Chapter 20

Gabriel's POV

"...she isn't anywhere on the base and neither is Cedric. Also, her car is gone." Farah confirmed my suspicion.

Anger welled up inside me and I let out a fierce growl as I grabbed and edge of my desk and flipped it over.

"Fuck!"

Santana's POV

"He what?"

I obviously hadn't heard him right.

"He was there to kill you." Lucas enunciated each word.

No way. "Why? Why would he want to kill me?" Gabriel had never mentioned that we meet before. And I didn't remember meeting him at all.

"The supernaturals are very..." He paused and tossed his head side to side. "'superstitious'. They believed that female Guardians are cursed. Kind of like how pirates believe having a woman on board will cause bad luck." He explained as he walked to his chair and sat down behind his desk. I remained standing.

"How did the curse affect us?" I asked when a frown. I remembered Cedric and Gabriel telling me how there had not been a female Guardian in 500 years but they never told me why, did they?

"The legend is that the girls were easily manipulated by an evil spirit which would cause them to become temptresses and the spirit led them to seduce the male Guardian.  And legend is if Guardians mate out of lust not love, the male looses his power to the female. Upon losing his power, the male would become evil and turn against supernaturals. The biggest massacre in supernaturals history was caused by a scorned Guardian." He explained.

"What? Did you read that in a children's book?" It sounded heavily fabricated.

"That's the legend, Santana." He said with a shrug. "After the massacre, female Guardians have been extinct so I suppose it could be true but if you ask me, I think the men just got jealous because the women were more powerful than them." He smirked.

Gabriel told me that Nana had stopped the killing of female Guardians when I was born but if that was true, why would Gabriel have been there when Nana 'died'? We he really there to kill me? Because he thought I would be a temptress? I allowed myself to sink into the chair opposite Lucas.

"Tell me what happened." I demanded.

"Well, when you were born, naturally they wanted to kill you but your grandmother who had already betrayed us and was leader stopped them and cancelled the decree that girls should be killed. Not everyone was happy about it especially considering that she was in fact a treacherous hunter, so your much loved Gabriel was not too happy about keeping you alive." He leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk.

"They approached the hunter leader, Sid. Then I was just an advisor, so young and eager. Gabriel and some young fool came and asked us to kill the baby Guardian Santana because she posed a huge threat to both our worlds. Sid had been giving me heat about Shelly joining the supernaturals and your situation was not making things easy for me. Gabriel was insistent and wanted to keep the situation a secret but we are always one step ahead. Plans were made to eliminate the threat yet Gabriel thought we were still negotiating. The night he came for the final decision was the night Shelly died."

"How did I...?"

"I made a decision. My mother or my daughter. I decided mother was a lost cause and if I took mother out of  daughter's life, daughter would never know about supernaturals or at least she would love hunting before she knew about supernaturals. I protected the family business just like Gabriel wanted to."

Tears were brimmed in my eyes by the time he finished. I couldn't believe Gabriel had wanted to kill me and my father has saved my life! Oh! This was...unsettling. All the men in my life had at some point really considered killing me.

"Did Gabriel know you were going to kill Nana?" I asked in a choked voice.

"Oh no he worshipped Shelly. They all did. No, he just thought we were killing you." He said obviously enjoying my growing coldness towards Gabriel.

"No...he couldn't have..." I whispered brokenly. Not only had he wanted me dead, he had caused Shelly to be ripped out of our hands. I had slept within his reach for about two weeks! When was he going to pounce and kill me? In my sleep? Poison? During training? All that talk about wanting to protect me, was that bullshit? Was he really saving me for the slaughter?

I buried my face in my hands and started shaking uncontrollably while hot tears ran down my face. I could almost feel my heart shattering to a million pieces. I had been such a fool. Gabriel did not want me. He wanted to kill me! I had fallen right into his trap. Why had I let myself fall for him so hard? And I even dared hope that he wanted me too.

Damn.

Bravo, Gabriel. You have succeeded, I will now die of a broken heart.

Lucas was now sitting next to me and drawing me into his arms. I subconsciously offered a little resistance but I eventually let my father's arms envelop me. He gently patted my back as I cried, just like the way he did when I was younger.

"I know, I know sweetie..." He cooed softly.

I just shook my head and continued soaking his shirt in tears. This was just beyond belief. The amount of tears I had shed over this guy were astounding and every time I made the decision to stop crying, something else always came up.

Lucas let me cry until I had sobered up then he put his palms on either side of my face and looked intently into my eyes.

"Listen, princess. I know this hasn't been easy for you, what with the finding out who you are, who your family is and just now, who the man you had just begun trusting is. I know it's been excruciating and I know you have lost your trust in me but I haven't lost my trust in you. We may have a difference in opinion and bicker but when it comes down to it we are family and we have to stick together against the common enemy.

"I'm not going to lie to you, there might still be a chance Gabriel still wants to kill you."

"Might?" I interjected.

"I don't know, darling, maybe he doesn't see you as a threat anymore." Lucas said. "But here's one thing for sure, I will not let him kill you. But you have you work with me, sweetheart."

I frowned. "Dad, I'm not joining the hunters."

"Hear me out." He said evenly. "By now Gabriel is mobilising so that he can come and 'rescue' you but you and I both know that you are like a cow being fattened for the slaughter." Ignoring my horrified gasp, he continued. "But when he comes, instead of having you back him up and follow easily, you are going to be on my side and we will permanently deal with the 'problem'."

It took a minute to register what he was saying to me. "What? No, we are not killing Gabriel!" Why was I fraternising with the enemy?

"Why not? He would kill you in a heart beat." Lucas said drawing away and sitting up straight.

"You might be a killer but no matter what the situation is I would never kill anyone. Do you understand? " I said firmly. I didn't care how much it hurt, I wasn't going to play God over someone else's life. Besides that, this was Gabriel was were talking about, the thought made me tear up. I couldn't believe he tried to have me killed and he lied to me about it. How could I possibly ever trust him?

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Fine, what would you have us do?"

"I just want to go home. I want my life to go back to the way it was." I said my voice choking up with emotion.

He looked at me intently for a long moment before leaning over to kiss my wet cheek. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this."

A soft knock on the door drew our attention to the entrance. The door opened my mother, Karen walked in.

"I heard we had a visitor." She said walking in with a smile.

"Mum..." I breathed as I got up and ran over to her and threw my arms around her.

She held me tightly as her slowly patted my back. "You are such a bad girl Santana, running away from home. Driving your poor mother crazy." She gently scolded as she pulled away.

A lot of things can cause a girl to be sad, angry or any other emotion but a girl's mother can always make everything seem right again. "I'm sorry, mum." I mumbled barely fighting the smile that was creeping slowly to my face in answer to her own smile.

"I'm just glad you are safe, honey." She took a step back and studied me. "Look at you, so dirty. You need a shower and a nice hot meal." She announced.

"Oh, honey, we weren't done talking." Dad interrupted standing up and walking towards us.

"Lucas, look at her! You can chat more after she's been looked after." Karen insisted.

"I-" I began protesting but was interrupted.

"No nonsense, Santana, you need a shower." Mum started dragging me towards the door.

"Hey, wait! What about my friend? In the tunnels?" The question was directed to my Dad.

"We already discussed this." He said conclusively.

"Come on, Dad. If you want me to be on your side then he has to live." I stated already worried that it might be too late for Cedric because I had been up here a long time.

Dad looked like he was considering it as he did the head tossing thing again.

"Oh for heaven's sake, just give her what she wants. You have put her through enough already!" Mum interrupted his thinking.

"Karen, you know not to get mixed in business." Dad warned looking annoyed.

"This isn't business, Luke. This is our daughter. You have to draw the line somewhere." She argued adopting a 'mother's advisory voice'.

"Well yes, but..."

"Dad, please." I decided to play the whiny daughter part minus the pouty lip and batting eyelashes.

He sighed deeply in defeat. "Fine. I will send the antidote but he's not leaving that cell." He added the condition to retain some of his power.

I grinned. For the first time since I had been captured I felt hope.

"Thank you. Can I take it to him?"

"Don't push it." Lucas was quick to cut me short.

It didn't matter. As long as Cedric got the antidote I was very happy.

"Let's go." Mum took my hand and walked the out of Dad's office, up the stairs to a room further down a dimly lit corridor.

She opened the door revealing a spacious room decorated just like my room back at home. They knew I was going to come here.

"When did...?" I started looking around the room.

"Over the years just decorated it according to your room at home so that if you ever come here, it would be comfortable for you." She answered my unspoken question as she closed the door behind her.

So this was a progressive work. Hmm so mum and dad really were planning on revealing their true identities. But I had to ask.

"Why? Why didn't you tell us?"

She shrugged. "To protect you, Santana. This world isn't pretty. Look at what's happening right now. You were a prisoner in your own father's house. It's so complicated but I'm glad you are home."

My eyes filled with tears. She was right. The world had brought nothing but misery to me and I was too caught up in the middle of everything to pull back. Everyone was trying to manipulate everyone and I didn't know who to trust but at least right now, I knew I was safe in my mother's arms.

"It's really tough, Mum." I whispered all choked up.

"Oh, I know I know, sweetie." She walked over and hugged me.

I hugged her back fiercely. "It's good to see you." I said pulling away.

"Were they treating you well? You look a little thinner." She said stepping back to examine me again.

"What? I don't think is physically possible for me to be any smaller." I said walking to the full size mirror.

Whoa! My clothes were really dirty. Probably from the sewage pipes, I scrunched my nose.

"See?" Mum said coming up behind me.

"Mum, I look exactly the same and all this dirt you see here is from dad's dirty prison cells." I remarked.

"I can't believe he put you down there." She with and nose-scrunch identical to mine.

"I can't believe my parents have prison cells." I said my voice getting sadder with each word.

I turned to Mum and found her looking kinda sad too. "That's the way life works. You take what's handed to you."

I frowned. "I don't believe that. Life is what you make it, Mum. This right here, was a choice." I said.

"Either way we are your family and this is your rightful place. It's good that you came willingly."

"This isn't a social visit! I don't want to be apart of the hunters." I said with feeling.

"You already are, honey. It's in your blood." Mum said frowning lightly.

"I don't care whats in my blood. Why is Finn part of you now?" I wasn't nearly as calm as she was. My blood was boiling.

"Part of us. You should be with us too. This is the way it should be." She responded calmly.

"Mum, Dad killed Nana. He murdered her, Mum. How is that okay for you?" I asked incredulously.

She runs her arms as if she was cold then turned away from me. "It was necessary. We had to keep you and your brother safe."

"Safe from who? Safe from danger you created? You do realise the supernatural world would be safe if not for you, hunters?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We did not have a choice." She muttered quietly her head hung low.

"There is always a choice, Mum! You could always choose not to kill your mother in-law, you could always choose not to kill innocent people. You could always choose not to lie to your children. And you could definitely always choose not to turn your son into a cold blooded murderer." I spoke in a persuasive but authoritative tone hoping to maybe change her heart. " There's always a choice. " I looked deep into her eyes.

She was silent for a minute as she searched my eyes. "I'm a hunter's wife, the only place for me if by my husband's side. But you are right. You are way too young to be sucked up in this horrible life of hunters." She said her eyes filling up with tears.

"You are so much like your father, Santana. I'm proud of you." She whispered before she hugged and kissed a very confused me.

"Mum-" I started but she put her finger on my lips to shush me.

"I have heard your message, my darling. Now go shower. I will prepare a meal for you and your friend downstairs." With that she turned and left the room.

What the hell was that?

I stood there bewildered for a long moment. I hadn't even said half the speech I had prepare for this particular encounter yet the reception was more than I could have possibly hoped for.

Was it genuine? I'm pretty sure it was.

Hmm.

I really needed a shower, I decided heading for the bathroom.

What do you know, even the bathroom was exactly like mine. They were really trying hard, weren't they?

Quickly I peeled off the dirty clothes. As I was pulling my pants off, the folded paper fell to the floor.

Oh! I had totally forgotten about them. Picking them up, I began reading slowly. My Spanish was very rusty so it was a tedious process.

Fifteen minutes later, I sat on the edge of the bathtub with a large grin on my face.

*          *           *

I stepped out of the bathroom with a big white Rob wrapped around me and stumbled backwards when I saw a figure sitting on my bed the almost immediately I sighed in relief.

It was only Finn.

"Finn! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I chided as he stood up slowly from the bed.

"You are always scared, Santana." He remarked.

I grinned then I ran towards him for a huge hug. " What are you doing here?" I asked as I released him.

"Mum said you were lonely. I've been trying to see you ever since you got here but you have more guards than the president I swear." He said.

I smiled at him but it turned into a snarl when I remembered what he did the last time I saw him. I started slapping him continuously. "What" slap "do you" slap "think" slap "you are doing?" Slap slap slap.

"Awww! Stop it!" He said trying to catch my flailing arms. He caught them eventually but I had put in some pretty good slaps in.

"Why are you going this? Why are you joining them?" I asked.

"I'm not with them." He replied.

"Then why were you holding a gun to my face? And to our friend, Cedric's face? Huh?" I interrogated angrily.

"I'm only pretending to be part of them so I don't stay in those horrible cells!" He defended himself.

"What if he had forced you to shoot Ced? What would you have done? " I wasn't satisfied with the answer he had given.

"I would have shot him."

I gasped then started hitting him again.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Stop! For someone so tiny you have too much strength." He jumped out of my reach.

I didn't smile.

"Okay okay. When Dad captured me I tried refusing to talk, or eat, temper tantrums, even crying but the all I got was those smelly old tunnels. I was dirty and I smelled so Mum came to talk me down which gave me a brilliant idea. I agreed to talk to Dad and pretended to listen to his speech about the greatness of hunters but at the end I agreed to join. But only because I was hungry and I wanted a nice clean bed plus I knew you were coming for me." He explained and concluded with a smile.

That really sounded like something Finn would do. But could I trust him? Maybe it's  me he was lying to.

"How do I know you are not lying?" I  hissed at him.

"You just gotta trust me. I'm your brother."

"A brother who had a gun to my head!" I yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry about that. I was only trying to prove my 'loyalty'. There was no way I could have possibly hurt you." He said.

I eyed him suspiciously.

"Come on." He coaxed. "I'm not a hunter. You know that." He said all traces of humor done.

Hmm yeah well he was right he was no hunter for sure but maybe not trust him completely - just in case.

"Hmm...fine but if you are a traitor, " I stepped closer to him and pointed a hand threateningly at him. "you are dead."

He grinned. "Okay!" He reached over and hugged me. "Hey listen, I had-"

He suddenly stopped and got a hard in concentration look. He then turned and briskly walked to the window.

"What?" I asked following him more slowly. He didn't respond but he continued looking out the window. So I waited but I swear what seemed like 3 minutes passed.

"Oh my god, what?" I snapped tired of waiting.

He lifted a finger to shush me. "Hold on."

I grabbed his collar and pulled his face down to my height. "Tell me whats going on!" I demanded.

"They are here. Gabriel is finally here." He whispered.

It was only then that I felt him slowly filtering into my senses.

You have been a very bad girl. His whispery voice caressed my mind causing me to shiver.

"Perfect." I mumbled trying to block him out.