Chapter Summary: A quiet chapter in which the Council of Nine grows and Mother is discussed. Mostly.
Warning: May contain fictional discussions of a religious nature. Not necessarily the opinions of the author.
Chapter Word Count: 5,947

"How's the space station refit going?" Santana asked the Chief, meeting her just outside Flag's upper galley.

"They'll be done in a few more days," she said. "Would've been faster for us to do it and not just give them the upgraded parts."

"It's a test," Santana reminded her. "If they can use our parts, they'll use our knowledge next time."

"We should just replace the whole thing," the Chief said, grumbling. "It's an antique. We have hundreds of plans for better designed orbital stations that size."

"And, some day we will," Santana said. "We definitely need a closer dry dock and orbital facilities. This is the first tiny step."

"You're thinking really long term," the Chief said, "Wouldn't it be faster to do that now?"

"It's my job to think ahead," Santana said, reaching for a plate. "That's the only way I can keep up with Lady Shadow."

Grabbing several sandwiches, the Chief put them on her tray. "Looks like they knew you were coming." She waved at the large plate of ribs now on Santana's own tray.

"You just need to know who to schmooze," Santana said with a smirk, guiding them to a corner table. "And, I'm in charge so they have to make my favorites."

"Mind if we join you?" Rachel asked, approaching their table. Not waiting for an answer, she sat down across from Santana, and her assistant next to the Chief.

"Shouldn't you be off talking some Earth politician's ears off?" Santana asked. "I still don't have my base in the Outback."

"We've just been to see Mother," Rachel said. "And I have a meeting with the Australian Prime Minister next month."

"How's the old broad doing?" Santana asked, licking sauce off her fingers. "Still on psychotics?"

"Better," Rachel said, grimacing at Santana's table manners. "I think the Council, the entire Council, needs to talk about her."

"Sophia?"

"Her also," Rachel said. "Artie said her confirmation as the Weaver should come through soon."

"Took them long enough," Santana grumbled. "We should probably tell her now."

"We haven't told her?" Rachel said, looking appalled.

"Nope," Santana said. "We asked her to play a bigger role as a spiritual leader for those who need it, but I don't think we ever mentioned to her that she would be elevated to the Council of Nine as part of that."

"Where is she?" Rachel asked.

"Not my turn to watch her," Santana said, picking up a rib. "Maybe your minion knows." She waved it at Rachel's assistant, Felicity.

"It's Tuesday," Felicity said, wiping barbecue sauce from her blouse with a frown. "She lectures at Yucatan University on Mayan and Clan religion in the afternoon."

"Appropriate," Santana said, nodding. "Does she have the comm implant now?"

"No," the Chief said, taking a bite from her sandwich. "It hasn't been authorized yet."

"She'll need the full treatment," Rachel said. 'Not just the implant."

"She won't like that," Santana said, frowning. "Artie?"

"Yes, Lady Air?"

"Let Lady Sophia know that we need to meet with her next week," Santana said. "It'll be a meeting with the entire Council, and Lady Sylvester if she's available."

"I still think Coach should be on the Council," Rachel said. "There must be some way."

"The Galactic Council recognizes her contributions to your success," Artie said, on their private channel. "But we cannot make her full Clan. She is an honorary member but that is not enough to elevate her to a Council position or give her full enhancements."

"I'm sure a plaque would make her happy," Rachel said with slight sarcasm. "But why not?"

"Although humans and some of the Clans can intermarry, human genetics are not compatible with Clan technology."

"But what about us?" Rachel said. "We have human DNA. And we're in charge."

"You had enough Clan DNA to override your human DNA," Artie said. "With the additional gene therapy you received, you are essentially full Clan. And your descendants have straight Clan DNA."

"It's an old argument, Rach," Santana said. "You know we would help out Coach if we could. But her DNA doesn't have anything to latch onto, if I understand it correctly."

"Well, it's not fair," Rachel said. "And she smirked when she heard my last epic about her. That's like winning a Tony."

"That was a good one," Santana said. "Though, having her go into battle with a troop of armed Cheerios against the forces of Dark Schuester seemed a bit much."

"Brittany thought it was hilarious," Rachel said. "Quinn thought I went a bit overboard."

"Maybe a teensy tiny bit," Santana said, holding her thumb and forefingers less than an inch apart. "But everyone knew it was Coach."

"Artie, old Artie, said we should make a music video or cartoon from it," Rachel said.

"A cartoon about the adventures of Lady Sylvester?" Santana laughed. "I have to see Coach's face when you tell her."

"Okay," Rachel said. "When and where do you want to have the Council meeting?" "Council Meeting Chamber in Chichen Itza? Next week? That'll give everyone time to rearrange their schedules," Santana said.

"Okay, I'll check with the others," Rachel said.

"Or you could ask them now, since we all have comm implants," Santana said. "Unless you think some of us need extra convincing?"

"I can't see faces when we use the comms," Rachel said. "Some things just need that personal, in person touch."

"I don't disagree," Santana said. "But you're just asking them to a meeting. Chief, minion, you'll have to excuse us." Standing up she pulled Rachel to her feet.

Five minutes later, they were in Santana's office, just off the Flag bridge. "So, what's the real problem," Santana asked, handing Rachel a glass of her favorite Clan intoxicant. "We've been doing this for years with no problem and suddenly, you insist on face-to-face meetings?"

"Yes," Rachel said, cautiously sipping from her glass. "I don't think we talk enough."

"We, or you and Quinn?" Santana said. "Because Brit and I spend as much time together as we can. We have some meal together almost every day and overnight it as often as possible."

"That's great, for the two of you," Rachel said. "But I never see anyone in person."

"Nothing stopping you from doing the same with Quinn," Santana said. "Unless she's on maneuvers or some long training exercise, she spends more time in the enclave than you do."

"That's just because her main base is there," Rachel said. "All of her teams are based out of Chichen Itza."

"For now, yes," Santana said. "If you want her closer, and not just that whole friend thing you two agreed to, you're gonna have to put some effort into it."

"I can't make her spend time with me," Rachel said.

"Except when you insist on face to face meetings," Santana said. "Got it."

"You think I'm pathetic," Rachel said, gulping down half her drink.

"No, I think you make it more difficult than it has to be. But I promised I wouldn't interfere," Santana said.

"Brittany knows, doesn't she," Rachel said, sighing. "Right," she added in response to the look Santana gave her.

"So, let's get things moving," Santana said. "Your pathetic excuses for not hooking up with Q aside, we do need to discuss things. Mother, and my cousin."

"Yes," Rachel said, nodding in agreement, blushing at Santana' words.

"Artie? Please find my cousin Sophia," Santana said. "And tell her there's a special Council meeting next week in Chichen Itza and she's invited."

"Yes, Lady Air," Artie said. "She has already been informed per your previous request. She declined to attend."

"Tell her her presence is mandatory," Santana added. "And if she wants to find out why she has to show up."

"I'm sure she'll be pleased with the wording of the additional invitation," Artie said, dryly.

"Nah, she hates being ordered around. That's why she wasn't happy becoming the High Priestess," Santana said. "But, if you could ask the head Witch Woman of the Dragon Clan to also be there, that would help."

"Why does your mother need to be there?" Rachel asked.

"We're elevating the High Priestess of the Dragon Clan to the Council," Santana said. "They're going to have to find a new High Priestess."

"She can't be both?" Rachel asked.

"Nope. Not according to my mother," Santana said. "The High Priestess is subservient to the Gods on the Council, or some shit like that."

"We're not gods," Rachel said. "We don't even pretend to be."

"Doesn't matter," Santana said. "She can't do or be both."

"Hey Babe," Santana said, triggering her Brit comm channel. "Busy?"

"Hey, San and Rach," Brittany said, her voice filling the room. "What's up?"

"Got time next week for a discussion about Mother?" Santana said, waiting for Brittany to check the monitors she had on all of them. She knew Brittany didn't actually spy on all of them, just recording an hour long loop that helped her keep up with things.

"Of course," Brittany said. "Sigmund, her AI therapist, says she's doing good."

"Her AI has a name?" Rachel asked. "She never said."

"The baby AI's like Sigmund don't usually have names, unless we give them one," Brittany said. "So, you want a face to face meeting to discuss Mother?"

"It's a Q thing," Santana said.

"And Sophia?"

"It's time," Rachel said. "We're starting to get rumblings from some of the world governments. They want to meet our religious leaders."

"You've been doing a great job with that," Brittany said.

"Well, I have a meeting with the Pope next month and I need the backup. Someone who can do the meet-n-greet with the Pope without looking foolish. And Sophia has a certain kind of presence."

"Ah," Brittany said. "You don't want to take Quinn? She did a good job with the Queen."

"I don't think it would be fair to her," Rachel said. "She still has hangups with the Christians from her childhood."

"I don't have hangups with the Christians," Quinn said, joining their discussion. "I'm just not a fan of the extreme version my father practices."

"Sorry," Rachel said. "I might have misunderstood."

"No, it's fine. So, we're bringing Sophia into the gang?" Quinn asked. "And you want to talk about Mother, once she's in?"

"Yes, thank you," Rachel said. "I think we need a different perspective, and Mother needs something more than what we can give her."

"Okay," Quinn said. "Unless there's an emergency I'll be there."

"Bring Coach," Santana said. "Even if she can't be on the Council, she tells it like it is."

"Of course," Quinn said. "And I've got to go."

"Me too," Brittany said. "Later Ladies," she said.

"Happy now?" Santana said, after Quinn and Brittany dropped off the channel. "Need me for anything else?"

"Not right now," Rachel said. "I'll leave you to your Fleet stuff."

"And very important stuff it is," Santana said, winking at her. "The Fleet isn't at full strength yet. Somebody has to get it there before we're knee deep in bugs and other evil critters."

Rachel nodded, before slipping out of Santana's office in search of her assistant.

"This is going to be a long meeting," Santana said, leaning against Brittany. "There's no snacks."

"Do you need them?" she asked. "I'm sure we can get you some traditional Council meeting snacks."

"Deep fried crickets and fire ants? I think I'll pass," Santana said with a grimace. "Every time I visit my grandmother she tries to get me to eat them. I'd rather eat asparagus."

"Candied asparagus isn't bad," Brittany said, giggling at the expression on Santana's face.

"Um, I'm sure it isn't," Santana said, gulping.

"Don't worry," Brittany said. "You don't have to try it. But Artie said we'll have cocoa, coffee and some of those spicy peanuts and deep fried plantains you like. No fire ants or other bugs."

"Good," Santana said. "I can't talk about serious things without serious snacks. And bugs aren't."

"Where's Quinn," Rachel said, rushing up to them. "She said she'd be here."

"Her shuttle is landing now," Brittany said after a moment. "Her Team was doing a show-n-tell for the Pentagon and they kept her late."

"They know we aren't selling them any hard suits, right?" Santana asked. "They wouldn't work for them anyway."

"They understand that," Brittany said, "but they want to know what our capabilities are."

"So they can beat us?" Santana asked. "Or so they can draw up one of their crazy war plans with us taking part?"

"War games," Brittany said. "You'd do the same thing. And you do."

"Of course," Santana said. "It's my job to know the capabilities of possible enemies or allies. And Quinn's. Did she get to blow things up?"

"Some old tanks," Brittany said. "And anti-tank missiles."

"Hope you got video," Santana said.

"Of course," Brittany said. "Always. From all of the suits."

"Even Q's?" Santana asked. "She still doesn't know she says those things out loud, does she."

"She know, she just doesn't care," Brittany said, giggling.

"Who told her?"

"I did," Rachel said, tired of being ignored. "But she hasn't stopped doing it."

"Why'd you tell her?" Santana asked.

"All of her battles are saved for future analysis by the Council historians. I thought she might not want them to hear her swearing. She said she didn't want her battle videos sanitized."

"And I still don't," Quinn said, joining them. "I'm not making some kind of movie for the public," she said. "Those battle recordings are the real me. If they really want to see me in action, they get the whole picture. Dumb mistakes, language, everything."

"That is refreshing, Lady Q," Sophia said, also joining them. "But, you realize it won't make them worship you any less. The people of the Dragon Cult, and your Clan, prize honesty and realness. They expect their gods and goddesses to be real. Not like those sanitized saints of the Christians. They don't even allow their god his imperfections."

"I'm not a goddess or a god," Quinn said, shaking her head in denial.

"You are one of the Nine," Sophia said.

"You know, Soph, there's a reason we asked you to attend this meeting," Santana said. "And my mother," she added, acknowledging her presence.

"It is not my right to question any of the Nine," Sophia said stiffly. "Even if one of them is my older cousin."

"Rub that right in," Santana said. "But I'm also prettier."

"San, you promised to be good," Brittany said, poking her.

"I'm always good," Santana said. "Very good."

"If we're all here, let's get this meeting started," Rachel said, hoping to avoid a fight between the cousins. "Sophia, that is your chair," she said, pointing at one of the nine Council chairs at the head of the table.

"That is one of the Nine," Sophia said, giving her a puzzled look.

"Yes, the chair of the Weaver," Rachel said. "Please sit in it."

"That is not appropriate," Sophia said. "I am the High Priestess of the Dragon Cult. I cannot sit there."

"You are the former High Priestess of the Dragon Cult," Santana's mother said, taking her hand and leading her around the table to the Weaver's Chair. "This is now your seat."

"Why?" Sophia asked, nervously sitting down and looking at the others.

"Why are you sitting there? Or why are you now a member of the Nine?" Rachel said.

"I am not worthy to be one of the Nine," Sophia said. "You have all trained and prepared for your places. I am just a priestess and historian."

"You are also a person who cares deeply about her people and their spiritual well being," Rachel said. "Someone we sorely need. Of the four of us, only Quinn really understands how much spiritual health is an important part of our people, but she cannot be the Weaver."

"I have become too cynical, and am too busy," Quinn said, nodding. "And I would argue that it would be a mistake for me to assume I could handle that role, even if I weren't the Hand."

"I do not know if I can accept this honor," Sophia said faintly. "We will not have a High Priestess for our people."

"The People shall be fine until a new High Priestess can be trained," Maribel said. "It is time another family took on this task. You and Santana are needed for other things."

"But..."

"No buts, cousin," Santana said. "Once you have finished In-Doc, you'll be too busy to doubt yourself. And you'll know why we chose you."

"In-Doc?" Sophia asked.

"Santana's word, not ours," Rachel said. "It just means you will need to spend a little time learning about the role of the Weaver, beyond what tradition says. And, it's time you got a comm-link like the rest of us."

"And you'll need to get used to being addressed differently. You are now the Lady Weaver, or Lady W, as most of our people will call you. Some of the older ones, such as Santana and Quinn's officers will use Lady Sophia. Anything more familiar, outside of family and members of the Council, is purely up to you."

"Oh," Sophia said, looking a little overwhelmed.

"You have many things to discuss," Maribel said, "that I'm sure you don't need my presence for. Santana, don't forget you are expected for dinner tomorrow. Your father has not seen you since your disappearance. You cannot continue to avoid him. And Brittany, you also, if you are able."

"We'll be there, Mama Lopez," Brittany said.

"Good," Maribel said. "I will leave you to your Council business." Nodding to Sue Sylvester, and the others, she left the Council Meeting Chamber.

"And now down to business," Brittany said, taking over the meeting. "Sophia, Rachel needs someone to go with her to meet the Pope next month."

"And the Dali Lama," Rachel said. She turned to Sophia. "I need someone who can speak authoritatively about the Clans and our religion. These are men with a lot of influence, but they really have no experience with women of their authority level. My knowledge of our religion is historical and I wish them to take us seriously."

"Yes," Sophia said. "Their religions do not provide much positive leadership roles for women. We will have to be careful when dealing with them. What of the other religions? Very few have a single leader."

"We will have to approach them in whatever way you feel best. As you can see, your knowledge is desperately needed. We cannot afford to offend these people but we aren't subject to their beliefs or rules. We are not a new population for them to convert."

"The ones that are into converting, the evangelical ones, wouldn't have us anyway," Quinn said.

"And we don't want them in our enclave," Santana said. "They're likely to get shot by some angry native."

"Well, throwing those Mormons out might have been a bit much," Rachel said. "They aren't pushy like some."

"We had to make an example of someone," Santana said. "Our people don't need that kind of thing. People running around, trying to get them to join a different religion. Especially since our religion is a bit different. We don't exactly have churches or books written by men over several thousand years. It's more personal."

"What about Mother?" Rachel asked.

"What about her?"

"What is this Mother?" Sophia asked.

"Someone who needs a firm hand," Sue said, speaking up for the first time.

"Geez, Coach, we didn't need to know that," Santana said. "I know you've been talking with her but that's TMI."

"Sorry," Rachel said in a low voice to Sophia. "Your cousin tends to let her mouth speak before she thinks."

"I am well aware of that phenomena," Sophia said. "I find it reassuring that she has not changed so much to lose that."

"Mother is a difficult thing to explain," Rachel said. "She is an inactive member of the Council of Nine. There are issues."

"She's batshit crazy," Santana said. "Her mother was one of the original Nine who came here way back. Something happened to her mother and she went crazy. Betrayed the Council to the Red Pirates."

"Where is she?" Sophia asked. "She is still alive?"

"They put her in stasis. We have her stashed away," Brittany said. "She is slowly getting better, but all Mothers are crazy to some degree, so we don't know if she'll ever become stable enough to become active on the Council."

"You cannot replace her?" Sophia asked.

"Not according to Artie. The Pan-Galactic Counsel won't replace a crazy Mother, since they are supposed to be crazy, and it's one of their rules."

"That does not make any sense," Sophia said.

"That is what I told them," Sue said. "If they cannot cure her, they need to remove the weak link."

"A Mother is special," Rachel said. "They are almost never replaced."

"Why wasn't I aware of the importance of this Mother among the Nine?" Sophia asked.

"Good question," Santana said. "Probably because the Clan who survived wanted to forget the reason for their failure."

"Which was?"

"They tried to replace their Mother," Rachel said. "We don't know why yet, but it was a disaster. She fought them and when they killed her, we believe, her daughter lost it. And now she is the only Mother we are likely to get."

"And she's crazy," Santana said.

"At least we know that already," Quinn said. "One of the mistakes of the original Nine is that they underestimated what a Mother was capable of if she thought they were endangering the entire Clan."

"So, she is literally the Mother of the Clan? Its protector?" Sophia asked.

"That's one way to put it," Rachel said. "But we cannot trust her right now. Her grief at what happened to her mother, and her own actions, is too overwhelming."

"But, she is getting better, slowly," Brittany said. "Some day she'll be ready."

"But she's not safe," Santana said. "Not yet."

"I would like to meet her," Sophia said. "This Mother."

"After In-Doc," Santana said. "She has slight psychic powers and you would be defenseless."

"If you believe this is necessary," Sophia said.

"Definitely," Rachel said. "Some people are immune to her influence but it would be best not to find out the hard way if you are not."

"When can this 'In-Doc' occur," Sophia asked. "And how long?"

"Artie?"

"Whenever Lady Sophia is ready," Artie said. "A week of real time. A month of virtual time."

"Tomorrow," Sophia said. "I must make arrangements, talk to my mother. And what is this virtual time?"

"You haven't spent any time in the pods, have you," Rachel said. Sophia shook her head. "The learning pods are able to extend your awareness in time. In the normal world time goes as it normally does, while inside the learning pods things move faster. If you are Clan, not just your awareness speeds up but your body matches it. It's a virtual world but not."

"It's also where we will meet with Mother," Brittany said. "It allows us to keep her in a familiar environment while she recovers. And it's safer for us."

"We think one of the things that pushed her over the edge was the destruction of her home. Something she was unable to prevent," Rachel said.

"I am very curious to meet her," Sophia said. "What else did you wish to discuss while we are all together."

"Brit? Anything new about our Black Hats?" Quinn asked. "Any signs of them?"

"We've finished going through the memories of our captives," she said. "Mr. Scheu may be annoying and a bit selfish, but he's definitely not one of them. They were getting close to our original identities and were hoping to use him as bait in some way."

"So they know who we are?" Rachel asked.

"No, they were just suspicious. And it was a dead end, because they hadn't sent any of their information to any other cells."

"And that Cassandra person? What did they plan to do with her?"

"To make things look real," Brittany said. "She was just a prop."

"That's horrible," Rachel said. "What are we going to do with her? And him?"

"He's a liability," Santana said. "Let's just freeze and forget."

"We can't do that," Rachel protested. "We still have to do something with all of the Black Hats we've collected over the last year. An innocent person doesn't belong with them."

"Innocent of plotting against us with the Black Hats," Brittany said. "He's not that great of a human being. Did you know he tricked Finn into joining Glee by pretending to find drugs in his locker?"

"What?" Rachel said, horrified.

"Yes," Sue said, nodding. "Have the whole thing on tape."

"Of course you do," Quinn said, sighing. "Why didn't you ever do anything about it? You could have easily gotten rid of him."

"Torturing him seemed like a better idea," Sue said. "And several of my papers on his behavior won awards."

"With large prizes I assume," Quinn said. "Why am I not surprised."

"Because we understand each other very well," Sue said. "You might have these dupes fooled but I recognize the evil genius of a young Sue Sylvester at work."

"Someday Coach, you need to show me what you're blackmailing the Ice Q there with. It must be a doozy," Santana said.

"She's not blackmailing me," Quinn said. "I'm clean."

"Then you must be blackmailing her," Santana said. "There's no way both of you are squeaky."

"They are, San," Brittany said. "If they have anything it's hidden so well even I can't find it."

"That in itself is extremely suspicious," Santana said.

"As amusing as this is, I'm sure we all have other things to do?" Quinn said. At reluctant nods from Rachel and Santana, she said, "Sophia, welcome to the Council. Don't let them scare you. In your area you have just as much authority as the rest of us do in ours. If you need anything, before you get your comm implant, you can contact us through Artie. After, you won't be able to shut us out, so enjoy your freedom while it lasts."

"Thank you, Lady Q," Sophia said.

"Just Q or Quinn in private," Quinn said, giving her a small smile. "You're one of us now." Nodding to the others, she left the chamber.

"Definitely let us know if you need anything," Rachel said. "And let us know when you want to see Mother, so you don't have to go alone." Nodding, she hurried out of the Council Chamber after Quinn.

"They really need to get a room," Santana said. "The UST is killing me."

"They are a couple?" Sophia asked.

"A couple of somethings," Santana grumbled. "One of these days I'm going to lock them in a closet and not let them out until they figure it out."

"No you won't," Brittany said.

"No I won't," Santana agreed. "But they are driving me crazy. Extreme measures may be called for."

"You have always been impatient," Sophia said. "I do not understand how you were chosen by our gods to lead the Clan Fleet."

"I thought the same thing," Brittany said.

"Hey!"

"But for some reason she's a perfect fit for what it takes to run the Fleet," Brittany said. "Just like Quinn is the perfect fit for her role and Rachel was born to be the Clan Memory."

"And what of you?" Sophia asked her, curious.

"I have been training for this since I was five," Brittany said. "Not that we knew this would happen. And you, Weaver, you are uniquely suited to represent us to our gods. Which I know you believe in, even if this one," she poked Santana again, "is too much a skeptic to ever truly believe."

"So, you do not think a belief in our gods is a waste?" Sophia said.

"My birth clan is very much of the belief that there are higher powers out there. And that these powers have visited us, leaving undeniable proof. So, I would never tell you that. The gods and goddesses are real. The Christians may not see them the same way we do but they are out there."

"That's too heavy for me," Santana said. "We'll see you when you get back from 'In-Doc'," she said, "and then we can all go see Mother."

"So, just the five of us?" Rachel asked. "Will she be able to handle being around all of us without reacting badly?"

"It's the pods," Santana said. "Perfectly safe."

"All psychic abilities will be suppressed in the learning pods, Lady Memory," Artie said.

"Really? And why didn't the original Council meet in the pods? Wouldn't that have been a good idea if they were afraid of being influenced?"

"The suppression of psychic abilities is a recent improvement in the learning pods," Artie said. "It was not available then."

"They most likely would have refused to use it," Sophia said. "From what I have observed of their meetings, they were very arrogant. They thought they were infallible."

"And found out the hard way that there is no such thing?" Quinn said. "I suspect we will not have that problem."

"No," Artie said. "One of the traits the Galactic Counsel looked for when reviving the Dragon Clan was the ability of the Council of Nine to be objective. You all show signs of this."

"Coach never let us get big heads," Santana said. "She always says that you can't fix your mistakes if you don't believe you can make them."

"Perfection is an unachievable goal," Rachel said. "I learned that lesson long ago. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but it's about the journey."

"That was... almost profound," Santana said. "Didn't know you had it in you Shorty."

"Ladies," Brittany said, getting their attention, "you're only delaying the inevitable. Let's get going."

"Yes, Lady Shadow," Santana said, "at once. Let's lie down in the goop."

"Silly!" Brittany said, hugging Santana. "It's not goop."

"It's something goopy," Rachel said. "Goop is as good a name as any."

Removing their robes, the five women glanced at each other in their pod suits for a moment before, each picking a pod, they slid open the pod doors and climbed in.

"I hate this part," Rachel muttered as the goop filled her pod.

"It washes off," Quinn said, over her comm link. "And here we go."

Opening her eyes, Rachel found herself standing at the edge of a large clearing. At the other end was a large open building, reminiscent of something she had seen one year during a family vacation in Hawaii.

"Why don't we have houses like that?" Santana said, appearing next to her. "I bet there's plenty of room."

"No privacy, of any sort," Brittany said. "Anyone passing by would see right into your most private places."

"So?" Santana said. "Got nothing to hide."

"Really?" Brittany said. "Because we can get the plans if you really want an open layout like that."

"You'd have to put up a really high fence to keep out the peeping toms," Rachel said. "Definitely be traffic problem. And people with cameras."

"Okay, okay," Santana said. "Still want one but not at the beach with all the perverts watching."

"Plenty of places to put one where other people can't see it," Brittany said.

"Is she expecting us?" Sophia asked.

"Not exactly," Brittany said. "She knows she's having visitors today, but not who. Or why."

"And that would be her," Rachel said softly, as a woman stepped down from the wrap-around porch.

"She looks a bit like you, cuz," Santana said. "A little taller maybe."

"She would have been the equivalent of a princess," Rachel said. "I bet that runs true."

"How do you explain blondie here," Santana said, poking Quinn. "Not very many blonde Mayans, until now."

"No idea," Rachel said. "Her family is descended from European nobility on her mother's side, maybe it came from there?"

"Let's not bring my grandmother into this," Quinn said.

"We didn't mention your grandmother," Brittany said. "But I'm curious now. Maybe we should invite her down to Cancun?"

"No, just no," Quinn said. "Things are crazy enough as it is. We don't need to add her brand to the pile."

"This may require some investigation," Santana said, smirking.

While they talked, they reached the house and its occupant. She stared at them, a worried expression on her face.

"What brings the Council of Nine to me. Have you come to take me away from my peace," she asked them.

"No," Rachel said, speaking softly, as if to a frightened child. "We have a new member who wished to meet you."

"Why would one of the Nine wish to gaze upon a dishonored person such as myself," she asked. "I am not worthy of your concern."

"All are worthy of the concern of the Council," Sophia said, approaching her. Reaching out, she gently took her hand. "All of our people are no less than the Nine."

"Who are you?" Mother asked. "I recognize these others. The Memory bursting with images of the past; the Hand, death trailing in her wake; the Lady with the Sky in her eyes; She who lives in the Shadows. But you are not one I am familiar with. You reek of lightening and flowers as only the Weaver would."

"And you? Mother of us all?" Sophia said. "Living alone, away from your people. How do you stand their absence?"

"I am not fit to be Mother," she said, shaking. "Have they not told you the end I brought upon my people. How I punished them for something they could not understand? How I punished them all for the pain the Nine brought me? And the forgiveness they cannot give me?"

"Oh, Mother," Sophia whispered, pulling the shivering woman into her arms. "Forgiveness you must give yourself. They cannot forgive because it is not their place. They have come after to put the pieces back together but not to judge."

"I cannot face them," she whispered to Sophia.

"Come, we shall walk," Sophia said, shaking her head when the others started to follow.

"Not a side of her that I've ever seen," Santana said in a low voice as they watched the two women slowly walk away. "Where are they going?"

"There's a pond and a creek," Brittany said. "We'll wait for them here."

"Is Sophia safe with her?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Quinn said. "I would not call her harmless, she is Mother after all, but she won't harm any of us."

"She seems sad, sadder than the last time I visited her," Rachel said. "Sigmund didn't say she was so fragile."

"Sigmund is an AI," Santana said. "Probably didn't notice."

"She won't be ready to be Mother any time soon," Quinn said. "Probably not until after we've dealt with the Enemy."

"That's good," Santana said. "No distractions."

"We need to keep her safe," Rachel said. "Do we have plans? Brit?"

"Working on it," Brittany said, sitting down on the grass, and pulling down a laughing Santana on top of her.

"I can see that," Rachel muttered, flopping down next to them. She patted the grass next to her. "Sit," she said to Quinn.

Quinn shook her head. "Let's take a walk," she said, holding out a hand.

"Finally," Santana said, watching Quinn and Rachel disappear into the trees. "What are they talking about?"

"I'm not listening or recording," Brittany said. "They need some privacy."

"Brit," Santana said, pouting. "That's just cruel!"