CH 3

"Spike...Ayame has picked up some odd readings from the abandoned castle on Granbury Hill," Tracey announced as she entered the family room which the fairly disgruntled man was currently occupying. "We have reason to believe that whoever or whatever has kidnapped your daughter is living there right now, as we speak."

Spike snorted, taking in a long drag from his cigarette before replying, "Tracey, that's bull and you know it! Aurora was NOT kidnapped by a freakin' spirit!"

Tracey, slightly taken aback, asked in a meek tone, "Well...w-will you at least check it out......for Aurora's sake?"

Spike sighed, leaning back against the couch before muttering, "Yeah....guess I should."

"Want back-up?," Tracey offered softly, giving him a hopeful glance. She was a woman who loved the thrill of adventure, so she was always looking for new opportunities to use her skills.

Spike shook his head. "Nah, I'll be fine.....I'll just go get some weapons."

Tracey nodded, moving out of his way as he pushed past her and headed on towards the weapon room, leaving her praying for him to use his head and not his heart during the dangerous battle that was sure to come.

****

She felt dirty for loving him. She felt unclean for seeing him as an object of affection. It pained her deep inside just to even look at him, so that was why she absolutely refused to lift her gaze up from her white boots as she continued to linger outside of the weapon room which Spike was currently occupying.

Faye had found out just moments before from Tracey that he was going to go out and risk his life in order to get Aurora back. The very thought of such bravery and dedication brought tears to her eyes, which she immediately wiped away. She didn't like being weak.

"So, what do you want?"

Faye jumped, realizing that he knew that she was within the vicinity. "Well, I...I..."

"Something wrong?," he cut in, roughly cocking his gun before turning around to face her. "You look like you have something on your mind."

Faye blushed, mumbling, "Well.....I-I just thought that maybe you'd....you know....like for me to accompany you."

"Accompany me where?," Spike demanded, sending her an innocent look.

Faye frowned. "Don't play stupid with me, Spike! By this point I've already been informed that you're going out to look for Aurora!"

Spike shrugged, acting as if the whole situation were completely negligible. "Yeah.....so what?"

"You're crazy," she replied, shaking her head with disapproval. "I mean, you don't even know who this creep is or if he has a bunch of henchmen or-or if he does his dirty work solo!"

"Well, guess I'll haft'a find out, huh?," Spike asked coolly, smirking as he placed two canister bombs into his utility belt.

"Spike, don't!," Faye pleaded, taking a frantic step forward. "There's no need to be hasty...I'll go wake up the Spirit Squad so that they can come and help us!"

"Us?," Spike scoffed, shaking his head with scorn. "Faye, there is no 'us', there's only me. I happen to work better on my own."

"But-but-"

"Good-bye, Faye....stay out of trouble," he muttered, impatiently pushing her out of his way before she could think of blocking the doorway.

"Spike......SPIKE!!! COME BACK!!!," Faye pleaded, watching on tearfully as his slender figure trudged on towards the docking bay, his intention of leaving so strong that she suddenly felt the urge to let him go.

"I'll find him, again," Faye assured herself, wiping away a single tear as it flowed down her cheek like a liquid crystal, a small smirk spreading across her lips. "After all, I'm sure that he won't mind me sneaking along to Granbury Castle without his consent."

****

BOOM!

Thunder continued to roll overhead as a group of rough-looking men continued to stand out in the pouring rain within the Granbury Castle cemetary; their icy stares penetrating the darkness about them like spears.

"Mr. Van Chlokavich.....did you get the girl?," a gruff voice demanded coldly.

One of the men nodded. "Yes, sir, I did."

"Good....hand her over."

Mr. Van Chlokavich bowed in acknowledgement, then unearthed a small child from beneath the depths of his night-black trench coat, gently urging her forward.

The child, however, absolutely refused to move, her black buckle shoes crunching through the moist grass as she desperately tried to fight back against Mr. Van Chlokavich's strenuous pushing and shoving.

After a moment, a much easier idea popped into his head, so he lifted the kicking and screaming child up into his arms and handed her over to the grim and dreary silvery-haired man that was his employer.

"Hello, Aurora," he greeted coldly, allowing his pale, slender fingers to trace down along her tear-stained cheeks. "Don't be frightened, my dear....I won't hurt you. All you're going to do now is take a little nap........alright?"

"W-what are you?," Aurora asked fearfully as she allowed her gaze to lock upon the transparent figure before her, hints of blue revealing his outline and facial features like an eerily beautiful luminescence.

The man smirked, replying, "I am a spirit, my child........your father's worst fear."

Aurora trembled within the man's strong, cold embrace with consternation, her eyes widening as her breath caught in her throat as she choked, "Mommy......I.....need.........mommy."

The man chuckled, replying in a cold hiss, "Not even mommy can save you now."

Aurora let out a terrified scream as he threw her down to the ground like a rag doll, soon beginning to kick her miraculously in the ribs as she continued to moan and sob into the muddy ground like a hungry kitten deprived of a meal.

"Bring me the coffin!," the man ordered, lifting the sobbing Aurora up into his arms once more after he was through with abusing her.

At this command, several men scooted aside to allow four others to drag along a small, oak coffin through the thick mud, the rain pelting them like glass beads and making their task all the more difficult.

"Now open it!," the man urged impatiently, Aurora whimpering as she feared for her young life.

The men obeyed, immediately prying open the lid and stepping aside, thunder crashing angrily overhead as the man began to place the squealing youngster within the coffin with the sick intention of laying her to rest.

"FREEZE, YOU BASTARD!!!"

The man whirled around in surprise, then smirked as soon as he realized who it was. "Hello, Spike," he greeted coldly, his voice dripping with scorn and derision. "It's been a long time."

Spike choked, feeling as if he were seeing things as he stammered feebly, "V-V-Vicious? I thought.....aren't you........?"

"Dead?," Vicious supplied, his smirk only spreading. "Yes, I suppose that I am dead, in a sense, but just the thrill of my spirit kidnapping and trying to murder your fair daughter gives me the incredible feeling that I am very much alive. Come now, Spike....say hello to your lovely child."

Spike gulped, shifting his gaze down to his trembling daughter, his heart dropping as he felt, for once in his life, compassion for another.

"Daddy?," Aurora asked breathlessly, a single tear of bewilderment trickling down her soft cheek. "Is that you?"

He nodded weakly. "Yes, sweetheart.....it's really me. I-I promise that I'll get you out of here....just-"

"She will NEVER return to you!," Vicious interrupted maliciously, withdrawing his katana from its sheath and swinging it over until it stopped abruptly beneath Aurora's chin. "Since you have stolen all of what I love, I will steal all of what YOU love!!!"

"NO!!!," Spike pleaded, far too stunned to react as Vicious raised his katana up into the air, preparing to behead his little girl right before his very eyes.

Just as Vicious began to bring it down, a loud 'BANG' went off, resulting in a bullet ricocheting off of the side of the katana and sending it hurtling from his grasp and landing blade-first into a mound of dirt.

Everyone turned around in astonishment to see a tearful, tawdrily-dressed woman, a smoking gun in hand.

"Faye!," Spike exclaimed, his surprise quickly turning to anger. "Why the hell did you follow me?!"

Before she could reply, however, Vicious immediately acted upon the situation and retrieved a small dagger from within the depths of his sleeve, then, without warning, thrust it towards her at lightening speed; her reflexes far too slow to respond in time.

It felt as if the entire universe were standing still as the tiny, sharp, serrated dagger plunged into the tender muscle of Faye's torso, copious amounts of crimson blood emitting forth from the deep puncture wound like a steadfast river.

Faye moaned in pain as she placed her hand over the dagger, immediately taking it away from the handle and flipping her palm up towards the heavens, only to discover that her hand was glistening in the pale moonlight with her own blood.

"Faye!," she overheard a masculine voice within the crowd cry. "FAYE! Are you alright?!"

Faye struggled to see before her, blinking repeatedly as her vision began to blanket over in a veil of cloudiness. Before she knew it, her knees had given way and she felt herself crashing down to the ground as her torso continued to emit abundant amounts of blood, which soon began to blanket her within its warm, sticky thickness.

"Mommy!," she heard a child moan in despair. "MOMMY! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME AWAY!!!"

"Aurora," Faye choked, her deep jade eyes reflecting a listless sheen as her thoughts began to coalesce and create a mass of confusion. "Aurora.......where are you?"

Before she could receive a response, the comforting veil of darkness covered her eyes and enveloped her body within the epitome of serenity, her world spinning about her wildly until it finally plummeted down with her soul into the deep abyss of unconsciousness.

****

Faye's eyelids fluttered, her vision gradually clearing up as her eyes slowly focused on her surroundings.

"I'm in my room," she realized, the familiar scratchiness of her sheets bringing her to attention. "Aurora..........did Spike save her?!"

"So, you're awake," a familiar, cynical monotone observed from her bedside, startling her to a minimal degree.

"Spike?," Faye asked with slight uncertainty, her gaze straying listlessly to his handsome face. "What happened?"

He snorted. "You ruined everything.....THAT'S what happened! Vicious got away with Aurora thanks to you!"

"Yeah?! Well if I hadn't been there in the first place Aurora would be dead right now since you practically LET Vicious get the chance to behead her!," Faye retorted shrilly, suddenly finding energy within her weary being.

"Guess I should've just let you die," Spike muttered, taking a long draw from his cigarette. "At least THAT way I could've saved Aurora."

"Well then why didn't you?," Faye demanded tartly, gazing into his eyes with deep intensity. "You could've rescued Aurora, yet instead you decided to stay behind and save MY sorry ass. Why?"

Spike snorted, leaning back in his chair within a sudden aura of contempt. "It's not in my nature to leave the injured to die on the battlefield."

"Yes it is!," she insisted, sitting up and instantly regretting it. "OW!"

"You're such a dumb-ass," Spike commented gruffly, setting his smoldering cigarette down into the ash tray on Faye's bed table as he carefully helped her lay back down. "I had to stitch you up, so you'll be pretty sore for a while. I suggest that you don't partake in any major physical action like this little incident for a while, ok?"

Faye, however, completely disregarded his last comment, murmuring gratefully, "Thank you for what you've done........for what you've risked on my behalf."

Spike, completely taken aback, could only stare at her in surprise, so she suppressed a giggle and snuggled back against her pillow with comfort.

"It's not everyday that the tall, lanky bastard named Spike Spiegel saves your life, after all," she continued, sending him a wry smile. "I am, once more, forever in your debt. This isn't the first time that you've saved my sorry ass from getting nailed."

Spike gave a nonchalant shrug, clearly aggravated by her behavior. "Just forget about it, ok?"

Faye nodded in agreement, shivering violently as a sudden chill seeped throughout her body like water absorbing into a sponge.

"You cold?," Spike asked insouciantly, sending her a look full of expectance.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but I'll be alright."

Spike, feeling slightly responsible for Faye's accident in the first place, immediately removed his blue jacket from his well-built frame and draped it across her torso, taking extra care to tuck the collar underneath her chin.

Faye looked up at him with a grateful smile, her eyes shimmering with admiration as she mumbled softly, "Thank you, Spike...that was very sweet of you."

Spike blushed, not used to being called sweet. He was the type of man that was accustomed to being treated with disrespect and regarded as a low-life, a bastard, or an asshole....not 'sweet'.

"Are you alright?," Faye asked with concern, completely taking Spike out of his turbulent reverie.

Turning to face her, he shrugged, muttering, "I'm fine......I'm just.......fine. Look, just shut your mouth and get some shut-eye........keep the jacket."

Faye gaped after him in astonishment, raising an eyebrow as he stormed out of the sick bay in a haughty state.

"So what's up with him?," she wondered curiously, snuggling up to a more comfortable degree with his jacket. "Even if he IS a lunkhead, he's been acting very sweet lately."