AN: This will be my last fanfiction that I will post here. Makes sense it would the fandom that got me posting stories to begin with. Nothing special, just some father/son musings with Skeleton King and Mandarin. Perhaps I will return one day, but to all my followers, this is KoDraCan saying goodbye. Take care in your writings and keep reading.

Be By My Side

He was the first to be brought into the realm of the living, crying, fighting, and scowling at all things foreign to him. He reminded me so much of a ripe fruit I once saw during my youthful adventures in space. I knew right away what I would name him.

Mandarin.

From infancy, Mandarin proved to be just as domineering as his beloved birth mother was. Despite his hostility, he did care for his younger counterparts, though he preferred not to show it. He showed me an immeasurable amount of respect and obedience. He was my little one, always at my side, gently clinging to my garments when he was sure none of his younger siblings witnessed it. His carroty eyes would glisten when I smiled and he chattered very brightly when I laughed. In those days, I saw a side to my little one that no one would believe if I told them.

Then we were separated, my little ones and I. I was distraught, alone. I missed my children dearly. It would be years before I would see them again. Only they weren't so little anymore, and I'm no longer the man I was. I am a monster now, a horror upon the universe. My children and I are locked in combat. There is one child that does not fight me, who followed me to hell. I found him meditating in the coldest moon of the Ranger Galaxy. I approached him, calm, and expectant, relieved to see him.

"Mandarin, you have a destiny to fulfill." I told him, kneeling. In that moment, his eye betrayed a tear.

"Evil one…father…teach me. I will learn," He said, embracing me tightly, "I will stay by your side. "

I knew from the moment I first held him, he would be by side forever.

FIN