-45-

Axl was having trouble adequately parrying Stab Swordfish's attacks. The pirate was as skilled with a sword as Pallette had warned him, and the only reason why the young hunter had managed to so far avoid getting cut was because of his training with Zero. But Axl knew he had to finish this quickly, if he made just one mistake Swordfish would gut him without remorse, not to mention he also had to help Alia save Mikhail, he had to win soon!

"You're not bad," Swordfish appraised, locking blades with Axl. "I see you hunters aren't all talk."

"You'll see more than that!" Axl growled and pushed hard, shoving the pirate to the left and following the move with a quick swipe of his Claw Gun.

"Good move, but no finesse whatsoever!" the pirate judged and responded with a riposte that forced Axl to jump back in order to avoid being stabbed. "No finesse even when you dodge, what a brute."

"I'm the brute? You're the one who almost killed my father!" the young hunter shot back and resumed attacking, this time paying more attention to what he did, making sure that he used all he had learned about fighting blade-wielding enemies from both Wind Crowrang and Zero.

"What happened to Viktor Cossack wasn't personal!" Stab Swordfish argued deflecting as best as he could Axl's wild sword swings. "It was just business and I wouldn't have cut him if he hadn't gotten in the way!"

"I don't care, you still hurt him!" Axl furiously recalled. "And I'll punish you for that!"

"Well, that's what you think," Swordfish disagreed and changed his stance bringing both swords back and bending down slightly, the blade in his helmet pointing forward.

But the pirate couldn't complete his attack, for the oil rig creaked and trembled as a fracture crisscrossed its way through the platform. The rig had truly started to collapse!

=0=

Alia, focusing on Mikhail, did her best to ignore both X jumping off the platform and Axl's battle with Stab Swordfish. The navigator started running towards her nephew, intending on standing below him so she could activate her new upgrade and rescue him from a better position, but a loud metallic shriek followed by the oil rig splitting in half under her feet forced her to dash jump to avoid falling to the waters below.

"I'm not going to make it!" Alia gasped, seeing the other side of the ruined platform crumbling away from her. She had miscalculated her jump! Looking up, she saw Mikhail was no longer hanging from the maintenance crane. Her nephew was free-falling to the sea!

"No, he won't die!" She swore and using a quick speed burst from her leg thrusters, Alia performed an air dash to switch directions, aiming to intercept her nephew's trajectory.

"Activate Wyndia Armor!" Alia shouted in despair, "Now!"

Following this command, the navigator's systems unleashed the power of Sergei's Cossack last creation with a flash of yellow light that fully enveloped Alia's body, finally giving her access to her complete and full potential.

When the glow faded Alia's armor had changed completely; it retained her basic colors, but was now a bit leaner, she had gained long, smooth shoulder pieces and a new breastplate, her headpiece became a little more elaborate, with a visor protecting her eyes and her Alia buster had received an upgrade, though she didn't know exactly what it could now do. The biggest change, however, were the pair of majestic white wings on her back.

This transformation needed less than a second, and not having time to evaluate her appearance or new power, Alia went after Mikhail with a speed and precision that confirmed her creator had definitively used all his skill when making this wonderful upgrade.

It took her less than a second to reach her nephew, catching him before he hit one of the rig's concrete legs. Alia sighed in relief and hugged her nephew tightly, silently thanking her maker for the upgrade. Relaxing a little, she spread her wings wide to slow her descent until she was gently hovering above the water. Smiling, she used this opportunity to remove the gag silencing the child.

"Aunt Alia you… you can fly?" Mikhail asked in awe.

"I just learned I could today," she smiled, feeling quite surprised this was the first thing the boy would ask. "Thanks to your grandfather, he made these wings for me."

"That's super cool!" smiled the child, who then looked up at the platform. "I hope Axl is ok."

"Me, too," Alia nodded. "But I'm sure he'll be alright. I'll take you home where you'll be safe, ok?"

Mikhail shook his head and pointed up at the rig.

"We must help Axl!" he indicated, concern evident in his eyes. "Stab Swordfish is dangerous!"

"But… fine, let's go see how he's doing," the navigator agreed, realizing this would give her a chance to be around in case X also needed help. "We should also try to stop the oil rig from sinking while we're at it."

"I can help with that!" Mikhail grinned, enjoying feeling useful. Now that he was safe in his aunt's arms, the boy had forgotten his fears and was eager to be a part of this adventure. "Tsunami Mako kept me in the control room for a few minutes when we came here, I noticed the main computer still works and we can activate the emergency systems; that's what we need to do, right?"

"Actually yes, it is," Alia nodded. She was familiar with the oil platform, having downloaded all the information before coming here, and knew that if emergency protocols were initiated, the main computer would activate a special mechanism to keep the rig afloat long enough for the staff to evacuate. "You're a smart boy, Mikhail. Let's do it!"

=0=

Stab Swordfish brought his swords down, trying to impale Axl, but the hunter managed to dash to the side, avoiding the attack with ease. In his desperation to escape the sinking platform, the pirate was becoming reckless, his attacks missing more and more often.

"Get out of my way!" Swordfish screamed, trying a rising kick that Axl quickly ducked under. "We have to leave before we're dragged under with the platform and crushed by the debris!"

"You're not leaving!" the hunter stated, switching from the Claw Gun to his regular pistols. Axl had realized there was no way he could surpass Swordfish with a blade, so he simply went back to what he knew best and aimed his guns at the pirate.

"Agh! You stubborn, snotty, annoying brat, I've had it with you!" Swordfish yelled, once again bringing his swords back, bending down and bringing his head forth. "Enough is enough; I'll chop you into tiny little pieces!"

Without further warning, Swordfish rushed at Axl, performing a series of quick horizontal slashes with both swords. This fast attack covered a wide range, and forced the hunter back into a large section of the platform that had collapsed on that side of the platform, effectively cornering him.

"This is the end!" Stab Swordfish announced, preparing the final blow.

"That's what you think!" Axl disputed, and dropping to one knee to steady his aim, he quickly shot three times at the pirate, hitting him in the arm, leg and torso.

Axl's gunfire was surprisingly effective, since Stab Swordfish, who like Tsunami Mako was a reploid optimized for underwater speed, possessed very light armor and received a considerable amount of damage from the piercing projectiles. His right leg failed mid-step and he crumbled, rolling and skidding to a stop at Axl's feet.

"Alright, squirt… you won," Swordfish said his good hand over the wound on his stomach. "I yield."

"Why should I arrest you?" Axl asked, aiming his gun at Swordfish's head. "You almost killed my father."

"Wait, Axl!" Mikhail shouted. "You don't have to do that!"

The young hunter looked up and saw his brother was alive, carried by a breathtaking winged figure that elegantly glided in his direction. He couldn't hold back a relieved smile, feeling so glad his brother was safe that he actually forgot his anger and thirst for revenge.

Alia touched ground and gently placed the child on the ground, she hesitated for an instant given the platform was still sinking, but in the end allowed Mikhail to go to his brother's side.

"I was so worried, are you ok?" Axl asked, hugging Mikhail while running a scan on him, finding that he was indeed unharmed.

"I'm fine, they didn't hurt me," the boy said. "How are mom and dad?"

"They'll be fine… father was wounded by this… maverick," Axl spat, some his fury returning at the memory of a bleeding Viktor Cossack. "But I'll take care of him."

"Don't hurt him anymore," the Cossack boy said, placing his hands over Axl's arm, his voice suddenly sounding very old and very tired.

"He hurt our father…"

"Yes, and you won, you beat him," Mikhail told his brother. "I know Stab Swordfish hurt dad, but he's not evil like Lumine and his generals… he's just… he's just a bully who wants money."

"Listen to the kid!" the pirate begged. "He's right, I'm… I'm not a monster like the mavericks you retire… please, I won't fight you anymore."

Axl took in a deep breath, looked down at his brother's hopeful eyes and understood he had to be better for him, and the kid was right, Swordfish wasn't worth it. Calming down, he put his gun away and nodded at Mikhail.

"Be glad my brother helped me see you for what you are," Axl said sending a disgusted glare at the pirate. "You're under arrest, Stab Swordfish. All you say is being recorded and can be used against you during your trial, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Swordfish said while letting Axl put cuffs on him. "I understand."

"Axl, can you look after Mikhail for a moment?" Alia asked while looking around as if looking for something. "I need to find the platform's control room."

"Sure, and I'll call HQ for a transport, too," he assured. "We need to go back home and deliver this fish to the authorities."

=0=

Thanks to her flight mode, it took Alia less than a minute to locate the control room, and much less to activate the main computer. She found that the system was a little irresponsive after being inactive for so long, and it was even arguing it was about time the platform sank, as it would help the ecosystem by eventually becoming a shelter for fish and coral.

[And that is why it is not necessary to activate the emergency systems.]

Alia frowned after reading the computer's response. This was not helping her! Running a hand over her hair, the navigator tried a different approach.

"Scan the platform, there's a human here!" Alia stressed her point by sending an image of Mikhail to the computer. "And it's a child, you can't let him die!"

[Scan completed. You are correct. There is a human on the platform, activating emergency systems. Warning: Due to structural damage, this unit cannot guarantee the platform will remain afloat for more than two hours.]

"Two hours is fine," the navigator said certain that would be enough time for a vehicle from HQ to arrive to their location. "Thank you."

She heard the unmistakable sound of heavy machinery below her, and soon the platform steadied, stopping its slow descent into the cold sea. She had done it, they would be safe for a while. Now all she needed was to see X again. Thinking of him, Alia walked to the nearby window and looked down at the dark waters below. Was he alright down there? Mako was cornered and very dangerous, willing to do anything to win. Could X defeat him?

"I know you can, X. But please be safe… please win!" She pleaded silently, pressing her hands against her chest. "Win and return to me…"

=0=

Notes:

Shout out to Luna Eevee! You guessed right, Alia's upgrade was indeed a suit of armor.

The Wyndia Armor described here is based on the character 'Nina' from the first Breath of Fire, a classic RPG series from Capcom. In that game, the Wyndia kingdom is where winged people live, and the princesses of said kingdom are all winged, blonde girls that share the name Nina.

Next chapter comes the final clash between X and Tsunami Mako, see you then!