Santana was personally beginning to loathe the disappearing trick vampires seemed to enjoy pulling off. Charlie did it far more than Quinn did, and for the most part she had always found it annoying when Charlie simply disappeared after she was done being Charlie. Quinn usually reserved it for the times when she wanted to have the last word, it was irritating but she'd always found the move to be slightly endearing. It had taken her sometime to get to that point. But after today she wasn't sure if she'd be able to just be mildly irritated at how rude they were. Not while Emma was currently cleaning up after herself with a rather cheerful hum.
Santana glances at her father who still seemed to be locked in place and she grips the chair arms tightly as she looks at Brittany. The blood had been mopped up and Brittany was currently down for the count. Charlie and Quinn had shown extreme violence before, but they never cleaned up after themselves, not like this and all it seemed to do was add another layer of creepiness to this already situation.
"Now, where was I?" Emma said as she sat back down. She flicks her eyes over the room, and blinks once then twice before smiling, and turning her attention to Santana. "I remember now, I was hoping to have a conversation with you."
Santana licked her lips, "Fine," she nods towards her parents. "We can have a conversation, I won't fight or do anything so long as you let my parents go."
"You can fight if you wish, but I assure you that it will go about as well as it did for Brittany. I'm under no obligation of course to let them go, and try and get help, or to make you any promises." Emma points out.
Santana swallowed before leaning back in her chair, she'd bluff her way out of this. "If Charlie doesn't kill you, Quinn will—" Emma laughed at this and Santana swallows once more and glances at Brittany for a moment. She was dismissing the twins. She probably thought that they were like the other Red Court Vampires. She'd seen Quinn take a bullet to the head, Charlie had gotten her head ripped out, and had her body riddled with shrapnel. She needed to find a way to call them to get them here. She almost wished she'd actually listened to Charlie telling her how to kill a vampire. "If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing." She needed to know what Emma knew about the twins.
"Because of them? They're children compared to me. They're adoration of you has only shown me that they can remember a time when they were human. That makes them weak. The older you get—the more time passes, those memories—feelings disappear like breath on a mirror. I have seen things, witnessed civilization fall, the Romans, the Greek. I barely remember a time when the sun was my enemy."
Santana smirked, "Really? I always thought the sun was the natural enemy to all gingers—" She could feel the fingers tightening around her neck, but she doesn't flinch. Quinn was far scarier when she was angry. But just as soon as it happened, Emma had pulled away and was back in her chair. She had definitely hit a sore spot.
"I apologize, I shouldn't have lost my temper."
Santana winces and rubs her neck still keeping herself focused on Emma. "I've seen them fight vampires that were far older than them, I've seen them win." Santana lies. "If you hurt me they will come for you and I've seen what Charlie does."
Emma smiles at her in a condescending manner. "For someone who has spent quite a bit of time living amongst them, you know very little about vampires. If the sire is strong and old, they pass on certain traits onto the ones they sired. Sue Sylvester has been around nearly as long as I have. She must have seen something in them."
Santana kept her face neutral, Charlie and Quinn hadn't been sired by Sue, at least not in the traditional sense. They didn't know who their sire was they had admitted that much. They weren't even completely sure that they were vampires. Emma didn't know, which meant that no matter what Charlie and Quinn would probably avenge her. "They're not afraid of you. It doesn't matter how young they are, they aren't afraid of you."
"Intelligence isn't a trait that is passed on through the sire bond," Emma says with a simple shrug.
Santana licked her lips. "They're going to save me, and then they're going to kill you. And if you turn me into a thrall, we've talked about this, they'll kill me too."
Emma moved her chair, so it was directly in front of Santana's. She pauses and readjusts it once more until it's perfect. "I know you think I'm the villain Santana, but I'm on your side. I'm doing all this for the greater good."
"My side? You think I wanted this? People dying? My friends losing their minds and changing who they were? You think I wanted to harm innocent people?" Santana snaps, her voice laced with incredulity. "I'm not a fucking terrorist!"
Emma watches her outburst and reaches for her pens. "No, you're a freedom fighter. You see the world for what it is. Sick. You know just like I do that this isn't how it was meant to be. The vampire population is growing. The shifters— animals bullying humanity? This isn't what the world should like."
"I see the world for what it is?" She needed more time, she was certain she had seen Brittany's finger twitch. A few more moments. "I never said humanity first. I think we can all coexist in relative peace."
"The lion doesn't coexist with the gazelle Santana. You, humanity is cattle, they fatten you up, keep you stupid and locked away in such small broken-down homes. It's criminal and personally between you and me the blood tastes horrible. It's missing the sweet taste of fear, or lust, or anger. They're domesticating you, keeping you as a pet, pretending to still be human. Making you feel something for them and it's wrong. They're wrong."
Santana blinked she wasn't quite sure she understood Emma. "You're doing this, to make things as they were? When humans were in charge?"
"Humanity deserves to thrive Santana. Things were better back then when you didn't know about us. And while I admit there is no putting that cat back in the bag. Progress has stopped, a few new inventions here and there, but vampires don't care Santana. They don't create they destroy. As for the shifters, they just want revenge for the wrongs of the past. I want humanity to what it was. I want progress, I want to free you. I want to free all of humanity, and make sure you rise up and fight back."
"And not be protected from people like you?" Santana questions frowning at the thought. "People who can weaponize our thoughts and minds—"
"You think I turned them against their will?" Emma snorted. "William's wife cheated on him with a shifter because she believed it would get her ahead in life. Poor, sweet Will wasn't going anywhere, he was always going to be a crappy teacher, who cared more about his ego then the children under his care. He wanted to be somebody, so I made him someone. I think he loved me." Emma inhaled at this. "As for Artie? Well you saw what the vampires did to him. How they broke him. He didn't want to feel helpless, so I fixed him. What is it you want Santana? You're nothing more than their pet."
Santana looked at her father for a moment before turning her attention back to Emma. She was wrong, about everything. And as much as she bitched about the twins, as much as she hated that they were jerks most of the time. She did like them, they weren't the monsters that she had originally thought they were, and if the twins were able to change then she was certain other vampires could change as well. "I don't think I'll ever agree with your methods, terrorism—"
"It's only terrorism if you lose. History has always been written by the victors Santana, and even then, an excellent propaganda campaign by the losers and you'll still be seen as martyr's or freedom fighters. I've seen it a million times before. This very country was founded by traitors. Oh, I'm sure you believe in America, and the constitution but that was a different time Santana and it will never come back for as long as vampires are in charge." Emma pointed out. "Artie talked about you. He said you had some big ideas on how to make humanity better, on how to bring America back again. You could lead a new movement, you could work against them. Turn the people against them."
Santana flicked her eyes to Brittany once more before swallowing. "This is all well and good, but from where I'm sitting you're no better than they are. If I don't do what you say, you'll hurt my parents and everyone who I love and care about, right?"
"That's how the world works Santana, the strong prey on the weak. I was weak once, a meek little mouse. Look at me now Santana." Emma smiled.
Santana inhales, there was no winning, there was no getting out of this without some sacrifice. "Let them go, and I'll do whatever it is that you want," Santana said firmly.
Emma smiled, "I always knew you were reasonable Santana. I will let your parents go and they won't even remember this incident so long as you take care of one thing for me."
Santana licked her lips, "And what's that?"
"You take out Sue's lapdogs," Emma smiled. At the shock on Santana's face she smiles. "It won't do if I do it. This is for humanities benefits. You've fought for elections, and then you take out the dictators? You'll be a legend Santana; the humans will break out of their fog and they will fight back. All across the globe, and the world will return to how it once was."
"I'm sorry, how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Santana shivered when Emma smiled that weird creepy smile at her. She was going to regret this.
