All right, sorry this took me so long. I was actually going to drag this chapter out to after the fight of Spike and Vicious, but that would have been a REALLY long chapter. And I have a bunch of stuff to write about what's gonna happen on the Bebop while Spike's gone, so I thought it'd be better to just split it into two chapters instead. ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are awesome! Here's Chapter 5! Please R and R!
Chapter 5
Faye sat in her Redtail, a burning cigarette resting between her tired fingers. Light smoke curled up around her, the scent filling the small ship. With a weary sigh, she leaned back in the worn seat and closed her eyes. She was so tired and wanted desperately to sleep. But Spike and Julia were at it again, disrupting the quiet that night brought. She didn't know how Jet got any sleep.
They were going to leave soon…Spike and Julia. It was just a feeling she had. The Bebop was fixed and now they were orbiting Mars. It was only a matter of time before Spike would take Julia and leave everything behind, forgetting it all. That was what he wanted, and that was what he was going to do.
She smashed her half burnt cigarette into the ashtray of her ship. She looked up just in time to see Spike enter the hanger. She froze, hoping he wouldn't see her. Just what was he doing out here at this time of night? Fully dressed too…Driven by her curiosity, Faye leapt out of the Redtail and peered at Spike. His back was to her and he was headed for the Swordfish.
"Spike!" Faye called out, taking a step forward. He stopped, but he didn't turn to look at her. After a second of silence, she spoke. "What are you doing out here?" He didn't answer, and the silence dragged on. "Where are you going?" Faye added, hoping that maybe he would answer this question.
"Faye…I need you to do me a favor." Spike said, his voice quiet but firm at the same time. His back was still to her. "Don't let Julia leave the ship."
Faye's eyes widened with confusion and she straightened her back. "What? Why?"
"It doesn't matter why." He replied, his tone the same. "Just do it."
"Wait a minute Spike!" Faye narrowed her eyes slightly, staring hard at the back of his head. "Where are you going that would have to make me do that?"
Finally, Spike turned around and faced her. The look in his eyes made her swallow. It was that same look that they held at the church a while back. Dark and cold, glazed with anger and hatred, burning with the desire to rid himself of a plague. It was that intimidating look of his, and it scared her.
"I'm going to find Vicious." Spike answered flatly.
She stared at him in momentary silence. "Julia doesn't know, does she?" She asked finally.
His expression didn't change as he stared back at her. Then he turned away from her as he spoke. "I'll be back by noon tomorrow." He pulled himself up onto the Swordfish.
Faye ran after him. "Spike wait!"
"Don't let Julia leave!" Spike called out one last time as the cockpit's dome closed over him.
Faye's attention turned to her Redtail, hearing the communicator ringing. She rushed to the ship and quickly turned the communicator on, ending the ringing. Spike's face appeared.
"I need you to open the hanger for me." The screen went blank.
She looked up at the Swordfish, the engine roaring, ready to go. She couldn't control him, but she was afraid to let him go. As long as Julia lived, Spike would escape death. And she knew that. As well as the fact that Spike and Julia couldn't live freely as long as Vicious lived. He had to go, and he would come back.
Faye rushed to the bridge. She stumbled over to the computer and hit a couple buttons and flipped a few switches. She looked up through the large window in time to see the Swordfish shrinking in the distance, quickly disappearing into Mars' red atmosphere.
* * * * *
Most of his life, he thought he was watching a dream. He still believed that. People never understood when he told them that. He didn't expect them to. And it wasn't something he could explain; they would have to live his life, do what he's done, and see what he had seen. It was all like a dream.
Life with the Syndicate wasn't exciting or enjoyable. It wasn't something you could come home from and forget about at the end of the day. You couldn't take a vacation and leave it behind. It wasn't a job; it was a way of life. That was his life, and it was real. It was reality.
And not too long after he lost his eye came Julia. Beautiful, smart, dangerous, mysterious…His missing half. The part of him that he had lost to the Syndicate. Finding her only made his life seem more like a dream. The thought never crossed his mind that he would meet a woman and fall in love.
Was he still living that dream?
With his hands in his pockets, he walked up to the building. The glass doors opened in front of him, and all the men in the building turned to look at him. He dropped a grenade and kicked it. It sailed through the air and landed across the room. The instant it hit, a cloud of flame and smoke rocked the building. Windows shattered and gunfire went off.
Gun in hand, he darted to the escalator, bullets whizzing past him. He ducked on the moving stairs and planted an explosive on the metal side. He swiftly raised and fired at two men below before whirling around and shooting a man up on the higher level.
Reaching the top, he stepped off the escalator. He heard the clattering of footsteps down below. He ran and dived forward. Once he hit the ground, he clicked the detonator. The explosive on the escalator went off with a loud rumble.
He ran, he ran as fast as his feet would carry him. More gunfire went off, the bullets ringing and clanking as they hit the things around him. He slammed on the up button of the elevator and then hid behind a pillar. He waited until the shots ceased and he whirled around, shooting at the enemies. The elevator bell went off and the doors pulled open. He bolted inside, shooting two more times as the doors closed.
Spike leaned against the wall as he emptied his gun of the empty clip. Pulling another from his coat, he quickly loaded it in. He reached his hand under his coat and grabbed the second gun he had hidden there. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.
* * * * *
Faye still stood at the window, gazing out at the stars. She hadn't moved from that spot since Spike left. She wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, despite how tired she was. Spike would come back; he had to, for Julia. And she would wait there until he did. She didn't care if he didn't love her, she didn't care if he left, not at the moment. She just didn't want him to die. Even though he would be leaving almost as soon as he got back, she wanted him to survive.
She ignored the clatter of footsteps and grunts coming up the stairs. Jet struggled to pull himself up the stairs with his leg still healing. Once he reached the top, he leaned against the wall for support.
"Hey Faye, what was all the noise? Did someone leave, or was I dreaming?" Jet asked with a weary voice.
"He's gone." She mumbled, staring at space.
Jet blinked and tried to straighten up. "Who's gone?"
"Spike."
"Huh? Well where'd he go at this time of night?"
"To find Vicious."
"What?" Jet's eyes went wide and his body went stiff. "Are you sure Faye?"
"Yes Jet." Faye replied. "I'm sure."
Neither spoke for a minute.
Jet looked down at the ground. "And Julia, did she go to?"
"No."
"Does she know that Spike left?"
"No. We can't let her leave the ship." Faye told him. She lowered her head a little. "It's what Spike wants."
Jet let out sigh. "Oh man. Let's hope that she doesn't wake up for another few hours." He looked back up at Faye. "He didn't happen to say when he'd be back did he?"
"Yeah. He said he'd be back by noon tomorrow." Faye said. She squinted in thought. "Well, actually, it would be noon today." She let out a light sigh. "Do you think he'll actually live?"
"He has to." Jet answered. "He has Julia waiting for him. He's fighting for their freedom and their lives. He'll come back Faye. I know he will."
* * * * *
Spike bit down on the pin and pulled it out of the grenade. He tossed it out of the elevator and it flew down the hall. He braced himself for the explosion, which went off in a matter of seconds. He stepped out into the black smoke, keeping his guns up and ready to fire. Suddenly a bullet whizzed by him and ricocheted off the wall. Instinct clicked in and he snapped into action. In an instant he whirled to face a man down the hall. He brought up both pistols and fired rapidly, and the man fired back. Spike felt impact and a jolt in his left arm, but he ignored it. Finally his opponent fell to the ground.
Spike's fingers burned and went limp, dropping his gun. As blood trickled down around his knuckles and palm, he realized that he had been shot. He gritted his teeth.
Hearing the bell of the elevator, his eyes narrowed and he spun around, bringing up his remaining gun to shoot. He was about to pull the trigger when he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun…and face to face with Shin.
Spike relaxed his arm and stared at Shin with surprise. "Shin?"
Shin suddenly stepped to the side and pulled the trigger of his pistol, taking down one of the Syndicate's men. He kept his gun and his gaze pointed down the hall.
"Where's Vicious?" Spike asked gruffly, his voice sounding almost like a growl.
"On the top floor." Shin said in reply. "Follow me."
Spike followed Shin as they bolted down the hall. At hearing the elevator bell again, Spike slapped another explosive on the wall. Once they got around the corner and he heard the sound of running footsteps, he pressed the detonation button. The building shook violently, but he and Shin kept their pace.
They flew around the corner into another hall. Spike's pulse quickened and his eyes widened at seeing a man at the end of the hall, his gun aimed at Shin. Spike called out to him, but it was too late. Shin's body trembled as he collapsed onto the ground. Baring his teeth, Spike took out the man in one quick pull of the trigger. Then he looked back at his fallen comrade.
"Shin!" Spike knelt down next to him, watching with worry.
Shin continued to shake as a pool of blood slowly formed around him. His lips twitched and stretched into a small smile. He opened his eyes as far as he could and looked up at Spike. "I was waiting for you to come back…" He whispered with a shaky voice. "…to come and take over…" And then his body fell limp and his eyes closed and the smile disappeared as his last breath escaped his lips.
Spike clamped his teeth down hard as he stared at Shin's lifeless body. He didn't deserve this. Not this life and not this death. Neither did Lin, his brother.
He felt the strong hate and anger he held for Vicious tighten in his chest. Narrowing his eyes and closing his fingers tight around his gun, he got to his feet. He turned and stared down the hall.
I'm going to kill you Vicious.
Okay, so yeah I took the whole last half of The Real Folk Blues. I know. I did that because I couldn't really think of anything else. I wanted to do my own thing, but well, the end on Bebop the show is just too perfect! I'm cheap like that, hope you don't mind too much! ^_^ But the fight between Spike and Vicious will be different, that includes dialog! Chapter 6 is in the making, and I hope it wont take me as long as this chapter did. I don't think it will…but I'm not making any promises! ^_^ Anyways, thanks for reading and please let me know what you think of this chapter!