A/N: Second last chapter! Not sure if many people are still reading this, or if the concept is just too werid to hold on to most of you, but if you are still enjoying it, thanks!

.-.

Puck was seriously tired of all this magic bullshit. He'd been tossed around like a little bitch and he was fucking sick of it. He hated the feeling of powerlessness, he hated watching Rachel as she squirmed for her life (or rather for the lives of others), and worst of all, he hated that he couldn't do anything about it.

The rush of wind whistled past his ears as they all cascaded down the side of a mountain. A fucking mountain! He watched in horror as the castle disappeared from view, seemingly vanishing into thin air as he willed himself to stop falling; but try as he might, he couldn't do anything to stop their descent. His throat felt hoarse from all the shouting. It was funny that after being magically gagged for the past however long, his voice still felt like it had strained every muscle.

They all landed in a heap at what he assumed was the base of the mountain. He immediately scrambled to his feet, searching desperately for the castle, trying to figure out which direction he needed to go. A figure came up beside him and Puck instinctively jumped away, turning defensively to face whoever it was.

"Whoa, man," this mysterious Finn guy said, holding his hands up.

"And who the fuck are you?" Puck bit out accusingly. He felt weary and exhausted, but that was no excuse for this new guy to come and mess with him.

"Look, man, it's okay," he said calmly, trying to show Puck that he was no threat. "I just wanted to check that you were okay."

"Yeah?" Puck asked incredulously. Was this fucker for real? He looked past the giant's shoulder to try and see where the Unholy Trinity had gone, but to Puck's shock, they too had disappeared. "And why do you care?"

"Because you're a human who got messed up in business that you had no business being messed up in." He replied, nodding his head like it was the simplest explanation there was.

It wasn't.

"I don't have time for this shit," Puck muttered, turning around to start his climb up the treacherous mountain.

"Where are you going?" Finn called after him, but when Puck didn't answer, he quickly caught up to him and placed a hand on Puck's shoulder. "Look, stop!" he commanded when Puck tried to shrug him off. "Where are you going?" he asked again more insistently.

"Where the hell does it look like I'm going? I'm going to get Rachel," he retorted, rolling his eyes.

"You shouldn't," Finn said, his hand reaching out to stop Puck once again.

"Yeah?" Puck challenged. "And why the fuck not? Who are you to turn up like you fucking know what's best and start bossing everyone around?"

"Like I said," Finn shot back with just as much anger. "This isn't your business! Rachel should never have dragged you into this!"

Puck scoffed and shook his head before turning to continue on his journey, not caring what this guy said.

"This isn't the business of mortals!" Finn shouted after him. "You're just gonna get in the way!" But Puck continued to ignore him.

It wasn't until Finn shouted out his last words that caused him to pause. "What the hell do you care, anyway? You're just like the rest of the world. All you want is for her to grant your wish!"

He turned and glared at Finn. "What the fuck do you know?" he growled. "You don't know anything about me and Rachel!"

"I know that you only agreed to help her because she offered to grant any wish of your choosing." Puck's eyes narrowed, shaking his head. "And I know that if she stays here on earth, she will die. People will always come after her; she's a star. It's only been three days since she arrived and look at what she's had to endure. Do you think you can survive running for the rest of your life?"

"I don't care." Puck bit out through gritted teeth. "I won't leave her there," he said, a tone of finality in his voice, but the stupid punk didn't seem to get the hint.

"And you'll kill her if she grants your wish!" Finn called out after him, trying desperately to persuade him of the hopelessness of it all. "So either way, if she stays with you, she'll die. Do you really want that for her?"

Puck stopped again, pausing in his tracks. "If she wants to leave, then I'll let her, but I'm not gonna force her do to something she doesn't want to do. I'm not some douchebag who thinks he can waltz in and order her around. It was her choice to come here, it'll be her choice if she wants to go back. And not you or anybody else can say otherwise!"

.-.

Sue smiled down at Rachel, her body bound to the apothecary table by magical gold shackles seemingly sprung out from nowhere.

"You know, Rachel," she taunted happily. "You've really made this easier for me. I was going to have to wait for weeks until you regained your full strength. Weeks of torturing you. Of torturing your friend. But now..."

Rachel's eyes shifted around in fear as she watched Sue out of the corner of her eye. She moved away from the table to pick up her ever faithful dagger, fingering the tip with a delighted smile.

"I'll be back to my full strength in no time. And do you know the first thing I'm going to do once I cut out your heart?" she asked rhetorically, holding the dagger out to pass the blade through an open flame. She returned back to Rachel's side, watching her horror-filled eyes as she leant down to whisper in her ear. "I'm going to kill everyone, starting with your pathetic little friend."

She cackled gleefully as Rachel began struggling helplessly against her shackles, delighting in the terrified look on her victim's face as she raised the red, hot blade above her chest.

.-.

Finn stared after the stubborn boy as he stormed off up the mountain. Nothing he said or did could persuade him to walk away. He both admired and cursed the foolish boy for his courage.

"Don't be so dramatic." A voice barked from behind him, and Finn turned to see Quinn and her followers walking out of the shadows.

Finn sighed. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to help us?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"And why would I do that?" Quinn asked, arching her eyebrow. "I spent half a century waiting to escape that castle."

"Because that idiot boy there will die and because the idiot girl up there gave up everything so she could free us, free you."

Quinn snarled viciously. "The Queen set us free because she owed us. We made a deal. We earned it."

It was Finn's turn to arch his eyebrow questioningly. "Really? Are you sure about that? Because from what I heard, Sue wasn't so willing to grant you freedom before Rachel pleaded with her."

Quinn looked away, her eyes steaming, hands clenched tightly by her side.

"And what do you care?" she shot back angrily. "Shouldn't you be running away about now? That's what you're good at."

Finn's harsh gaze softened as he slowly walked towards her. "Quinn..."

She recoiled at the sound of her name being uttered from his lips. "Don't..." she warned, shooting him another threatening glare. "Don't."

"Quinn..." he persisted.

She shut her eyes tightly together before screaming at him to stop, the force of her anger causing him to stagger slightly.

"Five hundred years, Finn, and you did nothing," she said accusingly, tears prickling her eyes. "You did nothing but stay up there and watch."

"Is that what you think?" he asked incredulously. "You think I abandoned you?"

"Didn't you?" Quinn shot back bitterly.

"Quinn…" Finn began, shaking his head as he took a tentative step forward, but she instantly backed away. He sighed. "Did you ever stop to think why you were invincible?" he asked gently. "Why no matter what Sue did to you, no matter how hard she tried, you couldn't be killed?"

Quinn looked away refusing to meet his gaze.

"'For he who has the heart of a star...'" he muttered softly. "It works the other way too."

"I don't believe you," she bit out. "Britt and Santana..."

"Were bound to you by the curse. Your fate became their fate. As long as those hand-cuffs linked you together, none of you could be truly harmed. Not even by the Queen." Once again, Finn tried to approach her, but again she backed away, unwilling to let him get near her. He sighed and whispered softly, his words almost lost on the wind. "Just because I wasn't here doesn't mean my heart wasn't with you."

Quinn shook her head in disbelief, and without another sound, the Unholy Trinity disappeared in nothing more than a bright red blur.

.-.

Quinn fought the tears from streaming down her face, running from everything she had always wanted to run away from. No matter what Finn claimed, she didn't – couldn't – believe him. She ran as fast as she could, as far away as she could, grateful that both Brittany and Santana remained silent as they ran.

She wiped away the stubborn tears, trying desperately to keep them from falling, but no matter what she did, they still overcame her. She was just about to put on another burst of speed when suddenly a white blur appeared in front of them.

They each came to a screeching halt, digging their heels in as they took in the pearly white unicorn before them.

"Not now, Kurt!" she yelled at the intruder, turning away from everyone.

When she had finally managed to compose herself, Quinn turned around again, only to watch Brittany approaching the unicorn with a look of awe on her face. Her head turned to smile at both Santana and Quinn.

Quinn stared incredulously as Brittany silently pleaded with them both, and was stunned when Santana just gave her an adoring shrug. Brittany's smile widened, and in an instant, a bright light over took her, and the next thing she knew, Brittany had turned herself into a unicorn, her gleaming pelt shining brightly, exactly like Kurt's.

Quinn crossed her arms across her chest and cursed, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it all. "Oh, for heaven's sake!"

.-.

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for death. She felt a sharp pain above her heart as Sue sliced along her skin, and she whimpered. Sue laughed again as she removed the knife and set it on the table.

Cracking her eyes open slightly, she was shocked to see Sue walking away from the table. She strained her neck to look down at her chest. She saw a large pentagram cut into her skin, the wound already starting to bleed.

Sue approached again, this time wielding nothing more than a candle.

"What?" Rachel asked, confused.

An evil smile spread across Sue's face.

"That's the thing about legends, my dear star," she said calmly as the candle's flame sprang to life on its accord, flickering merrily. "When you're the one who writes them, you can say whatever you want." Sue laughed again, a merciless cackle that made Rachel sick. "Nobody actuallyknows that cutting the heart out will render it useless." Her face darkened before she continued. "It stops people from stealing what is rightfully mine. Now lie still."

Sue closed her eyes, facing her hands downwards and holding them right above Rachel's heart. She began chanting lowly, her hands releasing the candle that continued to float in place, while her hands remained hovering over Rachel's body.

Once again, Rachel prepared herself for whatever was going to happen. If she was to face death, then she would face it calmly, despite the hysterical screaming resounding throughout her head. She was sure the Queen would only take even more pleasure from her fear.

Sue's chanting got steadily louder and louder as the entire room began vibrating violently around, the windows bursting open as a gust of wind rushed inside. She wore a triumphant smile, skewing her ugly features. Rachel couldn't bear to watch any longer. She closed her eyes again, steeling herself for death.

Suddenly, the room stopped shaking, the windows slammed shut once more and Rachel felt the candle flop down onto her chest, landing with a soft thup.

Once again, Rachel peeked out from her closed eyes, wondering what was supposed to happen now. To her surprise, Sue seemed as dumbfounded as she was.

"What?" she asked angrily, shaking her hands out roughly as she opened and closed her fists. Rachel watched as Sue's eyes closed again and she repeated the chant, faster this time, with each event happening as if time had sped up.

When nothing happened yet again, Sue yelled in frustration, knocking over a shelf full of magical potions, its resounding crash echoing loudly around them as the bottles shattered against the hard stone floor.

"I don't understand!" she screamed violently. She turned to point an accusing finger at Rachel. "What did you do?

Rachel shook her head quickly, as she stammered out, "I-I-I didn't do anything."

"No, it has to be your fault." Sue disagreed impatiently. "Tell me what you did!"

"I didn't do anything!" Rachel protested again. "I didn't resist anything. I pledged my heart to you..."

"... except..." Sue's beady eyes roamed over Rachel's prone body, wracking her brain for the answer. When her eyes glinted madly, on the verge insanity, Rachel knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong. "Except your heart doesn't belong to you!" Sue howled in anger.

She turned around and shot spell after spell at the wall of animal cages, causing them to come crashing to the ground. The animals that survived the fall made a mad dash for the exit, for gaps in the wall, for anything, but Sue's fury shot them dead, each squealing as they keeled over and died.

She laughed humorlessly. "You foolish star. You fell in love. You stupid, stupid girl!" she yelled indignantly.

"I-I-I..." Rachel shook her head. No, she hadn't. She couldn't have. She had only known Noah for three days. That was too short a time to... to...

"Your heart is useless!" The Queen screamed, this time overturning the table Rachel was still shackled to. Suddenly, her binds disappeared and Rachel scrambled to her feet. "This is all your fault!" she screamed again.

Rachel ran around the room as Sue shot jolts of electricity towards her, barely managing to duck each blow.

"Stop!" she demanded angrily, shooting another bolt towards Rachel, this time managing to strike her, and Rachel fell to the ground, jerking furiously. Sue walked over to hover above her. She stretched out her arm and the crooked dagger shot straight into her grasp, an insane glint in her eye. "If I can't have your heart, then no one will!" she growled.

Rachel watched helplessly as Sue lunged towards her, the knife glinting in the candle light. Her mind screamed out for her to move, but she couldn't. Aside from the occasional twitch, her entire body felt limp as the energy passed through her. Suddenly a loud crash resounded in the air as something flew in through the window, knocking Sue to the ground.

Rachel blinked slowly as she took in the figure riding a unicorn.

Noah? Kurt? She asked herself.

As the blurry picture came into focus, she realized it was in fact Noah, but he wasn't perched upon Kurt; instead, he was riding Brittany. Brittany?

He was clinging wildly to her long, pale, blonde mane shining in the candle light, and yet his face held a look of horror as they moved, as if he feared he was going to fall at any moment. As soon as Brittany landed gracefully on the floor, he leapt off the unicorn eagerly and rushed towards her.

She was confused. Or maybe dead. Probably both.

The next thing she knew, Noah was at her side as Finn, Quinn and Santana all rushed in, leaping on top of Sue and trying to subdue her.

"Rachel?" Noah asked, his face lined with worry. "Are you okay?"

She nodded numbly, trying to sit up. His arms reached up to guide her, and she was hit by a sudden wave of emotion; emotions that had grown very familiar over the past few days. She was right.

"Huh?" Noah asked, "Who was right?"

Rachel blinked at him, realizing she must have spoken out loud. "Oh..." But she was saved the embarrassment of explaining when Sue threw a pulse of energy, from her position on the floor. Her attackers all flew backwards and upwards, hitting the ceiling.

"Enough!" she cried, pinning her captives there and out of the way. She looked wildly at Rachel. "I've had enough!" Then her gaze shifted to Noah as he stood protectively over her. "You!" Sue spat out.

Rachel clutched at Noah's shirt, begging, wishing, praying for him to disappear.

"Noah!" She said weakly. "Run!"

But it was too late.

Sue's hand reached out and summoned Noah towards her. He floated through the air as her hand wrapped around his throat. For the third time in two days, Rachel watched in horror as an enemy hand strangled Noah, pressing down harshly on his windpipe as he struggled to breathe.

"You, boy, are the reason this has happened." Sue bit out, her eyes red with fury.

Noah's legs kicked wildly, his face turning red as he pawed at the Queen's hands.

Sue laughed, the sound hollow, causing chills to run up Rachel's spine.

"No! Stop!" Rachel sobbed. She clambered to her feet, but was instantly thrown backwards again.

"This is the pathetic reason why I have failed?" She asked incredulously. She looked Noah directly in the eye, his expression confused as his fighting became sluggish. "You, boy, deserve to die."

Rachel scrambled to her feet again, and ran forward screaming as Sue's hand jerked abruptly, the loud snap of his neck filling the room, mixing with Rachel's loud piercing scream.