How to Break a Heart of Stone
A/N: This was originally intended as a full-length fic. But after a few chapters, I realized I had no idea of what to use for a plot sequence. So I destroyed it and rw-worked what I could into a oneshot. I hope you all enjoy!
Samus' ship flew low over the landscape. Trees and fields flew by under her watchful gaze. "Any life forms?"
"Neglecting you and non-sentient animals, seven," her computer answered.
"The other ship?"
"Accounting for one."
She looked down on the map. A purple dot was sitting on one side of a large stone temple. It was the other ship they had spotted coming out of warp space. It had projected a disruption field, a very expensive and very illegal piece of equipment. But it hadn't threatened her, so she'd let it go.
But now it was in the exact place she had been sent. A suspicious feeling went down her spine.
"Put the ship down on the other side of the complex."
"Affirmative."
She left the cockpit and walked to the entry ramp. As she did, her Power Suit materialized around her, creating a completely sealed atmosphere around her. Scans had shown that the air was breathable, but it never hurt to be cautious.
There was a slight jarring as the ship touched down. The ramp lowered without being told and she walked out into the brightly lit courtyard.
A stone temple spread around her. Carvings from some long-dead age were covered over with moss. Statues of an arcane god were spaced along an avenue moving off to the right.
Her earpiece beeped once. "A life form is approaching your position."
She quietly ran over to a wall and placed her back to it. A sound of scraping rock came from around the corner. She pressed a few buttons on her cannon and spun into the opening.
The air around her seemed to become frozen in time. Directly before her was another Power Suit with an identical cannon aimed back at her. It was like looking straight into a mirror. The only difference was that the other suit was slightly more reddish and had thicker arms and legs.
Neither moved, but they each knew that the other was on the edge of pulling the trigger.
She decided to break the tension first. "How do you have a Chozo suit?"
"I could ask you the same thing," a voice answered. It was male and slightly metallic, but that could just be the speakers.
Another moment of tension passed as the gears turned in her mind. The only ones who ever possessed Chozo technology were ones who had very direct relationships with them. But most Chozo had vanished decades ago and the few that were left only appeared for very special occasions.
Like her.
An idea flashed through her mind. Could he be another Edect like she was? She'd have to test it.
Using her free hand, she reached up behind her helmet and released the seal. After the pressure equalized, she lifted it off and lowered it to the ground. Keeping her eyes on him, she lowered her gun until it pointed to the ground. Then she took her other hand, held it to her chest, and twisted it so the palm was facing back towards him. "Kletc huit hrat kht." The traditional honor greeting. If he was an Edect, he'd know this and respond appropriately.
The first rule was that this was always done face to face. Almost as slowly as she had, he reached back and removed his helmet. His face had a look of European descent, with a scruffy chin and neck. He held his hand up into the same position she held hers. "Tesk hrert ult carn."
No doubt about it. He was an Edect. And as such, they had no reason to fight. He lowered his gun. "I thought I was the only one." His voice had a light Scottish accent.
"I thought so too." She found herself looking him over. He was handsome and from the look of his suit, very well built. She could almost envision him without the external suit. Very attractive.
Her mind froze. Why was she thinking that? She'd sworn she'd never have feelings for anyone ever again. Her life was too dangerous for a relationship!
And yet her mind couldn't help it. Something about his face…
"What are you doing here?" His question brought her back.
"I got a distress signal. I can to check it out."
"Me too. Perhaps we should team up."
She picked up her helmet and replaced it before she smiled lightly. "I'd like that."
"STOP THAT!" she screamed at herself.
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They found the creature that had sent the signal. It was another native that was afraid his planet was on the verge of destruction. Samus was starting to get tired of always getting caught in the middle of these big take-over-the-planet plots and invasions.
After some guidance, they both set out. A nest of the so-called "invaders" was just outside the temple. The two walked the way, talking.
Samus enjoyed the peace as they conversed. This man, Bruce, had a very similar upbringing to her own: found orphaned on a planet, taken in by the Chozo, and turned into one of their own. She had never heard of the planet he came from, but he claimed it was beyond the Galactic Federation.
The whole while, she tried forcing her mind to think this was just a working relationship they were building. Trust and nothing more.
But she knew what love felt. And this was it.
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The hive was nothing big. It looked like just a ten foot mound of dirt. But Samus walked a bit too close and the ground caved from beneath her. She fell twenty feet into the darkness. Luckily, her suit saved her from any damage. A light automatically turned on.
"You ok down there?" Bruce called.
Grumbling sounded from behind her. She spun, bringing her cannon forward. A blue creature reeled from the light. She was able to recognize it. She had seen the same species on Aether. It was a Grenchler, only this variant didn't have it's nose horn and had four legs rather than two.
There was another grumbling, this time all around her. She spun slowly. She had fallen into a small cavern. Grenchlers were everywhere! Way too many for her to handle.
A few reeled back to charge.
"Bruce!"
She threw up her arm. A blue energy beam shot into the air. Bruce held out an arm and linked the end. With a pull, she was hoisted into the air just as the creatures lunged.
She came out into the air breathing heavily. Bruce was as well. They looked back down the hole. It looked like just a rolling mass of blue hide.
"What are those things?"
"Grenchlers. Probably came in on a meteor or something. Without any natural predators, they'll consume everything on the planet."
"So there actually is a danger here."
She shook her head. "Not really. They'll stay in these underground hives until they find a way out. Give it another three or four days to grow accustomed to light." She made some calculations in her head. "If I had a few seismic bombs, we could take the lot of the out with one blow."
"Seismic bombs? I've got a few of those."
She looked over at him. "Seismic bombs are highly illegal. Plus they're only good for a few days at a time. How can you have some?"
"Come with me. I'll show you."
They walked back to his ship, which was only minutes away. It looked like just a plain egg. "How does this thing fly?"
"You have to come inside."
As they got closer, an invisible hatch unsealed and lowered, creating a ramp. Since they were within range, she pressed several buttons inside her suit and it vanished. It would reconstruct back at her ship.
He entered the ship, not noticing she had gone to just her jump suit. She followed.
The inside looked like the outside. It was simply an oval-shaped room. The walls were black with yellow stripes creating a grid across the entire space.
"You see, this ship is essentially just a holographic projector. Any program I create, the ship makes."
"But holograms are just images. How does that help it fly?"
"Actually…" He turned and saw her. He stuttered and stepped back a step, completely shocked. He didn't really look it from the suit, but she could see it in his eyes. He surprised her by recovering quickly. "They…actually aren't just images. The ship uses an advanced magnetic field projector. The projections are as real as anything you could ask for."
She started to understand. "So, if you need a propulsion…"
"I simply run a program that interacts with the space around the ship and the ship flies."
"What about weapons."
"Emitters outside the ship are good up to thirty kilometers."
"So you create guns?"
"Bingo."
She was starting to get a liking for this ship. "This is incredible! Where did you get this ship?"
"A merchant. Apparently to his race it was outdated technology."
A panel appeared in the wall, which he touched. His suit shimmered and vanished. His jumpsuit was deep red. He was indeed very muscular.
Again she forced her mind to focus. She'd been torn once, and she didn't want it to happen again. To get her mind off of it, she asked, "So what else can you make in here?"
"Pretty much anything. Computer, run program Bar A."
The outside of the room shimmered. Suddenly an image overlaid the black and spread out. They were suddenly in an earth bar surrounded by people.
Samus gasped and looked around. The people looked and sounded so real.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
She turned back. Bruce had gone behind the bar and had obtained a waiter's smock. She looked behind him where a row of bottles sat. "Just…a Fenian blig."
He turned around and pulled out two bottles, one of blue liquid and one of green. He mixed the two into a single glass and held it out to her.
She reached out suspiciously and clasped the glass. She honestly hadn't expected it to actually be there. But it actually felt real!
"Go ahead. Take a sip."
She looked at him speculatively, but raised it to her mouth and let the liquid spill over her tongue. It actually tasted real!
He saw the look on her face. "The ship can also create any type of liquid or food."
"Wow." She took another sip, but no more. Fenian blig had a similar effect to alcohol if she had too much. "So what else is there?"
"Well…it can create a scene that's a bit more…intimate."
Suddenly the bar vanished and was replaced by a dimly lit bedroom. She looked around, wondering exactly what was going on. A hand touched the back of her neck. When she turned, Bruce was standing in only a pair of night pants.
For a moment, she looked down at his chest. Several scars accented tight abs. He was VERY well built. Slowly, ever so slowly, he leaned in towards her.
The rational part of her mind went up in a rage. "No! Run! Fight! Do something!"
Her body didn't respond. They met and everything she'd been thinking just winked out of existence.
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Hours later, she woke up with artificial sunlight shining into the holographic room. Bruce breathed gently beside her. It was pleasantly cool, so she had a blanket up to her bare chest.
Once again her brain was shouting at her. Why had she done it? She didn't want to get hurt again. But…she didn't care. What if she did get hurt? At least she had something.
He stirred. "Morning." She patted his hand and removed the covers. A personal cleaning unit was at the other side of the room. After being in it for only seconds, her body was completely clean. She pulled on her jumpsuit and it compressed to fit her body.
After another moment of watching her, he got up and did the same. "You seem tense," he noted as he pulled up the red fabric.
She leaned against the wall looking away from him. "I promised myself I'd never get in this deep again."
"Don't tell me. Another lover betray you?"
She shook her head. "Dead."
That one word was all she was willing to say, but it was all he needed. Instead, "So why are you?"
She finally looked up at him. "Some things are just right."
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They both donned their Power Suits and Bruce generated three seismic bombs. Placed in the right locations, they'd cause the entire Grenchler hive to perish from sonic waves, and Samus' ship's sensors were able to find the exact places needed.
It took some time and splitting up, but once the three bombs were in place, they met back at the temple and hit the trigger. A ripple shot through the ground. A mixture of high and low painful screeches and roars could be heard through the dirt.
Just like every other time she had to do these mass-killings, she reminded herself that they were mindless animals threatening others. She had to do it to save the people, which was her primary job in life.
When the job was finished, they met back with their initial contact. The insect-like creature bowed low as they entered. "Our rassse is sssaved. We ssshall forever be in your debt."
Samus returned the bow. "If you ever need help again, just signal."
Formalities over, she turned to leave.
"That's it?" Bruce's question made her stop. "We come here to save your ass and all we get is a thank you?"
"We helped him, Bruce. That's enough."
"Bullshit!" He pulled up his gun and pointed it at the native. "Give us something worth at least two cents."
"Drop it!" Samus' gun was pointed at the back of his head. Bruce turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder. The creature took the distraction and vanished through a hidden door.
"Are you serious?" he asked. "You'd raise a gun to me for them?"
"He wasn't any danger. You were. What did you think I'd do?"
"Join my side. We should get something for helping them."
"Maybe, but that's no excuse for threatening them!"
"It's not like I was actually going to shoot."
"Didn't the Chozo teach you not to lie?"
Bruce shook his head. "I can't believe it's come to this. But if that's how it is…" He dropped and spun, drilling a fist into her stomach.
Her suit absorbed most of the force, but the punch was still enough to send her back into the rock wall, which spider-webbed from the impact. She staggered forward, but caught herself. Her gun pulsed and expanded to a Plasma Cannon. Holding it up, she fired a single shot straight for his helmet.
It struck home, but the shot vanished as it touched his armor. She stopped in surprised as he laughed. "My suit absorbs energy. You're not getting through it." His gun sucked in a load of energy as he brought it up.
Samus saw it and rolled against the wall. The cannon seemed to cough and a super missile flew out, blasting the wall behind her. The shockwave sent her down to the floor. Bruce stepped beside her and kicked her in the stomach, sending her out the open door and into the sunlight.
He stepped out as she rolled to a stop. "I never thought I'd meet a bounty hunter that'd think more about other people than themselves. You're just one surprise after another aren't you, Samus?"
She pushed herself onto her elbows. His suit was much stonger than her's. She'd have to stop him fast. But his suit just absorbed her shots. What did she have that could stop him?
"I thought we'd have something Samus. Last night was great. But after that little display? You'll just have to be another one night stand." He finally reached her and pulled off her helmet. Then she grabbed her suit by the neck and pulled her up. "I'll give you another chance. What do you say?"
A tear fell from her closed eye. "I don't date dead men."
He got a puzzled look and then looked down. Her cannon had come apart and reformed. He dropped her and stepped back, but too late. A massive blue energy laser shot out. Samus caught herself and leaned forward so she wouldn't get pushed away from the force.
The laser pulsed over Bruce, going straight through the stone building behind them. A red shield glowed over his armor for a few seconds. Then a warning appeared in his helmet. "Energy Overload!" The whole suit blew to pieces. Bruce's body vanished in the light.
The laser died after four seconds. Sparks shot across Samus' suit and it fell to the ground. She stood up in her jumpsuit and looked around. A few pieces of red armor were scattered around the grass. The building she'd been kicked from was a pile of rubble. But Bruce was gone.
For a moment, she thought she didn't have the strength to stand. Her knees nearly buckled. But then she forced herself to look upright and walk back to her ship.
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"Was the mission successful, madam?"
She sat down heavily into the pilot's chair. Once again her heart was shattered. She was only able to avoid breaking down through sheer willpower. "No. The mission was a failure."
As the engines warmed for take-off, the thought of whether she'd ever love again crossed her mind. Last night had been so perfect. Another time, another place, another man, maybe. But never as long as she was a bounty hunter.
The ship roared up into the atmosphere and plunged back into the dark isolation of space.
A/N: A very sad ending. I wanted the story to be happier, but this is how Samus lives.
Thank you for reading. Please leave a review with your thoughts, good or bad.