The Midnight Hour
Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creator of Glee and Persona 3.
Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me! I do recommend this game and any games from the Persona series to anyone who enjoys Playstation and RPG's. If you are going to play this game though this fic has major spoilers!
Pairing: Rachel/Quinn
Rating: M
Chapter 3
Your True Power
4/17/09 –Japan
'Thud' 'Thud' 'Thud.' With each pound of my heart my head ached. I could hear it pounding, but I could not open my eyes. My lids were too heavy. I tried to recall what had happened to me. I remembered that I had been woken up in the middle of the night, dragged out of the dormitory, thrown into a battle in which a monster spawned from me, and then knocked unconscious. The last thing that I recalled was being in the blue room from my dream, The Velvet Room.
Finally, I managed to will my eyes open. Blinking them a few times in order to regain full mobility of them. Turning my head just slightly I could see Santana at my bedside.
"You're awake! Finally, it's been a whole week, how much sleep do you need Berry?" She asked, with a bright smile and some laughter.
I flashed her a smile.
"How do you feel?" She asked, quickly standing up and moving closer to me.
"I-I feel alright. My head hurts quite a bit." I muttered out softly under my breath. Glancing to the side my eyes landed on the tubes hooked up to my arm. "Where am I?"
Santana smiled; if I didn't know better I would have assumed that I saw genuine care and concern written across her face. She had never seemed overtly fond of me. "This is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station."
I accepted the answer allowing my eyes to close once more. "Am I going to be alright? I need to get back to school as soon as possible, in order to catch up on my studies, and—"
"—Seriously, you need to Chill, you could've died." This served to silence me, it was true. I should not be in such a hurry to get back to the busy life, when I could very easily have lost it completely. When I gave her a soft nod she smiled and shook her head at me. "The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted. But, you just kept sleeping and sleeping, you even had me worried."
"Really, you were worried about me Santana?"
"Not as worried as some, Q has been going crazy the last week. When she wasn't visiting you to see how you were doing, she was grilling me for putting you in that bed."
Cocking my head to the side as much as possible in the hospital bed, I gave her a look of disbelief. She did not think that this was somehow her fault, did she? "You cannot blame yourself for my current health; this is in no way your fault." I stated assuredly, but she still did not appear assured by my words as she rolled her brown eyes at me.
"Yeah, except it is my entire fault Berry. Quinn gave me specific orders to protect you, and what did I do? I stood by and watched you fight. Hell even if I had tried, I couldn't have fought like you. You've got some mad skills."
A light blush covered my cheeks at her compliments. I liked feeling accomplished, and I liked feeling that I was the best at something. If I tried to do something, I tried to do it to the best of my ability, no matter what it was. So, to know that I was a better fighter than her did give me a sense of pride, especially considering that I had little experience. Suddenly her words from earlier really sank in and I caught her eyes. "Wait, did you say that Quinn came and visited me in the hospital frequently over the duration of the last week?"
"Yeah, that girl really seems to appreciate watching you sleep." Santana stated bluntly, I did not quite understand what it meant, but it did cause my body to heat up further and my blush to undoubtedly intensify.
"I cannot believe that she would visit me, I did not even think that she remembered my name honestly." When I realized that I had been speaking out loud, I quickly silenced my thought process. I would take some time to truly think over what her visiting meant at a later time period. Perhaps I would even confront her about it. As I looked up at Santana I noticed that she was wearing a devious all-knowing smirk, and she had a raised eyebrow.
"Aint that something. Looks like Q isn't the only creeper."
My eyes widened. "Wait? What do you mean by that? Please do not tell her what I just said, I was merely shocked. It is not that I spend an excessive amount of time thinking about her, or watching her, or anything of the—"
"—Jeeze, chill Berry!" She snapped interrupting me.
Nodding my head I closed my lips tightly, still embarrassed by what I had admitted, as well as embarrassed by my defensiveness. 'Puck said she liked women though, so she probably doesn't mind… At least I hope not… what if she likes Quinn?' Pushing all of these conflicting and confusing thoughts to the back of my mind, I tried to focus on what had happened at the dormitory. Not that it was any less confusing.
Again I found myself remembering the night and those creatures attacking me. "What were those creatures?" I whispered.
Santana seemed to be thrown off by the random change of subject, but she caught on quickly. "Oh, you mean the Shadows?"
I nodded my head.
"They are kind of like demons, they are our enemy. They are what we are fighting against. That power that you used, we call it "Persona." We'll explain everything later."
"That would be much appreciated, I am rather confused." I said with a bright smile and a light chuckle.
She laughed. "Totally understandable. Oh and Berry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all of this before. I'm kind of like you."
"You mean that you have powers similar to mine? Unless you were truly attempting to commit suicide, I already caught on to—"
"No, I mean that I am alone. My dad died in an accident when I was little, and my mom and me aren't exactly on great terms. You're alone too right?"
My brown eyes widened as Santana opened up to me, I was shocked that she was opening up to me and also that she seemed to know about my past. About my parents' accident. How and why did she know that? "Yes, I am."
"To be honest, I already know about your past. But, it didn't seem fair that I knew so much about you, so I wanted you to know about mine."
"Thank you for opening up to me, Santana."
"Oh please, don't make this into something it's not Berry. I was just evening the playing field." It was obvious to me that she was saying that it wasn't a big deal, whilst meaning something completely different. She had wanted to tell someone, and she told me. Most likely because she knew that I could relate. 'Although I still do not understand how she knows about my parents…'
"Anyway, I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you woke up. Take it easy." With that she started toward the door, leaving me there with an overwhelming amount of things on my mind.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
A few hours after Santana's visit, the hospital had allowed me to leave. None of my other dorm-mates had come to visit me. Of course I was a bit disappointed by this, but I had not expected them to visit either. Now I was back at the dormitory laying in my single-sized bed, staring up at the ceiling, and listening to music and singing along with it. Singing was my passion; it was my main goal in life. After high school I wanted to become a famous singer.
An abrupt knocking on my door jolted me out of the zone that I often got into whilst singing. Moving from my bed I made my way toward the door, curious as to who it could be. It was getting rather late. 'Probably just Santana here to pretend that she doesn't care about me, whilst secretly checking on me…' I smiled at the thought.
I was genuinely surprised when it was not the Latina, and completely astonished to find that it was Quinn. Hastily my calm demeanor changed to one of nervous shyness. I was not proud of how I acted when I was in her presence, but I could not will myself to act differently.
"Um, hello Quinn." I mumbled, unable to meet her gaze as a blush covered my cheeks. Instead I found myself staring at that long perfect neck and imagining—'No! Rachel! No!' I internally chastised myself.
Luckily she appeared to be as nervous as I myself was. "Hello Rachel." She said, leaving me to stand there and awkwardly attempt to start a conversation. Usually that was no problem for me, but right now I couldn't find my voice.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I finally glanced up at her and said the only thing that I could think to. "Was there something that you needed?"
Now that I was looking at her, I realized that she was wearing a blush that undoubtedly matched my own; I found that it was adorable. She was so pale that it was very dark along her high-cheekbones and down her long neck. A smile formed on my full lips realizing that it had taken her a moment to comprehend what I had said and think about a response, and as her hazel eyes met my large brown I nearly fainted. 'Okay… probably being overdramatic but my god… her eyes are… wow…'
"I just wanted to see how you were fairing after your accident." Her voice was slow and deliberate, I could tell that she was being genuine with her words and it caused my heart to pound quickly.
'She actually came to check on me… because she was worried? Oh god, maybe what Santana was saying wasn't just teasing after all… Maybe Quinn actually could like me? Rachel, don't get ahead of yourself… She is probably just being nice.' "Aw, you are checking up on me Quinn?" I teased, watching amusedly as the blush deepened.
She broke eye-contact now, coughing into her hand. "Well, yes. You were hurt and I was checking up on you. Is that a problem?"
Sensing her defensiveness, I quickly tried to alleviate it and show her how much I actually appreciated what she had done. "No, of course not Quinn." Pausing I moved just a step closer, twisting my head a little so that I could see her eyes. "In fact, I find it rather sweet of you, and I am genuinely appreciative." Standing back up straight I added. "Also, I am fairing quite nicely, all things considered."
After a few moments she looked back at me, the blush had for the most part disappeared. "I am relieved to hear that. I was worried."
I smiled brightly to try and cheer her up, she always looked so sad. "I am fine Quinn, but thank you so much for checking on me. It means the world to me."
"No need to thank me." Quinn said, offering me a small smile. "I should probably get going."
I nodded, understandingly. And then she was gone.
My heart was still thudding so violently against my chest that I was terrified it would break my ribcage, but I could finally let out the breath that I had apparently been holding. Falling back onto the bed I allowed a large, more than likely cheesy, smile to spread across my face as I squealed out. It had taken a concussion, but I finally got Quinn to talk to me.
4/18/09 –Japan
Arriving at my first class, I could not help but smile brightly. I was still on a high from my talk with Quinn. I had slept better than ever the night prior, despite my nightmares. Immediately upon entering the classroom I was met by Santana.
"Morning."
"Good morning, Santana." I responded with a bright grin.
"Considering you were just practically in a coma you seem to be doing pretty damn well." She noted, with a suspicious look on her face. This caused me to blush. How did she always seem to read through me? She couldn't possibly know that it was because of—"
"—Quinn's visit must of really cheered you up." She smirked mischievously.
Confusion crossed my face. "How did you know about that?"
"I have my ways."
"Are you stalking me Santana? I mean, I knew that you were interested in women, but I did not think that I was your type." I teased, knowing that it would bother her. I loved picking on her, almost as much as she loved picking on me. I was grateful for her friendship.
"What? Hell nah! I am way more into tall blondes, not brunette midgets."
I was unable to suppress the jealousy that I felt, and I knew that she could see it as my body shook and my heart raced. All of a sudden I felt sick to my stomach. 'Does that mean that Santana does like Quinn…? Rachel calm down, she isn't yours or anything, and Santana is a friend…'
"Oh jeeze, calm your tits Berry. I wasn't talking about Q. She is all yours. I just meant in general." She rolled her brown eyes.
I let out a breath of relief, lifting a hand to my chest. "Thank goodness."
"Yeah, anyway, not to add this to your worries, but Mr. Schuester wants to talk to you today."
"What does he wish to speak to me about?" I asked, but I had a feeling that I already knew the answer to the question. Her look told me that I definitely did.
"You already know." I nodded. "Just meet us at the fourth floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget."
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Arriving at the dormitory I looked around the main lobby, it was completely empty. This was a common occurrence, but tonight was different, I could feel it. Throughout the school day I had been thinking over what Santana had told me, and it seemed to cancel out my happiness from the conversation with Quinn. I was curious to understand more, of course, but also terrified to know more.
Moving toward the stairs I started up them. She had told me to meet him on the fourth floor, until today I had never been past the second floor. Just at the top of the staircase, where the fourth floor began, Santana was waiting for me.
"There you are! People have been waiting!"
"I apologize; I decided to collect all of the homework that I had missed after my final class so that I could get caught up."
"Of course you did." She laughed, leading me toward a room I was unfamiliar with. "Come on." Opening the door, Santana allowed me to enter first. My eyes widened as I was met by all of my other dorm-mates, surrounded by computer monitors displaying all areas of the city and dormitory. Quinn, Sam, and Will, were all seated at a round table in the center of the room, on the table there was a briefcase. I furrowed my brow and bit down on my full bottom lip as I stared at the briefcase, suddenly wishing that I had X-ray vision in order to see what was inside.
"Ah, there you are." Will greeted with a smile, a smile that I did not trust. "I am glad that you are okay."
I cautiously walked closer to the table, still unsure if I should be seated or not. This was strange. It was almost as if they were about to give me an intervention for a drug addiction, at least on television this is what it looked like. Obviously, I knew that wasn't the case, but this was still odd.
"The reason I asked you here, is because I needed to talk to you. Please have a seat."
Doing as I was told I sat down across from him. My eyes wandered to Quinn, but she immediately looked away when I looked in her direction. 'Hm… Strange...' I did not say anything, merely awaited his explanation for the meeting.
"Okay." He started, crossing his hands and leaning his chin against them. My eyes landed on his. "Let me start off by asking you this. Would you believe me, if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"
It sounded as though it was a trick question, but it couldn't be, could it? There were only 24 hours in a day. "Of course not, that would be quite the silly statement considering that there are 24 hours in a day." I muttered, noticing the smirk that appeared on Quinn's pink lips from out of the side of my eye. I wondered if she was smiling at my supposed ignorance, or smiling because she found my assured self-confidence appealing. Either way, it was a smile.
I took a moment to look around at all of them, and I noticed that they were all smiling. "Is there something I am missing, because I am fairly certain that I am correct in this affirmation."
Quinn chuckled under her breath and this caught my attention, I snapped my head in her direction watching as her amused hazel eyes shimmered. "I am not surprised by your reaction, I was the same way." She stated. "However, you have already experienced the truth firsthand."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the night that you came here?" I nodded firmly at the question; I could remember it vividly to this day. It had been terrifying. "You had to have noticed the signs. The streetlights went out, nothing was working, there were coffins everywhere. Didn't you feel like you were in a different time?"
For a moment I was genuinely astounded that she knew what I had seen, did that make it a reality and not a dream? Did that mean that she had seen similar apparitions? "I am uncertain I would describe it that way. It felt more like a dream to me, a different world altogether." I admitted.
"Understandable." Quinn responded. "That is the Dark Hour—a time period hidden between one day and the next."
This served to further confuse me, how could there be an extra hour between one day and the next that no one aside from us was aware of? How could any of this be possible? "What do you mean when you say that it is hidden?"
Will interrupted the blonde, to my disappointed. I loved hearing her voice, it was definitely unique. "I guess it is more like something people aren't aware of. But, the Dark Hour does exist. It occurs each night, as the clock strikes twelve."
"I don't really understand." I said, defeated. I hated feeling like I was the only one who did not comprehend what was going on.
Will smiled at me. "I know how you feel. Who would believe such a story? But, the Dark Hour occurs each night. It will happen tonight, and every night to come."
"Normal folks don't realize it, since they're all sleeping inside their coffins." Sam added, probably trying to help me grasp the concept. "But, that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting, you saw those creatures right?"
"Yes, I did."
"We call them "shadows." They only appear during the Dark Hour, and they attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to kill them. Exciting, huh?" He asked and he legitimately appeared thrilled at the concept of risking his life in order to kill these creatures. Perhaps it was a hero-complex, but it looked more like a death-wish. Sam was definitely intrigued by fighting. I was not. I exorcised to keep in shape and healthy in order to achieve my dreams, not in order to kill monsters in an unknown hour.
Quinn glared in Sam's direction, the young man shrugging his shoulders and giving her a lopsided grin. Hazel eyes then made their way to me. "The aim is not to get yourself injured." I felt as if those words may have pertained the most to me, and it made me blush slightly.
Santana's words did not help. "Yeah, Q would probably die if anything happened to you, who would she watch sleep?"
"Santana." The blonde growled out under her breath. It should have been terrifying but I found myself growing aroused by the way that her voice sounded. Now I was certain that my entire face was painted a dark red as I glanced down at my lap, fiddling with my hands uncomfortably.
"Now, now. Everybody calm down." Will mediated between us all, causing everyone to stop speaking. Then he peered back across the table at me. "Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Quinn is the leader and I am the club advisor."
It did not surprise me that Quinn was the leader of the group, out of Sam, Santana, and herself, she seemed the most level-headed and collected. At least from what I had seen so far. Not to mention she was nearly scary with her assertiveness.
"What do these shadows do? Why are we fighting them?" I thought aloud, eyebrows knit together.
"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. These creatures are responsible for most of the incidents you hear around school and on the news, if not all of them." Quinn informed me. I could now understand the conversation that the two gossiping girls had been having; they were talking about these people who had literally lost their minds. That was horrible. No wonder we had to fight them.
"That is horrifying, no wonder you choose to fight them." I said, still staring directly at Quinn. "How do you defeat them?"
Will took over the conversation once more. "Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's "Persona"—the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means the likelihood of all other humans is up to you guys."
That was a lot to take in. The weight of the entire human race was in our hands, on my shoulders? I was Rachel Berry, always up for a challenge, but this challenge seemed far too impossible for even me.
"I see. That sounds like a rather tough responsibility for us to take on, but it does sound necessary."
"I'm glad you're quick to understand." Will said.
Quinn moved to a standing position and my eyes focused in on her, I tried to only watch what she was doing, but I got slightly distracted by her beauty. I had never seen anyone who looked like her. The way that her long sleeved white collared shirt clung to her upper body, and her black skirt revealed a small expanse of her pale thighs. Noticing that she was opening the briefcase I forced my eyes away from her and onto the case. Inside there was a gun like the one that Santana had the other night.
"What he's trying to say is." The beautiful blonde stretched her words as she reached into the briefcase taking out the gun, handing it to me. "We want you to join us. We've prepared an evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength, Rachel."
Our eyes met and I was lost, gone, I could not say no. I wanted to do anything in order to help this woman, in order to keep her happy and smiling. Nodding my head I agreed to join them reaching out and taking the gun from her. My body heating immediately at the slight contact our hands made, I wished that I could linger longer, but I did not dare do so. Pulling my hand away I held the gun, realizing that it felt as if it had been molded perfectly for my hand.
Quinn smiled. "Thank you, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. You can always come to my room and talk with me."
My head snapped up and I was now blushing brightly. 'Oh my god, did she just invite me back to her bedroom… invite me to go to her bedroom at any time?'
"Did you hear that Berry? Q wants you to come by her room later tonight." Santana said from her chair, winking in my direction.
"Shut up, Santana." Quinn once again growled out and I felt myself nearly go weak at the knees. All of this was far too overwhelming. The blonde quickly tried to alleviate the situation. "That is not how I meant it Rachel, I just meant—"
"—It is alright, Quinn." I said, lifting my chin up high, finding my inner-confidence. "I may just have to take you up on that offer." Flashing her a smirk, it was her turn to blush brightly as she returned to her seat. Glaring over at Santana who looked down right smug. I hated to admit it, but even I felt a little smug, causing someone so strong and intimidating to react in such a manner.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
"Hi, how are you." A familiar high-pitched voice sang out through the darkness of my nightmare, suddenly I was in my room again. Waking up in my single-bed, but I was not alone in the room, the lighting around us was dim and almost fuzzy. I must still be dreaming, or in the Dark Hour, I supposed.
Hearing an eerie chuckle I glanced to the right of me, seeing that same boy with the pale skin and the clear blue eyes from my day of arrival at the dormitory. He was sitting on the edge of the bed.
Sitting up in the bed I held the covers over myself and backed up against the headboard. "This is an invasion of my privacy, how did you get in here?"
His smile stretched clear across his face. "I am always with you." I did not say anything in response to this; my heart was hammering away in my chest as I tried to decipher his words to no avail. How was he always with me? I had only seen him three times before. His smile continued to stretch; I feared it would consume him entirely. "Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."
"The end? The end of what exactly?"
His laughter echoed off of the walls. "The end of everything. But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."
I grew terrified now. "You mean that the apocalypse is coming?"
He ignored my question entirely. "It looks like you have awakened to your power. An unusual power it is. A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none… It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up." With that he disappeared, and then in a flash he had reappeared in front of the door to my dorm room. Placing a hand on the doorknob he looked at me over his shoulder. "Do you remember when we first met?"
All that I could think to do at this point was nod.
"I expect you to honor your commitment. I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me." He turned back to the door. "See you later."
Then he vanished.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Authors Note
I got quite a few more reviews last time, so I decided to update quickly. This chapter is only slightly longer than the last, but I wanted to leave it at a cliffhanger.
If you want to read more than send me some reviews, I love getting feedback. It really does help me continue adding chapters. If I get enough reviews, I will make the next chapter twice as long as this one. ;p
Regardless, I am glad that you are all enjoying this story. I thank each and every one of you.
You all are perfect.
