Dragons at the end of the world- Chapter 6- The caves of Dragonstone
READ IT IN AO3 HERE Inside the Caves of Dragonstone.
Year 2040- Present-day…
Their flight was uneventful, just like most of their surveillance that consisted of overflying the abandoned area of Dragonstone and what was left of the old castle. To Jon, it was almost amusing that most of the damage came after Rhaegar and Aegon’s bombs went off. It seemed that people only needed someone to “throw the first rock”. After the bombing came the riots and the vandalism, and then some other bombs. The Targaryen fortress could only take so much. It was a bit sad to see such an amazing structure reduced to nothing, but as Dany used to say, it was already contaminated by the experiments Aerys did there.
They had flown for about half an hour, letting themselves wash away the worry and celebrate for a little bit. Jon knew that Dany’s pregnancy was unexpected and even if it put them in a precarious situation, he couldn’t help the rush of joy that flushed through him every time he thought about it.
“Get it out of your system Jon.”
“Sorry…”
“I can feel you still smiling. I have to admit it’s quite reassuring… truly thought you were going to be more upset.”
“I could never be upset about this Dany, ever. This baby is everything I could have ever hoped for… everything humanity could have ever hoped for. As far as we know yours is the first pregnancy among the refugees, the first new life since Aerys took over.”
“It still can go wrong, Jon. It’s one thing to get pregnant and another is managing to stay that way, and-”
“Dany, stop. I know all the things that can go wrong and I know you getting pregnant doesn’t mean that anyone else can…even if our child is the last child of all humanity. I’m happy that they will have you as a mother.”
“I’m happy they get to have you as a father… and I’m hopeful too. Even before all of this we always knew that it was going to be particularly hard for me to conceive since I grew up so close to the labs and factories. But it happened, Jon, and I’m sure it will happen to other women… but that also means more fuel for the night king…”
“We are going to be ok, Dany… I won’t let your father get near any of us… and I trust the community, most of them at least. I know we can all find a way to solve it. Your mom, she would have loved them.”
Jon knew that it was a sore spot for Dany still. Rhaella’s death was something that none of them had anticipated and it still weighed heavy on everyone, and he was well aware that his father still blamed himself.
Dany’s sadness was coming through her voice. “She would have… I hope this gives Rhae a little joy.”
They landed the dragons, making sure they were both well hidden within the deepest part of the caves. They hadn’t found them yet, but they couldn’t take any chances. After ensuring they were both in a safe place, Dany and Jon took off the headset and began walking back to the main area.
They had been living in those caves for about eight months. It took them around three months to get back to Dragonstone after fleeting the North with Myrcella and Tommen Baratheon. They had managed to save both children but had to leave their brother behind after the little prick set off the alarms because “he wasn’t going to help some traitors.”
They found some help along the way and so many others that needed a place to hide. Knowing that their family had already started to set up the refuge area they couldn’t refuse and brought them along. Traveling for a short amount of time each day. One above with a dragon and the other guiding everyone.
When they got to the caves they were welcome by their family and some of the few survivors. Between the virus, the riots, and Aerys’ task forces the population of Dragonstone had been diminished to only a couple dozen people. A big surprise for them was seeing that among the residents of the cave were Sansa and Arya Stark. The two girls had gotten to Dragonstone from the Twins, accompanied by two guys named Sandor and Gendry, who brought them there, after an ambush that killed the rest of the Stark family. Now, here they were. Six months in hiding, knowing that the world around them was going up in flames, also knowing there was nothing they could truly do about it. They learned that the hard way.
“Saw anything interesting up there, Crow?” Tormund was the first person they saw when they reached the main area. He was a Freefolk who saved their lives and joined them on their journey. Jon had to admit he had grown used to the nickname, as unfair as it was since Tormund acknowledged Dany as a dragon master but insisted he only flew a “crow”.
He felt Dany’s body move closer to his as she sighed. “Nothing in the sky Tormund, same as always. Where is everyone?”
“Don’t get mad…” Tormund mumbled. “Someone might have decided to go through your stuff, and someone might have found them doing so… and now a lot of people are trying to stop a war…”
Dany let out a frustrated groan. “I swear to God if Drogon ate I would feed her to him!”
They both run towards their quarters to find Arya Stark held down by Gendry, Sansa Stark red and screaming she had “a right to know” as his parents were screaming back that she needed to follow simple rules.
“What is going on here?” Jon yelled above everyone else's voice.
“What’s going on is that my sister is an ungrateful bitch! I found her looking at your stuff. She still thinks you’re hiding something,” Arya pretty much growled.
“We took you in, Sansa, both of you. We might as well throw you out. We are all here trying to survive. Get it into your head! We have lost people we love, and all we have is each other. All we are asking of you is to follow simple, basic even, cohabitation rules,” Lyanna said.
With one last exasperated, and overly dramatic sigh Sansa left. “Please don’t kick her out,” Arya muttered. “She is all I have left.”
“If her behavior puts the community in danger we won’t have a choice Arya,” Rhaegar’s voice left no room for questioning.
Before Arya could say something else Jon intervened, “What happened this time Arya? What set her off…again?”
“She saw Dany this morning skipping harvest duties. I told her she was probably meeting you for surveillance and she just went off saying that you knew something and that you were keeping the cure from us. You know what’s going on Jon, you all do. She still thinks there is a way to bring them back,” she said.
It was getting tiresome. There was no cure for the virus and the only way to avoid it was to either hide or turn into one of Aerys’ mindless blue beasts. It had been Catelyn Stark's mission to take hold of the vaccine, save her family, and keep her position. It only led to the massacre at the Twins; Aerys’ first show of power. His intentions were made clear to the world. He wanted to conquer, to build an empire in which he was on top.
It was a miracle that Arya and Sansa escaped. Bran and Rickon, their younger siblings, had been killed by Tywin Lannister. Their father's former co-worker showed no emotion when he grabbed them and hit their heads together. Robb and Catelyn’s destiny was worse. They entered a chamber as humans and left it as wights. Arya and Sansa were supposed to go into the chamber next, but a man in the line attacked one of the soldiers, proclaiming he was no one and that his life belonged only to the God of death. The disturbance created the perfect opportunity for them to run.
They had gotten to the caves a week before Jon and Dany, and even though Arya was doing her best to move on, Sansa was paranoid, distrustful, and worse, she was eager to blame Jon and Dany for everything, going as far as saying that it was them who caused the virus to mutate. A theory that came right from Catelyn Stark, who used to proclaim that children born in quarantined areas carried the disease.
“We are sorry you had to live through what you did, Arya, but keep your sister in tow, or I won’t stop my father from kicking her out. I think I speak for everyone here but we are done with all her tantrums,” Jon replied with a low growl. His voice was cold and dangerous. Arya looked around, trying to find some support, and when she didn’t she nodded and left; Gendry went after her.
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It was unlike Dany not to say something during the whole confrontation. She usually was the first to call out Sansa’s bullshit, but today all she could do was hold onto Jon’s hand. She hated having others fight her battles and she knew her silence, and her grip on Jon was provoking his anger to grow by the second. But she was scared, genuinely scared. She hadn’t even felt this fear when they were north or running away, but she sure was feeling it now.
Lyanna’s voice took her out of her trance. “Dany?”
“Sorry, what?”
“I was asking if you were ok?” It was at that moment that she noticed everyone’s eyes on her.
I’m pregnant, she wanted to say. “I’m fine. Just not in the mood for Sansa today I guess,” she replied. “Sorry I missed the harvest, we did go for a flight.”
“It’s fine, there wasn’t much to pick either. Rhaey is sorting the food and Egg went checking to see if the other fields might be ready,” Lya said, standing up and coming to hug her. “You know you can tell me anything right?” she whispered.
Dany smiled against her hair and held her a bit tighter for a second. Dany could see out of the corner of her eye that Rhaegar was saying something to Jon, so she broke the embrace with Lyanna to address her brother, anticipating what his conversation with Jon was about.
“You aren’t planning to go on another hunt are you?” she growled.
“We may not have another choice Dany; food is running low,” Rhae said in complete defeat.
“It's too dangerous! You know what happened last time.” It was a low blow and she knew it.
“We can’t starve to death Dany!” Rhae exclaimed...
“Enough!” Lya stomped her foot down and threw her arms at her side. “We are not there yet, Rhaegar, and when the time comes we will take the necessary precautions. We all know what happened last time was no one’s fault. We know the danger and whatever is coming, we will face it as a family, so stop this now.”
“Yes,” Dany replied.
“Fine…sorry,” Rhae said. “We will get out of the way.”
Dany got ahold of herself before her brother could leave. “Rhae, wait. I’m sorry, you know I didn’t mean that. I just don’t want us to take unnecessary risks.”
Rhae´s shoulders dropped a little and without meeting her eyes he mumbled, “Nothing unnecessary…It’s fine Dany, rest. It seems like you need to.” And then he left.
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Dany placed her head in her hands and let out a frustrated scream. She went to sit on the bed and started putting back into boxes some of the things that Sansa had taken out. She was doing this when she felt the bed shifting. Jon took some of the objects from her hand, and without one word he then stood from the bed and knelt beside it to finish organizing everything. It was a simple gesture, but it was enough for Dany to let go and cry.
She felt Jon sitting next to her and putting his arms around her.
“What can I do Dany?” he asked against her hair.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying. I just feel like this”—she brought their hands to her abdomen—“shouldn’t be happening this way. I wanted to tell them, but I don’t want to add to their burden, especially since we don’t have a plan yet.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I wish we had a way to ensure their safety, but the only thing that comes to my mind over and over again is that we are going to need to stop the Night King. A baby that shares his DNA is a pot of gold for him.”
“Don’t you think I know that Jon?! The problem with that is that we can’t stop him,” she hissed.
“Yet. We can’t stop him yet, but this is you and I. You once told me you had faith in us, now I’m telling you I do as well, and we won’t have to go at it alone. We know who we can trust in here, and will figure out a way to contain those we can’t,” Jon said, doing his best to reassure her.
He hugged her, guiding her closer and letting her rest her head on his shoulders. The rest of their conversation left for another time.
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8 months ago… Somewhere beyond the wall.
He couldn’t believe his daughter will defy him, even more than what she had done. Seeing the real dragons for the first time was something that left him with a hint of admiration. He had to admit that, but it also proved to him something he had known deep down. His daughter’s invention was short-sighted and not near the level of what he wanted. She could only control one and the boy controlled the other, there wasn’t a real expansion of the mind and the creatures were originally conscious-less, as opposed to a wight. He knew that a part of who they had been in another life prevailed, hence why it was so hard to control them.
It was good for him that young and stupid Joffrey had come to worship him. The boy simply refused to live and set off an alarm to announce what Jon and Dany were planning to do. However, it was a little too late since it seems as if the last children they went after were the Baratheons. As soon as the alarm sounded two enormous dragons lifted off the floor and into the air.
He was furious with his staff. They somehow thought it was smart to chase after a freaking dragon. It took some time for the idiots to understand that Dany and Jon were possibly somewhere else, controlling the dragons from the distance. He had no time for that shit, he needed to act now, so he left his staff and wandered down to the labs. He found Joffrey and Robert where he had left them.
“Did you stop them?” That boy even sounded more stupid to him with his pride fill voice.
“If you want a gold star boy, you are dumber than you look,” he spits back. He was fucking Aerys Targaryen and he has no time to lose. “Now come here and make yourself useful.”
“Sir, please-” the pig was starting to beg, “we need more time; it might not work. My son is too old.”
Again, Aerys was glad the boy was dimwitted and was eager to impress him, because the next thing that came out of the mouth of the little prick was, “Enough, father. I’ll be proud to help!”
As soon as the boy was within reach he injected the serum. The screams began soon after, as did the begging. He was trying to contain the boy and did not feel the hit until his world started going black.
It didn’t take him long to wake up. His head was throbbing and his vision blurry. He saw Robert kneeling next to his son, staring hopelessly as the boy’s blood froze and he turned blue. He felt the syringe in his hand and noticed how half of the serum was still in there. He tried to stand up, the pain in the back of his head too strong to manage. He brought a hand to it only to feel the wetness and as soon as he brought the hand back, the sight of blood did enough to enrage him.
“How dare you!” he roared as he launched toward Robert. The pig was too slow to react as the syringe made contact with his neck and, just like his son before him, the screaming began. He took both bodies out and locked the lab. He knew it wasn’t going to work, but he was sure to enjoy seeing them lose control and get eaten, so he waited.
He bandage his head and sat on a chair. Anger building inside him. The events of the day were a nice reminder of why he wanted to do this. People were useless, and the only way to get what he wanted was to have full control over them all.
It had been almost an hour, and Robert and Joffery were still out cold. His head of security came down, closely followed by Tywin.
“Sir—” The hesitation in the voice of Clegane was enough to let him know.
“They escaped, you couldn’t find them, they were faster… save me the excuses, Gregor. You are dismissed,” he hissed. “You’d better hope this works, Tywin.”
Tywin was looking a bit pale, recognizing who was in the preparation chamber, but he was quick to recompose. “Why are they both in there?”
“Trying something new…” he said through a smirk.
Next thing they knew Joffrey was waking up. He walked out towards the wights, easily. They were opening a path for him and soon after Robert joined him. What happened next was unprecedented. As soon as Robert got near Joffrey the elder lower his head, as in a small vow, it looked as if Joffrey had control over his father.
It seemed as if son and father were having a silent conversation, and as they were the wights were organizing behind each of them, and soon enough all hell broke loose.
Robert’s eyes met with his through the glass and a sinister noise assimilating a laugh came from Joffrey. Next hundreds of wights were coming at them, throwing themselves at the glass in an attempt to break it. Bones were broken, but it did not stop them, at the end of the day, they couldn’t hurt.
Aerys was mesmerized by it. It was clear the wights were following orders, it was clear that Joffery and Robert were keeping them in control, and it was clear that for the first time the serum was working. He was dragged away by the staff when the first crack appeared.
It took almost 4 hours for Joffrey and Robert to lose control of the weights. In the meantime they were able to use them to get to the lab, they use them to kill and hurt everything on their way, and they were near breaking into the elevator when Robert screamed, emitting a noise for the first time. The cameras caught the look of despair in his eyes and then the anger, a glare directed towards his son. He attacked Joffrey, just as the wights did all the babies when they freed themselves of their control.
It was late into the night, 3 days after the Baratheon’s experiment. Aerys found himself standing in front of the new elixir. He took in his hand the one that was the brightest, knowing it was the one meant for him. The other 20 were shining in a similar shade of blue, all of them containing an extract of the raw material as the one in his hand, his own DNA. It was in there on a lower dose and mixed with the DNA of each one of the recipients, a name tag attached to each one.
It took him little time to realize that the way to control millions of unconscious beings was by sharing the control with conscious minds. And it would have been a revolting idea had he not witnessed the fact that it was Joffery controlling his father, causing the ire in Robert when he regained a bit of control, and so attacking the son he defended not 4 hours before.
The solution was then right there, Jofery took control because his DNA was present in the vile, Robert felt completely out of himself because his essence was fully erased. So, it was a mix of primarily his DNA, mixed with a little of the DNA of the recipient that was sure to allow Aerys to take control of the 20 souls who thought themselves as privileged for being selected as the first to receive the vaccine, but who will become nothing more than an expansion of his own mind and desires.
