Solas La Senia Pt. 2

Beneath the light of day and upon the Arch of the Immortals stood a father and his son. Surrounding them were the Queen's Guards and an audience of people who refused to leave without witnessing the spectacle. Long has it been since they've seen General Archontas in action, and it was directed towards his own son, no less.

No shortage of eyes watched them, as every screen in the entire city was broadcasting this very moment.

"Solas... just surrender," Theo said. "I'll guarantee your life. I swear."

"Huh... I suppose the same courtesy wasn't extended to Mother," Solas scoffed.

"It was. Please, believe me, I tried, but she-"

"Shut up... I don't want a single word about her coming from your mouth. Just... die."

Despite his body aching with pain and desperately pleading for him to stop, Solas lunged forward. He swung his dagger, but it was easily blocked by Theo's gauntlets. He swung again, and Theo stepped away to dodge it completely. He threw another slash to which Theo stood perfectly still, allowing the blade to graze past his hips, yet it didn't even make a scratch.

"Enough, Solas," Theo muttered. "Do you not see how futile this is?"

"I don't give a shit," Solas replied. "I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do."

Again, Solas struggled to land a clean hit anywhere on Theo's massive body. Nothing more could better display the gap between normal humans and the augmented.

Eventually, Theo grew tired and grabbed Solas's arm as he attempted an overhead swing. With his gauntlet hurled into a fist, he landed a hard jab on Solas's stomach, further deepening the wound on his hip.

Solas fell to the ground, letting out painful coughs as blood continued to spew out of the wound. He clutched it tight, which only served to dampen his hand.

"Please... Just stop..." Theo grunted.

"Heh, why...?" Solas chuckled. "You feeling remorse? Did you also feel this way when you killed Nelia?"

"Nelia... was a different situation."

"You don't have to try and explain yourself. I know everything."

Solas recalled the story that Holiday told him a while ago. Nelia was lying still in a pool of blood, and all Theo did was watch, his expression unchanging.

"So don't come up to me pretending like you actually care!" Solas shouted as he lunged once more.

Quite literally, the way they fought could only be described as a man against a child. While Solas had every intention to kill Theo if given the chance, the general continued to evade and block his son's strikes, never once attacking him intentionally.

Upon the highlands, the generals watched with great anticipation.

"Why isn't he using his code?" Ramses mumbled. "He's wasting his time."

"Let the man have his moment," Keira chuckled. "It's not every day you get to have a nice chat with your son."

"A nice chat, you say? Looks more like a tamer trying to calm a wild beast."

"You wouldn't understand, darling. What it means... to fight your own family."

Finally, Theo pushed back. He parried Solas's slash and knocked him to the ground. He then pulled his arm back and plunged it to the ground, but not without giving Solas ample time to roll out of the way.

"You say you know everything, yet you look at me as if I am some kind of monster," Theo said. "That I would kill my own daughter for no reason and felt no remorse at all."

"Do you mean to tell me that you did?" he asked.

"Why do you think I shut myself away for all these years...? Do you really think I felt nothing at all?"

"What... And in what way does that excuse your role in her death?"

"I..."

Theo lowered his head in shame, which only served to fuel Solas's inextinguishable rage. He lunged once more and locked Theo in a flurry of slashes.

"You were never there!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Eight fucking years! No visits... no calls, not even a letter... And then to make it worse, you get Mother killed the moment you show up! You think you have the right to feel remorse?! Quit fucking joking!"

Finally, with a mighty swing, Solas was the one to knock General Archontas away. He lost control of his dagger, sending it hurling across the sky. A visible cut laid bare dead in the center of Theo's mechanical chest, one that was thought to have been impenetrable.

"Don't start acting like you care all of a sudden," Solas growled. "I don't give a shit about how you feel. I... I hate you."

Theo gritted his teeth. His mind was swaying. How could he explain all of this to Solas? What reason could he possibly give? His involvement in the deaths of his family is as clear as day, and there was nothing he could do or say to explain himself.

"Solas... Please, just... listen to me," Theo mumbled. "I never meant for any of this to happen. Nelia, Erianna... you. I regret everything."

"So what...?" Solas said bitterly. "It happened, didn't it? So why... Why are you the one who gets to be regretful? Why..."

Even without his dagger, Solas charged forward, landing a punch on Theo's chest and a jab on his hip. However, the general did not falter. He did not flinch. He did not even give so much as the smallest reaction to the blows he was taking.

The only thing that changed was his face. As stoic as it was, visible strands of tears began trickling down as he listened to his son's very audible anguish and woe.

"Why are you sad?" he muttered as he swung his fist.

"Why are you crying?!" he screamed as he threw another punch.

"I'm the one who lost my sister and mother to you!" he cried as he bloodied his knuckles. "Don't you get it?! They're both dead! And now what?! You're gonna kill me too?!"

Every punch he landed upon Theo's mechanical chest bruised his hands even further. They dug into the metal and tore off his skin, dripping blood all around.

"You were always like this!" he said. "You never gave a shit about any of us! You left us, and it's no one else's fault but your own that they died! So I'm next, right?! What are you waiting for?!"

He punched.

"Kill me!"

He punched harder.

"FUCKING DO IT!"

He roared at the top of his lungs as he hurled his arm back and swung it as hard as he could. However, the recoil sent him stumbling back.

Solas took heavy breaths and stifled his overwhelming sorrow. He looked up at Theo with red eyes and filled with tears.

"Why...?" he mumbled. "Why did you let all of this happen...? Why... didn't you save them...?"

Solas fell to his knees and cried. Memories of the past began replaying themselves in his head. First, it was Nelia, and then his mother. All the times they bickered and nitpicked everything he did to the times when he felt warmth in their smiles.

They were both gone, and nothing could bring them back. All the while, Theo stood steadfast as he bit his lips and clenched his fists tightly.

'Why,' he thought to himself; the very question he has been asking himself for the past nine years. To what end does this path lead him? Will he be all that's left of his family, their lives taken by his own hands?

"Now that was quite the show," Keira approached them while clapping. "You two should go into acting. I'm sure you'll land a sick gig."

They didn't even react. Instead, they kept perfectly still, tired and filled with misery. Keira couldn't help but smile and reminisce. Theo, on the other hand, was not as entertained as she was.

He began walking away, but not without stopping right next to Keira. Their heads were aligned, but neither said a single word. That was until Theo spoke quietly for her ears only.

"Keira... You would understand better than anyone the inevitability of those who would dare to oppose your callous crusade, yes?"

She said nothing in response, so Theo crept closer.

"If anything happens to him before I give the final verdict, I will show you something much worse than that which you would impose on your less-than-fortunate victims."

Keira's eyes shot wide open as a chill ran down her spine. The menacing look in his eyes was nothing short of the most powerful and dangerous man in the entire city. One small step could mean her immediate death, and yet, she couldn't help but admire the imposing pressure he emitted.

The corners of her mouth stretched across her face as she replied. "As you command, General De Leux."