Part 27: Episode XXI: Shoot Down My Theory

Welcome to Pilgrimage Road., the penultimate area of Kilika Island. It must be a pain in the ass for Kimahri to climb up this tiny human sized stairs. And Lulu to climb anywhere in that dress. I wonder what kind of footwear she's sporting. Probably heels or shoes of equal idiocy for travel. I couldn't tell ya. There's just a black void of belts beneath her dress.



"Nope."



"Yep, Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."
"...Why does nobody in Spira ever train in... like ya know... the water...?"
"Sin. Sinspawn. Fiend infes—"
"...Right. Right. Dumb question..."



A pair of the Besaid Aurochs cackles to themselves whilst limbering up and entering... compromising positions. I don't like where this is heading...



"Think you can beat me?"
*chuckle*
"You all sure you want to be racing up a bunch of stone steps wearing sandals...? That sounds like a recipe for pain... Tch. Whatever. Easy win for me."

The two Aurochs, Wakka, and Tidus line up at the base of the stairs...









"Hehehe!"



"Hey!"
"Ahh... Huh...? Hey!"



Tidus, as always, is slow on the uptake. If we talk to Kimahri he just grunts as usual. Lulu will chuckle about "Kids..." as the wizen twenty-two year old of the group. Oh well, might as well have Tidus catch up with the rest.


Music: Enemy Attack



"Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!"

Tidus, Kimahri, and Lulu rush up the stairs...



Welp. You can't have a pseudo-dungeon with an optional mini-boss and not have a proper boss battle to top it off.



Meet Sinspawn Geneaux, our filler boss for this chapter of the journey. Where do they get these names...?



Geneaux is a bit of a gimmick boss. At the beginning of the fight, it is protected by a hardened shell that is highly resistant to physical attacks. The Scope readout says that the thing is vulnerable to magical attacks (Fire especially), but there’s just one problem...



Two problems, actually. A pair of gigantic tentacles has also spawned on the field and will immediately intercept any magic attacks dealt on the main body. So before we can tackle the boss fight properly, we need to deal with the tentacles.



The Geneaux Tentacles a middling physical attack with the added nasty effect of possibly poisoning a character. Unlike other games in the series, where poison was a mild nuisance, being afflicted with it in this title will fuck up your entire afternoon in short order. Poison is probably the worst status effect in the entire game this time around. So if you don’t want a character to drop dead in 3-4 turns, it’s best to get that patched up ASAP.



As far as the tentacles go, they’re weak to both Fire magic and regular physical attacks. A solid round of attacking with Tidus, Lulu, and Wakka/Kimahri is more than enough to take down a single one.



Though while we are doing that, Sinspawn Geneaux won’t remain entirely idle. The Sin offspring is in most dire need of a breath mint and if it chooses to Sigh during a battle, it’ll unleash a cloud of onion breath smog that hits the entire party for a chunk of damage and another shot at the poison status effect.



Once the two tentacles are slain, Lulu will be free to roast Geneaux out of its shell. Once its HP drops from 3000 to 2400 (read: two Fire casts later) the shy critter will begin its second phase...



That’s a face only a mama doom whale could love.



Sinspawn Geneaux speeds up a bit and becomes much more aggressive in its second phase. However, with the shell gone its resistance to physical attacks has gone by the wayside too. Its not a bad idea to tag in Wakka or Kimahri and have Tidus perform Cheer a few rounds to get the physical pain train cranking ‘round now. Even if Lulu will remain the party’s heavy hitter for the duration of the fight.



Sin’s sentient foot fungus can still whip folks with its toxic tentacles, as well as hock poisonous loogies as far as defending itself goes. It also has a basic Water spell for flavor.





But really, as long as Lulu stays a healthy member of the Fire Nation, the latest Sinspawn doesn’t pose all that much of a danger.

After the battle...



*pants* “Yeesh!”
"Hahaha. Sorry about that! Hoped to break you in a little slower."



"You handled yourself pretty well. You got talent."
*rubs hair* "Naaah.”
“So, what are these 'sinspawn' anyway?"
*cocks eyebrow* “Did Sin’s toxin completely erase your concept of self-explanatory terms...?”
“I got what it means. But, it’s not exactly like that mushroom plant tentacle thing looked very much like its pops...”
"Fiends. They fall from Sin's body, and are left behind in its wake."
"Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick!"



“I think that was when I started seriously considering becoming a guardian.”
”Plus, I was also getting the feeling that the Spira blitzball league probably wasn’t going to pay the bills if I stuck with just playing sports...”





The game waits until now for our after-action report. “Rod of Darkness” sounds surprisingly vulgar.

The party continues their ascent up the stairs to Kilika Temple...



*folds arms* "Just a few. It's a big deal when one shows up, though.“
”It’s all over the news and they shutdown traffic and you can forget about watching anything on TV for the rest of the ev-- Ah!”



*scratches head* "I been thinking. Maybe people Sin gets to don't die. Maybe Sin carries 'em through time. Like a thousand years through time. And then, one day, maybe they just pop back, see?"
*shrugs* “...You’d think you’d hear about a lot more people in my position if that were the case. Huh. Maybe I should check the papers... Err... Are newspapers a thing in Spira...? I really need to start taking notes or something...”
“...”
*blinks* “Do they even HAVE notepads here?!”



“Hmm...?”
“You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth.“

Lulu walks beside Wakka...



“Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back. Oh, and one more thing...”

Lulu continues up the stairs...



“No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad."

Lulu storms off. Yuna chases after her, leaving Tidus alone with a rather down in the dumps Wakka...



<Awkward...>
*punches the ground* "I...I could never be what Chappu was.“
*sighs and stands up* “Well, stuff happens. Best not to worry."

Wakka walks off after the rest of the party...



“Something had happened between them a long time ago. I was sure of it. Well, whatever it was, it was none of my business, that's for sure. Best not to go there.”

And so we end our journey to Kilika Temple with one of the few times Tidus displays any kind of tact for a situation he’d best stay the hell out away from... At least even he can figure out that potentially further pissing off a grumpy, fire shooting witch lady is not a smart move.





Video: Episode 21 Highlight Reel





Sinspawn Geneaux Concept Art