Wasteland
Spike
watched the Redtail fly back into to the Bebop. He wouldn’t have cared
as much
if Sakura wasn’t with Faye. Why did he care period? Why?
Spike
shook his head. Why worry over them for? It was pointless for Faye. But
for
Sakura…. Oh, Sakura…
Bah!
Why bother? The cowboy headed to bed with no more concerns.
Within in minutes, Spike was out like a light. But soon, the past would find him.
*Dream
starts*
Spike
awoke to darkness. He looked around. Nothing and no one was in sight.
All there
was black. There was no sense of direction either. Nor time. Where was
this
place? Hell?
Then,
there came a trumpet blare. Spike jerked his head. Where was it? The
cowboy
trailed the sound hastily.
The
trumpets led Spike to a glass wall. A bright light shone through it.
The cowboy
walked closer to the wall. An image formed. Spike saw a great field of
green.
Cherry trees were in full bloom. The weather was perfect. Spike had one
word
for this place. Heaven.
Then
he saw a crowd of angels near the ivory gates. Most of them were women
and
children. They were watching for something. Spike eyed them hard. What
were
they looking at, him? Iie. They couldn’t see him. “They
don’t know I exist.” Spike thought. Then, what were these
angels looking at?
Soon,
forty white horses rode up to the gates. The riders looked to be
soldiers. Were
they going to war?
One
of the horses and riders stepped forward. The rider looked like a
colonel
dressed for war. He looked really serious. “Troops!” the angel called
out. “We
must take out the devils in Purgatory! Fight for honor! Fight for love!
And
fight for your families!” The other soldiers cheered. The crowd watched
on.
Then the soldier angels rode out. The crowd kept watching.
The
soldiers rode through the emerald grove path. It was so quiet. So
quiet…. Too
quiet….
“Poppa!!!”
a voice called. Spike looked along the lush greenery with the soldiers.
A small
girl was running along the side with them. She was running hard and
fast.
Spike’s eyes grew big. “Sakura?” he
thought. It was true! Sakura was the small girl running along with them.
“Poppa!”
Sakura yelled again. One of the angel soldiers smiled. He looked so
handsome.
“Sakura-chan,”
the angel began. “What are you doing here?” The small tenshi-chi
stopped. “I
came to say Sayonara!” she cried out. The other soldiers frowned.
“Sakura-chan,” the lovely angel said. “You’re not supported to be
here!” “I
don’t care!!!” Sakura yelled. “I just want to see you!” Silence passed.
“Sama,”
her father’s fellow soldier cut in. Sakura’s daddy turned to him.
“Hai?” he
asked. “She can’t stay here!” the 2nd soldier whispered. “I know,” the
poppa
whispered. He turned to Sakura. She stood still and tall.
“Sakura-chan,”
the soldier said in commanding tone. “Go home!” “Wait!” the small
tenshi-chi
yelled. Then she held out her tiny wrist and began unhooking a
bracelet. It was
a pink jade bracelet shaped into butterflies. The sun’s light danced
upon it.
Sakura
held up her slender arm. And with all of her strength, she chucked her
bracelet
at her poppa. “TAKE IT!!!” the tenshi-chi yelled. Her father caught it
in hand
and nodded with a smile. Sakura bowed and ran off.
Spike
couldn’t explain it, but he felt warm inside from watching that moment
with
Sakura and her father. He watched on as the soldiers continued their
path.
Then,
the light grew bright white. Spike was near-blinded. A time-lapse was
taking
place. Really fast too.
Soon,
the light cleared. The field was now wheat gold with cherry blossom
trees, This
was Purgatory.
Something
caught Spike. If a war was here, then where’s the battle? It was so….
serene.
Spike
suddenly paused. He heard something. Horse hooves. It could only mean
one
thing. Battle was starting.
Spike
looked behind him. The angel shoulders were rushing forward to battle.
They
were ready to attack. The cowboy looked ahead. Another army was
approaching.
They were as dark as night. Te army had no horses, just their weapons.
Gabriel
rode forward with his horse. “ATTACK!!!” he yelled. Then the battle
began.
Spike
watched the countless bloodbath for hours. The soldiers were dropping
like
flies on both sides. But as the cowboy watched, he noticed something.
Sakura’s
father was still fighting. He had his bow and arrow in hand and was
fighting
away. “I must make it back to Sakura!” he thought as he kept
shooting.
Spike respected him with no understanding to it.
Then
within the bushes, a child yokai hid slyly. He had a blowgun to his
lips. The
target was Sakura’s poppa. “This will be a great shot!” the
yokai thought.
The
he drew in a deep breath and blew a dart out of the blowgun as hard as
he
could. The poison dart sailed fast and hard. Spike watched closely numb.
Finally,
the dart struck its target. The poison dart struck Sakura’s father in
the back
of his left shoulder. The angel gasped out in pain. Spike watched in
silent
pain as he touched his own shoulder. Two other angel soldiers rushed to
Sakura’s papa.
“My
lord!” they called in unison. They grabbed him and held him. One of
them saw
the cause. “Pull it out!” Sakura’s father yelled. “But my lord,” the
1st
soldier began. “Pulling the dart out will cause even greater harm than
good!”
“I don’t care!” Sakura’s daddy yelled. “Pull the dart out, damnit!!!”
“Okay…”
the soldier said reluctantly. The other one held him still. The first
soldier
pulled the dart out with great force. Sakura’s father gasped out in
pain. He
began sinking to his knees. The other soldier picked him up. “It’s the
poison!”
he exclaimed. “Don’t worry about me!” Sakura papa exclaimed. “Let’s
just attack
those bastards!” “But my lord!” the angel soldiers exclaimed yelled.
“I’ll be
fine!” Sakura’s dad yelled “Let’s just go!!!” And there all three of
them
rushed back to the fights.
The
war dragged on. Spike watched on fascinated. He also caught onto
something.
Sakura’s father was getting weaker and weaker. The poison was slowly
draining
his life away. His breath grew labored. The angel slowly grew dizzy. He
was
growing numb. And his battle wounds were adding more to the damage. His
comrades were telling him to stop and rest. But he refused and kept
battling.
It was all a matter of time…
By
sunrise the next morning, the fighting abated. 2,000 corpses lay
everywhere.
The wheat gold fields were stained dark red with the blood of both
sides. The
only thing that remained constant was the cherry trees.
The
battle nurses began treating the injured. Sakura’s daddy lie on the
ground
dying. A fifteen-year-old angel nurse rushed to him. The soldier
couldn’t see
anything anymore. He reached up and felt the girl’s face. The nurse
grew
nervous. Sakura’s father smiled. “What a sweet face!” he whispered out.
The
nurse covered his mouth. “Don’t talk!” she snapped. “Save your
strength!” The
girl began her work.
“Sweetheart,”
Sakura’s daddy said. The nurse paused. “Hai?” she asked. “Take my
heart….
out…..” he managed to say. The nurse grew panicky.
“My
lord!” she exclaimed. “That would be worse!” “I…. don’t…. care…..”
Sakura’s
father forced himself to say. “You must…” He coughed hard. The poison
had
gotten to his vocal chords. It had eaten at his lungs too. Soon,
Sakura’s papa
would drown in his fluid.
The
nurse caught on to why. “You sure you want to do that?” she asked.
“Ha…. i…”
Sakura’s father managed to say. He hacked and wheezed again. The angel
nurse
tighten. “Okay! I’ll do it!” she said. Sakura’s poppa smiled. “Ar….
iga… to…”
he forced out. The nurse lightly covered his lips. “Easy now.” she
whispered.
The soldier had lost his voice.
The
angel nurse gathered three other nurses to help her. She gave them
explicit
instructions. Spike tried hard to listen. But it like listening to a TV
on
mute. Only without a remote.
Then
the main nurse took out her dragger and cut into the soldier’s chest.
She
separated the arties and veins from the heart. Two of the nurses
cleaned the
poison out of it the best they could. They repeated the process with
his soul.
Unfortunately, ninety-eight of his soul was lost to the poison.
“My
lady,” one of the nurses said. “His soul is too poisoned to do this.”
“We can’t
clean it either.” the other one said. The main nurse stood up. “Then
we’ll
break up his soul and take the non-contaminated parts out.” she said.
The other
two grew shocked. “But sama!” they exclaimed. “That’s never been done!”
“But we
must!” she exclaimed. Silence came and went. “All right, we’ll try it.”
the
second one said. The main nurse nodded.
She
turned to the fourth nurse. He stood in deep thought. The nurse was a
tall
strong boy. The main nurse eyed him. “Can you break his soul?” she
asked him.
The male nurse said nothing. He just stood forward and took out an
arrow. The
nurse stabbed it right into the soldier’s soul. The soul began to
break. The
other three nurses watched closely. The soul broken into small pieces.
The
poisoned pieces became ash but the clean ones remained.
The
head nurse quickly gathered the pieces before they flew away. She put
them and
the heart in her cherry blossom scented scarf and tied it tight enough
so the
knot had to be cut. She looked up and said: “Arigato guys.”
“Doshimate.” the
nurses replied. Then they went away.
The
main nurse angel was left all alone. She looked at the soldier’s body.
He
looked ever so peaceful. The nurse swallowed hard. “I shall not fail you!”
she thought. Then the nurse left the battlefield.
The
nurse walked down to the creek. The scenery was tranquil and green.
Except for
the stream of life, everything was quiet. Spike kept watching with
interest.
The
nurse said a quiet prayer. So quiet that it was deaf to Spike’s ears.
Then the
nurse paused and took out the wrapped goods. She quickly dropped them
in the
water. The angel nurse watched the soldier’s heart and shards of his
soul float
away.
*End
of Dream*
Spike
awoke in a pool of cold sweat. He was panting hard. This was growing
even
stranger each day. His shoulder pains, the odd dreams, the feelings for
Sakura…
None of this added up. What the hell was all of this? Who is Amadeus?
Spike
felt as if he might choke from all of these questions. He had to find
the truth
before he loses his mind.
Look
Hard Cowboy….