Metroid: Origins
Episode Two
Sleep
Iron footsteps echo through the empty stone hallways. Carved, smooth stones lay the ground, and walls carved to appear to be made of loose stone, gravel and cobble. Weighted silence echoes between each step as the Bounty Hunter enters the complex. Without glancing around at the many hallways and doorways, the orange armored individual walks straight with unwavering certainty towards an elevator shaft.
The door is gone. Blaster marks from a firefight scar the stonework around the door and into the elevator shaft. The Bounty Hunter looks over the edge. Damaged sheets of metal framework stick out from the railings on the side. The same situation in the direction going up; the elevator collapsed from the top floor. Animals seem to have taken refuge inside.
Turning back, the Bounty Hunter regards the hallway once before stepping into the shaft. A damaged camera watching returns to a standby position, unnoticed.
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A gasp of breath and Samus is awake. Panic at the unfamiliar room, Samus grabs the only device she recognizes; her father's rifle. The blue pajamas are gone, now she's in a white jumpsuit. She's alone in the clean room.
The room is white and metallic, a thin window stretches across the top of the wall allowing natural light inside. The bed is clean and blue, large and centered. Samus had climbed out and hid between the bed and wall opposite the doorway. The door was closed, a blue-field glows around its frame. A dresser, a flower vase, a bedside table, all lay quietly in the drab room.
Recognizing her surroundings, Samus stands up, rifle at the ready, still tense. Wary, she goes to a dresser and searches for clothes with one hand.
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The camera shutter clicks. Gray Voice stands before the large monitor, alone, as a group of Chozo surround him. Old Bird pays them no mind as he watches and visibly relaxes.
"She's not waking in tears, anymore," Old Bird speaks with a translator, human English. A number of Chozo ruffle their feathers in discomfort. Gray Voice steps forward, hunched over more so than all others, and speaks in the native Chozo dialect, "Old Bird, the council has summoned you here for a reason, and you cannot blatantly ignore us for sake of a personal pet!"
Old Bird turns towards the council of Chozo, slowly, with a steely gaze upon each of the individuals. A number of the Chozo shift uncomfortably. He didn't respond. Gray Voice cawed in anger, the only response. Old Bird relaxes and gazes at Gray Voice. "She is no pet, and she won't be a project. She is an orphan, and she wishes to stay with us," he spoke with an almost pleasant tone through the translator. Gray Voice caws again, frustration apparent, "She belongs with her people!" "We will soon be dead."
Many Chozo are taken aback, a few even step away. Gray Voice himself stands straight, stunned. Old Bird walks towards them, still speaking through the translator, "We have lived a millennia, my flock. We have seen humanity rise and become the unquestionable rulers they are, in the same vein as the Zebesian ancestors that found us in the old texts and lead us through the cosmos. We helped many specii rise to space and seen more fall under their own legacies, yet humanity grows faster than we can stem. So I will raise one, and stem them so they could stem others, in time."
"You speak with foolishness on your tongue," accuses Gray Voice. Now they stood face to face, beak to beak. Tenderness creeps into the eyes of Old Bird as he places a filed hand on his friends shoulders. "My friend," Old Bird clicks his tongue, "I am old. We, all, are old. We have no others to teach."
Collectively, the group stalks off, leaving Old Bird in exasperation and frustration. Only Gray Voice remains, relaxing as he stands under Old Bird's gaze.
Old Bird stiffens, looking at the door as Samus, barely half the height of the Chozo beings, attempting to walk in. many of them stand against her, as she holds the rifle tightly trying to not panic as they towered past her, giving her no berth in the doorway. Their eyes judged her, pitied her, condemned her. "Samus!" The translator's voice drew her attention, and she trots up to Old Bird, stress lining the youthful face. Samus stops and goes around Gray Voice, noting the distance between the two Chozo. Old Bird steps away, "So, Samus, what would you wish to learn today? Or do you wish to continue the previous lesson?" Samus merely nods, still mute.
Samus joins Old Bird at a computer console, and takes point, attempting to use the operating system. Gray Voice watches her struggle to get to certain windows, realizing she's actively reading the Chozo language. Samus navigates through the pages, and points to the newly opened window.
"Ah, you wish to learn what the Chozo are currently doing in the Andromeda Nebula?" Old Bird reaches across the console and opens a map, continuing his lecture, "Well, the Galactic Federation has been looking to establish new colonies and are searching various locations, the Nebula is one such target. The amount of debris is ideal for mining operations-"
Gray Voice grabs Samus's rifle, carefully lifting the weapon and examining the casing. He ignores Samus's piercing eyes that watched him the entire way, mildly threatening posture and lack of breathe, Samus radiated hostility that betrayed her child form. Gray Voice's eyes swing between the two.
"Two months," muttered Gray Voice's translator. "Two months and you've done nothing to care for this device." Gray Voice turns away, Samus follows stiffly. "Stay with Old Bird, little one. Come after your lesson to the Tourian labs and I will show you how to properly care for this tool."
Gray Voice walks away, leaving Samus standing frozen in the center of the room. Old Bird, clears his throat, "You will get your weapon back, later. For now, let us focus on the lesson. Now where was I?"
Samus slowly returns back to the console besides Old Bird. She glances back, trepidation crawling across her skin, her eyes wide open.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I'm trying to write stuff still. Editing is painful when you have no idea what you were trying to say in the first place. I'm not going to be able to publish those other chapters as soon as I wanted to, so I apologize. Still, I'll be trying to get stuff out faster.