Hi everybody! So in keeping with my running theme of writing styles, I thought maybe I might tackle a new adventure genre, while keeping the musical element. I'm not sold on whether I'll continue this or not, but it could be fun if there is enough demand for it! Also I'm going to try and feature more characters in some capacity, and will try not to leave anybody out. Don't worry if a character you like isn't in this section, this is just the prologue. It's a taste to see whether you guys want me to continue it or not!
I have big plans for characters like Brit, Rachel, Mercedes and the others that aren't here as well, including a significant amount of stuff with Cooper Anderson and Sebastian as well.
Also, if I continue it, the songs will be easier to follow. I know this one is confusing because it's a glee song being covered by different Glee characters, but future music would be easier to imagine! I'll try to avoid using Glee songs if I do continue it, so if you DO like this, PLEASE review telling me to continue!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or any of the music depicted in this story.
Against All Odds
-Sometimes, the hardest journeys; are the ones you take within-
Book One
-An Origin Story-
Special
The rain was deafening as it roared in her ears. She was crying as she sprinted, clutching the bundle against her chest, petrified that she might drop it. Thunder roared in the sky and lightning illuminated the forest around her.
She screamed as her foot slipped in the mud and she fell onto a fallen tree. She twisted hard, and her shoulder smashed against the bark. It might have broken, but she didn't have time to register the pain! This wasn't about her! It was about the children!
Lightning flashed again and she saw the entrance to the mine through a dense clump of foliage. She allowed a smile to flit across her face, but only for a moment.
Leaping through the brambles, she didn't pause to untangle her clothing, or ensure that she didn't catch the thorns. Her dress ripped across the side, and a deep scratch opened up on one arm, but she was so close! She was almost there! That was all that mattered!
She froze and her eyes widened as a pair of headlights lit her up.
"Lisa, run!" A man yelled from the mouth of the mine. She turned away from the jeep that had appeared as soldiers started to pile out of it, and darted past the man at the entrance. He grabbed her by the arm and hurried her along through the passage.
"Where are the others?" She asked breathlessly as they rounded a bend.
"They're already there, we're just waiting on you!" He said urgently. "The Director has already set up the passages, it's like a whole new laboratory down there!"
The sounds of the soldiers echoed after them, shouting and running, and she redoubled her efforts, pumping her legs faster and faster, ignoring the burning in her lungs as she did. They turned the corner and her spirits soared.
"The lift!" She cried out, diving in. She mistook her momentum and turned at the last second to smash her back into the rock wall on the other side, protecting the bundle in her arms.
"Damn it, be careful Lisa!" He snapped, punching in numbers into the keypad. The cage closed as other men clambered into view around the Artied. One reached out and grabbed the cage, but her partner didn't hesitate to tear a gun from his belt loop and fire point black.
The last thing Lisa saw before the lift had sunk completely into the shaft was the man's body hitting the ground.
The stage was dark.
The stage was empty.
The stage didn't exist.
Footsteps echoed across the black floorboards, clicking as a spot lit up to the far left of the stage. A figure entered the light; dressed in dress pants and shining shoes, with a green barista's apron over a collared shirt and hat. He smiled.
Kurt.
"The first step of a journey is often impossible to recognize." He said. "Sometimes you don't even realize what you've gotten yourself into, until you're dead in the middle of it."
He paused and frowned.
"Maybe dead was the wrong word to use there."
"But he's not wrong." A female voice chimed in as a light on the other side of the stage sparked into existence. A stunning girl, short, but beautiful. She had thin limbs and curls the color of straw that floated around her striking face. She wore a black pencil skirt with a blue shirt overtop with a three-quarter sleeve. Her heels matched her shirt.
Quinn.
"Sometimes along that journey, you learn things." Her smiled faltered and she looked off to the side. "About others…"
She looked up once more.
"About yourself." She nodded sadly. "Sometimes the hardest journeys…"
"…are the ones you take within." Another voice piped up and Quinn turned as a spotlight appeared diagonal to Kurt, one spot closer to center stage. A smiling biracial boy with an angular face in a zip-up blue sweater and a striped t-shirt wandered into view.
Jake.
"But it's the people you meet along the way, that make it all worth while. All the pain, all the trauma, all the fear, because they bring more than that! They bring happiness, and joy…" He looked over as a spotlight appeared in front of Quinn. "…and love."
Lisa looked down at the bundle in her arms as her partner approached her and wrapped them both up in his arms.
"It's okay honey, we're going to get out of this." He said.
He was lying, and they both knew it.
"No." She said. "We aren't, but they have to." She looked down into the smiling, bubbly, childish grin of the infant in her arms.
He pulled away and then allowed his forehead to lean against hers. He looked down at the infant and put on a strained smile.
"Hear that kiddo?" He asked in a whisper. "You have to survive this. You're the only one that can fix the mess."
"The mess I made." Lisa said bitterly, turning away.
"The mess we all made." He looked at her sternly. "They lured us in, Lisa, you can't blame yourself for this!"
She shook her head.
"I'm the one who stole these children from their parents! I'm a Nurse, Kevin, I'm supposed to help people!"
"You thought you were!" He assured her. "They told you that you would be saving the world if you did this! No more disease, ever, anywhere! How could you have known that they were lying! This will turn out okay!"
"No it won't!" Lisa shoved the baby into his arms and turned away. "No it won't because now their parents are dead, and they're…diseased!"
"They're not diseased!" Kevin insisted.
He sighed and looked down into the child's face.
"They're just…special."
"Those are the special people." A pretty girl with brown hair stepped into the light in a red jacket with a three-quarter sleeve, a floral shirt, and jeans. She smiled and spoke again in her lilting, birdlike voice.
Marley.
"The people that make you believe that you can go on, even when nothing else seems worth it, because they are. They are the reason you go on living, even when your entire life seems to be crumbling around you. They're still there; your loved ones, your family, your friends. They are the reason you keep fighting."
"One for all, and all for one." A spotlight appeared just in front of Jake; a sandy haired boy with a smile that could melt ice wandered into view. He wore a standard polo shirt over his jeans.
Ryder
"It may be cheesy, but it's true! If you have friends at your side, you can go as far as you want, and when you fall, you can trust them to pick you back up. As long as you're willing to let them…" He trailed off and looked over to the spotlight in front of Marley.
He gave a sad, meaningful look to the girl entering the light; she was a sad looking girl with long black hair and the stunning face of a girl who would never believe that she was as attractive as she was. She was dressed in business-casual attire with a melon-colored jacket and earrings made from buttons.
Tina.
"Even if they aren't there at your side though, it's thanks to them that you can make the toughest decisions." She reached up and wiped a tear out of her eye. "You can battle your own demons. You can find the strength to be brave, when all you want to do is run and hide. You can fight, for them, for yourself, for everybody that you've ever met, and everybody else that you haven't yet, and maybe… maybe even more so for the people that you'll never get to meet."
The lift shuddered once again as they hit the bottom. Lisa stepped out first, dreading whatever was to come. The children were nearby, she could hear some of them crying.
"What's going to happen to them?" Lisa asked as Kevin jogged up on her other side.
"The Director has a plan. He hasn't told me much, but whatever it is that can stop this war is down here, and that same thing, whatever it is, is the only thing that can keep them safe." Kevin frowned. They heard the lift starting back up as it was called back to the surface and they doubled their speed.
"Lisa!" A new voice called out in relief as they sprang into a new room.
"Monette!" She nearly collapsed into the arms of her best friend as they collided. "Monette, oh thank God."
"Girl, don't thank anybody yet, we're not out of the woods." Monette pulled back and beckoned for Lisa to hand her the child.
"This must be Subject 10, is it?" She asked, looking down into the baby's face and frowning. "Little boy, you have quite the destiny ahead of you."
Lisa looked around the room. There were ten cribs lining the walls. They were all numbered, one through ten. The first nine held children, some crying, some not. As Lisa wandered past, looking down at the five girls and four boys below her, she couldn't help the tears that flooded her eyes.
She pressed a hand against her mouth, squeezed them shut and doubled over. She felt Kevin wrap his arms around her and fought to get a better grip on herself.
"Come on sweetheart, he's ready to explain everything." Kevin said.
Finally.
Another girl stepped past Tina, rubbing her back as she did, stepping into a spotlight in front of her. She was tall, dark haired, beautiful, and happy, but in her eyes, and in her words, there was something else. Something inspiring. This was a girl who knew more than she would ever admit, who was wise well beyond her years.
Santana.
"In Wicked, it is said that people come into your life for a reason bringing something you must learn, and that we are led to those who help us most to grow…" She glanced back to Tina. "If we let them. And we help them in return. Well, sometimes, letting those people in is the hardest thing you can do."
"But what's even harder…" Another voice piped up and a dark haired boy stepped into the light across from her, locking teary eyes with teary eyes. "Is when you have to let those people go."
He turned to look straight ahead.
Blaine.
"But sometimes you have to, because you've learned all you can from that person, and as hard as you try to keep them in your life…sometimes it's beyond your control. So you just have to be happy that they were there at all, and you have to make a promise, to them, and to yourself, that you'll never forget them, or the things that they've taught you along the way."
Blaine reached over and clasped Santana's hand, smiling softly.
The cave was reasonably big, and entirely unassuming, but there was something in one wall, just opposite the entrance, that drew Lisa's eye. It was a door, of some sort. A mechanical contraption that clamped shut in the center. In front of it was a podium, equally as unassuming, but still with an air of importance surrounding it.
Movement drew Lisa's gaze over to the Director who was lifting up the baby in the first crib. He stepped forwards with the child and stood at the podium.
"These children will not be safe as long as their powers are allowed to be free." He said, turning around, mouth barely moving under his moustache. "I've developed a device. I can't guarantee it will work, but it is all that we have. This is the end; there is no way for us to escape this. We have one mutant on our side; they already have at least ten. This will be our final resting place, and I want to thank you all for helping me."
Lisa looked around at the others. One couple stood near the mouth of the cave, the woman crying into her husband's chest, her fiery red hair covering her face as he stroked her back.
Another single blonde man sat back against one wall, running his hand through his hair. Monette stood near Lisa and Kevin with the tenth child still in her arms.
"What does this device do?" Kevin asked.
"In a sense…it drains the power out of the children." The Director said.
"Are you crazy?" The red haired woman snapped, stepping away from her partner. "That's their only defense against these people!"
"I know! It won't drain them forever. The device… I've hidden it at the end of this passage beyond this door. The passage itself is riddled with tricks and traps, and only with these ten all assembled together can it be opened. This is why I brought them here tonight. If we get them together, store their powers, and then send them out into the world, they will be safe."
"But-" The red haired woman began but the Director raised a hand.
"But mutations are not that easily undone. These children will still have their abilities; they will just remain dormant, inside of them. They will grow, as the children grow, and by adulthood they will no longer be able to hide, but if they can reach this place, and recover their powers, they should then be able to fight back! They can save everybody."
He let that news sink in.
"Now come, grab the children, we don't have much time!"
Blaine and Santana let their hands drop as two more figures stepped through between them. One, a girl with wavy blonde hair and grey-green colored eyes that had both seen too much, and still had much to see. She had a wide smile as she reached back to clasp Santana's hand. Silently, Santana grabbed onto Tina, and Tina to Marley, who clasped hands with Quinn.
Kitty.
The other boy had blonde hair, styled messily. His smile was charming, but then he paused, and it softened into a more genuine, honest smile. He closed his eyes, reaching back to grab Blaine's hand. Blaine clasped Ryder's, who grabbed Jake, who connected to Kurt.
"So maybe we'll never know why we are the way we are." Sam started.
"But we can always appreciate the people that brought us here." Kitty added. "The ones who picked us up when we were down. Who understood when we needed a leader, and when our battles were our own to face."
"The people who loved the unlovable. Who refused to give up. Who would rather overstep their boundaries when you were upset then leave you to suffer alone, because at least then you'd know without a doubt that somebody cared enough to try." Sam blinked back tears.
"This is our journey." Kitty said, reaching over and connecting the two lines together.
"A journey of ambition." Kurt smiled.
"Of family." Quinn said softly, tilting her head to the side to try and hide her tears.
"Of honesty." Jake nodded.
"And of sympathy." Marley added.
"Happiness!" Ryder beamed.
"A journey…" Tina paused, taking a deep breath. "Of strength. And of weakness."
"A journey of friendship." Santana added, squeezing Tina's hand tightly.
"A journey of love…" Blaine looked down at the ground.
"Of discovering who you are…" Sam shrugged.
"Discovering who you want to be." Kitty added.
"And figuring out just how much it means…" Sam paused. "To battle against all odds."
They had made it. They were in the final room. The room that would inevitably be their tombs. The traps in the other rooms had been ruthless, but somehow, the children kept them at bay. Lisa, who held the sixth and seventh babies, had dodged a serious bullet when a jet of fire flew towards her in the sixth room, but it had parted around her when the sixth child began to cry.
They had lost the partner of the red haired woman along the way, but their resident mutant was still with them, running his hands through his hair frantically. He was the only one who might escape, but even his chances for survival were slim. He was marked.
"Give me the first child!" The Director said. Kevin stepped forwards and handed him the little girl. She smiled up at him and Lisa saw Kevin try to blink back tears.
The Director took her and stepped forwards.
The middle of the room looked like a pyramid, with large decagons placed one on top of the other, stairs running up the center of each side until they reached a large tier at the top that held an orb that was shining with a soft white light.
Slowly, one step at a time, he climbed the stairs. This was it, the moment that would determine whether they had succeeded, or acted in vain. He took a deep breath in front of the orb and then unfolded part of the blanket, clasping the small child's hand.
"This is it sweetheart. You can do this." He mumbled, and then pressed her tiny hand against the glass.
A brilliant green light exploded out of the top of the orb, illuminating the cavern. They all watched as a spiral of energy seeped out of the little girl's hands. Lisa gasped as her hair flew in the energy spiral. The Director started laughing in relief.
"It works! It works!" He exclaimed. "Quickly, bring me the second child! River, get this child to safety!"
The blonde man, River, handed one child to Kevin and then sprang forwards with the other child in his arms.
"Here," He said, trading children. "She's a sweetheart, I really like her, be gentle…"
"Of course."
In a flash, River had vanished into thin air, 'bouncing out' as he liked to call it, and the Director had pressed the second girl's hand to the glass. A bright pink light lit the cavern, bathing them all in pleasing, comforting warmth.
No sooner had the Director pulled the little girl away then River was back and taking her away.
One after another, they cycled through the children. The next was a boy who lit the cavern with a yellow light, then another girl who gave off a purple glow, a boy who shimmered with earth tones, then another who gave off a hot red light, a girl who glimmered with gold, then a boy who blacked out all of the light in the cave.
"I worry for some of these children…" The Director admitted as he took the ninth child from Monette's arms. She stood with the tenth child as footsteps began to grow closer. "The paths that they take will likely not lead anywhere good. The choices they make…they have the power to destroy, just as assuredly as they have the power to do good. I can only hope they make the right choices."
The cave lit up with a soft blue light as a whoosh of air spun around them.
"The last child, quickly!"
He took the final boy and looked down at him.
"…Sam." He whispered. "You… you must be strong. You must be brave. You must be true, with your word, with your heart."
Battle cries sounded as their enemies reached the room. Lisa and Kevin rushed forwards as the red haired woman was overtaken by the others. The two backed up towards the orb with Monette and the Director as villain after villain rushed into the room.
"Hurry Director!" Kevin snapped.
Quickly, he pressed the final child's hand to the orb.
The cave exploded in a blinding white light. Warmth flooded Lisa's body and she gasped. She could feel nothing, nothing, that was, short of a brilliant, blinding hope. She blinked her eyes harshly as slowly the cave reappeared, and she saw several of the soldiers below them looking uncomfortable.
"Ignore it! Kill them, and kill that child!" A new voice snarled.
The soldiers started forwards, but River reappeared and grabbed the boy before they reached them. As he bounced away, and guns and blades flew past her, Lisa couldn't help but feel hopeful.
Minutes later, she was bleeding out, still holding onto Kevin's hand. They had ended up at the bottom of the stairs again, and she watched as the orb began to shift and churn angrily as other people began to touch it. It didn't light up, even when mutants from the opposing side touched it, but if inanimate things could get angry, that was what was happening.
Suddenly, without warning, a rush of light slammed into the men and women closing in on their kills. It shot them out of the room, and Lisa could hear door after door slam shut after them. The passage was once again sealed. The children were safe. They had done it. There was nothing more that could be done.
Lisa smiled as the light returned to the orb to spiral around, waiting for the saviors to come and reclaim it. She had hope.
She closed her eyes as she succumbed to her injuries, and joined her friends in death.
Musical Cue:
Glee-You Have More Friends Than You Know
Slowly the pools of light began to shift and change color around the ten boys and girls standing below them. The light above Marley shifted and turned green.
"Mmm… oooh." She sang softly. "We fear… we hear, your pain, your fear."
"But we're here…" Santana sang as the light above her turned pink. "To say, who you are, is okay!"
Ryder's light slowly changed to a warm yellow tone.
"And you don't have to go through this on your own! You're not alone!" He sang, squeezing Jake and Kurt by the hands.
"You have more friends than you know," Tina sang, smiling. "Some who surround you, some you are destined to meet!" The light above her turned a soft purple. "You'll have more love in your life-"
"Don't let go, give it time!" Kurt sang out, and Jake joined him as brown and red light lit them both up respectively. "Take it slow! Those who love you the most may need more time to grow!"
"It's gonna be okay!" Jake sang and Kurt doubled him.
"It's gonna be okay!"
"You have more friends than you know!" Jake smiled softly and glanced over to Kitty. She nodded.
"Be brave!" She picked up the song as her light turned gold. "Be strong! You are loved! You belong!"
Blaine picked up; singing with her as his light darkened slightly. They beamed at one another as they echoed one another.
"Someday soon!"
"Someday soon!"
"You will see!"
"You will see!"
"You're exactly," He turned and locked eyes with Kitty, grinning. "Who you're supposed to be!"
"And you don't have to go through this on your own!" Quinn sang as her light turned a soft blue.
"Oh!" Sam shook his head as his light brightened.
"You're not-"
"You're not-" He doubled her.
"Alone!"
"You're not alone!" He shrugged. "Oh no!"
All of their lights brightened as they started swaying to the beat as all ten of them joined together in song.
"You have more friends than you know! Some who surround you, some you are destined to meet! You have more love in your life. Don't let go!"
"Give it time." Sam nodded as the others echoed him.
"Give it time!"
"Take it slow!"
"Take it slow,"
"Those who love you the most, may need more time to grow!" He smiled and turned to look at the others. "It's gonna be okay…"
"Gonna be okay."
"You have more friends than you know!"
"Be who you are," Santana belted out, crossing the stage and grabbing Blaine's hand. They stepped forwards between Kitty and Sam grinning at them. "Learn to forgive!"
He joined her, squeezing Sam's shoulder tightly.
"It's not about who you love!"
"But how you live!" Santana started riffing as Blaine built on his own belt. "Whoa!"
"But how you live!"
"You have more friends than you know!" The two of them turned the circle inwards as the entire stage lit up.
"Than you know!" Quinn sang out.
"Some who surround you."
"Yeah!" Kurt cheered.
"Some you are destined to meet!"
"To meet!" Ryder grinned. "More!"
"You'll have more love in your life!"
"Don't let go, give it time!" Marley and Jake smiled at one another.
"Give it time!"
"Take it slow!" Tina cheered.
"Take it slow!" Blaine agreed.
"Those who love you the most," Kitty and Sam sang together. Santana belted overtop of them. "May need more time to grow!"
"It's gonna be okay!" Sam sang.
"It's gonna be okay!" Kitty nodded at him.
"You have more friends than you know!" Everybody joined in.
"It's gonna be okay." Sam finished the song softly, closing his eyes.
So there you go! A short little teaser I guess you could say. If I do continue the next chapter will feature the introduction of many of these characters twenty years into the future. Sam has been having strange dreams about people that he's never met, worse, in each dream the stranger dies! Sam's roommate Rachel Berry and close friend Blaine Anderson don't think much of Sam's dreams, but Sam becomes convinced of his premonitions, especially after an encounter with Kurt Hummel, one of the dream subjects, causes him to fall unconscious and relive the dream! Which only causes Sam even more stress when his next dream, is about Blaine.
Meanwhile, a rogue scientist who discovered the truth behind her company, races against the clock to try and rescue The Ten before the company can track them down. All the while trying to dodge attacks on herself!
Marley Rose has found success with her family business, but when her whole life is suddenly turned upside down and she lies unconscious in the smoke, the priorities of her and those around her are threatened. Meanwhile, Tina Cohen-Chang may know more about what is happening than she should, and she is in no rush to get involved, so when Sam starts hunting down the people from his dreams, she makes it her mission to steer clear. But does she have a choice?
READ AND REVIEW FRIENDS! Let me know if you want me to continue this or no, because its no skin off my back either way! Thanks!