The Unyielding Stag (Game of Thrones AU/Invincible)

Chapter 122: The Return (Epilogue)

A/N: Eighty years later. Been a wild ride guys.

-x-X-x-

She's here.

Axel pauses, looking up as the gentle, feminine voice of the Maiden whispers in the back of his mind. He rises from his chair right there on the spot, disrupting the meeting and interrupting one of his grandsons mid-sentence. He gives the boy an apologetic smile even as everyone in the room straightens up.

"Apologies. My mother has finally returned."

There isn't a single soul in the room who doesn't know what that means. They all rise to their feet as one, only for Axel to hold up a hand and stop them in their tracks. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveIꜰire.net

"Just me at first. But be ready."

Jon, his firstborn, steps up, his hands curled into fists at his sides as his jaw sets. There's a determined look on the Imperial Prince's face, even as his half-sisters Alia and Deria flank him on either side with the same exact expressions.

"We will, father."

At the same time, that gentle voice from earlier brushes against his ear.

They all will.

Axel smiles and makes for the door. He's outside a moment later and rising into the air, following the guidance provided to him as he moves to intercept his mother before she reaches the ground and can make a mess of anything too important. The higher he goes, the more of his world he can see… and it IS his world.

The last eighty years have not always been easy or perfect… but they have been productive. Axel had made good on his promises, like annihilating the Red God's worship wherever it lay. And then he'd kept going because really, what else was he supposed to do? Knowing that SHE was coming, it only seemed right to be as prepared for her as possible.

Of course, he hadn't realized at first that it would take this long. He'd rushed so much in those early years, conquering all of Essos before his first batch of children had even made it to adulthood. It was then, about a decade after he'd killed the Night King and destroyed the Great Other, that it was brought to his attention that he wasn't aging anymore.

As time had gone on and no sign of his mother returning had manifested itself, Axel had come to realize that Viltrumites weren't just incredibly powerful… they were damn near ageless as well. The Seven had been able to confirm that he wasn't biologically immortal, but he would still live for thousands upon thousands of years at the very least.

The instant a Viltrumite, or part Viltrumite in the case of him and his children, reached the age of physical maturity, everything very nearly came to a standstill, with their aging slowing down immensely.

It became clear as more time passed that Axel's mother wouldn't be coming back soon and that they would have to focus on living just as much as preparing for her eventual return. Whether that would be in another decade, a century, or a millennia.

Frankly, when it was put in those terms, eighty years wasn't too bad of a wait…

And then there she is. Floating down to meet him, clad in form-fitting white, his mother stares at him as Axel in turn ascends to her level, his own blue eyes focused on studying every inch of her face. He can see the similarities, though it's obvious he took after Robert more than his Viltrumite Mother. Still…

"Hello, mother."

He's glad she seems to have come alone. Maybe this can still go well. Of course, as soon as that thought crosses Axel's mind, it's dashed by the narrowing of her eyes and a scoff from her lips.

"Interesting. You've prepared for me. The primitive I sired you with must have warned you of my return. How exactly did you sense my approach?"

Axel smiles slightly. He's not going to bother correcting her or answering her questions just yet. That said, he figures he'll at least give her a chance.

"Why have you returned, mother?"

His mother's nostrils flare, her eyes sliding past him to the world below them. A world united under his rule, HIS empire. The Empire of the Stag.

"I have returned to see what you have made of yourself… and of this mudball. Your attire makes it clear that you've gone at least partially native… tell me, have you at least managed to conquer these primitives? Do they worship you as they should?"

Axel hums but in the end answers truthfully.

"I have. And they do."

For the first time, he sees a flicker of pride in his mother's eyes. He's glad this is happening now and not sooner, because there was a time when he might have basked in that pride. A time where he might have let himself be influenced by how pleased she suddenly looks.

"Good. Then we can prepare them for joining the Viltrum Empire together."

Axel's jaw clenches at that. There it is.

"And why would I do that? I already have an empire here, my own empire, made with my blood, sweat and tears. I have a family here. Why would I-urk!"

She moves fast. Faster than he's expecting. Her hand is around his neck in an instant… though not quite before Axel can register her movement. He catalogues how fast and strong she is and comes to a simple conclusion… she caught him off guard, but she's not that much better than him that it will happen again.

She's also not trying to kill him just yet so when his hand comes up to grab her wrist, he doesn't immediately fight back even as she holds him in place, looking at him with a sneer.

"You will obey, child. You have no other choice. You speak of family? Don't make me laugh. Have you let yourself grown attached? Have you truly allowed yourself to fall in love with these primitive ants? They are nothing but insects to Viltrumites like us, boy. Their lives are lived within a fraction of our time in the universe."

She huffs, shaking her head and loosening her hold on his neck by a fraction of an inch.

"Surely you must have already seen this. I left you here for a hundred years specifically so you would realize the futility of getting attached."

With gritted teeth, Axel squeezes down on his mother's wrist… and is rewarded with the widening of her eyes as her bones GRIND under his grip. He rips her away from him a heartbeat later, forcing her back a dozen or so feet in the air as she stares, first at her arm, then back at him.

"… Stronger than I expected this mudball to be able to produce."

Axel just smiles thinly and shakes his head, responding to her earlier comments.

"Of course I saw it. I saw the writing on the wall decades ago. I was staying young; they were getting older. But you're right. I did get attached. I fell in love. So I did the only thing I could do. I found a way around it."

His mother's eyes narrow and she opens her mouth to respond… but before she can, her entire body goes still as she notices what's coming. Or rather… who's coming.

Rising from the world below, brought forth by an unspoken signal sent the moment she attacked him, are first dozens and then hundreds of black dots. But those black dots quickly transform into people as they get closer and closer.

In truth, the number at this point is a little over a thousand when they all finally arrive. A thousand children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren… and that's just counting the ones who are of age. None of his great-great-grandchildren have reached the age of majority yet, so they've stayed home.

But it's not just his lineage that rises up to surround him and his mother. Along with them… come those who birthed them and those who married them. All of Axel's original women, the women that he'd picked up while conquering the world, and the women of their children and their children's children, as well as the husbands of his daughters.

To be joined with the Imperial Family these days was to become one with power. To become nigh immortal in every sense of the world. The Seven were the ones who made it possible, along with the sorcery of one Daenerys Targaryen, who had in effect become immortal in her own right due to what had been done to her.

Sansa and Arianne, his Queens turned Empresses, place their hands on his shoulders to let them know that they're there with him. At his back, Axel can feel the heat wafting off of Daenerys as well, no doubt in her full, draconic glory and ready to unleash herself on the threat in their midst if he just gives the word.

They're all ready, truth be told. All he has to do is say it and they'll stop at nothing to drop his mother.

Spreading his arms wide, Axel smiles.

"I'm rather bad at saying goodbye, you see. I found that out early on. So rather than say goodbye… I made sure to bring the people I loved along with me. They will not die so long as I have a say in things."

He can tell his mother is actually rattled by the numbers. Nervous, even. Axel might not always have been the smartest tool in the shed, but he's gotten pretty good at reading people over the years. If he didn't know any better, he would say his mother is feeling… fear. Her eyes flicker around herself as she takes in the sight of so many of their kind. Except… Axel's lineage don't go around calling themselves Viltrumites.

"You've been busy… son. You've created an army-"

Axel cuts her off. If she thought calling him 'son' now would tug at his heartstrings or something, she had another thing coming.

"I've created a family. We are House Baratheon, mother. Starborn and Star-Touched alike. There is a place for you among us if you are brave enough to reach out and take it."

For a moment, he thinks she might take him up on that offer. There's an almost… yearning in her eyes. Then, she grits her teeth and narrows her gaze.

"That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works."

Axel raises an eyebrow, making her bristle even more.

"The Empire will not standby and allow a resource such as your… family to go to waste. If you do not bend the knee to me, someone else will be sent and I cannot promise they will treat you with nearly as gentle of a touch."

Oh? Did she actually care in her own way after all? It sounded like maybe she did. Though given he can still feel where her fingers grasped his throat, Axel has to admit, she doesn't seem very gentle. Still, she seems to be intent on changing her tune now, even if in the end she's still singing the same exact song.

"This world is nothing compared to the galaxy at large. Submit to the authority of the Viltrum Empire and not only will your family be allowed to continue to rule this pathetic place, but you would rule countless other planets as well. All you have to do is bow your head and bend the knee."

Funny. How many times had Axel used similar logic on his enemies in the past? How many people had he convinced to submit so that the bloodshed could end? It had even worked with the Free Folk all the way back near the start. Lord Paramount Mance Rayder and the vast majority of the former wildlings had permanently settled in the Gift even after the Night King was defeated. Only a scant few had gone back past the Wall to live as savages once more.

Though… in his mother's eyes, they must all look like such savage, uncivilized people. Hells, maybe in the long run, submitting to her and her empire was the right call. And yet… Axel had long forgotten how to bend the knee or bow his head.

"They won't just let this go, son."

His mother is practically pleading with him now, though not so much that she loses the scowl or the pursed lips or the angry glare. Still, it's interesting to hear her say 'they' like she isn't one of them. Maybe it's his long buried feelings about wanting a mother being brought to the surface, but Axel latches onto that just a little bit.

"They will if they never find out about us. They won't know to come looking for us if you never report in."

That causes his mother to pause, her eyes narrowing all over again before darting around the encirclement. She tenses up, her hands curling into fists at her side as her lips flatten out into a thin line. Rather than taking that as the olive branch he meant it to be, she's taken it as a threat. Axel just sighs and shakes his head.

"Oh. You don't have to worry about them, mother. Focus on me."

Her gaze snaps back to him even as his Queens float back with Axel's cloak and crown in their hands, everyone else moving to form a circle. Axel just smiles, even as he draws Winter's End from his back.

"I've always preferred settling things with duels over large scale battles, I'm afraid. It's become something of a… centerpiece in my diplomatic strategy you could say."

How many lives had Axel saved over the last eighty years by challenging a champion or a ruler or something to some sort of small scale duel to decide the fate of everything? He liked to think it was a lot at this point and it all started back with the Trial by the Seven against Renly all those decades ago.

Sure, Axel hadn't gone out of his way to extend the lives of anyone except for those closest to him, his family, but that didn't mean he didn't care about the smallfolk, the peasant, and the farmer. The little guy who cooked his food, the seamstress who crafted his clothes, the blacksmith who forged his weapons.

All of them deserved to live in peace rather than having their lives spent in pointless wars that could be ended with as few as a handful of deaths instead most of the time.

The same held true here. Especially since the woman in front of him was strong… stronger than him? Maybe. Stronger than many of his offspring? Definitely. He wasn't about to risk any of their lives ordering a full scale assault. Even as his mother watches him warily, Axel just rolls his shoulders, loosening his muscles and giving her a tight smile.

"See, I've gotten a lot of practice at this point in telling which idiots I cross swords with are redeemable and which aren't worth it. You… I don't think you're completely hopeless just yet. So let's fight, you and me. If I win, you stay here and don't report in and we'll see what the future holds for us. If you win, then House Baratheon and the Empire of the Stag will submit to your empire's authority after all."

For a moment she just stares at him, processing the offer. Then, her eyes fill with understanding, much of the tension draining away from her frame. After a moment, his mother even lets out a bark of laughter.

"… You may call yourself Starborn, but you are Viltrumite through and through, my son. Strength above all else. I accept your terms. Unfortunately it seems I must break your jaw to wipe that smug smile off your face and teach you some long overdue lessons in obeying your mother. However, from the look of things, you have women aplenty to feed you through a straw until the injury heals."

She tenses up but this time Axel is ready for it. He sees it coming even before she blasts herself at him once more. This time around he matches her speed as they launch forward together in unison, her and her fists, him and his sword meeting in the middle of the sky over his world.

Just the latest in a long history of duels in Axel Baratheon's life to prove that he truly is… Unyielding.

-x-X-x-

A/N: And that's how it ends. Apologies for not doing more epilogue chapters than this, but by the time I got to the end of this story I was facing some serious burnout. Unfortunately, the way my mind works, if I had taken any kind of break from this story, it was more likely to die on the vine completely rather than me actually coming back to it later.

On top of that, I sort of wanted to save the survival of all of Axel's women and him basically going "oh I'm gonna outlive everyone? No I'm not" for this surprise at the end so I couldn't exactly show too much of the eighty year time skip.

But yeah, this story was, if not more popular, than at least as popular as my An Iron Resolve story. It always excites me and humbles me to find that I seem to have not yet truly reached my peak and that I can still produce bangers that draw in large audiences and resonate with so many people like this story has.

Through all the ups and downs over these past four months, it's been a blast writing this one for you guys and I hope you all enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Please make sure to give me feedback if you have a moment! I wanna hear from you as the story comes to an end!

And of course, thank you all so much for reading!