I am so sorry for the delay. I almost had it up before I left on vacation, but I got time crunched. Then due to hurricane Irene I was stuck out of the country for an extra four days because airports closed :/ Not that you want to hear excuses lol. In attempt to make it up, this chapter is my longest so far I believe. Thank you all for your support on this story, it really means a lot, and a special thanks for my regular reviewers, you know who you are and you rock. Now on with the story!
The sun was beginning to set, and Quinn was feeling her eyes get heavy and her mind less alert. To say the past twelve hours drained her was an understatement. It wasn't everyday that you get attacked and then have to go into hiding. She rubbed at her temples, still processing the recent events. It is unbelievable that the day Santana and her talked about, for probably years, has arrived. She knew it was coming. To say that they would be well hidden for the rest of their lives and be normal would be incredibly naive. Normal is not something written in her life dictionary.
Watching the dark shadows stretch across the porch, she was reminded of Santana, and began to wonder how she was taking it. Between the two of them, Santana was definitely the most mentally prepared. Hell, she would rant for hours how she couldn't wait to kick Titan ass, usually resulting in a mild argument with her parents. She laughed humorlessly. Well, you got what you wished for, she thought, and almost got yourself killed. She frowned thinking of her friend's injury, but the cut wasn't what worried her, it was the power the Titan used against her. It was like nothing she had ever seen. What other powers do these Titans possess? She shivered at the thought of facing more then one like him. She flicked a small pebble and watched it skip down the walkway. At least they had Brittany now. The bubbly blonde was definitely a welcomed addition to their circle, and she smiled at the happiness she brought Santana. Maybe they did have a fighting chance.
Quinn stood up and stretched her spine. She would be more then happy to keep patrol, but being tired wouldn't help anyone, and not to mention she was becoming ridiculously bored. There is only so much entertainment in walking laps around the cabin and sitting on the front porch, becoming the new local diner for mosquitos. She slapped another winged beast that landed on her arm in disgust. Brushing the insect guts of her arm, she wondered if mosquitos liked descendant blood better or not. Chuckling, she imagined the pesky bugs getting all hyped up with powers. "And that is my cue to find Santana." Quinn stated out loud, heading back into the cabin.
She approached the bedroom door and knocked lightly, not entirely surprised with the lack of response. She cracked the door slowly, finding the blonde and brunette curled up against each other in a deep sleep. If she wasn't so tired and slightly irritated, she would find this cute. Instead, Quinn touched her hand to Santana's unusually calm face and sparked it with a grin.
Santana jolted, feeling the sting from Quinn. She sat up wildly holding the comforter against her chest, forming fire in her hands, until her eyes narrowed on Quinn. "Jesus, Q! A simple wake the fuck up would have been just fine! You scared the shit out of me." She harshly whispered, trying to convey her anger and not wake the blonde next to her, who begin to stir slightly.
"Tough, Lopez. I've been keeping an eye out all evening, and I'm tired. It's your turn to patrol. You slept like all day." Quinn stated, crossing her arms.
"I wouldn't say sleep." Santana smirked.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know. Which is why I don't feel bad at all. So I am going to go take a shower and then pass out until morning. You cover the night shift. You like it anyways, so don't even argue." She tapped her fingers along the door frame, and then made her exit.
Santana exhaled loudly, not really wanting to leave the warm bed, but knew it was for their own good. She turned her gaze to Brittany, watching her chest rise and fall gently, her face relaxed with sleep. She bit her lip, debating whether or not to wake her up. Brittany would probably be pissed if she woke up to see her patrolling without her. Mind made up, she gently caressed the blonde's face, causing her sapphire eyes to make an appearance. A lazy smile graced her face seeing Santana looking down at her. "Um, morning?" Brittany questioned.
Santana laughed lightly. "Nope. It's the beginning of the night. I'm going to take over for Quinn on patrol. Do you want to come with me?"
Brittany sat up, rubbing at her bleary eyes. "Yeah. Of course, San."
The two made themselves decent and headed out. Santana knocked on the bathroom door, signaling to Quinn they were up. They stepped out into the crisp night air and looked into the vast blackness of the forest. The trees rustled with a slight breeze, and an owl could be heard in the distance.
Brittany shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and instinctively shuffled closer to Santana. "Not gonna lie, but this place is kind of creepy at night."
Santana placed an arm around Brittany's waist. "I think it's peaceful. I feel at home with the shadows. Like no one can touch me."
Brittany grinned. "You would say that."
"I'll keep you safe, how's that?" Santana opened her palm revealing fire, giving themselves some light. "There, now we can see a bit better. Let's walk the perimeter. Stay close, alright?"
They trekked in circles for about an hour, and convinced there was no one around, Santana took a seat on the porch steps, Brittany taking the spot next to her.
"Now what?" Brittany asked, picking at her sneaker shoe lace.
Santana shrugged and leaned back on her elbows. "I don't know. Just chill here until morning, I guess. Later we should probably walk around again. You don't have to stay out here if you don't want to. You can go back to sleep, I'll be okay."
"Nope, you're stuck with me." Brittany said grinning, mimicking Santana's pose on the steps. Santana laughed lightly, and continued to keep her eyes trained ahead of them.
The next hour passed slowly. They whispered quietly to each other, but both careful to pay attention as well. They watched the moonlight dance along the trees and fog and listened to the creatures of the forest prowl around. Santana stood up stretching her legs against the railing. "Britt-Britt, let's walk around again. I have too much energy to just be sitting here."
A stick cracking in the distance caught their attention. Santana's head shot up in the direction, dark energy already formed in her palm. She inwardly congratulated herself on her power's speed. Brittany scrambled up, her response to Santana's statement gone.
"San, what is it?" Brittany asked, squinting into the woods. She raised a hand, causing the fog to slowly roll out, giving them better vision.
"I don't know." They listened hard. Another stick cracking. And another. Footsteps? The noise continued for a few more seconds, and Santana was convinced they had company. "Fuck. Brittany, go inside and get Quinn."
Brittany silently agreed, and rushed into the cabin. Santana crouched down by the car, waiting for whoever or whatever was out there to show themselves. At this point, the noise was getting louder, and Santana was mildly confused. No way would Titans walk up so announced. Maybe they were lost hikers? A loud voice began to carry over sounding female. A male voice followed. They were getting closer. She dug the balls of her feet into the gravel, ready to strike if necessary. Her heartbeat quickened and a cold sweat began to form. Three shadows began to visualize in the distance, heading towards the cabin, walking in a line, one after the other. As they came closer, she saw the possible leader form fire up her arm. They have powers, Santana thought. Seeing this as a threat, she jumped from her hiding spot and threw a shadow blast towards them. The one in front, who had an outline of a woman, crouched down and swiped her hand at the attack, deflecting it. The short one in the middle was now cowering behind the tall figure in the back. The woman in the front ran towards Santana, but didn't attack. Santana decided not to take the chance, so as quickly as her blast was deflected, she drew more to shoot back. She felt the energy rush out of her palm towards the fast approaching figure, but was dodged and followed with...giggling?
"Who the fuck are you?" Santana yelled. She crouched defensively in front of the cabin, fire in her hands.
The shadowed figure finally entered the firelight, still laughing. "Santana, is that a way to greet your aunt?"
Santana's eyes widened at the face and the voice accompanying it. "Aunt C?"
"The one and only."
Santana felt relief flood into her body seeing the familiar face of her aunt. Dropping the defensive posture, she grinned widely and wrapped her arms around the slightly taller woman. "I thought you were a Titan!"
"It's nice to see you again, Santana." Christina said, hugging back. A force was suddenly thrown into the older Lopez, knocking her to the ground, a flash of blonde following.
"Get off her!" Brittany was pinning the older Lopez to the pine needle floor.
"Britt! Britt, it's okay!" Santana shouted, trying to pry Brittany off Christina. "Britt, this is my aunt!"
Brittany stopped struggling with the older woman and looked between the two. Realization dawned on her when she saw the striking similarities. Healthy dark hair, chocolate eyes and caramel skin. The woman that was on the ground looked like an older version of Santana, only her hair was only shoulder length. She felt a blush creep into her cheeks and let Santana pull her up. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry."
Santana took this opportunity to introduce the two. "Aunt C, this is Brittany, my girlfriend. Britt, this is my Aunt Christina."
Christina stood back up, brushing forest debris off her jacket. "Well, that was quite a meeting." She stretched her arm out, offering her hand, chuckling. "It's nice to meet you Brittany. Good to see you looking out for my favorite niece. Santana's dad told me about you."
Brittany continued to blush and accepted the hand shyly. "Nice to meet you too. Again, I'm so sorry about that..." She trailed off and motioned with her hands the tumble she caused.
At this point Quinn was watching with a smile, immediately recognizing the familiar face. "Christina!"
"Goldie Locks!" Christina shouted, raising her arms for a hug. "Good to see you!" They gave each other a quick hug, smiling brightly.
"Excuse me, as nice as this little reunion is, is it really appropriate to be commencing these introductions in this dangerous forest?"
Santana raised her eyebrows at the voice. Two people she didn't recognize joined the exhuberant group. There was a tall man, with his hair in a mohawk and dark eyes. Next to him was a short girl, both around their age. The voice clearly belonged to the girl. "As I was saying, we should probably take this inside."
The group sat in the living room slightly cramped, bringing in kitchen chairs so they could all have a place to sit. Santana eyed her aunt's companions, not sure whether to trust them. On edge, she scraped her fingernails along the wooden curve of the chair she was occupying. The girl didn't seem threatening. In fact, she looked quite opposite with her eyes downcast and hands picking at the couch. The man however, stood behind the couch, eyes dark and arms crossed. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.
"As awesome as it is to see you, what on earth are you doing here?" Quinn asked genuinely, eyeing the group with questioning eyes.
Christina ran a hand through her hair. "It's quite the story, so I'll start from the beginning." She motioned to the guy. "This is Puck of the Ares line. He is a Defender as well and works with me." Santana visibly relaxed with this information. He's on their side. Puck nodded at his mention. "And this is Rachel of the Apollo line." Rachel didn't acknowledge herself, only stared down at her feet and sank back into the small sofa. "Puck and I were assigned to the Apollo line for extra protection under the orders of Council. Unfortunately, as we arrived to the Apollo residence, they were already under siege. We did what we could, but the damage was dealt." She sadly glanced at Rachel, who sunk her head into her palms, trembling slightly. Quinn's eyes widened, and immediately sat next to the grieving girl and tentatively placed an arm around her shoulder to offer some sort of comfort.
"How about you get some rest? It's late and sleep will make you feel better." Quinn murmured, seeing this was a good time to take the troubled girl away from the sensitive topic. Rachel nodded and allowed herself to be pulled up by Quinn and led into a bedroom. Quinn shot a sad glance at the group before heading into the room as well.
"What the hell is going on?" Santana asked urgently, now that the emotional girl was gone.
Christina's voice lowered. "As I said earlier, we were ordered to protect the Apollo line, because they aren't particularly strong. Hell, Rachel is the only one gifted with affinities, but they aren't offensive nor defensive."
"What does she do?" Brittany questioned.
Christina shrugged. "Not sure the extent of it, but she is extremely talented in music and the arts. Possibly healing as well, but I don't really know the poor girl. She likes to talk it seems, but out of stress I think. Random topics based on her knowledge, but not much about herself."
Puck took over. "We arrived at their residence, and all hell had broken loose. You can tell there was a struggle. Rachel's fathers were held down by a few Titans when we arrived. From what we saw, they were arguing. We tried to step in, but whatever their argument was about, it was finished, because before we could help, they were killed. We were too late."
"Seeing as there was nothing we could do, we found Rachel on the second floor and booked it before the Titans saw us." Christina muttered.
Puck clenched his fists. "If we got their five minutes earlier. Five minutes and we could have saved them."
"Why didn't you kill them?" Santana asked with curiosity.
"Because there were about four Titans, so not only were we outnumbered, but we also had a hysterical girl to look after as well. It was wise to leave safely then take the chance of fighting and losing more innocent lives." Christina answered.
"We questioned Rachel about what happened, and we were able to get enough answers to piece the story together." Puck added. "And if Rachel is right, then the Titans have shifted in their plans. They are still killing, but the plans shifted nonetheless."
"Which is why I am extremely relieved to find you and your friends safe, Santana." Christina murmured. "So relieved."
Quinn stepped out of her room and gently shut the door. " What happened? She cried herself to sleep."
Santana and Brittany looked at each other, both wondering where to begin. Puck took it upon himself to bring her up to speed. Quinn's face dropped at the information.
"So what happened after you saved Rachel? How did you end up here?" Brittany wondered out loud.
"I'm getting there." Christina answered. "This is much more complex and woven then we thought."
"How complex? And what do you mean by shift?" Santana asked.
"Once we left the scene and sure we were safe, we attempted to get Rachel to tell us what happened. Turns out, Rachel was just getting home from a dance lesson, and she heard arguing in the house. She saw the Titans and when her father saw her, he signaled her unnoticed to run. Rachel, not wanting to leave completely, snuck upstairs so she could still hear what was going on. She stopped talking for a bit when we got to this part, but we were able to coax it out of her soon after." Christina stated. "They were arguing with her dads about joining their ranks."
"Join their ranks? Why even ask them?" Santana wondered.
"The Titans know their numbers are dropping as well. They need more people on their side." Puck answered. "From what I've collected from Rachel, they were asking them to join, saying they will be rewarded. But we all know that is a crock of shit."
"They are hoping to control enough lines. The more of them under their control, the stronger they will be. And with the threat of danger rising, the more likely people will go along with them to ensure safety. They believe they will be met with less resisitance of the fighting greek lines if they knew they were fighting fellow god descendants." Christina added. "They also tried to pry any knowledge of the locations of other lines." Christina paused. "In particular, your lines."
"Us?" Brittany asked.
"Yes. And I'll get there." Christina said. "Hiram and Leroy, Rachel's fathers, didn't join or give out information, and as punishment, they were killed. Afterwards, I called your father, Santana. I told him what is going on, and he sent us here, because we aren't being tracked."
"How is my dad?" Santana asked.
"He says everyone is fine. They are on the run as well, and when he is positive he lost the Titans who were possibly watching, he'll come find you. He told us where you are, so we will be joining you three at the cabin for now." Christina finished.
"Why do they need our lines specifically?" Quinn asked.
"You three are the strongest lines in our society. Of course they want control of you. If they had you three under their power, they would be unstoppable." Puck said.
"Especially you Santana. Or should I say us." Christina stated lowly.
Santana felt Brittany grip her forearm. "Because we're Hades." She growled. "Well news flash, I will never join them. I'd rather die."
Brittany buried her face in Santana's neck, not liking where this conversation was going.
"It's because they had a Hades descendant join them before. Am I right?" Santana asked.
Christina nodded. "They consider you an easy target. And it's either join or die. That seems to be their current motto." A silence fell over the group in current thought. Christina looked to the small clock mounted on the wall. "It's really late. We can finish this conversation in the morning. You should go to sleep. Puck and I will keep watch."
Santana shook her head. "No way. You just got here. You must be tired. I'll stay up."
Puck cracked a smile. "This is what we do. Knowing that their are four lines here, we would never be able to sleep. Really, we will be fine. It's what we are trained to do."
"I know it is a lot to process, but try to get some rest. Tomorrow we will continue where we left off." Christina said. "We'll be outside if you need us." She rose and disappeared with Puck to the kitchen and out the door, leaving them in silence.
"Wow." Quinn muttered, running a hand through her hair. "What a fucking day."
"You're telling me." Santana said, her mind feeling fuzzy.
"We should listen to your Aunt, San. Let's get some sleep while we know we are safe. We'll iron the details out tomorrow." Brittany suggested. "You should check on Rachel, Quinn."
Quinn stood up in agreement. "I'll see you two in the morning. Goodnight, guys." She crept back into her bedroom.
Brittany tiredly led Santana into their room and fell onto the bed. Tears pricked her eyes, and she muffled back a sob.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay." Santana soothed, holding her close. "We'll get through this, and we are safe."
Brittany looked up at Santana with red rimmed eyes. "You are a prime target, Santana. How do you think that makes me feel?"
Santana pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Not as bad as the thought of you getting hurt. But I promise, we will be okay. My aunt and Puck are here. We now have four people with powers on our side. Now how about we listen to your own advice and get some sleep. Everything will be better in the morning."
A faint smile ghosted across Brittany's lips seeing Santana's attempt to make her feel better. She pressed herself into Santana's side, breathing in her girlfriend's soothing scent. Pushing dark thoughts out of her mind, she focused on Santana's steady heartbeat and began to drift.
Please review! Thank you so much for reading!