Prologue

Moments before Spikes death

Why did he have to go, the woman thought as the buildings flew by below her. The sky began to grow pink with the beginnings of a sunrise as she pushed the ship to its breaking point. I can't let him do this!

The video monitor blinded her as it flickered to life in the dim cockpit. "Faye, what the hell are you doing!"

"I can't let him do this!" Faye Valentine screamed. Jet's portrait had just appeared looking a mix between furious and terrified. "He doesn't have to die for her."

"He has to do what he thinks is right and you and I can't …"

"And I have to do what I think is right!" she interrupted. She could feel the heat on her face as she screamed at Jet. What was he was saying? How could he just sit in the Bebop and wait while Spike went on a suicide mission. "You and I know that a past isn't worth dying for."

This seemed to quiet Jet for the time being. Faye was sure she had hit the mark with that statement. No doubt Jet was thinking of his own past while staring at the reflection in his prosthetic arm. It was true, they were all cursed with a dangerous history and had been threatened by that history at one time or another, but none of them thought about storming the Red Dragon's headquarters to satisfy it!

Everything was falling apart.

"Well, that may be true but it doesn't mean you can just steal the Hammerhe-" She cut him off with the flick of a switch.

This was not the time to get into whose ship she had stolen. This was an emergency, doesn't Jet understand that? No. No one seemed to understand it but her. Jet just sat there and watched him leave. At least I tried to stop him. Why doesn't he get it?

Why did he go?

A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach, what if I'm too late? She couldn't do anything about the feeling other than to simply keep going. I'm almost there, she thought, just a few more miles…

The Hammerhead descended erratically into the streets of Mars City. The building that the Red Dragons used as their headquarters looked like it had been through a small war with entire floors missing including the top floor. As she descended, she could see a small crowd gathering on what was left of the top floor. That must be where Spike is.

The glass in the streets sparkled and blew away as Faye brought Jet's ship in for a hasty landing. The Hammerhead groaned and she felt one of the landing supports buckle while the ship slammed onto the street. She wasn't concerned. In fact, all her attention was fixed on what remained of the building's lobby.

This feels wrong, the knot in her stomach tightened. The hatch to the Hammerhead opened and time began to slow, yet her heart beat faster as she hopped out of the cockpit and off the ladder.

She could see more clearly into the lobby now and her bad feeling turned into dread. Bodies littered the ground all around the perimeter of the building. Good, she smirked to herself, trying to calm her nerves; maybe Spike got the action he wanted.

She ran hard towards the building, ignoring the burning in her legs and the fatigue in her mind. She hadn't slept for days. She was used to a lack of sleep, but this emotional rollercoaster that Spike was sending her on made her feel like she had been awake for weeks.

A tear blurred her vision and she blinked it away.

"He's gonna pay for the trouble he's causing me when I find him," she hardly believed the words as she muttered them to herself. She just couldn't ignore the bad feeling in her stomach.

It was like old times, just barreling into a building with a poor plan, a gun and a team beside you; except there was no team this time. That's why I'm doing this, the reassuring voice reminded her, you finally found your family, don't let it slip away.

The top floor of the Red Dragon Headquarters finally came into view after what seemed like miles of stairs. She ran unhindered by any guards as she made her ascent. Spike made sure of that, she thought. No doubt he had caused most of the damage to this war zone.

The stairs opened up into the vast ruins of what appeared to be the remainder of the Red Dragon's throne room. Faye noted at least 20 guards standing on the second terrace of the roofless room. After seeing them she quickly made her way to the side of the stairs to find cover and took refuge behind what must have been part of a wall before the rest of it was destroyed.

Spike must be up there.

She reached for her gun and noticed that her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as another tear began to form in the corner of her eye. It's ok, your in time, just get it together so you can go help him.

She drew upon her bounty hunter instincts and made her mind compartmentalize the situation. He's just another bounty that needs to be taken alive, she thought, just get up there and get him before the guards do.

Her eyes opened and she knew what had to be done. She reached for her gun, a steady hand this time, and peered around the side of her cover.

The guards aren't even looking this way; she smiled to herself, Ha! They're not going to know what hit 'em. Slowly stalking from behind her cover, she readied her pistol to shoot the first unfortunate sentry to look her way.

Moisture built up in her eyes once more.

Faye's blurred vision couldn't see what it was that they were looking at, but from the way the guards were standing it was up the staircase at the top of the room.

Good, she thought, whatever it is seems to be distracting them. She found more cover, this time behind one of the larger chunks of ceiling that had fallen down. Her mind took a moment and calculated her odds: at least 20:1, yet she had the element of surprise on her side. I can do this, she thought and her bounty hunter instinct took over. Of course you can, stop thinking about it.

She hardened her face; she was going to have to move fast. There would be only enough time for two or three shots at the most before the surprise wore off and then she would be hard pressed to find a defensible position.

As hard as she fought back the tears, they still partially robbed her of her vision. She blinked and shook her head trying to force the blur out of her eyes, it didn't help. Unsatisfied with the results, she decided that she would just have to fight a blurry battle and looked back up at the group of guards.

Her heart skipped a beat and she paused. Not everyone was looking away from her. There was a single man on the stairs, the man all of the guards were staring at. Her eyes widened with shock, he's pointing at me! If she was going to do this she had to do it fast, whoever this guy was he was going to put an end to her surprise attack.

But the feeling in her stomach held her in place, something was wrong. Though the man pointed at her the guards didn't move; they just stared.

Another tear escaped her eye. What's wrong with me, she rubbed the tears away with the palms of her hand. When she opened her eyes again her vision finally cleared; she froze as she looked up at the man on the stairs.

His hand was down but his body crumbled to the floor with a thud, his bushy head coming to rest on the stairs. Faye's stomach gave one final, agonizing twist as she caught a glimpse of the man's bloodied face…

Spike!

Suddenly, the guards were not important; she didn't care about her surprise attack. "Spike!" she screamed and the guards finally turned to regard her, but Faye didn't notice.

Her legs carried her as fast as they could up the stairs and past the guards to the steps where Spike had fallen. Dropping her gun, she knelt down and rolled his torn body into her arms. She rested his head in the crook of her elbow and held his body close to hers.

"Spike," she whispered trying to say more but not able to find the words or the air to speak. Don't leave me, she sat there, hugging the broken body of her partner, her friend, and the closest thing she had ever had to family. She watched it all fade away in the dimness of his eyes. The rising sunlight brushed across his face and she began to cry.

I hope you found what you were looking for…