A/N I hope you guy's like this chapter. I found it real hard to write. As you will see when you read it.
To dogbertcaroll, I really didn't even think that you would like the chapter Hot Like Fire. But I'm glad you did. And I agree , poor Dru.
To eckles I'm extremely happy you like my story.
To Abuhin Yes Faith is coming into play very soon. lol Also Joyce doesn't know about Buffy yet. Since they never had that argument about them finding Kendra dead like they did on the show, she never told her mom about her night life. As for Dawn knowing, I don't know, the show hinted that she might have found out about Buffy before her mom did.
To Shawn P I'm glad you are enjoying this. What was your favorite part of chapter 19 and what was your favorite chapter?
This part of the fanfic takes place a few days before season three starts. So it's the ending of Summer.
Chapter 20
Quickning's, Witches, and Faith pt.1
"And you're sure you don't mind keeping her for awhile?" Sheila asked Joyce.
"Of course not." Joyce answered back with a smile on her face. She was more then happy to keep Dierdre. She was very fond of the girl and she was happy that Dawn had another little friend. "But just how long are you and the kids going to be gone?" she asked.
"Just for a few days." Sheila answered with a smile. "I just have a little business to handle in New Mexico and den we'll be back."
With that said Sheila said goodbye to Joyce and Dierdre. Getting back in her car she drove back to her house and picked up Xander and Kendra.
As they get in the car and drive off, Xander finally asks Sheila the question he's been dying to ask her.
"So what business do we really have going to New Mexico?"
Sheila let out a sigh as she looked in the adjustible mirror of the car and saw Xander smirking madly at her. With a smile of her own she begins to explain herself.
"Another Immortal found out dat I'm in de states, so he challenged me to de game."
"What's de game?" Kendra asked as she leaned forward in her seat.
"Yeah it doesn't sound like he challenged you to Dungeons and Dragons, so spill." Xander said as he too leaned forward.
"De game is a challenge when another Immortal fights another one to de death. When one Immortal takes dee head of another dey get what is called the quickening." Sheila explained.
"Wait, wait, wait... to the death?" Xander asked. "Stop the car now, I'm not going to let you go out and possibly get killed. I'm not going to lose you for some stupid game." Xander declared.
"Dat's very sweet of you to say." Sheila said as a tear threatened to fall from her eye. It was still amazing to her that Xander could be so noble but come from such a messed up family. "But I have to except de challenge. If I don't, de Immortal Syrius, will come to Sunnydale to confront me and I for one can't put Dierdre at risk."
"So dat's why you wouldn't let her come?" Kendra asked. Sheila just nodded her head.
"I have another question." Xander said getting Sheila's attention. "What is the quickening?"
"Dat's de whole reason why Immortal's started de game in de first place. De way Duncan explained it to me, every Immortal has a special gift or talent. So when we take a head of another Immortal we gain dare knowledge." Sheila explained as she looked in the mirror at Xander again.
"Don't worry so much Xander, I know I'm going to win." Sheila said trying to raise his spirits.
"I'm going to fucking make sure of that." Xander muttered under his breath. With Kendra's slayer hearing she heard, Xander's muttering and silently agreed with him. But one more thing troubled her.
"Den why are we coming with you?" Kendra asked.
"Because..." Sheila started off sadly. "If I lose, I need somebody to identify me body. Don't worry though, if I do die, I left a will. I left you and Xander everythin' I own. Dat way you can properly raise Dierdre and take care of yourselves."
"I don't think you understand." Xander said as he put a hand on Sheila's shoulder. "We don't care about the money and we aren't going to raise Dierdre. You are. You're her mother now and you've been like a big sister to me and Ken." Xander said as a tear fell from his eye. "We're a family now and no matter what we're not going to lose you."
"He's right." Kendra said not looking at them. "When me Watcher died, you were there for me. Do you remember when I used to wake up late at night, with nightmares about Mr. Zabuto?" Kendra asked. Not waiting for an answer she continues.
"I used to cry on your shoulders for hours until I fell asleep. Dat's what a real family does for each other. And Dat's why we're not going to lose you."
With Xander's and Kendra's declaration, the rest of the drive was done so in silence. As they checked into a hotel, Sheila put on Xander's duster and grabbed her Katana.
"Wish me luck." she said to them over her shoulder as she dissappeared out the door. Xander and Kendra gave each other a look and grabbed some weapons they had brought and followed her.
Several times Sheila thought that she was being followed. Quickly dismissing it as paranoia she walked down the alley that she and the other Immortal had agreed upon.
"Sheila Monroe, just as beautiful as ever." a man said as he stepped out of the shadows. He was a white male, about five foot eight wearing all black. He carried a Celtic flame sword which he was dragging the tip of along the ground. The friction from the blade and the ground made sparks fly up and it caused an eerie metallic sound to fill the air.
"Syrius Webbs, just as ugly as ever." Sheila said with a smirk. "Let's just cut de chit- chat and get down to business." Sheila said as she whipped her sword out of her duster.
"My kind of woman." Syrius said with a shark like smirk. "All play and no talk." he said as he ran to her and they started to sword fight.
Several times it seemed as though Sheila would lose the battle and several times Xander wanted to stand up from his position behind the dumpster and shoot Syrius in the head.
The two Immortals seemed to be evenly matched, but the fight was quickly ended when Sheila did a quick spin and thrust her sword behind her. As the blade went cleanly through Syrius he fell off of the blade and went to his knees. Turning she disarmed him. Before anyone could react Sheila's sword arced out and severed the head of Syrius.
What happened next shocked Kendra and Xander, even though they were used to seeing odd things. A white mist flowed out of the Syrius's corpse and over to Sheila, followed by bolts of lighting. The young hunters quickly ducked back behind the dumpster to avoid being hit, whereas Sheila simply stood where she was and let the bolts strike her.
A few minutes later the lighting stopped and Sheila slumped over a little as the power dissipated. Sheila then quickly wiped off the blade of her sword and was about to leave the alley when she saw Kendra and Xander running towards her.
"Damn," Sheila said as took in the shocked looks of the two. "What are you kids doin' here?" she asked.
"Making sure you were going to win." Xander said with a smile as he whipped out a pistol from his jacket. "Now let's get you back to the hotel." he said as he and Kendra grabbed either side of her and helped her out of the alley.
As they got back to the hotel, Xander had an odd craving.
"Guy's I'm going to go to the store and get some Twinkies." Xander said as he stood to his feet.
"Do any of you want anything?" he asked. They shook their heads no, so he walked out of the door.
"What do you mean, you don't sell Twinkies?" Xander asked as he went to the nearest convenience store. A store without Twinkies just didn't seem right to him.
"I'm sorry son." the old man replied. "But the nearest place that sell's Twinkies is at a store in Shelbyville."
"Shelbyville." Xander said as he started to scratch his head. "How far is that?"
As the old man gave Xander directions, he quickly jumped into the car and drove off into the night.
"That'll be 2.38." the cashier told Xander as he walked up with his Twinkies. Paying for his purchase and grabbing the box, Xander turned around and bumped into somebody.
"I'm sorry." Xander immediately blurted out. The girl he bumped into was cute and had long dirty blonde hair.
"N... n...no, it was my fault." the girl stuttered out as she started to pick up her books. Always the gentleman, Xander helped her.
"My name is Xander by the way." he said as he handed her a book.
"T...Tara." Tara said looking up at him. Then Xander saw bruises on her arm. Those were the same kind of bruises that his dad used to give him. Noticing that Xander was looking at her arm, Tara suddenly stands up.
"I...I have t...to go." Tara stuttered out as she ran from the store.
"Tara wait!" Xander called after her holding a book in his hand. "You forgot your..." then looked down and read the books title. 'Witch Craft a book of Earth Magick.'
Luckily for Xander when he opened up Tara's book, he found her address inside. Getting directions from the cashier and seeing that it wasn't far he decided to go to her home.
Xander watched the scenery go by and saw that he was going in a more rundown area. Ignoring that fact and never one to judge, Xander pulled into Tara's family farm and walked up to the door.
As he was about to knock on the door he heard screaming, coming from the inside of the house. Not just any scream, he recognized it to be Tara's. Closing his eyes he began to hear a belt connecting to flesh and then he would hear another scream. Thinking back to his own past he thinks about all the times his father beat him. With each thought he is having, he hears Tara's screams of pain.
With anger that the Gods themselves would fear, Xander snapped his eyes open and rushed at the door.
As Tara lay prone on the floor from another one of her father's beatings, the front door suddenly explodes off of it's hinges. Opening a swollen eye she looks up and see's that it's the boy she met at the store.
"Who the hell are you." Jed Maclay, Tara's father asked the intruder. Before he could so much as move the boy was on him. As Xander punched him repeatedly in the stomach, he raised his fist and struck him on the chin sending him to the floor.
Before Xander could continue his assault, Tara watched as her brother Donny ran up behind Xander and tackled him. Going with the flow of the move, Xander bounced back on his feet and did a spin kick on Donny, that sent him sprawling to the floor.
Seeing that none of them were geting up anytime soon, Xander ran over to Tara.
"Look Tara." Xander said as he helped her to her feet. "I know you don't know me, but you're not safe here. Just trust me and I can take you someplace safe."
With a tear in her eye Tara leaned on him for support and looked at her brother and father on the floor. As the tear fell she began to think of all the pain and horror she had to endure, because of them. Then she looked up into Xander's eye's and saw how warm and inviting they were. Her decision made she leaned on him even more.
"Okay." she said weakly. Seeing that Tara was in no condition to walk, Xander picked her up and carried her out to the car.
As the two drove for about ten minutes they were then pulled over by a police officer.
"Xan...Xander..." Tara stuttered worriedly as she recognized the officer getting out of the squad car.
"It's going to be alright, Tara." Xander said with a smile. "It's just a police officer."
"Officer I'm glad you're here." Xander said as he got out of the car. "I..."
"You're under arrest." the officer interrupted him as he pulled out a gun.
"What the hell for?" Xander asked as he held his hands up.
"For breaking and entering and for kidnapping." he replied as he slapped the cuffs on Xander.
"B...but Sheriff Dan..."
"But nothing Tara!" the sheriff said with a glare in her direction. "Your father was worried sick about you, now get in the car!"
"I know I get at least one phone call." Xander said as he paced around the jail cell.
"If it wasn't the law you wouldn't get a damn thing." Sheriff Dan sneered as he opened the cell.
"Now get out and make your damn call." without another word Xander went to the phone and called Sheila. Quickly letting her know what was going on, she told him that she would be there within the hour.
Going back to his cell, he sends over a reassuring smile towards Tara. A smile that doesn't go unnoticed.
"Why the hell are you smiling at my little girl?" Jed Maclay asked as he and his son walk into the sheriff's office. "Sheriff I want you to charge him with assualt too." Jed said pointing at his son's bruised jaw.
"Whatever you say Jed." the sheriff said as he sat back in his chair and smiled. "By the way, some of his folks will be here in awhile. Why don't you stay?" Jed just smiled at that as he sat down beside Tara.
45 minutes later
Sheila and Kendra quickly entered the police station and immediately felt eyes staring at them.
"Miss how may I help you?" the sheriff asked with a smile as he stared at Sheila's boobs. 'Oh yes they were nice indeed.'
"Firstly me face is up here." Sheila informed him. The sheriff then tore himself away from his sacred duty of eye molesting her boobs and looked up at her.
"Oh sorry." he said half - heartedly. "Now how may I help you?"
"I hear dat you have me charge in jail. His name is Alexander Harris."
When she said this the sheriff's smile turned into a scowl.
"Jed get in here!" the sheriff shouted. After a few seconds Jed, Donny, and the now crying Tara entered the room. He had just got done explaining to Tara in detail what he was going to do to her when he got home.
"So you must be that punk's guardian?" Jed asked with a sneer. Sheila's eye twitched at that. 'Oh if only he were another Immortal.' she thought to herself.
"What did dat punk..." Sheila emphasized the last word. "do and when can I see him?"
"Well he broke into my house!" Jed growled. "And he assualted me and my son."
"I wonder why?" Sheila asked as she took in the battered form of Tara. She too remembered when she had bruises like that. Tara looked up at her quickly and then hid her face back behind a curtain of hair.
"Are you accusing me of something lady?" Jed asked getting her point.
"Xander would never do dat." Kendra suddenly said with a shake of her head. "Not without a reason."
"Well he did break into my house and assault me and my son." Jed said as he turned a glare in Kendra's direction. "Isn't that right Tara?" he asked as he turned to his daughter.
Tara was about to lie for her father, but then suddenly seemed to change her mind. She stood there, shaking with fear, but raised a defiant eye to her father. "N... NO."
"What did you say?" her father asked angrily.
"I said N...No." she said again as she looked him in the eyes.
His eyes widened with anger and he pulled back his hand and struck her, sending the blonde girl to the ground.
With the speed of lightning, Kendra ran forward and lifted Jed off the ground by the scruff of his shirt.
"Dat's not how you should treat your daughter." Kendra said coldly, while staring into his eyes. Then she heard the sound of a hammer been pulled back on a gun behind her.
"Little lady..." the sheriff started off, still in shock by her strength and speed. "I would put him down if I were you." he said as he stepped closer to her. "That's just how we raise our youngen's down here."
"Is that a fact." a new voice said behind them. Turning they all saw that it was another sheriff.
"Sheriff, Jason Philps." Officer Dan said as he holstered his gun. "You're out of your jurisdiction ain't you?"
"I would be." Sheriff Philps said as he came fully into the room. "But the governor asked me to come down here to see what's going on."
"Well as you can see..." Dan said motioning around the room. "There's nothing going on. Now you should be on your way..."
"The way I do see it." Philps said as he took out his gun. "Is that a man is in here abusing his daughter and a young man saved her from that. Ahhh ahhh ahhh." Philps said as he leveled his gun on Dan. "I wouldn't try to use that gun if I were you."
After arresting Sheriff Dan for city wide corruption and other charges, Philps also arrested Jed for child abuse and for the murder of Tara's mother. That is after they did a search of his house and found Tara's mother's diary and from the testimony from Tara herself.
"How did you guys get the governor to do all of this?" Xander asked as he was let out of the cell.
"Sheila's an old friend of de governor here." Kendra said as she smiled at him.
"You alway's have to play de hero, don't you?" Kendra asked referring to Tara.
"Yeah." Xander said sheepishly as he ran his hand through his hair. "How is she anyway?"
"She's fine." Sheila said as she walked up to the two. "Now why don't you two go to de bus station and go back to Sunnydale. I tink we've done enough here." she said with a smile in Xander's direction.
"I'll finish tings here with Tara and I'll meet you back home." she said as she walked off. Xander and Kendra give each other a shrug, got a ride from one of Sheriff Philps deputies and went back to the hotel and packed.
Three days before chapter 20
Boston Mass.
Warehouse district
"So Faith." Kakistos said as he ran a cloved hand down her beautiful face. "Did you really think you and your Watcher..." he looked behind him at Faith's now dead Watcher Linda. Her body was now a mangled mess of meat and blood. And her face was cut up so badly that you could barely recognize her as a woman at all. For two days he had been torturing the poor woman, getting off on her screams. He didn't touch Faith though, he merely made her watch so he could break her spirit.
"...could get away from me?" Kakisto's said. "Now it's your turn." he said with an evilish smile as he opened up her cage. Once Kakisto's grabbed her legs Faith began to scream and kick, uselessly at him.
"Come now Faith..." the thousand year old greek vampire said with an amused smile. "Where's that warrior Linda raised...?"
At the mention of her dead Watcher's name Faith screamed. Not the one of fear but the one of an animal. Getting out of his grasp she took a large piece of glass, the same one he used to cut up her Watcher, and plunged it onto the left side of his face. Using all the strength she could muster, she swiped it on his face, cutting it up pretty badly.
With a roar, Kakisto's swung blindly at her as he covered his face with his other hand. Getting up off of the floor, Faith dropped the piece of glass and ran past her tormentor. Grabbing a huge machetee off of a nearby table she decapitated a vampire that was coming for her.
Spin kicking another one she ran from the warehouse.
'I have to get to Sunnydale.' Faith thought to herself. Before they were captured by Kakisto's, Linda had told her about the other Slayer Buffy Summers. "Maybe if I can get there, she can help me." Faith said as she dissappeared into the darkness.
"Sir, Faith has escaped." Trick said as he came into the room and bowed before his sire.
"I can see that you fool!" Kakisto's bellowed in outrage. "She will be found at any cost. She's going to pay for what she did to me." he said as he dropped his hand from his face. Which now was a bloody, mangled mess.
TBC...
Please review...
Ohhh Faith and Tara, what's going to happen next?
A/N since Faith got her powers earlier then she was supposed to, she engaged Kakisto's earlier. Also I'm sorry that I had to kill off her Watcher, but I couldn't help it. I also decided to keep what happened to her partly the same like it was on the show.
Also I wanted Tara to be a part of the story. Why? You'll just have to read some more chapter's then want you.
Also if you like Kendra stories then read a story on here called Here & Now by Koyasha. I think it's awesome. It's in my favorites section under my penname. Also BAKAMAN if you are reading this, like I said before send me your email address so we can talk about my story Problems with the Soul. I also have other stories I could be telling you about that are in the works.
