Chapter 2 - The Deal
She's distracted. It's definitely not the most opportune moment to be lost in her thoughts either (she is surrounded by an angry coven of vampires, after all). There's a good forty of them attacking her and it's probably a good thing that she could kill them all in her sleep. Vogue is with her today and, honestly, is doing infinitely more work. He's staked a good twenty or so of them with the bedazzled stake Rachel gave him for Christmas. She's frankly surprised it even works (she owes Rachel 20$). She has yet to stake her first vampire and they're actually starting to get the upper hand on her. She's been bitten twice (she's thankfully immune to their poison) and she's carelessly allowed another few to land a couple of hits. She can't help but laugh at their wardrobe though, which consists of studded leather jackets and ripped jeans. Most of them have strangely colored hair and multiple piercings as well. Brittany misses vampires from back in the day, all capes and weird accents. She blames Buffy.
Before she realizes what happened, she's been backed into a corner. She wants to laugh because, seriously? This must be the stupidest pack she's ever encountered; she found them after following a red-haired vampire home after he attacked a cashier at an In-N-Out Burger over a lumpy milkshake. Honestly, being a vampire used to mean something. Now she finds them bursting into flames trying to sun-bathe, choking on chunks of garlic at The Cheesecake Factory and getting tattoos of crosses on their backs (it's fools like this that make Brittany question the accuracy of evolution). It takes a vampire in Crocs kicking her in the face to pull her out of her daze and set her in motion. She's somehow lost her stake in the commotion and, since she's not too keen on be-heading, she snaps the antlers off a deer head tacked to the wall behind her (she's sure Rachel would say something about it if she were here). After that it's pretty easy, she finishes them off in a little less than 10 seconds. Kurt is huffing and puffing in the corner, trying desperately to rearrange the padlocks on his shirt (he may have gone a little overboard on this particular outfit).
"I swear to God, if I see another white-washed denim vest…" Kurt says.
Brittany laughs before assessing the scene. The floor is covered with blood and bodies (no, vampires don't turn to dust; thanks again Buffy!). It's going to take one hell of a fire to destroy them and she's frankly too tired to start gathering kindling.
"Kurt, you should head out, I'm about to get really badass on this place," Brittany says, pointing to an exit in the back. After she's sure Kurt is a safe distance from the area, she closes her eyes and allows the light within her to grow. It's been a long time since she's allowed herself to combust. There's a sizable risk whenever she does this (she definitely learned that the hard way). It takes an immense amount of concentration to prevent herself from letting off too much light-energy. If she were to lose control for even a millisecond, it could mean the end of the world (how's that for work-related-stress?). She supposes now is not the best time to be undertaking such a task, all things considered, but what the hell, it's only the end of the world, right?
…..
She gets back to Angel Cove a little after noon. A recently arrived Artie has already prepared lunch while she and the others were out on rounds. His cooking is nothing special, but it sure as hell beats Rachel's pasta (so there's that to be thankful for). Brittany is absolutely exhausted, but that's probably to be expected after you explode like a hot pocket in the microwave for too long. She walks into the kitchen to get a plate, where she finds Quinn hovering a banana in the palm of her hand.
"You know some people say not to play with your food," Brittany laughs. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Just making this banana my bitch," the other blonde says. (Brittany knows exactly what Santana would say if she were here).
Brittany grabs a plate from the cupboard and leaves Quinn with her fruit. It's been much too long of a day for conversation, so she takes her food to her room. She sits down at her desk and fires up her computer (which she has only recently learned how to use). As she waits for it to load, she listens to Rachel sing No More Tears on her new karaoke machine (if she knows Quinn like she thinks she does, the thing will be broken come morning). After twenty minutes trying to find Safari, she finally manages to get onto the computer and into her hotmail account. She has well over 3000 e-mails, so she gets to work.
She's about an hour in (and 1500 e-mails later) when she opens up a message from an unknown sender. Inside it, she finds a link labeled "watch this". She's pretty sure it's a virus but clicks on it anyway (it's been awhile since Artie's yelled at her). At first she's not entirely sure what she's supposed to be seeing. If she were playing Pictionary she'd probably guess a clown in a sombrero or a fish on a unicycle. Finally the image on screen seems to focus, revealing an empty room. She can hear something being dragged outside the frame. She's not sure if what she's watching is pre-recorded or live. Suddenly a masked figure appears on screen dragging a girl by her hair behind them. They sit her in the middle of the room, her hands are tied behind her back and her mouth is duct taped shut. Brittany doesn't recognize her at first and then, with horror, she realizes it's Sugar, one of The Dark Ladies and Santana's partner in crime. Her eyes are almost swollen shut and she has large gashes on her arms and legs. Brittany can't tell if the masked figure is a man or woman since they're wearing a plastic white coverall splattered with blood. They disappear for a moment, returning shortly after with a large foot long knife. The blade is twisted like a snake and rusted with dried blood. Brittany can't move. Her heart is pounding through her chest and she can feel thick beads of sweat dripping down the back of her neck. She searches the room for any indication as to where it's being filmed, but finds nothing. She watches with horror as the masked assailant lifts Sugar up off the floor with super-human strength. Without a word they put the knife to her neck. Brittany thinks she's sees a tattoo on the figures left wrist but before she knows what happened, Sugar is lying dead on the floor, her head completely severed from her body. The masked person walks slowly forward and speaks to the camera. Their voice is mechanical and sounds like they're speaking through a voice modifier.
"Know this Brittany Pierce, this girl's death is on your hands. It is because of your sins that she lies here now. She will not be the last to die because of your crimes against God. Deus tecum."
With that the screen turns black. Brittany's acting on impulse alone now. She picks up the phone and dials The Watchers. Time seems to be traveling in slow motion as she waits for someone to answer.
"Hello?" comes Tina's voice at last.
"Tina, please tell me that Santana's still there," Brittany says. She's panicked and scared and she needs to know that Santana isn't behind this. She needs to know that she's innocent.
"Of course she's still here. Brittany, what is this about?" Tina asks.
"You're absolutely sure? There's no chance that she could have gotten out?" Brittany all but pleads.
"Brittany, I'm looking at the security feed right now. Santana is safe and sound in confinement. What's happening?" Tina sounds confused and frankly, Brittany doesn't blame her. Now is not the time to explain things though, so she hangs up and runs to find Artie.
…..
"So I'm tracking the I.P address as we speak. It's going to take a couple of days though, because this person definitely knew what they were doing. Thankfully there's not a soul on earth who can best me when it comes to technology," Artie says. "A couple of things I have managed to find out is that one, this was a live recording and two, you were right about the tattoo. I've paused the video and enlarged it and it's clear that whoever this was has a tattoo on their left wrist. I don't have any clue as to what the symbol stands for though."
Unfortunately, Brittany does.
She leaves Artie and walks solemnly to her bedroom. She's still in a state of shock, and the revelation she's just had has rocked her to her core. Once inside her room, she locks the door and makes her way to her safe; it's hidden behind a large portrait of The Order of Angels. From it she takes out a manila folder labeled "The Watchers". Underneath the black print, she finds the symbol.
…..
She's gathered the rest of The Order for a team meeting. She's not exactly sure how to break the news to them and frankly, she's not even sure who she can trust anymore. While she's the only member of The Watchers, she knows how powerful they are and she hopes that they haven't managed to get their hands on one of her team. She'll have to have faith in her judgment for now.
"What's this all about Brittany? I was in the middle of teaching Quinn how to properly iron my costume," Rachel says. Quinn looks absolutely miserable and about ready to smother Rachel in her sleep with a pair of her perfectly ironed socks.
"This morning, I was sent a really nasty video," Brittany starts.
"Oh God, it's not the one that Puck sent me of the girl and the donkey is it?" Quinn asks. Puck goes to high-five Kurt, only to be met with a disgusted glare.
"No, it's not that one…"
"Oh no, is it the PETA one where all those poor innocent foxes are being skinned? They still had eyelashes at the end of it!" Rachel asks in shock.
"No, I bet she found gay porn on Kurt's computer. I swear, I'm terrified to click on any of his bookmarks anymore," Puck says. Kurt is three shades of red and is actually starting to turn invisible.
"Kurt! No powers at the table!" Rachel scolds.
This meeting is certainly not going how Brittany had hoped.
It's only after Quinn has lunged at Rachel twice and Puck has created a definitive list of the best porn sites that Brittany snaps. Her wings snap out of her back and her skin turns a blinding shade of white.
"Shut up, all of you!" she yells (her voice is almost as loud as one of Rachel's sonic screams).
She's got the group shamed into silence. She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Her wings are refusing to fold back in and she's still glowing, but she's managed to relax enough to speak.
"This morning when I was checking my e-mails, I was sent a link from an unknown sender. After clicking it…"
"Brittany you should never open things…"Rachel starts
Brittany slams her fist onto the dining room table, splitting it in half.
"I'm talking now!" Brittany says with as much patience as she can muster.
She eyes Rachel, daring her to speak (she thankfully remains silent).
"It linked me to a live feed of a video. I don't want to get into too much detail but Sweet Danger, one of The Dark Ladies, was killed in it. Got anymore smartass remarks now, guys?"
The group is silent save a tiny squeak of shock from Rachel.
"While I was watching, I noticed that the killer had a small tattoo on their left wrist. It was a symbol; a symbol that belongs to the upper echelon of The Watchers," Brittany says, pausing for effect. "All high priests and priestesses have this tattooed on their skin."
"How do you know all of this?" Kurt asks timidly.
"Because Santana has the same exact tattoo," Brittany says. "Before she turned, she was not only a high priestess but the high priestess."
"I knew it was her!" Quinn says angrily.
"I wish it were that simple, Quinn. Santana's tattoo was located on the back of her right shoulder. She also had it burned off when she left The Watchers. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Santana wasn't involved in this." Brittany doesn't mention how relieved she is. She doesn't mention that despite the horrible situation, she actually feels thankful. She doesn't mention that she herself burned the tattoo off of Santana's skin.
"So what do we do now Britt?" Kurt asks. He seems scared (and Brittany doesn't blame him).
"Artie is tracking the I.P. address, so in a couple of days, we'll know for sure where the video came from," Brittany says. She doesn't tell them the other part of her plan just yet. As she walks back to her bedroom, she hears Rachel saying: "Jeez, this was a nice table".
…..
She's sitting in the interrogation room of The Watcher's prison for the second time in three days. She's been sitting here for a little over an hour, waiting for the guards to bring Santana. As she sits, she thinks back to six years ago.
"Santana, I don't wanna do this," Brittany says to the dark haired girl sitting with her back to her.
"Britt you have to. As long as I have this stupid tattoo, The Watchers will always be able to track me," Santana says.
Brittany doesn't know why Santana all of a sudden wants to be free of The Watchers. She's only just been made head high priestess, something's she's wanted her entire life.
"It's gonna hurt San. I don't want to hurt you," Brittant pleads.
She's got her hand on Santana's shoulder, covering the small tattoo.
"Please Brittany. I need this," Santana begs.
Brittany's never been good at saying no to Santana. She closes her eyes and allows her hand to release energy. She feels Santana flinching in pain; she can hear the tears dropping to the floor. When she removes her hand finally, the tattoo is gone, replaced with a glowing white handprint. Santana looks back and smiles, her eyes red from crying. Brittany doesn't think it's from the pain.
"I like this better," Santana says.
She leans back and…
Brittany is pulled from her reminiscing by the door opening. Santana is brought in by four muscular guards (Brittany can't help but think it a little overkill). After they've chained her to the ground they leave. Santana's right eye is swollen and dark. Brittany wants to reach out and comfort her (she doesn't). Santana looks different from the last time she saw her. Behind the bruises, Santana's eyes are scared. Her lips are severely chapped and there's blood caked behind her ears. Brittany can tell that someone has attempted to make her look presentable, but she's always been extremely attentive when it comes to Santana.
From her pocket she removes the small device Artie gave her after their meeting. She presses the red button and says:
"Let's make a deal".
…..
When she gets back to Angel Cove she asks Kurt to prepare dinner. They eat in relative silence, save the odd remark from Puck commenting on the unbearable awkwardness (which only really makes everything more awkward). Rachel keeps glaring at Brittany, evidently still upset about the table. Brittany doesn't feel sorry but she apologizes anyway. She wants everyone in the best mood possible by this evening.
Rachel seems to accept her apology and invites Brittany to sing on her new karaoke machine (Quinn doesn't tell them that she's already broken it). She politely declines and heads to the training arena. She spends the next hour racing around the track, smashing boulders into tiny pieces and doing gymnastics on a half an inch thick beam two hundred feet above the floor. She's in the middle of a back handspring when she hears the doorbell. She leaps to the floor and runs at top speed to the get the door. It's obviously not fast enough because Kurt stands at the open door when she gets there. On the other side of the door is a smirking Santana. She's got bags and bags of luggage and Brittany's not entirely sure what to say.
"Well, this is uncomfortable," Santana says for her.
A/N - Thanks for reading!