A/N: Alright my brother tried to upgrade my computer. So I let him. Being the genius that he is, he "accidentally" deleted all my writings, jottings, poems, stories, and unfortunately QoS was one of them. I came thisclose to wring his neck. I was ready to give up writing, but I can't continue this w/out you guys. The FANFIC READERS ROCKS! R/R ok? THANKS!
"Showdown"

The chill of the morning air woke Tessa up suddenly as scenes from her dream started to ebb away. The orange glow of the rising sun barely reached the hem of her dress. The night's previous bonfire lay in a smoldering heap of ash and sticks.

Glancing at the now empty spot where Grisham slept last night she felt panic gripping her chest. In one motion she stood up and ran towards outside of the cave, but her action was stopped by gentle hands that held her shoulders still. Looking up, Grisham's smiling eyes greeted her, Tessa was relieved to see him still alive.

"Miss me?"

"I thought they took you away or worse.."

"Nahh...I'm stronger than the lot of them."

Her eyebrows rose at his sudden sense of bravado.

Grisham's voice turned serious at her reaction.

"Look, Huntley just left with his band of idiots. I have a plan. I think I can take out the rest of the men, but I need your help."

"Does it involve any removal of my clothing?"

"Unfortunately, no. But I need you to run out of this cave and down the slope to where the horses are kept when I gave you the signal. Hurry up on one and just get the hell outta here as fast as you can. Alright?"

"How are you going to manage to do that? You don't have any weapons with you."

Reaching discreetly behind his back, Grisham produced a small pistol.

"I palmed it when one of the drunk bandidos passed by without him knowing."

"What if you're captured? There still some seven or ten men left guarding the hideout." Tessa's forehead creased in concern.

"I won't. I promise." Grisham assured her worries.

"Ok." Her resolve set in determination to escape. For Tessa still remembered the help the pueblo needed from the Queen. She feared the battle had already started and the causalities would be the innocent villagers.

"Let's go."

Cautiously edging towards the opening of the cave. Tessa and Grisham peered down to see the remaining man still in a drunken haze from the night's partying. The moment the ok sign was held up by his hands, Tessa rushed down the slope of the hill as quick as her bustling dress allow her.

Seeing Tessa through their haze they managed to stand up and was about to chase her when a shout took their attention away.

Jumping down on top of them, Grisham knocked out two guys and lightning quick took their rifles with him. As he barely dove behind a large boulder, shots came flying at him.

He was able to knock off two more with his shots, but three more are steadily advancing towards him. A rain of bullets attacked all around him. The sudden clicks of empty barrels from the bandidos prompted Grisham to leap up from hiding and a series of shots were aimed at the remaining men.

Gasping for breath, he looked to see the bloodshed all over Huntley's lair.

Bloodstains on the rocks and trees. The copper smell pervaded the humid air. Flies buzzing in crazy circles.

A sickeningly feeling overwhelmed him. He wondered what would Tessa's reaction be at the dead bodies scattered on the cracked earth. Blood seeped into the soil and in the heat it had started to thicken.

Disgust? Pain? Revulsion?

Before he could go on, he remembered he had a plan to carry out. Taking his weapons with him, he rode out towards Santa Helena.

"Marta! Marta!" Tessa's anxious cries brought Marta out of her room.

"Tessa! Thank goodness you're all right! Did they try to hurt you?" Marta frantically searched Tessa's face for some explanation to her capture.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Marta, what's going on at the pueblo!"

"It's horrible! As I was about to leave the hacienda I saw those bandidos going into Santa Helena."

"Oh my god. Did they see you?"

"No, it was too far away from them to see me. But the banddios! There were so many! They sound like a herd of cattle thundering on the plains."

"I have to go. Santa Helena needs me. They need the Queen."

"Tessa! There are more men than you can handle! How are you going to defeat them? You're going to be taken by The Hunter and your life will be in jeopardy! I can't willingly let you go out there to be taken by those devils."

Remembering Grisham's promise to her. It struck her how she never realized it before. It doesn't matter if Grisham was the Queen's enemy. When situations get desperate and life threatening, self-preservation takes over. But protecting the people that a person truly cared about overrules any rational thought. It is what's necessary not whether or not they get anything in return.

She knew she has a duty. It's her destiny. It's a part of who she is.

The echoing sounds of her father's voice came back to her.

My avenging angel. She will see justice is done.

Tessa replied in her newfound confidence.

"I won't. I promise."

After changing into the Queen's ebony costume, Tessa kissed Marta's cheek goodbye.

Watching the Queen's retreating back on her horse, her hair blowing valiantly behind her.

"You better come back safely, child, or else The Hunter will know the true fury of a woman's revenge." Marta's fierce vow resonated in the wind.

Seeing the bloody bodies of his men at their outposts, Grisham roared in anger at the damage done by The Hunter's bandidos. His soldiers never stood a chance.

Quickening the speed of the horse, Grisham reached the gates of Santa Helena only to see a familiar black figure greeting him.

Quietly he tiptoed up to her back and breathed into her ear.

"Trying to seize your chance at reaping in the leftovers?"

Whipping around Tessa grabbed his shoulders and brought her leg underneath him. The trip caught him by surprise and knocked the wind out of him.

Sticking her sword tip at his Adam's apple she inquired at his sudden appearance.

Inside, Tessa was glad that Grisham made out of the lair alive. Short of hugging him in relief, she bit back a smile.

"I was taken by The Hunter's men! I barely got out in time. I don't have the occasion to deal with you right now." Cringing at the sounds of war cries and children crying just beyond the walls, Grisham faced off the Queen's response.

"I am here to help, Grisham. The villagers need me. I am not going to just abandon them at the hands of The Hunter." Impatience edged in her voice.

"You know you can't do this all by yourself. I'm your only ally right now and I'm going to help whether you like it or not."

Tessa sighed at Grisham's truthful observance.

"Just don't get in my way." Before she turned around Tessa added. "If in any way that you betrayed my trust, I'll kill you in an instant."

"What stopped you before?" Grisham's questioned at her change of agenda.

But Tessa quietly crept away without reply.

However, Grisham's lightning quick movements blocked her way into the pueblo.

"I know a secret way to Montoya's office and I bet that's where The Hunter is. If we can take over the office and secure The Hunter we can threaten him to call his men off."

Tessa stared at him unconvinced at the proposal of the plan that seemed to come to him in this kind of desperate hour.

"Look! It's the best plan we got so far! You can't even take three feet without being brought down by those bandidos. So work with me for once alright?"

Exhaling a huge sigh, Tessa nodded weakly in acquiescence. It was fruitless to try to do this herself.

Although the Queen usually works alone, it is not the time to isolate herself against an enemy she knew deep down inside that she can't handle herself. Grisham is her only option right now and she intend to take it. She is seeing him with new eyes. This man before her, slightly battered, is still standing and willing to put aside their differences to fight a common evil. This was Grisham's own personal nightmare coming back to haunt him. The Hunter is as much his challenge to overcome as well as hers. Whatever the outcome of this battle will determine her future as the Queen. She can't go on with this fear and doubt inside her all time. Ever since that encounter with Grisham and his men on the cliffs, the horror of weakness and the exposure of potential dangers without any help, struck her more than she could ever imagined. The sudden thought rose goosebumps on her arms.

Replacing her sword back, Tessa reached down to grab Grisham's outstretched arm. The warmth of his large hand enveloped in hers cause a small tingle in the back of her spine. Tessa felt a surge of newfound strength flowing through her veins and her body temperature rose a little above normal. There's no going back on her resolve to end this nightmare that The Hunter started.

"Come on. It's this way." Grisham unbeknownst at the reaction he invoked from Tessa, led her toward Montoya's office.

Several unconcious bandidos later, they managed to sneak up behind the wall of the stone edifice where The Hunter holds Montoya prisoner.

Glancing past Grisham's taller frame, Tessa saw little Juanita, Jose's youngest daughter crying as she hugged tight against a wooden support beam. Chaos surrounded the small girl. Alarm seized Tessa's whole body; she couldn't let The Hunter's men take her away.

Following her gaze, Grisham saw Juanita as well hiding behind the beam. He knew the Queen is going to save her no matter what. Before he could stop her, she stepped out of their safety in the shadows. In her hurry, Tessa didn't notice a bandido menacingly brandishing a pistol aiming at her heart. Grisham had to shove her to the ground a few feet away. The bullet sped past by their heads in mere inches.

"Grisham!" Tessa turned her head up to see that he had already gotten off her and shot the bandido squarely in the head before the man could regain the upper hand.

Taking off without looking back, Grisham reached Juanita safely in time to take her safely in his arms. By this time, Tessa's instincts took over and remembering that she had a town to save, she ran back towards the backside of the building. Climbing gracefully up towards the terrace, she whipped her body behind a door as a bandido walked by. The bandido didn't know what hit him until it was too late. He blacked out as the Queen retreated behind the wall. She turned to see the half opened double doors, which revealed Huntley inside with Montoya tied to a chair. A shouting conversion boomed through the walls of the tiny room.

"You will never take my position as colonel of Santa Helena! I am the law around here and a beastly small-time bandido like you will not get away with this act of treachery."

"But what about the gold that you promised me! I take a few lives, ruined a few crops, rustle up enough damage so those Dons will have to beg you to take their money and lands to protect them. Instead, I get stuck with a wanted poster and a reward more than my share of the deal! You're the backstabbing bastard!" With that last word Huntley violently kicked out one of the leg of Montoya's chair. A thundering crash resulted with a howl of pain from the bonded colonel.

The slicing sound of a sword removed from its sheath pierced the air as Tessa knew that she better act quick or else a foul ruler even worse than Montoya is going to take over Santa Helena.

Shouting out a warrior cry, Tessa knocked away Huntley's sword and turned to face the murderer in her attack stance. She vaguely heard Montoya's whimpers in the far corner of the office. Remembering Grisham's sneaky ways of hiding extra weapons, she commanded Huntley to remove the extra dagger hiding in his boot. In one quick pass she removed a small pistol that would've surprised Senor Torres as well from Huntley's belt.

"Call your men off." Her voice even and quiet but there was a overflowing of immense threat that Huntley couldn't quite shake off.

"Have we met before?" Huntley's lips curled up to widened the fiendish smile he was infamous for.

"No." That question was enough to rattle Tessa's nerves but she pushed her suspicious thoughts aside.

"The Queen of Swords. What a nice surprise, Montoya didn't tell me how beautiful you are in person. It's no wonder that he wants you captured with your head on a spike."

"That was part of the deal too remember!" At this statement he addressed the injured colonel leaning awkwardly against his desk.

"Call your men off!" This time her shout was enough to make Montoya want to cover his ears, because his head seemed to want to combust.

"Nahh...that wouldn't be fun. Why don't you take a peek outside the window? This is so much better than sneaking around and robbing! This is the life! I am sure you understand." Huntley's glittering green eyes fill with glee and excitement.

Tessa cautiously positioned her sword at Huntley in case he tried anything, she looked outside to see a farmer being stabbed by several bandidos surrounding him. Montoya's soldiers was nowhere in sight.

No wait...a blue uniform appeared into her line of vision. That familiar dirty blonde head etched in Tessa's mind, Grisham was fighting out there, tooth and nail with no help. In just a few moments he was being shoved to the ground and punched in the stomach by a bandido and more were gathering around him.

A cloud of anger and a desire to kill swept Tessa over in a heat wave. The Queen was seeing red.

"I will kill you if you don't stop this carnage." A high kick to Huntley's head incited a shout of surprise and a curse from his cruel mouth.

"You can't kill me. I may have just met you, but I know more a lot about you than I let on, baby. We have more things in common than say our captain down there." Tessa sidestepped him as Huntley took a pace forward, invading her personal space.

"Try me." Her sword found the bundle of muscle in his leg. The sound of metal meeting flesh invaded the tiny room.

"AHHHHHHH! YOU BITCH!" His head quickly dropping down to see that the Queen had cut into the artery and thick blood was pooling fast around him.

"Now call your men off!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Desperation crept into her being, she had to get those bandits to stop, but if Huntley won't stop then how in the world can she do it?

The pounding sound of a hundred horses answered her question. A quick glance out the window, she saw the San Jose cavalry had marched just beyond the gates of Santa Helena. Their blue uniforms with shining swords at their sides were a relief. The good guys are here and The Hunter and his bandidos are going down.

Striding towards Huntley, she bent down to his eye level.

"You are wrong, Hunter, there's more to living than just murdering people. You were on the side of the good once, it was a long time ago, but you were good. Only God can save you now. But you will never be safe under the laws of men. I fight injustice, that's my purpose for living. You have no purpose and you will be punished for what you've done."

Taking a large step back she turned and fled out the doors of Montoya's office. A loud whistle from her sent Chico galloping towards the balcony. Leaping down she guided Chico out of the pueblo, but only after she saw the lifeless body of Grisham lying against his face in the village square.

The journey back to the hacienda was one in which her heart felt coldness and her mind swam with incoherent thoughts.

Rivulets of tears wet her lace mask and her hands shook slightly as her tight grasp on the reins was becoming too hard.

She made Chico ride faster than ever before and taking the long way home, Tessa's heart grieved for the enemy she had befriended.

Please don't hit me! Tomatoes and eggs being hurled at Judy and the occasional watermelon. I did what I had to. Just tune in to the next chapter. Hope y'all enjoy it. And I am already working on the next one!