Author's Note: I would just like to apologize to all of my faithful readers. I am incredibly sorry that it's been so long since I updated this story. My life has been crazy these last few months with school and everything so I've had absolutely NO time to work on this. But now it's finally done for you all to enjoy. Thanks for being patient!

Chapter 9: Don't Look Back

The screams, oh dear God the screams. That's all Faye, Spike and Jet wanted to block out as they finally reached the complex of Julien M. They surrounded them as the silently crept through the dark, dank halls of the complex. The walls surrounding them were made of cold cinder blocks, reflecting the cold and foreboding feeling of the building.

Faye silently shivered as she slowly reacquainted herself with the once familiar hallways. So long, it was so long ago when she was last here. When she was still naïve enough to think that Julien would never harm her, that he could never be the monster he truly was. How could she have been that blind?

Screaming, oh God make it stop! Everywhere they turned they were met with louder, more agonizing sounds of horror, of terror. "What is this monster doing to them?" Jet whispered, horror reflecting off his usually stoic face. No one answered him. They turned right, down into an even darker corridor. At the end there was a heavy wooden door.

Stopping slightly in front of it Faye turned to look at the two men with her. "There's no turning back. We're about to face the Devil himself so if you want, get out now." She said solemnly. Jet said nothing. Spike, always one to have the last word, replied, "I've already died once and come back." As they prepared themselves Faye kicked open the wooden door. On the other side of the door stood twenty armed gunmen. Before anyone could react Faye charged.

Spike and Jet followed her lead as they charged into the mass of bodies. Though easily outnumbered the three managed to take down each man, one by one. One of the men charged toward Spike just as he shot another of his comrades. Suddenly, Spike felt the cold steel of a gun barrel touch the back of his head. Knowing there was no way to dodge, he shut his eyes, preparing for death once more. BANG! Spike's eyes flew open as he felt the metal slide away from his head. Turning around he looked down to see the man with a bullet through his head. He looked up to see Faye with her gun still poised, breathing heavily.

Their eyes met for one brief moment before she broke away and continued on. Picking their ways through the bodies they ran down yet another darkly lit corridor. They met with yet another band of armed men. This continued on until they finally reached a large, ornately carved door. Faye, without any hesitation, pushed the large door open. Beyond it was a grand hall, like those of the medieval days. It was sparsely decorated with four rows of huge granite pillars, a few swords on the walls for decoration, and a few other items. The grandness of the room was completely ignored by Faye as her attention was captured by the one thing that had made her previous life a living hell.

Sitting at the end of the hall was Julien. He sat in an ornate chair, its back extremely high with generous armrests and swooping legs. Next to him, gagged and bound, was Gabriel. Faye's heart clenched at the sight of her son being treated with such cruelty. Slowly walking towards him Faye fixed him with an icy glare. When she was about twenty feet away she stopped.

All the while Faye was playing her little staring game with Julien, Spike and Jet had also entered the room. They had both already spotted Gabriel but were afraid to charge straight at Julien. They both knew he wasn't stupid enough to just be without any protection. And they were right. Just as Faye was about to take another step forward, Julien pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Gabriel's head. She froze in mid-step.

"Ah, ah, ah, ma chérie. Not another step or else you know what happens." He taunted with a smirk. "You son of bitch!" Faye growled. "I'm here, you have what you want now let him go!" Julien gazed her with a placid expression which on seemed to make her angrier. "Hmmmm, you know what ma chérie? I think I'll keep your little offspring with us. That way I know you won't act out of line." He commented casually with a smug grin. "You bastard!" she yelled, furious. "He's four years old! Let him go!"

"Now, now, is that any way to ask for a favor? How about pretty please with sugar on top?" By now Faye was about ready to lose it. She was desperate. That madman had a gun pointed at her son and there was no way she could get to him before he pulled the trigger. She had already cooperated with him by coming there. Yes, she knew exactly what he wanted. Her. He wanted her because she was the only thing that had ever escaped him. Yelling at him wasn't going to get her anywhere. She had to take a different approach.

"Julien, I'm begging you please! Let him go!" Faye begged as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. As she was begging him she caught sight of Jet and Spike out of the corner of her eye, slowly sneaking along the pillars, gradually making their way towards Gabriel. Realizing their intentions she knew she had to keep Julien's attention on her, for her son's sake.

Pretending to admit defeat she hung her head. "What do I have to do?" she asked quietly. Julien's smile widened as he stood up. Slowly, he walked toward her. She kept her head down as the massive room echoed with the sound of his footsteps. As he advanced on her, Spike and Jet closed in on Gabriel from behind the massive chair. As he reached Faye, Julien lifted her head so he could look in her eyes. Grinning he leaned in and whispered, "You can't believe I'm that stupid."

Faye's eyes widened in shock as the large man grabbed her throat with one hand and spun around with a gun in the other and shot Spike in the shoulder just as he was about to untie Gabriel from his confines. Spike's lanky form was thrown away as the bullet pierced his flesh. Jet whipped around just in time to escape with just a scratch from the bullet Julien fired at him. Faye watched in shock as it all happened in what seemed to her slow motion.

Suddenly, the room was filled with Julien's men. Dozens of guns being cocked were heard. When Jet and Spike raised their heads they were greeted with over three dozen guns pointed at them. The two men glared at Julien's smug expression as he smiled at them in glee at his victory. "Nice try, mes amis (my friends), but you have lost. Admit defeat and maybe I'll go easy on you." Spike glared at the man. "Not likely!" he spat as he clutched his bleeding shoulder.

Julien just grinned maniacally. "Tsk, tsk, Mr. Spiegel, is that anyway to treat the man who holds not only your life, but the life of your SON and his mother in his hands?" He laughed as Spike's eyes widened in shock. "Oh yes mon bon homme (my good man/sir), I figured out quite quickly that this little brat was yours. One only has to take one look at him and you to figure out exactly whom his blood comes from. And then, of course, there is his lovely mother," Julien pulled Faye close to him and licked a line from her jaw up her cheek. Faye grimaced in disgust as she tried to flinch away.

Spike ground his teeth together, seeing there was nothing he could do to stop him. Once finished, Julien turned to face the two men again. "My, my, she is a sweet one isn't she? It's been so long since I've tasted her flesh. But tell me Mr. Spiegel, it seems you've been the most recent one to have this sweet, tempting morsel. Do tell, how did she taste? Was she as sweet as I think she was? I'm sure she was, she always was quite the little vixen." He said with a sly grin. "One redeeming quality that dear boy of yours did get was his mother's beautiful eyes. I have to say, I don't think I've ever met anyone with eyes quite like hers. Enchanting, aren't they? It's a shame he got stuck with so many of your less than redeeming traits." He sneered.

"Don't flatter yourself, Roux. At least he got a father who's not a psychopath. Now what do you want?" Spike spat, blood still dripping from his arm. The man just grinned. "Oh, I want many things but then again, we can't always get what we want now can we? Fortunate for me though, I have all I need right here." He said as he indicated to Faye. And with that, Faye broke away from Julien's grip. Whipping out three small metallic balls Faye shouted, "Close your eyes!" before throwing them to the ground. The three didn't question her and did as they were told as a bright, blinding light flooded the room.

As soon as the light cleared Spike grabbed Gabriel and ran, ignoring the cries from the men. Faye, right behind them, threw yet another ball at the wall. On impact it exploded, creating a convenient escape route. Jet, ahead of the other three, bounded out and started racing towards the ship. Spike jumped over the rubble with Gabriel in his arms. Just as Faye was about to jump over and into freedom she was grabbed from behind. Crying out in alarm she turned to look at her captor. Julien. "Now where do you think you're going ma cherie?"

"Faye!" she looked over to see Spike had stopped running and was about to come back. "Don't you dare come back here Spike Spiegel! If Gabriel dies because of me I'll kill you. Just get him out of here, NOW!" And with that she threw all her weight into Julien, knocking them both onto the floor. Acting quickly, she rolled away and sprung up, her gun ready and poised. Seeing Julien still on the ground she quickly kicked him in the head and knocked him out. Looking up again she saw Spike still standing there. The men had recovered from their temporary blindness caused by the balls and were know quickly advancing towards Spike and Gabriel. "What are you doing! I SAID OUT OF HERE NOW!" she screamed. Finally, Spike began running towards the ship as fast as his legs could carry him.

Faye jumped in front of the of the opening, praying that she would be able to fend off the attackers in order to give Spike enough time to get Gabriel to the Bebop. She fought countless men as she desperately waited for the sound of her son's salvation. Finally, the roaring of the engines caused her to look back over her shoulder. Breathing a sigh of relief she watched as the Bebop flew off. Turning back she dropped her arms to her sides in a sign of defeat and waited for the next wave of attackers. As they charged a voice broke out. "Stop! That's enough!" Looking up Faye watched as Julien slowly approached her.

"Well ma cherie, it seems you've managed to cause quite a lot of trouble for me." He snarled as she was apprehended by two of his men. She just smiled. "I just know how you hate to lose. Too bad, cause even though you have me, I will NEVER submit to you again!" she spat. Julien, who was rarely easily stirred, momentarily lost his temper and struck Faye across the face. The last thing she saw was Julien's maniacal eyes sparkling gleefully at her before everything went black.

Author's Note:

FINALLY! I finally was able to finish my ninth chapter after so many months. Anyway, please R&R, it inspired me to continue it!