Jon stopped his undead horse. He squinted his eyes against the morning sun.
"That flag," he said.
"Sellswords," the Night King said. He came riding next to Jon.
"Where did she get the money to hire them?" They had thought King's Landing would be easy to take, but seems like Cersei was a bit better prepared than they had hoped. The road here had been incredibly easy though. Maybe a bit too easy now that he considered it.
"I have a guess," the Night King said.
"The Iron Bank of Braavos?"
"Most likely."
"But, why would they help her?"
"I suggest we go ask her."
The Night King steered his horse.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a hard battle since Cersei had an easily defensible position. She was outnumbered roughly ten to one, but a man on a wall had a huge advantage. Not to mention they had put large ballistas on the walls. While these were most likely designed to hold off dragons, they might be quite effective against undead as well.
But there were secret ways into King's Landing. Under the city was a complete network of tunnels created by Aegon the Conqueror and the later kings. Most of these secrets had been lost, but Bran had been able to provide Jon with detailed drawings.
Jon had been working closely with Bran since the very beginning. While the details had changed a bit, their larger plan had always been to take King's Landing. The drawings Bran had send him where very accurate. Accurate enough to take King's Landing with his eyes closed.
The army split up at the command of the Night King and went down the countless tunnels. Roughly a thousand wights attacked the mud gate as a distraction, the same gate Stannis had attacked.
A small group of about thirty wights and four Walkers went with Jon and the Night King straight to the Red Keep. Their tunnel was only wide enough for two people to walk next to each other. Jon went first since he had the map. He noticed the Night King and the Walkers put the wights between them to create some distance. Even now, they did not fully trust him yet.
He couldn't blame them. This tunnel was a good moment for betrayal. There was no escape from here. But it was not yet time. He needed the Night King, for now.
Jon lead them through. As expected, several tunnels had collapsed which forced them to retrace their steps. But after what Jon guessed was about two hours, they finally reached the surface. A winding staircase took them up. There, they had to push away a stone. Four wights were needed to pry it loose.
Jon climbed out of the hole first and looked around.
Books. The floorplan was correct. This was the library, just outside of where the Tower of the Hand had been once and next to the small sept.
The floor consisted of large tiles, one of which was loose and hid the secret stairway. It probably hadn't been used in decades if not centuries. Which is why it had been so hard to push out most likely.
The others climbed out as well.
The library was deserted, which was not surprising. They were in the middle of a battle after all.
The group went outside. The wights spread out in small groups on a grunt of the Night King.
Shortly after, the alarm was raised.
While the guards fought bravely, they didn't stand a chance. The wights did not die when stabbed and had taken them completely by surprise. Not to mention only a small number of guards had been stationed here. Most of the men were on the walls trying to hold off an army they soon would realise was already inside.
They regrouped shortly after on the courtyard. A quick count learned Jon that twenty-three wights remained. A few had been cut apart beyond repair probably.
Further away, they could hear the distant sounds of battle.
"Are we winning?" Jon asked.
"I think so," the Night King said. "We outnumber them drastically. Many are fleeing."
You think so?
He really wondered how exactly the Night King communicated with his wights. Were they just puppets? Capable of following simple orders, but not capable of actually interpreting things?
With four Walkers with them, there were only a handful left to lead the battle outside. He could only hope that would be enough.
"Let's get inside," the Night King said. He gestured with his hand.
Two White Walkers pushed open the double doors which, strangely, weren't locked.
A second later it became obvious why.
For a moment, Jon saw the head of the Walker surging through the air, and then his entire body exploded. Little ice crystals filled the air and then scattered away.
He heard the Night King curse.
A massive man stood in the doorway. He was dressed in steel plate armor that seemed impossibly heavy. It was painted white with a crown edged on it. A white cloak was fastened to his pauldrons. On his head was a greathelm which obscured his features.
Ser Robert Strong. The Kingsguard Bran had warned him for.
In his right hand, Ser Robert held what could only be Widow's Wail, the Valyrian steel sword of Joffrey. It looked tiny in his large hand. In the other hand, he had a massive tower-shield.
Behind him were dozens of other figures, both Lannister soldiers and other Kingsguard. They held glass jars with a green substance that could only be…
Jon cursed and ran to the left.
A few pots crashed into their lines. Wildfire gushed over the screaming wights.
Luckily, Jon was out of reach.
Another Walker blocked a strike from Ser Robert with his spear.
Surviving wights and one more Walker sneaked past Ser Robert to attack the men behind. Ghost joined them as well. More screams filled the air.
The second Walker fighting Ser Robert went down.
Damn. If the Walkers were defeated now, they would lose this battle. All the wights resurrected by a certain Walker went down if he died.
He had to take this giant down.
The Night King seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Both of them jumped in at the same time.
Jon tried hitting Ser Robert, but the knight was very quick given his size. Jon could only bash away on the shield.
However, the Night King had more success. His spear successfully slipped past Ser Robert's defense and pierced his belly.
The massive man grunted and swung his shield. The Night King ducked, but Jon wasn't in time. The shield bash hit him. He crashed against the stones a bit further.
Jon cursed. He had only been hit sideways after the full momentum of the strike, but it had still been more than enough to break several ribs.
A sudden roar sounded from above.
He knew that sound. There was only one beast that could make such a terrifying sound.
Moments later, he did indeed see the black dragon spiraling down.
About time.
However, things were not going well here. Most of the wights and Walkers had been cut down or burned to a crisp.
The Night King was still sparring with Ser Robert who seemed completely unfazed by his wound.
Jon pushed himself up. He was in bad shape, but not unable to fight.
Jon took Longclaw in both hands and…
Oh fuck.
Looks like things were over.
Ser Robert had swung his blade at the Night King. The Night King had blocked with his spear, but upon contact, the thing had scattered like glass. Now left without any defense, the Night King had no way to stop the Valyrian steel sword racing for his head.
Jon could only stare as his ally scattered into ice crystals.
As Ser Robert turned his attention to Jon, he could already hear the sounds of battle outside going down. Several Lannister men were coming behind Ser Robert.
Ghost came from behind and bit Ser Robert in his leg, but the knight kicked him aside. Ghost yelped. The direwolf jumped back to his feet but didn't seem keen on attacking again.
Maybe if he ran fast enough he would make it back to the tunnel?
Jon knew it was idle hope, but-
The loudest sound yet reverberated through the air. Drogon had finally landed on the courtyard. The cobblestones momentarily shook with a mini-earthquake.
The dragon turned his head to Ser Robert and released dragonfire.
Jon shielded his eyes from the bright light.
When things cleared up again, a disgusting smell filled the air. The men behind Ser Robert were burning alive with loud screams, but Ser Robert himself was unfazed. He had retreated several steps and his armor was starting to melt a bit, but he stayed completely silent and was not going down.
Two people got off Drogon's back. The first was obviously Daenerys, who was dressed in grey for the occasion, and the second was…
Arya?
His little sister hugged him clearing away any doubt.
"What are you doing here?" Jon asked.
"The rest is coming," she said. "But Drogon would only let me and Dany on his back."
"Dany?"
Drogon released his fire again. The double doors caught fire, but Ser Robert still wasn't going down. Drops of steel dripped from his armor and his helm was twisted now. The metal had bent out of shape and now the nose guard blocked one eye.
"I have to take care off something first," Arya said. She took out a Valyrian steel dagger from her back and ran towards Ser Robert Strong.
"Hey."
Jon could not stop her in time, but it quickly turned out he didn't have to. Arya was fast, much faster than the knight.
Jon narrowed his eyes. It was the fire. The fire had melted the joints in his armor together which slowed his movements. His vision, already obscured by the greathelm was even worse now that one eye socket was blocked.
The Valyrian steel ripped through the regular steel without trouble. Arya dodged every clumsy strike as if she was dancing.
Not long after, Ser Robert went down on one knee after a particularly nasty cut across his thigh. Arya pushed her dagger into his remaining eye socket. With a gurgling sound, the massive man went down.
Looks like they had won after all.
"You have my thanks, Jon Snow," a voice said.
"What took you so long?" He turned to Daenerys.
"Hey, you think it's easy to skin-change into this woman and fly that dragon around? I had to wait until the wights got everyone away from the ballistas."
Jon smiled. "Good to see you, Bran."
"You don't think this is a bit risky?"
"Daenerys has the better claim," Jon said. "We were planning something like this from the very beginning."
"Yes, but how will she react once I leave her? I'm not going to stay in this body forever. Although I do like this dress."
"We'll deal with that later. First things first."
Jon walked inside through the blackened doors.
All the guards were dead. If they weren't already been killed by dragonfire or wights, Arya had finished them off. Ghost had gone along with her.
Only one other man was in the throne room. He stood very much at ease in his black robes.
"You must be Qyburn," Jon said.
"Indeed," the man confirmed.
"Where is Cersei?"
"Fled through one of the tunnels."
"And you're not with her?"
"I had no desire to be stuck on the losing side. Besides, you came in through those tunnels. There's no telling if she'll make it out alive."
"And you hope that I will spare your life?"
"Was my hope misguided?"
This man might be useful after all. "How did Cersei hire those sellswords?"
"The Iron Bank of Braavos."
"And they just gave her the funds?"
"She gave them a part of my research. The Iron Bank was very interested in my theories on the undead and diseases. They liked my poisons too."
This man could be very useful. But Jon was not sure if he could be trusted.
Ideally he would sent him to the Wall or something, but the purpose of the Night's Watch was kinda up in the air now. If both the Walkers and the Wildlings were south of the Wall they really didn't have much to do up there.
"Take him to a cell," Jon said. "I'll decide what to do with him later."
Arya and Ghost escorted Qyburn to the Black Cells.
Bran/Daenerys came standing next to him.
"Things are going smoothly," Bran said.
"How is the situation outside?"
"The wights all collapsed when the Night King died. Many sellswords were already dead or fleeing before that. I don't think they intend to fight a dragon. Certainly not with Cersei gone."
"We shouldn't have any problem claiming the throne."
"Indeed," Bran confirmed.
"And Tyrion is bringing the army over here?"
"As planned."
"Only one thing left to do then."
"It's on Drogon's back," Bran said.
Jon went to retrieve the Targaryen flag.
He raised it above the Red Keep himself. It had been years since a Targaryen flag had last flown over the Red Keep and somehow, it felt very good. Like when he had taken down the banners of the Boltons. This was the way it had always been. Jon was Targaryen, nothing could change that. As Tyrion had told him a lifetime ago: 'Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.'
Jon had certainly taken his advice to heart.
It would be good to see Tyrion back.
He idly wondered if he would restore the skulls of the dragons to the throne room as well.
Jon's feet took him back there.
"I trust you remember our deal?" Bran asked as Jon slowly ascended the steps.
"Of course. You get Casterly Rock and Tyrion becomes Hand of the King. That was the deal." Sansa would be keeping Winterfell.
Bran nodded, satisfied.
Jon seated himself on the Iron Throne.
"They really could have made this a more comfortable seat," he complained.
Bran chuckled. "After going through so much trouble to get it."
"Oh, the trouble has yet to begin, dear brother."
He would need Daenerys' army and her dragons to hold this throne and Bran could not stay in her body forever. So they might as well get this over with now.
Bran nodded. "I wish you good fortune. You'll be needing it."
Ghost curled up at his feet.
Jon took a deep breath. "And now it begins."
A/N:
Even if it doesn't feel like it, this was the last chapter (no further additions are planned, sorry. Maybe I'll try a properly planned out story like this with multiple POV-characters someday, but no promises on that).
In the early chapters I decided to stick to Jon's perspective exclusively. The story was about Jon outsmarting everyone, not a complete rewrite of season seven (we have Preston Jacobs for that). But because of this, it feels like I rushed over many little things. I had several details on how exactly the Night King communicated with his wights and what exactly happened to Baelish and many other things, but I couldn't work any of them into the story without actually switching perspectives and I didn't really want to do that because I had no real plot for the other characters. Also, I kinda hate some of the characters and it would have been to blatantly obvious if I tried telling from their perspectives. I want to do the characters justice so I won't write for a character I don't like.
Anyway, this was a very weird story. I never tried uhm multi-chapter parody-like stories combined with fan theories, I guess? I don't even know what I wrote anymore. But I'm glad people enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone for following me this far and for all of your kind reviews.