ALISTAIR

"So here we are, my love. Are you ready to save the world?" Sereda asked with just the tiniest bit of uncertainty.

"Of course I'm not!" Alistair said with amusement.

Sereda shot him a glare and he laughed before taking her into his arms, he lifted her up and kissed her soundly, pouring all of his love and passion into it, knowing it may be their last.

When he broke away and she whispered, "Alistair, I love you so much."

He wiped the tears streaming down her face and smiled, trying desperately to fight back his own from falling, "And I love you. Always."

They withdrew from each other and faced Fort Drakon, ready at last to save their world from darkness.

SERENA

Worst. Day. Ever. Why, why do I keep working here? she thought to herself as she was going back to get her things before clocking out. She had only been working at the pharmacy two months before she had gotten veiled threats of termination for being 'too chatty' but every customer that came to her checkout always told her bosses how amazing she was, that she was actually concerned about their well-being. Of course I am, I want to help people, make them smile, especially when they're sick and take no joy in anything else, she thought as she walked to her car.

The customers praise is what kept her from being booted, she knew that. She was the only young woman working there so she knew jealously had to be a part of what made her older female superiors so adamant in harassing her. She wasn't particularly attractive by any means, she only stood at five feet and two inches tall, ash brown hair that went past her shoulders, brown eyes that depending on her mood would go from burnt orange to almost black, her nose was narrow and turned up slightly at the tip, with full lips to hide an embarrassing overbite. Her small stature was paired with being on the plumper side with wide hips, thick legs and a soft stomach. She was far from unfit however, she'd been dancing and doing gymnastics since she could walk, and martial arts since she was 12. She could take her 250 pound sensei down at 16, and kept up the exercises and disciplines even now at 22.

Her drive home from work was of course a pain; most drivers had lived in Washington their whole lives but still had yet to learn to drive in the rain. When she had finally made it to her home she locked the door behind her and bee-lined towards the bathroom for a long, hot shower.

She sat down on the couch with the blanket over her lap and controller in hand. The haunting song on the Dragon Age: Origins Menu came on and she loaded up her saved game. Her Dwarf Noble Rogue, Sereda looked almost exactly like her, and she was almost at the top of Fort Drakon. She had refused Morrigan's ritual, her first time doing so since she'd played the game, and she was desperate to find out what would happen.

Battling the Archdemon always got her blood pumping. Pressing buttons furiously shouting, "Shitshitshit! Hurry up and diiiiiiiieeeee!" at her TV screen. Finally, after almost all of her health potions and lyrium draughts for Wynne were gone the Dragon was nearly dead. The cut scene started with Alistair talking about taking the final blow.

"No...I didn't...I didn't want this to happen!" Serena said to herself. She watched as Alistair told Sereda that he loved her and then ran toward the Archdemon. He lifted his sword and stabbed the dragon through its skull. The white light blew through him and suddenly Serena's house shook violently; the bright light blew through her TV screen and before she had time to react a dark figure flew out of the screen and landed on her, flipping the couch back and knocking her out cold.

When she woke up she felt a large pressure on her chest, like a boulder had landed on her. "Craaaaaap! Earthquake...Ouch!" She yelped in pain when she tried to move then froze solid when the stone on her chest groaned.

"Oooooh, my head..." the man grumbled as he sat up, looking at Serena at first with surprise, worry then longing. "Sereda!" he whispered, before pulling Serena into a fierce kiss.

Serena, scared out of her wits and confused, did the only thing she knew to do. She shoved him off her as hard as she could and punched him in the throat.

ALISTAIR

Can't breathe, ow ow ow ow! The pain in his throat was near unbearable and he tried his best to breathe, all the while Sereda scrambled to her feet and ran to another room, she came back seconds later holding a strange square thing up to her ear in one hand and a small canister pointed at him in the other. Why would she attack him? They had won! They were both safe and so was Thedas? Why was she so upset?

"I'm calling the police, don't move or I swear I will mace your crazy ass! How did you get in my house?!"

He watched her closely and finally noticed that this wasn't his Sereda. This woman was taller, softer, and her nose was narrower.

"ANSWER ME!" she screeched while waving the canister at him.

After finally finding his voice he rasped, "Alistair, my name is Alistair. I apologize for scaring you, I don't really know how I got here; one second I had my blade through the Archdemon's skull, the next I was in your home. I thought you were my love and fellow Warden Sereda and that's why I kissed you. I'm sorry; please don't do whatever it is you planned on doing with that tiny thing in your hand? I imagine it won't end well for me."

She immediately put the canister of "mace" whatever that is, down and dropped the square thing away from her ear. Her jaw dropped and eyes bore into his face, as if trying to establish if he were real.

He saw her pinch her arm and looked at her quizzically, "I'm pretty sure that this isn't a dream Miss...?"

"I'm Serena, I can't believe you're actually real. You're supposed to be a video game character. You're supposed to stay in the game! What the hell is going on?!" She started hyperventilating and backing towards the wall.

"Whoa calm down!" he said as gently as he could in an attempt to soothe her, "I'm just as confused as you are, I am supposed to be dead, like really completely dead. Yet I'm here, with you. I don't know how or why, but we will figure it out, alright? Just please breathe. Breathe for me." He slowly stepped towards her, hands away from his body and palms up to show he wouldn't hurt her.

She eyed him warily before relaxing her body and taking a deep breath. "Ok" she said while looking up at him. "Ok, we will figure it out together."

SERENA

"So...what's a video game?" he asked while helping her put her couch back up, luckily it wasn't completely smashed considering he was in a full set of heavy plate armor. Crap, he's gonna need clothes! He was much taller than he looked in the game and every bit as handsome.

"Well it's like a play, except instead of people, they use computers to create the characters."

"Ok...what's a computer?"

Shit. "OK...computers are machines, they can help you do paperwork, they can send messages to people so you don't have to send a messenger and they can also play games." He still looked confused so she changed subjects, "So my TV oddly enough wasn't damaged by the blast, damn thing still survived having a full grown man in plate armor fly through it, wonder why that is. Oh! Speaking of armor... you can't wear that here in my world, there's no need for it here. What are your measurements so I can get you clothes?" She watched him look himself over and shrug, "Alright I'll just have to guess your size then... ummmm well go ahead and take off your armor so you don't break anymore furniture, I promise you're safe here, no darkspawn, no bandits, just me."

"Yeah and you punched me in the throat, so how am I safe?" he said with a chuckle as he started unfastening his armor.

She laughed nervously while twisting a strand of her hair around her finger. God he is good looking...

"So why do you look like Sereda? Your name even sounds like hers, is that part of the game? Did you do this," he waved a hand in her general direction, "on purpose?"

Oh, tough one. "Well let me make some coffee and I'll explain, I'd make you tea but well, I don't drink it often so I never buy it. Just have a seat…" She looked at his still gore covered body, even without his armor his head and underclothes were covered in darkspawn blood...ick. "Actually let me show you how to work the shower and I'll try to find something decent to wear around the house until I can get you some clothes."

She showed him into the bathroom and after a few minutes of confusion and questions he finally got the main bits of the shower.

She closed the door behind him and was finally able to flip out for a second. "Oh crap! Alistair Fucking Theirin is in my house. A smokin' hot fictional character is using my shower. How, why, how?!"

She paced the room trying to figure out what to do. How does one start to search for a way to get a fictional character back to his world? How can he even come out of it?!

"So he came through when he killed the Archdemon, so maybe if I turned on the game it will send him back?"

She quickly turned on her TV and Play station and opened up Dragon Age, but instead of the main menu screen it was a picture of what looked like Flemeth's hut. She inched closer to the TV, then nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the familiar cackle of The Witch of the Wilds.

"My dear girl, I know what you are going to ask, and the answer is no. He can't come back here." Her face popped up on the screen, her face and hair the only things being visible.

"Why, he survived? Why can't he go home? The Blight is over! He can go home and be the King Ferelden needs! Did you bring him here? Why here? What's going to happen now, why ar-"

"SILENCE!" Flemeth spoke stern but soft and Serena immediately stopped talking. "He cannot come back because if he comes back, he will die. He is the last Theirin, he NEEDS to survive! I sent him to your world because I wanted to keep him alive, while keeping the balance in place here, you and I both know he didn't want to be King, he just wanted to live in peace. Now he can. To answer your question, 'Why you?' Well the answer my dear is...why not?"

She cackled again before the screen went black and the PlayStation started smoking, Serena tried to turn it off, salvage it somehow, but Flemeth had melted it, and the game disk into ruin.

Alistair came out of the shower then, a red towel wrapped around his waist and a hand worrying the back of his neck, "So I'm not going home then, am I?"