirked, trying to buy some time as he fished around for some name that would fit her. She was pretty, looked tough, and he could summon up some emotion about her, tenderness, irritation, worry, trust, and that made him realize that he did know her, he just didn't...know her. "Look, I think I'm kind of fucked right now. I don't remember. I feel like I should know you, like I care a lot about you, but I don't remember ever having seen you before, ever. I can't tell you what I look like. So don't take it personal, 'kay?"

Not take it personal? Faye sat back against the table, sniffed the food and even though she'd sat on it, she picked the main parts of the plastic cover off it and grabbed up the chopsticks. "Want some? I sat on it."

One arm laying across his belly. "That's okay, you go ahead." He really wasn't sure his insides were in complete working order even. It was like someone had played some nasty joke on him, ripped him apart, and the feeling of being betrayed deeper than breath could reach. He wasn't hungry.

The Bebop lifted up out of the water it had been docked on, jerking a little. Faye looked over to Edward, who still hadn't answered, who was laying flat out on the stairs, looking utterly defeated. Spike looked pretty defeated too, laying there in what was obviously wedding clothes, pink scar showing. He looked like someone had ripped his soul out and suddenly Faye felt really bad about eating food Jet had made for Spike. She didn't really have anything more to say though and couldn't waste food, so she stuck the bit of beef into her mouth.

As the Bebop pulled up away from Mars, gaining speed and altitude, the atmosphere in the Bebop was one of cautious not fatalism. Spike wasn't sure what his name was, or if the pain in his gut and head were getting worse or better. Edward was not at all sure what she'd done wrong! The technology was all new to her and she had thought for sure she'd messed up what that blond demon's computer had been trying to do. She and Mpu could do anything! And this had been important.

Jet paid close attention to flying his ship, feeling more uncomfortable than he thought he ever had. Instead of two roommates and half disposable partners, he had a woman that he'd kissed, a guy that he wanted to kiss and had just sold his ass to the Red Dragons to save. The image of Spike standing there in wedding dress did things to him that he wasn't in any way ready to deal with! He did not have half a hardon for his vulnerable and barely back from the dead friend. Yeah.

From her private suite, Julia watched the ship carrying Spike away lift off, leave a curtain of Martian ocean and lift up into the sky heading for parts unknown.

"He is still a rival," said Visnon, voice dripping in courteous perfection. The oldest son of the Martian Governor stepped into her room, carrying a pot of tea and two emerald carved tea cups. "Follow through. Blow the ship. Make it sparkle like so much fire works in celebration of your acceptance as high dragon."

"He is harmless," she said, accepting a cup, letting him pour her tea. "He wouldn't even regain speech for months. He'll probably starve to death because he wouldn't understand what it feels like to be hungry. He is as good as dead. Perhaps those idiot friends of his will kill him accidentally. He's not a rival anymore, Visnon."

"Why do I doubt you?" he asked leaning back in his chair. "You went to all that trouble to save him for just an afternoon? You're not untouchable, you know? This union isn't finalized you now? And even if it was, if you become a liability, they'll kill you."

Julia gave him her most gentle smile, what she called secretly her smile for Spike. "Do not worry, Visnon," she laid a hand on her belly, fingers out, and smiled, more genuine, completely predatory. "Sometimes once is all it takes."

"Oh," Visnon made a face, complete distaste. "What in known worlds would make his genes worthy of being passed on?"

"He was Mao's chosen heir, idiot. Mao's will still carries a great deal of weight. He has enacted vengeance for the elders who are gone, as well as for Mao. What made him my rival makes his child an exquisite asset."

Visnon nearly dropped his tea cup. "You planned this all along? You planned to be regent in the name of Spike Spiegel's child?"

"It does seem more palatable, and much more secure than some plans. He did want children," she said, smiling as the Bebop's signal left Martian orbit, headed out towards the asteroid belt, she hoped, carrying the father of her child in all his ridiculous virtuous heroic glory. "You didn't think I was going to have your children, did you?"

She held out her hand to him, and he took it, letting her fingers interlace with his, letting her teasing tone make him smile. "I thought we ought to get married first. I don't mind though, you know, you carrying his child first. Immaculate conception and all, amazing what technology can do. You'll be the idealized widow of the Red Dragon's hero of retribution. You're a damn genius."

One hand on her belly, as if she were maybe covering her baby's eyes, she squeezed Visnon's hand, sinking the jewel of her 'wedding' ring into his flesh. He yelped and she elegantly pulled back her hand. "And it will not hurt me at all that you, my not so brilliant rival, died trying to avenge Vicious' death at my husband's hands. How tragic for your family that your father will be revealed as a traitor."

She stood then, stepped away from the computer screen and the very surprised and very dying man. "I'd rather braid my blood with a brilliant peasant than the blood of an inbreed parrot."

"Julia!" he called to her, but she was walking away. "You are evil! You're evil, Julia. A fucking blackwidow angel!"

She wasn't a black widow though, not completely. Maybe Spike would live. Maybe she'd see him again. She could always change her mind and bring him back when her power was consolidated.

"How could you do this?" he demanded and she heard the tea set smash as he fell. "I'm dying. You killed me. How could you?"

She laughed, hand smoothing through the air, imagining what it would be like as her belly swelled with Spike's child. "You know the saying, that it is better to rule in Hell."