Every weapon pointed at the entrance's direction. Every single soldier that Judas has is either aiming or getting ready for extraction. They know what Rikku has and they are not about to let her leave free to do whatever she wants with it. It's the one thing that Judas had been trying to uncover since he discovered that this small island had ancient relics that are untouched. He had more than an inkling that Rikku was going to try something, after all, who wouldn't? Though the result of this given moment was something he did not anticipate at all.

"I know you think you have something to use against us, Rikku," Judas states calmly through the intercom, "but let me remind you about a few certain things that might make you want to think twice."

"That and we don't want your little secrets revealed, do we love?"

It was only a matter of time until Leblanc chimes in and having anticipated it, Rikku doesn't find her voice and the threat as annoying as usual. Though the young Al Bhed wouldn't mind bashing her face in just once and perhaps she'll get the chance as soon as she can handle a few things so that her odds turn more to her favor. The Magiteck Armor known as Zell isn't only useful in terms of weaponry, though that might be its main attraction, Zell is also equipped with a very advance system that allows Rikku to sync with some of Judas' Machinas that he brought in; more specifically, the spheres system seems are now on its way to being hacked. The monitor on Zell shows the progress and it's only a matter of moments until Rikku has the proper connection she needs.

"I think the silence tells it all, don't it, Judas my dear?"

"I'm afraid so," Judas responds with a sigh, "connect to every sphere that Rin owns. Give them the true feelings of one of Yuna's most trusted Guardians."

Being one of the most popular and well received Al Bhed even before the Eternal Calm, Rin holds a multitude of businesses all over Spira thus making him very well connected. Rin's sphere are everywhere so Judas using his network as a source is prudent and bodes ill for Rikku especially if she has no defense against this atrocious attack on her character. Though the moments Judas and Leblanc used to threaten and flaunt were the moments Rikku needed to complete her rebuttal.

'Sync complete.'

The duration of her torture and humiliation may have a turn of event the moment the Machina Maw stated those two words, and just in time for a moment after, Leblanc had activated the blackmail and soon broadcasting begins. To Judas and Leblanc, they expected that pivotal moment when Rikku was allowed speech with the removal of her ball gag to be the one broadcasted. When Rikku announced her inner desires, unbound, unhindered, and recorded, they always knew that it would be the breaking point to use as blackmail. Of course having her trussed up tight, sweating, aroused, and degraded would be a good addition to the whole scheme, but it was the ruining of her loyalty to Yuna that would break her. Though to their dismay, what is shown on the screen isn't exactly what they had in mind.

"What is this?!" Judas' reaction mirrors Leblanc's at the sight of what happened not too long ago inside the excavation site they sent Rikku in. The words of his Al Bheds only makes Rikku seem like the victim and definitely a far cry from what Judas wanted Spira to see.

"I… I don't know," Leblanc answers nervously as she tries to adjust the feed to the proper video. "It must be some sort of malfunction."

"It's not a malfunction," Rikku's voice emerges from below "It's just I outsmarted you and you're too stupid to admit it!"

Growling under his breath, Judas signals his men to move in closer towards the man hole, as he does, the video gets to the point where Rikku activates Machina Maw and it protects her. By now his men sees the carnage and murmurs of fear and confusion starts to spread among them. Angered, Judas grabs his firearms and starts shooting in the air, grabbing all of their attention, peeling their fear away from the sight of a Machina who seems to be prancing about like a beast on two legs.

"You idiots," Judas shouts in Al Bhed tongue. "It's one girl and a machina! All of you are just going to act like scared children because it killed two of us?!"

An amalgam of realization and confusion still echoed in the form of murmurs, which sends Judas into a fit of rage and fires a few more rounds into the air. His men immediately take heed of this and try to silence themselves, giving their leader their undivided attention once more. By now he has made the effort of reloading his gun and is making his way towards the entryway where Rikku is currently keeping herself surrounded. Leblanc on the other hand has no intention of following; instead she backs away, giggling nervously as Logos and Ormi prepare themselves.

"He's right," Logos has both his guns ready as he stays close to his Mistress, "it's just one girl."

"Yeah… but did you see … that… thing she has fighting for her?" Ormi on the other hand does not hold the same bravery as his partner, which makes causes Leblanc to slap him upside his head.

"You idiot," Leblanc admonishes as the stout man is still trying to recover his senses from being hit. "Being scared like a little boy isn't what I pay you for! Now hurry up! Pick your guts up and get ready to protect me!"

Still reluctant and still bombarded with intimidation, Ormi complies and grabs his shield, moving forward and acting like another line of defense as Leblanc keeps back tracking. Eventually the noise from below starts to turn into tremors, which of course instigates Judas to order his men to attack. Grenades starts being hurled into the entrance, hoping that it would end the fight before the strange Machina even gets the chance to see the light of day; the few moments after the explosion may have seem that Judas' tactics have won, but the peculiar howl emanating from bellow, followed by a few missiles that sends his troops in a fray, Judas knows that the battle just started.

"Come on, Zell," Rikku's grin never left as the barrier flickers from the grenades hitting it, "they said they wanted power. Let's give it to them!"

"The little bitch!"

One of the Al Bhed shouted with as much hatred as there was fear in his tone of voice.

"Shoot it!"

So the two started shooting, but the Machina didn't even flinch at the bullets that started hitting it. It retaliated with such a vengeance that the Al Bhed was finished the moment they started attacking and that's when the video ends. It must be the third time that the Gullwings have watched the feed since it is set on repeat from wherever it is being transmitted from, but every playthrough it has something different to offer. Yuna however isn't scrutinizing the video for clues, or much less paying attention to it as the others are; to her, it's seeing her cousin in danger is setting her adrenaline to new heights. Anxious and highly motivated, Yuna squirms in her chair, muttering words of courage to herself that she won't fail.

"Are you guys sure you have the proper location?!"

Yuna also tuned out her own uncle, Cid, who was screaming on the other side of another monitor; obviously he is seeing the same feed and his reaction quite apt for such a dilemma. Having been the one who took the call from his father, Brother replies back.

"We are! We on our way!"

"Good! I'm gathering everyone," Cid replies with the same intense tone, "Gippal turned on him too. He's injured, but he'll be sending who he can to help!"

"We'll take care of it sir!" Buddy adds in.

The monitor turned off and Yuna hardly registered that the dialogue was half Al Bhed and half not. Lost in the idea of not failing, Yuna once again watches the scene of the strange and powerful Machina that Rikku found… the need for such a weapon is apparently still lingering about. Despite her accomplishing an Eternal Calm, there are still forces that threatens her and the people she cares for. Fighting is still a much-needed trait and Rikku was right about her learning how to use firearms. This will be the first battle that will test herself as a Gunner—the days of summoning are over and now she must rely on the skills she attained to prove her worth.

Rikku reloads her rifle, trying her best to avoid the firepower that are all aimed at her direction. Zell had been her main shield and for that, she can tell that his barrier is getting low. His counterattacks are getting slower and Rikku can surmise that he is focusing too much on his defense; allocating all the necessary energy to maintain his barrier, thus heavily impairing his weapon systems.

"Give it up, little girl!" Judas shouts through his speakers. "You're not going to win this! If you order that weapon to stop, I might just spare you the suffering! Get that thing destroyed, and I'll let my men have the best time with you!"

Growling, Rikku takes a moment to peak out of her barrier and with her rifle in lead, she fires and so does Zell. Of course the Machina Maw had more affective results, his missiles sending more of her assailants into lethal injuries, death, or at the very least discombobulating a small fraction of Judas' ranks. Though the moment of victory wasn't to last as Judas' stronger weapons are finally ready. At least half a dozen came, each with two of Judas' men holding it and further supported by their tripods. Rikku sees this and tries fervently to get them out of the way and is able to get rid of one, and Zell at least three but to Rikku's disdain, it wasn't enough. The remaining canon-like weapons fires and their affect is obvious, as Zell's barrier can't necessarily repel their force. Both Rikku and the Machina stumble back, their offensive tactic in full delay as Zell tries to keep the barrier afloat. Soon, the barrier breaks and Zell took a hit of at least two of the beams.

"NO!"

Rikku, in an act of desperation, threw a few grenades that she picked off from her former guards. The result gives enough distraction and the firing stopped. Zell, as if alive and knowing Rikku's thoughts, lowered itself, and on its back, a place for Rikku to place herself appears through the means of shifting some of its form. Without taking a moment to hesitate, Rikku jumps on Zell's back, laying on her front and grabbing on to the nearest crevice tightly as the Machina Maw launches itself in an evasive manner, avoiding as much of the firepower. Though the barrages of bullets were too much, but at the very least it's preventing Rikku from getting hit. At first Rikku wasn't sure where Zell was trying to go, but as she sees the horizon and the vast body of water that separates this island from the rest of the other continents, it clicks to her that it was trying to escape. Perhaps there is something else about this Machina that Rikku didn't expect!

"Don't let her get away!"

Judas' voice echoes with a strong conviction and his men are now relentless in attacking. What little chance Rikku and Zell had is taken away the moment the proper attack hits the Machina's leg, and then the barrage that follows after crushes Rikku's hope as well as send her landing in a painful few tumbles on the hot sandy ground. Zell falls as well, sparks flying out of his open 'wounds' and the lights on his eyes dimming. So close to the water but yet so far—so close to her freedom but now nowhere even close to attaining it.

"Zell," Rikku utters through the pain of being dislodged and scraping across the ground. "Zell… ? status… report…"

The Machina's response is a few unrecognizable sounds accompanied by sparks flying off its damaged armor. It took a whole lot of firepower and unfortunately, despite all the damage Zell was able to inflict on Judas' army, the numbers were too great. It struggles to even get to its feet and to Rikku's dismay, one of its legs is severely damage and it almost seems like Zell is standing on one. Retreat is no longer a possibility nor is fighting. Judas and his men are closing in and well aware of Rikku and Zell's situation.

"I told you if this machine is destroyed you'd suffer a lot," Judas' tone of voice is an amalgam of anger and disappointment; like an angry father admonishing his child for a stupid mistake. "This is your last chance to save yourself another humiliation and face a quick execution."

Struggling to even get herself on her feet, Rikku takes a moment to think about the option of possibly surrendering to save Zell. She isn't sure why, but there seems to be something far more than technology that resides within the machina that awoke for the sake of protecting her. Something that she feels compassion for… something that she doesn't want to see decimated. Though what would Judas and Leblanc do to Zell? Just how much dissecting and dismembering will these Al Bheds do just to get the information they want?

'No,' Rikku tells herself, 'I can't….'

Though before she has the chance to even finish that thought, Zell lets off a few more missiles and it was in that moment that fate was decided. With but a snap of his fingers, the Al Bheds prepared to decimate whatever fight the Machina Maw has and all things seems lost, but firepower from the sky starts making work of Judas' army. Quickly turning her head behind her, Rikku notices Celsius, and right behind the Gullwings are entire brigades of Al Bhed that are under the banner of her father's.

"Rikku, take cover!"

Almost immediately while bullets are being traded off, Rikku hides behind Zell, who still manages to put up a barrier. If it weren't for the fact that Judas' Al Bheds are now focusing the majority of their ammunition somewhere else, the said barrier that Zell is holding up would've probably diminished. Though now at least Rikku has the leeway to find the time to take a breather ever since this whole ordeal started. To her luck, the passion behind the retaliation that the Gullwings and Cid shows when Judas' side starts to lose momentum quickly. Their formation breaks to the point where some of Rikku's cavalry are now able to find the time to land and take the battle both on the ground and in the air. Yuna is the first one that Rikku recognizes that lands and immediately runs to her side behind Zell's barrier.

"Rikku, are you okay?!"

A myriad of emotions are running through Rikku… for a few moments, the young Al Bhed is unable to grasp which one to stick to; unwilling to give in to anything she feels, incapable to truly express anything she should be doing right now. If it weren't for the carnage that is going on, Rikku probably would've spent more time caught up in ambivalence. Tangled in her rivalry and her love for her cousin, Rikku wraps her arms around Yuna, clinging on to her tightly and causing the High Summoner to respond with as much emotion as she is known for.

"Thank goodness you're okay!"

Yuna's arms reciprocating the gesture enhances the amalgam of emotion; with tears as the only means of expression she can make, Rikku sobs, she lets out some of the frustrations, fear, and anger that she must keep bound inside of her.

"Thank you…" Rikku utters between her sobs.

"I'm sorry we're late," Yuna says with as much compassion as she pulls away. "Do you need me to heal you?"

Healing. A few more unwanted emotions of jealousy proliferates within Rikku; the wrong moment, the wrong thought for a response with such a caring cousin in front of her. A family member that doesn't have the slightest clue as just how much Rikku feels inept when being around her. Pushing the emotions aside again, Rikku starts to concentrate on how she feels physically; despite being tainted and in utter need of a bath, Rikku can shrug off most of her bumps and bruises and she responds accordingly.

"No, I'm alright." Rikku says with a bit of shame with the thoughts of her humiliation. There is no healing spell to uplift her lost pride.

"I'm glad. Then I'm more than willing to guess that you would want these back."

The sight of her daggers is indeed something that Rikku is more than willing to take as a blessing. Taking them from Yuna's hands, she gives the High Summoner one more nod of gratitude before turning her attention to the battle ahead of them.

"I'm going after that creep and his little slut of a companion."

Yuna looks over the barrier and sees the sight of Judas and Leblanc using the rebel Al Bheds as shield as they try to make their escape.

"Who are they? And what's this?" Yuna gestures with her head towards the barely standing Zell.

"A long story," Rikku's response sounds cold and as Yuna observes her cousin, the grip on her blades have more conviction than she has ever seen before. "But contact Shinra and tell him that this Machina needs to be saved."

Without so much of a hesitation for Yuna's response, Rikku dashes off, her scarf trailing behind her, her signature daggers shining with a red blaze to their metal. Yuna can only watch in confusion to the situation that presents itself but questioning it any further would be detrimental. Contacting Shinra as Rikku had requested, the High Summoner turned Gunner rushes behind her cousin's side, her guns covering Rikku, taking down any long distance assailant.

The situation turned on them quicker than they could contain it. The moment the air was filled with Rikku's allies, the odds had turned against them. Without any real counter measures, Judas found his troops slowly overtaken. He thought his plans were infallible and now he realized just how incorrect he was so there was only one option left to ensure that he wouldn't face judgment: retreat. His men covered for him, took bullets for him, thinking that he would have some kind of agenda as to why he was going to his main quarters on the farthest corners of the excavation site. Though as Leblanc already knows, Judas is now desperate. His pompous way of thinking led him to this dead end.

"Did you really think that no one would find this place?!" Leblanc manages to shout despite her being out of breath from the entire fiasco of retreating.

Focusing on locking the door behind him, Judas gives Leblanc very little to no response. Even his glance lasted less than a moment before rushing to gather things that he would need for his timely retreat.

"We're being overrun as we speak," realizing that he was ignoring her, Leblanc raises her tone, "and you are doing nothing to try and fight back?!"

"There is no fighting back!" Judas replies with an even higher tone of voice. "If you didn't get it through your pretty little face, it's over! Cid and the Gullwings have won!"

"Just like that?!"

Judas doesn't say anything; instead he keeps fiddling with some things. The sound of firepower, explosions, and agonizing screams still echoes in the background, making Leblanc even more nervous than she already is. Looking out the window, the situation doesn't look any better than it sounds and so Leblanc refocuses her attention back at Judas.

"Judas! What are we going to do?! We will not get any kind of mercy from them after what we did to that girl!"

"No, we won't." Judas answers coldly as he starts grabbing familiar items.

"You're not worried?!"

Rikku's garment grid and her stolen dresspheres are placed on the table, which elicits an odd expression out of Leblanc. She stares at the items while waiting for Judas to give her some kind of response, a plan, or something that would make more sense than his demeanor. Though he continues placing the stolen items on the desk: grenades, potions, and soon, Judas grabs the sphere that contains the infamous scene that they were trying to use to blackmail Rikku and places it on the table as well. Letting out an exasperated sound, Leblanc stomps her feet on the ground before walking over to Judas and grabs his shoulder and turns him so that they would be facing.

"What are you doing?!"

The abrupt movement caused Judas' locks to flow in front of him, somewhat covering his unique Al Bhed eyes. For a moment Leblanc stares into those spiraling eyes, but the cold metal feeling on her bare stomach elicits a gasp out of her. The familiar sound of a 'clicking' noise and the stern expression on Judas more than gives away what is going on. Slowly looking down, Leblanc's eyes widen with fear at the confirmation of a gun touching her body.

"I'm worried," Judas finally says after a few moments of silence, "and of course I'm dreading what they would do if they caught us. But here's how I see it, 'love', you were pretty much the one who orchestrated the humiliation that girl suffered so technically, you're all she needs to quench the justice that she so passionately fights for."

A nudge of the gun causes Leblanc to whimper, her lips quivering with fear and her eyes begging for what her words can't say. Judas ignores her silent please and gestures her towards the chair behind the desk. Still wide eyed and fear pouring from her every feature, Leblanc complies.

"W-what… are you going… to do to me?" Even Leblanc's words are staggering due to the fear of what Judas will do to her.

"What I will do is nothing compared to what that little girl will do," when finally reaching the chair, Judas shoves Leblanc on it, forcing her to sit down. "But to answer your question: I'm going to offer you to them as a final sense of victory."

If the words didn't do it, it's the expression written on Judas' face that causes Leblanc's fears to ascend higher. Of course Judas grabbing some ropes doesn't help paint a brighter picture for the voluptuous blonde woman.

Rikku rolls forward and in the proper moment, she plunges her dagger into her assailant's thigh causing him to scream in pain and of course leaving him open to getting knocked out with a blow on his head. Moving on towards the small building that Judas and Leblanc retreated to, it doesn't take long until two familiar faces block Rikku's path and just their presence alone reminds Rikku of a few certain things that she had to endure. Her face turns red from both blushing and from the rage of what was done to her by the hands of Ormi and Logos.

"Bwahahahaha!"

"Where do you think you're going, little girl?"

Ormi's signature laugh elicits a growl from Rikku, while Logos' statement of little girl doesn't do much to alleviate the anger pent up inside her. With no words and no intent for remorse, Rikku charges forward, causing the two to react accordingly. Logos' long-range style keeps Rikku's distance at bay, and whenever Rikku would counter with some grenades, Ormi would defend his comrade with his gigantic shield. The tactic has left Rikku on the defensive and any sense of getting the proper footing has been delayed. Now jumping to the nearest wall for cover, Rikku curses for not having her proper dressphere to help aid her for this kind of combat. Magic or at the very least Al Bhed weaponry is what she truly needs and without that, this might take longer than it needs. Though it doesn't take long until Rikku gets the proper aid that she needs that puts both Logos and Ormi's tactic to a halt. The fray of bullets, wild and yet not very convicted to harm is none other than Yuna's trademark shooting.

"Sorry," Yuna rolls to the wall next to Rikku as she avoids Logos' counter, "I got stuck back there. That and you darted off too fast for me."

"The tall skinny one," Rikku talks over Yuna's apology and last words, "he's the gunner. Get him off my back and the fat one I'll handle."

Part of her inner rivalry had always been about getting help from Yuna; the thought about having her famous cousin be the one to save her from distress became a poison that has been festering inside of her; a feeling that she thought she hid well, but obviously not well enough. Which made her curious as to how Leblanc actually did know to poke and prod about her inner conflicts. Regardless, getting aid now in a situation is smart since she is in a hurry; that and perhaps acquiring peace with her inner demons requires she accepts that Yuna is Yuna: a person who will help those she cares about. When those people she deems important in her life are in danger, Yuna will stop at nothing to make sure that they are safe and her immediate response of retaliating with a fray of bullets is a testament of that. Logos immediately uses Ormi's shield to protect him, which gives Rikku the time she needs. Closing the distance is an easier task and before Ormi can acknowledge he is being attacked, Rikku is now upon him. His immediate reaction of using his shield is what Rikku needs as she uses his own block to propel herself behind him. Working in his blindside, Rikku manages to catch Ormi with a kick, the heel of right foot digging into his jaw causing him to stumble.

Logo notices this and tries to salvage his and Ormi's tactic, but Rikku is already coming at him. For some this tactic would be reckless, but with Rikku's speed and Yuna shooting Logos' handguns out of his hands, the action is everything Rikku needed to get the tall gunner out of the way. A kick in lead lands on Logos' lower regions causes him to bend over and followed up with an elbow to his nose, which puts Logos down on the ground, crying in pain. With the immediate danger out of the way, Rikku stands in the middle of the two who were partially responsible for all of the humiliation she received. She remembers with excruciating details on the way they handled her, bound her, and of course with every moment of them binding her, they took every joy of it. They took pride in her helplessness and her inability to even control her basic functions and with that, as they writhe in pain, Rikku unsheathes her daggers and grips them tight. The supreme anger evident in her posture, her eyes narrow, and as she walks over to Ormi, the one who was actively responsible for actually doing most of the tying, her anger ascends to levels that she hasn't allowed to reach until now. Yuna sees this, a side she has never seen in her cousin.

"Rikku," Yuna calls out, "are you okay?"

For a moment Rikku remains as she is, clouded in rage and the need to sate her vengeance. She stares at her former captors as they try to handle the pain that she had inflicted on them; part of her wants to enhance the pain before putting them out of the misery, the other part of her remains to hold on to her more 'peaceful' and forgiving side… the two keep switching like a pendulum, and for a moment it seems that the need for bloody justice was about to take over.

"Rikku."

Along with her concerned voice, Yuna's hand on her shoulder invades Rikku's senses and finally casts away her need for blood. With nerves calming down and her senses somewhat clear of rage, Rikku turns towards her cousin who is looking at her with an expression that once again reminds her why she loves Yuna so much; a caring and sincere face that is insinuating as much support as one can receive.

"I'm okay," Rikku finally responds as her grip loosens on her daggers. "I'll be fine. Let's keep going."

"You going to tell me what's going on?"

"These two work for a particular pair that are… well," Rikku's thoughts starts to dwell into the blackmailing, "I'd say they are the most conniving pair that seems to want to turn Al Bheds into the radicals that they used to be."

"Why would anyone want that?"

"I don't know, but come on."

Stepping over Ormi, Rikku picks up her pace again, running as fast as her legs can take her towards Judas and Leblanc's location. For a moment Yuna is lost in thought, half afraid, and half intrigued by what fuels Rikku. Looking down at the two prone men, Yuna can almost feel a creepy vibe emanating from the two. Shuddering the feeling off, Yuna runs after Rikku and prepares her Tiny Bees from the obvious gunfight that will occur ahead of them.

To Be Concluded