Author's note: This is just the beginning, like some background to the real story. Subsequent chapters will be written in the various Gleeks' POV. Please comment on the idea, and any requests for any characters are welcomed!

Something was wrong with Rachel Berry. She and Finn had ended their relationship a few months back and her friends had thought that she was beginning to show signs of tremendous recovery for someone with a broken-heart. But they were positive she had lost her mind the minute she walked into Glee on the first day of their final year.

Looking back, no one had been able to contact her at all over the long summer holidays. Glee was on break, and effectively so were the Gleeks' friendships. Santana had made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with all that "bat-shit-crazy" when they were on holiday and everyone enjoyed a period of freedom from the tight clutches of Rachel Barbara Berry. They held multiple parties in the first two weeks, each time at a different person's house. They split into their usual "popular" and "unpopular" groups and simply enjoyed each other's company and the familiarity that they sorely missed when they had to mix. Then came the annual "Glee Club Party" that everyone received invitations for. As they were making their way to Mr Schue's place, Mercedes began complaining about how she didn't want to have to put up with Rachel Berry and all her speeches the whole night, while Quinn stated that her turning up was going to spoil the whole party to which received nods from the others in the car. They filed out from the black sedan, dreading the sight of a certain Berry sitting ram-rod straight on the couch.

"Hello Rachel and yes I did prepare something vegan for you so you don't-"

Mr Schue looked up to be faced by the grinning faces of the rest of the Gleeks. So it wasn't Rachel Berry at the door. That was weird, he voiced out, that they should be earlier than a certain brunette for a Glee-related activity. The cheerleaders however, simply shrugged and demanded that the party got started. No one payed any attention to the missing girl until Kurt showed up and demand that he spoke to Berry immediately. And that was when reality hit them.

Rachel was not at the party.

Rachel fucking Berry who was 100% crazy and 300% talent was not here, not at an event that she usually turned up for and made vegan cookies and cupcakes that everyone loved (but would never admit) and suddenly the whole room felt a hell lot emptier. Kurt simply stared wide-eyed like they'd all grown horns on their heads or extra eyes and whipped out his phone and dialed her number with a quick flurrying of his manicured fingers. The phone rang, once, twice, thrice. No one answered. This was starting to freak the Gleeks, and even Mr Schue, out. If there was anything they had learnt about the girl, it was that she placed Glee as third priority, below family and school work so unless she was failing (which was unlikely because it iwas/i summer vacation now) or something had happened to her family, she wouldn't miss this party for the world, they even recalled a time when she had a 40-degree high fever and still turned up, animal jackets and knee high socks, in all her Berry-glory, and strutted into the house, only to be ushered out again by Mr Schue wearing a mask. Kurt was biting his lower lip, and pacing back and forth in front of a clueless Blaine.

"That girl. I knew there was something wrong with her when-" his hand flew to his mouth, eyes wide, staring from one person in the room to the next. Finn's eyes narrowed dangerously. Rachel may be his ex-girlfriend, but she's still his friend and he didn't like it when others knew more about her daily activities than he did. Kurt chuckled nervously at the taller boy, stalking towards him the way a tiger would its prey, if you could call Finn Hudson a tiger. Puck had on his serious face and everyone knew that you didn't mess with the Puckerone when he was angry. Sam looked curious, not in an entirely good way, and Kurt was surprised to find that the blonde jock cared for Berry; he made a mental note to ask her about it later. Even the Cheerios had the decency to look concerned.

"Spill it fairy boy," Tina growled, low and predatory. What was with him and animalistic descriptions today? Kurt gulped, suddenly feeling the urge to tuck his tail between his legs and run, and that's just what he did. The room watched as a flustered Kurt rushed out of the room, Blaine chasing after the boy. Finn scrunched his eyebrows together, thinking hard. Envy flashed through Quinn's eyes, before she was next to him whispering soothing words into his ear. Lauren was staring weirdly at Puck, while Santana looked pointedly at Sam. Brittany was worrying her lower lip as Artie tried in vain to calm her down, Tina and Mercedes were busy on their phones, no doubt trying to make Kurt spill his little secret, while Mike just looked bummed out on the couch. Everyone was trying to put two and two together, while Mr Schue looked genuinely worried for the smallest brunette. The party ended earlier than intended, each Gleek formulating various scenarios in his or her mind, trying to think of possible reasons for the missing Berry.

That was only one of the many incidents where Berry failed to show up. She didn't go for any shopping trips, she was never online on Facebook, her videos stopped going up on MySpace, she didn't answer any phone calls or texts; to the Gleeks, Rachel Barbara Berry was as good as dead.

So boy were they glad to know that she was in school on Monday. Brittany had plans to bound up to her and envelope her in a huge hug, while the jocks in Glee (namely Puck) swore openly to never slushie her if only she never does this again. Even Mercedes and Tina were glad to know she was in school and confessed that they indeed missed those little Tony speeches she delivered on impulse. Everyone waited in anticipation for Glee, where they could corner and question the hell out of her.

School passed by way too slowly for their liking and finally Glee came. They entered the room, expecting to see the brunette sitting in the front of the class, prim and proper and tutting at the rest for coming in late. The room was empty however, and Mr Schue came in ten minutes later to find everyone staring at the empty Berry seat. She wasn't one to be late. She was never late. Thirty minutes later, Puck swore he was going to take a search party out and look for the missing girl when a tiny knock was heard on the door. Then the wooden door swung open to reveal Rachel Barbra Berry, missing person for the past few months. Everyone just gaped at her. Someone even choked mid-drink. She had cut her long lucious hair into a boy-cut, the hair that she had been so proud of, all cut off into a simple crew-cut. She was wearing skinny jeans and a simple polo t-shirt that hung loosely off her small frame and the Gleeks mentally noted that she had lost quite a few pounds. But not in a good way unfortunately. She looked too thin for comfort, her cheek bones accentuated, eyes sunk in more than usual. She had lost her usual Berry confidence, and the girl standing, shifting nervously from one foot to the next might as well be a kindergartener.

Kurt chose that moment to rush in and envelope the small girl into a huge hug, wide smile immediately fading as he took in the sight of her. She flinched at his touch and attempted to scoot as far away from him as possible. Tears filled the boy's eyes, and his voice was all choked up as he spoke. "What...what happened?" he whispered, so brokenly it hurt. Finn had to tear his eyes away from her, only to face Quinn whose own eyes were brimming. Brittany whimpered quietly and buried her face into Artie's shoulder, Santana running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm her down. The Latina herself was gripping tightly onto Sam, knuckles turning white from the force with which she was gripping. And all the while, Rachel simply stared down at the floor, not daring to look up and meet anyone's gaze. She shuffled slowly to the closest empty seat, a considerable distance from the rest of the club and sat down, hands placed neatly on her lap and silent. Mr Schue took this as the cue to continue and asked the room for any suggestions they might have for regionals. Rachel remained surprisingly silent throughout although Mr Schue made some obvious errors in an attempt to make her speak up. She didn't clap along or sing when some of the Gleeks did song presentations, and didn't so much as smile at any of the lame jokes Puck make in an attempt to lighten the mood. She looked like the living dead, and the Gleeks felt awful just being in the same room as her.

"Look Manhands, if this is one of your ploys to get us to feel bad, it's working ok? Now quit messing around with us," Santana hissed out. Hurt flashed through her eyes and they filled with tears, Santana taken aback by the sudden fragileness of the once proud and unstoppable girl. Mercedes hissed cruelly at her before moving to hesitantly putting a comforting arm around the smaller brunette. She jerked at her touch and quickly stood up, glancing once at the clock through downcast eyes. "Sorry Mr Schue," her voice barely a whisper. "I think I need to go."

A curt knock sounded on the door and in came Jesse St. James. Puck snarled at the curly haired boy. "Get the hell out of here. If you hurt Berry, I'll rearrange your face." Jesse glared at Puck, intimidating him more than he should be able to and walked quickly to Rachel. The Gleeks watched in shock as he put an arm around her small frame, enveloping her entirely. She didn't flinch away from him the way she did with her friends, instead she leaned into him, moving her arm around his waist, and sighed in obvious comfort and familiarity. The two walked slowly out of the classroom, Jesse being so gentle with her that it painfully reminded the rest of how broken the girl really was.

The Glee kids were shocked and confused, but each of them knew for sure, they would find out what happened to the small brunette and hopefully help her come around; they needed her, all of them did. And Glee ended that day with each member plotting various schemes in their heads, and hoping that at least one of them would work.

Operation: Save Rachel Berry was a go.