Samus stood on the ledge overlooking the Gem Ruins. She was uncertain if only 3 rivals were here, because of the radar jam she had experienced. If Sylux was here, he probably already knew by now that she was here as well. She stared at the demolished city, wondering how it had come to be like this. She was reminded of the Alimbic cluster, notably Alinos, where there were only remnants, and no perfect record of how it had come to be. Gorea had been the cause of the destruction of the Tetra galaxy. Could something worse, or similar to Gorea have occurred here as well? Most crumbled structures appeared to have been ruined by time, but some had unmistakable signs of damage and devastation.

Tearing her thoughts from the destruction, she pondered where to proceed. It wasn't her nature to have others do the work, but she needed clues to work on. 7 keys? Reminded her still of octoliths that sealed Gorea. Shaking herself a moment, she glanced around, and her heart sank. The Delano 7 had swooped down upon her, the powerful plasma bursts flying around her. She crouched to avoid a few, but one struck the ground an inch from her feet, knocking her off the cliff. It was at least a 300 foot drop.

She struggled to cling to the wall, but it was perfectly smooth. She could feel herself accelerating to her doom, and struggled to equip a weapon to help. As luck would have it, she activated her grapplebeam, which had a secure grip on the wall, however temporary. The grip released, but she continued to fire it at the wall, allowing a safe descent. At the bottom, she rolled into her morph ball and rolled into a small hole. The Delano 7 soared down after her, but failed to find her. After a few moments, she saw the blue and yellow boots belonging to Sylux. She froze, frightened. If he saw the hole, he could have the Delano 7 destroy the portion of the cliff and uncover her. There was no escape from an attack like that.

Sylux walked hurriedly to the spot the Delano 7 had soared down to. He had seen Samus fall, but not land. Yet there was no way to survive a fall like that! He turned the corner, hoping to see the crushed and lifeless body of his enemy. There was nothing. He stared at the spot the body should of been and was confused. Had Samus survived? How badly was she injured? He walked further on. Perhaps she had survived and had tried to escape, as the Delano 7 had pursued her down here. He sensed that she was still alive.

Shaking with rage, he stormed away. "I'LL FIND YOU SAMUS!" He flew up in his Delano 7. She couldn't hide forever, and he wanted to be the one to end her existence. There was no escaping him. He would use all his tracking abilities to find her and the confrontation would be the last. For now, he'd focus on claiming the True Power, and she'd have to emerge eventually. No one could evade Sylux for long!

Samus waited another minute before boosting out of the hole and rolling at top speed to the Gem Ruins. Sylux was perhaps one of her most terrifying rivals. Him, Weavel, and Kanden, as all 3 were vengeful and insane. She rolled into biped and hid behind a crumbled wall, her arm cannon pointing at the wall, prepared in case of ambush. She peeked behind the corner and saw Spire turn his attention to a tunnel nearby, and when he left, she raced to the area he had been studying. A smal pile of rock tablets lay, arranged by numbers 1-7. Each was written in an odd language, but two lines were English on tablet #1.

"The keys unlock the code. One rests with the dirt of time". She blinked under her helmet. It was a clue...but incredibly vague. She studied the others carefully before scanning each and downloading the data to her computer. She flipped the #1 tablet over, hoping for more data and noticed a large hole in the shape of a crystal. A line of text over it said 'Unlock the language of the Ancients'. Samus moaned softly. The tablets could be decoded by placing one of the keys in the slot. She then turned to see the wall Spire had been 'guarding'. 7 crystal icons were carved in a semi-arc. "The door to the Power!" she whispered.

Then she felt a hostile presence. She turned and saw Kanden leering at her. "Hello Samus!" Kanden sneered raising his Volt Driver. Samus immediately aimed her arm cannon at Kanden, loading her missiles.

"Standoff?" Kanden whispered. Samus could hear the trace of mock in his voice. Admittedly, Kanden had the upper hand, as his Volt Driver woud home in on her, and her location was too cramped to dodge. Her missiles would track him, but he could duck behind one of the piles of rubble. Kanden nodded, as if able to sense her thoughts.

"So...give me the Omega Cannon, and you'll live to fight me for it back!"

"Or fight now and keep it, giving me an advantage instead of a disadvantage!" Samus challenged.

Kanden's grin widened. "As you wish!"

Before he could fire, Samus released an Omega Cannon burst and shot her grapple hook at the mouth of the cave Spire had entered, pulling herself out of harm's way. She didn't look back, but fled into the cave. A burst of light and a loud bang and whoosh sound. She heard Kanden's yell of shock and rage, and then realized the stupidity of her move. Every hunter now knew she was there. She was targeted badly in the past due to the cannon, but soon every one of the hunters would close in on her and there would be no escape.

Sylux let out a shocked yell. His radar had picked up a massive energy source from the Gem Ruins. The energy signal...came from the Omega Cannon! Samus had survived, and she had foolishly fired her Omega Cannon. DId she think she could blast open the doors to the True Power? Or was it something else, bait so she could ruin his life or end it? Didn't matter to him. Samus would die by his hand, and the Cannon would be his!

Weavel heard the explosion and saw the light burst. Kanden let out a bellow of anger. So...Samus was here...and fired the cannon? What fool's game was she playing? The Omega Cannon, being a weapon of mass destruction and used as a last resort, was not something stealthy, and therefore foolish to use in the one place where her greatest rivals were located. What a fool she was. Now time to destroy her and claim the cannon. No one would stand in his way, and Samus' death was approaching!

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.