Metroid: Dread

By Gigawolf1

Before the Dawn

8 years earlier

Samus Aran landed her gunship on the desolate planet far from the core of the Galactic Federation. The planet had been special to her since she was young. The Chozo had only let her leave the boring inner levels of Zebes when they took her here. No Metroids lived on the mostly barren world of Conad IX, and so she still came sometimes. After finishing a mission and receiving her pay, she felt it was important to hide her prizes on an empty world.

Her latest prize was incredible. The weapon was known as the Omega Cannon, and was hidden behind many monsters. Six others had come along with her to claim this prize, but they had fallen to Gorea, the evil that destroyed the creators of this dark weapon. A single shot from the Cannon could tear apart enemies with incredible power.

She loved to relax on this planet, whose air was not toxic to her Chozo blood. She removed her suit, revealing the body of a woman who was always moving, and was always physically fit. She only brought one other person here, and he was dead. Though she relaxed here, she also hated the lonely memories it gave her.

Her hatred turned to the Metroids. The Chozo had been insane to allow those monsters to survive. That had been the death of the Chozo race: the Space Pirates wanted the Metroids, and killed off the Chozo for it. Now, her suit, ship, and blood were all the legacy they had. That, and the Metroids. But Samus swore to herself she would destroy all Metroids, no matter what.

Present Day

Samus landed on the same spot she had gone to thousands of times before. Her ship was different from those times. This ship had the A.I. of Adam Malkovich, the only other human to ever set foot on Conad IX. His mind had been put into the Ship, and now she had eliminated all but one Metroid. The DNA of the last Metroid had been put into her, and now she was what she swore to destroy. She had come to Conad IX to once again use her Omega Cannon, to destroy the Space Pirates, and finally, herself.

These plans were delayed when she found the Omega Cannon was not where she left it. Cursing, she linked to Adam and asked if he could sense anything. "I'm not getting any readings, Lady. There are a few bio-signs, but nothing that could… Damn! You have company, Lady, and you're not going to like it!"

She dodged as the powerful bounty hunter known as Noxus hit the ground. "Samus… You've gone against the law, and we all know that means you have to be punished."

A laugh escaped the suit of the powerful bounty hunter. "Just Noxus? Sure, you can freeze me, but you're not a threat! Even Trace is more dangerous than you!"

'Noxus' grinned, and in a flash, became Trace. "I'm more dangerous than Noxus? He's very dangerous, I assure you. Hey, Noxus! Samus thinks you're not as dangerous as me!"

A whisper came from behind the hunter. "I'm not, am I? Well then, Trace must be very strong. I once caught a ship with nothing but my own body. Everyone else has given up since. You'll be the next to meet justice."

A haze surrounded the hunter, and then formed in front of her. Now, her hated enemy, the bounty hunter known as Sylux, held his gun to her face. "Let me be the one to finish her, Noxus. I have wanted her dead for so long! The Federation has committed so many crimes, and she has helped! You can have them, but I get to end her."

The ground boiled as a Dialance fell down the rock wall. Spire unfolded from within, laughing. "The Diamont worship me, Samus, but I chose to leave my lost people just to help kill you. What a pity they won't be able to see me do it. Sylux may have that honour."

From nowhere, Kanden and Weavel appeared. Adam couldn't help, even if he did have the weapons needed. One missed shot, and Samus would be the one vaporized instead. Acting quickly, she entered Morph Ball form. Dropping a Power Bomb, she escaped into Adam to fly away. Sylux surrounded her, draining her energy. No Power Bomb could drive him away, and bombs wouldn't work on him either. Sylux was no Metroid…

A scream reached her ears. The hunters ran away, except for Noxus, who had been chased away by the Power Bomb. She sighed, but instead released a small "Squee!"

Looking at a patch of ice left by Noxus, Samus discovered that she was floating above the ground, had small fangs, and was green with several red neural connections resembling a brain. To her horror, she found she was a true Metroid.

AN: Long first chapter. So much to explain, so little time to do so.