Sins of My Father
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: This tale is a large crossover though primarily set in Victorious. It is a continuation/sequel to a recent story "When Worlds Collide" and focuses on the children of David Vega and their attempt to escape the long shadow he left over them. This is about the struggle of whether or not blood makes you who you are. Unlike WWC, each chapter will not be the title of a song, however the title of this story is inspired by Sins of My Father by Tom Waits
Chapter 1 (A Bloodied Heritage)
"Did you think it was over?"
Tori rubbed her hand over her lips, sliding her fingers across them in a slow, meticulous manner as her eyelids sank halfway. Her other hand held the letter addressed to Trina from their father. It looked like a cruel taunt, sent to her from his prison cell. Somehow it managed to be stashed away in Trina's luggage on their vacation to Malibu, where Tori found it while sorting through everyone's laundry.
"I know you can feel it, the rage coursing through your veins. The hate that you bear, the torment that lies in your mind, just waiting to be set free…You are my daughter, after all. I remember what you said, 'I'm nothing like you', but my dearest one, don't deny."
Tori furrowed her brow and dropped her hand from her chin to her chest. She could feel her blood burning within her veins as her eyes scanned his virulent words. They all felt it, sure, but none of them thought blood made someone who they were. Just because their father was a monster, a demon, didn't mean that had to be their legacy. Why should it?
"Just how you wanted so much to kill me, those fantasies you had of murdering your sister's friends when you saw how terrible they were…I know you cannot deny the feeling. How hard was it not to attack Mr. Shapiro when you discovered he was the cause of your miscarriage? Don't think I missed hearing about you putting Erica in the hospital. You're a regular chip off the old block."
Tori growled lowly and looked over her shoulder, hoping no one would come into the hotel room and find her reading the letter. Everyone was still outside talking to Jack and Monica about his own family, the family he'd left behind years before.
She could see them just outside the window. In the distance, Trina walked along the beach shoreline with Jason, looking down as she ran her hand across her stomach.
Glancing back to the letter, Tori's simmering rage started to boil over. "You see it, my legacy is within all my children. You're corrupted, Katrina, all of you are doomed to traverse the darkest path until all of you perish. I know you tried so hard to save them, or your sister did anyway; but you see it already in the young ones. How little Dice cannot stop tampering with things and illegally sells various items, or how Gwen and Ruby consistently cause harm to other people…yes, you can try and save them from the blood that courses within, but none of you can truly escape who or what you are. The children of a monster, destined to become monsters yourselves…just ask your older siblings."
Tori stopped, her eyebrows rushed to the top of her forehead. She felt her heart screeching to a halt and blinked several times before slowly reading the rest. "Oh that's right. The little CIA in training thought she knew everything, didn't she? You thought you were the oldest. Tell me, why would I keep a list of all my children? Those who are now adults, those who I do not associate with or have any interest in…You already know how I am, how many people I must have been with over the course of time. Surely, you should have known that there were others. Others who have already accepted the evil that lurks within them, the damage that destroyed their very lives, little Victoria had dreams of bringing her siblings together and saving them in some way; but you can't possibly save them all."
How many did her father truly have? How long was the list? Tori wasn't naïve enough to believe that she could find all the siblings they had, especially if their was that many; nor was she simple enough to think they'd all want anything to do with siblings they may never have known existed.
Hell, she was lucky that Monica, Dice, Gwen, and Ruby all were willing to be a part of their lives; and fortunate that Chelsea's mother came around to the idea as well. Even with Holly being able to adopt William, and Jack adopting Nick, there had certainly been some points in favor for them; but that was about as far as she thought their luck could extend.
"Yes Katrina, you have older siblings, all of whom have embraced that little 'legacy' you think of. Take for instance my oldest daughter, of whom I would never associate with, one that was born in my teenage years. Now a drug addled prostitute working the streets, who began taking psychedelic drugs early in her youth and thought she developed super powers! But hey, back in the 90s, it was a fun time to be a kid."
Tori jerked her head back, trying to imagine the level of drugs that could cause someone to believe they developed super powers. It was amusing for only a moment, but frightening to think that David actually did keep tabs on his adult children.
As much as she wanted to pull away and stop reading, she couldn't. It was like a good book, too impossible to put down. No matter how disgusted it made her.
"Or the youngest son of a prominent senator, always acting out, always rebellious, never understanding why he was treated so differently, only to grow angrier in his adult years…perhaps you'd mesh well with your other sister, a woman just being released from prison as we speak! Known for being a celebrity stalker, who wound up killing the poor woman; for so long she claimed it was just an accident. I'm sure Miss Bynes would be rolling in her grave if she knew the monster that was walking the streets…"
Tori recognized the story, but vaguely as she was so young when she heard it mentioned on the news. It was a case that David and Gary got involved in, because it happened in LA. A young, up-and-coming actress named Amanda had been stalked by a woman named Penelope for a few years, the self proclaimed number one fan. Eventually, the woman kept trying to get her attention and started following her on the highway. The actress began to drive faster, so Penelope sped up, pursuing at high speeds. Eventually, the actress drove into a tree, but miraculously survived enough to stumble out of her car.
That was when Penelope struck her down with her car and drove off. Whether it was an accident or not had always been hotly debated.
Smacking her lips, Tori continued to read the letter, curious more about these extra kids. " What of the man closest to turning out just like his father? Perhaps you'd try and save him from his legacy? A man whose father married the mother of the woman he was dating, a man disowned by his family for refusing to end the relationship; a man who now is filled with such anger, such hatred…You see, they've all come to terms with who they are, and you shall too. Or maybe you won't, not with what I have in store."
David's handwriting seemed to grow sharper, as though he was writing faster. "I've got people on the outside too. Don't think you're the only one with connections. Erica was loyal to me, Camille was loyal too. Other women were loyal…my network doesn't end. You think you're safe, but one thing our little war has done has inspired me. You see, I've come to understand, I've spawned a bunch of little devils…"
Tori felt the hatred now. David was angry, very angry, and essentially it was his own children coming together that sealed his fate. Could he be out for revenge? Was that even a possibility?
"Yes. I've spawned several tiny little devils that must be eradicated before they become monsters like their father. You might want to know your older siblings, you see, because like you…everything dies. You can't save everyone."
Her hands began to tremble as grief and horror tore through her like a hurricane. As precious few seconds passed, she started to feel as though she couldn't breathe. When she turned around, she spotted Trina in the doorway and cried out in alarm.
Without missing a beat, her sister unfolded her arms and walked forward with a heavy sigh. "Forgot I left that in my suitcase." Trina took the letter gingerly in her hands and folded it up. "I'm sorry you had to read that."
"Trina." Tori exhaled and shook her head. "When were you planning on telling any of us about that letter?"
"After Malibu." Trina shut her eyes and pushed the letter into her pocket. "I didn't want to ruin anyone's vacation."
Hurt and frightened, Tori's voice rose and quaked as though an earthquake were at her feet. "Our father wants to kill us, I think that's a bit more important than spoiling anyone's vacation!" She immediately regretted shouting, though her body was tensing rather than the opposite and desired outcome. "Not to mention, he has other kids? Seriously?"
"Yeah, that's what I said." Trina sat on the edge of the hotel bed and shook her head. "I'm in the process of finding them and figuring out just how long Dad's actual list really is. Not because they're related, but because there is a very serious threat on their lives."
Tori agreed with this, although she'd like to get to know them. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. "How are you finding that information out?"
"I've had to interrogate David, and I have people still trying to get as much information as possible."
An exasperated sigh fell from Tori's lips and she dropped her hands to her knees. "Jesus. How many kids does he have?"
"Too many. I'm afraid some may already be lost." Trina looked to the right and narrowed her eyes. "He mentions four in the letter. Counting Rebecca's unborn baby, that brings the total count to fourteen. I didn't want to think he could possibly fuck that many women, but he got around…"
Tori's entire body was trembling and she didn't know whether to scream or cry. She stumbled over her words and raised a hand to her face, slowly caressing her cheek. "Are we safe?" Trina looked back and started to grunt.
"Of course. I won't let anything happen to any of you."
"You can't be everywhere in one place, Trina. You can't bear the world on your shoulders."
"Did you miss the last year?" Trina chuckled softly. "You know how many contacts I have. David mentioned that he'd 'let us enjoy ourselves for a while', which seems to imply he may be focusing on the others…the older kids. Why would he bother telling me anything at all about them at this point? He's taunting me."
"How many kids total do you think he has?"
"He's a gigolo, a playboy." Trina rolled her eyes. "In interrogation, he told me that he has had twenty-seven that he knows of." Tori's eyes bulged and she threw a hand over her mouth, gasping into it. "He happens to know some are dead, others living perfectly normal lives while a vast number of them are in a bad way. Again, it's worth knowing that of that number, we already know half of them."
"Not half, Trina. The four in this letter, we don't know…"
"True. I'm working on their names and location. Seeing if I can figure anything out, but let me handle it, okay?" Trina gave her a stern look and Tori sucked in a deep breath and held it in. "Tori?" Trina's eyes narrowed a bit more and she cleared her throat. "You will let me handle this."
Eventually she gave in and released her breath with a heavy sigh. "Fine, but I don't think I can just sit by knowing that our siblings are in danger." Trina looked out the window, chuckled, and looked back.
"You're right. You don't have to. You can watch over them." Tori knew her sister was referring to the ones they already had contact with, Dice and the others, and didn't want her worried about the older bunch; but she couldn't help it if Trina didn't outwardly say for her to ignore the older ones if they found them. "Everything will be fine, Tori. Don't you worry."
"Yeah…You don't think Dad's right?" Trina hummed as Tori bit her lip and looked down to her feet. She tapped her fingers together in her lap and closed her eyes. "That we're all destined to be some kind of criminal or bad person because it's in our blood, do you?"
Trina groaned. "Of course not. He's only saying that to get under our, my, skin. We're in control of our own destinies." Tori smiled a bit and looked up at Trina. "I mean genetics can always play a factor in a lot of things, but I think in this case, it's more just environment and upbringing. He casts a long shadow, that's true, and society might say we're destined to be like our father; but always remember the actions we take in life are our own choices. We decide whether to be like our father or not, our bloodline doesn't get to make that decision for us."
"Yeah, but Trina…" She frowned and shook her head. "You lost control, remember? You did something you knew better than to do." Trina sighed and her gaze drifted off a bit. "You beat the shit out of Monica's mother when you've always been better about that. You do have a rage that you have to keep a lid on at times."
"I know, and I do regret having taken that action when there were other alternatives. I thought impulsively and was reacting; but just the fact that I know it was wrong and can say now that I regret having made that choice is proof enough that we can be in control of our own lives. We are not our father, Tori, and we never will be."
Tori smiled a bit and watched her sister rise and walk towards the door. She leaned her head back and turned to gaze out the window. She hoped that was the truth, she hoped they could escape their father's shadow and shape their own legacies.
She hoped that Trina would find any of their older siblings that could be in danger, that whoever David had going after them could be stopped. Only time would tell, and for now, she was going to enjoy the rest of their vacation.
So yeah he's got a lot of children. The four in the letter will have primary focus in this tale, so don't worry. We might see or hear of the other adult siblings, but they won't be as important. So, I've left clues for you to figure it out. That drug addict one is from an old 90's Nickelodeon show. Of course I'm taking liberties with it because rather than that show's premise, the girl was on very powerful psychedelic drugs...So while Tori and the others try to work on escaping the shadow of their vile father, it looks like they're going to have to rescue some other siblings as well. Just how vast is David's empire? Will they ever be safe from his wrath? I hope you'll follow along with this...and yes, you might want to read When Worlds Collide if you haven't already.