Two of the Space Pirates were standing next to the entrance within the main pit of the Phazon Mines, a bored expression on their reptilian faces. Every now and then, they were throwing glances to the tunnel that was leading directly to the pit.

('Boring job...') one of them hissed.

His partner nodded. ('Yeah, you'd think Commander Ridley would have set up enough traps in case the hunter shows up...')

The first pirate shuddered. ('Don't say that name! I'd prefer that human bitch would never show her visor-clad visage around here...')

The other pirate let out a growling laugh. ('What, afraid of the hunter-bogey-woman? You're such a wuss...')

('Maybe, but...') he then snapped to attention. ('What was that?')

('What?')

('I heard something, over there...') he carefully peered over to the tunnel entrance.

His companion looked as well. ('I don't see anything... do you have hallucinations? Do you start to develop Phazon madness?')

('I'm not mad,') the other pirate insisted. ('I swear, I heard...')

Just then, a whistling sound filled the air. Both pirates turned around their heads. The one who had just made fun of his friend stared as a certain projectile was flying at him...

The other pirate jumped back as his friend was blasted to pieces by the missile. He looked back and saw the figures of seven humans that were firing his way.

He grabbed his communicator. ('Commander! We're under attack!')


All through the underground tunnels, shafts and laboratories, a loud siren was howling.

('Red alert! Red alert! All units, to your posts! The hunter and her allies have breached into our base! Engange them and destroy them! This is not a drill! Get them... dead or alive! Anyone who does not follow this order will be declared a traitor and disintegrated!')

Following the orders of their leader, all Space Pirates hurried through the corridors, grabbing their weapons and preparing for battle instructions. Guard Drones were being prepared for patrol flights, the Defense Turrets were all activated, and various traps were installed.

The presence of the hunter within this base was a threat that had to be removed immediately...

"You sure your pathetic pirates will be able to hold them off for long?" Taki asked as she was standing next to Kaworu.

The white-haired boy smirked. "If not, they will be stopped by the Metroids... and the Phazon-infested tunnels will be a hindrance as well. And if all will be futile, we have always our secret weapon."

A captain approached his commander. ('Commander, the EVAs are ready for combat... what are your orders?')

Kaworu grinned. "Place them in research lab alpha... They will make them a warm welcome..."

Turning around to Taki, he looked at her darkly. "You know I only work with you because of your special skills... if you were a normal human, I would have killed you instantly. Your disobedience at the Phendrana Labs was inexcusable."

Taki smirked. "I am so sorry, oh 'great commander'... but that pirate leader turned out to be a complete fool. I only disposed of what would have been in the way of your plans..."

"I hope for your sake that you know your place, ninja..." he said through clenched teeth. "Your skills with the blade are nothing... when facing a space dragon!" He turned around and left the room.

Taki snarled when watching his retreating figure. "You little brat," she hissed. "Normal swordfighting might be useless... but even a space dragon like yourself is no match against the powers of my true master..." And she snickered evilly.


"Coming through! Coming through!" Kaji yelled as he blasted one pirate after another while they were running through the corridors.

Rei was fighting at the front, hacking and slashing at every pirate that came too close to her plasma blades. Shinji and Asuka were firing all kinds of beams, and if a special Beam Trooper would appear, they would take care of that threat immediately.

Asuka, Penpen and Misato took care of all the other pirates that came from behind or from the sides. Even Ritsuko had found a small gun and showed that science wasn't the only thing she was good in.

"Wark wark!" Penpen shouted as he fired at a group of cowering pirates. The he suddenly stopped. "WAAAARRRKK!"

"What's up?" Asuka asked. "Is he out of ammunition?"

Misato smirked. "No, but he needs something... else!!" And she hurled a small object through the air, towards her penguin friend.

Penpen caught it with his flipper and raised it up into the air. And then Asuka realized... it was a can of beer.

"Wark!" the penguin exclaimed before guzzling down the alcoholic beverage. Afterwards, he threw the empty can aside and attacked the pirates even more furiously than before.

Misato grinned as she saw Asuka's disbelieving face. "The more he drinks, the better he shoots," she shouted. "I stopped wondering about that fact long ago, and you should be glad about it... we have lots more where that came from." And she patted the side of her bag.

Asuka shook her head and continued firing at her enemies.


A little while later, they reached the first research lab of the pirates.

Shinji gulped as he saw the massive forms of Elite Pirates floating inside their research tanks... he didn't want to meet one of those phazon-infested aliens in battle...

"Don't worry," Ritsuko said. "Those are all failures that didn't survive the first infusion with phazon... but somewhere inside the base we could easily run into those that managed to survive their accelerated puberty."

"Just our luck..." Kaji grumbled. "Now, which way is the command center?"

Ritsuko wanted to answer, when suddenly, a door opened, and four sleek figures stepped into the room.

All of the four blue-haired, red-eyed clones were looking in Samus' direction and activated their plasma blades.

"Presence of Hunter confirmed," they spoke in their identical voices, all at the same time. "Main order: Destroy target!"

Rei was in shock. Those clones... they looked exactly like her...

"What the f...?" Asuka shouted. "What's going on? Who are they?"

"The other four results of the cloning project," Ritsuko explained. "Rei... meet your 'sisters'... Units 001, 002, 003 and 004..."


Misato pulled back her stone fist as the last one of the clones fell under her bashing.

"Heh," she smirked. "You'd assume the clones of Chozo-infused human like Samus would be able to put up a better fight..."

Ritsuko sighed and shook her head. "I told Ridley all the time... the previous results of my experiments were nothing but failures. They have next to no intelligence, and are more easily defeated than the original. They are nothing more than standard soldiers..." She seethed. "Cannon fodder for him."

Rei stared down at the four forms of her unconscious 'sisters'. "They aren't... as intelligent as normal humans?"

"No," Ritsuko replied. "It's just enough to understand and follow orders... they won't act by themselves. Just after leaving their tank, the pirates have told them their main directive... and that is to defeat Samus."

"Can we just leave them behind?" Shinji asked. "I kinda feel sorry for them..."

"Don't be," Rei growled. "They might look like me... but they're nothing but cold-blooded killers!" She raised her hand and activated the plasma blade. "I should kill them right on the spot."

Samus put her hand on her double's arm. "No, Rei! We don't have the time for this. We have to find Ridley... and drive him off this planet!"

"You're right..." The humming blade moved down. "They're not worth my time..." And she marched on, towards the exit.

Kaji whistled. "Man, she really must hate being used like that..."

"I think she just saw herself in the soulless eyes of the other clones," Ritsuko said in a sad voice. "And she's afraid that she might become just like them."

"Then we just have to make sure that doesn't happen," Shinji said with determination. "Okay, now let's move on into the Phazon Tunnels... you all ready?"


Asuka cringed as she ducked under the bizarre formation of Phazon that was 'growing' from the ceiling of the cave. Thinking about what that stuff could do to her if she were to touch it... it made her shudder.

Luckily for them, only small Patches of phazon covered the floor, so they could proceed without any delay.

Unluckily, the Phazon Tunnels seemed to be the home of several Metroids, which attacked them right after they had entered. A few Ice Beams and Missiles later, that problem was no more.

"Wow, would you look at the size of that thing," Kaji said as they passed a massive, glowing mushroom, whose cap was bigger than a human body.

Samus scanned the enormous toadstool. "Looks like it has mutated by being exposed to Phazon... I think it serves as a source of food for the Phazon-infused Metroids. Also, they might harvest it to feed it to their Elite Pirates..."

Shinji got reminded of the massive, but lifeless bodies they had seen in the tubes of the research lab and grimaced. "If that stuff is able to turn a normal Space Pirate into such a colossus, imagine what it could do to a creature like Ridley..."

"It might be too risky for them to use it on their commander right now," Samus guessed. "But it is only a matter of time before they know exactly how many Phazon is needed to change the bodily structure of a living being to their advantage."

"But even after we defeated Ridley... other Space Pirates could always come for more of that stuff."

"That means we have to get rid of the source," Samus said determined. "Whatever it is that lurks down in the impact crater of the comet... It has to be destroyed, or this planet is done for. Also, Phazon is too dangerous for this universe... So, once we took care of our little pirate problem, I'm going down there and kick its butt!"

"Problem!" Asuka piped up. "It's surrounded by that shield, remember?"

"Then we just have to collect the artifacts the runes in the ruins told us about, right?" Shinji said. "After all, Samus could easily be their 'Chosen One'."

"COULD YOU ALL SHUT UP AND HURRY?" a certain, blue-haired clone yelled from ahead.

"Sheesh, she's cranky..." Kaji grumbled.


Furiously, Shinji stared right into the eyes of a being that during his childhood, he had believed to be his friend.

"Ridley!" he snarled. "You're finished!"

The white haired alien in human disguise grinned. "Why, Shinji... How nice of you to come! And just look at the crowd you gathered... I must say, you really caused me some trouble..."

"Enough of this!" Asuka raised her pistol. "Defend yourself... or I'll blast your innards through the room!"

"How violent..." Ridley smirked. "May I ask you guys something?"

"Don't expect us to me merciful regardless of what you say," Samus growled.

Ridley snickered. "Didn't you wonder just how we managed to gather some DNA material of our most hated adversary?"

"What are you babbling about?" Samus asked.

Ridley aka Kaworu pointed at Rei. "Our little clone friend here... She and her sisters could have never been created without some organic tissue of your body, hunter!" He chuckled. "You wanna know where we got it?"

"Who cares?" Shinji cried and raised his Beam Cannon. "Probably stolen from some Federation vessel... All I know is that you killed my mother!"

"How very, very true..." Ridley giggled. "Your mother was my prey... and your father... is my business partner!"

Shinji felt like someone slapped him in the face. "W-what...?"

"You heard me! All of those genetic experiments... we could've never done it without the proper aid of the Federation! You know, I did some... negotiations with your father and other high members of the council... I agreed to spare several of their most important commercial and mining colonies, and in exchange, they offered me some organic tissue of the wretched human we previously only knew as the 'hunter'..."

"That can't be..." Shinji wheezed, not being able to cope with the truth. He knew his father was a greedy little bastard... but bargaining with that... that MONSTER, the very same creature that had killed his wife and countless other beings...

"Even if it is the truth..." Rei grumbled. "It won't help you!" She raised her weapons. "Even if you turn into your true self, you're outnumbered! Admit it, Ridley: You lost!"

"Careful, Rei..." Samus whispered. "I don't like his sly grin... He wouldn't be so confident if he hasn't some sort of trump card..."

"How very true, my dear Samus..." Ridley smiled. "May I introduce you to the newest addition of our army? A mighty being, created by pure Phazon, injected into a simple Space Pirate... and then possessed by a powerful, astral entity."

While he talked, heavy footsteps came out of the enormous gateway next to his console platform, and a dark, giant shape appeared.

"I present to you: The Omega Pirate!"

The enormous, Phazon-powered, feline form of the Alpha Fiend stepped into the room and menacingly punched against the wall of the rocky cave. The impact made the room shake, and several small pebbles fell down from the ceiling.

"So much pure power... and my natural agility as well..." AlphaOmega grinned and flexed her claws. "In addition, all those very useful pirate gadgets... I just CANNOT lose this time!"

"What... what IS that thing?" Ritsuko gasped.

"I don't care what it is," Misato said and summoned her rocky armor. "But I'm gonna turn it into kitty-litter!"

AlphaOmega confidently stomped closer. "Just go ahead and try it," she mocked.

Misato snarled and created a massive rock she controlled with the powers she got from Thardus. She lifted it over her head... and hurled it towards her enemy with all her strength.

It just hit the heavy body armor of the fiend and broke apart.

"Is that all?" AlphaOmega yawned. "This is boring..."

She raised her paw-like hands over her head and slammed them down into the ground... a massive, phazon-powered shockwave rippled over the floor and threw everyone off their feet. Only Shinji and Samus managed to jump over it, using their Power Suits' Space Jump Boots.

Quickly, they scanned their adversary.

"The body armor is weak against ballistic weapons," Shinji realized.

Samus nodded. "Yeah, but just look at all those accessories she has: Shockwave Generator, Plasma Missiles, Chameleon Cloak... Not to mention her immense strength."

"It also looks like she's able to regenerate her wounds when she steps into Phazon," Shinji said. "Damn, that's gonna be tough..."

"I know, but we can take her down... together!"

Shinji smirked at her. "I'm with you, sensei!"

AlphaOmega laughed as she saw how the tiny humans challenged her. "So, you want to die first? Fine, I don't care..."

Shinji and Samus raised their Missile Launchers together. "FIRE!" they yelled and shot at the monstrous being.

"AAUUUUGHHH..." the monster yelled as the impact of both ballistic weapons cracked her armor in two places. "What the... All right, now you made me mad!"

She fired a barrage of Plasma Missiles, and their blast radius shook the two Power Suit-clad heroes around.

"Power Level fallen to 83," the computer voice inside of Shinji's helmet told him."

"Good hit..." he groaned. "But not good enough to stop us!"

Ridley watched the battle with an expression that showed both his curiosity and boredom. He pressed a switch, and multiple hatches opened alongside the wall.

With loud growls and bellows, multiple Beam Pirates entered the room.

"What the...?" AlphaOmega growled. "Hey, what's the matter? I can take them on by myself!"

"I do not doubt you, but I want to make sure that they really die this time," Kaworu explained. He extended his right hand. "Pirates... attack!"

"This is just getting better and better..." Shinji moaned.

"We'll take care of them," Kaji shouted. "You concentrate on the big guy, all right?"

"Okay, thanks!" Shinji replied.

While their friends engaged the Space Pirates, Shinji and Samus got ready to fire more missiles... but then their enemy pressed a switch near her breastplate... and vanished from their sight.

"Where is she?" Shinji asked.

"She activated her Chameleon Cloak..." Samus realized. "Be careful, she could be anywhere..."

Quickly, she switched from normal Battle Visor to her X-Ray-Visor, a useful upgrade that allowed her to see through thin barriers and to locate cloaked enemies.

"There she is," she shouted. "She's heading to the Phazon patches in the wall!"

"She wants to regenerate her broken armor," Shinji realized. "Samus, Plan B!"

"All right!"

The cloaked Alpha Fiend gasped in surprise as she saw the two missiles that flew towards her, surrounded by a blazing trail of searing hot plasma... two Super Missiles!

"Aaaaaah!" she yelled as they hit her directly in the chest. Her Chameleon Cloak malfunctioned, and she became visible again. "You... you... I WON'T GET BEATEN THIS TIME! NOT AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Samus grinned behind her visor.

"YAAAAAARRGGGGHH!" Without any reason, the powerful fiend charged her two opponents to pound them into the ground.

"Careful there..." a third, female voice called out... from near her feet.

Then her feet hit a barrier... and wondering what it was, she looked downwards.

While the massive beast was falling down to the ground, everything seemed to move in slow motion. And during this time, AlphaOmega could see the grinning face of that impudent, stone-armored woman... who had created a stony foot trap from the cavern's floor... and she just ran into it.

And then she felt pain in her chest... incredible pain, followed by the same feeling that she had felt several times now, a very strange sensation, as if she was drifting away..."

"NOOOOO! NOT AGAAAAAIIINN..."

Shinji gulped as he saw the descending body of the Omega Pirate coming down on him. "Um, Samus... maybe we should run..."

Samus gulped as well. "Too late for that now..."

And with a mighty 'CRASH', the body of the monster collapsed on top of the two heroes.

Asuka took out the final pirate with her blaster. She turned around and cried: "SHINJI!"

"Are they all right?" Misato asked in a worried voice, as the heavy body of the Omega Pirate crashed down on the bodies of Shinji and Samus.

Ridley grinned. "Looks like the experiment was a success after all... Goodbye, Hunter Aran... may you rest in peace... NOT! Ha ha ha ha!"

'Oh no!' Asuka thought desperately. 'No, they can't be dead... anything but that!'

They all gasped when suddenly, the beast's body dissolved into pure Phazon, which slowly oozed into the ground...

And when almost all of the Phazon was gone, two figures were visible.

Shinji groaned and slowly began to stir. He pushed himself up, and only a second later, Samus did the same.

"They're okay!" Asuka shouted in joy.

Shinji frowned as he looked down at his hands. "Samus... our suits..."

Samus also took a look at the new black color of their Power Suits, highlighted with red streaks. "Huh?" she murmured. "Now this is new..."

"Their suits must have absorbed the Phazon of the monster," Ritsuko realized in excitement. "Well, I must say the technology of the Chozo really is something else."

Shinji smiled as he flexed his hands. "Nice..."

Together, they turned around and faced the bewildered Kaworu, who stared at them furiously.

"Well, out of minions, Ridley?" Samus smirked. "Looks like it's just you and us now."

Kaworu seethed with fury. He shook with rage. He snarled at them like a savage animal. And then...

...he started to giggle, which slowly turned into mad laughter.

Kaji shook his head in confusion. "What's wrong with that guy?"

"I don't know," Misato admitted. "Either that monster finally snapped, or else..." She gasped. "He still has a trick up his sleeve."

Meanwile, Rei's sharp senses had already spotted the hidden trap. "SHINJI, SAMUS, WATCH OUT ABOVE YOU!"

The two armored warriors jolted in surprise, but also reacted quickly and jumped out of the way, as the camouflaged kunoichi that was clinging to the ceiling threw her cursed blade.

This dodge would have saved their life... had Taki only aimed for their bodies.

Instead, she had aimed for Asuka... and her aim was perfect.

Asuka had only time to choke, when suddenly, the purple-glowing blade of Mekki-Maru stuck out of her chest, after it struck her backside and pierced her body. Coughing blood, she slowly staggered forward, and fell to the ground with twitching arms.

All around Shinji, the world seemed to break into pieces...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Everything seemed to flow in slow-motion, as he stormed forward to catch her limp body. He collapsed next to her, his heart already knowing that it was too late: Mekki-Maru had pierced her heart, and the cursed blade was quickly draining her life force away.

"Sh... shinji..." she stuttered.

"No! No! Asuka! Please! You can't leave! Not now... now that I know... that I love you!"

There! He said it! Just seconds before her death... What kind of confession of love was that?

But, the red-head actually smiled. She used all of her remaining strength to touch his face with her hand. "I... I know..." she whispered. "I've... been lying all the time, you know?"

"Please, don't talk," he sobbed. "Everything will turn out fine..." But he already knew just how wrong he was...

"Y-you're not a baka... or a jerk..." She sobbed as well, although she smiled at him. "You know... I l-lo..." She had to cough up some blood. "I love you, too..."

And after having said that, her eyes closed...

Shinji gasped. "Asuka!" he cried. "ASUKA!" He shook her limp body several times, but it was no use...

The cursed blade of Mekki-Maru had just claimed another soul.

Shinji cried in despair, as he sobbed into her shoulder. He barely felt the comforting hands of Ritsuko and Misato on his shoulders.

Suddenly, he was jolted awake, as the dark blade got jerked out of his love's dead body, and flew backwards to the evil ninja, who was standing next to Kaworu.

Slowly, an insatiable rage awoke within the boy's heart. "You..." he whispered. He snarled and slowly got up from the ground. "You..."

"My dear, dear Shinji..." Ridley mocked. "Aw, did you actually love her? Well, to bad! But you know: All's fair in love and war!"

Taki didn't say anything, but her insane grin and the way she licked the smooth surface of her blade told Shinji everything about her thoughts.

"Shinji, wait..."

"They'll kill you too..."

"Let's do this together..."

He was deaf to the warnings of his friends, and numb to their hands which tried to hold him back. The only thing he could feel was his anger. The only thing he could see were the two creatures that made his life useless. Words were lost to him, he just put all of his rage in one single, deafening war cry, as he stormed forward, all the time firing his gun at Kaworu and Taki.

Everything that happened afterwards was just a confusing maelstrom of moving bodies, flashing energy, splashing blood and dull cries.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to him, it was over, and his rage dwindled away... and everything that remained was a dull, painful feeling of emptiness.

Weakly, he raised his head, barely registering that he was crouching on the cavern's floor, and that Samus and Rei were standing next to him.

The first thing he saw was that Ridley was gone. Maybe he fled.

The second thing he saw was the body of Taki... she was sitting in one corner of the room and... sobbed?

Wait a minute... why wasn't she dead? While everything else that happened since he stormed at her was just a haze in his memory, the one thing he could clearly remember was how his shots had pierced her flesh several times... He had savored the feeling of her blood that had splashed upon his face, and he had loved the sweet moment of revenge, after his rage had turned him into this... this... monster!

But why wasn't she bleeding now?

The simple fact that Asuka's murderer wasn't dead awoke his fury yet again. "Stand up!" he yelled. "Stop that and face me while I kill you! What are you sobbing at? You were the one that killed the one I loved, were you not?" He yelled so loud that his throat hurt.

"I... I..." The sorrow in Taki's voice sounded almost real. "I c... I c-can't..."

Wait a minute... that voice! That wasn't the voice of Taki. It still was a girl's voice, and that girl crouching over there still wore Taki's garments, but... Was that really her face?

"Shinji..." Samus whispered. "Look, up there..."

Shinji looked up... and froze.

Floating over the collapsed form of the unknown girl that was wearing Taki's clothes, was a black, human-shaped cloud of... SOMETHING... which stared down at him with the same evil eyes the dark ninja had possessed. In its right hand, the shadowy being clutched a blade that was pulsating with evil energy.

"CONGRATULATIONS..." a voice that sounded like the whisper of thousand spirits hissed. "YOU HAVE DESTROYED MY SHELL AND FREED MY SPIRIT OF MY HOST BODY... BUT KNOW THIS, SPACE-BOY... I WILL RETURN! AND THEN YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU MADE ENEMIES WITH THE SERVANT OF THE GRAND LORD THANATOS!"

Laughing madly, the apparition seemed to collapse into itself... and vanished.

Still too distraught and confused to do anything, Shinji could only mumble unintelligible words, while Misato hugged and comforted him.

Ritsuko had just finished covering Asuka's dead body with a blanket, then she went over to Samus. "What's going on?" she whispered. "What was that thing? Did you scan it? And who's that girl? It isn't the same woman that killed Asuka, is it?"

Samus slowly shook her head. "No... no, she isn't... I don't really understand it, but... My scanner informed me that the being we just saw was some sort of spiritual entity... but filled with some unknown, negative energy. That girl over there is 100 human... and I'm starting to believe that she had been... possessed by that evil spirit."

'Strange, hearing a bounty hunter speaking about spirits and ghosts...' the scientist thought to herself. But she couldn't believe her own eyes either.

Still, that girl lying over there on the ground looked like it had suffered at least as much as Shinji... and if that was the truth, she needed some comforting words.

"Ridley is gone?" Misato asked Samus. "You can't find him with your X-Ray Visor?"

Samus shook her head. "No. As soon as Shinji stormed towards him and the... the woman that had killed Asuka, he had used a teleportation device to escape." She snarled. "He has always been a coward... and he knew that this battle was lost for him."

Meanwhile, Ritsuko had reached the twitching form of the strange girl.

"Hello?" she carefully asked. "Can you hear me?"

Her whole body shuddering, the girl turned around her head and nodded sharply, while tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Y-yes..."

Ritsuko nodded. "Good. I am Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... Can you tell me your name?"

The girl took a while to gather herself, then she gulped down some tears and muttered: "Konatsu... m-my name is Konatsu..."