Okay, YES, this does have some more filler in it, but it was more fun to write and (hopefully) will be more fun to read than the last. It's good that I've finished it though, because I'm sooo excited to finish writing the next chapter! It has a lot more action in it and will be super exciting! See the bottom for a slight preview…

Piling out of the car, the first thing the girls saw was a teeny-tiny little house that looked like it belonged to the seven dwarfs. Based on the cool car, Quinn had kind of assumed that whatever the "Lima, Ohio Earthshaper Headquarters" was, it would be better than this. The house looked to be only one story, and was encased in peeling mustard-yellow paint. A dirty white fence, broken or breaking in a lot of places, was all that prevented anyone from marching right up to the front door and looking into the building…or well, shack really. Quinn quickly came to the conclusion that they were completely doomed.

She exchanged a look with Santana, who looked more annoyed than anything. Quinn could practically hear what was going on in her head: Someone finally appreciates me for what I'm worth, and then they take me to a dirty little house the color of piss.

Bryan Ryan glanced back gleefully every few seconds, as if taking in their reaction. Brittany was the only one who looked excited, hopping up and down on her toes; even Sue looked bored. "C'mon, Skippy. We obviously don't have time to kill admiring your pitiful little project."

Bryan, not looking the least bit dejected, led the way up to the front door. Sue followed him, and Brittany ran at the tail. Santana and Quinn remained, staring at the pathetic little place where they would be prepared to fight whatever the hell was out there to get to Rachel. They were both silent. They had just found out that they had magical superpowers and were supposed to go save their friend from someone else with magical superpowers. Whoever that person was at least knew what they were doing. Quinn didn't have a clue how to heal anyone, or to fight. She was in a wheelchair, for God's sakes. She was pretty much useless in any situation; powers or not.

Santana chose exactly the wrong moment to grab the back of Quinn's wheelchair and start helping her towards the others. She wasn't annoying Quinn intentionally, but it still managed to strike a nerve. In a moment of pure aggravation, Quinn grabbed her wheels and twisted violently in her seat as the wheelchair was still moving. The chair swerved, lost its balance, and nearly threw Quinn from her seat if Santana hadn't managed to catch the stumbling chair in time. The incident was over in less than twenty seconds, but it left both girls startled and steaming.

"Why the hell did you do that, Q?" Santana barked, not caring where the others were and if they were watching. "Are you trying to kill yourself? I was just trying to help."

Quinn, her heart still hammering from nearly getting tossed through the air, gained composure and swung around to face Santana, who had remained behind her. "I can handle my own chair, Santana. You didn't need to do that." She practiced her best glare.

"Oh, please, Q. What didn't I need to do? Save you from dying?"

Quinn's glare deepened. "I would've been fine." She grit her teeth and clutched the sides of her wheelchair tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"You know what? I am sick of you being such a bitch, Q." Even Santana was surprised to hear this coming out of her mouth. She nearly stopped when she saw the look on Quinn's face, but her fury got the best of her. Words kept spilling out of her mouth, getting faster and angrier by the second. Santana had helped Quinn through this whole thing, and she hadn't even gotten a thank you from the girl. What did she get? She got glared at, yelled at, and about zero appreciation for all she had sacrificed. "I have been putting up with this for months, and you know what? I'm done. Wheel yourself over a cliff for all I care." She snapped. "I bet this is why Rachel chose Finn over you."

Tears pooled in Quinn's eyes, and she scrubbed at them with her hands. She wasn't going to give Santana the satisfaction of knowing that her words had had the effect on her that they did. Instead she wheeled towards the staring people on the front step, leaving Santana still fuming. The worst part about it was that Quinn knew every word Santana had said was completely true.

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Rachel continued on her way to chemistry, dreading seeing Quinn. She took her time, just hoping to spot Mercedes or Kurt or even Finn along the way. She could use an excuse to be late for class today. Sighing, she reached the chemistry room and peered inside anxiously. There Quinn was, staring at the desk with a scowl on her face, doing nothing to hide her unhappiness. Rachel, after a moment's contemplation, turned right around and walked the other direction. Now that she thought about it, she really could use the restroom.

Just as she was washing her hands, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Rachel sighed again. Her classroom was all the way down the hall, not only would she be marked tardy (there went her perfect attendance record) but also she was bound to be caught by a teacher on the way down and given a detention. Rachel cursed herself for not just facing Quinn. What was she even afraid of, anyway? Their encounter might be awkward, but Quinn had already ended the friendship. It wasn't like anything really bad could happen. The really bad part was already over.

Rachel forced herself out the doors. Really, Rachel. This behavior is just strange. Just pretend you're a sophomore again…Quinn hated you then, too.

Just before she reached her classroom, her prayers were answered when Mr. Schue came bounding around the corner. "Rachel!"

Her face lit up. Just what she needed! Maybe Mr. Schue could excuse her too, and her attendance record could remain intact. "Hello, Mr.—"

He gasped for breath and interrupted her greeting. "Rachel, I need you to"—she suddenly noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and wide, and there was something off about the color too—"come with me. It's a glee emergency."

"Mr. Schue, are you feeling okay? Maybe you should lie down." She suggested, staring at his eyes, trying to pinpoint what might be wrong. The last thing they needed was their director to get sick right before nationals.

"Rachel, didn't you hear me?" He outright ignored her. "It's a glee club emergency!"

Rachel followed him down the hallway, giving thanks silently for this excuse to leave class and avoid Quinn. "Mr. Schue, maybe when we're done you could walk me back to chemistry and explain to Ms. Briggs—"

"C'mon, Rachel," He beckoned. He was already far ahead of her, and he actually looked alarmed about something. It was the first time Rachel had actually considered that something might be seriously wrong.

"What happened? What's the emergency?" Her thoughts immediately jumped to Quinn, but she shook the idea off. She had just barely seen Quinn. Quinn was fine. But, still, of all the members of the club Quinn was the one who had the catastrophic experiences. You couldn't really blame Rachel for jumping to conclusions.

They reached the choir room, but for some reason it was really dark inside and she could barely see what was happening. She looked around nervously for Mr. Schue, and finally spotted him in the middle of the room, just staring at her with those weird eyes. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she felt around in her bag for her pepper spray while keeping her eyes towards her teacher. Mr. Schue had seemed like such a good man, but you could never really tell for sure.

The door slammed shut loudly from behind her. Rachel twisted her neck around, trying to see. This situation was going downhill quickly. Who was in the room with them? Her eyes swam through the darkness, looking desperately for a target. She tried to find her voice, but it seemed to have evaporated. She needed to scream…or find her pepper spray, or run. Rachel couldn't do anything, she was petrified to the spot, feeling smaller than ever in the darkness.

Where was Mr. Schue? He had disappeared from his place in the room. Rachel backed into a corner, trying to gain the courage to run towards the door. Why was it so dark? Where was her pepper spray? Had she gotten it out of her bag yet, or—

The room spun, threw Rachel forward, and then went black.

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The five gathered in awkward silence; the only one oblivious to the tension in the room was Sue. She was all business, herding them through the house. Through the tears in her eyes, Quinn saw quick glances of ugly carpet and outdated, dirty furniture as they passed through the house. It looked like it had been abandoned sometime in the 1970's. Nothing looked the slightest bit like anything they could use for training.

Brittany slowed down a bit to walk next to Quinn's wheelchair, and without looking at her, reached down and clasped her hand. The gesture surprised Quinn; Brittany was usually only this physical (okay, bad choice of words) with Santana. Quinn was touched by the act, and so she struggled to wheel her chair forward with only one hand while still holding Brittany's. Wordlessly, Santana moved behind her to push the chair. Quinn looked back at her in surprise, and their eyes met. Quinn was the first to look away.

Santana feels sorry for what she called you. It was like Brittany was whispering right into Quinn's ear, and yet she was still walking, her eyes forward. Quinn guessed that this was the message thing that they had been talking about. She tried to shrug it off, after all, this wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to her today. Nonetheless she was still a little shaken up by the weird form of communication. She got even more wary of it when Brittany air-spoke, And you're sorry too. I know you are. Brittany's tone wasn't accusing, but it made Quinn's chest swell with guilt anyway. Who was she to treat her friends this way? Who was she to treat Rachel the way she had treated her earlier that day? And now Rachel was gone—kidnapped by some crazy bad guy that Quinn, Santana, and Brittany were supposed to save her from. Yeah. That'd work. Quinn pushed Rachel to the back of her mind. That was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

"Hey, Mr. Bryan?" This was Santana, breaking the heavy silence.

"Yeah?" He asked from the front of the group as they continued through the little shack. (Which, now that Quinn thought about it, was bigger than it looked from the outside.

"What about our parents?" Quinn hadn't thought about this. Yeah, she and her mom had their setbacks. But they were working on it. Judy had even started trying to quit drinking, and she was getting close. Quinn thought guiltily of her mother, spending quite a bit of money supporting Quinn after her accident. They had insurance, but the deductible was pretty big, not to mention some of the things the insurance didn't cover. Like the special van Judy had bought just for Quinn after the little red bug had gotten totaled. The wheelchair-accessible van that Judy picked Quinn up from school in everyday. The van that Judy had been sitting in for—Quinn glanced at her watch—twenty minutes now. She wondered if her mother had started to worry yet…maybe gone into the school to look for her? They had left in the middle of sixth period…had anyone noticed their absence yet?

Quinn shook it off, and pushed that thought away too. That was another thing that she didn't want to think about right now.

Sue answered the question for Bryan. "It doesn't matter right now. They'll probably assume that you four ditched school together for at least a few more hours…after that the police will be contacted."

"Can't I at least tell my mom where I'm going?" Santana asked. Quinn felt bad for her; she knew how close Santana was to both her parents, but especially her mother. By now Santana's mother would be at least concerned; Santana always told her where she was. (She just wasn't always 100% truthful about it.)

Sue actually laughed out loud; it sounded more like a dog barking than a laugh. "Like that'll even matter if you don't come back. Let's just focus on Mission: Save the Vacuum."

Bryan Ryan stopped suddenly and Sue nearly crashed into him. "Watch where you're going!" She spat.

He ignored her, much to her displeasure. He grinned widely, and stepped aside, revealing a door. "This is the hall closet!" He announced proudly.

Everybody just stared at him, but it did nothing to dim his enthusiasm.

"But I'veturned it into the Lima, Ohio Earthshaper Headquarters!" He swung it open dramatically, revealing a set of metal steps leading down towards a large room. Quinn's jaw dropped open. She had definitely underestimated the little building.

She suddenly snapped her jaw closed. She had just realized something; those were steps. As in, she couldn't go down them, and nobody was going to carry her down there. She folded her hands together, scowled, and prepared for a major argument that would involve punching and screaming if necessary.

"And for Miss Fabray—" Bryan Ryan gestured toward the door on the next wall, and opened it theatrically, "a ramp. Newly installed."

Quinn refused to let up her scowl, and instead began her descend into the Earthshaper Headquarters, ignoring the four pairs of eyes following her. They weren't the only ones with magical powers, and she wasn't going to be babied because of her disability. Quinn Fabray still had some dignity left.

All thoughts subsided by the time she had reached the large room, because wow. Obviously she hadn't gotten a very good look at it from upstairs, because, well, wow. Various weapons, some of which Quinn couldn't even place, were stacked against one wall proudly. A large swimming pool took up an entire corner of the room, thrashing and spitting out water as if it was alive. She shivered a little bit, knowing that she would probably be going in at some point, but stopped herself. She could handle a bit of water. Against the next wall sat computers and other impressive-looking technical equipment. Quinn wondered why Earthshapers, the people whose "magic comes from the earth itself" would need computers. The most normal looking part of the room—a small kitchen hosting a stove, microwave, and refrigerator, as well as a few rickety stools sitting against the counter—took up the least space. Several doors led to other unknown places, probably equally as interesting as this room.

Quinn had been so absorbed in looking at the room that she hadn't noticed the arrival of the others. Sue, before giving the others any time to observe their new surroundings, led the way to one of the doors, this one right next to the kitchen. She turned around and tapped her foot. "Well? Are you just going to stare, or are we going to get to business here?" She said impatiently. Bryan Ryan was quick to follow, with Brittany skipping afterwards.

"C'mon, guys! This next room's so cool!" She gushed, smiling with excitement. It suddenly occurred to Quinn how odd a transformation this was from hours earlier…had Brittany already forgotten about Rachel?

"Britt…how's Rach doing?" She tried to sound nonchalant about her question, but Santana smirked from beside her.

"Already using the air girl to stalk your girlfriend?" Santana asked. Quinn would've smiled if she hadn't been preoccupied worrying about Rachel. The comment was a sign of unofficial agreement—Santana would drop it and forget about their fight if Quinn would.

"Oh, she's confused. And she's either really hungry or scared. I always get those two confused. But she's okay." Quinn took a deep breath. Rachel was okay—for now. She felt guilty for not asking earlier, but at least the news from Brittany was good. Quinn was sure Brittany would've said something earlier if Rachel was in trouble.

The three entered the room, and once again Quinn was taken aback by what it held. Books were stacked at least thirty feet high, and in the very center of the room sat a circular wooden table covered in maps and other official-looking papers. Quinn wondered what they were doing in here, but decided not to ask. Mr. Ryan was staring anxiously in the direction of Sue, who was mumbling under her breath and running about from shelf to shelf, shuffling through the books until she found whatever she was looking for, then moving on to the next shelf.

They all gravitated towards the wooden table in the center, and Bryan Ryan started clearing away the papers already on top. He wasn't quite fast enough for Coach Sylvester, who swept away the remaining books with one hand while piling the ones in her arms onto the table.

"Let's start with the beginning." She fished through her stack until she pulled out a map of what looked like the earth, only instead of countries and cities it had odd forests and rivers that as far as Quinn knew, didn't even exist. "The Earthshaper world still exists. It just hides itself in the corners of today's earth. This map explains exactly where everything is—" She pointed to the place where Ohio would be, if it was marked. "This is where we are now. And—Brittany?" She gestured towards the map, and Brittany got a distant look on her face. At first Quinn was a little concerned, but then Brittany came back and pointed to a spot on the map. Sue continued with, "And that is where the Vacuum is. You'll have to go on foot, and the fastest way to get there is to go straight through the Rising Woods." Sue gestured towards another spot on the map, and Quinn struggled to keep up. "These are also known as Fang Woods. I suppose you'll find out why when you get there."

Quinn's eyes worked their way through the map, when she spotted something, a small, blue circle labeled Healing Sanctuary. The place immediately caught Quinn's interest. "Wait," She interrupted Sue in the middle of a speech about the Rising Woods. "What's that?" She pointed to the shape.

Sue shot Quinn a look, obviously for interrupting her but then shook her head and answered, "It's the Healing Sanctuary. Can't you read?"

"No, I mean, what is the Healing Sanctuary?"

Sue snapped her fingers in the general direction of Bryan Ryan, who took it as a sign to bolt to the nearest bookshelf and haul out a particularly thick book. He slammed it onto the desk, and Sue opened it and jabbed her finger at a particular picture without a word.

Quinn's breath caught in her throat. It was a crystal blue pool of water that looked completely undisturbed. No leaves floated in its waves; no dirt or mud had managed to penetrate its surface. Several fountains flowed into the pool, but no ripples or splashes showed sign of the two waterways joining. It gave the pool an appearance of having arms reaching towards the sky. Surrounding the pond was soft green grass that grew right up to the water, but then stopped as if sensing that this was something holy that was to be left undisturbed. Tall green trees that showed no signs of mortality stretched towards the heavens; leafy canopies covered the sanctuary, giving it a soft green glow. Cracks between the leaves left drops of sunlight on the ground.

The oddest thing about the sanctuary was the water itself. It the semi-darkness, the thing that immediately caught Quinn's eye was the colors dancing in the little pool, despite the fact that no waves or ripples were visible. The pool shone like a candle, leaking colorful light all over the area. It was in that moment that Quinn realized the sanctuary's true purpose from the water. She had once heard of the Fountain of Youth in a book of hers, a fountain that would take away signs of age and replenish the youth that most people craved. This Healing Sanctuary reminded Quinn of that, only a thousand times better. Without anyone saying anything, Quinn knew this pool could take away the wheelchair. Everything that she had hoped for just a few months ago was suddenly possible again. Her heart hammered at the thought. Dare she even hope? Maybe…just maybe…when the chair was gone…

"No, Q." Sue snapped the book shut. "And I mean it. I refuse to let you girls go galloping off into the pools of happiness while Vacuum is in custody. No."

Quinn remained silent, but scowled sulkily. She tuned out during the rest of the explanations, letting Santana or Brittany (hopefully someone) listen instead.

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Later that night, Quinn shifted uncomfortably in a cot next to Brittany. "Hey, Britt? I was wondering if you'd—"

Santana shushed her from across the room. "She's asleep!" Sure enough, when Quinn listened hard enough, she could hear the softest of snores coming from Brittany's bed. "I promise, Rachel's fine."

Quinn tried to roll over on the small mattress, but failed. She might've tried harder if Santana wasn't in the room, but wasn't willing to risk any more of her pride at the moment. After finishing up with the maps and eating a quick dinner, the girls were sent off to bed with the promise of having to wake up early tomorrow to begin training. It was bad enough when Quinn learned that they would be sleeping in the pantry, curled up next to all the boxed meals in a room that smelled like cardboard. (Was she really supposed to believe in the entire Earthshapers Headquarters, there wasn't a single guest bedroom or something for them to sleep in?) Then she was forcibly lifted onto her cot by Sue and Santana, just like she was just a tiny weakling.

"Hey, Q?"

Quinn refused to even turn in Santana's direction. Her pride was still hurt from earlier that day. "What?"

"You weren't really thinking of leaving us to go to the fountain thing, right?" Santana's voice held the slightest amount of hurt, as if she was offended that Quinn would think of betraying them.

Quinn's voice wobbled, and even though she could feel Santana's eyes on her, she couldn't meet them. "Of course not."

Sorry for the long wait! It's not going to be NEARLY as long this time, I promise. More Rachel coming up soon! I'm sorry for the lack of her, but she's going to be heavily present in the next chapter, I promise! Also, I would love to hit 20+ reviews this chapter. Send me your thoughts? Please?