A/N The day I began writing this chapter was the day they found Naya Rivera's remains. I was just about to write a scene with Santana when my friend texted me and said they'd found her. I had to stop and walk away from the story for a while. My favorite song Naya sang on Glee was the one she sang in The Quarterback, If I Die Young. It's weird, until about three days ago, I had never heard the original version of the song, but I've now heard it about four times since Saturday. Naya's version was far superior in my opinion, no offense to the original artist. And now it's even more haunting when I hear it.

The story this is based on was partially written seven years ago, and just like now, the author had to step back and take a moment after hearing about Cory's death before they could continue. When I set out to honor that work, I never thought I'd have that in common with the author.

Dedicating this chapter to Naya and her family.

Great Expectations (Not)

Carole had thought maybe no one had noticed her transformation, as no one said anything about it on the walk to the night market. They'd talked about Blaine's regeneration, and about the boys deciding they were married, but not one word was said about her taking out the armed thieves single handedly, or about the fact that she'd had cat arms.

That was, until they'd met up with the others at the market and purchased their food. A dozen cats were following her by the time they sat down, and Peaches was looking at her in awe.

"Bastet!" The small feline exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Carole asked.

"You're Bastet!" The cat said excitedly.

"I don't know who or what that is," she said in confusion.

"Bastet, or Bast, was a warrior cat goddess from Egypt," Blaine supplied, his super intelligence providing him with the information. "She was a fierce fighter, and could turn into any kind of feline."

"Well, that explains the beatdown she gave those robbers today," Pam said, a note of pride in her voice for the other woman.

"Robbers?" Finn said, looking at his mother. "You beat up robbers?"

"She was amazing!" Burt declared. "Those guys had no idea who they were dealing with." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. She blushed, still not fully understanding what had happened.

And then suddenly Blaine's words registered. "Wait, goddess?"

"Of course," Grandpa Chang smiled at her. "Many of the Faerie realm creatures were worshiped as gods and goddesses."

Kurt smiled at her. "All women are goddesses."

She blushed even deeper.

"So," Rachel said, in an attempt to change the subject and give Carole a chance to cope. "Where are we going next?"

"We'll be leaving for Shanhaiguan, China in a couple of hours," James replied. "It's a little over an eleven-hour flight, so we'll be sleeping on the planes. We'll be on three separate planes, so that everyone will have room to spread out and relax."

"Shanhaiguan? Isn't that where your parents will be joining us, Wes?" Lizel asked.

The Asian boy nodded. "Yes, but only for the week we will be in China. Mom has to get back to the research station. One of the subjects is about to give birth, and she wants to observe."

"Subjects?" Kurt asked.

"Wes' mom is a biologist," David said. "She's working with several other scientists on helping to preserve endangered species. They've been implanting embryos of several endangered animals into related species. Right now they have seven pregnant tigers carrying Sumatran tiger cubs."

"That's awesome!" Finn said. "What does your dad do?"

"He's a biologist, too, but he also holds a Ph.D in botany. He's working on a different project, reintroducing endangered plants to their native ecological systems."

"Wow, impressive," Rachel said, admiration in her voice. "Both your parents are doing what they can to save the planet."

"So Wes," Kurt said, "Montgomery isn't an Asian surname. How did that come about?"

The other boy sat up straighter. "My paternal grandfather, Harvey Montgomery, was an American G.I. during the Korean war, where he was taken prisoner and sent to a prison camp. There was a Chinese woman who worked at the camp. She helped him and half a dozen other soldiers escape. They fell in love, and eventually he married her. My father is their youngest child. He fell in love with my mom when he was visiting Hong Kong."

"Cool," Mike said.

"If we're supposed to be flying out in a couple of hours, why are we still sitting here?" Santana asked. "Shouldn't we be hustling to the airport?"

"We're not flying out from a conventional airport," James explained. "We're flying out of a small, privately-owned airfield. Our luggage is already on the plain."

Santana looked at him in confusion. "Why? And who owns the airfield?"

James and Burt exchanged a look. "The Society owns the airfield, and the one we'll be landing at. Technically, the next leg of our trip is forbidden." Burt looked uncomfortable as he spoke. "We'll be traveling through some areas the Chinese government doesn't usually allow outsiders. We've been given special permission, but only if we stay under the radar and out of sight."

"Which means," James added, "that for the next week, we'll be roughing it. No staying at fancy hotels or meals at fancy restaurants. We'll be on backroads, through mountainous roads, some areas through dense forest, although most of it will be more desert-like. The government is providing us with vehicles and drivers, as well as other supplies."

"Where exactly are we going?" Santana asked.

The adults all looked both guilty and excited. "We'll be traveling the entire length of the Great Wall of China."

…

"Mom, Dad!" Wes greeted, smiling as his parents rushed forward to hug him once their plane had landed. The sun was barely up, but it was already starting to get hot. "I missed you both!" He turned and smiled at the rest of the Ohio group. "Everyone, these are my parents, Tom and Mei Lin. Mom, Dad, you know Pam and James, and Ji and Lizel already."

Kurt glanced at Tina in confusion. He hadn't realized her parents knew Wes'. The other boy continued, "I think you've met Lo Chang before, as well."

"Yes," Grandpa Chang replied, bowing at the younger couple. "We have met many times."

"Lo Chang, it is good to see you again." Mei Lin smiled and returned the bow, along with her husband, before hugging Pam and Lizel. "It's so nice to see you all as well."

"These are Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson-Hummel, along with Paul Karofsky and Maggie McCallister. You know Blaine, of course, but may I introduce the other Lord of Dunaire, Kurt Hummel?"

As they shook his hand, Kurt noticed the Society rings they both wore. Mei Lin's was adorned with three clear, yellowish green hued peridots, while Tom's were a cloudy stone that might have been confused for turquoise, but was more green than blue. He thought perhaps it might be fuchsite. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling politely

Once the rest of the introductions were made, they were escorted to the vehicle which would transport them for the next seven days. Kurt frowned when he saw it. This was going to be a miserable week.

…

"So," Blaine said, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise coming from the engine of the old military vehicle that looked like it hadn't been used since WWI. "The Society doesn't actually own the Great Wall of China. They own the land under it?"

"Not exactly," James clarified. "They own a series of tunnels under the wall that were built by creatures known locally as Mogwai."

"Mogwai?" Sam asked, excitedly. "Like the movie Gremlins?"

"Yes," Lizel replied, "although gremlins are actually a completely different species. Mogwai are more closely related to gnomes. Chinese folklore calls them demons, and people used to burn paper money to keep them away because it was rumored that Mogwai were greedy for wealth, because they were always thought to be digging for gems. The truth is, they actually eat minerals, and use any gems they find to line their burrows."

"I thought it was dragons who lined their dens with gems?" Kurt asked, looking paler and greener than usual. He'd been motion sick for the last two hours as they'd begun their journey. The open air transport truck had no shock absorbers, and they'd been jostled and bounced around on a road that seemed to be more broken rock than pavement.

"Dragons line their dens with gold, Young Master," Grandpa Chang replied. "Gnomes prefer shiney gems."

Kurt just nodded and tried not to throw up as they took another sharp turn and seemed to almost fly for a moment before landing jarringly.

"Here, Porcelain, chew on this!" Santana said, handing him a few leaves she'd just plucked from a bush as they'd rushed past. "It's mint. It will help your stomach."

Kurt looked reluctant, but the familiar smell coming from the leaves was reassuring. "How'd you recognize the plant from a moving vehicle?"

The girl looked confused for a moment. "I don't know, actually. I just knew it was there, and that it would help you with the nausea."

"Well, I guess we know who will be transforming next!" Trent said.

"But into what?" Artie asked.

"Could be any number of benevolent beings," Lizel offered.

Santana frowned. "Better not be something slimy and gross!"

Dave was looking at her with a peculiar expression, but before he could say anything, Blaine changed the subject back to their original topic.

"So, what exactly are we inspecting?" he asked, rubbing Kurt's arm soothingly as the pale boy chewed the mint leaves slowly.

"There are seven entry points to the tunnels, hidden along the wall, the first being about another hour from here. We'll stop, have lunch, inspect the sight, and move on to the next, which we should reach around dinner time. The next one is another full day's drive from there."

"Sounds peachy," Kurt grumbled, although he had to admit, the mint had helped, his stomach had settled. He closed his eyes and didn't really pay attention to the rest of the conversation, and was grateful when the truck finally stopped and they all climbed out. He was so shaky on his legs, he felt nearly as bad as he'd felt when he'd first used his powers of Curse on Azimio, and had to cling to Blaine.

The curly-haired boy guided him to a nearby rock in the shade, and settled him on it, offering him a bottle of water Burt brought over, and Elliott knelt in front of him to check him over. "I think he may be suffering from heat exhaustion," he said.

Grandpa Chang frowned. "As the Phoenix, he should not be affected by the heat. Something is amiss."

Mei Lin quickly put up a Glamour to keep their government guides from seeing what was going on, as Lizel immediately began to examine the pale boy. She frowned as she ran her hand along his back and felt something odd. "Take your shirt off," she instructed him.

"Why?" he asked, hesitantly.

"There is a parasite on your back, and we must remove it immediately."

Kurt almost ripped the shirt off in disgust. "Get it off me now!"

Carole and Quinn both gasped when they saw the thing attached between his shoulder blades, but it was Mercedes who said what they were all thinking. "What the hell is that?"

The thing looked like a cross between a moth and a tick, and was about the size of a child's hand. Protruding from its 'head' was what appeared to be a clear tube, through which it seemed to be sucking a fiery gold colored liquid.

Lizel studied it closely. "I've never seen or heard of anything like this."

"It is one of The Shadow Queen's minions. It has no name that would mean anything to any of you. We must remove it quickly, before it fully drains away Young Master's magic!"

"How do we remove it?" Carole asked.

The old man considered for a moment. "It is currently attempting to draw out the magic of the Phoenix. Perhaps if you take a different form, it will become confused and detach itself. I suggest you take your Fairy form."

Kurt nodded, and concentrated on Lord Nivek, but didn't shift right away. He frowned as he felt his body try to do as he wanted, but he felt sluggish, as if he was trying to move through gelatin. "I can't," he said, clinging more tightly to Blaine.

Grandpa Chang looked more worried than Kurt had ever seen him. "Perhaps if the other Lords emerged, it would help pull your other form from you."

Blaine and Dave exchanged a look, and both nodded. A moment later the Pixie and Elven Lords stood side by side. Blaine's dragonfly wings glinted in the sun as they flitted almost too fast to be seen, while Dave's black butterfly wings drifted lazily open and closed. They each took one of Kurt's hands, and pulled him to his feet.

As the three of them connected, Kurt could feel an infusion of energy filling him, and with a little more concentration, felt his form waiver, and then shift. His blue/green/grey butterfly wings flitted once, and then folded down his back. He felt the creature detach itself from him, and fall to the ground.

"Quick, someone catch it!" Grandpa Chang said as the unnamed creature righted itself from where it had fallen on it's back. Quinn picked up a crate of supplies that had been offloaded from the second, smaller truck that had accompanied them, and after dumping it out, dropped it on top of the parasite.

"Will that hold it?" Finn asked.

"Perhaps," the elderly male said. "For now we must be sure no further harm has come to your stepbrother. Can you take your Phoenix form?" He asked the Fairy boy.

Kurt considered a moment, and then stepped away from the others. A moment later, the flaming bird rose into the air and circled the clearing they had stopped in for a few moments, before returning to ground, and Kurt reappeared.

"I feel much better now," he proclaimed. "How did I not notice that thing on my back? Something that size, you'd think I would have felt it."

"A better question, Young Master, is how it made its way onto you. Danu's rings would have prevented it from being able to sense you. Someone had to have placed it on you."

Blaine looked confused. "I thought you said the Sidhe and other Shadow creatures would be drawn to the rings."

"The rings, yes, but they wouldn't sense you or your husband, only the power of the rings. Someone had to physically place it on you, or as close to you as possible."

"Who?" Kurt asked, scowling. "And when?"

"Maybe I can help figure that out," Tom Montgomery said. "One of my bond gifts is psychometry. The ability to read the history of an item or person by touching them," he explained at Kurt and Blaine's confused looks. "If you'll allow me to touch the spot on your back, I may be able to tell you who placed it, as well as how and when."

Kurt usually didn't like people other than his dad, Blaine, and Carole touching him, but wanted to know if someone had betrayed them. He knew it wasn't one of his friends, it had to be one of the people the government had assigned to 'babysit' them. He nodded at Wes' dad, and turned around so the older man could touch his back.

There was a moment of silence as Tom focused his powers. "At the airfield, before we left, you went into the bathroom. One of the airfield workers came in. He paused behind you, and dropped the creature on the floor. He wasn't aware of what he was doing. His mind was not under his own control. He'd been possessed by a Sidhe. Once its task was accomplished, and we left, the Sidhe made the man hang himself."

The silence that followed that statement had everyone pausing as the ramifications of that statement hit them. Tom stepped back and put his hand down. "We're safe for the moment, but I suggest we keep an eye on the government's men. The Sidhe may try to take control of them."

They all glanced over to the second truck, where their four escorts were setting up for lunch.

…

They finished eating their meal, which consisted mostly of rice, vegetables, and fruit, then Burt, James, Tom, Kurt, and Blaine located the opening to the tunnels. They'd been told that it wasn't necessary to enter the tunnels very far, just ascertain the condition of the entrances, making sure there was nothing blocking them, and that no cave-ins had occurred. Once they had established that the opening was in good condition, they moved on.

The second part of their journey wasn't as bad as the first for Kurt, now that the creature had been removed. Quinn had fashioned a cage made of long, thin leaves and they had managed to imprison the creature in it. It was currently locked in one of the trunks that were being used as seats in their transport.

There was less talking this time, as they were all a little wary after this latest attack, not to mention they were all a little tired from the journey. When they arrived at the second location around dinner time, they were all relieved.

After inspecting the entrance and determining that it, too, was in good condition, Kurt moved back towards the trucks. "Where are we spending the night?" he asked.

"Right here, bud," Burt replied. When the teenager turned and looked at him with an unhappy expression on his face, he just smiled. "We told you earlier, no more fancy hotels for a while. We'll be camping out for the next six nights."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Relax, Kurt. You won't be sleeping on the ground. Look, over there, they are setting up cots with mosquito netting," he pointed where the four men were indeed setting up cots in a large, military style tent. Each cot was surrounded by netting.

Kurt still wasn't pleased, but he guessed it was better than sleeping on the ground with all the insects and who knew what else. It really was going to be a long week.

Their escorts set up a campfire, bringing out what looked like a large cauldron, in which they prepared Chinese hotpot for dinner. Despite the rustic ingredients, some of which the men had foraged while the broth had simmered, the meal was rather delicious.

As their guides had been busy preparing the food, Burt, James, Paul, Ji, and Tom had agreed that they would take turns sitting watch through the night while the others slept.

…

Morning broke way too early the next morning for Kurt's taste, but he dragged himself out of bed and to the makeshift showers that had been set up. The water was cool, but felt good in the already building heat. He would have liked to take his time, but knew he had to save some water for others, so cleaned up quickly and got dressed.

He was sitting on his cot, fixing his hair, when Elliott came in, a frown on his face. "Have you seen Dave? He wasn't in his cot when I woke up."

"No, and I didn't notice if he was here when I went to the showers. He's not already eating breakfast?"

The other man shook his head. "No one else has seen him either. I hope he didn't get lost trying to find someplace to use the bathroom or something."

"I'm sure he's fine. We'll get the others and look for him. He can't have gone far."

As they exited the tent, however, the man in question came stumbling in from the woods. Or at least the top half of him emerged from the woods. From the waist down, where Dave's hips and legs should have been, there was a horse's body covered in a shiny black coat.

Dave Karofsky was a centaur.