Concerning Dragons [9] [Finale]
Title: Concerning Dragons Chapter Title: A Violent Encounter Characters | Pairing: Will Solace, Clarisse la Rue, Nico di Angelo | Will/Nico [Solangelo] Summary: [The war with Gaea is over and peace has been restored - or so the campers would like to believe. While Gaea herself has been defeated, many of those loyal to her remain and threaten the fragile peace, and so once more the campers are called upon by the Olympian gods to slay the fiercest dragon to live and redeem a god fallen from grace.] Notes: Chapter 9 / 9 Beta’d by my delightful friend mewsugarpudd.
It was with heavy hearts and shaky legs that they finally stepped out of the car. With Jules Albert’s expert driving and navigational skills they had reached Delphi in record time from Athens, even after being delayed by Tityos. They had stopped a distance from the main ruin and had quickly said their farewells to the zombie chauffeur before scaling one of the hills overlooking the archaeological ruins. From there, Will looked down with a pale face at the main ruin: a pillar at the centre that had no doubt once been part of an impressive, decorated temple, reduced now to a crumbling, weatherworn ruin. Following his gaze, Nico’s heart skipped a beat when he spotted their target. Wrapped around this temple ruin, seemingly asleep, was Python – a monstrously large serpent with a ridged, spikey, emerald hide, horned tail and vicious talons on each foot. Will pulled back from the edge of the hill and turned to face them, brushing a stray lock of blond hair out of his wide eyes.
“Well,” he began shakily. “On the bright side, we don’t have to worry about any mortals seeing us.” Clarisse attempted a laugh but it died in her throat. Will spared a glance back at Python and the world seemed to spin and he swayed where he stood. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, snapping himself out of it.
“I imagine a fire-breathing, carnivorous lizard does that to tourism.” Nico replied, a hollow smile on his face, quickly turning to alarm when Will started swaying again. He reached out and placed his hand on the blond’s shoulder, steadying him.
“It’s strange… I feel weaker here than I did before.” Will muttered, rubbing his eyes again.
“Probably because Python’s cutting off the source of Apollo’s power.” Clarisse suggested. “Wasn’t that one of the first things your dad did, killing Python? It was one of his first proper acts as a God.” Will nodded.
“So what’s the plan, Solace?” Nico interjected, his arms folded and his brows furrowed in concentration. A sheepish expression flitted across Will’s face and the boy shrugged. A small amount of colour filled the boy’s cheeks.
“I don’t have one.” Will said, smiling awkwardly. “I just expected we’d go in all guns blazing and hope for the best.” Nico’s stomach dropped while Clarisse looked on in surprise.
“That’s a brilliant plan,” Nico spat viciously. “For dying instantly.” Will shrugged once more in response.
“Planning wastes time and brings no guarantee of success.” He countered, looking to Clarisse for support. Clarisse seemed to nod, then turned her gaze to Nico.
“He’s right – to some extent.” She added when she noticed the triumphant light in Will’s eyes. “I didn’t plan when I charged that Drakon during the Battle for Manhattan. I just ran at it.” Nico narrowed his eyes.
“This is dangerous thinking, La Rue. I’m sure Python is a bit craftier and a bit more cunning than a Drakon.” He countered.
“All the evidence points to the contrary – what overgrown lizard attacks a pregnant Titaness and expects to survive?” Nico looked on the verge of giving up, though still somewhat unconvinced. One part of him agreed with the apparently senseless logic the two were suggesting while another part – his common sense, he bet – screamed for him to force the two into agreeing with him and planning for this battle. Seeing no guarantee of getting his way, he decided to compromise.
“Alright, we’ll do it your way.” Will and Clarisse shared a grin, but before they could celebrate their verbal victory, Nico cut them off. “But we’re at least doing it somewhat intelligently. If I’m going to die today, I don’t want to die a complete idiot.” Now the two shared a suspicious glance. “We’ll ambush it – one of us goes in first and gets Python’s attention and the other two jump it from behind.”
“Guess that’ll be me going in then.” Will said. When Clarisse looked ready to object and volunteer herself, he spoke again. “Why not me? A son of Apollo will get its attention more than a son of Hades or Ares will, more history with my blood and all that.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Clarisse spoke up, leaning against her spear. “So you’ll go in, hopefully not get roasted alive and me and Di Angelo will attack from behind and try and create an opening long enough for you to shoot the bastard with your special arrow.” Will nodded.
“Sounds like a plan – happy Neeks?” He shot at Nico who shook his head in disbelief.
“You’re crazy, both of you…” Nico raised his head and looked at the two then, a small flicker of hope in his eyes. “But it just might work. Alright, I’m in. It’s too late to back out now anyway.”
“Hey, if we survive this then drinks are on me when we get back.” Will said in an attempt to cheer them up. Clarisse grinned and Nico smiled weakly. The three of them turned then and looked down at Python before they split – Will headed down while Clarisse and Nico wove around in a circle to come out behind Python.
*
Will stepped out into the open, climbing the few steps that separated him from the behemoth of a lizard coiled around the temple remains. With each step he seemed to grow heavier and fainter, finding it harder and harder to lift his foot and place it on the step above. Each step became a trial of strength and willpower, and he knew if his pride as a Half-Blood and his father’s status as an Olympian weren’t at stake, he would be fighting the urge to run away. After what seemed like an age, he finally reached the top and took in the sight of the dragon that lay before him.
Python was sleeping, if the deep rumbling from its chest and the closed eyelids were any indication. Will glanced around, taking in the places he could use for cover and anything that could be advantageous to the three of them before he picked up a small pebble, took aim and lobbed it at the sleeping dragon. The pebble found its mark and struck Python right on one of its closed eyes. The dragon inhaled and the eyelid opened, revealing a slit pupil surrounded by a harsh green iride. It rose from its position on the ground and surveyed Will lazily, its eye half-closed. The dragon’s nostrils flared and Will felt the temperature around him rise. When Python’s eye grew wide, Will got the impression the dragon had figured out he was a son of Apollo. A low hiss escaped the dragon’s mouth and its forked tongue darted out to taste the air, much like a snake.
“Didn’t your father tell you not to wake a sleeping dragon, child of Apollo?” Will brought a hand to his temple as the slithery, velvety, mocking voice spoke in his mind. “You have travelled far to die.” Python rose fully from the ground then, standing on its legs and unfurling its monstrous wings, blocking out the sun from Will’s position. Will’s stomach dropped and his heart seemed to skip a beat in fear, but he held his ground, shaking slightly.
“Sorry, Python, but you’re dying here.” Will spoke up, his voice equally shaky but determined. “I kill you and redeem my dad. It’s completely personal.” The same voice entered his mind now, laughing deliriously.
“Perhaps I’ll eat you to send your father a message.” Python snorted, a ring of smoke escaping from its nostrils, and bared its overlarge fangs at Will. “How do you hope on killing me alone, son of Apollo?” Will grinned.
“It’d be suicide if I came alone – now!” He yelled. Clarisse appeared from behind a rock and lunged with masterful grace and precision at Python’s hind quarter with her sharpened spear from one side while Nico, who had dove from behind a pillar, slashed with his stygian iron sword at Python’s exposed flank. The dragon let out a mighty roar and span, an impressive feat given its startling size, and lowered its wings to cover its body, protecting itself from Nico and Clarisse’s attacks. The sheer force and speed of the dragon’s movements caught the two by surprise, and they were quickly whipped off their feet with a flick of Python’s spiked tail.
The dragon advanced on Clarisse, raising a clawed foot to stamp on her prone form. Clarisse rolled, keeping a tight grip on her spear, and quickly jumped to her feet, diving into Nico and knocking him out of the way when Python spewed a jet of fire at the two of them. Will drew his bow and nocked an arrow, taking aim at the dragon before releasing the bowstring. The arrow struck the dragon’s flank but bounced harmlessly off of the armoured scales, denting the arrow tip. It was only then that Will recalled Artemis and Annabeth’s warnings about the reinforced scales. His reflexes kicked in and brought him from his thoughts when he dove and rolled out of the way of a clawed swipe from Python, barely avoiding the jet of flame that followed soon after. He took cover behind a pillar, panting and sweating. He brushed stray, wet locks of hair from his face and spared a glance from behind his cover.
Nico and Clarisse were weaving their way around Python, dodging most of his attacks. Clarisse was caught on the shoulder by one of the dragon’s claws and it left a shallow gash that bled furiously, while Nico was knocked off his feet with a swipe of the dragon’s tail and slammed into a pillar. He recovered before Will could intervene and dove behind the pillar for cover, the jet of fire Python had released parting harmlessly around the pillar that Nico was now hid behind. A sense of desperation overcame Will then, and he figured now was as good a time as ever, considering death seemed likely.
“Hey, Nico!” He called over the roars of Python and Clarisse’s war cries, getting the younger boy’s attention. Nico’s head whipped around in alarm, his eyes wide and his pupils dilated from the adrenaline pumping through the boy’s veins. “I think I love you!” The boy visibly paled with shock and surprise, though a small smile quickly spread across the other boy’s face.
“I think I love you, too!” He called back before diving out of cover and slashing at Python’s neck. Clarisse rolled her eyes and stabbed with her spear at Python before dancing backwards out of its reach when it swiped with its claws in her direction.
“Of all the times to confess, you choose now?!” She yelled back at the two, diving out of Python’s path and the jet of flame it had sent her way. Clarisse reacted too slowly and the fire licked at her armoured back, singing the metal and burning the skin underneath lightly, but not as badly as if she had been caught in the full torrent of flame. She winced but continued striking at Python and retreating, angering the dragon by continuously avoiding its attacks with a mad grin on her face. Will joined her now, alleviating the pressure on her by drawing Python’s attention to him by firing three arrows at the dragon’s head. He dodged and weaved his way through swipes and jets of flame, receiving mild burns and gashes all across his body, shredding parts of his clothes.
“You have the romantic soul of a slug, La Rue!” Will shot back at Clarisse, diving behind cover again to avoid another spray of fire from the dragon, gasping for breath and wincing from the pain of the burns and gashes across his body. Opposite him, Nico glanced from behind his own cover and scanned the beast’s body for a weakness, his eyes flitting wildly from limb to limb. His eyes settled on the beast’s neck and he spotted a dented, damaged scale just before the joint, no doubt where an artery lay.
“Clarisse, I’ve fou—“ Nico stopped short when he noticed Clarisse wasn’t next to him and spared another look out of cover, looking for her. When he didn’t immediately see her he began to worry, but was quickly relieved when she sprinted out from behind a pillar, shouting profanities at the overlarge dragon. Python took the bait and swiped at her, striking the pillar she had ran from behind which keeled over and came crashing down on top of the dragon, stunning it. Clarisse took this opportunity to clear the distance between her and Nico and joined him behind cover.
Nico now pointed to the dazed beast’s neck, indicating the injured scale. Will and Clarisse found the spot at the same time and looked at Nico in understanding, nodding in acknowledgement.
The three leapt from cover and dove in different directions, racing around Python at different angles. The beast’s head swivelled from demigod to demigod, clearly confused and wondering which to attack. Nico felt heat sear the skin on the back of his neck and yelled in agony, slipping and falling to the ground when he felt his back burning, skidding to a halt near a pillar. He got to his feet just barely in time to see Will be knocked into the air with a whip of Python’s tail. Clarisse alone was crouched in front of the dragon, panting with exertion, having been knocked down by a swipe of the dragon’s claws. She had a gash on her face that was bleeding profusely, but the mad grin on her face never left her face, even when the dragon opened its mouth and released a torrent of flame right at her, engulfing her immobile form in the searing blaze.
“No!” Will shouted, scrambling to his feet and firing an arrow at Python’s eye. The dragon turned its head and the arrow bounced off the armoured scales on its snout, the plume of fire stopping as Python moved. Nico looked in desperation to where Clarisse had been and then looked in surprise as she rose to her feet, singed but relatively unharmed and very much alive, cloaked in a red aura that seemed to radiate from her. Once he had recovered from his surprise, Nico prayed to Ares and thanked him.
Python arced its neck to attack Will and released a torrent of flame at the blond, who yelled in fear and dropped to the floor, letting the fire cascade over his head harmlessly. Clarisse yelled triumphantly as she spotted an opening and, with a great yell and a tremendous amount of effort, heaved her spear through the air at Python like a javelin. The spear soared through the air, spinning and gaining momentum before it sank into the beast’s neck, embedding itself in one of the undamaged scales.
Python roared in agony and reared on its hind legs, its great wings unfurling once more as it prepared to take flight. Nico inhaled deeply and quickly thrust his sword deeply into the ground, once more calling on the powers of his father. The ground responded quickly to his request, tearing itself apart violently and repairing itself in an endless, earthquake-like cycle beneath the dragon’s feet, unbalancing the beast and preventing it from flying. Will reached behind him and drew the golden arrow from his quiver. The arrow hummed with violent energy when he aligned it on his bow and seemed to radiate pure sunlight from its very core. Will took careful aim at the beast’s damaged scale.
“This is for my father.” Will said, and released the drawstring. The arrow soared through the air, reflecting rays of sunlight as it span in a dazzlingly brilliant display of iridescent light and ripped its way through the damaged scale of Python’s neck, embedding itself deeply in the vulnerable skin and the artery that lay beneath. Python’s eyes grew wide and it let out a roar that died quickly in its throat. The arrow embedded in the beast’s chest began to hum louder with energy and glow even more brightly, and light erupted from the cracks separating Python’s scales before light itself engulfed the dragon in a tremendous explosion that whipped the three off of their feet and into the air. The three slammed to the ground, winded by the fall. They looked over when the blinding light as bright as the sun had finally faded and saw only a charred crater where Python had stood.
The three stood up warily, advancing to the centre of the ruins as a trio. They collapsed weakly against one of the intact pillars and sat there, looking in disbelief over the ruins of Delphi. Will laughed, quietly at first but it quickly grew louder, and Nico and Clarisse joined in. They marvelled at their survival and laughed at their victory. They stopped only when they had to draw breath, and Nico turned to face Will.
“So, Solace, did you mean what you said?” Nico asked, his smile still on his face though his voice was somewhat hesitant, as if expecting a bad reply. “Or was it just a we’re-going-to-die thing?” Will looked over at him then and grinned sheepishly, pulling the smaller boy towards him and pressing his lips against Nico’s own. They separated after a moment, a grin still plastered on Will’s face.
“Does that answer your question, Di Angelo?” Will winked and Nico blushed. Clarisse rolled her eyes and busied herself making gagging noises. Will let his head fall back and rest against the stone pillar behind him. “We did it. We killed Python.” He said disbelievingly.
A bright flash of light obscured the world from their sight for a moment and the three jumped to their feet, weapons in their hands with the exception of Clarisse who balled her fists, ready to defend themselves. They relaxed when they spotted a young teen that could only possibly be Will’s double, only slightly older looking and more toned, walking towards them with a wide smile on his face and teeth shining as bright as the sun itself. The teen lunged forward and grabbed Will, embracing him in a hug.
“Thank you…” Apollo said. “I’ve watched your progress and I couldn’t be prouder, my son.” Will was surprised by the sudden contact from his father at first, but after a moment he returned the hug. After a long moment the two broke apart and Nico and Clarisse averted their eyes until Apollo turned to them and embraced the two of them too, surprising them both. Apollo turned his head to look at Nico when he had released the two and smiled. “I knew you’d achieve great things when I first met you, and I can now say with all certainty that I was right.” Apollo then turned to look at Clarisse and the smile didn’t leave his face. “And you, Clarisse la Rue – drakonslayer and now dragonslayer. You’ve made Ares a very proud father.”
“He’s been downright insufferable.” Another voice chimed in. Nico turned his head and looked past Apollo, surprised to see his own father walking towards them with a proud gleam in his eyes, with the god of war, Ares himself, not far behind. “It’s been hard to get him to shut up since you took down my brother’s renegade child, Halirrhothius.” Ares glared at Hades before he turned and looked appreciatively at his daughter, Clarisse, mirroring her pose with his arms crossed.
“I guess I was wrong when I said you’d amount to little, girl.” Ares said simply. Clarisse’s face flushed red with pride and she bowed to her father who nodded his head in response. Nico copied her movements and bowed to his own father. Hades smiled and placed his hand on Nico’s shoulder, beaming down on his son with pride. They stood like that for a moment and basked in the pride of their fathers before Nico finally spoke up.
“What happens now?” He asked, looking from Ares to Hades to Apollo, a questioning look in his eyes. They had slain the dragon Python and had finished their quest, but they had never planned for what would happen should they survive the deadly encounter. It was Apollo who answered.
“My father has pardoned me – that was the purpose of this quest, you see. The outcome of your quest would determine whether or not I was to blame for the Second Giant War.” Apollo explained. “Zeus decreed that if the Fates destined your quest to fail, then that would be an indication of my guilt. It’s only what you humans would call a suspended sentence, but it’ll do – my father isn’t known for his mercy, after all.”
“It’s time for you to go back to Camp Half-Blood now, Nico.” Hades said, the look of pride still on his face. “It’s time for you go to back to your friends and celebrate and get some very well deserved rest.” Nico nodded.
“I’ll summon Jules-Albert to get us back to Blackjack then.” Nico concluded, but before he could begin drawing on his power reserves, Hades cut in.
“That won’t be necessary.” Hades interjected. “The Pegasus has been returned to Camp Half-Blood courtesy of my brother.”
“And the chariot by my sister.” Apollo finished for him, a grin on his face. Will shared the smile for a moment before it faded.
“How will we get back to camp then?” Will asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.
“I’m sure something can be arranged.” Apollo answered, winking mischievously with a pair of keys twirling around his index finger, glinting in the sunlight.
*
They arrived back at Camp mere minutes later. Apollo left them at the camp border with an extremely cheery wave and a bright smile, and as a group the three headed on. They entered the camp battered, bruised, burnt, clothes torn, hair singed and smelling like firewood but very much alive. A loud cheer rang up when the three climbed to the top of a hill and the camp caught sight of them.
The camp fell on them in waves, easily closing the distance between them and the three atop the hill. Nico was pulled off his feet and hoisted onto Jason’s shoulders whilst the Apollo cabin seized Will and carried them above their heads to the centre of camp. Nico glanced over and saw that the Ares cabin was doing the same with Clarisse, loudly yelling “Dragonslayer!” with each step. The three were deposited before the campfire where Dionysus stood waiting, an expression of vague surprise on his face, with Chiron standing just behind him.
“Well, you’re back. You killed Python. Today, you secured the peace of Olympus and redeemed an Olympian.” He said, taking a moment to look at each of the three in turn. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
“And celebrations, too.” Chiron chimed in, much to the approval of the crowd of demigods who roared with joy in response. The camp broke into motion immediately – each demigod surged forward to congratulate the three before bustling off to help with the feast preparations. Nico rolled his eyes when Percy, Annabeth and Jason had congratulated them for the third time in a row and interlaced his fingers with Will’s. He shared a look and a smile with Will before he looked over at the bustling camp, thinking that if there was one thing the Greeks were good at, it was partying. For the first time, he could genuinely say he felt no worry or anxiety about the future – after all, now he had Will to help him through it, and Will had him.
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 [Finale]
