บท 428: The Machine Faction

"YAHOOOOOOO!!!"

"KWEEEEEEE!!!"

Rikku and the Chocobo she was riding both let out cries of joy as they raced down the Highroad, with Alex and the other two right on their tails.

"We're gonna get you!" Yuna declared competitively, even as she had a massive grin on her face. However a moment after her declaration Paine and her Chcocobo sped past her, while the silver haired girl cooly said,

"Later Yuna."

"Hey! Get back here!" Yuna cried out in response as she urged her Chocobo to go faster.

While the three were competing in their race, Alex was mostly just enjoying the ride as marveled at his Chocobo's soft feathers, and strong body that was able to even support him in his SSJ4 form with ease. Of course, just because he enjoying himself didn't mean that he wasn't participating in the race, as he quickly sped past both Yuna and Paine while calling out,

"We'll see you guys at the finish line!" Seeing Alex fly past them like it was nothing, the two girls shared a look before nodding in agreement as Yuna began to change into her Songstress Dress sphere. She then began to sing a melody that invigorated her and Paine's Chocobos, and increased their speed as both shot forward like a pair of bullets.

"We'll see YOU at the finish line!" Yuna paused her singing to call back as they passed Alex, before resuming it as they quickly caught up to Rikku. Glancing back when Yuna's voice carried to her, Rikku saw the duo swiftly catching up while Yuna continued singing to keep up their speed boost.

"HEY! You're cheating!" Rikku exclaimed as they were about to pass her. "Two can play at this game!" She grumbled before smirking victoriously, as Rikku then began to focus on her thieving skills.

"Stop right there!" She declared before unleashing her skill, which made Yuna, Paine, and their Chocobos freeze in mid air as if time itself had halted.

"And the victory goes to me!" Rikku declared happily as she turned herself around on top of her Chocobo and held up her hands in a peace sign, only to be immediately confused when she realized Alex was nowhere to be seen.

"Down here!" His voice suddenly cried out, making Rikku jump as she turned and saw where he was.

Down in a nearby ravine, was Alex, his Chocobo hopping from stone spire to stone spire, using it's short and stubby wings to glide to the next one after its powerful legs propelled them both into the air. A scowl forming on her face, Rikku turned back around so she was facing the front once again, and declared,

"Come on! We've got to beat him!"

"Kweeeee!" Her Chocobo cried out as if in agreement, as it rushed forward once again as Yuna and Paine also regained their ability to move.

***

After racing their Chocobos for the better part of two days, stopping at one of the Travel Agency rest points along the way, Alex and the three girls finally reached the end of the Mi'ihen Highroad. Now they stood at the beginning of the Mushroom Rock Road, the craggy and treacherous path that had sheer cliffs on the left, choppy and violent seas on the right, and housed all kinds of dangerous and tricky fiends. This also happened to be where the Youth League headquarters were, but they were located off the beaten path and Alex had no intention of stopping there.

"We should rest here for the night and try to push to Djose Tenple on the other side tomorrow." Yuna advised as she said goodbye to her Chocobo. From that point on they'd either have to go on on foot, or take one of the Al Bhed Machina to the temple; both of which weren't good options since it was already almost half through the afternoon, and regardless of their choice they would be out after dark.

Not wanting to deal with either the dangerous fiends or the treacherous terrain in the dark, both Rikku and Paine nodded in agreement until Alex said,

"Nah, we can take my car the rest of the way." As he said that, Alex shocked the three girls, the Chocobo handlers, and the nearby Al Bhed when the area in front of him lit up, and a Machina like nothing any of them had ever seen before appeared.

"WOAH! What is that?!" Rikku asked with stars in her eyes as she examined the sports car, which had a dark red body with pitch black Windows. Alex smirked as he watched her admire the car before replying,

"It's what we call a car, a machine some people use to get from one place to another. I rarely use it anymore, but since I'm with the three of you right now I figured 'why not?'" While all of the nearby Al Bhed sent looks of envy their way, Yuna, Paine, and especially Rikku all looked excited to see what Alex's car could do.

...

"WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Rikku shouted in excitement as they soared down Mushroom Rock Road at speeds that even the Celsius would be hard pressed to keep up with, and Alex wasn't even close to going the maximum speed.

He did think they messed up on the seating though, as Yuna was sitting in the front next to him while Rikku and Paine were both in the back. With this arrangement though, Rikku was leaning forward so much that she might as well been sitting on the center consul between them. And when she wasn't cheering or practically bouncing with excitement, Rikku was eagerly asking what each and every knob, lever, and switch did.

"You're gonna hit your head if I hit a big enough bump." Alex eventually told her, as with her barely covered tits already right next to his face, he was more than convinced something was going to happen. Rikku however waved away Alex's concerns, saying,

"It'll be fine! I haven't felt a single bump since we started!" Though she was right, since the car made almost any road they drove feel as smooth butter, the moment those words left Rikku's mouth they suddenly hit a rock that was large enough to send Rikku crashing right into the roof before falling directly into Alex's lap.

"Told you so." Alex said bluntly, as somehow Rikku slid down face up with her legs on either side of his face, giving him a perfect up-close view of her scantily covered crotch.

Immediately Rikku tried to pull herself up to keep from sliding down to the floorboard, only to actually press her crotch and ass up into Alex's face so she couldn't move at all. Thankfully though Alex could easily use his 'Domain' to see where he was going so they didn't wreck.

When she finally started sliding back down so he could speak again, Alex said,

"You know Rikku, if you wanted me to eat you out you could've just asked." Rikku looked up at him in alarm at that.

"Wait! Wha-?" Before she could finished what she was saying, Alex twitched his finger and the blonde suddenly found herself completely naked and exposed to his gaze.

With her completely smooth pussy now bared directly in front of his face, Alex didn't hesitate to place his tongue directly at the bottom of her slit.

"HIYA!" Rikku cried out in shock as she felt Alex's tongue travel up the entire length of her slit, before lightly flicking the spot where her clit was. In her surprise she even let go of the grip she needed to stay up, only for Alex to hold her up by letting go of the steering wheel to instead grab her breasts.

Rikku was soon rendered powerless under the sudden double assault, her breasts and nipples from Alex's hands, and her pussy from his mouth and tongue. This was even more so when he pressed his entire mouth against her quivering sex, and plunged his tongue into her inner folds.

***

"Alright people! I want everything that's going to be ready tonight! The ships will be here in the morning!" Shouted a man with spiked up blonde hair and an eyepatch, wearing a jumpsuit and purple overalls. This was none other than the leader of one of Spira's three biggest factions, Gippal of the Machine Faction.

Currently they were based out of one of Yevon's old temples, the Djose temple, which was built within a large stone spire that was surrounded by numerous magnetic rocks that were conducting arcs of electricity. All the electricity had made the location perfect for them to run the Machina of the Machine Faction, but now they were apparently packing up to move somewhere else.

"Gippal, Muug!(look)" One of the Al Bhed exclaimed suddenly, directing Gippal's attention towards Mushroom Rock Road. There he saw a dark red thing rushing towards them at speeds that put their Machina to shame, kicking up a massive cloud of dust in its wake as it moved.

"BATTLE STATIONS PEOPLE!" Gippal shouted as everyone around him began to hurry to meet whatever it was that was approaching them.

All around the Al Bhed were grabbing their Machina weapons and prepping for combat, which were mostly a form of rocket or grenade launcher. They then gathered around their leader, Gippal, who readied his own launcher as they all took aim at the rapidly approaching thing.

"Ready people!" Gippal stated as they all took aim. "Steady..." He told them as they waited for the thing to get within range.

"FIRE!"

At Gippal's command every single Al Bhed around him open fired on the approaching red thing, filling the air with smoke as the combined assault of dozens of Machina weapons honed in on the thing. What happened next was something none of them were expecting though, as several missiles were similarly shot out of the approaching thing.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

Numerous explosions rocked the area as each and every one of the rockets and grenades fired at the thing were blown up before they even got close to it.

"Ec dryd y Machina?!(is that a Machina)" One of the Al Bhed asked incredulously, making them all pause as the same feelings surged through everyone there, the feeling of awe as they had never seen such a Machina before. Gippal however narrowed his one eye as he watched the apparent Machina approach them, before saying,

"Stand down everyone." Though they hesitated somewhat, everyone around him slowly stood down as the Machina finally reached them. Instead of coming to a gradual halt though, it turned so that its side was facing them as it slid along the dirt road until it finally came to a halt right before the bridge they were all stationed on.

For a moment no one did anything as they simply stared at the sleek body of the Machina, listening as it's engine rumbled lightly. Then the Machina became still and quiet as it was seemingly turned off.

With its Windows being completely black from the outside, none of them could tell what was going on within until one of the doors opened, and a large figured covered in red fur stepped out.

"Well that's certainly one way to greet someone." Alex said as he looked around at the gathered Al Bhed, while only Gippal stepped forward and said,

"Yeah, well you can't really blame us when someone shows up in something like this. Though I will say that she is a thing of beauty..." As he trailed off Gippal began to truly admire the vehicle before him, as never before had he seen something so sleek and beautiful in his life. His admiration was cut short though when the second door opened, and the most famous person in Spira stepped out of the vehicle this time.

Gippal let out a long whistle as he remarked,

"The High Summoner herself, well this is a surprise." Though Rikku exited the car after Yuna, all of Gippal's attention was on her as he leaned in closer to her and continued,

"Never been this close to a celebrity before." Leaning back from Gippal, Yuna awkwardly said,

"That's nice..." Seeing her reaction, Gippal smirked as he commented,

"I could get used to this." Yuna looked even more awkward at that as she said,

"Let's not..." Hearing all of this, Alex cocked an eyebrow as he looked over towards them from the other side of the car, where he was helping Paine get out. It was apparently only then that Gippal noticed Rikku behind Yuna, and said,

"Hey Rikku, how ya been? I saw Brother and Buddy not too long ago." Rikku however seemed to barely even react to Gippal's greeting, as her face was completely red and she appeared to be avoiding everyone gazes, specifically Alex's. Yuna however leapt at the chance to change the topic as she asked despite her own rosy cheeks,

"The two of you know each other?" Though he was looking at Rikku with concern, Gippal nodded as he replied,

"Yep, we made quite the couple a while back." That seemed to get Rikku's attention though, as she embarrassedly cried out,

"Fryd yna oui cyoehk?!(What are you saying?!)" Though Gippal would usually consider her reaction to be normal embarrassment, he did notice that only then did Rikku seem to glance in Alex's direction nervously after her exclamation. Looking Alex over once again, Gippal remarked,

"Let me guess, the rebound?" Though Alex frowned at Gippal's implication, he didn't deny anything as Gippal continued,

"Well, I guess that I should take it as a compliment that the guy after me is apparently some kind of emperor." He then held out his hand to shake while adding, "Gippal of the Machine Faction." Though Gippal seemed annoying, Alex knew he wasn't truly a bad person, so he grasped the offered hand and said while giving it a firm shake,

"Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor." As the two shook hands in greeting, Rikku then leapt at changing the topic as she asked,

"So, are you all going somewhere?" Gippal glanced around at all the men who were still standing there watching them, who then took that as a hint to get back to work as he cocked a brow and asked Rikku,

"You haven't heard?" Most of her earlier embarrassment gone by now with growing curiosity, Rikku asked,

"Heard what?" Gippal then appeared uncharacteristically serious as he told her,

"Someone rebuilt Home." Rikku immediately froze when she heard that, before uttering in dumbfoundment,

"What...?" Gippal nodded in understanding at her amazement, before going on to explain,

"The head of my excavation team on Bikanel island, Nhadala, reported seeing strange lights in the direction of Home the other night. When she took her team and went to investigate the next day, they found that Home had been completely restored, as if nothing even happened that day." Gippal then paused to let Rikku absorb what he had told her, as she stared ahead blankly from the news.

He then continued after a moment,

"Now we're planning move our base of operation to Home while using Djose as a smaller base on Spira for any other groups to contact us. We're setting sail tomorrow." Rikku then looked up as he finished speaking and asked,

"Do you have any idea who fixed it?" Gippal however shook his head as he replied,

"I know your old man had plans to repair it, but doing so would've costed a ton of Gil(money in Spira). Last I heard he was working on some harebrained scheme to order to make the Gil." When Gippal mentioned her father Rikku's brow twitched, as last she heard he and Brother had an argument and hadn't spoken to each other since.

She also knew firsthand that her pops could be incredibly hardheaded and stubborn towards those around him, to the point that he even refused to speak to his own sister after she married Yuna's father, a 'Yevonite', until Yuna herself had been born. He was also fairly extreme, as when they tried to fight Sin his own 'great idea' was to actually crash the airship they were on into Sin itself.

As Rikku tried to think of who might have fixed Home, Gippal suddenly caught sight of someone who had been hiding behind Alex's figure since she got out of the car, and now it was his turn to be surprised as he shouted,

"Wha-? You!?" Paine however didn't even react as she simply stuck out her hand this time, and bluntly said,

"Paine. Nice to meet you." Once again Gippal cocked a brow at Paine's attitude as he simply said,

"Riiiiiiiight..." Paine however didn't pay him anymore attention as someone called out to him, and Gippal had to get back to work preparing for their departure.

As he left Yuna looked at Rikku concernedly as she asked,

"Are you alright Rikku?" Startling slightly at Yuna's voice, Rikku said,

"Yeah, it's just hard to wrap my head around that Home has actually been fixed." Rikku was so distracted by this news, that she didn't even notice Alex approaching until he panted a chaste kiss on the top of her head, and whispered to her,

"Think nothing of it." Rikku then looked up at him in alarm as she asked,

"Did you do it?!" Alex however made a shushing gesture to her, making Rikku quiet down as he said,

"Of course I didn't, but one of my wives did on my orders." Rikku looked as if numerous emotions went through her at once at that information, before she finally asked,

"Why...? How...?" Alex however just shrugged and said,

"Why not?" The trio just looked at Alex curiously at that, before he said to them,

"Doing such a thing is a fairly trivial matter to us, so why not repair some of the damage done to Spira and its people as a kind gesture?" The girls were silent when they heard that before Yuna asked,

"Were you also behind Macalania Temple too?" Alex nodded as he explained,

"Without the Fayth in the temple the Macalania Woods have already begun to disappear. I had one of my wives investigate the woods to figure out a way to remedy this, and the end result was the restoration of the temple itself. The Fayth may not be useable for summoning anymore, but it still carries the power of faith that has been poured into it for over a thousand years."

The girls were silent for several moments as they absorbed this, before Yuna hesitantly asked,

"But, wouldn't it be better to let something that has been destroyed rest? Isn't that the more respectful thing to do?" Alex turned to look at Yuna when she asked that, cocking a brow as he did so, before answering,

"I'd say that depends really." He then walked towards the edge of the cliffs they were on, and added, "I want to show you guys something."

With Yuna, Rikku and Paine following Alex to the edge of the cliffs curiously, they were able to see the choppy and violent surf below. What happened next though was something that resounded within the hearts of everyone who witnessed it for years to come.

Without a single word, fanfare, or any discernible effort on his part, Alex slowly raised his right hand and the world itself seemed to respond to his will.

Below them, the ocean water that always angrily hammered against the cliffs began to recede at an alarming rate, with the level dropping lower and lower until the tops of numerous ruins were visible. Meanwhile, in the distance, the water level was rising as all of the water that being forced out began to amass into a massive wall, reaching along the entire length of the Mushroom Rock Road until it began to even tower over them.

"What do you see?" Alex asked them suddenly, startling everyone who was staring dumbstruck at what he had done.

"....a massive wall of water...?" Rikku asked hesitantly, to which Alex shook his head with a wry smile.

"All of the ruins." Paine said as she looked down to the seabed, directing everyone else's attention down there as well. Alex nodded slowly before saying,

"Yep. One thing I've noticed since arriving is that almost every single inch of Spira is littered in them, from the mainland, to the islands, and even under most of the oceans." Looking directly at Yuna, Alex then asked,

"So how much of Spira exactly had been 'destroyed' at some point? Wouldn't the people living in areas so close to, or right on top of these ruins be disrespectful?" Yuna was silent as she contemplated what Alex was saying.

Though it was true that Yuna wanted the places she had visited and seen to remain the same, she also understood what Alex was talking about. If every place that had some type of 'memory' attached to it was preserved instead of being restored or built upon, then there'd be no place in Spira for people to go.

"I understand what you're saying..." Yuna began hesitantly, before continuing, "I just don't to lose those memories..." Alex nodded in understanding at her hesitation, and said,

"There's nothing wrong with that, but remember that those memories will always be locked away here." With his left hand Alex pointed directly to Yuna's heart, which he had to admit was one of the cheesiest things he had ever done.

It seemed to have done the job though, as Yuna seriously considered his words for a moment.

This was probably one of the biggest issues Alex foresaw with his actions in Asora, that Yuna would reject his actions due to her own experiences. One of her biggest concerns in the original Final Fantasy X-2 was the blatant tourism and disrespect that people began to show towards places that she had fond memories of, while others had actually been at risk of being destroyed or burned down.

Alex of course had no plans of doing anything so extreme or disrespectful, but he did have some plans for Spira that Yuna might have a problem with due to them involving some of the places she wanted to preserve. Hopefully by discussing such things now though, Alex would be able to avoid any complications between them in the future.

Of course Yuna wasn't able to think things through peacefully, as at that moment numerous screeches echoed through the air as hundreds of fiends that made their home on the sea floor started to rush them. Again the Al Bhed around them began to prepare for combat while the girls similarly prepared themselves, however Alex didn't feel like entertaining the fiends at the moment.

"And we were having a decent moment too." Alex growled with a tick mark appearing on his forehead. He then declared a single word with such authority and power, that it echoed across the coast menacingly.

"Die."

While Alex intentionally prevented his command from affecting the people around him, all of the fiends on the sea floor suddenly dropped like marionettes with their strings cut, before dissolving into Pyreflies. Shaking his head at them like he hadn't just slaughtered an entire horde of fiends with a single word, Alex released his control on the ocean and then turned back to Yuna as he said,

"Just keep what I said in mind Yuna." He then began to make his way to the Travel Agency right outside of Djose Temple, intending to book them a room for the night while the trio behind him thought on Alex's earlier words.