—In the Red Keep—

"Run!" someone faintly called out on the streets.

"Go!"

"No!"

"No! Mommy!"

"Vicky! Please!"

"Get back, Nora!"

"Stay in your homes!"

"This way!"

"Stay back! It's closed!"

Connington was observing the battle from one of the castle's main towers; beneath his stone-faced exterior, the griffin of Griffin's Roost was fuming. The royal armies had managed to breach the gates of King's Landing and are now inside the city. But then again, more than multiple traps placed at certain specific locations had already gone off—greatly delaying the main forces' advance.

Just a bit longer and it's all over. He remarked. In a real war, it's true the side with the greater numbers win nine times out of ten. But our reports described a slim possibility of us being that tenth factor. It's happened before, it can happen again.

"You won't last once my brother gets— Gah!" Tommen protested, but received a swift punch in the gut by one of the guards.

"Tommen!" exclaimed Margaery and Myrcella.

One of the guards then proceeded to kick the younger Baratheon prince onto the ground and pressed his foot against his head. "You'd be best to keep your mouth shut, boy," he warned. "Our orders were to keep you alive until your brother gets here, but you're REALLY starting to test our patience's limits."

Just then, Lysono pushed his way past them.

"Report," Connington inquired.

"I fear that in addition to the Golden Company being effectively wiped out, the scorpions along the gates have been disabled," the spymaster answered. "In the meantime, my spies have informed me that the Unsullied and Dothraki forces have made their move; they're being led by Grey Worm, but so far we've seen no signs of Queen Daenerys Targaryen or her dragon in the field."

And with our fleets burning in Blackwater Bay, that means our only means of escape have been cut off. "Nevertheless, they'll be keeping the rest of those rabble at bay for a time."

"Lord Connington?"

"Our men will fight harder than any sellswords ever could," he rebutted. "They know not to expect any mercy since the enemy will show them none."

"Understandable."

"The Red Keep has never fallen to anyone. It won't fall today, not ever." Connington then felt something else was seemingly amiss. "Anything else you'd like to share with me?"

"There is one other thing," Lysono mentioned. "King Euron Greyjoy and his niece, Princess Yara have both made contact with Daveth Baratheon. They're engaging him in combat."

He felt a smile creep up on his face. "Already?" he asks.

"Yes, my lord. I'm told that the false King's wounds have still not healed from the battle that took place up north. He'll be at a significant disadvantage."

Sansa perked her head up. Daveth's here… with Euron and Yara? By the Old Gods and the New, give my husband the strength he needs to persevere. Let him come home to us alive and unharmed. The Wolf Queen was confident in Daveth's skills as a warrior, but hearing of his current state and knowing he will have difficulty getting past Euron and Yara on his own did cause her to be concerned for his safety.

Good. Good, he thought. But even then, Connington still remembered the vivid details of his past actions years ago. No, don't even think about that now. You made that same mistake at Stoney Sept. "Then he'd best kill that boy now and not waste any time leisurely."

"My lord?"

"Even a wounded Baratheon in a weakened state with his back against the wall is still quite a foe to contend with, Lysono. Trust me when I say I speak from experience." Learned that the hard way when I fought Robert at the Battle of the Bells. The boy wishes to force my hand? So be it. "Tell the pryomancers to begin preparations. We will end this war with one fell swoop."

"You can't do this!" Tyrion protested. "There are countless people—thousands, hundreds of thousands—down there! All of them are innocent!"

Connington looked down at the dwarf. "So were they before your father sacked the city and had his men butcher Rhaegar's children. I wasn't there when it happened, but I learned during my time in exile. I know how Lord Tywin Lannister managed to pull off such a cruel deception, feigning loyalty like that at the gates. Ruthless, and yet so efficient. He never was one to support the losing side in a war."

"There are women and children down there! You'd really let them all burn for a lost cause?"

"Whether or not King Aerys knew, it still didn't matter. It was only then did he realize the mistake he made after foolishly opening the gates to 10,000 Lannister soldiers."

Margaery looked at him. "There are about almost 38% of men and women from all corners of Westeros down there. Lord Tywin had only 16% when he did the deed."

"I know, Margaery Tyrell. Your father was one of the few who remained loyal to the Targaryen cause before he turned traitor. When Aerys knew his cause was lost, he decided to let Robert Baratheon be King… over the charred bones and ashes of King's Landing."

He's… This is madness! "And you're planning to do the same. To succeed where the Mad King himself had failed," Sansa realized.

Connington glanced at her. "Clever girl. Sad to say is that your husband foolishly led his people to their deaths, even your own countrymen. His defiance earned this."

"Defiance? Is that all you see when you look at him? You clearly don't know Daveth. Not the way I do," Sansa reminded him. "My husband fights for a way to break the cycle Aegon the Conqueror himself created that kept us in the Seven Kingdoms weighed down for 300 years. But times change. We follow Daveth not simply because he wears a crown – but it's because he's the leader we chose to follow. For seven years he's worked tirelessly to forge a better future, a future modeled on the old – not just for one certain group of people, but for all life. If he falters, we help him find his way back. If he stumbles, we pick him back up. You and Daenerys are simply the embodiment of evil transgressions that helped create this cycle, a relic of the past. Are you not capable of free, independent thinking? If not, then you follow a tyrant… like a mindless, obedient slave."

Myrcella nodded in agreement. "Even if the odds are stacked against my brother, Daveth is rather tenacious. He won't stop until the job is done. You call him 'boy' as much as you want, but do you want to know why he's such a thorn in your side? It's simple. You've had ample opportunity to kill him, yet you lack the strength to do the job yourself. He's beaten you at your own game."

*WHACK!*

Connington backhanded her roughly. "Don't mock me," he snarled.

"Myrcella!" Trystane reacted strongly. Defiantly, the Dornish Master of Laws tried to stand, but was once again forcibly shoved to the ground by Connington's guards, who then proceeded to brutally kick and punch at him.

"Brute force comes easily to you, doesn't it?" Margaery remarked. "Everyone knows that. But long-term strategy, thoroughness, patience? You're not very good at those, I'm afraid. Perhaps that's why you won't win by the end of the day."

Again, Connington brushed off his critics. "Fight if you must, then. It is no matter. In the end, we all must serve the dragon kings… or all will burn."

—Somewhere along the cliffs—

Along the beach, Daveth was in the midst of fighting for his life; his clothes were tattered, hanging in rags and worn in places; his knees were buckling and he was growing more exhausted with each swing of Stormbringer, but Euron and Yara still jumped back and countered with attacks of their own as they pursued him. With the Young Stag's back now pressed against the back of the cliff, Euron swings his axe upwards and slices him across the chest.

"Gah!" Daveth exclaimed in pain, staggering against the rock.

His black leather vest was shredded further with a diagonal tear across the front, revealing a portion of Daveth's torso and a small stream of blood trickles from the wound. It was a small gash, but it was enough to sting – causing further pain despite the flow of adrenaline rushing throughout his body. Regaining his balance, Daveth moved to get into more open ground – but with Yara and Euron cutting him off, his task was getting more precarious. The Young Stag, gripping Stormbringer in both hands, swung left and right – keeping both Greyjoys at a distance until his blade caught Euron's battleaxe. The two were straining trying to overpower the other, but Yara ran from the side and tackled Daveth away.

Daveth was bumped against the rocks again. Ngh! Seven hells, fighting the two of you at once is pretty tough. When Yara charged at him again, Daveth pivoted and knocked her sword out of her hand with one swing, but Euron traps Stormbringer with the curve of his axe and disarms the Young Stag. With the battle intensifying, Daveth kicked Yara away and ducks when Euron swung again before rushing forward, grappling the King of the Iron Islands and ramming him against a nearby boulder – disarming him in the process.

Euron raised his right arm up and brought his elbow down hard on Daveth's nape, kneeing him hard in the abdomen and grabbing him with both arms and throwing him to the ground. Now all three combatants were now without any blades, but continued duking it out on the beaches. Daveth staggers to his feet to catch his breath and raises both arms up, clenching both fists in a tight ball.

"Still standing after all that, boy? You've got balls, I'll give you that much," Euron stated.

"FUCK YOU!" Daveth cursed venomously.

The Young Stag swung, but Euron catches it and Yara jabs him in the face. Daveth counters with a kick, causing her to stumble backwards before she swiftly recovered and went low, sweeping his legs out from under him. Daveth lands on his back and grunts loudly, allowing Euron to get astride him and deliver repeated blows to his face while Yara repeatedly started kicking him. Blow after blow, Daveth could merely keep his arms up to protect his head, or try to—Yara kicking his sides were really hurting him and Euron exploiting a gap in the Young Stag's defenses were showing how relentless the krakens were in taking down their prey, fists and feet finding their mark at his ribs and face.

*POW!*

*URKKK!*

*ZOK!*

*THUMP!*

Yet, exhausted and brutally battered, Daveth breaks his defense and grabs Yara's foot and pulls her down. She falls to the ground hard while Euron delivers a big hard left hook to Daveth's cheek, blood spraying from his nose and mouth.

"What's the matter, boy? That all you go—? Nguk!" Euron said before getting cut off when Daveth open palm struck his foe in the throat and kicked him off. The King of the Iron Islands rolled off and held both hands around his neck, gasping for air.

Again, Daveth rolls away to try to stand up, but a persistent Yara proceeds to harassingly assault him, kicks, stomp and punches before the Young Stag rises once more to catch both her fists in his hands before rearing his head back and bringing it down to deliver a great headbutt as hard as he could muster; feeling each cartilage snap and nasal bone crackle when his skull connected to her face, hearing the eventual sickening crunch confirmed it was the result of Yara's nose breaking.

"Grrrah! You bastard!" she shrieked in a mix of anger and pain. Yara's nose looked crooked, misshapen and blood was pouring down her face.

Daveth shook his head and again raised his fists for another round. Unbeknownst to him, Euron had shoulder charged from behind and forcibly knocked Daveth forward, sending him straight into the waiting arms of an enraged Yara, who proceeded to punch, knee, kick and bite in a bloodlust frenzy. Before he could pry her off, Euron reared his arm back and swiftly brought it up, bringing his closed fist directly to Daveth's chin.

*BAM!*

"Ngh!" The Young Stag stumbled backward as his senses were all momentarily miffed, dazed and stunned as a result from the uppercut. His ears were ringing, his vision blurred slightly and both his knees wobbled and buckled.

Sensing their prime opportunity, Euron and Yara pressed the advantage and forced Daveth into a corner, each one landing blow after blow as their opponent was utterly helpless to defend himself; enduring each brutal blunt force trauma after the other, each purple bruise formed on Daveth's cheeks, his lip was split and he could feel oxygen being forced out of his body when Euron punched him in the gut.

"OOF-KH!" he gasps.

Feeling it wasn't enough, Euron grabbed Daveth by the neck and lifted him up off the ground before choke-slamming him back down. Daveth chokes up blood when he forcibly hit the ground once more. Ribs, spine, skull… He was quickly sustaining a lot of damage, both externally and internally. He wasn't sure how much of this he could possibly take, given his condition, but Euron and Yara Greyjoy were both standing in his way.

"Yeah. That's right. Breathe it in," Yara stood over him gloating. "That's how I felt when you took everything from us. Not so fun as it when you're the one continuously hitting the ground now, isn't it?" She unsheathes a dagger from her belt. "Time to exact my revenge. For my father! FOR THE IRON ISLANDS!"

Daveth groaned when he saw the sun's reflection bouncing off the blade and managed to roll to the side to avoid the hit, the dagger sinking into the ground. Rearing his right hand, he backhanded Yara across the face, making her momentarily lose her grip on the weapon until Euron grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and picked him back up.

"Not bad, boy," Euron complimented. Swinging his arm around, he slammed Daveth's face into the rock; the Young Stag exclaimed loudly when his head connected before feeling his assailant pull him back. A gash on Daveth's head caused blood to pour down the right side of his face, droplets falling from his chin. "But you're still nowhere near close enough to challenge me. No one picks a fight with the Crow's Eye and lives to tell the tale. No one ever has. But those who do? They end up all the same: DEAD!"

Kneeing Daveth in the gut and landing a right-handed punch to his face, the Young Stag is knocked down to the wet sand once more. Dazed and disoriented, Daveth failed to resist when Euron sat on his chest and wrapped his hands around his neck.

"I have you now! AHAHAHAHA!"

"Ack! NGU! ACK! K-KAAH! AAACK!"

Euron grinned wickedly and laughed sadistically as he began choking the life out of Daveth, who in turn gasped and gagged while desperately clawing at the King of the Iron Islands' hands to free himself. With his windpipe cut off, he was slowly suffocating. Reaching out his hand to grab whatever he could find, Daveth picked up a small stone and raises it high.

"Get… OFF ME!" he gagged.

*BAM!*

*BAM!*

Bringing it down against Euron's wrist, the elder kraken shouted and felt his left hand's grip loosen; this was enough for momentary air to fill Daveth's lungs for a bit before swinging it to bash the stone against Euron's face, causing a sickening crack to echo throughout the area. Pushing Euron off him, Daveth gagged and gasped to catch his breath; he only paused momentarily when he caught sight of Yara running up towards him, shrieking like a banshee with her leg swinging towards his head. The Young Stag catches Yara's leg as she tries another kick mid-swing, nodding in disapproval, and flexes the raw power in his arms to not only dislodge her, but also physically throw her away—causing her to land against the rock with a thud.

"Begone!" he shouted. Panting, Daveth turned to see Euron crawling to Yara's discarded dagger—which lay within a few inches from his grasp. "Where do you think you're going, Euron Greyjoy?! Get back here!" he dove onto Euron's back. Momentarily halting his foe's advance, Daveth grabbed both Euron's legs and pulls him back.

Euron, however, struggled and managed to free one of his legs to deliver a quick kick to Daveth's wrist. The impact caused the Young Stag to momentarily lose his grip and felt his opponent slip out. Crawling a few more inches, Euron grabs the dagger when Daveth again lands on him roughly.

"No… You. Get off. ME, BOOOOY!" he turned quickly and plunged the blade into Daveth's left flank.

*KLSHUK!*

Daveth's eyes widened in shock and his body went completely stiff; an incredibly sharp pain surged throughout his body as he looked down to see where the dagger had entered him. Blood poured from his mouth and he reels with agony. From the force of the initial impact, he swore he felt something inside his body snap like a twig, being punctured.

"D-Damn you…" No. It can't… it can't end like this! Not yet! Not like this!

Euron snarled, his face and mouth bloodied, twisting the blade side-to-side listening to Daveth's agonizing shouts before pulling the dagger out. Blood sprayed across the sand and rocks. As Euron kicks Daveth off, the Young Stag slowly scuttles on his back – moving away from Euron before flopping onto his back, clutching his bleeding wound and gasping for air. His breathing grew shallower and slow, his strength started leaving his body. He felt himself becoming weaker.

Not like this. Not like this, not like this…

Sitting back up, Euron pants in exhaustion. He is drenched in sweat and blood covers his mouth. His niece, Yara, having recovered from being thrown, limps her way to her uncle and stands over the helpless Daveth.

"You fought well… for a broken boy," Euron panted. "I'm impressed… hah, with how much you've grown since I last saw you. Best… hah, best fight I… hah, I ever got. Try as you might, grow big and strong as you could, but nothing has changed. You… you were never strong enough to beat me. You're still not strong enough."

Yara picked up the dagger Euron used to stab Daveth. Panting wearily and in physical discomfort, she leaned down onto Daveth's chest and raised her hand high in the air.

"End of the line for you, Oathkeeper…" she panted wearily.

In a swift moment, the blade came down.

Sansa…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Chapter End

Author's Note: Well guys, here is part four. Now I know some of you guys don't like things ending in cliffhangers, but I swear it's not intentional. There's still plenty of more scenes to go before the season finale wraps up. Jon Connington gets more increasingly aggressive towards his hostages before getting physical; Daveth is fighting for his life against Euron and Yara Greyjoy. With the beatings he took and still had not given himself the proper time to heal before the battle for King's Landing took place, his back is literally against the wall. How will this play out in the next chapter? Stay tuned for more updates!

P.S., for those of you PMing me about not wanting Daveth to be killed off as it would be anticlimactic, be sure to contact me personally if you want a statement from me. Be it questions or otherwise, I'll set the record straight... again.

King Crow: Not a fair fight but he still won

Jrocker105: Man, I've been following this story for what? 100 chapters? God damn has this plot wrapped up well. Congrats on almost finishing this epic of a fanfiction.

fiend89: Daveth! Noooooooooooooooo!

Nmo: Great chapter on trials and tribulations of the oathkeeper, so can you please put up the next chapter to the story now please

C.E.W: Somehow I doubt Yara will get the chance to finish Daveth. I've been looking around since the start of the battle when Daveth left for the secret entrance and noticed Jaime was not in the battle or with Arya when she sneak in. Just like Brienne and Olyver come to think of it. They probably noticed Daveth sneak and wanted to follow him. So my guess Jaime appears either stabs Yara from behind, or attacks Euron distracting Yara long enough for Daveth to break free and kill her before he kills Euron.

Jon Connington's plan to burn might not come through given that Arya already got to the pyromancers first. Maybe she disguised herself as one of them, and can get close enough to stab Connington to death.

There's also still the Daenerys Targaryen problem.

Masso 2010: I know I haven't reviewed in a while but I still read all your chapters. But dude, he better survive this or I'm going to kill someone, after the shitty so called 'real' ending, I think we're due a good one, which means the guy we all love survives so please make it so.

—I'll do what I can; also keep a close eye out for any polls I might release in the near future

Bio RL: I want an explanation :( xd

—PM me

Hear My Fury: Jaime's coming in, I know it! Dany's gonna burn the city I know it. And I hope Connington realizes he went too far and should have stayed in Essos.

RHatch89: Awesome update :)