4. What a Warrior Never Does

"Come on, Samus!"

I shot him a dirty glare: he knows we're not supposed to use real names on the job. "Whatever you say, ROCK." Extra emphasis on the nickname.

He didn't seem to notice. He just continued to walk up the path, looking for all intents and purposes like a normal ten-year-old boy. Abruptly he put up his hand.

"Did you hear something?"

He shook his head.

"Then what -"

"Samus, do you ever wonder -"

"Now is NOT the time, Rock. Just keep walking."

He had been waxing philosophical for a month now, and always at the most inopportune moments – in the middle of missions, at the beginning of debriefings. I knew he was designed to be a "thinking machine," but I needed him to react now, not think.

We marched a little further up the dirt path through the forest. It became narrower and narrower, spreading itself thin over fallen leaves and uprooted trees. The quiet air was ominous – the forest was supposed to house multiple species, yet none of them were seemingly present. Even Mega Man had noticed, his footsteps becoming softer, his pace becoming slower. We raised our arm cannons instinctively.

Then I fell over, my eyesight fading In and out like a blinking television set. The suit's diagnostics were fine, so what the hell was going on?

"Samus!" Mega Man yelled, but I found the strength to shove him away – I didn't want whatever had just attacked me to go for him. The little robot spun around, and I looked up, my vision slowly clearing.

Before us was a small child, a boy in a baseball cap, his striped shirt and shorts torn in many places. He had a wild, uncivilized look about him, and there were patches of dirt all over his body.

Mega Man hesitated. "This is the target?"

"Do your damn job -" I started, then doubled over as the full force of a battering ram hit my ribs. All the wind knocked out of me; I tried to cough "He's a psychic!" but all that came out was a bunch of blood.

What happened next I couldn't see, though I could hear perfectly well. There were sounds of a skirmish, the noise of a baseball bat hitting metal, and then the unmistakable charge of an arm cannon. Then a long pause as the arm cannon charged.

Then I heard something that stunned me even worse than all the psychic blows I'd taken.

"I'm sorry," Mega Man said.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey."

She blinked. The world was still halfheartedly coming into focus.

"Looks like the Hunter has become the Hunted."

"Dude, I knew you were going to say that! So lame."

Samus could make out a few shapes that were moving off in the distance. One was coming progressively closer, and she could soon make out shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a curious smirk.

"So that's her, huh? Doesn't seem so tough."

"Step away from her."

"What's she gonna do?" the blonde guy asked, stepping back. "She's tied up!"

The other voice sighed. Samus could now see her form more clearly, a curvy woman with brown hair. At her side, clearly visible, was a pistol.

"I have told you," she spoke, more than a trace of irritation in her accented tone, "not to judge on appearances. Take it from me: this one is as deadly as they come."

The man, who looked rather young, possibly In his teens, shrugged. "I guess... if half those stories are true, anyway."

"You saw the suit. And you know we can't remove that blasted sword from her back -"

"Where's Mega Man?" Samus interrupted.

At this, the woman smiled.

"Straight to the point, aren't you? I knew you'd be like that. Did you know I've always wished to meet you, Hunter?"

"I have no time," Samus said coldly, "to waste with nonsense. Let me go now and I promise I'll only cut off a few of your limbs."

The man – no, the boy – laughed, but the woman frowned.

"Shut up, Tidus," she snapped, and the boy stopped laughing instantly. "You're wrong, Hunter: you have just as much time as we say you do. You're defenseless, bound by unfamiliar faces and forces. You'd do well to be a bit more considerate."

"You say you've heard of my reputation," Samus said. "If that's the case, you'd do well to let me go now... before I start getting angry."

The woman nodded. "I have some questions for you first, Hunter. Answer them and we'll give you your little robot boy. Be warned, though: you may not like what you find."

Samus stared hard at the woman, who returned her gaze with an icy silence.

"First off... where is Solid Snake?"

At this unexpected question, Samus laughed. "You must be even dumber than you look," she said. "When the master doesn't want to be found, there's no finding him."

"But you could." It was not a question.

"There's a reason," Samus replied, "that even I took orders from Solid Snake. And if you don't know that simple fact... why was Dr. Light afraid of you again?"

Samus was trying to goad the woman into a temper, to betray some sign of weakness. To her credit, the woman remained cool, her beautiful face showing no signs of annoyance or anger.

"Maybe you'll answer my first question after I ask the second: where have you been these last four years?"

This was not a question Samus had anticipated, and for a second her confusion showed upon her face. But she quickly masked it.

"You assume I've been gone all this time," she said, assuming a tone of mock indifference.

"Of course I do," the woman said silkily. "Why else would you have let the Noble Nine disband? Why else would you have let other rival groups come to the forefront? It's not in your personality to just disappear like that, Hunter."

Samus said nothing, instead letting the information wash over her. It was true, she reflected ruefully, that she had no idea what had happened in these past four years. She had not made much of an effort to find out. All she could do was make educated guesses, which had led her to Link in Hyrule and Dr. Light's quiet suburban home. Now, however, she was venturing into unfamiliar territory, a world that had been without her for four years and which had changed accordingly.

"I take it," the woman said, "that your silence means you didn't know all this."

Samus scowled. "What I do and do not know are not your concern."

"You're wrong," the woman said. "Very wrong. Do you know what the aim of this organization is, Hunter? Do you know why we've left you alive?"

Tidus began to fake-snore loudly. The woman snapped her head to him in anger.

"Come on, Lara," he moaned. "Let's get down to the good stuff."

"Fine," Lara said irritably. "Hunter, I have a proposition for you. Help us find Solid Snake, and we will help you track down and kill the remaining members of the Noble Nine."

Samus hesitated. "You want to kill Snake?"

"Of course!" Lara said. "Who doesn't want to kill him?"

"I don't," said a voice from behind Samus. The Hunter tried to turn around to see the new speaker, but couldn't maneuver properly due to her restraints. She settled for watching Lara, whose normally impassive face flashed with a flicker of surprise and... was it... fear?

"Get back in there," Lara sputtered.

"I want to see her," the voice said. Samus felt a hint of recognition at the male voice, but couldn't place it just yet.

Tidus was looking at Lara with a expression of uncertainty. The woman, for the first time since Samus had awoken, rested her hand on her gun.

"I said 'get back in there,'" Lara repeated. "You'll see her soon enough."

Samus could sense that the figure wasn't moving. Finally, the voice issued a command:

"Let her go."

At this, Tidus laughed. "You're issuing us orders? Us? Boy, that reprogramming must have messed with your head more than I thought!"

"Shut up," Lara hissed. "Anyway," she said, addressing the voice, "you're In no position to make demands of anyone any longer. So wait in the next room until we're done, alright?"

"I just want to see her," the voice repeated sadly. "That's all."

Lara sighed. "Fine. But make it quick."

The figure walked over and appeared in Samus's line of sight. Though he looked cosmetically different in many aspects and his voice was somewhat deeper, there was no mistaking the distinctive blue armor, helmet, and arm cannon. Alarm klaxons began to blaze in Samus's head.

"Hi, Samus," Mega Man said sadly.

We walked back from the forest quietly, Mega Man carrying the boy's body, me still recovering from his psychic onslaught. Finally, the robot spoke.

"Samus -"

"Whatever you're going to say," I replied, "is not worth it."

"I just wanted you to know... I'm sor-"

Abruptly I spun around, lifting Mega Man off his feet with one well-placed grappling hook (which was no easy task); the corpse of our target fell unceremoniously onto the forest floor.

"Warriors never apologize," I spat. "Especially not to their victims. Do you understand me?"

Mega Man's face showed surprise and sadness, and I mentally cursed Dr. Light for making his robot "son" so lifelike.

"He was just a kid," Mega Man said. "Just a little boy."

"He would have killed me," I said.

"You don't know that. He was just defending himself -"

I drew Mega Man's face close to my helmet. "If you show mercy, you show weakness. Is that clear?"

Mega Man sighed, looking away from me. Slowly, he nodded. I lowered the robot down to the ground, and we continued on our way in silence.