Shadow of Elements

Escape

Five days after the fight, X would awaken. He groaned as he propped himself up. He looked around. "Where am I?!?" A red object caught his eye. It looked strangely familiar. He managed to get up and went over to inspect it. Upon picking it up, he realizes that it was Alpha's helmet. "Wait... This is Alpha's helmet... She must be here somewhere...." He looks around. He called her name. There was no response. He tries contacting her using the communication signals. There was no response. In a desperate attempt, he would search the place, continuing to call his fiancée's name. The only other sign he could see of her was a trail. Out of curiosity, he follows it. As he was walking around, he heard maniacal laughter.

"So you're finally awake eh?" A voice called out. Alarmed, X would turn a hand into his buster and point it. That voice was threateningly familiar. He saw Sukaji emerge from a shadow as if it were a doorway. "Well well well.... I was not expecting you to be up so soon...." He grinned like a madman.
"What have you done to her?!?" X held the helmet close while pointing his buster at Sukaji.
"Isn't it obvious?" The silver-haired maverick let off a coy expression. "She's gone. And there's nothing you can do to bring her back." Rage started to burn within X. He fires a charge shot at him. The silver-haired maverick ducked underneath the shot, making the projectile hit a pillar. The already unstable temple started to give way even more. Rubble started to crash down on Sukaji. This gave X his opportunity to make his escape. When Sukaji managed to get himself free, he saw X running off. He gave in to chase. Every so often, X would glance back to see Sukaji behind him.

"No... I can't let him catch up... I can't let him persist...!" He thought. He would fire a gust of wind every so often in an attempt to blow Sukaji away from him; sometimes even firing a bomb. Every shot X took continued to slow down his perpetrator. X would soon see the exit. He had to hurry as rubble started to block the entryway. However, X tripped and nearly fell on his face. Sukaji was able to catch up to him. He would slash at X with his katana, only to scrape the ground. X rolled out of the way and sprang back up, firing a shot as he made one last retreat.

Just as X escaped, the entrance to the temple collapsed. The building caved in. Sukaji was trapped inside. X didn't dare look back until he was a few paces away from the ruined temple. He was breathing heavily. Not even Sigma could have given him a scare like that. He looks into Alpha's helmet. He finds a small scrap of paper taped inside. He takes it and reads it. In her handwriting, it said 'Never forget.' He held the helmet close to his chest for a brief moment as if to pay respect to her. Afterward, he would start his return to the base, following the footsteps Alpha had set down.