Good evening lovely readers! Sorry I'm late. Still in time though! The little italicized intro paragraph was surprisingly easy to write this time. They're never too difficult, but this one was easy.
The chapter lyric is taken from a Beatle's song "When I'm 64". Have you heard of the Beatles? Apparently they're this wicked boy band from a long time ago. : )
Misfit Toy Hero Squad
Chapter 37 – "Love Me When I'm 389"
There are those misinformed people that think love comes from the heart. It does not. It comes from your brain. Your heart just pumps blood. The greatest lie that the greeting card industry every sold was the role your heart plays in love.
There's a tiny portion of your brain with a super complicated name that controls love. To ease your transition into correct thinking, we'll call this the heart of the brain.
The heart of the brain is 489 times more stupid than the rest of your brain. When you think about this you realize that other parts of your brain can analyze, recognize and do complex mathematical problems. The heart of the brain simply does one thing, exude love.
Love is blind is one of the most untrue statements made about love in the last few centuries. Love is not blind. The heart of the brain is neighbors with that part of the human brain that sees. If they were people, they'd be next door neighbors and brothers in arms, best buds if you will. So it stands to reason that the eye of the mind wants to hook his homeboy up. The problem is if the eye of the brain is stupid, and the heart of the brain is stupid, how on Earth can anyone avoid stupid decisions regarding who their love is placed with?
Rachel was just beginning to compose herself although she was reluctant to leave the safe haven of Puck's arms, even as the roar of the transport vehicle echoed throughout the underground hallways of their safe haven. She straightened her posture, her spine going rigid as she pulled away from Puck, only to have him latch onto her tighter.
"Sparky, before all hell breaks loose, just know that this isn't your fault. And we will deal with this shit and we will find Quinn," Puck promised. "And I don't want you burning yourself out…"
"Thank you, Noah," Rachel whispered. She heard voices approaching them and she turned away from him while mumbling a not very confident or Rachel Berry-esque, "I'll be fine."
Mike and Tina were through the dressing room doors first and Tina squeaked in relief before rushing to Rachel and wrapping her up tightly.
"You're alive…so everyone's fine…oh thank fuck!" Tina squeezed Rachel to within an inch of her life.
"Sam will be able to calm down," Mike smiled happily as the man in question was helped into the room by Finn. Mike's face fell instantly as his eyes darted from Jesse to Blaine to Puck and then finally to Rachel. "Q's in the bathroom right?"
Rachel bit her lip and eased out of Tina's iron clad embrace. She tried to fight back the tears that were threatening again and couldn't, her face remained stoic and as blank as possible but tears slipped out of the corners of her unblinking eyes against her will as she faced a suddenly very pale Sam and the rest of their newly arrived team.
"Noah and I were on the first floor, looking for…for Mr. Schuester," Rachel couldn't help but feel that bitter, chilled tone her voice adopted when she simply thought of their Glee director. "We came upon a room where Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell was…"
"Dead, we saw it," Artie explained. "It was horrifying, I'm so sorry you guys found her like that…I can't get the vision to leave me…"
"I'm so sorry, Artie," Rachel whispered, not wishing the sight of the guidance counselor's crumpled and lifeless body on anyone. But for Artie to have seen it and for Brittany to have to relay the news to the others seemed extra cruel.
"Is Quinn okay…is she heaving? Because she doesn't like blood," Sam mumbled as he leaned heavily on Finn, his head still pounding and his equilibrium way off. "I got a paper cut in physics one day and she nearly passed out and threw up at the same time…"
"Sam," Rachel interrupted with as much gentleness as she could muster. "Noah and I never saw Quinn in the building. The room where Mr. Schuester and Quinn were in, with Mrs. Pillsbury Howell was already empty."
"Mr. Schuester?" Finn furrowed his brow. "Mr. Schuester was in the room when Miss P got killed? That's horrible."
"He was," Rachel nodded.
"He killed her," Puck announced angrily.
"You're crazy, matchstick," Mercedes scoffed. "Mr. Schue LOVED Miss Pillsbury. Like, penguin lifemate love."
"Yeah, if the cute little guy from Happy Feet ever bludgeoned the chick penguin with a freaking baseball bat, then sure, that works," Blaine piped up. "The woman's skull was cracked open…"
"Mr. Schuester couldn't have done that," Finn shook his head in denial.
"Mr. Schuester has Quinn," Rachel whispered. "I tapped into his mind for a second before he blocked me out again. She's unconscious and they're driving to God knows where."
"He's probably driving her back here," Mercedes shook her head, holding steadfast with Finn in their belief that Will Schuester could do no wrong.
"So, Mr. Schuester is evil? Is that why his mind was blank?" Santana wondered. "Is he like some super government dude with mind blocking powers?"
"He's the immortal," Brittany whispered, her face crumpling in realization as tears hit her eyes. She was pages ahead of everyone else, which she was used to by now. She shook her head and began doodling on her right hand with her left index finger, calculating, translating and theorizing whatever she could to no avail, "He took Quinn…I can't figure it out."
"Are you CRAZY?" Mercedes hissed. "We've known Mr. Schuester for two years. Don't you think we would know if he was some dude that couldn't die and that had a serious jonesing for Rachel?"
"Didn't you crush hardcore on him last year between me and Puck?" Finn demanded. "If he was the immortal, he'd have wanted you back. I mean…the immortal wanted the mind."
"And he turned you down cold, girl," Mercedes reminded her.
"Will you guys shut the fuck up and listen to reality?" Puck demanded. "Most of us kind of knew that Mr. Schuester wasn't exactly fucking kosher!"
"He was seriously fucking creepy," Blaine agreed. "I mean, how did he know to follow us when we zipped out of Rachel's room? Why else was his mind so blank?"
"I understand that you two aren't quite willing to believe our theories right now," Rachel said diplomatically, her voice soft, almost weak. "But arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to rescue Quinn. What can we do to convince you so that we can move the rescue process along?"
"Show them what was in his mind…they'll see," Santana said stiffly, eyeing Finn and Mercedes with no small amount of annoyance.
"Shit was creepy," Blaine reiterated.
"Mercedes?" Rachel asked softly, reaching out a hand.
Mercedes reluctantly held Rachel's hand and between the two of them, they projected an image for the group. One large blank screen. Nothing but an inky, empty blackness. Rachel concentrated as hard as she could and both Blaine and Puck put a hand on her shoulder and suddenly there was sound.
"Quinn, my darling girl. You've got to stop trying this…I'm going to take you some place safe. And then I'll explain everything. You'll make everything right for me, finally."
The connection snapped and Rachel felt her body crumple as Schuester physically shoved her out of his mind. Blaine and Puck were quick to hold her upright both staring down at her with nearly identical concern. Mercedes staggered and Finn let go of Sam in order to support her before she could fall. Sam stood straight, his eyes blinking ever so slowly as he digested the new information.
"That was so fucking gross," Santana hissed in annoyance. "What the fuck does he plan to do with her? Why is he being such a fucking pedo?"
Brittany stopped writing into the palm of her hand and her blue eyes glazed over with sudden fear. She bit her lip and shook her head, going back to her hand to look over her invisible work before announcing very quietly, "Mr. Schuester thinks that Quinn is Rachel."
"Whaaaaat?" Artie's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he looked up at Brittany with a million unanswered questions. "Please explain."
"Mr. Schuester…the immortal," Brittany looked to everyone, leaving lingering pointed gazes at Mercedes and Finn, hoping that they had finally caught up to her humongous brain. "He thinks that the Fire stole the Mind from him all those years ago. And he really loved the Mind back then. And he's waited all this time so that the Mind would come back so that he could finally get her. And now the Mind IS back, but Mr. Schuester thinks that it's Quinn."
"So the douchebag has a hard on for Quinn because he wanted to bang the mind 372 years ago?" Puck narrowed his gaze and looked down at a suddenly shaking Rachel. So much for her not taking too much blame and burden on her shoulders. "I'm gonna punch Schuester in the face."
"No offense, Jesse, but seeing your face right now is kind of making me want to punch you too," Blaine suddenly put in.
"I'm not following, and please, don't punch me in the face," Jesse ordered coolly. "My face is perfectly symmetrical and any potential bruising would throw the balance off."
"Rachel used your face in a sort of flashback," Kurt explained quietly. "We should have known. Brittany made the observation even before her powers kicked in that you looked like his son."
"I told you that I've always been smarter than everyone," Brittany practically whispered.
"So…what now?" Sam demanded loudly. "Do we just stand around and talk and think and make funny comments every once in a while-you know, while that sick motherfucker has Quinn and is going to do God knows what to her thinking that he's in love with her or something…"
"Dude, calm down, we'll get her back," Mike offered helpfully. "Schue wouldn't hurt her."
"You guys said he bashed our guidance counselor's head in!" Sam yelled. "What's to say he won't…I'm going to be sick."
Sam actually swallowed slowly and turned green around the gills at what he suddenly inherently knew what Schuester was capable of. He swayed in his spot and his gaze landed on Rachel, who was silently crying as she stared back at him, as she had been since the moment their transmission into Schue's mind had broken. He could feel her in his brain, trying to calm him, trying to keep him steady.
It clearly was not working.
"You know what he's capable of, don't you, Rachel?" Sam whispered forlornly, his own eyes filling with tears. "You aren't telling us something here."
Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but no sound would come out. Sam took that as all the answer he needed and he turned quickly, despite the pounding in his brain. He felt Rachel try to take control and he did something that not one of the Gleek's had figured out to do yet.
He shut her out.
"While you guys stand around and do nothing about the fact that the girl I love more than almost anything is in the hands of a 389 year old killer psycho skank-man…" Sam's sentence began to fade as he walked from the dressing room. "I'm going to go and find her!"
"SAM!" Rachel screamed, as she could no longer telepathically beam her calming reassurances into his brain. She rushed after him, breaking into a sprint as he took off through the air, rapidly towards the exit. "Don't, Sam! Come back!"
Puck was right behind Rachel, the Gleek's trailing behind him. He caught Rachel in the nick of time, because the moment that Sam flew from their compound, Rachel collapsed into a lifeless heap. He held her close and breathed deeply when he saw that she was still breathing, but her energy had obviously been stretched too thin, because she was completely unconscious.
The adults plus Coach Tanaka and Matt came strolling down the hallway from the garage where they had been putting a few things in order. Sue looked up the scene with a raised eyebrow.
"All right freak shows. What did we miss?"
Thoughts? Theories? Questions?
Again, disclaimer. I love all characters, so I apologize if Mercedes and Finn seemed a little douchey. They'll have a chance to explain themselves. See you tomorrow hopefully earlier than tonight with...
Chapter 38 – "What if I went and Lost Myself? Would You Know Where to Fly to Me?"