Obstinance

Interrupting Lulu's lecture, the building around them shook as something heavy landed on the roof, accompanied by a woman shouting, "Someone, please help! The Chocobos...!"

"Seems like that's our cue," said Andrew, rising from the bed he was sitting on and extending a hand to Yuna.

"We're not through with this discussion..." grumbled Lulu, staring daggers at Andrew. She wasn't too surprised that he and Yuna had crossed the line, but when she learned how 'careless' they had been, Lulu wanted to crack open his head to see if it was empty.

"Whatever you say, Mom," teased Andrew, hurrying out of the room with an awkwardly smiling and laughing Yuna. Lulu stormed after them, but because her outfit wasn't exactly suited to swift movements, she nearly tripped over one of the many belts that made up her skirt.

"Careful," said Andrew, catching the buxom Black Mage in the blink of an eye. Lulu was momentarily stunned by how quickly he appeared, but with one of his hands on the right side of her rib cage and the other resting on her hip, the tip of his fingers touching her butt, she wished he had just let her fall...

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Emerging from the interior of the Al Bhed shop, Andrew discovered Tidus, Kimahri, and Wakka battling a large, incredibly agile creature whose giant face and mouth made up most of its torso. It also had massive shoulders resembling reddish-orange pauldrons, segmented plates covering most of its back and spine, inordinately long and muscular arms ending in four multi-segmented claws, and short but powerful legs set with large blood-colored talons. Its height was only 3m, but if measured from the tips of its spread arms, it was nearly 15m broad.

Demonstrating that he wasn't just a Blitzball whizz, Tidus dodged under and over the monstrous fiend's claws in a manner that reminded Andrew of himself. Unfortunately, while Tidus's speed and acrobatic abilities were impressive, his attacks were shallow. Rather, because there was a 'hook' on the end of his sword, the Brotherhood, he nearly got taken for a ride when the blade got stuck in the fiend's body.

"Whooa~!" exclaimed Tidus, letting go of the blade as he was sent flying through the air, his arms and legs flailing. His path put him on a collision course with Yuna, almost like the world was trying to arrange for them to be together, but Andrew managed to catch him by the face before guiding him to his feet and asking, "You good?"

"Yeah, but I could have done without the literal facepalm," retorted Tidus, holding his nose and smiling.

"Here, try not to lose this one," said Andrew, pulling out his fiery saber, known as the Flametongue, and handing it over before materializing his frost-covered saber, Frostbite, for himself. Then, as the wide-armed fiend, known as Chocobo Eater, leaped high into the sky to perform a ground pound with its fists, he jumped up after it, leaving behind the usual bluish-white trail as he manifested a pistol in his left hand and opened fire on the creature's eyes.

Caught off guard by Andrew's attack, as it had been focusing on Kimahri, the Chocobo Eater immediately lost its right eye and a part of its head as six armor-piercing rounds tore through it. Steam poured from its wounds, indicating that it rapidly regenerated, but Andrew was just trying to create an opening, utilizing his Auto-Float and his aerial mobility to get around to the creature's back while it was temporarily blinded.

Undaunted by the armored plates covering the Chocobo Eater's spine, Andrew swapped to one of his many backup pistols and opened fire on the vertebrae between the monster's shoulders. This wasn't enough to put the Chocobo Eater down, but the tension in its body disappeared as he had effectively destroyed the connection between its brain and body, invariably causing it to crash heavily into the ground.

Landing atop the Chocobo Eater, Andrew swapped to yet another pair of pistols, extending the duration in which the monster was paralyzed before swapping to Frostbite and stabbing the weak point he had created. To his surprise, even this wasn't enough to kill the tenacious creature, but with a saber jammed between its vertebrae, causing the surrounding flesh and bone to accumulate ice, it wasn't getting back up.

"Jeez, man. You don't mess around, do you?" questioned Tidus, staring at Andrew as if he had suddenly grown three heads.

Shrugging casually, Andrew remarked, "I like Chocobos," before pulling out a sixth, much larger 'pistol' with three barrels, placing them against the back of the Chocobo Eater's head, and pulling the trigger, creating a thunderous boom and causing his body to jump slightly from the recoil of the three 0.950 caliber rounds that completely eviscerated the back of the monster's head, creating a sizeable cavity in the ground below.

'Shiva's frosty nips...!' Andrew exclaimed internally, shaking the tension from his right arm and shoulder. He could lift more than a ton if he put his back into it, but the recoil of the anti-dragon rounds just about dislocated his arm.

Fortunately, without him needing to say anything, Yuna immediately cast Cura on Andrew from afar before rushing over to ask, "Are you okay?" with an anxious look on her face.

"Better now," replied Andrew, combing aside the bangs framing the left side of Yuna's face and rewarding her concern with a chaste kiss. Then, as the Chocobo Eater had dropped a snowflake-shaped buckler with the Ice Ward and Magic+5% enchantments, the former halving Ice-Elemental Damage, he presented it to Kimahri since the taciturn cat man was a Blue Mage.

Around the same time, a dozen or so people riding Chocobos approached them, their leader a woman with long red hair and tanned skin, her athletic frame garbed in a sleeveless, yellow and green patterned, high-collared bodysuit, white fingerless arm warmers, matching leg warmers held in place by black garter belts, and purple armor that covered much of her chest, calves, elbows, and forehead.

"I am Captain Lucil of the Chocobo Knights!" revealed the woman, looking around at the obvious signs of a battle before focusing her gaze on Yuna, smiling as she said, "Lady Summoner. We received reports that a sizeable fiend with a taste for Chocobos had appeared. Am I right to presume you and your Guardians repelled or defeated it...?"

Nodding in affirmation, Yuna replied, "You can rest assured, Captain Lucil, as we defeated it just moments ago."

"That's excellent news, Milady!" exclaimed Lucil, looking genuinely happy and relieved as she pat her chest and revealed, "That particular fiend has been causing havoc in this area for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it was a crafty beast, managing to avoid our patrols. We've also been busy preparing for the joint operation between the Crusaders and the Al Bhed, so we simply didn't have the time or manpower to track and eliminate it. Thank you for doing so in our stead, Milady. You and your Guardians have done us a tremendous service this day."

"We were simply doing our duty," assured a smiling Yuna. Then, as she was somewhat interested in the joint operation Lucil had mentioned, she tilted her head to one side and asked, "Are the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly working together...?"

"Sounds like a bad idea, if you ask me..." grumbled Wakka, standing off to the side with crossed arms and a surly expression.

As it wasn't exactly a closely guarded secret, Lucil nodded affirmingly and replied, "Indeed. The Al Bhed discovered and repaired a powerful weapon excavated from the Sanubia Sands. It's said to be able to pierce through all magical shields and barriers, so if everything goes as planned, it could become a powerful tool to repel or even defeat Sin."

"You should cancel the operation," said Andrew, his expression and tone flat as he added, "At the very least, you should wait until the Al Bhed have reverse-engineered and produced more of the weapon. If Sin or one of its Sinspawn decide to take it out, your remaining forces will be fucked."

"Perhaps," conceded Lucil. "But it is the duty of the Crusaders to fight and do everything in their power to repel and defeat Sin. Even if this operation doesn't go as planned, those who pick up the banner after us will be more knowledgeable and better armed for future battles."

"The Crusaders were found eight hundred years ago," said Andrew. "If it was true that each generation of Crusaders learned from the preceding one, Sin would have been defeated long ago. It's because your leaders implement poorly thought out plans like this that you've made little to no progress despite countless sacrifices."

Demonstrating the obstinance Andrew was referring to, Lucil responded with a curt nod and said, "There is merit to your words, Guardian, but just as you fight to protect your Summoner, we fight to ensure the flame of hope never disappears from the hearts and minds of the people of Spira. It doesn't matter if our actions result in our demises. We will not remain idle, cower in fear, or entrust our fates to others. The future is something all must fight for! Together...!"

Punctuating her statement by unsheathing and raising her sword high, Lucil got her accompanying Chocobo Knights and even a few random passersby to clap and cheer loudly. Virtually everyone who joined the Crusaders did so knowing there was a 'very' high possibility they would die. However, even if the chance of them defeating Sin was one in tens of millions, they would rather die opposing the monster that made their lives a living hell than capitulate, accepting that there was nothing they could do but wait for the Summoners to save them. Andrew could respect their drive, but knowing what fate awaited the participants of the impending Operation Mi'ihen, he couldn't help thinking they were a bunch of suicidal fools...

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"Acursed fools! You dare impede the pilgrimage of a Summoner!?"

Arriving at the checkpoint on the eastern end of the Mi'ihen Highroad, Andrew, Yuna, and the latter's entourage found the bronze-skinned Kar—Dona making a scene about not being allowed through.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but until our operation has been completed, no one is to pass through," replied the Crusader she was speaking to, a man with a distinctive mask resembling a falcon's beak.

"Even the Maesters of Yevon do not have the authority to interfere with a Summoner's pilgrimage!" screamed Dona, stepping closer to the man as she asked, "Just who the hell do you think you are!?"

"What's going on here...?" asked Yuna, approaching the checkpoint with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

Seeing yet another Summoner and her entourage appear, the masked Crusader wore an uneasy expression but repeated, "Until the completion of Operation Mi'ihen, no one is being allowed in or around Mushroom Rock Road. Please turn back and try again in two days..."

Putting even more pressure on the man, Auron stepped forward, his deep, raspy voice causing goosebumps to develop across the Crusader's body as he said, "We're passing through. If you intend to stop up, we'll have no choice but to use force..."

Recognizing Auron at a glance, the Crusader broke into a cold sweat as he stammered, "P-Please just w-w-w-w-wait one moment. I'll contact my superiors at once...!"

"Sir Auron...?" questioned Dona, staring at the unexpected arrival with wide eyes. Even her Guardian, Barthelo, seemed surprised, his usually squinty eyes open fully as he stared at Auron like a fangirl that had just stumbled across their idol in an alleyway.

Meeting Dona's gaze, Auron plainly stated, "If you and your Guardian can't overcome a hurdle like this, you should turn back and find a place to settle down. Sin is a far greater foe than a group of Crusaders posted at a checkpoint..."

As usual, Auron punctuated his words by walking off, continuing through the checkpoint without waiting for the falcon-masked Crusader to finish contacting his superiors. Several other Crusaders were present, but as they also recognized Auron, none of them attempted to bar his passage as Yuna, Andrew, and the rest made their way through, followed closely by the opportunistic Dona and Barthelo...

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