Kilika Woods

"That's a big plant," remarked Andrew, standing with his arms crossed as the group found their path blocked by a giant Mandragora with a fat body, thick roots for legs, a mouth similar to a venus fly trap, and four tendrils, each tipped with a pair of sharp, hook-like talons.

"It's the King of the Kilika Woods, Lord Ochu," revealed Lulu, standing to Andrew's right with similarly crossed arms.

"Lucky for us, seems like it's sleeping," added Wakka, apprehensive about engaging a creature known to be a match for more than a hundred trained Crusaders. Lulu's fire magic could inflict some serious damage on it, but if they got hit by its whip-like tentacles, the poison could debilitate them for days, assuming they survived.

"Yeah, but it might not be for the next group that passes through," said Andrew, turning to Yuna as he added, "He's no Sin, but he's definitely a threat to the people of Spira. What do you want to do?"

"We will fight," replied Yuna, her expression and tone resolute as she gripped her staff between both hands.

"I don't know..." appended Tidus, staring down at his watery blade before looking at Lord Ochu in the distance. He had only fought a few fiends thus far, and while they weren't particularly difficult, the giant plant sleeping in front of them gave him a dangerous vibe.

"Relax," said Andrew, thumping his chest like a self-respecting member of Tantalus, stating, "I'll take point. You and Kimahri can stay back to protect Yuna and Lulu."

"Wait," said Yuna, reaching out and grabbing Andrew's sleeve before he could advance.

"What's up...?" asked Andrew, turning back to find Yuna staring at him with concern in her distinctive green and blue eyes.

"Please, at least let me summon Valefor," said Yuna. "I can't let you fight such a powerful fiend alone."

"That's fine by me," replied Andrew, gently ruffling Yuna's hair as he said, "This is your journey. You don't need my permission to do as you please. Rather, regardless of what you decide, I'll follow you to the end. That's my role in all of this."

"Then, that's precisely what I'll do..." affirmed Yuna, surprising everyone, even Andrew, by standing on her toes and giving him a quick peck on the lips. Immediately afterward, she gripped her staff, closed her eyes, and began to amass energy from the Pyreflies in the atmosphere, preparing to summon the bird-like Valefor.

Feeling motivated, Andrew directed a grin and a fiery gaze at the Lord Ochu before darting past Wakka, Tidus, and Kimahri like a phantom with the aid of his Auto-Haste. Lord Ochu's tendrils began to stir as it sensed the vibrations through the ground and atmosphere, but its reaction was a bit slow, allowing Andrew to slice through one of its four tendrils before it understood what was happening.

'It's harder than I thought...' noted Andrew, feeling like he had just cut through steel. At the same time, he bent backward to dodge the giant plant monster's counter, its hooked tendril cutting through the air and producing a loud *crack* as it made a flicking motion that, very briefly, exceeded the speed of sound.

Though he managed to avoid the Ochu's attack, Andrew noticed spores burst forth from a 'mouth' on the palm side of the hooks. He was wearing a Ribbon that protected against most status effects, but, just to be safe, he elected not to breathe them in as he used his tail like a spring, allowing him to evade a second tendril sweep.

Making use of the wind pressure generated by the Ochu's attack, Andrew spun in the air, arresting his angular momentum and allowing him to kick off the ground, backflipping over the Ochu's final tendril as a large ball of fire whizzed past his face, impacting the massive plant creature as it tried to lunge forward and swallow him in its flytrap-like mouth.

"Don't get cocky and try to do everything on your own...!" shouted Lulu, raising her left hand before her face, gathering energy like an edgy teen with late-stage Chuunibyou Syndrome but with tangible results.

'I knew she was a softie,' mused Andrew, sweeping his leg and ducking under one of the Ochu's tendrils while simultaneously intercepting it with the edge of his fiery saber. The tendril was even harder than the first one he cut, but thanks to the elemental affinity of his saber providing double damage against the majority of plant-type enemies, he managed to slice it off without injuring his hand or being pushed back.

Enraged and seemingly realizing Andrew was trying to slice off all its tendrils, Lord Ochu leaped tens of meters into the air, a feat that didn't seem possible due to its size and the structure of its body. However, before it could land and produce a debilitating tremor, Valefor swooped in and rammed it out of the sky, sending it crashing violently through several trees before following up with a barrage of destructive energy projectiles from the edge of its beak.

'So, that's the power of an Aeon...' marked Andrew, marginally impressed but, at the same time, feeling like he could both evade the energy barrage and outmaneuver the draconic avian without much difficulty.

Still alive but severely injured, the Ochu released a loud roar before doing something rather unexpected. Andrew recalled it doing something similar in the game, but he couldn't imagine a situation in the real world where a monster would abruptly put itself to sleep to regenerate its health.

'Well, at least now I know why the Crusaders haven't been able to deal with it,' noted Andrew, watching with mild intrigue as the fiend's tendrils began to regrow, steam emerging from the severed ends and the Ochu's mouth.

Demonstrating another one of its capabilities, Valefor began to 'dance' in the sky over Andrew's head, magical energy gathering around her as she raised her beak and produced a large sphere of flames at its tip. Lulu had also been gathering energy for quite some time, so the two attacked the slumbering Ochu in concert, forcibly awakening and enveloping its body in an inferno.

Undaunted by the flames and refusing to be shown up, Andrew charged forward, diving into the dispersing magical energy and drawing it into his blade, drastically increasing its cutting power and elemental properties. This was a trick he had picked up while sparring with Beatrix, who, even to this day, remained an opponent Andrew couldn't defeat. Not because she was stronger than him, per se, but because he held back for fear of harming a friend...

Driving his saber into the Ochu's body, Andrew unleashed the built-up fire elemental energy, causing its body to visibly inflate before a plume of fire erupted from its mouth. Then, like any other fiend, it collapsed and began dispersing into a large quantity of Pyreflies, taking several seconds longer than normal to disperse. Better yet, similar to the fiends in Final Fantasy 9, it dropped both Gil and items upon death.

Picking up the flower-shaped bangle, glistening with a faint blue glow, Andrew inspected it through his Equipment Menu to find it was called a Serene Bangle. More importantly, it vested whoever wore it resistance to two of the most fearsome status effects, Berserk and Poison.

As the rest of the group approached him, Andrew held up the bangle and spun it around the tip of his finger, asking, "Anyone want this? It provides resistance to the Berserk and Poison status effects."

"Huh? How does a bracelet prevent someone from being poisoned...?" questioned Tidus, unaware of the existence of enchantment magic and augmentations.

"I'll take it," said Lulu, stepping forward and extending her hand. Andrew was half-tempted to raise it above his head, far out of Lulu's reach, but as she had permitted him and Yuna to 'sneak out' and relax at his penthouse, he promptly handed it over without a fuss. The only other person it suited was Yuna, but as he had already given her a ring that prevented Silence, it could conflict with the enchantments on the bangle. For this reason, most worlds only permitted equipping a single accessory. In Andrew's case, his body was durable enough to facilitate the equipping of five...

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After passing through the Kilika Woods and climbing a long flight of stairs, Andrew and the others had to stand back and silently watch as Yuna did her best to solve the puzzles and clear Kilika Temple's Cloister of Trials. It was likely bullshit, but it was believed that if a Summoner could not solve the trials on their own, their chances of being accepted by the Fayth were drastically diminished.

Fortunately, while Yuna could be a bit ditzy at times, she had a good head on her shoulders. It took two and a half hours, as the trials were similar to an escape room, but she eventually managed to clear the way for them all to advance to the Chamber of the Fayth.

"I must go alone from here..." said Yuna, speaking for Tidus's benefit but directing her words at Andrew.

"First things first," replied Andrew, spreading his arms and adopting a faint smile as he added, "Get over here," in a playful tone.

Though it was embarrassing due to the presence of so many people, Yuna unhesitantly approached Andrew, linking her arms around him and raising her face to accept his kiss. She expected that he would also grab her butt or utilize his tail to touch her someplace increasingly sensitive, so she was genuinely confused when he kept his hands above her waist, releasing his hold on her near the end to say, "Good luck..." with a cheeky smile.

Realizing that she had been 'looking forward' to Andrew touching her, a faint red hue colored Yuna's cheeks as she gave him a light smack on the chest, muttering, "You tease..." before turning around and hurrying up the stairs connecting to the Chamber of the Fayth...

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"So, what's your deal?" asked Tidus, sitting next to Andrew while the latter, ignoring Lulu's and Wakka's objections, prepared aromatic beef stifado on a portable electric stove.

"You'll need to be more specific," said Andrew, turning to meet the would-be protagonist's gaze.

"Like, I heard you were from another world. Is that true...?" asked Tidus, having asked Wakka about Andrew during Blitzball practice the previous afternoon.

Nodding in affirmation, Andrew replied, "It is," before clarifying, "And the answer to your next question is no, I can't help you find your way back to Zanarkand. I have some ideas about where it might be located, but there is no longer any meaning to sending you there."

"What do you mean...?" asked Tidus, furrowing his brows. He knew there was a high possibility that Zanarkand had been destroyed or, at the very least, severely damaged by Sin. However, if there was a way to get back, he had an obligation to return and help his people rebuild.

"Hmmm..."

Realizing he didn't have a good excuse to give, Andrew directed his gaze to the stew he was preparing, deliberating his response. Tidus seemed a little annoyed by this, but as there was little he could do to get Andrew to talk, he got up and began pacing around the room like a child with ADHD, unable to sit still. After a while, he even asked to borrow Wakka's weapon, an ordinary, standard-regulation Blitzball. Then, as it could take upwards of a day for a Summoner to persuade a Fayth, the duo began heading the ball to each other while Lulu rolled her eyes and Kimahri stood silently off to the side.

Fortunately, less than an hour after she had entered, Yuna emerged from the Chamber of the Fayth with a radiant smile, happily revealing that she could now summon the Aeon of Flame, Ifrit, a demonic-looking beast with reddish-brown skin, fiery red hair framing his jackal-like head and several other parts of its body, massive obsidian black horns, and fierce claws on both hands, the ones on his left being particularly long and intimidating...

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