Chapter 4: The Hive Totem

Samus and Zoey entered the central hub of the Chozo Ruins. It would have been nice if it weren't for the cracks and ruined arttcetechture. Samus looked at the Chozo Ruins in all its beauty.

Zoey noticed and asked her out of pity "Does this place reminds you of home?"

The bounty hunter nodded in response and replied with "Yeah... I have no idea the Chozo once inhabited this planet... But what happened here? Why did they get wiped out on this planet?"

"Maybe a meteor wiped them out? You know, like the dinosaurs?" Zoey guessed.

"No. I think it was something else..." Samus shook her head no and turned to face her partner and reminded "Remember that lore I scanned? It said something about the fountain being contaminated or something. But what?" Samus pondered about this for about 30 seconds till she shook her head and simply said "We should head into the ruins to learn more."

"A-Alright." Zoey nodded as she and Samus head to the only doorway they can enter. They have to deal with giant scarabs that blocked the tunnel to their next destination, but nothing a Power Beam can't handle, right?

The next area was a hallway and strange organic like eyes were shooting laser beams across the hall. Samus stopped her partner and motioned her to follow what she does. Zoey nodded. It was no easy task, but they got through the area.

The next room was a nursery of some kind. Samus looked around. She noticed a silk doll with a beak and wooly hair on the ground. It looked old and looked like it can fall apart any second now. Samus remained silent for about twenty seconds till Zoey shouted out to her.

"Samus! I found another Chozo Lore! Take a look." Zoey waved her hand to get her attention. Samus nodded and scanned the lore. She began to read it out loud.

"We Chozo are departing now, after so many years in peaceful seclusion here on Tallon IV. When we came, this place was a refuge for our spirits, a civilization built from native materials, bereft of the trappings of our technology. We were linked to the land here, kindred to the plants and animals, far away from the machines we had become so dependent on. And so we leave it now, pristine, a testament to the mortal forms we no longer need. We have drawn the veils of time and space aside, and are withdrawing beyond the illusion. But we will never forget this, the most sacred of our homes. And we will remain ever watchful."

"So the Chozo here were wiped out, but by what?" Zoey wondered as she pondered what that lore means.

"We need to find out what happened to Tallon IV and why the Chozo here died out. So it means we need to explore the whole planet to find out more." Samus told her.

Suddenly, they heard a buzzing sound and turned to see alien wasps charging at them.

"War Wasps!" Samus shouted as she opened fire on the War Wasps and splattering their guts. The bounty hunter turned to the Mew Mew GF bounty hunter trainee and shouted "We currently don't have the firepower to destroy their hives! Let's get on to the next room!" Samus leaped up, Zoey followed and the two of them head into the next room.

The next room has green water that looks hazardous. Samus leaped down and got out a test tube and carefully extracted the water. She used her scan visor to scanned it. She then activated some sort of mini teleporter to send the sample to the gunship for analysis.

"Uh, Samus?" Zoey pointed up, Samus looked up and sees another War Wasp hive.

"Oh hell..." Samus groaned as she got back up and she and Zoey head into the next room, avoiding any battle with the War Wasps.

The next room was a hallway with more of that poisonous water, so they entered the next room.

This room has a large section of the dangerous water and the duo have to get on ledges to get on the platform. Samus saw something that caught her eye.

It was two missiles. She figured out what they are.

"Rookie, take a look at this." Zoey's mentor pointed to the missiles.

Zoey was confused on this and sees the missiles. "All I see are missiles, Samus. What's so important about them?"

"Ah, they're not just any missiles. They're Missile Launchers. With those, we can repair my Missile Launcher and give you a Missile Launcher as well." Samus stated.

Before they can get them, the bridge leading to the Missile Launchers retracted and the two upgrades' platforms rose up into a hole where a strange machine was ready to destroy the two hunters. Not only that, but the poisonous water rose up making things harder for them.

Samus scanned it and said only two words: "Hive Mecha..."

Hive Mecha: Theme: Hive Mecha Mini Boss Theme

The Hive Mecha made different colored War Wasps out of its hole and the War Wasps spin around them.

"It can spew War Wasps?!" Zoey gawked as she dodged a charge from a War Wasp.

"Yeah! I discovered its weak point. But first, we need to squash these bugs!" Samus shouted as she opened fire on three War Wasps, killing them.

Zoey fired and killed three more War Wasps. The Hive Mecha opened its hatch.

"Now! Fire!" Samus ordered as she and Zoey used their arm cannons to damage the Hive Mecha through its weak point.

The Hive Mecha closed its hatch after it exploded and opened a new one. More War Wasps came out of it.

Zoey was hit by a War Wasp and was about to go over the edge till Samus caught her in time.

"T-Thank you, Samus!" Zoey said in gratitude.

"I won't let you die. I'm here to protect you. Now let's destroy that thing!" Samus nodded as she gave the Mew Mew bounty hunter trainee a thumbs up as she fired at five more War Wasps, killing them.

The Hive Mecha opened its second hatch and Samus and Zoey opened fire on it, destroying it. Now the Hive Mecha only has one hatch left and it spewed more War Wasps.

"One more to go!" Zoey cheered as the duo worked together to kill the War Wasps. The Hive Mecha opened its last hatch and it took Samus and Zoey's combined efforts to destroy it.

The Hive Mecha ceased function and the water lowered back to normal safe levels. The bridged was active and the Missile Launchers lowered back into the room. Nodding to each other, Samus and Zoey went to the upgrades and grabbed them. The upgrades were then installed into their Power Suits.

"Now I got a sweet Missile Launcher!" Zoey leaped into the air in happiness.

Samus nodded and said "Before we can continue, I want to show you something. But not here, I detect a safe room in this area." Samus aimed her Missile Launcher at the missile lock and fired, destroying the lock and making the room access again.

Zoey was confused, but followed her mentor into the safe room.

Samus upon entering the room turned to face Zoey. "You know... Some people mistake me for a man due to my Power Suit. I can't blame them though." The bounty hunter chuckled.

"So are you really an..." Zoey gasped.

Samus interrupted her by taking off her helmet and Zoey can now see Samus's true face.

She has blond hair tied in a long ponytail and blue eyes as well. Zoey was speechless. Now she knew Samus's real gender.

Samus smirked and commented "What? It looks like you're seeing a human for the first time in your life, rookie."

Zoey blushed underneath her helmet and looked away bashfully. "Um... No, that's not it. I know people mistake you for a man in your Power Suit, but I'm glad you're a girl like me. But why are you showing me your face?"

Samus let out a grin and said "It's a sign that I now accepted you as my partner, Zoey."

Zoey was surprised by this. "You called me Zoey instead of rookie! Wow, thank you so much Samus. I know you have a tragic past due to the Space Pirates. But we can't allow them to ruin any more childhoods." Zoey held out her hand.

"You got it." Samus smiled before putting on her helmet and shook Zoey's hand.

It's amazing that Zoey has become the famous cold hearted bounty hunter Samus Aran's friend and was finally accepted as her partner so quickly. Now they need to work together to solve the mystery of Tallon IV.

To be continued...

Next chapter: The Morph Ball

A/N: How was that? Tomorrow will be my birthday and I want to update this story on my birthday, anyway. Stay tuned for more updates.