Vendetta!
By James Carmody.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the series, and, in fact, the entire franchise is the property of Joss Whedon, I am not he, so I will not accept any money for this or any other of my Buffy fanfics, I do this only for fun- thanks for the series, Mr. Whedon!
Nature of story: 'Quest for justice' type of tale.
Spoiler:"No, you don't understand" Kennedy remarked to the Archangel she was facing, with her hands clenching into fists, "he killed my father!"
A murder.
Previously: what looked like George Washington was standing in front of a fellow who was clearly the victim of some degree of physical discomfort "I'll ask you one more time… where is the girl?" 'George' was saying, when Mr. Prescott-O'Hara remained silent, but looked at this being silently with defiance, 'George' responded, "cut him!", at once, the Bringers slashed him on the chest and back in parallel places. Brian screamed, but didn't tell this monster and fraud what it wanted to know, so the evil being then responded "Kill him!" at which the Bringers proceeded to rip him in half!- Right down the spine! And in a spray of blood, Brian left this life.
Once it's victim had prevented The First Evil from learning where it's intended victim was hiding, as well as his family (the First's current victim), it calmly ordered the house burned down, to kill anybody left inside… a very smart move, for Brian's family were hiding in a safe-room, a room he was unable to get to without disclosing the location of his wife and children. Nina wanted to scream when she saw her daddy get murdered in front of her eyes, Abigail had her hand clutched over Nina's mouth, and herself had to hold back tears, Kennedy's jaw clenched- never in her young life had she felt such hatred and a desire for vengeance towards the being who had just killed her dad- Again, it seemed!
Chapter #1.) Invading Hell.
Kennedy's POV.
"Wait a minute, you want us to WHAT?!" one of the Potentials was saying, frankly, I was never more happy in my entire life- Finally, I was going to get a crack at that psychopath who killed my dad, who (it seems) messed me up, and who has Royally screwed over us humans for Quite a long time! Not to mention trying to drive my girlfriend to suicide!
"It's a hit." I tried to explain, "we simply to into it's house and try to do to it what it's been doing to us for about several million years." [Buffy, a word] I pm'd her (private messaged) and we went off into another room, likely the dining room of her house. "How do you intend to do it? I mean, this being, IFF it is what I think it is, this THING can jump dimensions quick as a single thought! And read minds!" I hung my head, and pressed my lips together. I mean, I wanted vengeance, it killed my dad, but I just don't see the ability yet, unless, it commits into a trap for itself,,, and hey, we already tried that- to lure it into speaking it's intents to us- and We nearly got clobbered for that trouble! It turns out, recording Satan on audio-cassette is NOT such a good idea!
Buffy didn't look convinced, she really wanted to get back at this monster! But her logical side of her brain told her that maybe, just maybe, I am correct about this; that if this entity can jump dimensions and read minds (as a certain Count Iblis from movie night a few nights ago could- we were watching the Battlestar Galactica episode "War of the Gods"), then it is sure suicide to rush in and attack- sure we'd win the fight, but for what reason? I mean; All that psychopath would have to do is unleash some sort of toxic gas and we'd be dead before we could escape from the cavern where it lives! Eventually reason won our over her desire to get vengeance for whatever losses she blamed it for. "Hey, Buffy" I said as I moved from shyly looking at the floor and my foot which was drawing circles on it as I stood there "I get it, you want some payback… as do I, that monster killed my dad! Actually, it had my daddy killed by the bringers." I related. Willow walked into the room and then asked me "Wait, I thought your Watcher was killed by the Bringers- you said he was torn apart by them!" she was asking for information. "He was my watcher- my dad was my watcher." I said, with a upset tone in my voice, "Sorry, I am a little sore about it." By now, what I meant to be a private conference was turning into a major intervention: Giles had been standing in the doorway to the room, now he was walking into it. "I found her in my flat in Baath, England, she had entered, on her own, I don't know how, and I sort-of took her in." The way he looked at me reminded me of my dads- the way they'd look at me when I got home from some activity, or the way a schoolchild will be looked at when the parent says "Hi, honey, how was school?"- very paternal.
About now I related what had happened as another flashback of that traumatic event took hold, my new friends lowered me to the floor to avoid me hurting myself in the fall.
Second Flashback: The house caught fire almost immediately, as the Bringers fanned the blaze, we couldn't run as long as they were in the house, all my training was for naught if my mom and/or little sis got caught- these monsters could force me to do whatever they wanted if they held my loved ones hostage, and their leader knew that!
Pretty soon the entire house was engulfed in flames, and the Bringers and their mysterious leader left, they by the doors and this being simply blinked out of this dimension- a terrifying experience. Think of yourself as an eighteen year old young woman who's father has just been murdered in front of your own eyes: now your home is going up in flames, just as the scene in The Patriot- that movie about the American War of Independence, when the farmhouse is ignited, you and your sister and mom are hiding from some sort of hostiles in your own home- gangsters, if you please, you want to run, but they will likely catch you and do unspeakable things to you and your loved ones if you do! If you don't, you'll burn to death in the inferno they started!
Nina had a bandana on her head, she had the sense to cover her mouth and nose, but the hot smoke burned her face. I had to take my handkerchief out of my pocket and cover my face's breathing holes, the hot gasses burned my eyes until they watered and I feared I'd have some sort of damage to my eyes- from the drying out of the air, our mom- Abigail, had used her hair scarf to cover her mouth, but if we stayed in the room much longer we'd die from the heat.
I was trained for extreme conditions, part of my training- and something I loved all along. So I figured I'd last longer than my relatives- more workouts lead to greater lung capacity, for instance; slightly, but still. However, eventually the heat would overwhelm my system and I'd go into shock- and then die from exposure inside my own family's house! We had to get out now!
The three of us were huddled in this sort-of bomb-shelter inside the house, a small room about the size of a closet, and due to the heat, the door was jammed! As I tried to open the doorway, the jamming got worse, due to the drying and heat increasing- expanding the wood. It took at least three times, because both of that and because I had to take breaks (a few seconds to about 20% of a minute at a time, later ones took longer) from the heat of the metal- even through my shirt-sleeves I was using as gloves to protect my hands from being melted by the fire on the metal of the doorknob. But, no matter what pain I was in I knew that I couldn't give up- if I did, my mom and sister would die in the blaze!
When we got out of the room, the house was almost pitch-black from the soot and smoke, but we stumbled out of it in a hurry, no time to crawl, the heat was far too intense! One of us accidentally kicked the corpse of my dad, I don't know who to this very day; My mom, Abigail was distraught, I think she figured she was somehow cursed to lose whoever she married, but, to her credit she kept her wits about her and made it out of the building alive. Outside it was already nighttime, I was familiar with these woods outside of our house near our property on Long Island- Nina and I used to play in them when our school assignments were done, now we had to hide in them while our home burned to the ground!
In a perverse rendition of a campout, our time in the woods was lit by the house-fire! Luckily, my family is wealthy enough to have several houses, this being the one we were in at the time, we have several mansions in secluded locations around the globe- a security measure I have learned. Mom told me in no uncertain terms that Dad had said that if something ever happened to him I was to find a certain Rupert Giles and try to study under him, she also said he lives in Baath U.K., she and Nina would make themselves scarce, the only way to be safe… I really wanted to get back at that creature who had killed my dad! "Think Star Wars, Kennedy." Nina told me, we hugged and then split up for who knows how long.
It turns out that my directions were way off, Giles lives on This side of the Atlantic, in Sunnydale California, not in England, where he has a citizenship! I was mad about that, Boy was I mad about that wild goose chase!
One thing Dad did with me to prepare me for extreme environments is what might be called 'child abuse' in certain circles, he would take me out hiking in the dead of winter, and in the dead of night too! But I have to admit, it was useful, and by the time I was in girl scouts, I could stress my body to levels most girls in the troop had trouble doing anywhere near, that is something I am very proud of in myself! He would also insist that I wear heavy clothes on long journeys, so as to teach me to 'shut up my body's complaints' as it might be said.
[End Flashback]
The next thing that happened to me is really surprising, I had heard of 'slayer dreams', some sort of preternatural warning system that occurs to us, but Never before had I had a Waking dream of such a nature!
I was standing up in the room, recovering my senses, when I suddenly felt very dizzy, "Whoa! I think I need to sit down." and literally fell into a chair that somebody had put behind me! I could vaguely hear Willow saying "I think she's passing out." and to my senses it seemed that nobody knew what to do. What I saw next astounded me: I think I saw someone from Heaven! He was handsome, and looked like a young man, identified himself with a name that ended in something that sounded like it ended in an "el" sound- ending with that syllable, but I was so out of it that I couldn't tell.
"What happened?" I asked this mysterious fellow, "Why does it seem that they're so far away?" "Your soul is leaving your body for a short time, but is still in there, and will return when this conference is done- I am a colleague of somebody who has ties to your job- Mica-el is his name." the being said. I was in too much of a shock to listen to the latter part of the message- "I am dying? Why?" I asked- shocked beyond belief- I mean, I had so much I planned to do! I couldn't be dying now! Too much to do, too many activities to do, to accomplish to be dying! In short- I was upset by the statement. He seemed amused, and responded "What do you know of the mystical theory of what is often called 'astral projection'? It's like that- you aren't going to die right now, you've been 'summoned', to be informed that you've got allies in this campaign, allies who do not want you to risk yourself in this suicidal mission into Hell." Now I was upset, first of all- my mission was supposed to be secret to anything outside of the council I was in, and 'he' certainly wasn't in the room when it was taking place! This man had his arms crossed as he said this previous statement. I responded angrily "No, you don't understand, he killed my father!" and rather coldly to this spirit.
"We're offering you help to deal with that monster" he was saying in response, but I was upset… my dad was dead, and any reminder that he was killed was upsetting to me. "the very monster who killed your father., you aren't asking for it, we're offering it, so no offense is incurred by you." my response was as follows "Thank you" I said "I'll pass along the input." he then placed his hand on my arm, which had been lowered, without my knowing it, to my side again, lightly. "Kennedy, if you go through with that mission, you and your faction will die- that psychopath will simply release a w.m.d. the likes of which no human has ever encountered before! Forget the primitive demons you've encountered; they're nothing compared to the secretary-general of their cause you and your friends will be going up against this time!" he looked me in the eyes then "I know you're mad, and you've got good reason to be- the losses he's caused you are, frankly, tremendous… but if you go through with this, you'll likely lose your dad forever- as well as yourself!" "We dealt with that psychopath in it's earliest rebellion against moral law." he continued "And we're well aware of it's capacities for warfare." was his next line.
"Alright, you've convinced me… you want to help me- how?" I asked. "A diversion, to draw off it's attention while you and your guerrilla band knock out it's local base of operations." "You're on!" I said, happily. For the first time we actually would have an advantage against this monster who hurt humanity so much!
Author's Notes: What looks like Mr. George Washington in the beginning flashback scene is really the First Evil- the Devil, and it's trying to frame Mr. Washington's good name by this horrible murder.
Kennedy often admired George Washington in her school days; she saw him as a near saint, actually. One reason why the First chose to come in the form of Our First President to carry out this horrendous murder.
I chose to produce this story to tell an action-adventure story from Kennedy's perspective about how much the loss of her daddy hurt the young Latina, and I hope sincerely that people enjoy this story and write reviews of it.
I am most proud of the part where I have the second flashback scene, the action-adventure situation where the girls are running from the burning house, and then have to split up, this is yet another experiment of a guy writing a story from a girl's point of view. Feel free to tell me what you think.