-46-

X hit water knowing quite well he was putting himself at a disadvantage. If Mako had decided to wait close the oil platform and stay near the surface he could very well try to bite him in half. Fortunately, the shark maverick wasn't there. X clung to one of the rig's large concrete supports to gather his surroundings, allowing his optics to adjust to the waters and his sensors to provide him with vital information while his servomotors automatically adjusted for underwater motion.

The blue hunter expected to see Mako in front of him, swimming at full speed and trying to put as much distance between him and the platform as possible, but that was not the case. Yes, the evasive shark was escaping, but he was going in a descending trajectory, obviously wanting to go deep, hoping to avoid detection. A clever plan that could have worked, but Tsunami Mako didn't know Splash Woman could send a signal directly to X, sharing her location at all times if she desired.

Aiming carefully with his buster, X shot two quick blasts of searing solar energy at the shark; the solar bullets hit their intended target, causing Mako to twist in pain and reach for his scorched back as he turned to look at his attacker.

"It's over Mako, don't make it worse!" X warned as he prepared a charged shot.

…

Splash Woman was furious. She hated being manipulated and forced to do things she didn't want to do. It was one of the things that had remained with her after Wily reprogrammed her and used her as a puppet. Because of that, the seething mermaid, kneeling inside the bubble with her hands pressing against the surprisingly resistant material around her, was already planning on different ways to escape this unfortunate situation. She knew Mako was stronger and faster than she was, but believed that if she used her Special Weapon cleverly, that fact wouldn't matter much.

He talked to her, but she refused to answer his ramblings about how she belonged to him. She instead discreetly brought her hand to her hip, her fingers barely touching the compartment where she kept her trident hidden in its compact form. It would be risky, but she believed she could reach for her weapon, extend it to full length and shoot a Laser Trident aimed at Tsunami Mako's face before he could react. With some luck she would be able to incapacitate him long enough for her to teleport away.

But in the end she didn't have to. One look behind the maverick revealed X was already in the water.

…

Tsunami Mako was feeling particularly pleased. Planting those explosive charges under the platform had paid off; now the hunters would be too busy trying to save the Cossack boy and dealing with Stab Swordfish. True, those were but small distractions, but combined they should be enough to provide him with the time he needed to escape with his precious mermaid.

He kept pushing the bubble down, glad that the material was heavy enough for him to move it underwater with little difficulty in spite of it being full of air, grinning at Splash Woman as he went. Mako could hardly wait to link with her, as he figured Robot Masters had that feature too, and if they didn't, well, he knew people who could probably make the necessary modifications on her body. And in the remote case it was impossible to do it he could always keep her as a trophy, a prize for him to look at and occasionally talk to when he felt bored.

"Don't be angry. You were mine since the moment I found you," Mako told her grinning arrogantly. "Everything I find under the sea belongs to me, you are no exception."

The Robot Master ignored him and looked away from him, something that he found particularly endearing. He would truly enjoy breaking her mind until she was completely under his control. Of course, that could damage her programming a little, but he trusted it wouldn't be anything that would end up turning her into a mindless puppet; it would ruin the thrill of possessing her.

That was when he felt the twin impacts on his back, painfully burning through his thin armor.

Mako hissed in pain and reached for his wounded back as he turned to look at the platform, already knowing who had attacked him: Mega Man X.

"Curse him!" The enraged maverick thought. "Why is he here, did he let the Cossack child die?"

"It's over Mako, don't make it worse!" Warned X, his buster glowing now with unreleased power.

"It would be best if you stop," Splash Woman recommended. "As much as I dislike you for this, you are the reason why I'm here. I'm still thankful for that, let X arrest you."

"Never, X!" he shouted, dismissing both X's warning and the mermaid's advice. "I won't give her up, I found her… Splash Woman is mine!"

A loud boom and a sudden change in the current shoving them further away surprised them then, and a quick glance revealed to the shark that an entire section of the platform had just crumbled into the ocean right above X.

…

Mega Man X first noticed the sound, a rumbling loud and fierce followed by a sudden shift in the water that pushed him down, followed by his sensors immediately alerting him of a massive object falling above him. Looking up, the hunter could only stare as he saw the titanic mess of steel and concrete descending upon him. It was deceivingly fast, and so gigantic it wouldn't matter what he did, it would crush him!

But he could not let that happen, he had to rescue his sister!

Should he teleport? No, he decided instantly, he didn't have any coordinates set so evading it that way would only give Mako time to escape and make the chase far more difficult. Then what? Summon one of his armors? Normally Alia would send the armor to him, but she wasn't in HQ!

Cursing his luck and realizing he had no time to waste, X jumped away from the support he had been holding on to and then immediately activated his dash, hoping this would help him clear the falling wreckage.

For a moment it seemed as if he would be able to do it, but a steel beam struck him between the shoulders, dragging him down to the bottom, where he was crushed by several tons of debris.

…

"Yes!" Tsunami Mako shouted in triumph. "Yes, yes, yes, YES!"

Splash Woman tried to scream at the scene but the shock stalled her voice box, and all she managed was a weak whimper. Was X gone? No, he was her only family, he couldn't die!

"There is no way he survived that!" the shark declared with a grin. "He's dead!"

The mermaid wasn't paying attention to what her captor was saying, she had activated her sonar and was carefully analyzing the information she was receiving. It was difficult, the noise and vibrations released by the impact caused interference. Frustrated, she activated her RMC Field and expanded it as much as she could; combining the information she obtained this way with her sonar readings, finally detecting a faint signal that got stronger as the pieces of the platform and the sand settled on the bottom.

"He lives!" she discovered, smiling as she let out a sigh of relief. Her brother was alive!

"What are you doing?" Mako asked. His sensors, entirely optimized for underwater operation, had alerted him of what Splash Woman was doing, so he followed her example and also combed the area confirming that, indeed, X was still alive. "I can't believe this, why won't he die?"

"He's Doctor Light's masterpiece," Splash Woman said. "He can't be defeated so easily."

"Well, masterpiece or not he must be extremely damaged after that." Tsunami Mako opined as he wedged Splash Woman's bubble between some rocks. "And I'm the one who is going to finish him off. I'll do what Sigma and Lumine couldn't… I will kill Mega Man X!"

"No, don't hurt him… I'll do anything you want!" Splash Woman begged. "But please…!"

"You will do what I want regardless, now watch while I destroy him!" the shark interrupted and swam at full speed towards X with the intention of biting his head off.

…

Splash Woman waited anxiously until Tsunami Mako was at a prudent distance before reaching for her Trident. She extended it to full length and then used it to pierce the bubble she was trapped in, turning her legs back into a tail as soon as water touched her. The Robot Master glanced around and thanked her maker for her good luck, Mako was so eager to kill her brother that he didn't notice her escape.

"I'll save you, brother!" she promised, pushing her rage aside as she focused on swimming faster and faster while storing energy in her hands, preparing a charge for her Laser Trident.

Mega Man X could not move much. The weight on his back kept pushing him down, and the soft sand under him appeared to be too eager to swallow him. X, more than half his body trapped under the crushing weight, tried again to shove the debris off him but again it was useless. He had never been in a situation like this before and despite his considerable strength, lifting the platform remains trapping him appeared to be an impossible task.

"It's time to die, X!" Tsunami Mako announced, swimming at him with incredible speed.

The blue hunter did not respond, but reacted quickly by shooting a charged shot at the maverick. His aim was not perfect however, and Mako was able to simply roll to the side, avoiding the attack without sacrificing much speed. Gritting his teeth, X kept firing as he tried to get free.

"I'm not going to waste this chance to destroy you!" Mako growled, going left to dodge X's last attack as he increased his speed and moved down, jaws open aiming to bite the hunter in half.

"I won't let you hurt my brother!" Splash Woman warned, following her oath by firing a fully charged Laser Trident at the malicious shark ahead of her.

Tsunami Mako had only time to react when she heard Splash Woman's voice, and tried to roll to the side to avoid the huge energy trident she had thrown at him. The charged Laser Trident was incredibly fast, however, and he couldn't dodge it completely, getting hit in his left arm above the elbow.

The attack proved to be catastrophic. The trident went through his arm and kept going, hitting the debris trapping X and slicing a large chunk off it.

But Mako had no time to notice that, the incredible agony going through his chest and torso made him scream in pain, and seeing how his power fluid stained the water black around him only increased his fury. Giving in to his rage, the shark entered a frenzied state and zigzagged up and then left, leaving a trail of black as he moved with incredible speed dodging three more Laser Tridents Splash Woman sent his way.

"We had a deal!" He shouted slamming the mermaid from above, his superior speed allowing him to hit her before she could react. "You were supposed to come along quietly!"

Splash Woman had to spin and stretch her arms and tail to recover her balance, her systems screaming and warning her about the sudden energy drop. The Robot Master cursed, her Power Core had descended to 54% after one single hit!

"At least there's no internal damage…" she thought, wincing in pain as she touched her bruised right shoulder. "But I can't let him hit me again!"

"Stop!" X pleaded, fear evident in his voice as he struggled harder to get free, actually managing to slightly move the massive weight crushing him. "It's me you want, Mako, leave her alone!"

"Shut up, this was your fault, X, you made her do this! But it doesn't matter anymore, I'll fix her attitude later!" The shark shouted. Mako had decided reprogramming Splash Woman would be necessary, which meant damaging her a little was now an acceptable option. Opening his mouth wide, he activated the powerful micro-turbines in his gills and unleashed a mighty water current that the mermaid had no time to avoid.

Trapped in the powerful Tsunami Wave, Splash Woman could only scream as she was slammed against the wreckage. The impact was so strong the mermaid cracked the concrete and sank to the bottom, several pieces of debris falling on top of her, completely burying her right in front of Mega Man X.

"It's all over, X!" Mako declared, once again planning to decapitate the blue hunter.

…

Whatever threat Tsunami Mako had shouted, Mega Man X didn't hear it. His eyes were set on the heavy concrete and metal burying his sister. He had desperately tried to sense if she was alive, even activating his advanced RMC Field without any success. The black stain that filtered through the rubble did tell him she was leaking power fluid. She was damaged, perhaps beyond repair!

X felt a cold wave of fear invade his systems.

Did he earn a sister only to see her die? Was he destined to be last Lightbot again? Abandoned and alone?

No, he refused to even consider that possibility! Splash Woman had to live. He would save her no matter the cost. He could not lose his only family!

His hands sinking in the sand as he used all his strength to push, X again was met with failure. It was simply too heavy!

"I'll crush your skull between my jaws!"

Listening to Mako only enraged X further. Tsunami Mako had not only kidnapped an innocent child and hurt a defenseless human. He had hurt his sister. And that was unforgivable! Fury filling his core, Mega Man X decided it was time to end this.

"Maaaaakooooo!" X shouted, his body switching colors as he activated the Apollo chip, unleashing his unstoppable power with a mighty golden aura that swiftly cracked the wreckage above him and caused it to crumble into gravel as he finally stood up, energy swirling around him at such high temperatures the water around him started to vaporize.

"Don't think that scares me!" the shark maverick challenged, too frantic to recognize the danger he was in. "I got a Nightmare Drive from Lumine just in case you used one of your tricks. I didn't have it with me before, but now… now it'll be your doom!"

Saying nothing more, Tsunami Mako activated the Nightmare Drive and cackled as the power of the nightmare souls filled his Core, giving him an incredible energy boost that made his body glow green. He had never felt so strong in his life, his wounds and his missing arm no longer mattered. This power made him invincible!

"I'll destroy you, X!" Mako howled, attacking the blue hunter with a super charged version of his Tsunami Wave, confident that X would be eliminated by the powerful pressure of his nightmare enhanced Special Weapon.

The mighty current hit X with full force, dissolving much of the sunken platform section behind him, lifting sand and rocks in a whirlwind of aquatic fury that were carried far away by the strong water currents released by the maverick.

"I did it, I defeated X! I surpassed Sigma and Lumine!" The shark, now standing at the bottom, declared with a satisfied grin. The sand had yet to set, and the murky waters had reduced visibility in front of him to almost nothing, but his sensors were not detecting anything other than the immobile form of Splash Woman, still buried under a few tons of debris to his right.

A single spark of gold pierced the dark waters then and before Mako could react, Mega Man X, still surrounded by a burning aura and completely undamaged, dashed at full speed towards him. X moved so fast that Tsunami Mako could only stare as the hunter's fist went through his torso, disrupting his systems and overloading them, causing irreversible damage.

"What was that?" He managed to get out, looking down at the massive hole in his midsection, not understanding what had just happened. How could X have so much power? He was already defeated, trapped and weak under hundreds of tons of concrete and metal, this was impossible!

"Solar Dash," X answered, not turning to face his defeated adversary. "And it's less than what you deserve, maverick."

Tsunami Mako could not reply. His systems finally gave and his Power Core exploded with a loud blast, leaving nothing behind.

…

"Please let her be alright!" X thought as he frantically tossed rocks to the side. He quickly found her arm, and then the rest of her. Power Fluid escaped from some of the cracks in her armor, the worst fissure located in her tail. He did a scan but other than her armor and low energy levels she appeared to be in good condition.

"Must take her out of here so I can look at her better," X decided, carefully picking up his sister and quickly teleporting back to the oil platform.

"Splash Woman?" He called once he materialized on the rig. "Sister, can you hear me?"

Silence.

"Splash Woman, please answer me!" X begged, holding her close to his chest. "Please talk to me!"

She stirred, groaned and then…

"I hear you… I just… I feel dizzy… give me a second," she coughed, finally opening her eyes and shaking her head to clear it.

"How are you feeling?" X asked.

"Systems say my armor's going to need fixing. And I'm leaking power fluid, but it's not that bad, I've been worse," she said, her voice steadier now. "And I could really use a nap, I'm exhausted."

"You can sleep all you want once I take you to HQ for repairs," X chided, then laughed as he found he couldn't maintain the stern brother charade; he was too happy to see her awake for that.

"Where's Mako?" the mermaid asked as X carefully placed her on the ground. He kneeled in front of her, and appeared to tense after hearing her question.

"Tsunami Mako won't be bothering us again," X said, turning serious as he spoke. "I made sure of that."

Splash Woman nodded, understanding what X meant. She reached for his shoulder and offered him an encouraging smile.

"You did what you had to, Mako was dangerous and had endangered a human," she told him, her eyes set on his. "Thank you for rescuing me."

"You rescued me first," X said and smiled back at her. "Your charged Laser Trident shot was impressive, sister. I didn't think it could be so powerful."

"I'll have to thank Doctor Light for that, his upgrades were very useful."

"Yeah… father always delivers with those."

Splash Woman nodded again, looking at X and feeling happy that he was there for her, there to be her family, her brother.

"I'm sure Alia and the others are worried," Mega Man X said then. "I think I should call her to let her know we're fine."

"You won't have to," she smiled and pointed up behind X, "She's above us."

"Above?" X asked and looked up, his eyes meeting an angelical vision approaching them. Was the winged figure he saw really Alia? She was… she was stunningly beautiful. How could he not have seen it before?

"She looks prettier than before, huh?" Splash Woman whispered, playfully poking at X's side. The mermaid had finally decided that Alia was almost worthy of being close to her brother, and that it was her duty as the oldest sister to tease X about it. "You should tell her later."

"What…? But I… what?" X stammered, confused by his sister's words and sudden change of mood.

"Oh, my, look at your face, it's redder than a tomato!" Splash Woman chuckled, raising her right hand to greet Alia, who was about to touch ground in front of them.

=0=

Notes.

Third arc completed!

First of all, thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!

This chapter marks the end of what I consider to be season 1, and next chapter we'll begin with the next one.

I'm sure you all can guess some of the things that will happen in season 2, but I will still include what I hope will be interesting revelations and a few twists that might surprise you.

The story will return after a short hiatus, see you soon!