AN: These next few chapters will be Rolf-centric, due to him being a part of the next few chapters in Radiant Dawn.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn or anything.
I had come to terms with the fact that I had fallen in love with the enemy. However, that did not mean that I had to tell everyone. Hey, at least they know that I swing that way, ehehe…
Anyways, it turned out that General Zelgius of the Begnion Army was chasing us, despite the diversion that we had created. I couldn't expect anything less of Zelgius, however; the man was an amazing general, and he was an even better strategist. I bet you that he's as good as Soren, which is scary.
We ran into the Kauku Caves, a maze with volcanic proportions. Where there wasn't land, there was lava! I wiped the sweat on my forehead with my sleeve, before seeing a troupe of Begnion soldiers scattered throughout the cave. Despite the red armor, I could easily see the golden outlines on their garments.
I could see Titania slash at a Sword General with her axe, even though her axe was at a disadvantage against the General's silver sword. However, I could see the General fall to the ground motionless, meaning that Titania had killed him. I expected nothing less than a Gold Knight, especially since it's Titania.
I nocked an arrow, before firing the razor-sharp weapon at a Sniper. The arrow pierced him in the chest, killing him instantly. Some blood stained the ground underneath his corpse, but I didn't pay attention to that. I quickly nocked another arrow into my steel bow, before aiming at a Swordmaster. He tried to dodge, but the arrow was too fast. I smirked, as the male fell to the ground.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Gatrie throw a javelin at one of the Generals twice. After the second shot, the General fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Shinon was firing more and more arrows at various enemies, each of them hitting their marks at the exact right time. This caused the deaths of many Begnion soldiers.
Suddenly, a Swordmaster ran up to me, and slashed at my shoulder. I quickly jumped back, out of the range of the attack, before seeing the Swordmaster come at me once more. This time, however, he ended up slashing at my arm, before I could fire an arrow into his heart. He fell to the ground, while I winced in pain at my arm. Mist noticed this, and immediately trotted over to me on her horse. She held a blue staff on my injury, and, after a few minutes, the bleeding had stopped. I thanked Mist, before running off to fire more arrows.
A meteor released from the lava of the Kauku Caves shot up, and hit a Begnion Halberdier. This caused him searing pain, before he fell, dead before even hitting the ground. I smirked; maybe the Kauku Caves weren't as bad as I thought!
"Leonardo, aim at that tiger laguz!" Micaiah called out to me, before casting a spell on a cat laguz. I quickly wiped the beads of sweat on my forehead with my arm, before nocking an arrow. Then, I quickly drew back the bow, and released, sending the arrow flawlessly into the tiger laguz's skull. The laguz fell to the grounds below, leaving some blood stained onto the blades of grass.
Our base was facing heavy offense from the Laguz Alliance, or a group of the Laguz Alliance. With orders from Micaiah, we were supposed to protect the armory and supplies at all costs. I noticed Edward from the corner of my eye; he was quickly slashing at a cat laguz adeptly, and it wasn't long before the laguz fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Sothe was quickly using his Beast Killer, a weapon we had purchased a long time ago.
I threw an arrow into the air, before jumping up high to reach it. Before landing, I quickly nocked it into my bow, and fired at a hawk laguz. The arrow landed in one of its wings, as it fell to the ground, incapacitated. I smirked, before nocking another arrow.
"Leonardo, cover me!" Edward called out to me, and I nodded quickly. The brunette ran towards what looked like the leader with Caladbolg. I quickly ran after him, firing at any laguz that were attacking the Trueblade. The captain shifted into his beast form; a dark black raven. Edward stopped, before the raven, and got into a battle stance. I nocked an arrow, to try and assist my best friend.
Edward quickly leapt into the air, bringing his golden sword down on the raven. The black raven quickly dodged the aerial attack, before rushing towards Edward with its beak. It managed to strike Edward on his arm, causing some blood to release from his body. Edward winced at the pain, but held his sword comfortably. I fired an arrow at the raven, who dodged elegantly to the side. This laguz was experienced for battle!
"Leo, fire an arrow when I tell you to, okay?"
"All right!" I called back to the brunette. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what Edward's plan was. Soon, the raven tried to attack Edward, who dodged by jumping back. Then, he slashed at the raven's wing, managing to slice some of the feathers. This clearly angered the laguz, as it prepared to attack once more.
"Leo, fire an arrow now!" Edward called out to me. I quickly nocked an arrow, and fired at the raven laguz. It dodged, but it couldn't dodge Edward's next attack. Edward quickly rolled underneath the raven, and was facing its back. The Trueblade quickly attacked the raven's wings, de-flighting them. The raven laguz fell to the ground, incapacitated. I gave a smile towards Edward, as he gave me a thumbs-up.
"Nice work, Leo!"
"Hey, you're the one that defeated it!"
"Yeah, but I couldn't have done without your help!" I smiled at the compliment, before Edward ran back towards me, with Caladbolg in hand. I noticed the other laguz fleeing in desperation; I think it's because their leader isn't giving them orders. Either way, the base was safe, so Edward and I quickly walked back.
I was on the ground, with my bow out of reach. A Begnion halberdier towered over me, with his lance at my throat. My eyes widened, knowing that the soldier could kill me. Suddenly, he fell back, with Ike behind him. The hero gripped his sword, before helping me up.
"Thanks, Ike."
"You need to be more careful next time, Rolf."
"Fine, Ike. You're starting to sound like one of my brothers." I laughed slightly at my own joke, while Ike rolled his eyes. Then, he went to pursue more Begnion soldiers. I picked up my bow, and nocked an arrow into the arrow rest. I quickly drew back the arrow, and picked an Axe General as a target. I released the arrow, firing it at the General. The arrow managed to get in between the crannies of armor, allowing me to hurt the General. However, the Axe General still stood strong, and removed the blood-tipped arrow from his side. I huffed slightly, before running and nocking another arrow, before noticing Titania attacking the Axe General I was planning on attacking. She quickly disarmed him, and put him down, before trotting on her horse to another soldier.
Suddenly, an arrow went whizzing by me, barely missing me. I turned to see who the Sniper was. It was a Begnion soldier, who had blonde hair. My eyes widened, remembering the Marksman at the Ribahn River. I quickly shook my head, telling myself I needed to focus.
Rolf, you have to focus! That isn't Leonardo! I told myself in my thoughts, as I aimed at the blonde Sniper. However, I couldn't bring myself to shoot at him, no matter how hard I tried. He kept firing at me, despite me dodging the arrows. Suddenly, I turned, and fired at a Begnion Warrior instead. The axe-wielder fell to the ground, with an arrow sticking out of his neck.
C'mon, Rolf! Just fire at that Sniper! Stop thinking about Leonardo! My inner self was berating my actions. I quickly turned to see the Sniper again, but he was already dead; Oscar had beaten me at killing him. Though, honestly, I don't think I would've been able to kill him.
I turned, noticing that the Kauku Caves was littered with dead bodies of Begnion soldiers. I turned to see Septimus, the leader of the Begnion troupe, fall to the ground from Soren's wind spell. We had won the battle; the Begnion soldiers were dead.
"Great job, guys! Now let's get out of here!" Ranulf called out to us, reverting back into his human form. Then, all of us ran out to the nearest exit, to where brilliant skies and beautiful grasslands awaited us.
"Well, what a day. How do you think the Greil Mercenaries are doing, Leo?" Edward asked me, as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I thought about this for a moment; I could almost guarantee that they were strong enough to handle anything.
"I think that they're doing fine. Honestly, I think Begnion couldn't defeat them, even if they did try."
"Why?"
"The Greil Mercenaries, from what Sothe told us, are quite a dangerous group. I mean, we matched to them, but we've been practicing hard. Did you see the way that they handled the Daein soldiers? They were unstoppable, and, considering we were strong enough to break away from Begnion, I don't think the Greil Mercenaries have any problems."
"True, true…how do you think Mia's doing?"
"Someone's head over heels."
"Hey, you're the one in love with that green-haired marksman!" I laughed slightly at his comeback, though it was true. Both of us were in love with enemies from the other side. I quickly put my bow on the side of my bed, before wishing Edward a good night. My eyes closed, as I drifted off into sleep.