Fusion: Metroid IV

Chapter Two: Unknown Lifeform

"Remember to keep eyes on each other at all times." Samus said as she led the research team down the ramp. "Don't hesitate to start making noise if you see someone starting to fall behind, or if you start to, yourself."

It was a strange sensation to be standing on the surface of SR388 again after so much time had passed; the green sky just as beautiful as she remembered it, clashed against the brown mountainous landscape. There were a few strange looking plants sticking out of the rocks in random places, which the research team wasted no time getting scans of, but if it was plants they wanted, there were plenty down beneath the surface. Big viney ones that had thorns sharp enough to pierce even Samus's Varia Suit.

Honestly, she didn't plan on taking them any deeper into the labyrinth than the chamber where she had encountered her very first Alpha Metroid, at least not on this trip. Including Dr. Dolan, there were only five of them on the research team, and they were ill-equipped to handle the larger creatures that inhabited the planet, let alone the automated defenses that still protected the Chozo ruins. Of course, this was likely just the first of many expeditions to study the planet, so maybe in a few years they would even make it as far down as the ruined Hydro Station.

For now, though, they would have to be content with barely scratching the surface, but on the bright side, there would be plenty of critters for them to scan and study to their heart's content. Of course, in order to get to those critters, they would have to enter the cave, and as Samus looked at the familiar outline of the darkened entrance, even more memories raced through her mind. It was exactly the same as it had been when she had stood in front of it a few years ago, and given the fact that she had blindly rushed inside like a moron, Samus was lucky to still be alive.

"Well, there it is." She said as Dr. Dolan joined her in looking at the cave. "The terrain can be treacherous, and even though the creatures are pretty small this close to the surface, that doesn't mean you're not on the menu. Feel like being brave, and going in first, Doctor?"

"Not at all, Ms. Aran." He replied, turning to look at her. "Besides, I get a much better view when you walk in front of me."

Samus was glad that the green visor was there to distort her face, so that Dr. Dolan couldn't see her blush a little from such a brazen comment. Most men that she encountered, aside from fellow bounty hunters, were too intimidated by her Varia Suit and reputation to say anything even remotely flirtatious to her, but Richard Dolan didn't appear to give a damn about either. It was kind of refreshing, since after all, what woman didn't like to be told she was pretty? It also lightened the serious mood of the current situation for a moment, but the tension came back once the rest of the team had finished with scanning the surface plants.

"Okay, everyone, line up into two columns of three." She ordered. "The terrain can be unstable, and there's less chance of someone falling to their death if we all walk on the same path."

Sure, this warning probably scared them as they walked through the cave's entrance, but it was the truth. This whole labyrinth was located between two tectonic plates, and there had been more than a few times during her hunt, as Dr. Dolan called it, where the ground had suddenly fallen out from under her. This fear was apparently forgotten, however, when they had moved far enough into the cave to see the first creatures.

They were small, just kind of flying back and forth for no reason… no, there was always a reason for when creatures did anything at all, but Samus had never bothered to learn it, nor even the names of the creatures themselves… if they had even been given one yet. The scientists, however, immediately became excited, and had to be reminded by Dr. Dolan that they weren't to disturb anything while getting scans. Since most of the scientists that she had encountered were stuffy old men, or stuffy old Chozo, it was strange to see this kind of behavior from them; more like children on a field trip to the zoo than prominent scientists.

"There's such a diverse population here." Dr. Dolan said while taking scans of his own. "It's a shame you weren't able to get more detailed scans of the ones you saw toward the bottom of the cave system."

"Yeah, well I probably could've." She replied, constantly turning to see each team member. "But I was a little busy shooting them, because, you know, they were trying to eat me."

He laughed a little at her response, and Samus found herself having the same reaction as she led the team onward. The flying and crawling creatures barely even reacted to their presence as they reached the first shaft, but she still kept a close eye on them while the researchers took their time descending to the next level of the cave system. She didn't mind that it was taking so long, since blindly running and jumping into unfamiliar terrain had caused Samus to take more than a few embarrassing foot injuries in the past. After all, there was nothing worse than managing to fight off a Zeta Metroid or something, only to roll your ankle tripping over some little bug-thing on the ground.

"Each level of the labyrinth gets a little more dangerous." Samus explained once everyone had reached the bottom of the shaft. "I don't believe that your team is outfitted to travel any further down than this, but there are plenty of creatures in this area for you to study."

"Don't worry, Ms. Aran, my team are professionals." Dr. Dolan replied. "We may be a little excited, but we'll follow your lead, and besides… even coming this far is more than anyone else has done… besides you, I mean… and the Chozo, apparently. Either way, we can go deeper next time."

She was glad to have their continued cooperation, since she knew how eager the team was to explore SR388. It was probably a good idea to leave out the fact that there was a ruined Chozo temple just one level down, but maybe Samus could distract them by showing them the place where she first encountered a molted Metroid. So she led them west, away from the next shaft, and it was down this tunnel that the very first threat to the expedition was encountered. It was nothing serious, just one of those larger hopping, frog-looking things that were more of an annoyance than anything.

"Stand back, boys." She said, smirking at Dr. Dolan before stepping toward the creature. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Smirking again when she realized how intently the whole research team was now watching her, Samus decided that there was no harm in giving them a bit of a show, and opened the barrel of her beam canon so that the missile function could be accessed. Sure, it was a bit of an overkill to use the explosive weapon in this case, but for some reason she felt the urge to look impressive for him, er, them. Impressive for the team, not just Richard Dolan.

Clearing her throat, and refocusing her thoughts on the creature up ahead, Samus aimed and fired, making a trail of smoke as one of her small missiles flew toward it. However, the creature leapt up into the air at the last second, causing a small spray of rocks when the missile struck the nearby cave wall instead. Re-aiming quickly, she fired again, and this time the missile struck the creature while it was still in the air, making it vanish in the small explosion that followed.

The research team made impressed gasps behind her, making Samus smirk again as the smoke cleared… but then her smirk faded as she realized that the creature was still there. No, not the hopping creature, but a strange kind of… brown transparent… jelly-looking thing that was just sort of… floating there. It's body, or whatever, was constantly shifting around as if being affected by the air currents, but other than that it was just hovering there.

"What's that?" Dr. Dolan asked as he started taking scans. "Some kind of big… amoeba?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "I've never seen… look out!"

Suddenly the floating organism came flying toward them, and Samus responded by firing another missile. The weapon was slowed down as it passed right through its transparent body, causing the missile fall to the floor and explode, while the organism was knocked off course. It floated sideways for a second, but then shot toward Samus even faster than it had before, and as embarrassing as it was for her, she couldn't help letting out a surprised shriek when it collided with the chest of her Varia Suit.

Spinning around and smacking at her chest in an effort to remove the gelatinous creature, she was dimly aware of hearing a clang when her beam canon struck the helmet of Dr. Dolan's own suit, knocking him down. She continued to spin, grabbing and smacking at every part of her suit that she could reach, but instead of feeling its jelly-like body, the organism was just… gone. But where? It wasn't lying on the ground, nor could it be seen floating around the chamber anywhere… so where had it gone?

"Dr. Dolan!" Samus exclaimed, kneeling down to help him sit up once she realized what she had done. "Dr. Dolan, are you all right?!"

"Yes, I think so." He replied, looking up at her through his visor. "More startled than anything… but hey, at least we now know that my suit's armor plating works, right?"

She was glad to have not injured him, and gave Dr. Dolan her hand to help him to his feet, but what was really on her mind was where that strange organism had gotten to. Maybe it had some kind of chameleon properties that allowed it to blend in with the colors of the cave… or maybe her spinning and screaming had simply scared it off. Whatever the case, it was agreed by all of them that there had been both enough data collection and excitement for their first expedition.

So they left the chamber, heading back to the upward shaft, but as the members of the research team started back toward the planet's surface, Samus stopped in order to take one last look back to see if that strange organism had reappeared. It hadn't, and there was only an empty cave behind them as she also started back toward the surface.

Where the hell had that thing gone?