Shadow of Elements

Retrieval

Writer's Note!: This chapter will start the ending that is canon for my MegaMan X storyline. The bad ending will start at the chapter titled "Imprisonment", which is two chapters from here.

Alpha's rocky barrier began to crumble. She was panting like a dog, just barely able to stand. Keeping the barrier up took a toll on her. As for Sukaji, he was caught under a pile of rubble. His aura barrier had broken while the ceiling had collapsed. He just barely managed to pull himself out of the rubble. Alpha could hear him groaning in pain. She would approach to get a closer inspection. To her surprise, Sukaji didn't even try to sneak an attack on her.
"Heh... It seems as if I underestimated you." Despite him smiling like a madman, Alpha knew that there was defeat in his expression. His bangs once again covered his left eye. Despite her rage boiling, Alpha just couldn't bring herself to say anything. "I know exactly what you're thinking... You don't need to say it... As much as you hate me... you don't have the heart to kill me...  Heh... Some part of you actually hoped you could help me redeem myself... but I missed that chance long ago... Roku will not forgive me; I've already accepted that... The least you could do for me is to just do it... Take my weapon and use it." His expression softens, almost as if he were in the presence of a beloved sibling. "While you're at it..." With whatever energy he had left, he moved the bangs off of the left side of his face. "Destroy the eye... It was the whole reason why I went bad... You don't want anyone falling down the same path I did... would you?" He let out one weak laugh. Despite Alpha's hatred for Sukaji, the very reploid responsible for the death of her adoptive brother, tears started welling down her face. She picks up the hilt of Sukaji's beam katana and ignites it. She was about ready to land a final blow. Sukaji closed his eyes. He knew that his fate was about to be sealed. All he could do was accept it. After a bit of hesitation, she thrust the katana through Sukaji's chest. Sukaji let out a yell of pain and yet he looked so calm. He managed to crack a grateful smile before he drew his last breath. Sukaji has passed, but Alpha was not done yet; she still had to destroy the eye. She kneels to Sukaji's face and carefully removed the eye out of his left socket. She stares into it for a bit before closing her hand around it. After a moment of hesitation, she squeezed the eye as hard as she could. She heard it crack. She felt a sharp pain go through her entire system. She tried to hold in a scream. The harder she squeezed, the more pain she felt. Eventually, the pain subsided; she had crushed the eye to dust. A wisp of energy was released as she let go. The Shadow's Eye was no more. She looked back to Sukaji, still in disbelief at what she had done. She picks up his lifeless body and would walk back to where she saw the gardens. Almost as if someone had recently been there, a hole was already dug; one that was big enough to fit an average-sized reploid. A ring of dirt was scattered around it. Noticing it, Alpha would approach the hole and lay Sukaji inside. The red hunter pushed the dirt into the hole until she could no longer see him. She set his katana on top of the patch. She stood there for a brief moment. Despite her hatred for him, she was silent almost as if to pay her respects to him.

After the moment had passed, she returned to where she fought Sukaji. On her way, she turned on her communications system. Alpha found X in the same place she did before. She kneeled to his level and carefully turned him on his back. "X? ... X?!? Are you alright?" She nudged him. There was no response. She patted his shoulders. There was no response. Worried, she would place a hand on his chest. She felt a pulse. He was still alive. She would start sending a transmission to the Maverick Hunter HQ. She picks up a signal.

"Layer at Hunter HQ, who am I contacting?"
"This is Alpha. I've located X. He's in a critical condition...!"
"Stand by, Alpha. We're picking up your coordinates." The navigator replied. The hunter could hear the indistinct chatter behind the navigators' sector. Though she could hear Layer's orders. "We're getting a bed set up at Medbay. We have a warp sequence ready to transport you there. You will be transported when you are ready." As carefully as she could, Alpha would pick up the unconscious X and rest him in her arms. She stood up.
"Beam us out." Upon Alpha's affirmation, she would soon be transported to the Maverick Hunter HQ's Medbay. Just as Layer said, there was a medical bed set up for X. One of the medics, Lifesaver, would approach the two.

"Goodness! What happened to you two?" He asked.
"Don't worry about me, Lifesaver. It's X that needs your help most." The red hunter responds with urgency. The medic instructed Alpha to set X on the bed as called for two assistants. Rushing to the operation room, Cinnamon and Douglas arrived.
"What is it, Lifesaver?" Douglas asked.
"Alpha just returned from a rescue mission. X is in a critical state. I'm going to need your help with his treatment Douglas." Lifesaver then turned to Cinnamon. "As for you Cinnamon, treat Alpha's injuries."
"Wait hold on! I'm fine, I swear!" Alpha objected, but she was ushered to another worktable.
"Now Alpha! You may be conscious, but you still must get your injuries treated! How else will you continue your rescue missions if you've still got broken areas? X would definitely not be pleased if he knew you were still injured!" Cinnamon did have a point. "But not to worry, once your repairs are done, I'll see about X too!"

Moments later, Alpha was repaired. She would watch as X received his repairs.

"We have some good news and some bad news." X is going to be okay; everything has been fixed." Douglas began as he started putting his tools away. "However, he's going to remain unconscious for a good bit of time. He might wake up in an hour, but he might wake up after a month. It's going to take a while for his systems to return to normal, so he's going to need to rest for a while."
"I understand if you want to stay with him. If you do, we'll let you do so." Cinnamon looks up from a now repaired shoulder injury. "We'll be here to check on him from time to time. If you need us, we'll be around." As the medics left, Alpha would thank them. She turned back to X and sat down.

"X... I'm so sorry you got caught up in all of this... But he's gone now. You won't need to worry about him anymore."