Final Fantasy Frontier 66 (Patreon)

After informing the statue of their intention to continue, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine took on a lean, feminine-looking Knight statue that wielded a spear instead of a cleaver. It was markedly faster than the First Knight, but with Yuna casting Hastega on the Party before the fight began, Rikku was able to use Distract and her increased speed to create an opening for Paine to slice through the Knight's relatively thin waist, bifurcating it in two.

With the Second Knight even easier than the First, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine proceeded to challenge the Third, a Knight that wore crimson robes over its armor and wielded a staff that doubled as a mace with four protrusions resembling kanabo. It was also heavily armored, making it slower than the First and Second Knights but, in theory, more durable.

Making use of the information provided by Lenne, Yuna attempted to cast Silence on the Third Knight, but it resisted the status effect and cast Shell and Protect, reducing the damage it would take from physical and magical attacks by 50%. Unfortunately for it, Yuna had been waiting for this, using Dispel to remove the two buffs while Paine sent it skidding backward with a powerful blow to its staff.

"You're wide open~!" exclaimed Rikku, leaving behind a bluish-white trail as she got behind the Third Knight, placed her palm against its back, and used the Pilfer MP Skill to steal a portion of its magical power. The Third Knight spun around and attempted to retaliate with a sweeping blow from its staff, but Rikku dodged under it, laughing as she slid across the ground and made way for Paine to use Magic Break, a Skill that sent a debilitating wave through a target's body, decreasing the potency of their Magic.

Seemingly incensed, the Third Knight raised its staff and began gathering a tremendous amount of energy at its tip, causing the surroundings to dim due to the brilliance of the condensed ball of non-elemental flame. Paine tried to interrupt it by slicing her sword through its body, leaving a gaping, mist-hemorrhaging gash within its chest, but the Third Knight had already committed to channeling its remaining energy into its first and final attack.

In an effort to destabilize the spell, Yuna targeted the growing sphere of white flames with Blizzaga. Since the Materia version of the spell caused ice to erupt from within the target, assuming they didn't dodge out of the way at the last moment, she actually succeeded. Unfortunately, while the Flare spell became unstable, its energy didn't simply vanish. Instead, it burst outward violently, enveloping the Third Knight and nearly catching Paine in the resultant sphere of destruction.

"Yoink," said Andrew, appearing next to Paine, grabbing and teleporting her to the safety of the Penthouse in an instant. There, he gave her ass a playful smack, teasing, "Don't go dying on me before you have a chance to fulfill your—actually, scratch that. You're not allowed to die..."

Though the Flare spell wasn't likely to kill her due to her elevated Magic Defense, Paine rolled her eyes and allowed Andrew to hold her for a few seconds. They had spent little time together in the past couple of weeks, but whenever he visited Yuna, she would often be in the next room over...

Interrupting the duo's moment, Yuna appeared worriedly before sighing with relief when she saw Paine and Andrew uninjured. She had seen the latter appear just before the Flare exploded, but there was a chance they had been injured before teleporting to safety.

Before Yuna could apologize, Paine extricated herself from Andrew's embrace and stated, "It's not a big deal..." before crossing her arms and adding, "We should head back before Rikku panics, or we lose the right to continue the trial..."

"Sounds good to me," replied Andrew, directing his gaze to Yuna to see what she had to say. When she nodded in approval, the three of them returned to the Temple of the Luminous Dawn to discover Rikku pouting. Yuna had informed her before teleporting over to the Penthouse, but she didn't much appreciate being left alone in a creepy Temple with a massive Knight statue staring at her like it would come to life at any moment...

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Around the time Andrew, Yuna, Lenne, Rikku, and Paine were undertaking the Trials of Alexander, Garnet was seated in a rocking chair, stroking her belly with a faint smile but a somewhat listless look in her eyes. She didn't blame or resent Andrew for spending most of his time in other worlds, as she had encouraged him to do so, but she had misjudged how forlorn she would feel without his constant care and attention...

"Ever toward absent lovers does love's tide strongest flow," said the petite figure in the rocking chair beside Garnet's, likewise caressing her belly but with a far more contended expression than her younger counterpart.

When Garnet looked over, the petite figure, Nanamo, adopted a smile and stated, "If you miss him, you need only to communicate your desires, and I'm confident Andrew will tend them. He regards you as the reason he can act without inhibition. Even if you shorten his leash a bit, I doubt he would mind particularly so."

Nodding in affirmation, Garnet replied, "I also believe that to be true. But, now that he has a Goddess amongst his otherworldly retinue, I fear things may have grown beyond the scope of my original imaginings..."

"Mmm...yes, I can empathize with your concerns," agreed Nanamo. She, too, was more than a little surprised to learn of Andrew's encounter with Etro, but after exchanging a few messages with him, she was reasonably certain he hadn't been 'corrupted' by the experience. Rather, he seemed eager to spend time with his other women, evidently a little 'unsettled' by Etro's lackluster responses during their coupling...

"But, as I expressed afore, you need only convey your feelings to Andrew, and I'm certain he will oblige," appended Nanamo, exuding confidence as she modeled an assuring smile. If she were being completely honest, she would prefer to keep Andrew to herself for a period, but it would be a bit too 'presumptuous' if she made such a request before Garnet, the person who occupied the most preeminent position in their world-hopping lover's heart.

Adopting a more relaxed smile, Garnet replied, "Thank you, Nanamo...your friendship and counsel have been two of the greatest boons I've received the past few months. I'm glad I advised Andrew to visit your world before any other..."

"Another sentiment we share," hummed Nanamo, narrowing her eyes into a gleeful squint as she caressed her belly. She had yet to inform Andrew, but it had been confirmed weeks prior that she was with child. She wasn't the only one, either, as Y'shtolla was close to two months pregnant. When the latter previously told Andrew she was lying about being pregnant, that was the actual lie. Andrew was just focused on so many other things; they didn't want to distract or burden him with the news...

"Then, once I have brought our child to term, I will request that Andrew 'reduce' his activities in other worlds," decided Garnet. "That should give the Interworld Alliance a chance to stabilize in its current form while the events Andrew had foretold have a chance to resolve..."

Nodding in approval, Nanamo affirmed, "That is likely a prudent course of action. You're doubtlessly aware, but Andrew has begun to feel burdened by his responsibilities and the consequences his actions have wrought. As such, he plans to dispatch his younger brother, Zidane, as a supplemental Envoy in the next world he links."

Returning a nod of her own, Garnet confirmed, "Yes, the two of them are very close, so Zidane enjoys permissions beyond most Proxies. Andrew also wishes to prevent them from growing apart, so he intends to elevate Zidane to a similar position of power and authority."

"Mmm...that is something we must be mindful of," said Nanamo. "While kinship is important, a predilection toward nepotism can leave gaps for the seeds of corruption to flourish. There is also the possibility that our children will inherit Andrew's power. In that case, it would be prudent of the Interworld Alliance to implement measures to prevent or dissuade the misuse of their power."

"That is likely to be a matter for the Council to decide," stated Garnet, referring to the group comprising herself, Nanamo, and Andrew's future wives. The latter had little ambition, so while he was in a perfect position to become an Emperor, unifying various worlds under his rule, he had no desire to govern or tell others what to do. As such, it would invariably fall to those he had vested the most power and authority, his wives, to govern in his stead.

"Quite right~" agreed Nanamo, narrowing her eyes and smiling. Then, to distract Garnet from her hormonally amplified melancholy, she expanded upon the subject, preoccupying her raven-haired counterpart until it was time for her to return to Ul'dah...

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After defeating the mace-wielding Fourth Knight, the rapier-wielding Fifth Knight, the martially inclined Sixth Knight, and the powerful lightning magic of the Seventh Knight, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were reaching their limits. Yuna supplemented their stamina using White Magic like Cure and Regen, but while she could offset their physical exhaustion, the human mind wasn't designed to endure the stressors of life-threatening combat for extended periods.

"Stick a fork in me because I'm done..." grumbled Rikku, plopping to the ground as if her legs had given out before slumping forward, clearly not wanting to continue.

Though she was tempted to tell Rikku to suck it up and stop complaining, Paine knew the former was probably the most exhausted out of them as she served as the 'bait' to distract their increasingly skilled opponents. It didn't help that she had astraphobia, a fear of lightning. Andrew had given her a ring that made her impervious to its effects, but Rikku still tensed up and nearly had a mental breakdown when the Seven Knight kept targeting her specifically with powerful spells like Thundaga.

"I'm also beginning to feel a little tired..." said Yuna, lying through her teeth. Even before her fusion with Lenne, she had acquired outstanding stamina as a result of her training and her frequent, lengthy, and intense unions with Andrew. With Lenne, her stamina had more than doubled as she became increasingly proficient at supplementing her magical power with the Pyreflies in her surroundings.

"Then, why don't the three of you take a break, enjoy a meal, and watch me take on the next couple of Knights?" suggested Andrew, gesturing to the stone viewing stands that encircled the arena-like chamber. None of the Knights that had appeared thus far left a deep impression on him, so he was certain he could fodder the majority. The Thirteenth Knight might be a problem, but as Yuna had yet to summon any of her Aeons, they still had Bahamut, Shiva, Ixion, Ifrit, and Valefore waiting in the wings.

"Are you sure?" asked Yuna, expressing concern even though she knew Andrew was more powerful than the three of them combined. They were growing stronger rapidly, but she knew they weren't at a level where they could go toe to toe with Sin, something Andrew had been able to do long ago.

"I'll be fine," assured Andrew, punctuating his statement by drawing Yuna and, as a result, Lenne into a somewhat lascivious embrace and a deep, lingering kiss. He could feel the duo getting aroused as he squeezed their overlapping asses, but as tempting as it was to push them down and take them in the middle of the arena, Andrew repressed the urge as they were already double their 'quota' for the day.

After ensuring the duo was thoroughly riled up, Andrew retracted his lips and adopted a wolfish grin when he saw that even Lenne was staring up at him with visible longing. She tried to avert her eyes, but because Yuna had her hungry gaze firmly fixed on Andrew's, the thousand-year-old Diva was forced to face him as well, an anxious feeling surging within her chest as he leaned forward to give them another kiss...

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(A/N: I'm a bit sick atm.)