Nightlancer600: Thanks! And hopefully this chapter helps you better understand where the story is going :D
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Guest- Thanks for your review! You're right, I looked back at the characters and they aren't showing much emotion… :/ I struggle getting emotion across in a third-person perspective, but I did the best that I could in this chapter.
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Quick note- Pay attention to the flashback in this chapter, it ends up being important! (Believe it or not, this story is actually going somewhere!) Also, I am having a "choose your own adventure" of sorts. Read the chapter and then see the bottom AN for details.
"You!" Quinn stammered. "And—and you!"
The first person sitting in the car looked surprised to be called out. "What?"
"You visited the glee club. And now you're hanging out with…Sue? In a dark black car? During the school day? Don't you both have jobs or something?" Santana had managed to collect her thoughts better than Quinn, who was still gaping at the two people, but she was still as surprised as her friend was.
"We have no time for this nonsense," Sue said, gesturing towards Bryan Ryan and the three girls.
"What did I do?" He asked, obviously offended.
Sue pinched the bridge of her nose, and looked at them all like they were total dumbasses. "Not you. I meant that we could hold introductions until these three get in the van." This last command was snapped in the girls' direction, and none of them hesitated to climb in, even Quinn. A wheelchair ramp was conveniently placed at the door's opening as if the two teachers had been waiting for them.
"Now that we're all situated," Sue began, glancing around at all the faces surrounding her. Somehow the interior of the car had been conveniently arranged in a way that the seats were all facing each other, leaving a small empty space for Quinn to wheel over to. Santana had no clue who the hell was driving this thing, but decided not to ask. Sue was annoyed enough as it was. "It's time we begin Mission: Save the Vacuum."
"Vacuum?" Bryan Ryan asked. "Is that the earth girl—"
"I told you not to mention that until you let me explain!" Sue snapped at him.
"Who's the vacuum?" Santana asked, ignoring the coach's obvious foul mood. "Is that Berry?"
"You're right, I'm losing my touch. Maybe she could be Squirrel? Squirrels are pretty loud…" she looked around the car desperately for backup, and then sighed again. "Things were bad enough as they were—" Sue looked genuinely concerned, and it was the first time Santana had actually felt bad for her. Whatever was going on, it certainly wasn't good. "—And now I'm losing it. What has this world come to?" Santana refrained from rolling her eyes. "The missing girl is 'vacuum' because of her volume." Sue explained to her teammates.
"Ohhhhh." Santana said from her spot next to Brittany. "I thought it was because she sucked the life out of everyone surrounding her." She looked up to a car full of annoyed faces. "But, you know, she is pretty loud too. The whole loud thing works too."
Brittany chose this time to chime in, "See, guys? Cousins!" She grinned blindly at Bryan Ryan and Sue.
"Britt, you were right. We do know these people. That doesn't make them our cousins." Santana again resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Obviously no one else was jumping in to explain to Brittany what a cousin was.
Brittany's smile shrank. "Santana—they're golden too." Santana had no idea what this meant, so she ignored it and turned back to Sue, the unofficial leader of the gathering.
"But aren't you both supposed to be working right now?" Santana had already asked this, but she hadn't been answered and thought it was a good place to start the conversation.
"Like Sue Sylvester would spend her life training cheerleaders." Her nose crinkled in disgust. "Bunch of skinny little nobodys." She glanced over the three girls, two of whom were wearing cheerleading uniforms, and the other who had one stashed in her closet at home. "No offense."
This did not clear up any questions, but before Santana could ask another Quinn beat her to it. "So if you don't spend your days training cheerleaders, what do you do?"
To the surprise of everyone in the car, Brittany was the one who answered. "Santana, I already told you. She's golden, like us, remember?"
Santana did remember something about how the three of them (plus Rachel) had "golden trails" but she had no idea what that meant. The four of them had absolutely nothing in common besides glee club, and Quinn and Brittany didn't really care about it the same way Santana and Rachel did. Brittany, Quinn, and Santana were all on cheerios, but Rachel had about zero interest in that. "I'm a little confused, Britt. What does it mean to have a golden trail?"
Sue jumped in before Brittany could explain. "If you're all done," she said, giving pointed looks to both Santana and Bryan Ryan. "I think this is a good time for me to explain what is going on and why Vacuum has been kidnapped." She paused, and this was the first time in the conversation that Sue looked at a loss for words. By the time she had finally begun talking, the car was dead silent and she had everyone's attention. "And I also need to explain why you three are the ones who need to go get her."
RQ-SB-RQ-SB
Rachel had been having a pretty good day—until she was kidnapped, that is. But that wasn't for a few hours to come, and right now she was still having a pretty good day. She was walking down the hall with Mercedes, who was venting about some of her relationship drama. It wasn't like Rachel didn't care; she was happy for her friend, she really was. Mercedes had finally gotten a boyfriend, and he was a guy that she really liked. And yeah, it was awful that another guy had waited right until she had finally gotten a boyfriend to decide that he also liked her. But it was right after fourth period, and that meant that Rachel was scanning the halls for Quinn to take her to lunch. That also meant that Mercedes' boy drama wasn't on the top of Rachel's priorities right now.
"Rach?" It was Mercedes.
"Hmmm?" Rachel mumbled, scanning the hallways.
"You're not listening, are you?" Rachel groaned inwardly. The last thing she wanted right now was to get Mercedes upset at her, especially since the two had been so close the year before.
Rachel smiled sheepishly towards her friend. "Sorry, Mercedes. Please, don't take it as a sign of lack of interest, because I really—"
Mercedes shrugged. "Nah. I'm not taking it personally. Besides, I think you need to go get your girl."
Right ahead of the two, a grumpy-faced Quinn appeared, being accompanied by an amused Sam. "I'm fully capable of pushing myself around, Sam."
"I know you are. It's just funny to watch you get all crabby and uptight about it," He grinned at Rachel. "What do you say, switch?"
Rachel gladly agreed; she took Quinn's chair from Sam and continued pushing it down the hallway, after saying her goodbyes to Mercedes. Mercedes joined the blonde boy, and the two started walking the opposite direction.
"I didn't know you and Sam were still friends," Rachel tried to sound perky, but failed. All of a sudden her good day didn't look so good anymore.
"Yeah. We have been ever since I helped him out a little last year." Quinn paused, and then finished, "Sam's a great guy. Mercedes is lucky."
Rachel pressed her lips together, glad that Quinn couldn't see her expression from the chair. She continued walking towards Quinn's locker, but finally said, "I didn't know you felt that way about him."
Quinn contemplated the statement for a few seconds, and at first Rachel was afraid that she had come on too strong, until Quinn responded, "He forgave me after I cheated on him. He didn't owe me anything, but he gave me that. It meant a lot to me last year, because I didn't have any friends. I had abandoned Mercedes and Kurt for popularity; I'd fought with Santana for the lead cheerleader spot, and lost both her and Brittany. Finn didn't really care about me, I didn't have you yet—" Rachel's breath caught in her throat, "—and so he was really my only friend last year. Even this year, when I was acting completely nuts, he still emailed and called when he was in Kentucky. Even when—" Quinn stopped, and Rachel could hear her breath hitch from her spot behind her. "Even when Beth came back, and I was calling him at two in the morning, sobbing into the phone, completely incomprehensible, he listened to me and he took the time to calm me down and cheer me up. I owe a lot to Sam."
"Would you rather I go back and get him, then?" Rachel snapped, and immediately regretted it. What was wrong with her? Quinn and Santana were the ones who spoke without thinking, not clear, put-together Rachel. Am I…jealous? Rachel wondered. No, of course not. Why on earth would I be jealous of my friend's ex-boyfriend? Unless….no. Not possible. That was for Santana, and Brittany, and Kurt, and Blaine, and Rachel's dads…she supported them, but that didn't mean that…no. Maybe she had feelings for Sam? She pictured blond, smiling Sam. She liked him, yes. But only as a friend.
And then there was also the matter that Quinn had gone totally silent since Rachel's outburst. Rachel could worry about whatever that had been later. Struggling to put together an apology in her head, Rachel forced out, "I—I didn't mean…that at all. Well, maybe—maybe a little, but I really didn't mean to…"
"Rachel, it's fine. You're allowed to get stressed-out once in a while. It's actually really nice of you to even still be friends with me-" Rachel was about to object (really, this mopey behavior had gone on long enough) when her phone went off loudly in her bag, silencing both girls.
Rachel continued pushing Quinn's chair with one hand, while fishing her phone out with the other. "Who was that?" Quinn asked. Rachel's hand clawed around the inside of the bag fruitlessly. Maybe she had put it in one of the outside pockets? She pulled her hand out and started digging around in a different compartment. "Rachel?" Nope. Not in there either. "Rachel, who was that?" Rachel started a new compartment. "Rachel?" Quinn was getting louder and louder by the second, and Rachel still hadn't found the damn phone.
"Quinn, I don't even know who it was yet. Be patient." Obviously patience wasn't Quinn's strong suit. Rachel's hand finally closed around the missing phone, and she yanked it out of the bag. By this point she was wishing that she'd just put the darn thing on vibrate.
From: Finn
Hey rach wanna sit w me today
"Rachel?" Quinn asked warily.
"Quinn, I'll tell you who it was in just a second."
"No, I mean we just passed my locker," Rachel pulled the chair to a screeching halt and swung it around, barely avoiding a group of freshman boys.
"Jesus, Rachel," Quinn mumbled. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Sorry," Rachel smoothly glided the wheelchair up to Quinn's locker. "I got a little distracted, I guess."
"By who?" Rachel should've known Quinn wouldn't give up that easy. "By Finn." Rachel tried to be nonchalant about her answer, but Quinn swerved the chair and twisted in her seat to face her.
"What'd he want?"
Rachel sighed. She didn't want Quinn getting involved in her love life, but truthfully it had been the first day all week that Quinn had talked about something besides the accident. Rachel wasn't about to pass up that opportunity. "He just wanted to know if we would like to eat lunch with him today," Rachel forcefully turned the chair back towards the locker, knowing that it would irritate Quinn.
Quinn snorted and turned herself back around. "So? Are we sitting with him?" Quinn's voice betrayed her—Rachel knew exactly what Quinn wanted. She was making Rachel choose.
Rachel swallowed. Despite doubts about her relationship with Finn, Quinn was not going to make her do anything, wheelchair or not. Finn didn't own Rachel, and neither did Quinn. Rachel stood a little taller. "Do you want to?" She challenged.
"No." The answer was honest and immediate. It hid none of Quinn's dislike for Finn.
"Well, okay. You're my friend, and I'm going to sit with you," Quinn put on a triumphant grin, but Rachel wasn't finished. "But Finn is my fiancée, and you're going to put up with it whether you like it or not. Now, put your books away and let's get to lunch before it's over, please."
Surprising even Rachel, Quinn did what she asked. Rachel sent a reply to Finn, saying thank you, but no, she wanted to sit with Quinn today. Quinn waited until they were continuing towards the lunchroom before pulling Rachel back into the conversation with, "I don't even know what you see in him."
Rachel resisted the urge to sigh. She had known that this conversation wasn't over. "Well, you dated him twice. We even fought over him, what did you see in him?"
Quinn didn't miss a beat. "I saw all the popularity the first time we were together. It used to mean everything to me." That didn't shock Rachel, but she didn't expect what came next. "The second time I dated him, it was more about me trying to get my old life back. I had lost everything, and now that I had a chance to get it all back, I took it. It was so nice," Rachel was paying close attention by now, "when he started flirting with me, even when I was with Sam. It was weird, but nice. During the whole duration of our relationship in sophomore year, he was always looking at someone else. All I wanted was for him to pay attention to me—why wasn't I enough? And then all of a sudden he was there, and he was paying attention to me, not anyone else. I guess the temptation was too much to resist."
Rachel was surprised, to say the least. This was the most Quinn had opened up to her…ever, maybe. And it had been about Finn Hudson, of all things, the one guy that they had fought over time and time again. And Cheerleader Quinn Fabray—bright, blonde, and completely perfect—had been insecure at one time. Well of course she was, Rachel answered herself. Did she really expect Quinn, the girl who got pregnant at 15, to be perfect? It still surprised her that Quinn had been threatened by her relationship with Finn. At the time, that was everything Rachel wanted. She had honestly, truly wanted to make her tormentor to feel bad, to feel jealous. She didn't want that anymore.
She cleared her throat. Quinn had given her an honest answer, and she was going to give her one back. "I was miserable throughout junior high, and my first year of high school was exactly the same. No one liked me; I had no friends. My dads always told me it was because I was different, because I was special. And I did feel different, just not in a good way. I was tormented every day, and I just wanted someone to look past what everyone else saw, and see…" They had reached the cafeteria, and Rachel was about to enter when Quinn braked the wheelchair, turned it around and waited for Rachel to continue. "I wanted someone to see the real me."
Quinn opened her mouth as if to say something, and then closed it. Rachel could almost hear what Quinn was trying to say—"Come on, finish up. You have my full attention."
"And then Finn Hudson, the quarterback, started paying attention to me. He was popular, he was dating you. You were my…" Rachel stopped when she saw Quinn's expression, and worded it differently. "We weren't friends. Let's just put it that way." Quinn's guilty expression subsided and she waited patiently for Rachel to continue. "It felt like Finn was the one who finally saw me."
It was silent between the two for a few moments. "Was he?" Quinn whispered.
Rachel closed her eyes. "Yes." She said softly. The answer sounded uncertain, even to her.
"Then why don't you go sit with him." Quinn spat. Rachel's eyes flew open to see Quinn wheeling in the opposite direction.
"Quinn!" Rachel chased after her, and caught up quickly. "What did I do?" She begged. The moment had felt so real, so deep. It had been destroyed in a manner of seconds, and Rachel was left wondering what she had done wrong.
Quinn's eyes wouldn't meet hers. "He—he sees you. I don't. I don't think we can be friends, Rachel." Quinn scrubbed at her eyes with her hands. Was she…crying? "We've been fighting for too long to ever be friends."
Quinn started rolling away again, and this time Rachel didn't have the heart to follow her. Was Quinn getting feelings for Finn again? Was that what it was?
That conversation was a mistake from the start. Maybe the friendship was, too.
"Quinn—"
SB-RQ-SB-RQ
"Have you heard of the four elements?"
"What like the periodic table?" Santana rolled her eyes. "Because no matter how much anyone tries to convince me, I refuse to believe that science exists in real life."
"Like earth, air, fire, and water?" Quinn guessed, ignoring Santana.
"Exactly." Sue said, shooting a glance at Mr. Ryan. "And let me explain this first, before you jump in like we all know you will. Now," She said, this time addressing the three girls, "once upon a time, in a time far, far ago—"
"Like when you were born," Bryan added coyly from her side.
Sue turned back to him. "Unless you want me to throw you out of a moving vehicle, I suggest you shut your tiny little trap." He sat back against the seat, folded his arms and did as he was told.
"As I was saying, a long time ago, there used to be people blessed with specific…powers. This power was beyond anything any of your tiny brains can imagine, and at first the people were able to live happily together. Now—get it into your heads that earth was a very different place back then. The earth back then and the earth now are very different things—got that, Boobs McGee?" Santana nodded without any of her usual attitude. Sue had gotten Santana and Quinn's attention, and Brittany just looked bored, as if she were attending a lecture that she had already heard. "Back then, magic—yes magic, little Miss-I-Believe-In-An-Invisible-Carpenter-In-The-Sky—magic was thought to stem from the earth itself. There were magical animals, magical people, and this magic was something that anyone could have access to. And then there were the Earthshapers.
"Well, eventually human beings started fighting over the power, and so one day the first Earthshaper appeared out of the sky. No one knew where she had come from, but one day she was nonexistent and then next she was there, with full powers and ready to defend the earth. Over time, more Earthshapers showed up. They came out of lakes, out of fires, even out of the ground like fresh corpses. Well, one day humans got tired of having to answer to these all-powerful beings, and that's when they started hunting the Earthshapers.
"But couldn't they defend themselves?" Quinn interrupted. "You just said that they were more powerful than the humans."
"Yes, they could defend themselves. As you should have figured out by now, these guys were the most powerful things on earth. But as you have seen evidence of here on this earth, humans don't like to play fair. They waited until an Earthshaper's back was turned; they killed them in their sleep. It was like a sick game to them, and so eventually, there were few Earthshapers left, and the ones that were left went into hiding.
"That's awful." Santana said. She felt sick to her stomach just thinking about it… "But what does it have to do with us?"
Sue sighed in defeat. "All right. Go." She instructed to her partner, who sat up triumphantly.
"Well, the ones that were still alive after the rest, you know, were killed, they pretended to be average humans. And what do average humans do? They breed, if you know what I mean."
"Quinn knows all about that!" Brittany offered.
"Oh, please. I'm the one that gave birth but if it weren't for a little something called birth control I think we all know who'd end up being the master breeders here—"
"Enough," Sue ended the conversation, giving Quinn the evil eye.
"Well," Bryan Ryan said, ignoring the argument, "they had kids, right? So those kids each got a fraction of the power their parents did. Eventually the humans figured it out, but by that time it was too late. The Earthshapers' posterity passed off as humans more easily than their powerful ancestors, and their powers were much more deeply hidden. So the Earthshapers are, in a way, still alive today. The few that are still living work to do the jobs of their ancestors, but—" Bryan Ryan looked strangely burnt out, as if just mentioning this fact drained his energy, "—as you can see, we're failing."
"So, what? Berry was kidnapped because she had some freaky ancestors?" Santana gaped. "All this…weird history stuff has to sound weird even to you."
"It's weird, but it's true, Lopez." Sue told her, glancing outside the window. This time addressing Bryan Ryan she said, "And you might wanna hurry up, we're almost there."
"Almost where?"
Both adults ignored this, and Bryan continued. "Not just the one girl. All of you are descendants from the Earthshapers."
This took a few seconds to sink in for Quinn and Santana, but when it did, both girls started speaking at once.
"Wha—"
"No way is this—"
"Quiet!" All heads, even Sue's which had been previously occupied looking out the window, turned towards the sudden outburst from Brittany, who was sitting there grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Tell them!"
Quinn wasn't sure how she felt about whatever it was she was about to hear, but her first instinct was run, which of course she couldn't do since she was stuck in a moving vehicle with two of her best friends, and well, she was paralyzed from the waist down. So instead she asked tentatively, "Tell us what?"
Bryan and Sue exchanged glances. "Each of the Earthshapers was given a specific gift with one of the four elements,"
"So we're going to get gift baskets?" Santana asked sarcastically.
"As in, each Earthshaper has a power with a specific element. Earth. Fire. Water. Air."
"So? What are we?" Santana was getting impatient with all of this information.
"I'm air!" Brittany exclaimed, her smile growing with pride. Santana leaned in close to her girlfriend and clasped her hand.
"Brittany is air," Bryan confirmed. "It's odd—her powers are the closest to the original Earthshapers that I've ever seen. She's very powerful spiritually, but her physical powers have yet to show themselves." He looked straight at Brittany with a dead-serious look on his face. "You will be the one to lead them to the missing girl, and if necessary, send messages to her."
"Wait, so can Brittany talk to birds or something?" Quinn asked. It was a serious question, but Sue scoffed as if she was being childish.
"Of course not!"
Quinn scowled. "Well, how can she send messages, then?"
Bryan Ryan jumped in before Sue could. "She can send messages through the wind. The wind carries things, and not just dirt and leaves. It carries pictures, thoughts. Brittany probably knows some weird things about people, right? And she might say odd things sometimes, but it's because she's seen those things. Brittany will be your eyes throughout your mission."
Santana leaned back in her seat. Mission? God, less than a year ago she was busy pretending to be in love with Dave Karofsky. She wasn't ready to go on some crazy-ass mission whether Brittany had weird powers or not. And what if they got attacked like Rachel had? Brittany may have powers, but she would still be pretty useless in that situation. And what about Quinn? Quinn was in a wheelchair for God's sakes.
Quinn… Santana looked over to Quinn, who was sitting on Brittany's other side. She looked calm, composed, in check. Her eyes were staring straight ahead at the car door. She looked deep in thought, but she obviously wasn't freaking out like Santana was.
Although Quinn had looked calm and composed last year, and that was before her major meltdown earlier this year. Maybe Quinn wasn't the best example. Santana turned to Brittany, who was bouncing up and down with excitement. Santana realized that Brittany had known about all of this earlier—this wasn't her first time learning that she had magical powers like Santana and Quinn. Santana looked at the floor. Whether she was ready or not, she was going to have to deal with this alone.
"Now, Santana. Have you had any…odd experiences before?" Bryan Ryan raised an eyebrow, as if Santana hadn't caught what he was getting at. Yeah, I get it. Have I had a weird day and thought to myself, 'you know what? I think I may have gazillion-year-old magical powers that came from the earth!'
"Yeah, odd like I found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground. Not magical weird."
"That's perfectly normal. But, Sue has been watching you closely for the last four years, and she's positive that you are a fire Earthshaper descendent."
Jeez. If Santana had taken the time to think about it, she probably would have guessed that she was fire. Now that she heard it out loud she was still surprised. She remained silent, but looked up toward Bryan Ryan as he explained.
"The element fire is known for being courageous. Fire can be extremely dangerous when it wants to be, but this benefits any Earthshapers with the gift. You will excel when it comes to battle, particularly when you learn to fight with fire."
"I can do that?" Hell yeah. If only Lauren Zizes could see her now…
"Yep," He snapped his fingers and a spark of flame shot up. He grinned at her. "I'm a fire Earthshaper too."
Sue started coughing dramatically. "I told you to wait until we got there to do that!"
Bryan Ryan's grin dissolved, and he put his ultra-serious face back on. "Your job during the mission will be to get the group past any obstacles that you face—" He exchanged a glance with Sue, "—particularly any living obstacles."
Before giving Santana a chance to process this, he began with Quinn. "Your gift is with water." Quinn had to admit she was disappointed. She was hoping for fire too—water was worthless. It just sat there. Yeah, controlling it would be pretty cool, but not as cool as fire. Water wouldn't help them do anything on their "mission." She could just imagine Bryan Ryan: 'Your job will be to pack snacks and rub Santana The Warrior and Brittany The Wise's feet after a day of saving your life.'
Santana apparently agreed. She cracked a smile, and said, "Ha! Fire's much cooler than water."
This set Sue off, and even Santana looked a little scared. One second Sue was sitting there, looking bored, and the next she was pounding her fist on the car door and giving Santana a death glare. "I am also a water Earthshaper, and I could kick Skippy here's ass any day—"Bryan Ryan let out an undignified grunt, "—water is just as important as fire, if not more. I am proud that my element at least got a girl with real hair. It's no wonder that Quinn reminded me of a young Sue Sylvester even before I knew of her talent—she's got enough sense to keep her trap shut." Santana was smart enough to nod before she pissed Sue off anymore than she already had.
Mr. Ryan continued on as if there had been no interruption, which he was getting good at by that point. "Water has several uses. It also is an asset in battle, particularly in defensive strategies. Water Earthshapers also have been known to use their gifts for healing. Your job will be to be prepared to help defend your group in battle, as well as to heal anyone in your group if the need arises."
"Mr. Ryan," Quinn sat up suddenly. "What about Rachel? Why did these people go after her instead of us?"
"Yeah," Santana chimed in, almost sounding serious. "We all know that nobody would want Berry with us cool studs around."
Brittany giggled. "Studs. You sound like Puck."
"Well," Mr. Ryan answered, as Sue was busy trying to murder Santana with her eyes, "Rachel happens to be an earth Earthshaper. And Earthies, well, they've been pretty rare over the last few centuries. Right now, just as humans are destroying the earth, we really could use some more of them. I'm guessing whoever took her decided that they could use one too."
Sue scoffed from her place beside him. "'Whoever took her.' Yeah, like just anybody would mess with an Earthshaper under the watch of Sue Sylvester."
"So you know who did it?"
"Of course we know who did it. But that will have to wait for tomorrow." Coach Sylvester quickly dismissed the question and went back to staring out the window in disinterest.
"I'll tell you all a little more about earth Earthshapers before you leave. It might come in handy." Bryan Ryan took back control of the conversation.
"So," Santana asked. "When are we leaving?"
"Within a few weeks. We'd like to prepare you—"
"No." This came from Quinn, who everyone turned to. "We are leaving tonight."
"Don't be stupid, Q." Sue said, rolling her eyes as if that was exactly what Quinn was. "You're not just parading off into the jungle until we prepare you."
Quinn refused to budge. "What about Rachel? It sounds like these people, whoever they are, are powerful enough to take on Rachel. And she doesn't even know why these people took her."
"Rachel really stands no chance." Santana agreed. "We have to leave sooner than that."
Bryan Ryan glanced anxiously at Sue. "Maybe you could leave in a week. We still have to prepare you—"
"I'll give you one day. The day after tomorrow, I'm leaving and nobody's going to stop me." Quinn said with a note of finality.
Brittany raised her hand as if they were still at school. "I have a question," she said, releasing the obvious tension between the other four.
"Yes, Brittany?"
"Well, we're gold right?" Without waiting for confirmation, she continued. "Well, what about the silver trails in the glee club?"
"You're right, Brittany. Someone else you know does have magical properties, but that's a story for another day." Bryan told her casually, as if it was everyday that Brittany discovered a magical person.
Sue turned and examined Quinn and Brittany closely. "Well?" She barked, as if unsatisfied with their responses.
"What?" Santana demanded.
Sue looked nearly flabbergasted with rage, her face quickly turning red like a tomato. "Don't you understand how rare this is? Earthshapers are rare enough as it is, but four of you, the same age, born in the same town, one of each kind of Earthshaper?" Quinn and Santana just stared at her, and Sue nearly exploded with fury, "Or is this what happens to you everyday? Do you not appreciate how hard it was for Mr. Ryan and I to completely uproot our lives to watch over you?" It was the first time in the entire conversation that Sue had referred to her partner by his actual name, and even Santana had to respect that.
"We're sorry, Coach Sue. We're just in shock, that's all." Even Sue looked slightly surprised by Santana's response. She turned back towards the window once again and started mumbling under her breath.
The car rumbled to a stop, and everyone took a moment to peer out at the surroundings. "Well—" Bryan Ryan's cocky grin returned as he opened the door. "Welcome to the Lima, Ohio Earthshaper Headquarters!"
First of all, LONGEST CHAPTER EVER. I'm so happy it's finally finished!
I'm not really happy with this chapter, even after editing it numerous times. Eventually I figured out that it's because this chapter is ALL FILLER. And well, I kind of hate writing PURE filler. But it was necessary, and so I powered through and got most of the entire story's filler done in one chapter. Whew!
Also, Brittany and Bryan Ryan mentioned that (a) member(s) of the glee club also have magical abilities. (Although for anyone who misunderstood, these people will not be Earthshapers or be as powerful as Earthshapers.) I happened to come across this idea at about 3 AM, and at the time it felt completely ingenious. But, you know, plenty of things feel ingenious at 3 AM. SO I would like to know how many people a)don't even care and don't want the subject to be mentioned again b)are curious to know who also has magical powers but don't care enough to know anything else about it or c)would LOVE to see other members of the glee club involved in the story. Also, for anyone that DOES care about this plot, I am very open to suggestions about WHO you would like to see, although I already have a few ideas of my own. (If this little plotline ends up going anywhere in the first place.)