there and back again [solo mission]

There were things he didn't like in this world. He didn't like pineapples. But he liked pineapple pizza. He didn't like ghosts. But he was not afraid of ghost stories. He didn't like his father. But he was now stuck with the man until this mission was over. There were many things Orion disliked, and out of all of them, his father was on top of the list. Lady Luck just seemed to be smiling on him today, by having his father be on the same mission, of all the available missions out there.

"Fuckin' piece of-" Orion cursed to himself, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He took one look at the person who did, and shoved the hand away, "You keep your hands to yourself." He was being polite, as polite a man can be with his estranged father. Antares Prima only looked at his son, face stone cold, just like how he remembered.

"You should know, I looked everywhe-."

"Not the place nor time." Orion shuffled ahead of the group, not willing to listen to his father's drivel. The man was a chronic liar, more drowned in booze than Orion, and was hooked to gambling. In his mind, Antares Prima was a man without honour. A man who left his family alone to die.

The cold battered the group, and soon, they were all forced to slow down for the day. They had set a brisk pace towards the dark tower, but were still nowhere close to the aforementioned mountain. They needed a break, and having a small group meant they could not take unnecessary risks. Orion agreed. For once, the Ajedrez heir was using his brain.

So, with a heavy-hearted sigh, he made his own small corner on the rocky group, rested between two boulders. This was his space, and he intended to keep it. Away from the group. Away from his father.

Life had a way of reminding you of the past. For Orion, his father's words echoed in his mind for the next hour, repeating each syllable without pause. Orion grimaced, forced to agree with his father. Change was the only constant in this world. He was right about that, and more. The rock, grounding him, anchoring him securely to the past, was a fact. He knew it from the start. The memory of his father drove him to be a mage. The memory of his father egged him on to be a better person. He was stuck in the past, and he was angry that it was his father who reminded him of it. How could the man know? How dare the man try to lecture the son he had left behind.

"Breathe, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven," Orion counted to himself, reigning in his emotions. His father kept pace with him still, although ignoring him now. He knew what the man was doing. Antares was patient, and was waiting for Orion to break the silence. He was-

"You know, I'm not waiting for you to talk to me or anything. I just want to spend some time with my son, who I've not seen forever." Antares did not even look at Orion, but he knew.

Orion grunted, "So what do you want? A hug? A 'welcome back father'card? Where have you been all these years, after abandoning me and mother? Where were we were hungry, starving, begging in the streets? Where were you when she died?" the god slayer heaved-in a large breath, before releasing it.

"That's what I wanted to tell you." There was a roar, and then a wyvern twice the size of the one Orion had seen the last time he was here landed in front of the group, thinking that the group of humans were easy prey. "I'll just show you." Without pause, Antares Prima leaped forward and brought his arms out wide then shouted, "Thunder God's Halberd!" No sooner did the spell strike the wyvern, the man held his hand out and clenched his fist, "Detonate!"

A blinding light.

The walk was much more peaceful than when Orion was last here. It seems as though that the battle of his father had deterred any other creatures from disturbing them. It was great, except for the fact that the weather seemed to have missed its memo. The snow battered their group continuously, relentless and unforgiving. Orion held his own at the back of the group, watching the ones in front stumble every few steps. It made him chuckle.

"Almost there..." Orion muttered to himself. The Ajedrez heir and Antares Prima took the point, and were carving the way up. If there was one thing Orion can say about Michael Ajedrez, it is the fact that the man was stubborn. Falling over every few steps, the man kept getting back up and sloughing forward with determination.

"We're here!"

Orion paused, and found the cave entrance to be just ahead of them. It was just the way he remembered it, except for the fact that he could see how chunks of the mouth had been hammered away by the giant polar bears he had led to death. It seems they had tried to break, and had hit the cave mouth before colliding with the wyvern.

"Guess we're camping here." Orion sat himself down near the entrance, watching the group make their small camp. He was approached by his father, who sat down beside him, "That book," Antares started, "that you learned our magic from was mine. Our family's. Lost for a long time until I found it. It's yours now." Orion did not even acknowledge the man, his face grim. He was finally getting some answers, and as expected, he was not liking it.

"Run! Run!" The fight had taken long, and the Vulcans have not stopped pouring into the cave. It seems as though every single Vulcan had been called to this specific spot. Orion had been hard-pressed, but it was his father who had held the frontline for most of the time. The man was weaving in-and-out, lightning was coursing through the cave-mouth erratically. It was a sight to behold.

Orion grabbed the Ajedrez heir just in time before an explosion rocked the whole cave. Half of the group were dead, the rest wounded. The only fighting wizard left were Orion and Antares, and even then, his father seemed worn out. They were at their limits, but had something to show for it. The cave was littered with bodies of Vulcans by the hundred. They had done good work. It was just not enough.

"Dad!" Antares was struck behind, and he stumbled. The man stood right back up and blasted the one who got him with twice the power. He looked to Orion and shouted "Run! Take the kid and run!"

Orion could not help but shed a lone tear, before carrying the half-unconscious Ajedrez heir on his shoulder and sprinting deeper into the cave. A mighty rumble, and then silence. Orion knew what happened. It was the logical course of action, after all, sealing the cave mouth.

"Fuck!" He was shedding more tears now, thinking of his father trapped fighting against a horde of Vulcans. He moved to grab a scarf from his jacket's pocket, to tie up a cut on the Ajedrez heir's forehead, but instead felt paper.

Orion opened the piece of paper, and it read: "To my son,"