Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.

Note: I apologize for taking my time before finally posting this chapter. Just so you guys know I blame the delay of this chapter solely on Bungie Studios for making that darn game…

I know I did say that this was supposed to be the last chapter, but once again I failed to wrap things up (must be a curse or something). Also, this chapter is kind of short. Sorry guys. Anyway, let me know what you guys think about it. Thanks.

Knights of Renais

Chapter 22: Chaos Ensued

It was now several hours past noon. It started to rain heavily not more than an hour ago. The temperature began to cool down somewhat, but even that could not stop the barrage of complaints coming from the tall blonde knight standing by his brother's bedside. The knight appeared to be quite relaxed now that the ordeal of what had taken place earlier was finally over.

Knowing that he only had a couple of minutes left before he had to, yet again, head back out to the battlefield, the knight quickly glanced down at himself, surveying the damages incurred by his body and armors under the light coming from the fireplace. The knight grimly noticed that there were blood stains, now hardened into cakes, all over his heavy breastplate. The knight sighed. He was fully aware that none of them belonged to him.

Once again, the knight stared at the peaceful sleeping face of his younger brother, the one that had saved his life earlier from a certain doom. The look of relief crossed briefly over his face. Thanks to the help of his friends, Lute and Artur, his brother was miraculously saved. Had he brought his brother in several minutes later, it would have been too late. Now all he had to do was to wait for his younger brother to regain consciousness. The blonde knight picked up a wash cloth from a nearby chair, but quickly gave up the idea of cleaning up his armors.

The knight noticed that a young blonde woman in read armors was sitting worriedly by his brother's bedside. He had been telling her to get some rest as the battle still raged on outside, and that soon after, she and her companions would be needed once again at the battlefield. However, the young woman refused to leave. She continued to clutch his brother's pale hands in her own delicate ones. The young woman brought them close to her chest and bent down her head just enough to brush her lips against them. She whispered softly as if she was afraid that anyone would hear her. "Franz, please come back to me, open your eyes…please."

The knight smiled. He wanted to tell the young woman not to worry too much, and that his brother's life was no longer in danger. He should recover soon enough as a result of Artur and Lute's combined administrations of their healing spells and elixirs. However, he decided against it and moved away, allowing her to be alone with his still unconscious brother.

Like a floodgate that had been left open, as soon as she was alone, tears began to roll down the young woman's sad but lovely face uncontrollably. She continued to whisper softly to the young man in front of her. "Do you not remember our promise, Franz? You said yourself that you would protect me, and in turn, I shall protect you." The young woman shut her eyes tightly, remembering the words that were exchanged not too long ago.

"Amelia, I'll protect you."

"Franz…thank you…I'm really happy, but I want to protect you too. I am a soldier of sorts as well, you know. So…let me be your shield to protect you…"

"And I will be your sword and fight for you. From now on, you're not alone anymore, Amelia."

Amelia wiped her eyes, but more tears kept pouring out. "Franz, we both have not yet fulfilled that promise, so no matter what, you have to come back to me…you just have to…" The last sentence was trailed off as she reached out her hand to brush the hair that had fallen, away from Franz's forehead.

The blonde knight smiled once again at the young woman's show of affection towards his brother, but his expression changed immediately as he turned back to address the two men sitting in front of him at an old wooden table that had seen better days.

"Garcia and Ross, I want to thank you both properly. Had you not come to our rescue…" The knight shuddered slightly, unable to finish the sentence. "My brother and I owe you our lives."

"Do not mention it, Forde. You and your brother had helped us plenty when we were fighting the Demon King and his minions together." The older man spoke calmly, a smile displayed on his rugged but kind face.

"Yeah, General Forde, exactly what Dad said." The younger man flashed a brilliant smile before looking at his father, beaming with pride.

Forde returned the smile. He handed both men each a glass of water. "Thank you, you two. Just call me Forde like old times, Ross. There's no need to be so formal with me. By the way, I have been meaning to ask how you three ended up traveling together, and how in the world, did you all end up at Renais Castle? I have to admit, that was incredibly good timing you had there."

Garcia looked at his son and the younger man replied in his father's place. "Well, my father and I had planned to visit King Ephraim and Queen Eirika on their coronation day to congratulate them, of course. However, before we could set off on our journey, our village was under heavy attacks by a large horde of monsters." Ross grimaced when he remembered what had taken place several days ago.

His father continued when Ross went quiet. "Ross and I immediately rushed to the villagers' aid and we did all we could to protect them and drive the monsters away. But at the same time we knew that something was amiss. The number of the monsters was too great, and on top of that.." Garcia paused briefly. "The horde was led by Frelian troops!" He finished the sentence with a loud bang on the wooden table, sending their glasses flying, spilling water all over.

Ross picked up the glasses. "That was when Dad and I realized that the King and Queen must be in danger! The two of us were not able to keep the monsters away for long, so we had women and children evacuate the village while we and the village men fought to hold off the monsters and the Frelian soldiers. After making certain that the villagers were safe, we immediately set off for Renais Castle, and during our travel, we came across Amelia, who has left Grado and was on her way to visit General Franz."

"Again, what incredible timing you guys had." Forde took a big gulp of water from his own glass. "I am afraid that the situation at Renais is as you feared. We are under heavy attacks by the monsters and both Frelian ground and aerial troops. We are, at the moment, outnumbered and-"

Forde's sentence was cut short by a loud shout coming from outside. Forde recognized the voice right away to be that of his friend, Kyle.

Immediately, Forde, Garcia, and Ross rushed out of the room.

Seeing this, Amelia quickly got up out of her chair to follow suit, but she was halted in the process by a strong grip on her wrist.

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Outside,

What the three men saw together turned their blood cold.

Towering above the East Gate Tower where his friend, Kyle, and Renais soldiers were standing, was the largest Wyvern Forde had ever set his eyes on. The Wyvern was three, no, ten times the size of the other Wyverns he had encountered in the past.

Steams were seen coming out from its large mouth and jagged purple skin, and some kind of murky but dangerous-looking liquid was oozing out from its pores. Its spiked tail was also moving in unison with its enormous pair of wings, which were now moving violently back and forth creating strong gusts of wind.

The Wyvern was staring, with its cold, intense gaze, at the helpless soldiers underneath its feet. Its amber-red eyes darted back and forth as it tried to decide what to do with the humans that were standing, transfixed in fear, at its presence.

Then, as if a spell was finally broken, the soldiers that had been standing still began to panic and started shouting frantically. Chaos ensued as they scrambled to get as far away from the gigantic beast as possible.

"Soldiers, what are you all doing? Don't panic. Do you hear me? Stop running!" Yelled Kyle, not entirely certain that his command would be heard.

Sure enough, no one was listening. The soldiers continued pushing and colliding against one another as each man tried to save his own life despite their commander's order to hold their grounds.

Seeing the commotion, the Wyvern opened its large mouth and roared. The horrendous sound was so deafening that it pierced through the thick helmets that the soldiers were wearing, forcing them to cower on the ground.

Forde, Garcia, and Ross covered their ears as best they could, but it only succeeded in lessening the effect somewhat. Their ears still ached, and their head rang as if it had been repeatedly hit by a sledge hammer.

Finally overcoming the pain, the trio moved quickly towards the East Gate Tower to help their comrades.

Garcia spoke first, his voice, a combination of awe and fear rolled into one. "That is the Wyvern Lord."

Ross looked taken aback. He had never heard his father speak with such emotion before. He stared at his father as if he had gone crazy. "Dad, you cannot possibly mean THE Wyvern Lord from legends of old, the one that you told me about so many times when I was just a little kid!"

"The one and the same, Son. There's no mistaking it. I have seen its drawings countless times on the walls of many ancient castles during my travels when I was but a youth. The Wyvern Lord was one of the legendary creatures of old, but I never imagine…" Garcia replied, unable to avert his gaze from the fearsome creature. He could not help but be fascinated by its fierce yet graceful movement.

"The creature must have been brought back to life with the dark magic or whatever means that brought back the Demon King's minions." Forde clenched his fists in frustration. 'One bad dream after another. Will it ever end?'

"Kyle, we're coming." Shouted Forde. The three men urged their feet to move faster, now that the Wyvern Lord had stopped moving its enormous wings. It was getting ready to launch an attack! "What the-"

Without any warnings, the Wyvern Lord opened its mouth wide. This time; however, instead of a roar, a fireball could be seen growing inside its mouth. It was getting bigger and bigger by the minute! The ball began to glow bright red…

Kyle ran to meet up with the group. He commanded the trio firmly. "GET READY!"

Forde's eyes opened wide. 'Get ready? But there was no time to prepare for anything!'

The Wyvern Lord reared its head back and a large bright red fireball came unbelievably fast towards them.

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Meanwhile,

The Great Dragon's Tomb

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now, it really IS too late, you worthless FOOLS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA." The demon in disguise of a prince continued to laugh menacingly, its heinous red eyes glowing. The cold and evil laughs sent echoes throughout the chamber, and it began to rumble loudly, sending loose rocks flying.

Ephraim and his companions continued to stare in shock at the princess, as her stilled body hovered in midair.

Great amount of red, thick blood was now escaping the wound where the dagger had pierced straight through her heart. The princess only had a brief moment to utter a single agonizing scream before her entire body went limp.

The aqua blue stone set in the middle of the dagger was now slowly changing its color to dark crimson. It began to give off an eerie red pulsating light. It was absorbing the princess's blood!

"EIRIKA!!!" At the realization of what was happening, Ephraim made another attempt to reach his sister. However, the demon had anticipated the young king's movement. He made a swift motion with his right hand, and the princess was lifted higher in the air out of the young king's reach.

The demon looked on amusingly, enjoying the look of utter horror and desperation on Ephraim's face as he tried in vain to reach his sister, who continued to soar higher and higher still.

"HAHAHA, try all you want, O' Foolish King of Renais, for you will never have her back. The princess will become my queen. MINE. But of course, only if she does not die from that magnificent stab wound first, AHAHAHAHAHA."

"I will slay you, Demon, even if it means I will have to sacrifice my life in the process. I WILL save the princess. I have made a promise, and as a knight, I intend to keep it!" Seth finally managed to get up, one hand clutching at his side, which was now soaked red with blood.

"How, pray tell, Silver Knight, do you intend to kill me? In that pitiful state that you're in, I don't think you can even lift a hand, let alone hold a sword, hahaha."

Once again, the demon made a swift motion with his hand. "Here, have a taste of this. Maybe this will shut you all up. FOREVER!" Large chunks of loose rocks were sent flying viciously towards Ephraim and his companions.

Caught off guard, Joshua and Myrrh had no chance to avoid the rocks. Seeing this, Ephraim rushed in front of them. He raised his sword up, meaning to do the impossible of striking all the rocks that came flying their way.

Ephraim managed to destroy most of the rocks; nevertheless, one large rock escaped his sword and hit him forcefully in the chest, sending him flying backward. Ephraim landed on the ground with a loud thud. "Urgggh."

Ephraim tried to get up, but as soon as he did so, he began coughing out blood! The front of his armor was now covered in the dark red liquid. "Ephraim, hang in there." Joshua spoke while rushing to the injured king. He put one arm around Ephraim as he made an attempt to get back up.

"Your Majesty!" Despite his own injuries, Seth also rushed to his king's side.

"Have you finally realized just how futile your efforts are? No matter what you fools try to do, you will never be able to stop me. It is too late, HAHAHAHAHAHA, MUCH TOO LATE." The demon was thoroughly enjoying the scene in front of him. "More, struggle more, HAHAHAHAHA."

The demon lifted his hand yet again, and this time, a giant boulder came flying towards them. "No more playing. NOW DIE."

"Shield!"

Myrrh summoned up what was left of her power to cast a barrier to protect her companions, but alas, it was no match for the vicious attack!

The boulder hit the weak barrier forcefully with a loud 'BOOM' and the entire chamber was covered in a bright light. The boulder easily broke through the barrier! "AAAAAAAAAH." Myrrh screamed.

"MYRRH, LOOK OUT!" Using his own body, the desert king quickly gathered the little dragon girl in his arms and tried to shield her from the inescapable impact.

However, before the boulder hit all of them, it stopped abruptly, only inches away, as if an invisible hand halted it in midair.

"HAHAHA, so, how was it, did you like the taste of that? Knowing that your pathetic lives lie solely in my hands? HAHAHAHA. God, I love this!"

"Damn that abominable bastard. He is just toying with us." Joshua spoke, holding the shaken Myrrh in his arms.

With the help of Seth and his own sword supporting his weight, Ephraim lifted himself off the ground.

"It is almost as if…Blast it! He is just distracting us to buy time!"

By this time, the pulsating red light had enveloped Eirika's body completely. The demon turned around to look at the princess and grinned evilly, its hands clasped in anticipation. "It is finally time!"

The demon stared coldly at Ephraim and companions then sneered. "It would be a waste to just kill all of you now. After all, I need an audience to witness the moment that I shall surpass my master, Fomortiis. Who knows? You fools might end up begging me to end your pathetic lives once I'm through with this, hahaha."

With this said, the demon flew up in the air towards the princess. Wasting no time, he began chanting slowly but deliberately in a strange tongue of the dark language.

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Meanwhile at the East Gate Tower,

'That fireball was coming way too fast!' was all Forde could think, as it came hurling towards him.

Although the fireball was fast approaching, at that moment, however, Forde's senses could no longer function properly. It was as if he had fallen under an unbreakable spell, which glued him to the spot.

To his immediate left and right, Forde could clearly see Ross and Garcia moving away from the spot where he was standing. He also noticed that they were shouting something urgent, but he could not make out what it was.

Forde continued to stare at the fireball as it came closer, mesmerized by the glowing reddish orange hue it emitted. Suddenly, it seemed, that everything around him had stopped moving.

'Huh, so I guess it's true. Your entire life does flash right before your eyes when you are about to die.' Forde's eyes opened wide at the realization of what was happening.

'Wait a minute. That's strange. I see a man with green hair rushing towards me. Is that supposed to be a part of this whole flashback experience?' Forde wondered.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FORDE? MOVE AWAY!!!" Panicked, Kyle shouted at the top of his lungs, as he lunged at his friend, pushing him out of the fireball trajectory, barely in time as it missed both of them by mere inches. The fireball hit one of the small towers with a loud 'BOOM'.

In a blink of an eye, the entire tower was engulfed in flame. Within seconds, the structure of the tower gave out and it collapsed, creating a huge cloud of dusts. Large chunks of rocks were sent flying towards the soldiers who were running in confusion below. Agonizing screams erupted immediately after.

As sudden as it had stopped, everything around Forde began to pick up its pace once more. He finally came to his senses. Forde could still smell parts of his hair sizzling from the burn. "Ouch, that sure was a rude awakening." Forde spoke as he rubbed his left shoulder, which he landed on after Kyle had not-so-gently shoved him.

"I just cannot believe you, Forde. After I have only just saved your life, you are already complaining." Kyle's voice was serious, but his face said otherwise. He smiled worriedly at his best friend as he gave him a hand to lift him off the ground.

"Thanks, Kyle. Sorry, I just froze there, you know, for a second."

Again, Kyle smiled in response before his expression became grim once more. "But that just might have been one second too long, Forde." As he finished the sentence, Kyle raised both his shield and sword up, getting ready for another round of attacks. "Here it comes again, Forde. Be alert. This time I might not be able to save you."

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After surveying the destruction the fireball had wrought upon its preys, the Wyvern Lord flew high up in the sky leaving trails of burning hot steams.

"What's he doing now, Dad?" Asked Ross, nervously. His right hand was now gripping the handle of his axe tightly.

"Whatever it is, it cannot be good. What do you think, Sir Kyle?"

Immediately, Kyle ordered his soldiers to get as far away from the East Gate Tower as they possibly could and take cover. "I think I have a good idea of what the Wyvern Lord is trying to do."

"Well, then, don't keep us all in suspense, Kyle." Forde spoke impatiently, cold sweats breaking out on his forehead.

"The Wyvern Lord is just as impatient as you are, Forde. After seeing that he failed to kill all of us in one hit with his fireball, that we could dodge it, he got irritated. So much so that he must now be very furious. So, it is only natural that he is going to try to launch another kind of attack, one such that will ensure that our chance of survival is none. Now, do you finally understand what I am getting at?"

"Holy shi-, you mean he is going to…" Horrified, Forde looked at Kyle and then at Ross and Garcia. Their look of horror mirrored his own. "You don't mean that he is…"

"Yes, I am afraid that is exactly what he is going to do, Forde. Looks like we have just become his main target."

Forde looked forebodingly up at the sky. The Wyvern Lord was, at the moment, circling furiously around the many tower spires above their heads.

"Now listen up. Here is my plan." Kyle gathered all his companions close and explained what they had to do next.

Several minutes late,

"You call THAT a plan, Kyle?" Forde asked incredulously. "Seriously, you are not jesting, are you?" Forde grabbed Kyle by the shoulders roughly. "Well, are you?" Not amused, Kyle brushed his hands off.

"Yes, that IS exactly what we are going to do." Kyle looked at the father and son, and they nodded their heads in response indicating that they understood the plan perfectly.

Kyle continued. "Once I give the signal, proceed as planned. There is not much time, so get into positions, everyone.

"Oh man, I can't believe we're really doing this." Forde spoke, having resigned to his fate.

"Dad." Ross gave his dad a thumps-up signal. His father nodded his head, and both began to climb the walls on either side of the main tower rapidly.

"HERE HE COMES, FORDE. BRACE YOURSELF."

The Wyvern Lord had now stopped moving erratically. At that moment, it seemed as if all sounds ceased to exist. The amber-red eyes of the creature shone brightly as it locked its gaze on the two targets.

Then suddenly, the Wyvern Lord let out a deafening screech and plunged downward, its head aiming directly towards the two knights of Renais waiting below.

Forde and Kyle raised up their shields, and another howl escaped the creature. It opened its mouth wide, showing sharp blade-like fangs, which gleamed menacingly in the evening lights.

"Damn it, Kyle. You owe me big time."

Kyle gave his friend one last smile. "That I do, Forde." As soon as Kyle had finished his sentence, the Wyvern Lord swallowed them both whole.

TBC