Chapter Text
The mansion was dark and dusty, the only light coming through dirty windows covered in red silk curtains. It was fitting honestly, the mood of the house matched Christopher’s quite well. He walked through the halls, his feet making gentle knocks on the old hardwood. He looked at the old paintings that stared back at him with piercing eyes and sideways glances. Old members of the pristine Arclight family, his ancestors who he had never met nor knew the names of but still adorned their walls.
He took a left, the hallway looking the same as the last. How fun it was to get lost in the great mansion as a child, the halls seeming endless and the adventures and secrets to be uncovered never ceasing.
Two rights ahead he found himself in a familiar room, the living room. The vibrant red couch once lit by the flames of the orange fire dancing in the fireplace seemed faded and bleak, the whole room seeming cold and small. Above the empty fireplace held a picture of his old family, the smiling happy one with baby Michael in Chris’ arms and Thomas beside them giggling while hugging their dog. In the middle their father sat, head held high with a proud smile on his face. He missed that smile so much.
Looking away he grimaced at the memories resurfacing, memories taken away from him in just weeks, days, hours, seconds. The tears of joy and laughter became tears of sadness as his brothers were ripped from his arms. He couldn’t have done anything back then, he could do barely anything now.
He sighed and continued on, walking down a few more old halls before coming to a dark wooden door. He took out a small brass key designed with simple engravings from his pocket and fit it into the keyhole. The door opened with a creek.
Inside was a matching set of drawers and a desk, on top neat stacks of paper and star maps. Beside it was a long silver telescope, pointed upward towards a curtained window.
He approached the queen-sized bed covered in velvet blue blankets and sheets and set his suitcase down. He sat beside it and held his hands on his head for a short moment.
Would he even be able to adopt Thomas and Michael? Would they be happy to see him? It was so long and they’ve grown so much, they would be mere strangers by now.
A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.
“Christopher?” A feminine voice called,”V are you in there?”
“Yes, come in father.”
The door creaks open and in walks a small boy in a blue outfit, his bleach blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail laid across his shoulder. His face was half covered by a metal mask carved in a crown-like shape. His eye was covered by a red lens, his mouth by a fake one carved into a creepy smile.
“It’s strange to be back home isn’t it?”
He states slowly walking closer to Chris. He stands in front of him and sighs, pushing back to suitcase and taking a seat next to his son.
“Almost like the old times.”
Christopher stared blankly for a moment and nodded. The two sat in silence for a moment before Tron stood back up.
“It’s about time to go get Thomas and Michael, I’m sure they’ll be eager to see you after all this time.”
“Of course, it’s been so long, I wonder how they look now that they’ve grown.”
Tron nodded and Chris stood up as well, opening his suitcase and taking out a few important papers. Neatly holding them in his pale slender hands he began to walk towards the door and back through the mansion. This time Tron followed him close behind.
“Good luck, make sure not to tell them too much about me, they will know all about what happened soon.”
Chris nodded and left the huge mansion, his hair blowing in the wind as he entered the cab waiting for him outside.
Inside Tron watched the car pull away. His lips formed a thin line, but his gold eyes gave nothing away of what he was feeling.