The Story of a Crusader
By tabris17
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in the following do not belong to me. They are the property of Squaresoft. I just named the characters, the story is my own creation.
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Chapter Four: Last days of peace
As the group of men and wagons arrived the base of operations, Pietro looked around the site. He could see the waters of the nearby sea and smell the salt that hung in the air. It would have been a nice place to be, if it wasn't for the large number of cannons scattered along the area. The cannons seemed to detract from the beauty. Farther ahead in the distance, Pietro could see what appeared to be atower blocking the horizon. Upon further inspection, the tower was in actuality a large platform with two cone-shaped apparatuses connected to it. He was intrigued by the sight and asked what it was.
"That thing. Oh, it's the secret weapon the Al Bhed are going to use. They say it will be able fire an electrical charge at Sin when it appears," answered a Crusader that had been there the last three days.
"An electrical charge, how can it do that?" Pietro asked the young man.
"I have no idea. I was barely able to get that small bit of information out of the Al Bhed. I can't understand them all that well, really. Their language is totally baffling."
"Daddy, can we get some food, please?" the boy chimed in.
"Sure. Can you tell us where we can get some food?" Pietro inquired.
The young Crusader pointed towards a rather large tent near the back wall of the cliff. As the two entered they were greeted by a wide assortment of faces. The people seemed to have diveded themselves into two groups. One group contained what Pietro thought to be the other Crusaders and a few Chocobo knights. The second crowd of people all wore goggles over their eyes, Pietro knew these to be Al Bhed. The father and son picked up trays and decided to get some bread and a small bit of meat.
The walked towards the first group and proceeded to sit down. They discussed the upcoming battle with their fellow comrades. None of them knew how they were going to win. Some of the fighters thought that they were only going to be used as sacrifices to lure the monstosity known as Sin into the range of the Al Bhed machina weaponry. Pietro hoped that what they said was nothing more than fear. At the moment he was just as afraid as they were, maybe more so since his son was right beside him.
After Pietro and Ryu were one eating, they left the tent and walked around a bit to use the muscles that had cramped up on their trek. There was a slight breeze blowing in from the sea and it felt nice against the skin. As they were walking, they came across a small group of Al Bhed near the tower-like weapon.
"E ruba dryd dra amaldneym lyhhuh femm rumt ab du dra bufan. Ed'c hajan paah dacdat," said one Al Bhed. (I hope that the electrical cannon will hold up to the power. It's never been tested.)
"Tuh'd funno, ed cruymt rumt. Fa cruymt funno ypuid dra cibbund difan,druikr," another replied. (Don't worry, it should hold. We should worry about the support tower, though.)
"Fro?" asked a third. (Why?)
"Ed'c y meddma hynnuf yd dra dub, ed sekrd chyb," came the reply. (It's a little narrow at the top, it might snap.)
Pietro just stared at the strange group and decided to walk away. As he was doing so, he began to scratch his head and wondered what exactly the Al Bhed were talking about. The father and son continued to walk and take in the surrounding area until the last of the sun's light had faded. Soon they would need to find a place to rest for the night. They asked where the area to sleep was and were guided to an set of tents about one-hundred feet away from the edge of the cliff. They entered one of the central tents and began to drift off to sleep.
The next morning they awoke to the warking sounds of Chocobos. By the variety of different warks, Pietro believed that the rest of knights had arrived. As the two new recruits left the tent, they were atonished to see roughly one-hundred and fifty chocobo gathered at the base. The thought of the size of the operation struck Pietro's mind. The new knights, along with the few that were already here, the Al Bhed with their giant conical weapon, and the countless Crusaders from around Spira, this mission to defeat Sin was going to be huge. Pietro was glad that he did not have to coordinate the movements of the troops.
The father and son left the barracks area and went toward the mess tent to get some breakfast. They were met along the way by other Crusaders and told that practice was going to take place in an hour. When they entered the mess, they noticed that it was more crowded than normal, so they took some toast and bacon and left to eat elsewhere.
At the practice session, they were given a quick lesson on how to fight and defend with their weapons. They learned that to get more power into their swings, they should turn their waists while attacking. They also learned how to block attacks efficiently. After the session was over, they were told to practice with each other and not to injure their partners by accident.
Pietro took Ryu onto the beach and began to hold a mock fight with him. The clang of their swords hitting each other could be heard by the other men in the area. They fought each other until they grew hungry about four hours later. They proceeded up the path to the mess tent and entered. They noticed that the place wasn't as full as earlier and sat down with their lunch. Soon they were joined by their fellow Crusaders. The men who had just arrived were talking their morning work. "Why do we need to put up that stupid tent? I mean it doesn't even have a roof." I don't know. I just do as I'm told. I'm not going to question the reason behind it."
"You put up a tent, why?" asked Pietro.
"Supposedly, it going to be used as the center of operations for the mission. They also say it's there for protection purposes. Yet, I don't see how a thin layer of fabric going to protect anything," one man said.
After Pietro and his son were done eating, they left the tent and began to practice some more. "Come on! Swing like a man! Do you want to avenge your sister or don't you?" Pietro asked his son.
"I'm gonna beat Sin! I'm gonna beat it! I'm gonna beat it no matter what!" Ryu answered back shouting each sentence at his father.
"Okay, come on now! Pretend I'm a fiend!" Pietro told Ryu.
"Die, die, die!" the son exclaimed. With each word he said, his sword struck his father's.
Soon it was time for dinner and they walked towards the tent discussing their practice. "You're pretty good there, son. You're getting better with each and every practice."
"Thanks dad. You're doing well yourself. I just hope we won't have to be in the front lines when the time comes," his son said.
"I agree with you there, son. I don't believe they'll do that though. We are new recruits and just beginning to learn how to use these weapons. We'll probably assigned to guard the command center in case its attacked," Peitro said hopefully.
After dinner, the two new Crusaders went back to the barracks and entered their tent. As they lied down to fall asleep, Pietro couldn't believe that tomorrow was the day the operation was to commence. He wished nothing would go wrong.
To be continued…
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Author's Note: Almost done with this story, there should only be one more chapter left. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. I'd like to apologize for the dialogue for the Al Bhed in the middle. It sucks, but what am I going to do. I would also like to say that dialogue between Pietro and his son while they were practicing is actual text from the game, just thought I'd let you know.
Please review, it'll help see how well I'm doing. (
By tabris17
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in the following do not belong to me. They are the property of Squaresoft. I just named the characters, the story is my own creation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~
Chapter Four: Last days of peace
As the group of men and wagons arrived the base of operations, Pietro looked around the site. He could see the waters of the nearby sea and smell the salt that hung in the air. It would have been a nice place to be, if it wasn't for the large number of cannons scattered along the area. The cannons seemed to detract from the beauty. Farther ahead in the distance, Pietro could see what appeared to be atower blocking the horizon. Upon further inspection, the tower was in actuality a large platform with two cone-shaped apparatuses connected to it. He was intrigued by the sight and asked what it was.
"That thing. Oh, it's the secret weapon the Al Bhed are going to use. They say it will be able fire an electrical charge at Sin when it appears," answered a Crusader that had been there the last three days.
"An electrical charge, how can it do that?" Pietro asked the young man.
"I have no idea. I was barely able to get that small bit of information out of the Al Bhed. I can't understand them all that well, really. Their language is totally baffling."
"Daddy, can we get some food, please?" the boy chimed in.
"Sure. Can you tell us where we can get some food?" Pietro inquired.
The young Crusader pointed towards a rather large tent near the back wall of the cliff. As the two entered they were greeted by a wide assortment of faces. The people seemed to have diveded themselves into two groups. One group contained what Pietro thought to be the other Crusaders and a few Chocobo knights. The second crowd of people all wore goggles over their eyes, Pietro knew these to be Al Bhed. The father and son picked up trays and decided to get some bread and a small bit of meat.
The walked towards the first group and proceeded to sit down. They discussed the upcoming battle with their fellow comrades. None of them knew how they were going to win. Some of the fighters thought that they were only going to be used as sacrifices to lure the monstosity known as Sin into the range of the Al Bhed machina weaponry. Pietro hoped that what they said was nothing more than fear. At the moment he was just as afraid as they were, maybe more so since his son was right beside him.
After Pietro and Ryu were one eating, they left the tent and walked around a bit to use the muscles that had cramped up on their trek. There was a slight breeze blowing in from the sea and it felt nice against the skin. As they were walking, they came across a small group of Al Bhed near the tower-like weapon.
"E ruba dryd dra amaldneym lyhhuh femm rumt ab du dra bufan. Ed'c hajan paah dacdat," said one Al Bhed. (I hope that the electrical cannon will hold up to the power. It's never been tested.)
"Tuh'd funno, ed cruymt rumt. Fa cruymt funno ypuid dra cibbund difan,druikr," another replied. (Don't worry, it should hold. We should worry about the support tower, though.)
"Fro?" asked a third. (Why?)
"Ed'c y meddma hynnuf yd dra dub, ed sekrd chyb," came the reply. (It's a little narrow at the top, it might snap.)
Pietro just stared at the strange group and decided to walk away. As he was doing so, he began to scratch his head and wondered what exactly the Al Bhed were talking about. The father and son continued to walk and take in the surrounding area until the last of the sun's light had faded. Soon they would need to find a place to rest for the night. They asked where the area to sleep was and were guided to an set of tents about one-hundred feet away from the edge of the cliff. They entered one of the central tents and began to drift off to sleep.
The next morning they awoke to the warking sounds of Chocobos. By the variety of different warks, Pietro believed that the rest of knights had arrived. As the two new recruits left the tent, they were atonished to see roughly one-hundred and fifty chocobo gathered at the base. The thought of the size of the operation struck Pietro's mind. The new knights, along with the few that were already here, the Al Bhed with their giant conical weapon, and the countless Crusaders from around Spira, this mission to defeat Sin was going to be huge. Pietro was glad that he did not have to coordinate the movements of the troops.
The father and son left the barracks area and went toward the mess tent to get some breakfast. They were met along the way by other Crusaders and told that practice was going to take place in an hour. When they entered the mess, they noticed that it was more crowded than normal, so they took some toast and bacon and left to eat elsewhere.
At the practice session, they were given a quick lesson on how to fight and defend with their weapons. They learned that to get more power into their swings, they should turn their waists while attacking. They also learned how to block attacks efficiently. After the session was over, they were told to practice with each other and not to injure their partners by accident.
Pietro took Ryu onto the beach and began to hold a mock fight with him. The clang of their swords hitting each other could be heard by the other men in the area. They fought each other until they grew hungry about four hours later. They proceeded up the path to the mess tent and entered. They noticed that the place wasn't as full as earlier and sat down with their lunch. Soon they were joined by their fellow Crusaders. The men who had just arrived were talking their morning work. "Why do we need to put up that stupid tent? I mean it doesn't even have a roof." I don't know. I just do as I'm told. I'm not going to question the reason behind it."
"You put up a tent, why?" asked Pietro.
"Supposedly, it going to be used as the center of operations for the mission. They also say it's there for protection purposes. Yet, I don't see how a thin layer of fabric going to protect anything," one man said.
After Pietro and his son were done eating, they left the tent and began to practice some more. "Come on! Swing like a man! Do you want to avenge your sister or don't you?" Pietro asked his son.
"I'm gonna beat Sin! I'm gonna beat it! I'm gonna beat it no matter what!" Ryu answered back shouting each sentence at his father.
"Okay, come on now! Pretend I'm a fiend!" Pietro told Ryu.
"Die, die, die!" the son exclaimed. With each word he said, his sword struck his father's.
Soon it was time for dinner and they walked towards the tent discussing their practice. "You're pretty good there, son. You're getting better with each and every practice."
"Thanks dad. You're doing well yourself. I just hope we won't have to be in the front lines when the time comes," his son said.
"I agree with you there, son. I don't believe they'll do that though. We are new recruits and just beginning to learn how to use these weapons. We'll probably assigned to guard the command center in case its attacked," Peitro said hopefully.
After dinner, the two new Crusaders went back to the barracks and entered their tent. As they lied down to fall asleep, Pietro couldn't believe that tomorrow was the day the operation was to commence. He wished nothing would go wrong.
To be continued…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~
Author's Note: Almost done with this story, there should only be one more chapter left. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. I'd like to apologize for the dialogue for the Al Bhed in the middle. It sucks, but what am I going to do. I would also like to say that dialogue between Pietro and his son while they were practicing is actual text from the game, just thought I'd let you know.
Please review, it'll help see how well I'm doing. (