Departure

Though he expected Kimahri to ambush them along the way, Andrew and Yuna made it to the port of Besaid without obstruction. There, dozens had assembled to see Yuna off, presenting her with various gifts and personal treasures that might be able to aid her on her journey.

After boarding the 43m-long, thousand-ton, Chocobo-powered vessel called the S.S. Liki, a robust ship comprised of wood, reinforced by metal, and possessing a large, green and brow sail that ran across the center of its midship, Andrew stuck close to Yuna with a somewhat serious look on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Yuna, noticing Andrew's uncharacteristic expression. They hadn't known each other for a long time, but she got the impression Andrew only got 'serious' when he needed to be.

"There's a chance that Sin may appear before we reach Kilika," answered Andrew, causing Yuna's eyes to widen.

Half-turning to face the rest of the ship from its bow, Andrew drew Yuna's gaze to Tidus running around the deck, revealing, "When your father, Lord Braska, defeated Sin ten years ago, he did so by making one of his allies, a man by the name of Jecht, his Final Aeon. That man was Tidus's father."

"I thought that might be the case..." muttered Yuna, slumping her head and shoulders. Her memories of Jecht were hazy, at best, but she could recall him mentioning he had a son named Tidus. With the latter's strange garb and the attestation that he was from Zanarkand, a claim parrotted by Jecht, the odds of them being connected were high.

"And therein lies the problem..." said Andrew, turning to face Yuna as he explained, "When a Final Aeon defeats Sin, they become the vessel for the next Sin. The period you and the rest of Spira's residents know as The Calm is the interval between Sin taking over its new host and suppressing their minds. Right now, Jecht is barely holding on..."

"That's terrible..." muttered Yuna, beginning to tear up.

"It's okay..." said Andrew, ignoring the distant Lulu's glare as he reached out and ultimately hugged Yuna's head to his chest. The worst news was yet to come, but he didn't mind taking a moment to console her. Once she was relatively subdued, he continued to hold her as he carefully explained Jecht's motivations for bringing Tidus to Spira and the consequences they could expect as a result...

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A few hours into their journey, Andrew and Yuna were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the bow, talking about what it was like in other worlds, when the ocean's surface began to swell from their right.

Bouncing to his feet, Andrew helped Yuna stand as he bellowed, "Sin to starboard! Three-hundred-meters...!"

As it was difficult to miss the ocean rising like a literal mountain, creating huge waves, the crew aboard the S.S. Liki didn't need Andrew's shout to step into action, guiding passengers to the interior of the ship while a few made their way for the harpoons flanking the bow.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" shouted Wakka, having an easier time than most keeping his footing. "Hook those things onto Sin, and the whole ship'll be dragged under...!"

"It's headed for Kilika!" shouted one of the men, prompting the other to exclaim, "Kilika is our home! We can't just sit by and watch Sin destroy it! Our families are—"

Before the men could finish shouting, loud explosions startled everyone on the deck. At the same time, spheres of multi-colored light lit up the horizon in the direction Sin's massive dorsal fin was protruding from the water.

"What in Yevon's name...!?" shouted Wakka, noticing a figure floating in the sky above Sin, raining down objects that exploded in contact with the massive fiend. It wasn't easy to tell due to the distance, but he was fairly certain the figure was Andrew, causing him to look around the deck in search of the golden-haired monkey and, more importantly, Yuna.

Fortunately for Wakka and the rest of her Guardians, Yuna was presently sitting on a sofa in Andrew's penthouse, patiently awaiting his return while he used Auto-Float to flit about above Sin, releasing elemental explosives from his Item Box.

Though antagonizing Sin was incredibly reckless, Andrew was confident it wouldn't utilize its ridiculous gravity magic. And, even if it did, it shouldn't target the S.S. Liki directly. Not with Tidus onboard.

Catching Andrew a little off guard, as he primarily focused on the fin, a colossal tendril erupted from the water, hundreds of meters long and at least thirty in diameter. He managed to dart to the side, evading it before it could swat him out of the sky, but the wind pressure and gravitational fluctuations caused him to spin and tumble uncontrollably, regaining his balance just in time to evade the tendril's attempt to crush him by simply hopping over to his penthouse.

"Were you able to repel Sin...?" asked Yuna, rising to her feet, astonished by how quickly Andrew had returned.

"Give me a few more minutes..." replied Andrew, surprising Yuna with a sudden embrace, a fleeting kiss, and a playful squeeze of her ass before he vanished, returning to the fight. Sin had moved a surprising distance in the brief period he had been gone, but by swapping out his Auto-Reflect for Auto-Haste, Andrew managed to catch up and overtake it in just a few seconds, leaving a bluish-white trail in his wake.

"Let's see how you handle these...!" exclaimed Andrew, grinning as he released dozens of sea mines, each more than 3m across and containing 1000kg of elementally-enhanced explosives, their original function being to repel sea monsters and Eikons such as the Leviathan of FFXIV.

Compared to the grenades Andrew initially used, the explosions produced by the sea mines were at least a hundred times more powerful. Better yet, as explosions were more powerful underwater than above, dropping and detonating the sea mines in front of Sin caused it to stall, a large chunk of its head being destroyed as plumes of water more than 100m tall erupted from the sea.

Thinking he might be able to kill Sin outright, Andrew prepared to unleash a second salvo of sea mines but was interrupted when hundreds of flight-capable Sinspawn, monsters produced from Sin, emerged from the plume of water, attempting to swarm him.

"Ha...!" exhaled Andrew, manifesting a pair of long, slightly curved sabers, one wreathed in flames and the other veiled in shimmering white energy as he weaved and darted through the swarm of Sinspawn, slicing through them as if tearing through cobwebs. Their speed was incomparable to his own, so it didn't take long for him to cut a path through their encirclement, unleashing the prepared salvo from his Item Box.

Demonstrating its intelligence and ability to manipulate its offspring, Sin directed the tentacular flying creatures to intercept the sea mines before they could reach the water or strike it from above. Andrew got caught in the resultant explosion, but while the electrical energy managed to singe his hair, tail, and clothes, he emerged from its interior more annoyed than injured...

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Witnessing the battle between Andrew and Sin, the crew aboard the S.S. Liki found themselves in awe and disbelief. It was widely believed that the only people who could stand against Sin were Summoners and their powerful Aeons. Yet, while Andrew's power was clearly abnormal, he was ultimately a person, a single individual taking on the mountain-sized fiend that had tormented them for a thousand years.

Among those awed by Andrew's performance was a group belonging to an organization called the Crusaders, a volunteer militia that pledged to defend the people of Spira from the terror of Sin, even at the cost of their lives. They directly confronted Sin to drive it away from major cities and population zones, so Andrew's solo performance had an especially large impact on them. If they could win him over to their cause, defeating Sin might not be as impossible as everyone believed...

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Seemingly realizing that Andrew wasn't just going to allow it to do as it pleased, Sin, having sustained serious injury, eventually submerged and turned away from the direction of Kilika. Tens of thousands of Sinspawn had been released into the surrounding ocean and would invariably make their way inland, but groups like the Crusaders and other organizations could handle those. Sin, however, was beyond even their combined might to deal with.

Returning to the ship, Andrew landed heavily on its deck, his hair matted, clothes in shambles, and covered in the remains of Sinspawn. He tried washing it away by plunging into the ocean, but the oily toxins required specialized sorbents to remove quickly.

"Yevon, have mercy! You're completely covered in Sin's Toxin!" exclaimed Wakka, compelling those that initially intended to thank Andrew to keep a safe distance.

Not deterred, Tidus made his way forward, shouting, "That was amazing, Andrew! You can fly!?"

"Not exactly," replied Andrew, adopting a wry smile as he forced himself to his feet and explained, "It's more like levitating and propelling myself using magic and the force of my movements. I imagine flying is the same, but I won't know until I experience it directly."

"So, it's like magic? That same stuff Lulu uses...?" asked Tidus, having teamed up with Wakka, Kimahri, and Lulu to deal with a few Sinspawn that tried swarming the deck.

"They're similar," confirmed Andrew, running his hand through his oily hair without further explanation. He didn't mind Tidus's inquiries but wasn't in the mood to chat since most of his magical energy had been depleted to maintain his faux-flight for an extended period.

'Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear...' internalized Andrew, directing his gaze to Lulu as she made her way over, crossing her arms and asking, "Where's Yuna?" with furrowed brows.

"She's safe," replied Andrew, adopting a deadpan expression as he added, "Just like the people on this ship and the residents of Kilika. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Just bring Yuna back..." replied Lulu, a hint of conflict appearing in her otherwise steely gaze. She knew Andrew had just achieved something thought to be impossible, but her highest priority was confirming that Yuna was safe. If Andrew was truly bothered by her standoffishness, she could always apologize to him later.

"Yeah, yeah..." droned Andrew, sending a message to inform Yuna that he was about to transfer her over. A few moments later, Yuna appeared next to him, her eyes widening when she saw his condition.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," said Andrew, waving his hand lazily as he added, "I'm not injured, and once I clean this oily crap off of me, I'll be right as rain."

Though she was still concerned, Yuna measured her response to be calm and poised as she asked, "Did you manage to repel Sin...all by yourself...?"

Shaking his head, Andrew adopted a smile and attested, "I wasn't alone. I have the backing of multiple worlds and the ability to utilize their weapons and equipment effecti—"

Before Andrew could finish speaking, Yuna threw herself at him, eliciting startled reactions from nearly everyone aboard the deck. Andrew had told her many times that he would help her to defeat Sin permanently, but she hadn't truly believed him. Knowing he could repel Sin by himself, Yuna felt like the burden of her lineage had abruptly become much lighter.

Though Yuna was prepared to sacrifice herself to ensure the people of Spira could enjoy at least a few years of peace and tranquility, that didn't mean she wasn't scared. She did her best to put on a brave front but was terrified by the prospect of dying. However, because of her status as the daughter of the High Summoner, Lord Braska, she didn't have a choice but to wear a smile as people begged, pleaded, and urged her to bring about a new Calm. A Calm that could only be brought about at the cost of her life and, if the rumors were true, the life of the person closest to her...

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