Heroes of the Past and Present

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

A/N: Don't let it fool you, Trina is in no way possibly related to Meredith. Sarah is the ancestor. Remember there's 500 years difference, all the generations. Not everyone is going to have 100% same circumstances or personalities in life. It is just pure coincidence that Meredith and Trina even had similar experiences, but yet not even that. They both understand each other through having had at least one abusive ex. Without further ado, I give you this chapter, enjoy

Chapter 24 (A Better Understanding)

Sinjin blasted away at the frightening mass of creatures in the caverns outside Kirkwall, he wasn't able to truly get used to the white energy that came from his hands or the staff he had with him, but he was working on it. Like Trina, he had a tendency to wander out on his own without one of the ancestors, but he had a good reason for doing so. He was following a lead.

He'd gone to the chantry recently to speak with Elthina and was able to discuss the prior Grand Cleric. What was said was that the woman was asked to step down not long after the whole fiasco with Meredith and Orsino, in which Elthina was chosen to be the next. 'Someone' had reported anonymously what the woman had done years before, so she'd been disgraced.

How this led him to fighting a bunch of demons in a cave, he wasn't sure. The Chantry records book said that this woman had been exiled to a cavern, which made little since. Did he question it? Sure, but what would be the point?

Sinjin shifted his gaze towards the right and narrowed his eyes at yet another tar-like creature rising from the earth. "These things are endless," he panted. He turned towards it, putting a strong leg forward as he twirled his staff around his arm and pointed it towards the creature. A massive lightning attack shot from the staff and struck the creature. Upon contact, the demon let out a ear piercing howl and collapsed into a black puddle. "Suck on that one, pal."

Just as his confidence was on the rise, he heard a sudden crash that paralyzed him. He breath locked in his throat while he mentally counted each thundering footstep behind him. The earth seemed to tremble at his feet, causing him to feel as though he were stumbling about. When he turned around, it was then he saw a giant, grayish-blue demon with scales covering its entire body. It had a head like a dragon, with long horns and a terrifying snarl, but was built like a giant bear standing on its hind legs.

His eyes widened when the demon's arm came crashing into him, sending him flying into a nearby wall. He let out a loud shout and tried to push himself up, but upon doing so, a burning sensation ran down his left arm.

The demon began to stomp its feet, slowly making its way towards him. His vision was blurry, which could only mean he lost his contacts. All Sinjin could see in front of him now was this large purple blur coming at him at a high speed. "Shit! I screwed up! Have to make it out of here somehow…" He hurried his hand to his arm, using the healing power he learned to quell the pain and fix whatever issue there might be.

Just as the feeling in the arm was coming back to him, a sudden force lifted him off the ground and he found himself face to face with the giant. The creature let out a massive roar, instilling a powerful fear inside him. He was not too out of it, though, but he certainly wasn't coming out here by himself again if he could actually get out of here.

"Sorry pal…" He carefully moved his hand up, placing his fingers firmly on the creature's neck. Pain shot through his body as the creature started to crush him in its hand. He let out a strained groan and struggled to push whatever magic he could out of him. "Trina's counting on me, asswipe…I'm not letting her down by getting myself killed…" With a sudden burst of power, a massive blast of lightning shot from him and injected itself into the demon. He fell towards the ground and snapped his fingers, forming an armor of rock around his body. He began to stand, breathing heavily as he glanced to the demon holding its face and roaring out in pain. "I learned my lesson, I guess…don't come out here alone…Jesus."

The demon glared at him, its eyes glowing red, which to Sinjin, simply looked like a purple smudge with red headlights. There were clearly more pressing matters at the moment than what he was going to do without his eyesight, but it was still aggravating that he didn't think to bring a pair of glasses with him. There was no way he could accurately fight a demon when he was so blinded! "If this thing doesn't kill me…Trina will…"

"Not a chance." He raised an eyebrow at the sound of Andre's voice and looked towards the right to see three blurry figures rushing up behind the demon. Andre and Isabela leapt up onto the demon's back and began stabbing it furiously with their daggers, while the third figure cloaked in grayish robes, stepped before him as if guarding him. Anders.

He was frozen with shock, too stunned to believe what he was seeing. The demon, overwhelmed, was collapsing to the ground while Andre and Isabela continued to pummel it with their knives. Even Anders was overpowering it, striking it with powerful blasts of light magic. "What part of don't go off alone don't you get?!" Anders scolded.

Isabela hopped off the demon's body and walked over, smacking her hands together. "Yeah, what were you thinking? Be glad Andre saw you walking around on your own and that Anders was nearby."

"So you guys followed me?" He was grateful for their arrival, but did feel a bit shamed by the events that transpired. A deep anger planted itself inside him, but truly he was only angry at himself for having to be in this situation. "I can't see anything, I've gone blind. Everything is a blur. I can't be of any help now…"

"You're a mage, blindness shouldn't be an issue for you. " Anders spoke slowly and clearly, while Andre and Isabela grew concerned. Sinjin was confused, he would not have figured himself to be able to counteract this in any way. "The vision will return to normal soon enough."

"It isn't that simple," Andre commented, "He has to wear glasses or contact lenses." The two ancestors shook their heads and Andre walked over to him, patting his shoulder. "In our time, blindness is a definite medical issue. We have these things that can help those with vision problems see better. Glasses or contact lenses. He was wearing contacts, I guess he forgot to bring his glasses."

"So he literally can't see. Okay." He glanced up, barely able to make out the blurred facial detail of his ancestor. The man looked almost like a ghoul, with dark blurry eyes. "Well first off, as a mage, the constant flow of magic should be able to correct that. If not just temporarily. For now, let me see what I can do."

"Oh you're an eye doctor now?" He smirked, skeptical of Anders's ability to even remotely correct his vision.

"I'm not asking you to trust me, just shut up and let me get to work." He raised an eyebrow and felt Anders's fingertips at the sides of his head. "May not be permanent, but at the very least I'm going to try and see if I can do something. I mean, you're not completely blind are you? If you are, that's another thing altogether."

"Not completely blind, no."

"Okay good, I can work with that." He felt a sudden rush of cold surround his head like a cloud of ice. It gradually began to warm and sink into him, prickling his corneas like a dozen tiny needles stabbing into his eyes. Strangely, it was more of a tickling feeling than a painful one. As this feeling continued for a few seconds, the people around him began to clear up. Astonished and in a state of shock, he was able to make images out with more clarity than even when he wore contacts!

"Holy shit…I can see you people!" He took a step back, staring at the trio with uncertainty, nearly falling over. Andre merely shrugged and turned away from him.

"That's the closest thing to a 'thank you' you're going to get from him. Trust me, he hates us as much as Trina does."

"I am grateful." He rolled his eyes and stepped forward, slowly getting used to actually being able to see again. "I'm just a bit surprised to see you here. Following me, no less."

"Well it's not like I'd want something happening to the one guy that Trina actually gives a damn about." Andre spun back around and narrowed his eyes, "When are you going to stop suspecting us all of bad things? We're actually trying. I followed because I didn't think you'd bother telling me what you were up to, much less even let me join you. You're not the only one trying to help Trina and Tori, you know."

"I think I have pretty good reasons for disliking you people, and more so than you guys doing shit to Trina." It had more to do with their actions at the school, and he'd already told them of their vanity issues in the past. Such as, being popular but yet not being 'popular enough'. "That's not important right now, and I don't feel like going into it. You want to know what I'm doing, I'll tell you. I think I found a lead."

"Okay, what did you find?" Isabela and Anders were immediately interested, both had been slightly distracted for a second, uninterested in the bickering between Andre and Sinjin.

Sinjin looked towards the fallen demons and began to walk beyond them, motioning for the others to follow. "There's probably a door around her somewhere. Chantry records indicated the last Grand Cleric was exiled to this cave for some reason." He still didn't know why, but it appeared those demons were guarding something. "The last Grand Cleric was not only exiled, she was kicked out of the chantry for good. She knows something, and I intend to find out. If s has any ideas on where that son could be, we're that much closer to finding Sarah."

"While that's great news, don't go getting yourself killed man." Andre stepped up beside him, giving him a disapproving look. "You know Trina wouldn't be happy about that. The girl cares about you, you know."

"I am well aware. I am just not accustomed to having a horde of demons come at me out of nowhere, that's all!"

"Yeah, well, this is a different time…"

"Right." He would be more careful about working with these people, he wasn't going to put himself in this situation again. Even if it took swallowing all his pride, he would work with them rather than be alone. For Trina's sake. Still suspicious, he looked to Andre and crossed his arms. "So tell me, what's your deal? Are you just following Beck because he's following Jade, or what?" It was clear to him that Jade was trying, but the others, he wasn't sure. He was skeptical of their motives, and felt he had every right to be.

"No. I really am sorry for treating Trina badly, I just got caught up in everything. I guess, I don't know. I have to start treating her better, not just because I want to, but because…" Andre moved his hands behind his back and let out a sigh. His eyes closed and his shoulders rose. "I like Tori, okay? I know that's not going to happen unless I treat her family with respect, and I mean it when I say I'm sorry for my involvement in everything done against Trina. None of us thought about how seriously things would affect her, and now that we all see it, we know we screwed up."

"Right…" They turned a corner and continued walking down what seemed to be a strangely lit corridor Far in the distance, he thought he saw a door, but it could likely just be a dead end. He lowered his arms and sharpened his glaze. "Andre, I'm going to be honest, and this is only my opinion. Feel free to disagree, even show me that I'm wrong. I don't believe you deserve a relationship with Tori. Why? Because I don't see you as having the respect you need to be involved in a family like that." Andre frowned and bowed his head. Sinjin didn't feel too cruel in saying what was on his mind, he wasn't going to hold back his opinion, else he'd risk not being 'real'.

"I know, I just…I don't know man."

"I am only working as a teacher's assistant for Sikowitz, something you probably aren't aware of…" Andre looked up, somewhat startled by the admission. He chuckled briskly and shook his head.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, what's a twenty year old guy still doing in high school when he's obviously smarter than that…"

"Well, that being said. I have ample time to observe people, something that will probably help when I'm actually a teacher. It seems to me you and Robbie are about even in the amount of respect you have towards the girls at the school. Trina and I actually wonder about how much pressure you'd put on Tori if you two were together."

"I admit I'm not perfect, but I do care about Tori. So maybe I'm a bit of a show off when it comes to women, but I would never harm Tori in any way. I know that being said, I should probably have defended her sister more, if that would have helped anything."

"I think so. Seems to me Trina and Tori have always valued family to the highest regard. I would never disrespect Trina's sister in any way, and if someone disrespected Tori, and Trina was not around, I would defend her. You should do the same because you care about Tori, it would definitely show her that you care about her family. It might also give Trina a little bit of confidence in the possibility of you ever dating her sister. The fact is, we don't see you respecting Tori, clearly not her father since you so readily lied to him on a few occasions…so Trina would be concerned, if you were to bring up the possibility of you and Tori being an item, if you would be the type of boyfriend to try and keep Tori from her family."

Andre gasped and his eyes grew large, "What? Never!" The man didn't try and defend himself to Sinjin, seeing as how he understood how that assumption could be made. "I get it, but I can tell you I would never do that to her. Besides…it isn't like Tori would date me anyway."

"Why not?"

"She wants to see me respect her sister first…"

"Well…you're on the right track, then. Just take it a step at a time, maybe the girls will start to see you making an effort." The one thing none of this group probably realized was that he and Tori were somewhat friends too. They had to be, since he was often around Trina. There were many times he'd be over helping Trina with homework, or just hanging out, and Tori would be home. Their friendship was mostly in passing, but there were times when he and Trina would sit down and watch a movie with Tori. He'd be a pretty good judge of character for someone in Andre's position. "Just treat Tori right and Trina will see that. Treat Trina with some respect and dignity, then she won't question you being around her little sister. It's not that hard. If you've ever seen that family on a typical Saturday morning, they're a pretty normal and typical family. Those girls grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons and playing in the yard, now they still sit around and watch movies or do homework when they're not doing something with their friends, or well…you guys."

"Yeah, average huh…" Sinjin couldn't recall a single time he saw any one of Tori's friends there on their own, aside from possibly Jade. The rest were always there as a group, which wasn't bad, but it didn't really give them a whole lot of chance to be around the girls on a typical day when nothing was going on.

"You go over there on a typical Saturday morning, and you know what you're going to find?" Andre looked up at him eagerly, smiling slightly as Sinjin smirked. "They'll be sitting around the couch watching old Pokemon reruns on television, or even movies. Those two girls are super fans of Pokemon and that old Digimon series, they literally have all the movies stashed away. You'll find them with a plate of pancakes or waffles, or even eggs, whatever their father's cooking that morning. Tori always has a glass of milk, and Trina always has orange juice. Pulp free. Sometimes they'll put in some discs with their favorite 90s shows in and watch that in the mornings, it'll be Recess, Pepper Ann, the animated Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and so on. They're big on nostalgia. Trina will usually wrap herself up in her blanket, which is basically a black comforter with stars like the stars you see in the sky. Tori usually has a pink comforter that she's got herself wrapped up in."

"Pokémon, huh?" Andre meshed his eyebrows together and pushed his hands into his pockets, sighing heavily. "I never knew they were like that. It is a different idea than what I think most of us thought they'd be like on a typical day…Simple, average, it's…" The boy started to smile as a new admiration sparked in his eyes. "I kind of like that image. They don't fight all the time?"

"Oh they have their moments, believe me. But once sisters, always sisters. They never argue when it comes to stuff like Pokémon, believe me." He chuckled and Andre moved his hand to the back of his head. It might have come as a shock that the girls would have ever been into something like that, but it was something they grew up on and they never joked about nostalgia. "My firmest advice that I can give: Get to know them on a typical day, get to know them for more than what you see on the surface, and you'll be in good shape."

"Y-Yeah I can definitely see that."

"Good. All that I just told you? That's only on Saturday morning, there's a lot more to them that I'm pretty sure none of you guys have ever seen. There is a lot of warmth in that family, a lot of love to go around, especially after that nasty divorce. They do a lot to make sure their dad's doing all right."

"I bet. Do they get out of the house much?"

"Oh all the time! Sunday is their 'family day', Andre. I've been with them on the weekends when they might go to the movies with their dad, or even the zoo."

"So they still do stuff…as a family? I like that. I really do." Sinjin was proud of Andre, he could see a new respect in the guy and he was hoping that it would remain as such. For Andre to hear what the girls were like and to actually warm up to the idea, it bode well. He truly hoped for the best when it came to Andre, considering how much he said he liked Tori.

"Yeah, well anyway…" They came up to the door at the end of the tunnel and stopped before it, "I'm guessing the former Grand Cleric's behind this door. Before we go in, I want to reach an understanding with you, Andre. I think I can respect you a little bit more, not sure, I'll have to see."

"Understandable. I mean, you seem to get the Vega's a little better than we do. So it makes sense you'd be suspicious of us…"

"Well. I'll start being more open to working with you guys and not going out on my own and getting myself killed by a bunch of strange…creatures…in return, I'd appreciate seeing you put more effort in getting to know all of that family."

"Agreed." Andre wasted no time in accepting the terms, which filled Sinjin with some confidence. Maybe this guy could be trusted, he would have to see.

Remembering Anders and Isabela, he looked over his shoulders at the two ancestors. They seemed lost in their own thoughts, probably having been disconnected from the conversation due to their lack of knowledge on anything the two were just talking about. "Are we done here?" Isabela asked impatiently, "I would very much like to get out of this cave sooner than later." She put her hand to her hip and leaned towards the right, narrowing her eyes on the door in front.

Sinjin nodded and turned to the metal door with a stone handle, "Yeah, let's just see what's behind this door." He was a tad anxious about what he might find waiting for them, but still he had high hopes that they'd have fresh information to get back to Trina and Aveline.

So Sinjin and Andre had a pretty good talk. Aside from the obvious, what are your thoughts and observations?