(Yoko Kanno's "The Music Box" plays)
"It was raining that day, as well."
Spike smirked as if he had just heard a great joke, questioning with slight amusement, "And so you didn't come because of the rain?"
Julia paused, her lush blue irises filling up with rue as she returned stoically, "I was supposed to kill you...it was all set up. If I had.........I would've been free."
"So why didn't you?," Spike pressed, remaining completely emotionless. "You chose to be hunted.....why?"
"Why did you love me?," she cut in, giving him a miserable, saddened look with her haunting cerulean blue eyes.
Spike didn't answer, a small smile remaining on his thin lips as his fair Julia took a small step forward and enveloped him within her warm, chary embrace, continuing fervently, "Let's just go away somewhere...escape...vanish......go somewhere where there's no one else.......just the two of us."
THWACK!
"OW! What the hell was that for?!," Spike demanded, grudgingly rubbing the back of his head as he sent his lackey a look full of tremendous indignance.
"Dude, you were totally zoned out!," Davis insisted, holding his hands up in surrender. "I had to bring ya back in order to flawlessly carry out this operation somehow, and whappin' you a good one just seemed to be a good idea at the time!"
"Right, right," Spike muttered, terribly reluctant to admit he was at fault. "Where's Faye? Is she ready?"
"I'm right here, ready as always," a soft voice announced from behind, thus causing both men to whirl around in an instant of sheer astonishment.
Davis allowed a whistle of appreciation to pass through his lips as he looked Faye over with immense approval, acknowledging aloud, "Damn, you look hot in that cat suit! If you can't seduce this Ezekial Chavez dude, no one can!"
Spike snorted. "Stop harassing her, Davis....remember our little agreement about women?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Then start obeying it!," he growled, turning his back to them before shakily reaching into his breast pocket for a desperately-needed cigarette.
"Spike, are you ok?," Faye demanded, trying her best to mask her concern as she took a cautious step forward. "Would you like for me to get you anything?"
He frowned, his incredible two-toned irises burning into her own like two fiery embers, his voice now calm and even as he returned phlegmatically, "No thanks...I-I'm fine. Excuse me..."
Watching him egress the room in a frightfully haughty manner, Faye immediately turned to Davis, demanding irritably, "What the hell is wrong with him, Davis? Why on earth is he acting so strangely?!"
"I dunno...maybe cuz you remind him of Julia since you're standing there all good-looking, and stuff," he offered, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders as he suddenly pretended to be terribly interested in the beige carpet beneath them.
"Julia?," Faye repeated, shocked. "Why the hell would I remind him of her?!"
Davis shrugged again. "Probably cuz you both seem to hold that exact same dark, mysterious aura within your hearts. No one knows what you're up to, but they sure as hell wanna find out. Know what I mean?"
"I-I guess so," Faye acknowledged, "but I still don't understand why Spike has to act like such a huge jerk about it."
"Let that go, alright?," Davis urged, sending her a hard, yet deeply sympathetic glance. "In precisely half an hour you've got a job to do, so you can't let Spike ruin your train of thought."
Faye bowed in acknowledgement, conceding softly, "Got it."
Davis smirked. "Good."
**************************************************************************************************
"What are you doing here?!"
Faye gasped, her heartrate rapidly ascending as she spun around on her stiletto heel in order to face the dreaded assailant, her fists clenched firmly at her sides as she finally managed to stammer in response, "I....I came to see Ezekial.....h-he's my boyfriend."
"Ah, well why didn'tcha say so, babe?," the henchman demanded, a low chuckle escaping his full, coral lips as he gruffly seized her by the wrist and pulled her onward towards a long, narrow corridor. "C'mon, babe...I'm sure that Ezekial will be mighty pleased to see you."
Faye forced a small smile despite the slight pain in her wrist, acceding with a mock syrupy sweetness, "Yes....I certainly hope so."
After leading her down the long, circumscribed passageway for quite some time, the henchman suddenly stopped, thus causing Faye to collide into his hip without warning.
Giving her a suggestive smirk, the henchman then rapped on the large oak double doors before them, hollering at the top of his lungs, "Chavez-sama....I've got a girl here that claims to be your main squeeze!"
"Let her in," a deep, booming voice acknowledged in response.
Sending Faye a smug look, the henchman opened up the doors, urging huskily, "Go on, babe...Ezekial's waitin' for your sweet ass."
Thoroughly disgusted by how this man treated women, Faye turned her nose up into the air and sauntered on into the beautifully-furnished room as if she were a duchess, only pausing with her regal act the moment that the large doors firmly slammed shut from abaft.
"So, you're my girlfriend, are ya?"
Faye gasped, taking a slight step backward as a well-dressed man turned around within his high-upholstered swivel chair and sent her a charming smile. That smile....it chilled her to the very bone.
"What's the matter, my dear?," he demanded, immediately rising up from his seat. "Are you so speechless that you can't even give me your name?"
"Uh, Faye," she returned, "Faye.......Spiegel."
Ezekial stiffened. "Spiegel? As in Spike Spiegel's wife?"
"Oh, no, no...I....I-"
"You've made a big mistake coming here tonight, missy!," he growled, immediately snatching his letter opener up off of his desk and taking an advancing step towards her trembling form. "If you hadn't been so foolish you might've been able to get out of this ordeal alive!"
Faye gasped. "No...please! You don't understand, I-"
Ezekial suddenly cut off all conversation and lunged forward, pressing the deadly letter opener against the milky-white flesh of her throat as he urged huskily, "Shut up and enjoy the ride, bitch....you're about to be raped."
**************************************************************************************************
"Any word from her?"
Davis shook his head. "Nope...she's not responding to my calls."
Spike grimaced, swearing brusquely under his breath, "Dammit....I knew that this was going to happen....I just knew it! Faye always did have a knack for getting her ass caught, and yet we decided that she was our best option!"
Davis leaned back in his chair and yawned, waving his hand at him dismissively as he returned, "Aw, she'll be fine....with a body like that they wouldn't wanna kill her!"
Spike froze. "You're right....they'd want to...oh, God......I've got to get down there right now!!!"
"Hey, wait! What the hell do you think you're doing?!," Davis demanded, watching on in utter bewilderment as his boss grabbed his dark trench coat off of the coat hanger and made a mad dash for the door.
"No time to explain, Davis.....in the mean time, just keep trying to keep in touch with Faye!," Spike ordered, immediately slamming the door shut hurriedly behind him and leaving his lackey sitting there with an incredulous look plastered upon his troubled face.
Shaking his head in utter disgust, Davis pleaded aloud, "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!"
Receiving nothing but the ominous howling of the wind from outside the headquarter's window, he rolled his eyes, muttering reverently under his breath, "Only Spike."
**************************************************************************************************
"C'mon, c'mon....where are you?!," Spike wondered aloud, perspiration clinging upon his brow like a light mist of apprehension as he continued to search every nook and cranny of the Black Scorpion headquarters, his trusty Jericho within his steady hand all the while.
As if in answer, there suddenly came a shrill, piercing scream, the flesh on the back of Spike's neck beginning to crawl as he sensed the tremendous stress within the tremors of the cry for help and took off towards the sound as quickly as his long legs would carry him.
The petrified shrieks continued to lure him onward, his heart pounding within his chest with great celerity, thus causing him to wonder with vast incredulity, "Why am I so worried? I shouldn't be...I mean, c'mon, this is Faye we're talking about, here!"
Stopping abruptly in front of two large oak double doors, Spike frowned, instantly realizing that this was the place where his comrade was being held captive.
Taking a deep breath, he leveled out his Jericho, aimed, then fired.
BANG!
There was a loud scream the moment that Spike burst his way into the room like a mad bull, his eyes widening as he then laid his eyes upon Ezekial, a half-naked Faye from the waist up lying trembling beneath him upon his large desk.
"Ah, Mr. Spiegel," he acknowledged coldly, "did you have to come in just now? Faye and I are rather....busy."
Spike scowled, immediately aiming his weapon between Ezekial's eyes as he urged haughtily, "Get the fuck off of her, you sick bastard, or I'll shoot! NOW!!!"
Ezekial smirked, lifting Faye's petite form up into his arms before agreeing in a soft, formidable fashion, "As you wish."
BANG!
Spike choked, his heart feeling as if it had stopped the moment that Faye fell forward and to the ground in a crumpled heap, the smug laughter from Ezekial's pale, thin lips only increasing in volume as he laid the gun that he had hidden within his breast pocket down onto the desk with a subtle clatter.
His hands shaking by his sides, Spike acted immediately on his blinded rage and brought his Jericho up to eye level and began to fire in a steadfast, seemingly ceaseless flow.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Click.
The chambers were officially empty.
Immediately discarding his gun off to the side, Spike raced forward and dropped down to his knees, only to lift Faye's limp form up into his arms and give her a subtle shake, calling frantically, "Faye.....Faye?!"
She weakly looked up at him, and before he knew it, her face suddenly transformed into Julia's wan countenance before she died, her soft, rosy lips puckering slightly as she breathed formidably, "It's all...........a dream."
"No," Spike contradicted, violently shaking his head back and forth, "leave me alone! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
Faye's face suddenly reappeared again and she smiled, breathing his name in a reverent tone before asking in a hushed whisper, "You.......came for me?"
Spike nodded, taking her hand in his as he tried his best not to blush due to her half-nakedness. "Yeah...I-I did."
"I'm so glad," Faye breathed, sending him a tired smile before she closed her incredible jade eyes and entered the intense world of dark unconsciousness, the realization of how much she truly loved him dawning on her just as she parted from her surroundings and took the frightful plunge into the unknown.
"It was raining that day, as well."
Spike smirked as if he had just heard a great joke, questioning with slight amusement, "And so you didn't come because of the rain?"
Julia paused, her lush blue irises filling up with rue as she returned stoically, "I was supposed to kill you...it was all set up. If I had.........I would've been free."
"So why didn't you?," Spike pressed, remaining completely emotionless. "You chose to be hunted.....why?"
"Why did you love me?," she cut in, giving him a miserable, saddened look with her haunting cerulean blue eyes.
Spike didn't answer, a small smile remaining on his thin lips as his fair Julia took a small step forward and enveloped him within her warm, chary embrace, continuing fervently, "Let's just go away somewhere...escape...vanish......go somewhere where there's no one else.......just the two of us."
THWACK!
"OW! What the hell was that for?!," Spike demanded, grudgingly rubbing the back of his head as he sent his lackey a look full of tremendous indignance.
"Dude, you were totally zoned out!," Davis insisted, holding his hands up in surrender. "I had to bring ya back in order to flawlessly carry out this operation somehow, and whappin' you a good one just seemed to be a good idea at the time!"
"Right, right," Spike muttered, terribly reluctant to admit he was at fault. "Where's Faye? Is she ready?"
"I'm right here, ready as always," a soft voice announced from behind, thus causing both men to whirl around in an instant of sheer astonishment.
Davis allowed a whistle of appreciation to pass through his lips as he looked Faye over with immense approval, acknowledging aloud, "Damn, you look hot in that cat suit! If you can't seduce this Ezekial Chavez dude, no one can!"
Spike snorted. "Stop harassing her, Davis....remember our little agreement about women?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Then start obeying it!," he growled, turning his back to them before shakily reaching into his breast pocket for a desperately-needed cigarette.
"Spike, are you ok?," Faye demanded, trying her best to mask her concern as she took a cautious step forward. "Would you like for me to get you anything?"
He frowned, his incredible two-toned irises burning into her own like two fiery embers, his voice now calm and even as he returned phlegmatically, "No thanks...I-I'm fine. Excuse me..."
Watching him egress the room in a frightfully haughty manner, Faye immediately turned to Davis, demanding irritably, "What the hell is wrong with him, Davis? Why on earth is he acting so strangely?!"
"I dunno...maybe cuz you remind him of Julia since you're standing there all good-looking, and stuff," he offered, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders as he suddenly pretended to be terribly interested in the beige carpet beneath them.
"Julia?," Faye repeated, shocked. "Why the hell would I remind him of her?!"
Davis shrugged again. "Probably cuz you both seem to hold that exact same dark, mysterious aura within your hearts. No one knows what you're up to, but they sure as hell wanna find out. Know what I mean?"
"I-I guess so," Faye acknowledged, "but I still don't understand why Spike has to act like such a huge jerk about it."
"Let that go, alright?," Davis urged, sending her a hard, yet deeply sympathetic glance. "In precisely half an hour you've got a job to do, so you can't let Spike ruin your train of thought."
Faye bowed in acknowledgement, conceding softly, "Got it."
Davis smirked. "Good."
**************************************************************************************************
"What are you doing here?!"
Faye gasped, her heartrate rapidly ascending as she spun around on her stiletto heel in order to face the dreaded assailant, her fists clenched firmly at her sides as she finally managed to stammer in response, "I....I came to see Ezekial.....h-he's my boyfriend."
"Ah, well why didn'tcha say so, babe?," the henchman demanded, a low chuckle escaping his full, coral lips as he gruffly seized her by the wrist and pulled her onward towards a long, narrow corridor. "C'mon, babe...I'm sure that Ezekial will be mighty pleased to see you."
Faye forced a small smile despite the slight pain in her wrist, acceding with a mock syrupy sweetness, "Yes....I certainly hope so."
After leading her down the long, circumscribed passageway for quite some time, the henchman suddenly stopped, thus causing Faye to collide into his hip without warning.
Giving her a suggestive smirk, the henchman then rapped on the large oak double doors before them, hollering at the top of his lungs, "Chavez-sama....I've got a girl here that claims to be your main squeeze!"
"Let her in," a deep, booming voice acknowledged in response.
Sending Faye a smug look, the henchman opened up the doors, urging huskily, "Go on, babe...Ezekial's waitin' for your sweet ass."
Thoroughly disgusted by how this man treated women, Faye turned her nose up into the air and sauntered on into the beautifully-furnished room as if she were a duchess, only pausing with her regal act the moment that the large doors firmly slammed shut from abaft.
"So, you're my girlfriend, are ya?"
Faye gasped, taking a slight step backward as a well-dressed man turned around within his high-upholstered swivel chair and sent her a charming smile. That smile....it chilled her to the very bone.
"What's the matter, my dear?," he demanded, immediately rising up from his seat. "Are you so speechless that you can't even give me your name?"
"Uh, Faye," she returned, "Faye.......Spiegel."
Ezekial stiffened. "Spiegel? As in Spike Spiegel's wife?"
"Oh, no, no...I....I-"
"You've made a big mistake coming here tonight, missy!," he growled, immediately snatching his letter opener up off of his desk and taking an advancing step towards her trembling form. "If you hadn't been so foolish you might've been able to get out of this ordeal alive!"
Faye gasped. "No...please! You don't understand, I-"
Ezekial suddenly cut off all conversation and lunged forward, pressing the deadly letter opener against the milky-white flesh of her throat as he urged huskily, "Shut up and enjoy the ride, bitch....you're about to be raped."
**************************************************************************************************
"Any word from her?"
Davis shook his head. "Nope...she's not responding to my calls."
Spike grimaced, swearing brusquely under his breath, "Dammit....I knew that this was going to happen....I just knew it! Faye always did have a knack for getting her ass caught, and yet we decided that she was our best option!"
Davis leaned back in his chair and yawned, waving his hand at him dismissively as he returned, "Aw, she'll be fine....with a body like that they wouldn't wanna kill her!"
Spike froze. "You're right....they'd want to...oh, God......I've got to get down there right now!!!"
"Hey, wait! What the hell do you think you're doing?!," Davis demanded, watching on in utter bewilderment as his boss grabbed his dark trench coat off of the coat hanger and made a mad dash for the door.
"No time to explain, Davis.....in the mean time, just keep trying to keep in touch with Faye!," Spike ordered, immediately slamming the door shut hurriedly behind him and leaving his lackey sitting there with an incredulous look plastered upon his troubled face.
Shaking his head in utter disgust, Davis pleaded aloud, "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!"
Receiving nothing but the ominous howling of the wind from outside the headquarter's window, he rolled his eyes, muttering reverently under his breath, "Only Spike."
**************************************************************************************************
"C'mon, c'mon....where are you?!," Spike wondered aloud, perspiration clinging upon his brow like a light mist of apprehension as he continued to search every nook and cranny of the Black Scorpion headquarters, his trusty Jericho within his steady hand all the while.
As if in answer, there suddenly came a shrill, piercing scream, the flesh on the back of Spike's neck beginning to crawl as he sensed the tremendous stress within the tremors of the cry for help and took off towards the sound as quickly as his long legs would carry him.
The petrified shrieks continued to lure him onward, his heart pounding within his chest with great celerity, thus causing him to wonder with vast incredulity, "Why am I so worried? I shouldn't be...I mean, c'mon, this is Faye we're talking about, here!"
Stopping abruptly in front of two large oak double doors, Spike frowned, instantly realizing that this was the place where his comrade was being held captive.
Taking a deep breath, he leveled out his Jericho, aimed, then fired.
BANG!
There was a loud scream the moment that Spike burst his way into the room like a mad bull, his eyes widening as he then laid his eyes upon Ezekial, a half-naked Faye from the waist up lying trembling beneath him upon his large desk.
"Ah, Mr. Spiegel," he acknowledged coldly, "did you have to come in just now? Faye and I are rather....busy."
Spike scowled, immediately aiming his weapon between Ezekial's eyes as he urged haughtily, "Get the fuck off of her, you sick bastard, or I'll shoot! NOW!!!"
Ezekial smirked, lifting Faye's petite form up into his arms before agreeing in a soft, formidable fashion, "As you wish."
BANG!
Spike choked, his heart feeling as if it had stopped the moment that Faye fell forward and to the ground in a crumpled heap, the smug laughter from Ezekial's pale, thin lips only increasing in volume as he laid the gun that he had hidden within his breast pocket down onto the desk with a subtle clatter.
His hands shaking by his sides, Spike acted immediately on his blinded rage and brought his Jericho up to eye level and began to fire in a steadfast, seemingly ceaseless flow.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Click.
The chambers were officially empty.
Immediately discarding his gun off to the side, Spike raced forward and dropped down to his knees, only to lift Faye's limp form up into his arms and give her a subtle shake, calling frantically, "Faye.....Faye?!"
She weakly looked up at him, and before he knew it, her face suddenly transformed into Julia's wan countenance before she died, her soft, rosy lips puckering slightly as she breathed formidably, "It's all...........a dream."
"No," Spike contradicted, violently shaking his head back and forth, "leave me alone! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
Faye's face suddenly reappeared again and she smiled, breathing his name in a reverent tone before asking in a hushed whisper, "You.......came for me?"
Spike nodded, taking her hand in his as he tried his best not to blush due to her half-nakedness. "Yeah...I-I did."
"I'm so glad," Faye breathed, sending him a tired smile before she closed her incredible jade eyes and entered the intense world of dark unconsciousness, the realization of how much she truly loved him dawning on her just as she parted from her surroundings and took the frightful plunge into the unknown.