Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

Chapter 26 (Stepping Stone)

Upon receiving an urgent message on her phone, which was still bothering her somewhat, Trina was backtracking to Kirkwall with Tori and Sebastian. This was a state of emergency for her, the message had come from one of Tori's friends and said they all had to rush to Sinjin's and Andre's aid against some giant creature. While the message said everyone was safe, she was still worried that Sinjin, as well as the others, might have been gravely injured in the fight. The rest of the message said something about their having found some information regarding Meredith's son, but it was currently the farthest thing from her mind.

As they ran through the wilderness, her heart racing and her head pounding, they'd encountered many creatures that chased after them. Most were said to be the humanoid "Tal-Vashoth", part of those Qunari creatures that had been thrown out of Kirkwall many years ago. They would try to fight, but Trina didn't have time and would simply tell Tori to fire back some sort of blast whenever possible.

These creatures were best described as walking bulls, as if mankind mated with a cow, and these creatures were birthed as a result. How they did not exist any longer, Trina wasn't sure. "Sebastian, I have a question." Her eyes drifted to the right as the trio ran for the gates of Kirkwall. There were about three of these creatures running towards them with weapons raised in the air. She huffed, ignoring them, and continued her pursuit as Tori shot a massive blast of fire and ice at the group. Sebastian ran up beside her, awaiting her question. "What do you predict happening to all the 'mythical' creatures? They used to be my father's childhood stories, now seeing that they actually existed at one time or another, I have to question…what happened to all of them."

"I wouldn't know," Sebastian replied. Of course she didn't expect him to know of an extermination that had yet to occur. "Some, like the Qunari, detest humans, so it's possible they breed only within themselves. There aren't many, and more seem to die every year, so maybe they're going to go extinct one day for that reason. Are you saying that all these things don't exist in the near future?"

"I don't know about 'near' future," Tori fired off another blast at more oncoming Qunari and let out a loud irritated groan. "I mean five hundred years is not 'near'. However, I don't know…" Trina's breathing grew labored and she swept the back of her hand across her brow, wiping away the sweat.

"Sinjin is a history major, he says there's no record or indication in any of the history texts he's read that creatures like Dragons, Elves, man-like cows ever existed beyond the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Something wiped them all out, something massive. As if they never existed."

"Now that you mention that…" Sebastian cleared his throat and looked up towards the sky, frowning at the orange clouds above. "Merrill mentioned something once on our travels to the top of Sundermount. We stopped at some altar where she paid respect to the god that her people worship. I think she said the god is named Mythal, and she said legend has it if Mythal frowns upon you that you would be struck from the face of the earth as if you never existed…I have serious doubts about it, but it is as you say, everyone has their own religions and deities, but even still…I can't see mass extinction and nobody saying anything…"

"Well that's apparently happened at some time in history. After the 1500s, there is no indication these things ever existed. Hell, even their remains are gone! Just legends…legends that became fairy tales."

"Fairy tales? Like what?"

"Snow white and the seven dwarves, for instance…or even Maleficent, the witch that could turn into a dragon…"

"We have that, actually," He laughed and Trina raised an eyebrow. "We call her Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. Maybe whoever came up with those fairy tales was onto something. You say there is no text recording these creatures and…demons, but I'm sure there has to be something."

"Maybe. You and I can see them, clear as day, but no one in our time will ever believe us. I mean the biggest thing we have is the Komodo Dragon, and it's just a small lizard compared to the dragons you guys talk about."

"I see…another thing, the Qunari don't take well to being called cattle." She laughed once and picked up her speed, rushing the gates of Kirkwall. Behind them, they saw a number of these Qunari coming after them like a stampede of bulls. She let out a long whistle and turned her head back to the city.

"If they don't like being called after cattle, maybe they can stop acting like cattle. Or right now, they're acting more like buffalo." Perhaps that was the reason many of these things didn't seem to have any historical record of existing. Scientists can easily mistake the bones of creatures like the Qunari as animal or human, and most of these demons don't have bones within. As evidenced when Tori fried a demon and it melted into a puddle of burning tar. "I wouldn't put it past Dad to research this stuff. I mean, if you think about it, now that he knows this stuff to be real…maybe he'll figure something out. Right now, the most I care about is making sure Sinjin is okay."

"Barely leave Kirkwall and the whole lot of them get into a fight. Figures."

"Doesn't it, though?" She was grateful that Tori's friends were around, suffice to say. She hadn't expected them to have Sinjin's back where it mattered, and she was starting to see some had her back. When it came to Sinjin, she had to know what happened. What attacked him, what injuries did he sustain? Was he all right? Whatever the case, she couldn't bear the thought of losing him. It was too much strain on her heart to imagine what would happen if he were gone from her life, and currently, she feared the worst. Trina did her best not to show it, but wasn't sure how believable that was.

After finally reaching the estate in Hightown, Trina practically fell through the front door. Sinjin and the others were waiting in front of the fireplace, and the first thing she did was run up to him. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him for a second before regaining her composure and stepping away. "Okay…what happened…" Her cheeks were enflamed from the sudden hug she just gave, and she was hoping to avoid the feeling of embarrassment.

"Well first off, we're all fine," Sinjin crossed his arms and looked towards the friends who were standing around the room. "I went off to try and find that former Grand Cleric, and they came after me." Her heart froze and she gawked at him, irritated to hear the implication that he went off alone.

"Wait…you're telling me you went by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Why?!" He looked back to her and shrugged his shoulders, unable to give a better reason aside from impatience.

"Not sure really, I wanted to find that woman and be done with it. Andre showed up with Isabela and Anders, basically saved my ass."

"Okay…"

"The old bat wound up turning into this giant golem, so Andre used the phone and got ahold of Jade, who gathered the whole group to come help us fight. So, I guess if there's anyone you should thank for the fact that we now have a possible lead to this person we're looking for…It's them…"

This was major news for her, she was grateful as hell that they managed to be there for Sinjin and keep him from getting hurt, above all else. It was obviously not something she'd assume was staged, either, so there was no chance of that. She hugged him once more, holding him close and looking over his shoulders at the others. She mouthed the words "Thank you", and tightened her hug on him. Tears fell from her gaze as she sought to push down her worry. "Don't think you're clear just because you found something out…It was still horrible of you to do that. You could have gotten killed, and then what?"

"I know. I got a bit overzealous."

"That's not good enough." She stepped back and looked towards Trina's friends, shaking her head in bewilderment. "If it wasn't for them…god, who knows what would have happened."

"If it says anything of character," Beck blurted out, grabbing her attention, "It was Jade that rallied everybody together to go save him. Even Robbie and Varric managed to somehow get over to stand post outside the cave to make sure no creatures came wondering in to make things worse. Andre called for help, Jade rallied, and we all came…not as an attempt to get on anyone's good side, just…"

"It was genuine. I get it." She waved him off and took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted to each person and her expression softened. She still wasn't sure how much faith she wanted to put in trusting them not to hurt her in the future, but as for now, maybe they were worth more than just tolerance. "Maybe I misjudged you guys, I don't know. I'm sorry if I seem so…so bitter, I just…I have reasons. I'm a person too, I have feelings like anyone else. To top it off, I am your best friend's sister. I guess you guys are worth a second look…just…don't let it get to your head." The others chuckled and Jade seemed to brighten at what was likely Trina's first real sign of approval.

"So that means you're going to actually give us a chance?" Jade seemed to bounce on her heels, and the eagerness in her voice spoke volumes to Trina. She hummed out her contemplation and looked to Sinjin for a minute.

"You guys saved Sinjin, and Tori's willing to give you guys another chance, assuming you work on things…I guess you can't be all bad…"

"What about me?" Anders joked, "I healed Sinjin's eyes. Does that count for anything with all of you?" Sinjin laughed and Trina raised an eyebrow, while Tori was the one to answer.

"Don't push it Anders, you still do what you're going to do. I'm sure of that." Anders sighed in defeat and shook his head.

"I'm still not sure what you know, but fine. I'll take it."

Jade moved before Trina and looked her in the eyes, smiling politely. Still, this was a strange sight for her, but she'd just have to try and get used to it. Trina was going to be watchful of all of them, but was willing to at least let her guard down somewhat. "So here's what we found out. The former Grand Cleric was possessed by the demon of a rock golem, obviously. She gave Meredith's baby away to this Orlesian couple that, fortunately, lives here in Hightown."

"All right…continue…"

"Well." Jade paced the floor, locking her wrists behind her back. "Grandma Aveline said they dealt with this couple once before, their son Emile. However he is not associated with Meredith or blood magic in any way. They have two daughters as well, one of them is bound to know where this child went…clearly he may be the eldest of the siblings. Surely there's a trail."

"Right. And where there's a trail, there's bound to be the mage, and where he is…so is my ancestor." She narrowed her eyes and curled her finger beneath her chin. It was late at night, she wanted everyone to rest, as well as talking to Sinjin a little more about what happened in the caves. "We will investigate them tomorrow morning. Until then, I want everyone to get a good sleep. I'm going to retire to my bedroom for a little bit…Sinjin, follow. We're going to discuss you nearly getting yourself killed to get this information."

He lifted his eyebrows while the others remarked about his possibly being in trouble. "I'm never going to live it down, am I?"

"Nope. If I ever talk to Lindsay again, she wouldn't appreciate letting you forget it."

So Trina's finally starting to warm up a little more to the group, but still it's a slow and steady path for all of them. What are some of your observations and thoughts?