A/N: Warning! This chapter has a great deal of changes in point of view and also some angst. Don't be alarmed. It is just part of the story! You have to read the entire thing to grasp the bigger picture. There is clue in here to the outcome of the story. Brownie points to those who find it! Neveada

Chapter Six: Divinity of a Vixen

Third Person Pov (Spike)

Spike was in his room when he heard the hanger open. Jet can't be back already. He rose from his bed, where he had been lying; wondering what to do since no one else was around. Usually about this time, Ed would be singing some weird song she had just made up. Jet would be in his bonsai room working on those godforsaken plants and Faye…As much as he hated to admit it, he was worried about her.

He had promised himself that when he returned, he would be nicer to her. Jet was wrong. He did know what he had done to her the day he had left. A person would have to be blind not to have seen the tears in her eyes. When he had been fighting Vicious, he had thought of her. He knew he should have been thinking of Julia, but in all reality, Faye had been on his mind. And now she was gone. I really know how to pick them, he thought with a chuckle. But the laugh died in his throat when he saw the ship, which had landed in the hanger.

An empty Redtail was positioned in its regular spot. Where was Faye? Spike knew her well enough to understand she loved her ship about as much as he loved his Swordfish. It was an attachment of her being just like that damned gold bracelet she wore around her ankle or wrist. The bracelet! It held a control panel to the ship!

Spike raced over to the side of the Redtail, opening up the hatch and looking in. He swung his legs over inside, sitting himself in the main seat. It was cold, not warm as it would have been if Faye had been seated in it recently. That made him nervous. He turned on the computer and located her by the signal emitted from her bracelet. She was on Saturn, where the bounty was.

"Shit," he hissed, pulling the hatch down. That was when he noticed the ship had no more fuel left. Again he cursed, but dove out of the craft to get into the Swordfish II.

"Hold on," he said as he turned on the ship and speeded out of the hanger. "I'm coming." As far as he was concerned, this was fate.

First person pov (Faye)

Dark swirls and dots were dancing before my eyes, as Mr. Bounty grabbed me roughly by the arm, dragging me out of the glass covered bathroom. As we rounded out of the room, I noticed that most of the shards were also red from blood, my blood. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, but seeing how bad off I was didn't help my present predicament.

The bell from the door chimed. I glanced up through blurry eyes to see the familiar form of an ex-cop. "Jet," the word barely escaped my lips before the blunt end of the gun hit my head. I dropped to the floor, meeting the cold surface quickly. The word "ow" came to mind, but I was still conscious, surprisingly. I lifted my head up enough to see what was going on, but not enough to be noticed by Mr. Bounty.

Jet was holding him at gunpoint, ready to blast him if need be, but he hadn't counted on me being caught in the middle. Now he threat was more of a bluff, because Mr. Bounty was holding the edge of his gun near my temple, close enough to blow me away if he thought Jet was going to pull the trigger. As if things couldn't get worse, at that moment, Ed leapt into the room, holding a water pistol in her left hand and tucking Ein under her right arm.

"Where did you take my Faye-Faye?" she yelled in her good-natured voice. Mr. Bounty did a double take on her, the skinny bohemian girl with the deep tan and outrageous red hair. Then he let out a laugh, a deep hardy laugh.

"Faye Valentine," he chuckled, back down deep in his throat. Jet's eyes wavered to me, motioning for me to move forward while I still had a chance. I ducked under a table that was off to the left, crawling closer to Ed. "Then I owe you," he finished laughing, his eyes slitting down to complete his menacing grin.

I ducked, clutching my head, and rolling to the side the best I could. Several fires were shot off, mostly from Mr. Bounty and Jet, but then I realized I was holding my gun as well. However, my aim had not been successful in the least. The best I had done was to break a couple glasses on the bar counter. Cursing, I reloaded my gun, just in time to aim it at Jet's chest.

"It's okay now," he told me in that fatherly tone of his. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "He's out cold. Ed got him with a frying pan." I peered over his shoulder to see Ed circling the bounty with a large skillet in hand. Ein was barking, running around at her feet.

"Let's get you out of here," he said, pulling me up. It wasn't until I stood that I noticed how shaky I was. My hands were trembling so badly; it was a wonder I had hit the counter at all. I was surprised I hadn't shot myself in the leg.

"Come on," he urged, trying to pick me up, but I suddenly felt all the after affects from my earlier actions. My blood loss was too much. I was shaky from the experience, but also because I had lost so much of my life source that I was beginning to loss consciousness. "Faye?" I pitched forward, slipping against the gravel of broken glass and chipped wood from the gunfight. Jet caught me and with a careful heaved lifted me up into his arms. "We'll get you home," he promised, taking me out to his ship.

I could vaguely see the craft as we got closer. He opened it, setting me down in the back, on the floor. He pulled out some blankets that were under his seat and laid them down on the floor in a futon style. I attempted to roll onto them, but the slightest motion made my wound act up. Hissing in pain, I allowed him to help me onto the makeshift bed. I hadn't been able yet to tell him about the money I had stolen. I opened my mouth to shower him with the good news, but he had already gone to grab Ed, Ein, and Mr. Bounty Head.

Closing my eyes, I decided to go to sleep. By the time I woke up, I'd be back on the Bebop. Although I had run away for a purpose and said I was never going back, I felt much better, even with the gunshot wound, and wanted to go back where people knew me and I knew them. I was quite fond of Ed, more than most people would understand and Jet was like the father I had never had. As for Spike, if he was going to be difficult, I would just be difficult right back.

Someone was climbing up the ship. I blinked, opening my eyes slowly, ready to Ed's form or Jet's but instead, I saw Mr. Bounty. At first I wasn't alarmed. He was the bounty head after all. But when I saw the glint in his eyes and the gun in his hand, I knew something was terribly wrong.

He shut the ship, turning the engines on with a roar. I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. I was not about to be abducted by this scumbag. He didn't seem to know that fact, because he took off, leaving Jet, Ed, and Ein stranded, and taking me captive. Where was Spike Spiegel when you needed him?

Third Person Pov (Spike)

Spike had just arrived at Saturn when a message on his screen popped up.

"Hey, Spike, where are you? I called the ship and you weren't there?"

"Hello to you do," he laughed, at Jet's boiling red face of anger. He didn't know why the old man got so fired up over something so ridiculous as not knowing where to call him. He'd obviously be in one of two places.

"I need your help. Some bastard did a turn around on us. He hijacked my ship and took Faye with him. She's got a gunshot wound in her lower right stomach area and she's lost a lot of blood. I don't know what he wants with her, but it can't be good."

"What direction did they go in?" Spike asked, leaning forward to the screen, now understanding the urgency in Jet's voice. He could feel his own urgency, as his knuckles became ghost while on the steering column.

"Ed put a tracker on all the ships. Just track down mine and you'll find him," Jet informed his partner. "And Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"Yes, sir," he saluted. Then the message was gone and he was off to take care of Ms. Valentine. Thankfully, the tracker showed they weren't far away. He was just hoping she was still alive.

First Person Pov (Faye)

I must have been unconscious at some point, because when I woke up, the ship was starting to land. Mr. Bounty Head was at head of the ship, hands on the controls and poor helpless Faye; I was lying behind him on the futon. The stale scent of blood was in the air, drifting around me. I nearly gagged as the craft bumped to a stop.

"All down hill from here I'm afraid," Mr. Bounty chuckled, opening the hatch to climb out.

"What no peanuts?" I joked, as he came towards me.

"This isn't first class, Ms. Valentine," he chuckled again.

That was the second time he had said my name. How did he know who I was? And he had said earlier that he owed me something. What was that all about? I tried to wriggle away, but all I ended up doing was creating more amusement for him and more pain for myself.

He managed to grab hold of me, tossing me over his shoulder. "How do you know me?" I snapped, trying not to lose my nerve, though the pain was making it difficult to keep my usual cool

"You know what you did changed my life forever. Getting money isn't the same anymore without my other half," he rambled off. I rolled my eyes. Someone call the "Angst Police." This guy needs some serious help. "When you put him away, things were never the same again. He died in that prison, like a caged animal at one of those zoos. He deserved better than that. But you didn't give him a chance, did you? You just put him away like any other person."

"What?" I rasped, trying to make sense of all that he was saying.

"My brother," he growled, "You killed him." He kicked open the side entrance of an old apartment building. "And now you'll pay for it with your own blood."

He carried me away from Jet's ship, into the building. The steps were old and rickety and we wobbled up. There were probably six or seven floors, but we only went up to the second. He kicked down a ratty looking door to reveal a blank as white paper apartment. There was nothing inside, not one piece of furniture or even a rug.

"Nice digs," I offered, as he sat me down. I was rewarded by a quick kick to the side. This time I let out a cry of pain. I couldn't help it. I felt like he had just tried to slice me open. Tears rippled free my the pools of my eyes.

"That's right," he jeered sadistically. "You'll cry, you'll scream, you'll beg, and then you'll die. I'll make sure of it, Ms. Valentine. You'll never leave this place alive." I believed what he had said.

For the first time since he had touched me, I was truly afraid.

Third Person Pov (Jet)

They couldn't stay at the bar. It was too suspicious, so Jet hailed a taxi. The three of them piled inside and he directed the driver according to the map he had on his hand held device that he was using to track Spike and Faye. Any minute now, Spike would arrive where the bounty had stopped his ship. Not long after, Jet would be there as a backup. He just hoped they weren't going to be too late.

Ed was looking ferocious. She kept making angry faces and growling so hard that she spat on Ein, who was sitting aside of her. "He took the Faye-Faye! He took OUR Faye-Faye!" she kept repeating over and over again, making the driver glance back at the young girl who was so frustrated over the loss of her mentor. Jet had never seen the girl so upset before. She was literally pulling her hair out over the loss of the honky tonk woman.

"Turn left here," he directed the driver and that's when he saw the Swordfish II land aside of his own ship in an alley. "Stop!" he hollered.

First Person Pov (Faye)

After the fourth kick, the pain wasn't so bad. It was dulling. I couldn't even feel the floor beneath me anymore. All I could see were dancing black spots. My mouth tasted of coppery blood. I could hear my own screams echoing around the empty room, slowly driving me mad. I would rather die here than go on, because if I went on, I would always remember how weak and vulnerable I had been here. Then I heard a new sound, the crackling fire of a gun going off.

Mr. Bounty turned, stumbling a bit. The bullet had gone directly through his leg. The bloody bullet lying next to my face was testament to that. I found myself smiling a bit, as Spike entered the dimly lit room, his gun in hand. He spoke, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Everything was too badly damaged. All I could do was watch what happened around me.

Spike made the first move. He lunged at Mr. Bounty Head, which was very unlike him. His methods led the opponent to make the first move. But, like usual, he had the advantage. When Mr. Bounty Head ducked away, Spike sidestepped into the same pattern. His eyes were darker than I remembered and I suddenly realized that he was angry, perhaps even worried. Worried about me? Oh please, Faye stop kidding yourself. Yet, I still believed he was. Even Spike isn't heartless enough to look away when a girl is lying bleeding and broken on the floor.

Mr. Bounty swung a punch at Spike, who just squatted down as the fist swung over his head. He kicked his foot out, knocking Mr. Bounty in the ankle and causing him to fall to the floor, holding his wounded leg, that was still bleeding. No sooner had he fallen, he was back on his feet, fire in his eyes.

The two danced around each other, Spike on the defense 100% while his enemy was always trying to throw punches, or shoot at him. It was as if the battle had been choreographed, the way the two moved as if in sync with the opposite one's motions. Everything was beginning to get a bit dragged out when Jet and Ed bounded up the stairs followed closely by Ein.

What was Jet thinking bringing the kid and the dog along? Ed was too young to be here. She could get hurt and if Ein took a bullet, she would never be the same. I started crawling toward the door, hoping to reach one of them before my motions were taken notice of. Jet intercepted me at the doorway, crouching down by my side.

"Hey, let's get you out of here," he said, starting to lift me up.

I grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him. "Get Ed and Ein out of here. I don't…" my voice slipped as I saw Spike take a blow to the face. Jet saw it to, and was immediately stalking toward Mr. Bounty Head. Spike lie on the floor, staring up at the man who was pointing a barrel at his forehead, but smiled just as Jet brought both fists down on the back of his neck.

The guys were handling things over there. I had to get the kid and dog away before anything happened to them. I finished crawling into the hallway. Ed came over to my side quickly, kneeling over me. She gingerly touched the area of my skin that was stained red with blood, right aside of my wound. I winced at the pain, and pushed her hand away.

"Did the bad man hurt the Faye-Faye?" she asked, looking almost serious. Ein sat by her side, staring at me with his black beady eyes.

"Yes, but I'm fine," I told her. "Ed I want you to get out of-,"

"Ah, so you did get out of there," a familiar voice came from behind me. Just as I was about to move to protect Ed, a huge fist slammed into my gut, knocking me away from the redhead. I rolled down the hall, coughing. When I glanced down at the floor in front of me, I saw, to no surprise, that there was more blood.

"Don't you hurt the Faye-Faye!" Ed shouted, leaping like a monkey onto the bounty's back. He snarled, throwing her off, into the nearest wall.

"Stop," I yelled with what strength I could muster. "Leave her alone!"

Mr. Bounty Head grinned, coming over to me. "Are you going to make me, little mouse?" he asked, before turning back around on Ed. Ein growled, and latched onto his ankle, tearing at the flesh that was already bleeding from Spike's earlier gunshot wound. Mr. Bounty let out a howl and kicked Ein free of his leg. "That's it. You die too," he grumbled, aiming his gun at Ein. Ed got up, racing across to grab Ein. Mr. Bounty Head only laughed. "And you can go with him," he added.

My heart was racing in my chest. It labored to keep me alive as well as racing with anticipation at what was about to happen. I struggled to my feet. What had happened to Jet and Spike. Where they dead already? Had he killed them too? A tear ran down my cheek but I hastily brushed it aside. Using the steel railing to my left, I stood up, and shakily walked toward him.

"Leave them alone," I ordered. He seemed not to hear me, as he was still pointing the gun at them. "I said 'Leave them alone,'" I barked, shoving him down to the floor as the gun exploded. The bullet went up into the roof and Ed and Ein ran down the steps to safety.

Still on top of Mr. Bounty, I pulled back my fist and let him have it. "Get out of here," I snapped at Ed, who was watching me with fascination. "Go back to the ship and lock yourselves inside!" Again I punched him, happy to hear the retreating steps of child and dog. His nose was bleeding now, from a tear in the skin I had caused. I backed off slowly, ready to go for my gun if need be. That's when I recalled that I hadn't had it since I had been on Jet's ship.

WHAM! I hit the floor as he caught me off guard. "You've caused me enough trouble," he hissed. "Now you're done." He raised the gun and I welcomed the serenity death would bring me as the shot was fired, but the bullet never struck me. Mr. Bounty laid down on the floor, his grip on me loosening. There was blood running down his face over his wide-opened eyes. A bullet was lodged in the middle of his forehead.

And there stood Spike, right above me, willing to give me a hand up.

I reached up my arm, but just as my fingers brushed over his another gunshot sounded and a low chuckle that I had grown to hate. I gasped, closing my eyes. My side! There was so much pain!

"I told you that you wouldn't leave here alive and I always keep my word," a nearly dead voice said with a final breath, then Mr. Bounty was officially dead, but it seemed that he was going to be taking me with him.

"Goodbye Spike," I told him, smiling my award-winning smile.

"Faye!" he yelled, falling to his knees aside of me. I closed my eyes just as he said something else. I knew it was important, something I had to hear before I went, but I was already too far gone to make it out.

Goodbye Cowboy

Third Person pov (Spike)

Spike wandered into the hospital room, his eyes never leaving the white bed that was so still. Faye was lying there, only several feet away from him, but he still couldn't bring himself to look upon her face. It was his fault she was here. He had been stubborn and had refused to help look for her. If he hadn't, would she still be lying there, only an inch from death? The doctors had said the surgery had gone well enough. Both bullets had cleanly been taken out, but did that really matter if she died?

He slumped down into a chair, looking around the dark room. It was almost midnight and there was no lights on inside the room. They hadn't collected any money for the bounty because he was dead, but right now the money didn't concern him, he was more worried about the girl whose labored breathing was covered by a plastic mask aided by an oxygen tank.

Faye had been in the hospital nearly a whole day already. There still hadn't been any good news. A nurse walked by the door, tacking a paper to the doctor's notes in the shelf outside her room. Curious, Spike rose from his seat, waiting until she disappeared down the hall to read what their recent diagnoses was. As his eyes skimmed over the sloppy scrawl, he felt someone behind him.

"How is she doing?" Jet asked, concerned. Spike stared blandly at him, as if he was looking at the man who had shot her. Jet sighed, running a hand across his balding head. "Ed fell asleep in the front seat of the Swordfish. Ein is curled up by her feet. I told her Faye would be all right. I'm going to go back to the Bebop awhile and bring it here. Do you want to come with me?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm going to stay here." With her, he added mentally.

"I'll take your ship back too." Jet patted him on the shoulder, not needing to say anything else. He walked away and Spike returned inside the dark room. This time, though, he pulled the chair right over to he bedside.

His eyes, really two different colors, stared at her face. She was awfully pale, much more so than normal. He realized the amount of blood she had lost had been great. That was the main reason she had nearly died. The surgery had gone fine because the entry wound was basically clear-cut, but the amount of fluids that had gushed out was high.

The paper outside her room stated that she wouldn't last the night. Spike swore he would be by her side when it happened. He hadn't been able to do anything for Julia, but he refused to let Faye die alone.

Ever so slowly, he pulled his gun out from his pocket, bringing it up in front of his face to load it. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. Faye would be gone soon. He had already skipped death several times. It would all be over now. He raised the gun to his temple and put his finger on the trigger.

"Goodbye Faye," he whispered.

A/N: THIS IS NOT THE END!!!! There is a great deal of angst in this chapter, I realize, but I promise things will get better after this. But what a good cliffy, eh?

Presently I'm sitting on one of the two twin beds in my room and Krikoris is still editing "Crimson Assassin." It is raining hard so we aren't going to the beach, which is fine with me. I have acquired sun burn on my butt, boobs, and back. All of which hurt rather badly. Always use sunblock, children. There is a Tropical Storm watch for Alex going on. Hope we don't get chased by a hurricane. Nev