Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Minus Four ❯ Beyond Control ( Prologue )

Minus Four

By Ember

Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop ^-^

Prologue

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In a large bunker there sat three men. The features of each were lost to the rhythmical swinging of a single light bulb. It hung above the centre of the large circular mahogany table causing the air to tumble, disrupting the starkness that echoed through the minds of those present. Not a sound could be heard save the nervous exhale of the three as they each looked to the other, none daring to make the first move. Each seemed to have one eye on the light and the other on the door.

Interrupting the thread of deception the room offered to nervousness, a long paced but even step intruded onto the scene. The echoes could almost be described as choreographed they thumped in time with the swinging light so well.

"The time of judgement comes close to us my friends," Long calloused fingers clawed at the edges of a small suede suitcase, "Its times like these that redemption comes too late for the likes of us. It clouds over feeling to nip at the very edges of consciousness. It will come to you all. Trials of life, time and space may vary for each but those of us here know more than what can be defined by any." The tip of a deep green panama was dipped dramatically forward, "Would that any of them knew what was coming. Can you hear it?"

The footsteps resonated through the neighbouring corridor as though they signified a bolt of lightning from the heavens. The light of the room flickered.

"There comes the man himself. I take it we all know what this means. Conscience is such a burden, but we cannot all be as blessed as he is. While we are who we are then we must feel. Hear this now. I know I am dead and I embrace my end."

A chair was forced backwards. The squeak sending jolts of pain through the skull as it scraped against the uneven concrete floor, "Just shut up! Shut the fuck up! You're talking shit!" Sweat poured, dripping in concentricity to the hardwood tabletop, "This isn't the time to lose our cool. He's coming and we have to be strong!"

Both turned to the third figure. During the exchange he had fallen to the table. His head was tilted so the left ear was pressed firmly against the surface. One hand was placed either side, the elbows were raised and the forearms tense. Under the veil of spittle came a verse of concentric words.

Simple light, lost again,

Time and life no longer mine,

Forgive my sins and on to more

Reckoning now will come.

Stand on top and look deep down,

Tears are wasted long

`Cause judgment waits along the road,

And nothing else will win.

More verses followed these, but they folded over each other so quickly and in such a diluted whisper that the words were unknown to anyone but the speaker.

"Well that's just fuckin' great! Now get yer head up off the fuckin' table Harve and get some fight in yer!" The crazing of a Hawaiian shirt bumped the light into a circular path as the stocky arm reached over the table, grabbing the collar of the other. The skin peeled away from the saliva sleeked table with a slurp. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Preaching ain't gonna save yer! Sermonizing the devil that's about to walk though that door ain't gonna do shit! We have to stand up to `im. Remember what's going to happen when he gets here?"

A whimper of pessimism echoed off the walls, "We're all gonna die!"

"Shut the fuck up I weren't talking to you!" Turning back his voice lowered, "We're gonna fuck `im up! Jack over there is gonna give `im the suitcase. I'm gonna deal with the money, and when he leaves you're gonna shoot `im. You got me, `cause if you fuck this up we're all fuckin' dead! Go it?"

The shimmer of brown reflected the light as it hit the lens of a half drooped eye. It blinked once as a single tear refracted a trail of light over the cheek it fell down. "Shit. I'm the only one left. He's gotten to `em. I dunno how, but I'm the last! It's all up to me now. I'm fed up with this shit! To hell with the trade!"

Thump… Thump… Thump…

"Oh shit! Oh Shit, oh shit!"

The footsteps were clearer now they approached. The rhythm kept all three heartbeats in check as they pounded along with each other.

"I told you. We're going to die."

Thumpety thump.

"Shut up!"

The footsteps stopped. Sharp shallow breaths gasped for oxygen in anticipation.

"At least we know we're not the only ones."

Click.

"I said shut the fuck up!"

The latch door opened slightly. A crack of daylight seeped like a stream from the exit.

"Fuck!"

"He's here, he's here, he's here! Today is the day I die! Give me up to the next life!"

"Fuck `em, fuck the plan! Fucking bastard! Diiiiieeeee!"

Gunfire blazed. Streaks of white hot metal flashed across the room. There seemed to be no noise as the footsteps continued. The swirl of a cloak threw the ever-encroaching daylight into rays so bright they burned the retina. Confusion and chaos ensued. One lay on the floor surrendered to his fate. One more laying face down on the table as he had fallen, and the last not being satisfied to go out any other way than he had come in to this life - kicking and screaming. His semi automatic was the last to fall silent. The flashes of the firing mechanism long outlasted the fight its operator had to live.

The darkness of the lone figure moved like an apparition around the room.

Secure of its victory it stooped.

Paused.

"Pathetic!" It admonished. A singular and well-crafted blade flashed once. The suitcase ruined, a shadowed hand rummaged through the straw that had been used as packing. From under the cusp of his cloak two eyes flashed with an esoteric glint.

"Perfect!"

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A line of school children snaked around the large circular structure in a crocodile fashion. The hands of each were locked firmly with each other's as they scooted along the long thin corridor. Huge windows flanked them on both sides but curved into a more robust metal structure to create the illusion of floor and ceiling. To someone unused to the advances of space travel it might have put them on edge that such a small amount of material was now used to keep the icy vacuum of space at bay.

"Miss Tracien! Miss Tracien!"

The unanimously lisped chorus spun through the closed hall but only just managed to overpower the roar of the large generators below.

A good-natured looking woman at the front of the cue turned and smiled, tossing a tightly woven plait over her shoulder. The lines of her eyes creased into middle age, only the light that shone in them seemed to defy the notion.

"Almost there!" She replied with enthusiasm.

"Have you seen it before Miss?"

She giggled slightly, "Well of course Steven. I've been making this trip with each year since the project began five years ago."

A hand bolted up.

"Yes Maria?"

"Miss!" The excitement almost seemed too much for the little girl to take in. The youthful exuberance she emitted was like a beacon of energy. "My sister says it made her stomach go flip flop! Is that right?"

"Yes that's very true. There are strong electrical fields beneath us that regulate the gravity. It can cause you to feel very sick if you don't have the right protection. That is why we all have to wear these really cool headbands."

They carried on walking for a while.

"Miss Tracien? When will they be finished?"

"In just over two years time. Most of the land though has already been sold and at a very high price. I think the chances of this teacher ever living down there are slim to none, but you lot I expect to each have your own apartment overlooking the rim of the red horizon when you grow up. I know you'll all make it big. You have the best tutorage." She laughed to herself and walked on.

Five minutes had past. "Ok children we're here, but we're running out of time. Our shuttle will be leaving in fifteen minutes, so we'll have to make this quick. Each of you grab your partners hand."

Miss Tracien clicked a switch behind her ear, and spoke into the microphone imbedded in her index finger. "Mr Dealy are you in place?"

"Ready when you are!"

"Ok kids here we go. Are you ready?"

"Yeeeeeeeeees!"

One by one there were squeals of delight as the children's feet lifted daintily from the floor.

"The electric fields making the artificial (that means fake) gravity have now been switched off. The delicacy of the moving of the rings means that it cannot be turned on until the manoeuvre is complete. We will be weightless for approximately five minutes while the adjustments are being made. Each movement is critical to the construction of the `new planet project.' Through this next airlock is a completely see-through compartment, for just under two minutes Mr Dealy's class on the other side of the ring should be in complete view above us. Don't forget to wave!"

With a whoosh the airlock opened and the difference in pressure forced children and teacher alike through its circular opening. It was just like a natural roller coaster, not quite defying the laws of physics, but certainly bending them slightly.

"Remember to look out of the left window and…"

Miss Tracien was interrupted by a shrill, squeaking scream!

"What is it Jenna? What's wrong?"

The young child's face was alive with fear. Her pupils were dilated to twice their normal size, her skin was one mass of goose bumps and she shivered uncontrollably.

"T… T… T… There's a monster o… o… o… outside! He was…s….s… staring at me t… t… through the g…glass!"

The last part of her sentence was almost indecipherable under the building tears and hysteria.

"Shhhh!" Comforted the teacher, swimming through the air and circling the trembling child into a secure embrace, "There's no need to be scared. Nothing can live in space, not even monsters. There's no one out there!"

"B… B…. But I s…saw him! H… h… he was wearing a h…headband, just like us."

Shivering at the real fear and haunted gaze of the child Miss Tracien began to get caught in the child's trauma. Certainly she felt extremely exposed, "I'm sure it was a just a reflection on the glass. Things can get so easily distorted when…"

More screams interrupted her sentence. One by one the children gave into the hysteria. Panic overrode judgement and Miss Tracien glanced through the window in the direction every other eye was placed. She paled and her heart raced.

"Holy mother of…!"

There, pressed firmly against the glass and embraced in the deathly chill of space was encapsulated a body. The face was so twisted and distorted in death it could easily have been mistaken for a monster. Great long icicles hung from the nostrils and mouth. The skin was a disturbing mix of flesh and blue and shimmering with the frost in the rising sun to the east.

At long last she looked away, but the frenzy around her broke through any vestige of control and she sobbed along with her class. The fear and horror uncontrollable as it's rhythm pounded through her blood.

"Don't look! Don't look! Oh god! Children don't look!"

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"Jet!" There was silence, "Jet! Where the fuck are you?" More silence, "I'm not kidding around here!"

"Hey take it easy! I'm almost there, just a few more minutes to go."

"Take it easy! You have got to be joking me!"

"Aw now, now there's no need to be like that I mean after all what did you say to me before you left." Jet paused, looking at the woman on the flickering vid-screen, and scratched his chin, "Ah yeah! I remember now. I don't need your help Jet Black I'd sooner give Ein a bath with my tongue than rely on you!"

The shimmer of green eyes sharpened, "And I wouldn't have needed it if Spike hadn't interfered!"

"Spike just saved you ass and that's all the thanks he gets?"

"Saved my ass! Excuse me but I had Solian eating out of the palm of my hand until big bad Spike decided to stick his size twelve's in and play hero! He would have done anything to get to touch this body!" She pouted with forced sultriness. "I was so close and then Spike had to come along and blow everything to shit! You see this!" She pointed to a line of dried blood across her left cheek, "I bet he's scarred me for life. I tell you Jet I've had it up to here with this shit. I don't do this! Faye Valentine works alone!"

"Well in that case Faye Valentine is on her own. I'll just turn back and you can wait for the next poor lot of suckers to turn up and save you! This far off course it'll probably only be a few weeks before you'll see hide or hair of anyone. Let alone for them to be generous enough to give you a ride."

Faye shivered. She looked nervously over her shoulder, her eyes piercing the shadows. "You can't leave me Jet. It's still in here! I can here it and I'm out of ammo."

"What is?"

"I dunno it must have followed me on board when the ship exploded. I think its some kind of rat, although I haven't seen it yet."

A shadow of something scooted behind the image of Faye.

"I just saw it. Its behind you."

"Shit! Where?"

The scurrying returned.

"Behind you."

"Shit without the main lights I can't see a thing! I can't believe I'm stranded! This is freaking me out Jet hurry the fuck up!"

Jet chuckled, "You know this is kind of entertaining. I might just watch for a little bit longer."

"Ugh! Jet Black you get here and help me right now!"

Jet couldn't restrain the laughter anymore and burst into hysterics.

"Asshole!"

"I'd stay still if I were you. My sensors seem to indicate that, that thing, whatever it is, seems to use movement as its main sense."

"I know you're enjoying this but cut me a little slack huh. You know I can't stand things like this, not after getting bitten by that thing last month. I knew my phobia was justified and here's complete proof. I still can't believe I'm stuck here with it! How much damage has the explosion done?"

Punching a series of commands into the computer, Jet looked over the schematics. "By the looks of things I'd say you're lucky you still have life support, just about everything else is shot to pieces. This is gonna take forever to fix. Dammit you're a liability Faye. Looks like a good chunk of your bounty is going to go on repairs and labour, unless of course you plan on fixing it yourself."

"You can't be serious!"

"Who's saving your worthless ass in the first place? I think I'm being rather generous under the circumstances."

Jets voice trailed off slightly as he was gloating. A light flashed on the control panel and a shrill beeping echoed around the helm of the bebop.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. There seems to be a large mass of electrical energy surging through space near your position."

He flipped a switch on the monitor and Faye's face disappeared.

"Spike! Hey Spike! Lock your sensors onto the coordinates I'm sending you?"

"Got you Jet!"

"What does that look like to you?"

Spikes face clouded onto the view screen, where Faye's had once been.

"It looks like some sort of electrical nebula, but the readings are odd."

Jet rubbed his temples trying to untangle the data unfolding before him, "That's what I thought. The only trouble is its moving and fast. Nebula' don't do that do they? I'm too far away to tell more. Can you get a visual on it?"

Spike looked away for a moment. His eyes contracted as he scoured the blackness around him. "It's moving too fast. I can only get brief glimpses. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. One thing's for sure, its no nebula. It's distorting the light of the stars around it. It looks even darker than the space! Almost like how a black hole would absorb light."

"What direction is it heading can you tell?"

"It seems to be homing in on Faye. Get her the hell out of there Jet. If it hits she's history!"

Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"How soon will it reach her?"

"I'd say she's got less than a minute!"

"Shit!" Jet's metal fist drove into the desk, "That's too soon I'm too far away! I won't reach her in time!"

Unclenching his fist Jet changed transmission once again.

"Faye you have to get out of there! Try the engines again, try anything, you've got to move!"

As he spoke, the dark creature he had seen behind her now returned. It somersaulted off the wall behind, growing and pulsing as it moved. No characteristics were visible and it looked like nothing more than a pool of ink as it flew onto her body. Tendrils of its mass snaked over her shoulders as she thrashed wildly in a bid to shake it off!

There was so much movement that very soon Jet last all continuity. There was a loud grinding of metal and all transmission was lost.

"Shit!" he swore and switched camera to one on the hull of the Bebop. What he saw made his blood run cold. The distortion of darkness that had sent the sensors screaming had completely engulfed Faye's craft. It floated at the very centre of the energy.

"No! Faye!" The scream rebounded off the metal bulkheads, and was echoed in his earpiece by Spike, he usual calmness waylaid by a sudden and unexpected swelling of emotion.

As he watched, the dark entity was slowly edging forward with its new cargo and in a flash of power and speed; it disappeared completely. All at once he continuous beeping of the Bebop's alarms were silenced and everything fell into a deathly quiet.

In a heartbeat Faye Valentine was gone and there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it.

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A/N - *gasps* I'm such a meanie!

I hope you like this prologue. It's just a taster of things to come. Chapter one will be up in a couple of weeks. In the meantime please review and let me know what you think. *hugs* Ember