Chapter 18 - Tank!
"I think it's time we blow this thing
Get everybody and their stuff together
Okay - 3, 2, 1, let's jam!"

In a large dark room, a figure sat in a large plush, swivel chair. The
room itself was filled with monitors of various sizes, depicting images
of events occurring all over the Red Mafia compound.

With a click of a remote, two of the monitors disappeared, two more
twice as big as the originals appearing in their place. On the monitors,
Faye and Jet, along with Spike and Edward could be seen making their
way through the twisting halls and corridors of the underground base.

"They've entered the compound, sir," an underling replied, standing
behind the plush chair.

"I know, you idiot." the figure replied. "I have eyes."

The underling nodded quickly in agreement, afraid of inviting her
employers reputed, horrible wrath upon her. "Shall I have a squadron
apprehend them now, sir?" she asked. "I can have one assembled in
no time - they won't know what hit them."

"Which would surely take the fun out of everything," the figure replied.
"Wouldn't it, my dear?" A haunting smile appeared on his face.

The young woman stepped back, nodding nervously like a shy child.
"Of course, sir," she agreed. "But, what would you have me do?"

"Leave them be… for now." he replied. "We still have plenty of time.
Let's have a little fun."

"Yes, sir." the woman replied, nodding quickly as she backed away.
"As you wish it, sir." With that, she exited the room, still shaken by that
hauntingly beautiful smile.

=====

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?"

Jet sighed, his infinite patience for Faye Valentine wearing very thin.
"I told you, Faye," he replied. "It's the only plan I can think of. So,
unless you've got any better ideas…"

"Oh, shut up, Jet," Faye frowned. "You're the one who made such a
big fuss about staying in teams."

"And now I'm saying we should split up. If we keep walking around
like this, we're sure to attract unwanted attention." He paused for a
moment. "What, are you scared or somethin'?"

Faye ignored him. "All right then, what do you suggest, oh wise one?"
She folded her arms, regarding him with slight impatience.

Jet decided to let that one slide. "This place runs like any other
corporation, 'cept this one participates in shady dealings."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, the idea is to find out where Thanatos is hiding himself." Jet
replied. "The only way to do that is to cover as much ground as
quickly as possible."

"This place is crawling with guards, Jet," Faye replied in a low tone,
batting her eyes at a passing guard, who blushed fiercely.

"No shit, Sherlock," Jet smirked. "That's why we have the disguises."
Faye scowled at him. "Look, it's simple, okay? You take the East
Wing and I'll take the West Wing. The two of us will make our way
down the floors searching every inch until we find our guy."

"And whoever gets there first, busts him." Faye smirked.

"No way, sister," Jet frowned. Faye pouted and started to object
before he cut her off. "Remember, this guy is dangerous - even more
so than Aeolis." He glanced around cautiously. "Whoever gets to him
first, contact the others and wait until help gets there. Got it?" Faye
sighed huffily. "Faye?"

"Yeah, yeah, Jet, I gotcha." she frowned. Folding her arms, she
glanced around the hall. "Well, I suppose we should get this over
with, huh? I'll take my hall, and you take yours."

Jet nodded. "Everyone is to keep a routine check-in every half-hour,
got that?"

"Yes, dad…"

The ex-cop's expression turned serious. "This is serious, Faye," he
told her. "We're dealing with guys that used to be members of the
Syndicate." Faye frowned. "I know how you feel about them… I'm
not thrilled about the shit they put us through either… but you be
careful. Don't pull a 'Spike' on me."

Faye smiled a little. "Yes, sir." With that, she began walking down
the hall, stopping in front of a gangly looking guard. "Excuse me, sir?"
she purred. "I was wondering if you could help me…"

Jet shook his head. 'That girl is something else…' He took off down
the hall in the opposite direction, trying to look as discreet as possible.

=====

Faye smirked to herself, adjusting the security guard uniform she had
'borrowed'. The uniform's owner, the same gangly looking guard from
before, lay unconscious on the floor of a large broom closet. "Sorry you
didn't get exactly what you came for, kiddo," she replied, somewhat
apologetically. "Maybe next lifetime." With that, she strode off down
the hall.

Taking a small map out of jacket pocket - lucky for her it had been
the guy's first day on the job - Faye found her position on the
compound. According to her calculations, she was one floor above
a restricted area in which access was limited to a small selection of
people.

A triumphant grin made its way across her face. "Well, whaddya
know," she snickered. "I made it here first."

"Fancy that, so did we." Faye blinked in surprise, recognizing that
amused tone. She looked up to see Spike and Ed standing in front of her.
"Wha-at?" A bark directed her attention to her feet. "And Ein, too?
What the hell is this?"

Spike chuckled, letting his eyes roam over her for a brief moment.
"Nice outfit." However, on the inside, he felt a slight twinge of jealousy,
knowing full well she had had to flirt with someone to get it.

Faye blushed furiously. "Jackass… I should say the same." The lanky
bounty hunter winked at her, making kissy faces. "You know what…
you are such a child! I was here first and you knew it!"

Choosing to ignore her, Spike took out his communicator. "Jet," he
replied. "Floor 34b - we found it."

"Got it," Jet's voice responded. "Hold your position, I'll be there in--,"

Faye made a 'tch'-ing sound. "To Hell with that…" She stepped
forward. "Ed, open the door."

"Roger, dodger!"

Spike blinked in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Think about it," Faye replied calmly. "We haven't had any trouble
making it this far, right? Thanatos knows we're here - he's been waiting
for us the whole time."

"So?" Spike frowned. Faye had that gleam in her eye - that meant she
was most likely gonna do something invariably stupid. "All the more
reason for us to wait for Jet and come up with a plan."

Faye laughed. "Listen to yourself," she smirked. "You almost sound like
a team player." Spike opened his mouth to object, but she cut him off.
"You guys can wait if you want, but I'm going on ahead. Don't get mad
if I catch the bounty without you." With that, she opened the stairwell
door, disappearing into its darkness.

"Faye! Hold on a minute!" Spike called out. Faye was already
descending the steps at a fast pace. It was almost like she wanted to
go in alone. "Shit!" He turned to Ed, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Ed, you and Ein stay here and wait for Jet."

"Where is Spike-person going?" Edward asked. "Edward wants to help
make sure Faye doesn't make an ass of herself, too!"

Spike smirked half-heartedly. "It's Faye we're talking about," he replied.
"Her not making an ass out of herself isn't possible." He took out his gun,
checking to make sure it was fully loaded. "Just wait here for Jet, okay?
Tell'im what happened."

"Okay."

With that, Spike entered the stairwell, checking around for any guards
or cameras. However, as soon as his foot touched the first step, a
beeping noise was heard. "What the hell…?"

"Spike-person?" Edward called worriedly.

The beeping steadily increased, getting faster and louder until it
stopped completely. When it did so, the stairwell beneath Spike
shuddered. Flattening down upon each other, the steps formed a
steel slide, sending Spike spiraling downwards into the unknown.
That last thing Edward heard was "Ohhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

=====

It was one of those weird deals where you're in one place one
minute, and in the next, you find yourself some place completely
different. Originally, Spike had been on Europa, at Bathsheba City's
largest shopping mall, chasing down his beautifully impetuous partner.

'Damn,' he thought to himself. 'It's gotten to the point where I can't
even insult her in my head without complimenting her.'

However, where he had once been on one of Jupiter's moons, he found
himself an entirely different situation; he was standing on the rooftop of
an old, rundown building.

'Déjà vu…' he thought idly. He was unable to dwell upon that thought
any further for a barrage of bullets came zinging through the air, forcing
him to drop down to his knees. "Who's shooting?" he yelled out. He
reached for his gun, firing a few shoots in hopes of drawing his attackers
into the open. He succeeded, only to find that his attackers were only
faceless, formless shadows.

'Oh, I get it now… this is one of those retrospective, psychedelic-type
dreams,' He raised his gun, firing off a whole round. 'Still, it would
really suck to get killed in my own dream.' Reloading in a quick, but
extremely precise fashion that only Spike Spiegel could possess, the
lanky bounty hunter stood up, firing at each of his attackers until only
one was left.

"All right, time for me to end this dream." In a Mexican standoff style,
the two took aim, preparing to end each other's lives.

Two shots were fired, two screams were heard. One was feminine.
It was that moment when Spike realized where - or more specifically,
when he was. The old rooftop, the gunfight, the fluttering of wings as
dozens of birds took flight… it was just like before.

It was all coming back to him. He turned quickly, adrenaline pumping
over time as he ran across the roof. "Juli--!" Her name died in his
throat, as he stared down at the body before him. He couldn't believe
his eyes. Her eyes were not blue nor were her hair blonde. It was
almost as if a bullet had pierced its way through his heart.

"No…FAYE!"

=====

Her emerald eyes snapped upon, and she sat up quickly as if she had
woken from a nightmare. "What happened…?" she asked no one,
rubbing her head as she scanned the room slowly.

"You took a nasty fall," the voice that spoke was deep, but gentle,
almost calming. It made a person want to curl up in the arms of its
owner, fearing nothing.

Had Faye been anyone else, she would have immediately felt at ease;
however, Faye was used to not trusting people. Immediately, her gun
was drawn. "Who's there?" she called.

The voice went on as if there had been no interruption. "A very nasty
fall… it would be a pity if you were hurt." Faye noticed a tear on the
sleeve of her uniform, through which a little blood seeped. "A pity, that
I would have an unfair advantage."

Faye frowned, suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps growing nearer.
Judging by his gait, the person was a male, skinny, and fairly tall.
However, he walked slowly and purposefully…

'Like a predator stalking its prey.' Faye stood up slowly, training her gun
on the approaching figure. "All right, come out into the light where I can
see you - nice and slowly."

"As you wish it," He smiled, stepping into view. "Miss Valentine."

A scream died in Faye's throat. She had gone back three years into the
past to relive one of her most horrid nightmares. Before her stood a
ghost, the visage a horrible monster she had prayed she'd never see again.
Her blood ran cold as her heart threatened to stop on her.
It was stepping into the Twilight Zone. "…Vicious…"

End of Chapter 18

Author's Notes -

Okay now, before you all go, 'Oh great, another 'Spike vs Vicious back
from the dead' fic' know that it is -not- one of those typical Spike vs. Vicious
fics.

To be honest, I did consider making it that way for a while, but then
I realized that nothing else in the fic had been typical (except for Spike
and Faye hooking up, but they do so in an atypical way, right?), so why
ruin a good thing?

So, before you give up on reading this fic (when it's so close to the end - I
estimate roughly 4-5 more chaps to go) just keep in mind that this isn't
your typical 'Vicious comes back from dead' set up, because it isn't. I've
still got a few more twists up my sleeve before we reach the climax.

Miss Chang Po - You mean you actually have a climax planned?

Uh... sort of... I assume it's gonna find its way in there eventually... ::Miss
Chang Po gives her a 'yeah right' look:: Oh shut up, ya slacker! You suck
at being a muse! ::'ahems:: But anyway, read on and enjoy!