Chapter 10: Do I Wanna Know What You Have Planned For Me?
AYDN
The witch, Mercedes, had not been hard to find. No, that was the easy part. Getting Mercedes to help had seemed to be the so far unforeseen obstacle.
Rachel, being Rachel, had never let on to the fact that she knew Mercedes was...difficult, for lack of a better word. She had simply and quietly led Quinn, Santana, and Brittany in the direction of the powerful witch. They will know in time, she thought. She felt a sense of calm wash over her. Yes, she had made the right decision.
The woman had an interesting look to her. She was short and stout. Her hair was covered by a large blood red hood one would assume was attached to the long red gown. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious the hood was floating above it, much like her head was with her neck.
Her skin was a dark purplish gray-brown color that wrinkled with every move and was maybe even decayed in some places, but Mercedes herself seemed to be in great health. Her eyes, or lack thereof, had to be the most terrifying part of her body. She had eye sockets, yes. But could they really be called that if they weren't filled with actual eyes? Instead, they were filled with a deep white glowing depth that served as a light source. Or maybe it was purely to terrify unsuspecting passersby.
The one preparatory thing Rachel had actually urged Quinn to do was bring a peace offering of sorts. Werewolves and witches had never been particularly good friends. They seemed to avoid each other at all costs. This was no different than werewolves normal disposition to most supernatural creatures, admittedly. Though, it was slightly worse with witches. Werewolves were a surly bunch and very much an acquired taste.
Quinn hadn't known what to bring. What did you get for a woman who could conjure up anything she wanted? Quinn had asked Rachel that very question. The Archangel simply pointed to a mason jar sitting a top Quinn's dresser, collecting dust.
Quinn had frowned. She was never going to use its contents but that didn't take away from the simple fact that it was her's and she didn't want to share. She had earned those fair and square on her journey to find her mate and brought them back as a sort of trophy. Rachel, however, did not seem to care.
And that's how Quinn got here. Petulantly holding a baggie half full with Phoenix feathers out for Mercedes to inspect with her void-filled eyes.
(Phoenix's were surprisingly easy to hunt and kill.)
Santana and Brittany had set out to inspect the cozy shop Mercedes worked and lived out of. It was filled with antique knick-knacks and weird creature parts. Santana could closely equate the place to a cross between a old book store and a art museum but with, y'know, magic.
The former human observed the full shelves. Maybe she could find something to help them with their situation and speed this thing along. A shiny mason jar filled with a green vapor swirling and dancing around soon caught her eye. She reached to analyze it closer when suddenly Faust took over her body and ripped her hand away.
'Do not touch that!' Faust admonished with a slight growl followed by a soothing purr to calm down Santana's racing heart. The wolf didn't want Santana's fright disturbing her growing pup, 'I'm sorry for scaring you like that, but it's very important that you don't touch anything in here. Especially that.'
'What? Why?' Santana backed up from the shelf with a protective hand over her stomach. She was fine, but Faust had ignited a motherly panic in her that probably would not go away until they left this place.
Faust sighed before explaining, 'Mostly, I'm just trying to instill caution in you. Not everything in this shop is dangerous but you never know. What you were about to naively touch, however, was a different story. That green vapor is drunkard's breath. It's like a thousand times more alcoholic than Everclear. If you so much as touch that without special gloves, you'd be drunk off your ass, with no sign of sobering up for days if not just killed of alcohol poisoning.'
'That doesn't sound nearly as terrible as I thought it would. What's wrong with being drunk or some measly poisoning? I'm half werewolf and vampire, would that even make a dent?'
'Santana, you're pregnant. It doesn't matter. We can't take risks like that.'
Santana frowned at her own stupidity then went to stand by Quinn so she and the baby would be out of harm's way, and Faust wouldn't yell at her anymore. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be a mother. To be someone's soulmate. She was after all just thrusted out of the plane of her life into this one with no parachute.
Mercedes had since taken the baggie of feathers from Quinn. She hadn't said outright whether she would accept the token or not yet. She pranced frantically around the small counter at the front of the store placing the feathers in different places with a skeptical look on her face.
She snapped her fingers and the room lit up with dizzying oranges and yellows before going out just as quickly as they came. Mercedes smirked and removed her hood. Quinn tried to mask her shock of the woman having normal non-magical curly hair.
"How may I be of service?"
Rachel nudged Quinn forward to speak. The blonde werewolf huffed before taking Santana's hand and bringing her a little closer, "This is my mate. She was bitten by a lee-vampire a few days ago. I turned her to see if it would help with anything, but it just made her a hybrid. Which, I'm sure you are aware is not ideal. We were wondering if you could help get the vampire venom out of her without killing her or our kid."
Mercedes nodded along as the situation brought itself to light. She had a feeling there would be a conflict of interest here. The conflict being witches were not supposed to intervene in vampire-werewolf affairs, but she supposed she could make an exception.
"I believe I can be of assistance." Mercedes stepped toward Santana with a hand to her chin. She snapped and Santana's body caved in on itself slightly.
"What did you do to her!?" Mercedes put a hand up to silence Quinn. Within seconds, Santana stood up straight again, only this time every vein and nerve ending visible just underneath her skin.
"You'll see here that the black stuff in her veins, the venom, is dissipating by itself. Peculiar, for a former human. It seems to just be burning up and vaporizing the closer it gets to your core. It will be fully eradicated within the hour. You must have a pretty strong immune system." It's a joke. A joke that only Rachel gets, but even she doesn't bother laughing.
"I'll have to perform a test."
Mercedes flits around the store some more. Brittany watching her, Rachel watching Brittany, Quinn watching Santana, and Santana watching the black goop flowing through her veins.
The witch comes back with a clipboard in her hand and a crow's leg pen. It is the most normal thing that she must possess.
She snaps her fingers and the veins receded back into Santana's sun kissed skin. Santana took an impossibly deep breath and began to relax.
"Alright, Santana I'm going to ask you a few simple questions, and I need you to answer as honestly as possible. Not that you won't be able to. The questions are enchanted." Mercedes giggled before composing herself as though a singer would before performing.
"First, I want you to relax as much as you possibly can. Close your eyes and make your bones go slack if you need to."
Santana did as she was told. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, leaning into Quinn slightly as she did so.
"First question, do you prefer the heat or the cold?"
"The heat."
"Second, name something you think to be mesmerizing."
"That's not a question, but flames. I like the way they seem to dance."
"Last, what's your favorite smell?"
"...Burning...no...death..." Santana started to sway slightly, Quinn went to steady her but snatched her hand back as she felt the sheer heat radiating off of her mate. Mercedes placed her hand on the girl's forehead. She chanted lowly under her breath.
"Zacthra halcyon bados. Zacthra halcyon bados. Zacthra halcyon bados!" Mercedes shook with power as she removed her hand slowly, "Become your true self, Santana Alexandra Diabla Lopez Alvarez."
"She has five names?" Brittany asked but wasn't surprised when she was ignored.
Santana's eyes flew open.
Rachel's cackles rose and her large white wings sprouted involuntarily.
Black eyes scanned the room and landed on the angel with a scathing look. A smirk grew along her face. Larger, blacker wings sprouted from her back.
Mercedes nodded proud of herself. She had been correct in her assumptions. She placed a magically soothing hand on Santana's forehead again.
The wings folded themselves back out of sight and her eyes turned back to their normal brown.
"Way to go, Quinn. You snagged a demon for a mate. An excellent feat I might add. Alright, my job here is done." Mercedes pranced back around her counter and patiently waited for more customers to enter as if they were lining up at the door.
They weren't.
"Wait! No, she was human. This makes no sense." Quinn explained to the half listening witch.
"Not if you really think about it. She hadn't been expressing any real vampirism. It's probably why she was able to get pregnant. Don't you think everything up until now has been a little too easy, Quinn? It really does make sense. It was about time you came across an actual obstacle. You wanted adventure and here you got it, Quinn." Rachel pressed from her spot on a nearby wall. She chuckled at the growl Quinn let out in her direction.
"Did you know about this?" Quinn half asked half accused. It wouldn't be the first time Rachel kept something important from her.
"I did and didn't. I did know that she was not human. I did not know she was a demon. In fact, I had even convinced my self she was one of my kind. A Cherub to be exact."
Santana faked gagged at the thought of being an angel. The demon in her just about threw up at the thought. She folded her arms and rolled her eyes, Rachel was right about this demon thing making sense though, which was a thought that kind of repulsed her, but she was right nonetheless. Besides, it would explain a lot about her past.
Her father's obsessions. Her mother's absence is probably explainable and somehow totally has to do with this. Her own affinity for heat and fire, which she had never mentioned to anyone in fear of being labeled an arsonist. It was one of the reasons why she cuddled with Quinn whenever she could because the werewolf exuded heat like a new furnace.
Quinn presses the palms of her hands into her eyes until she's seeing stars. She lets out a long groan then looks to Mercedes, she begrudgingly thanks the witch before stalking out of the small shop, not checking to see if she's being followed.
AYDN
The pack is soon gathered for another meeting. Quinn pacing in front of them much like the last time. Though, this time Santana's next to her, her arms crossed as she frowns at Quinn's pacing. The back and forth was making her anxious and that was something she didn't like.
"So, you're a demon?" Greer asked with a tentative smile on his face.
Santana chuckled softly, "Yeah, I guess I am. I have to admit. It's a much nicer feeling than being a vampire. I rather be the real thing, than a demon wannabe."
Zion spoke up, "Well at least the council won't be on our asses anymore. There's nothing about a demon hybrid being unacceptable." Santana nodded making sure Quinn heard that so she would finally calm down.
"Yeah, but something still doesn't feel right." Quinn mumbled under her breath. She stepped out of the room and beckoned Rachel to follow.
The newly realized demon walked to the mirror to view her growing bump. She rubbed it frown, "You're going to be born into something quite interesting, little one. I only hope we can keep you safe."
AYDN
A.N. And that's the end of part 1! The next chapter I get up will be a significant time jump ahead or maybe a flashback years ago. I am sorry about the wait, and I won't act like it won't happen again but I doubt it will. I had serious writer's block and eventually realized I just had to force myself. That's also why it's an extra long chapter.
Anyway, along with that being the end of part 1, it is also the end of ooc!santana, she'll act more like her character on the show and live up to the satan nickname. Within reason. As for Quinn, I don't think she'll ever quite be "in character" she might get closer because of character development and maybe just because of Santana rubbing off on her but that's about it.
Lastly, I know some of you wanted Santana to stay human but that was never where this story was going. There is still a lot you don't know about most of the characters. That is all creative choice. It will all make sense eventually.
As always leave any questions or comments, Happy Reading!