Okay, this should be the last chapter before Tony is safe and sound… or not. We shall see what happens.

I hope you guys all like it, and to you crazy fangirls out there, I hope I did Tony justice.

Dedicated to Skrillex (The One and Only)

With lots of love,

-Slayer.

Gibbs kept his eyes on the road, resolutely ignoring the shambles of a woman that was currently checking her gun beside him. However, she did not appreciate being ignored.

"Gibbs, I know you did not want me to come. But could you really expect me to not? This is Tony."

Gibbs nodded tightly, still keeping his eyes on the road. "I just don't want you to break down again."

"Don't worry," she said. "I won't."

The house came into view around the corner. Slowing down, they pulled up at the curb. "I want you to be safe."

"Just work," she said, walking up to the house. Gibbs stayed back, assessing it.

It was a big two-story, rambling house. Not a mansion by any means, but still expensive, with a big green lawn and a wraparound patio and balcony, shielded from the sun and prying eyes by a white-painted lattice. Gibbs could easily imagine this house having plenty of room in the basement.

Tony looked up from his hands, hearing a noise that was not a footstep. It almost sounded like a muffled shout- but surely he was the only prisoner here?

He felt warm breath on the back of his neck and then his hands were free. He instinctively shied away from the touch of a man's hands on his upper arms.

"It's okay, Tony," said Don's urgent voice. "I'm not going to hurt you, but we have to get away from here."

Tony shook his head, trying to clear it as Don set to work on his other bonds. "But why?"

"I'm not sure, but I think the house is being invaded buy a rival gang. I didn't stay long enough to check who it was. We have to get out of here."

"But… Aren't you one of them?"

"Yes, but only an honorary status. That means that the other members won't help me. The thing is, I think the other gang is holding a grudge- which means they'll kill all of us. Including hostages and honorary members. We have to take care of ourselves, I'm afraid."

Tony nodded weakly. "I see…"

Don seemed to sense the source of his reluctance. "Don't worry, I'll help carry you. It isn't far to the vehicle."

Gibbs shook his head. The house was riddled with gunmen. It was huge, as he had said, and he wanted to secure the upper floors before he went down into the basement. So far they had cleared the first floor of six men and were currently sweeping the second.

McGee bent down to check under the bed. It was an adult's bedroom, with a door right through to the balcony. Gibbs held his gun on the door, and McGee reared back.

A man crawled out from under the bed and charged at him, holding a pair of scissors. Gibbs shot him just as another man burst through from the balcony, taking advantage of Gibbs' distraction to pull an knife on McGee.

"Turn around!" Gibbs yelled, desperately lunging towards the knife-wielder.

The blade flew towards McGee's neck and he tried desperately to dodge, then the man collapsed, a bloody rose blooming on the back of his jacket. Ziva stood in the doorway, holding a gun.

"Still think I'm too fragile?" she asked mockingly. Gibbs merely raised an eyebrow.

McGee got up, cradling an injured arm. The man's knife had stabbed him as he fell dead.

"Go on," McGee said. "I'll secure the balcony."

Ziva pushed past Gibbs and into the hallway.

Tony leant desperately on Don, his vision covered in black spots. The scabs that covered his body were cracking and protesting and the cold air of the basement was attacking his skin. He still wore only boxers.

Don helped him up down a long corridor and into a subterranean garage. "This house is set into a hill," he said. "There's an exit driveway out the back. We can escape into the woods."

Tony nodded, opening the car door and collapsing into the back seat.

"There's a bag of clothes in the back. Put something on."

Don fired up the car as Tony pulled a polo shirt over his head. The automatic door rolled up with a sound like a chainsaw. Tony flinched.

Ziva's head shot up from where she was checking inside a closet. "What's that noise?" she asked sharply.

"I don't know,' said Gibbs. "It sounds like a car starting up."

They both looked at each other in horror.

Matthew Temple looked down at his knees. They were coming- they had found him. They had won.

"I'm going to see you soon, brother," he told Nicholas. "I'll be there in just a moment. But first, there is something I need to do."

The corridors in the basement were empty. All the men had been sent up to protect the house as soon as the deadline was set. But he secretly knew that they were no match for the NCIS agents-even though they were outnumbered, and missing their best asset, they were a force to be reckoned with. His men were merely buying him time.

He positioned his Glock pistol next to his head as he silently made his way down the corridor. The team could be here any moment.

As he came to the doorway that held DiNozzo, he found it open. Eyes widened in shock, he looked in-only to find that Tony was gone.

That was when he realised what young Donald had done. He considered applause.

Maybe I can still win this, he thought, lips twisting suddenly into a mockery of a smile. Maybe this could still be to my advantage.

He set up in front of the room, in the corridor in before the garage, and waited.

Ziva stalked silently down the corridor in the basement. She could just make out the silhouette of a man in the half-light. He was holding a Glock.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked in a voice directly reminiscent of Nicholas's. "You don't get the prize yet. You haven't won."

Ziva shook her head and spat at his feet. "You don't deserve to win, you despicable creature. I suggest you pray to whatever heathen god you believe in because you will not survive this day, I promise to you."

He threw his head back and roared with laughter. "So predictable," he chuckled. "Do you ever come up with anything original?"

Just as Gibbs came up behind her shoulder, she lunged at the figure in the half-light and pushed him into his own cell.

Gibbs pounded down the hallway to where he thought the sound of the car was coming from. He threw open the door and the afternoon sunlight blinded him for a moment before his eyes adjusted to the brightness. The car was leaving the driveway. He yelled out to Ziva and ran after it.

Ziva slapped Matthew hard. "What is your problem?" she yelled. "Why are you doing this?"

He didn't say anything, just grinned. That was what sent her over the edge.

She brought her knee up and hit him in the soft spot, and as his head came down she jammed the heel of her hand into his nose, breaking it. She grabbed hold of his hair and slammed his head against the concrete walls, yelling "How do you like it? HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?"

She was sobbing so hard she could barely see but the rage found his flesh when she couldn't. She drew her knife and stabbed him in the shoulder, pulling the razor-sharp blade down through his flesh and relishing in the warm blood that slid down his arm. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT NOW? NOW THAT IT'S YOU, THAT IT'S YOUR BLOOD? IS THERE ANYONE TO CRY FOR YOU? HUH?"

"You are dirt," she whispered in his ear, slicing cuts along his cheekbones. "You are no better than dirt."

The blood on her hands made it too hard to hold the blade and she couldn't see, so she simply began hitting with blind rage and anger, striking out in fury, barely even recognising that his screams were quieting, that they had stopped.

She wasn't yelling in English, but in another language entirely, screaming the screams that had lived in her heart.

"You will never hurt him again," she said, wiping tears and blood from her face as she left him, bleeding and unconscious, in his own jail cell.

"You will never hurt anyone again."

Tony looked back out through the window at the house, and saw a familiar figure pounding through the grass.

Gibbs? But why would he be here? He thought hazily. He doesn't care about me… Does he?

Does he?

Ziva finally reached the sunlight and fresh air of the grounds. Gibbs was standing on the edge of the lawn, staring out into the section of forest that lay there. "What have I missed?" she asked.

He looked at her distantly. "We missed Tony."

She felt confusion flit across her features, and asked "What?"

"We missed him!" he said, the distant look in his eyes morphing into anger. "We missed him because you did exactly what I thought you'd do. You flew off the handle. You attacked Matthew Temple. He's probably dead now, too- so we won't ever really find what we were looking for. Tony. We won't find him and we won't be able to do him justice, because YOU COULDN'T KEEP CONTROL OF YOURSELF."

He was right in her face now, and she found herself unable to look away from his burning, angry eyes. "We won't be able to find him alive. With luck, we'll find his body."

Ziva felt herself slowly shake her head. She trained her sights to the tiny section of forest.

"No," she whispered. "I'll find him."

Gibbs shook his head. "No, Ziva, don't."

"Yes," she said firmly. "Yes, because it's my fault. Yes, because I can't stand the thought that he'd be alone. Yes, because I can't live without him."

Just hang on, she thought, I'm nearly there. I'll find you, just wait.

Okay, so that was longer than I had thought. Hope that was sufficient?

The next chapter will be hot on its heels- watch out!

This is nearly the end folks. Land ahoy.

-SLAYER XXX