A/N: Our characters are in the process of changing authors. Julia is now written by Devi and Ed is written by Calico.

Thanks! Kajouka

A Final Goodbye?

Three days.

Three days, and I go to face the one person I most loved and most hated.

Three days of watching Faye slowly losing her grip on reality. Three days of listening to Cloria trying to convince me to call this all off. Three days of pacing the Bebop, wondering what the future will bring.

Christ. I sound like one of those hippie poets with all these fancy words. What's the point in worrying? I always knew that this would happen someday ... I just never thought it would be now. Now, when I think I might have finally found someplace other than the Red Dragon Clan that I might actually belong. I guess my only regret about this whole thing is that I would have liked to see Julia one last time ...

I never got a chance to say goodbye to her. I thought she'd be there, but she didn't come. So I never said goodbye.

Well, wherever she is, whatever she's doing in whichever life she's made for herself ... I hope she's happy.

And Vicious can burn.

- From Spike's Journal

---------------------

FLASHBACK

Vicious walked slowly up to the Red Dragon building. He and Spike had stayed out way too late the night before, drinking whiskey and telling stories of old, and Vicious's head was pounding. He had not expected to like Spike when they first met, but between the whiskey and the talk, he found that Spike was very much like himself.

Even so, Vicious wasn't one hundred percent ready to trust his new partner. He had yet to see him fight, and had little clue of what skills or loyalty the man possessed. These thoughts passed through his mind as he entered the Red Dragon Building for the second time, and quickly made his way up to room eleven on the third floor.

He was dressed in a casual black suit - more because he wanted to impress those in the syndicate than because the suit was functional. His katana was strapped to one side, and his Colt was sticking out of pants on the other.

A minute later, he entered room eleven.

Spike walked into room eleven, and was gratified to see that Vicious was already there. Hopefully, his new partner hadn't been waiting long. He'd brought his trusty Jericho and a few clips of ammunition, although he had high hopes of getting the ancient gun replaced. He'd spent a while this morning trying to decide whether he should dress for comfort or for appearances, and had finally opted for for the first option.

They made a funny contrast, though - Vicious in his suit, while Spike wore a yellow t-shirt, jeans, and last night's leather jacket. He loved that jacket dearly and parted with it as infrequently as possible.

"So, what's today's plan?" he asked, falling in beside Vicious.

"Make it through the day without my head splitting open," Vicious replied. He glanced around the room. It was empty and there were no signs of any training material.

Just then, a Red Dragon walked into the room. "There are changing rooms through those doors," he said, pointing out a set of doors on the other side of the room. "You will find your new uniforms as well as your training clothing. Put on the latter, and keep the former for later tonight."

Spike headed through the indicated door into what was essentially a glorified locker room. One of the personal comaprtments had his name on it in neat script inlay. He opened it, and was gratified to see two sets of clothing inside.

As Spike took off his jacket, he felt a slight pang of regret. But then, he'd be changing his ways now that he was a member of the syndicate. If his clothes must change too, then so be it. He donned the lightweight exercise outfit quickly, then examined the formal outfit.

"You know," he mused, examining the black suit, "this thing would look a lot better in blue."

"Maybe they'll accomodate you," Vicious replied, putting on his own exercise suit. He hung up his formal suit and left it in the locker next to the syndicate uniform. "I think I prefer the black myself." He stretched his arms in the air and moved around, noticing how well the exercise suit fit. "It seems they figured out our sizes fairly easily. It leaves me to wonder just how much they already know about us."

"Probably more than we'd like," Spike suggested as he put the suit back into the locker and closed it. "And it'll just increase." He stretched his arms above his head. "So, you ready? Where to from here?"

"I'm guessing we head back out to meet with that syndicate guy." Vicious replied, shutting his own locker. He picked up his gun and his katana, unsure if either was needed, and headed back out of the locker room. Stepping back into the room, he noticed that not only was the original syndicate man waiting for him, but a few others as well.

Spike followed suit, bringing along his Jericho. Once outside, he glanced around nervously. Just what would the training entail? ... Well, no matter what it was, he'd be sure to find out just what Vicious could do - such as whether or not he knew how to use that featherduster he carried around. He had serious doubts, however, that there was anything these people could teach him. He'd already learned plenty.

"You can leave the weapons over there," The man said, pointing to a table. "You won't need them right now." Once the boys had complied, the man smirked, "Now, fight." The command was simple.

Vicious's eyes looked from the one giving the order to Spike. "Fight?" he questioned, although he was pretty sure the ordered entailed. Spike was supposed to be his partner, although Vicious had little problems with the concept of taking him down, it seemed counterproductive to the concept of becoming partners. He assumed a relaxed stance, one that allowed him to be ready in case Spike made the first move. He was curious to see how his partner would react to their command.

A massive grin split Spike's face. Now, this would be fun. He walked over to the table and placed his gun down on it, then stretched one more time. He headed to the center of the room, then stopped, watching Vicious expectantly. "Well?" he asked.

Vicious shrugged. If that's the way Spike wanted to play, then so be it. He faked, first to the left, then to right, then easily moved in closer. He was confident in himself - he had won more street fights than he could count, although he knew better than to underestimate his opponent.

Spike bolted forward, running easily and fluidly. Just before he came within reach of Vicious he ducked, letting his moment carrying him under any potential counterattack as his right leg lashed up towards his partner's face. Let him try and dodge that - the move had landed on countless opponents before.

The leg hit Vicious in the chest - hard. Vicious groaned, but grabbed onto Spike's leg, stopping his 'partner's' forward momentum and yanking him to the ground as he himself fell. He rolled over, and returned to his feet. "Nice move, Spike," he commented as he readied himself again. This time, he'd let little Spike go first.

From the ground, Spike blinked, his self-confidence shaken. "Not bad yourself," he commented, before jumping straight from his back to his feet. However, instead of using his height as a vantage point of attack, he continued the movement, planting his weight on his arms and bringing his legs around in a sweeping motion that should knock Vicious' own feet out from under him. With Vicious down, Spike rolled up to his knees, ready to plant a fist in his partner's face - only to discover that he'd already moved out of the way.

Vicious rolled quickly out of the way and as Spike rolled up, Vicious let one leg fly at his head. The two of them seemed destined to be at the edge of hit and miss - each time dodging the hard blows, while taking the light ones. Try as Vicious might, he could not bring down Spike, but at the same time, he continually managed back to his feet. He felt frustrated - why couldn't he beat this stupid punk?

Spike twisted away from the assault, but still wound up receiving a heavy smack on the shoulder that would doubtless flower into a massive bruise. His hards darted up to grab Vicious' foot as the other rolled to his feet. Still on the ground, Spike twisted Vicious' foot down and to the side, hoping to drag his opponent back to the ground. This was turning out to be much harder than he'd expected.

Vicious fell, and landed right on top of Spike. He tried to get up, but Spike had gripped his foot, and the movement only caused him to fall back on top of Spike again for the second time. Finally, he just gave in, pushing himself to the side so he could punch Spike in the gut.

The syndicate goons were laughing at the pair of upstarts. "I think that's enough for today. You've both shown you have no common sense and a ton of guts."

Fighting each other to get upright and retarding more than helping either cause, the indecent duo struggled to their feet. "What?" they said simultaneously, almost in stereo. "That's not true!"

This scene only caused the syndicate trainer to laugh even harder. Spike glowered, both at the trainer and at Vicious. Some partner, huh?

Vicious gave Spike a small shove, then walked forward. "Did you want to fight us then?" He said, to the trainer. The trainer laughed.

"I could probably beat you both." The syndicate trainer took off his jacket and stepped into the middle of the floor. Urging Spike and Vicious on he said, "Take your best shot."

Spike rushed forward, circling to the left and jumping to send a flying kick at the trainer's head. The trainer deftly cupped Spike's foot in his hand and gave it a push upward, so that Spike careened off-target, going past the trainer and thudding ungracefully into the ground. He looked up, hoping that Vicious was doing slightly better - or at least well enough to justify his disgraceful failure.

Vicious rushed the guard as he was pushing Spike away, trying to catch him off-guard. As soon as the trainer's hands left Spike's foot, his leg swung around and kicked Vicious in the gut. Vicious fell to the floor, landing hard on his ass........ His ego was taking more of a bruise, however, as he and Spike were now both getting beat by one man.

Spike and Vicious shared a glance, then as one got up and rushed the trainer together - only to wind up side-by-side a moment later, flat on their backs.

"Ow."

The trainer laughed, "You both have a lot to learn before you'll make yourselves useful." He gestured to their weapons. "Pick them up. It's time for some target practice."

Vicious was fuming inside. How dare this guy make a fool of him. And further, he managed to make a fool of Spike at the same time. He turned around to pick up his weapons, muttering to Spike under his breath, "What an ass.."

"Totally," Spike agreed darkly as he retrieved his gun. He and Vicious would have to find a way to get revenge for this humilitation in the future. For now, he simply followed the trainer. So maybe he wasn't a genius at hand-to-hand combat, but no one could beat his skills with the Jericho.

Vicious followed behind Spike, silently cursing their trainer, who lead them around the corner to a large target room. "Mao wants to see how you boys shoot," their trainer spoke, as two of his goons went about setting up the targets. "He expects that you have some skills already - and you'll be allowed to practice here at your leasure in the future."

Vicious pulled out his colt. Although it was not his favorite weapon, he had used it enough time to do so with ease. Once the targets were ready, he took his stance, aimed, and fired the full clip at the target.

Spike drew up next to Vicious and fired off four shots in rapid succession. Three hit the target, two of which only clipped the edges. Then, he slowly and carefully lined up a fifth shot. He fired, was was gratified to see that the bullet had punched through the perfect center of the man-shaped cardboard silhouette. "See?" he said smugly. "Easy."

Vicious frowned when only two of his shots found their way remotely towards the center of the target, while another two were towards the right side. He said nothing, although he was impressed with Spike's last shot. He took a few steps away back, in order to have a better view of Spike's lane.

A smug grin crossed the lips of their trainer, who raised his own gun, and from well behind the line in which Spike and Vicious had been standing, tore a hole through the middle of Vicious's target with six perfect shots. "You boys will need to practice a bit more, if you want to go anywhere in this syndicate." He loved his job. All the boys that they hired on had egos the size of Jupiter - and he was used to crushing them all.

"Oh, yeah?" snarled Spike. He loosed the remaining eleven shots in his magazine at the target. This time, all but four flew wide, and only of of those came even remotely close to center.

Ooops. Time to cover. "Stupid gun," he muttered, reloading. "This thing's real old, anyway. I don't suppose you have a newer one lying around?"

Vicious smirked. Spike had really made a fool of himself this time around. "Nice excuse, Spike." Vicious replied, slapping his partner on the back. "Or maybe you're just not as good as you thought you were." Not that Vicious had anything under his belt to brag about, but he couldn't help but tease Spike - more because they were in the same boat than anything else. "So how much more of this do we have to go through today?"

"Not much, I hope," Spike said acidulously. "I'm tired of practicing." It was still far, far too late to save face, but a tiny corner of him refused to let go and submit. He turned on the trainer. "You got anything else for us, sensei?"

The syndicate man grinned, "Not today kids, but remember for tomorrow. You're not a badass as you thought. And tomorrow, the real training begins."

Spike deflated. This Syndicate business was turning out to be a lot more than he'd anticipated. Still, he knew that all the time and humiliation would be worth it. He'd emerge stronger and better, with an entire clan of loyalists at his back.

He glanced over his shoulder at Vicious. "You ready to go?" Spike asked.

Vicious nodded. This humiliation would have to stop. He would embrace this training, because he would come out on the top of this syndicate. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Shoulder drawn down, Spike slipped his hands into the training outfit's loose pockets and headed for the locker room. "Yeah," he muttered. "Let's hit that bar again. I could use a drink."

---------------------

Slipping out of the black sedan, Simone took off her sunglasses and looked up at the building. She knew Jade would be in one of those rooms right now. She wore a fur coat that just touched the dirty sidewalk and revealed a short black dress that clung to her curves, revealing her perfectly shaped legs and just a little cleavage. Click clack sound could be heard when her heels hit the ground and she winked at the guards when she entered.

Resting her arms on the security desk, she leaned over and smiled at the attendent. "Hello sugar, I'm here to see Jade," She paused, being unsure of whether or not to add in her surname. With a smirk she said, "Jade Devereux."

The guard blinked. He had heard of the name Jade, and seen her around, but no one had ever called her by her surname. In fact, a surname wasn't even listed. Checking the list, Jade hadn't called down to alert them of a guest. "Well, she didn't say she would be getting a guest, but I'll call her." Dialing the number for Jade's room, he waited.

"Hello?" Jade said as she picked up the phone.

"Hello, Miss Jade, I'm a guard from the Security desk inquiring as to this visitor. She goes by the name Simone. Do you know her?"

"Send her up," and with that Jade hung the phone up.

The guard blinked, "She said you could come up."

Simone smiled, she knew Jade would let her up. "Now her level and room number?"

"Oh right, yes," the Guard said. Giving them to her, he watched as Simone entered the elevator.

Pacing around her room, Jade was nervous wreck even if she didn't appear so in her smashing black dress and matching heels. Entering her bathroom, she stared in the mirror. Why did her sister have to haunt her so? When she was just starting to feel she had escaped....

Then she heard the knock on the door. Going to the door, she opened it and stared at her sister. They looked so alike, it was scary. Simone had good 4 - 5 inches on her though, and had always been the more flashy one. At least her hair was a bit curly, unlike Jade's uber straight hair.

"Hello, sister." Grinning, Simone pushed past her sister and took a seat down in one of the lounge chairs. So, Jade hadn't done that badly for herself. She was entirely too surprised that she gotten that far... But oh right, she had been apart of Vicious' team and Vicious had taken over. Of course she had a high position. In fact, she bet Jade had probably fucked him for it.

Jade followed Simone, but stood in front of the other chair, looking down at Simone. She couldn't stand the sight of her own sister, and that saddened her greatly. She realized she didn't have a weapon on her, and she was positive that Simone did. She wouldn't be threatened in her own syndicate, in her own room. Glancing at her weapons chest, she wondered if she'd be able to get anything out of that.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," Simone said well laughing.

"Then what do you want?" Jade asked with a slight growl.

"Calm down sister, I just wanted to know why you were buying drugs at a Blue Snake Syndicate Bar. Oh, and who is that cute boy with you?"

"I don't have to tell you that information. You're in a rival syndicate, why would I reveal ANYTHING to you?" Without thinking Jade blurted out, "And stay away from Rocko!"

Getting up, Simone put her hand on her sister's shoulder. She loved getting on Jade's nerves, it was so easy for her to do. "Relax, you don't have to, but I think I have an idea. Now why don't you go make us some tea, since I know you like it..." She was sure Jade would do it, and smiled when Jade walked off to her kitchen.

Filling up a kettle with water, Jade set it on the stove. As it began to boil, she lined her teapot with bags, and then filled it with water. When it was done, she poured the tea into two cups. Remembering that Simone prefered honey in hers, she got out her honey and added a drop to one of the cups. She left her tea plain. Bringing them in, she set them on the table. Taking a seat, Jade watched Simone sip her tea quietly.

"Ahh, very good, you still know how to make it." Taking a sip of the tea, she watched Jade. Simone noted that Jade hadn't taken one sip of her tea and sat very still, with her hands neatly folded on her lap. So uneasy her sister was, when she was around. /This wasn't a planned visit, but Jade should have realized it./ "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Indeed it has, but I was rather enjoying the time away from you," Jade replied in a blank tone. Her statement was true, she didn't miss Simone at all.

"I believe the last time we saw each other was when I was recruited for the Blue Snake, and because of our father's business dealings with the Red Dragon, I was ordered to take him, and recruit you. If you refused, you were to be terminated. And as expected, you refused. It would prove my loyalty and take out one of Red Dragon's aids. Interesting isn't it, how you survived?" It still bothered her that she had not taken out Jade, and it still troubled her as to why she didn't. She had the opportunity. Instead, she let a battered, bruised, and violated Jade slip right through her fingers.

When she had to give her official report, Simone had brought in her father's head to prove it. Of course, she had to explain that Jade had escaped, but certainly would have died a few hours into the night due to the extreme blood loss and frigid temperatures of that cold December evening. The two syndicate goons that accompanied had backed this up, as was expected.

"I think it's more interesting that you could be so cold-hearted that you could kill not only your mother, but also your father." Jade had tried blocking out that night where Simone brutally murdered her father, and where she was hurt not only physically, but also emotionally. When Simone had allowed her escape, she knew it wasn't an act of kindness from her. Jade knew that Simone just wanted to have the opportunity to play with her again. Maybe the moment was now.

"Oh Jade, you're still not over that? You poor thing. I had to do it for the syndicate, and if you were in my situation, you would have done the same," said Simone as she rolled her eyes at Jade. Jade could act so silly at times.

"You didn't kill mother for the syndicate," Jade said looking at her with cold eyes backed by fire. She loathed Simone, especially when she was like this. Any distant memories of Simone being nice were lost.

"You're correct, I didn't. I had others, and you should know that. Anyway darling, I must be going. It's been nice talking to you, and I hope to be seeing Rocko around." Getting up from her seat, she went over and kissed Jade on the cheek well slipping a business card into her hand. Simone winked at Jade and then left. She had things to do.

Now alone in her apartment, Jade sat there for ages staring at nothing in particular, just thinking about past memories. Picking up her tea cup, she was about to pick up Simone's, when she just hurled hers at the wall. Slinking down to the floor, Jade sat there with her head in her hands. She wasn't crying, no, she rarely cried. Getting up, she left her apartment, looking for Rocko.

----------------

After an interesting encounter with Simone, Jade looked up Rocko's room. She was going to make a surprise visit to him. Wearing a simple black dress that poofed out at the bottom, her long black hair was clipped neatly in the back. She resembled a child's doll, except for the stilettos which graced her feet. Hesitating for a moment, she knocked on his door, and then waited.

Rocko was spralled out on the bed reading a magazine when the knock came at his door. He set the magazine aside, a recent copy of playboy, and called out, "Come in."

Opening the door, she stepped in and closed it behind her. Standing awkwardly near the door she said, "Hello, Rocko. I'm sorry to bother you."

Rocko sat up on the bed and smiled, "You're not bothing me at all Jade. Please, come in, sit down." She seemed tense to him, and he wondered if something had happened recently.

Jade walked over to the bed and with hesitation, sat down on the side of it. Folding her hands neatly into her lap, she stared directly at the wall. "My sister contacted me. No, she didn't just got contact me. She showed up here for a little meeting..."

Rocko reached over and took one of Jade's hands. "Jade, tell me what happened," He said, wishing that she would look at him instead of the wall. "Did she hurt you?"

Glancing down as he took her hand, she shook her head no. "No, she didn't... She was just trying to pry informaiton as to why I was buying drugs from a Blue Snake dealer. I don't believe she's told anyone we are apart of the Red Dragon." Jade paused, pondering over whether or not she should add something. "She, she brought up old memories though."

"So then, she knows about your syndicate affiliation?" Rocko asked, contemplating this new problem. They needed to share this with Vicious. He would know what to do. "What memories?"

"Yes." Turning then, she faced him and look directly into his eyes. "She's three years older than me, and had joined Blue Snake before I ever joined Red Dragon. We were very competitive when we were younger, and I purposely joined the Red Dragon..." The Red Dragon had really found her, but she had always had plans to join the Red Dragon. "Memories I'd rather not like to recall..." she said.

Rocko reached out his other hand and touched her cheek softly, "You don't have to recall then them, but this isn't good. We will need to find another way to get into their business." He let his hand run softly down her cheek. "You know I will kill her before I let anything happen to you."

"Mmm, we will. I'm sorry. It's been over three years since I've seen her." Jade didn't like it when people touched her, but his hands were comforting. "I know, Rocko, I know..." She didn't want Simone to die, even though she despised her. Her sister wasn't always the hell spawn on heels.

Blinking, she remembered her sister slipping her a business card with something written on it. Pulling her hand away from Rocko's, Jade slid her purse off her arm and opened it. Taking it out of the purse, she handed it to Rocko, and once again put her hands in her lap.

Rocko glanced at the card. It had a time and place and that was all. "Do you have any idea what this means?" Rocko asked her, studying the card as though some random message would pop out.

"Simone slipped that to me when she was here. All she said was that she believed it's what I was thinking of and that the name would be at the place in three days..." She herself hadn't looked at the card yet, but she had a feeling of what was on it.

"It's probably a trap. She's Blue Snake, and I doubt she'd betray her own syndicate at the drop of a hat." Rocko said, handing Jade back the card. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know.. I think we should at least verify the name and the place though. Simone works in mysterious ways.. To her, this is probably a test." Jade then put the card in her purse and placed tthe purse aside.

"Alright - I think it would be best if we did that well before the time given on the card. We'll need to know everything about that place." Rocko contemplated what the were doing. It was a blue snake trap for sure. "I think we should inform Vicious of this."

"Yes, I suppose we do." Jade wasn't fond of the idea of telling Vicious, but she knew they would have to. Scrunching her nose she asked, "Can we do it tomorrow?"

Rocko smiled, "Sure. He has a lot on his mind anyway right now." Rocko picked up Jade's hand again. "Why don't we do something relaxing instead, get your mind off of all of this mess?"

Jade smiled at Rocko, he could be so very sweet. "Sure, I'd like that. Can I take my shoes off?" Jade may have been a pro at walking in them, but after awhile they hurt like hell.

"Go right ahead," Rocko said, standing up. He headed for his minifridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. "How about a beer?" he asked, hoping a little drink would relax her some.

"Thanks." Pulling her legs one by one up onto the bed, she unstrapped her shoes and let them fall to the floor. Pushing herself up onto the bed more, she moved to the end of the bed and leaned against the backboard. Her legs we're neatly crossed and her dress was positioned neatly over her legs. "I'd love a beer."

Rocko popped the top off and passed one of the beers to Jade before repeating the motion with his own drink. He stayed standing, looking down at her while he took a sip from the bottle. "Jade, you know that you look beautiful right now."

Taking a sip from the beer, she savored the taste for a moment. All most blushing when Rocko commented on her, she hide it quickly. Replying smoothly she said, "Why thank you Rocko.. Flattery isn't needed, but you yourself looked very handsome just sprawled out on the bed." Taking another sip, Jade looked up at him.

Rocko grinned, and took a few steps forward. "I'd kiss you again, but you told me I was no longer allowed to do so." With a small smirk, he took another sip from the beer.

Jade waved her finger at him, then put on her lips well looking down and giggling. "Nope." Studying her beer she smiled, "I bet you I can gulp this all down.. right now." Jade hadn't done it in over two years, but when she used to work the scene, she had demonstrated this ability on more than one occasion. "Hmm.. I bet you.. your shirt."

"And if I win?" Rocko replied, swirling the liquid in the bottle. The task was easy enough.

"You can keep your shirt," she said and winked at him..

"Hardly seems like a fair bet," Rocko replied, before downing the entire bottle of beer. He set it down, and quickly retrieved another from the fridge. "Your turn."

"And do you have a better suggestion?" she asked. Downing her beer in the same time if not faster, she wiped her mouth with her and after. "Give me another!"

Rocko smirked, "I have plenty, Jade, but none that I think you will like." He grabbed another beer for her as well, returning to the bed to sit with her.

"Tsk tsk, naughty Rocko," Jade said as she leaned her head on his arm. Smiling to herself she added, "Now give me that beer, all ready."

Rocko handed Jade the beer. "I never claimed to be nice, Jade. After all, I do work for the most feared syndicate in the system." He leaned back on the bed, propping himself up with his free hand. "And I'm damn proud of that."

"As I am. I was only testing, of course." With that, she quickly gulped down her beer, sucking it down as fast she can. Finishing it, she let out a whoop and wiped her mouth. "Hah!"

"So lady-like," Rocko said with a laugh. He felt good. Jade was a real woman. "Why did you join the Red Dragons anyway?"

"Well, I DID wipe my mouth after..." She said with a smile. Oi, she can't believe he asked that. "It's a long story, maybe I'll entertain you with it sometime when I'm not in such a good mood." Uncrossing her legs, she shifted so that her knees were up in a more comfortable position.

Rocko shrugged and took another sip of beer. "You are full of secrets and stories aren't you Jade?" he said, more than asked.

"Sadly, it seems I am..." Playing with her dressed, she moved it around and then said to herself, "This thing is so uncomfortable.."

Rocko laughed, "You can borrow something of mine if you'd like," He gestured to the closet. He was, of course, still dressed in his suit and syndicate coat. He wore little else, unless he was on a mission.

"If you don't mind," Jade said, but she was all ready making her way towards the closet. Smiling, she picked through the clothing. "So bland," she said with a sigh.

"I like the uniform, what can I say," Rocko replied, as he joined Jade at the closet. There were a number of suits inside, nice ones, as well as an extra coat. "I've got some t-shirts in the dresser." he offered.

"Well, the uniform can be nice." Leaving the closet, Jade sat on the bed. Looking around the dresser she said, "A t-shirt would be nice.." Obviously not wanting to go into his dresser.

Rocko smiled and headed for the dresser. He pulled out a plain white undershirt, the only thing he had, and handed it to her. Then he turned around and faced the wall so that she could change.

Taking the undershirt, she silently unzipped her dress and slipped out of it. Unclipping her hair, Jade slid the undershirt over her head. Picking up her dress, she tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm done." She needed somewhere to hang her dress.

Rocko turned around. Jade looked so different wearing his shirt instead of her slinky dress. "Let me hang that up for you." he said, taking the dress and putting it in the closet. "So now what." Rocko had little to no experience with this type of situation, and Jade hadn't wanted to 'pursue' anything. He used his beer to distract himself for the moment, taking more than one sip from the bottle.

Moving closer, Jade put her hands on his sides and stood on her toes. Kissing him softly, she pulled back and with a smile she said, "I'm not fond of that rule anymore."

Rocko wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled, "Is that so?" he said, as he bent down to kiss her again. "In that case, I can think of plenty of things for us to do."

"Mmm, me too," Jade said as she directed him towards the bed. With that, she kissed him again and let their bodies take over.

---------------------

Julia had been sitting at the bar for nearly an hour now. She knew Vicious would be right on time as usual and that meant he'd be walking through the door in a matter of seconds. She had her napkin clutched her hands, her knuckles had long since turned white from the way she was wringing it over and over again in her nervousness. She was confused, and wary of this meeting and didn't really know why.

Seven on the dot and Vicious walked into the doors of the Blue Rose. His eyes scanned the entire crowd, although he had known where Julia was sitting the moment he had opened the doors. He walked up silently behind her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you came." he said softly.

Julia had known it was Vicious when the doors swung open, she hadn't even needed to turn around, but still she gave a small jump when she felt his hand upon her shoulder. "I couldn't deny a dead man, " Julia said toughening her resolve to appear strong before him. "Or at least that is what you would have me believe."

Vicious swiveled the stool around so that Julia was facing him. "I am not dead yet, Julia. But that very well may change." He looked up for a moment, signalling to the bartender that he wanted a glass of whiskey. "My feelings for you haven't changed."

"Haven't they?" Julia asked staring back at him baldly. Now that he was here in front of her she could feel her courage coming back. "Aren't you just using me like that woman in your basement? We're no different to you, just pawns in your game with Spike."

Vicious frowned. "You were never a pawn, Julia." He supposed that wasn't entirely true. The whiskey arrived and he quickly downed the glass. "Are you sure I wasn't just a pawn to you? Someone for you to play with until he came along." He took Julia's hand in his. "You were the world to me, and then.." Damn - this was why he shouldn't have gotten involved with her again. She made him weak, and he was not weak.

"And then?" Julia asked urging him on. It wasn't often that Vicious stumbled over his words, he was a man always in power with himself and those around him. "Nevermind...I guess I already know what you were going to say. As for you being a pawn, Vicious, I didn't think that was possible. Your too strong for your own good."

A small smiled crossed Vicious's lips. "I suppose you're right Julia. Was that the problem? Was I too strong for you?" He waved to the bartender again. He needed another drink. Funny, whiskey was always the drink he had with Spike.

"No," Julia said thinking back on the times when the three of them had been together. "I think that all three of us were just too much a like to ever be harmonius. Did you know that Spike made this same request to see him before he was a dead man? As much as you might hate to hear this, there is little difference in the way the two of you think."

Vicious raised an eyebrow. Spike had asked to see Julia as well. He hadn't been aware that they had made contact. "Spike are I are well aware of the fact that we are too alike." He took a sip of the whiskey. "And that, Julia, is the reason that one of us well die." He paused, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer to his next question. "And you'll go see him?"

"Maybe," Julia said deciding not to clarify that she was the one who had contacted him about it. "I haven't really decided yet Vicious. I just found out that he isn't dead. Perhaps I have to see him with my own eyes, just to make sure."

Vicious looked Julia in the eyes. "You promised not to betray me again. Of course, I learned long ago about your promises, Julia," he said alluding to the past.

"Seeing Spike would not be betraying you," Julia said holding her ground against him. "Just like you he wanted to see me one last time before he died. And to tell you the truth I would like to see him as well."

Vicious turned away. "I expected as much." He let go of Julia's hand and leaned against the bar, looking at each of the bottles on the wall because he did not want to look at her. He cradled his glass of whiskey in his hands, and took another sip. Life would be better once Spike was gone for good.

"Why does that surpise you so much?" Julia asked actually shocked by his reaction. Did he really care for her that much, or was he angry because he thought Spike was winning?

"It shouldn't. I knew that even though you promised to stay with me you hadn't forgotten about him," His eyes turned to Julia, "But a man could have hoped." This was more than just about Spike.

"Women are all liars," Julia said. This time it was her turn to inspect the bottles on the wall. There was a long intense silence between them, before she could put her thoughts into words again. "What if I had forgotton about Spike? It would make no difference, you would still seek him out and kill him."

Vicious nodded, "I would still kill him. What is between Spike and myself had nothing to do with you, Julia. His betrayal was not sleeping with you." He reached up and touched her cheek, turning her face back towards his. "His betrayal is much deeper than that. My feelings for you and my feelings for him are not related in any way, except that it would hurt me deeply if you left again." His eyes, normally so cold, glimmered with a hint of feeling rare for the man. "And you know I would not admit that lightly."

"Killing Spike won't make you happy," Julia stated. "And I can't make you happy. So what do you have left to live for? This battle between the two of you is pointless."

Vicious looked at Julia, "What makes you think killing Spike will not make me happy?" He didn't bother to ask her why she didn't think she could make him happy. He didn't really want to know. "This battle between us is something that no one else will understand." Spike had made the same exact point.

"No one understands it because it is just two men's petty duel!" Julia was angry now. Vicious had no logic when it came to Spike, only bloodlust. "There is nothing I can do for either of you now. I hope you kill each other so I can be free of both of you!"

With that she tossed a few woolongs on the counter to pay for her drink and started to make her way towards the door. She knew she was acting rashly and that Vicious would be furious. But she was tired of the games and the emotional conversations about the past that got them no where. There was nothing left for her here.

Vicious moved after her and grabbed her arm. "You don't mean that, Julia," he replied, his tone flat. "You wouldn't have come here tonight if you meant that." He turned her around. "It's a very real possibility... that we will both die." He looked down into her hardened eyes and found nothing there. Closing his he let go of her arm. Maybe it was best if he just let her go.

Julia sighed feeling herself softening with his words. Somewhere deep inside her she had wanted him to follow her to take her into his arms and tell her that nothing else mattered but her. Tentatively she reached up and softly touched his cheek. "There is nothing I can do for you anymore Vicous. You are determined to have this fight with Spike and there is no way I can change your mind," she said sadly, letting her hand drop down to rest on his chest so she could feel the beating of his heart. " Only Spike can reach your heart now."

Vicious looked away for a moment. Her touch seemed to calm him for a moment, although his thoughts raced to Spike at her words. "In the past, I shared my heart with both of you." He said, remembering the time when the three of them did everything together. He turned back to face her. "The part that belonged to you, still does." Just as the part that was cold as ice, the part that was once Spike's, was still there as well.

"But the truth is that you still love Spike more," Julia said feeling a pain in her heart. Was it love, fear, jealousy? "You have always loved him, and now you love him so much that you must kill him. Its like a Greek tragedy. So comical that you could almost laugh, if it didn't hurt so much."

Julia herself started to laugh at her words but her chuckles soon turned into tears. Mortified at her own weakness she turned away from Vicious and made her way out into the street. Julia tried to brush away the tears, but they just kept falling.

Vicious followed her, stepping out of the bar onto the street, but he only watched. He made no move to chase her, nor could he formulate any answer to her words. He had never once thought about his relationship with Spike in the way Julia just put it, the words, once there in the open, spoke more truth than anything. "And maybe the biggest problem, was that he loved you more," Vicious said softly to himself.