Thank you for reaching this point. The end is soon. Enjoy.
My mouth hung open as if I were about to speak, but I couldn't form the words. Ridley's son? My confusion must have been readily apparent, as he chuckled and began to explain.
"Well, maybe father isn't the appropriate word. Progenitor, then? I came from a sample of his DNA, one that your Mother inadvertently acquired. Although Mother is hardly the appropriate term either. We're much the same, you and I. The first of our kind. My designation is R-00 D, but you can call me Rood. My favorite things include Biotechnology, cooking, and card games."
I cut him off before he could continue. "What does that have to do with anything?"
He grinned again. "Well, I feel like you should get to know something about me, since I know almost everything about you. Did you know, there's a data mine set up in your power suits helmet? Or that it has been mining your memories and thoughts for nearly all of the seven years you've owned it? Now who did that, I wonder?" His voice trailed off.
Of course, I knew the answer. Mother had overseen the production of my power suit, down to the smallest detail.
"I can see now that you actually had no idea." He continued. "But the real question is, why? Or more appropriately, why you? You see, I've thoroughly examined Sal's suit, and found no such device. On top of that, after going through your memories, I've come to two conclusions. First and foremost, you were definitely the 'favorite child', if you get my meaning. While Sal and the others struggled with their lives, with only each other for support, Samus herself raised you from birth as your Mother. Everything in your life was successfully engineered to make sure that you were a perfect successor to the legendary bounty hunter Samus Aran.
"Secondly, there is a slight alteration in your genetic coding. It's not something you could notice normally, it's almost as if it were hidden on purpose. I don't know if it's because you were the prototype or because of a technical malfunction, but you have a much greater aptitude than any of your sisters. It's almost as if you were made for the explicit reason of surpassing the others."
His words echoed in my mind, especially those last three. I had heard those words so many times during my childhood, although at the time I had no idea what they had meant. So Mother had planned for me to be her successor from before I was born. The idea held no pleasant place in my mind. I had long since abandoned the notion of continuing her legacy, content with simply living out my days until my use to the Federation had reached its end, and the bomb in my chest were to detonate.
I spoke, a hint of sadness in my voice. "She did all of that, just for me? She abandoned the others, left them scared and alone." I was growing angry as the words flew out of my mouth. "She never wanted any of them to exist in the first place. She told me that once. She left you, Sal, to suffer. A little girl, scared and scarred. I hate her! Why couldn't she have chosen one of the others to be her successor? Why did it have to be me? I'm far from perfect, I don't deserve the life I had. I never asked to be made!" Hot tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I closed my eyes, wishing I could erase my very existence.
I felt a something smooth and cool on my face, and opened my eyes. Rood had a piece of cloth, and was using it to dry my tears as they moved down my cheeks. He spoke, his voice soft, lacking the jovial quality it had held just minutes before.
"Trust me when I say I understand." He gave a small smile. He grabbed my right hand and pressed the cloth into my palm, wrapping my fingers around it. Then, he stood, turned towards the door, and left, Sal close behind.
As they left, Rood called over his shoulder, his voice once again bright. "Get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you."
The lights went off as the door slid shut behind them, and I laid back on the bed.
Suddenly, a strange thought entered my mind. I had been sent here originally to destroy the last of the Space Pirates, yet I hadn't seen any signs of life besides the Biodome, Rood, Sal, and that researcher from earlier. Was that another lie? How many times could I be betrayed by the people I knew and trusted since my birth?
As my thoughts grew darker, I slipped back into my dreams.
I remember my last day in the Facility. I was happy to be leaving, ready to continue on in my training. Mother had told me the day before, and I could barely contain my excitement. I was going to go on a mission with her for the first time, and I felt that I could finally prove myself to her. I had successfully completed a number of missions since my failure, always trying to make up for my mistake. I never forgave myself for my failure then, and even now it ate away at the back of my mind. I worried that maybe I would fail this time, and the thought scared me more than anything else. There could be no more mistakes, or Mother would witness my failures firsthand.
I slipped on my white Zero Suit, and sat on the end of my bed, waiting for Mother to appear, waiting to leave this place and see the infinite universe that sprawled its way across the night sky. Soon, I heard the telltale click of the door activating, and stood quickly.
Mother stood in the doorway, along with a man I had never seen before. She told me to follow her, a smile on her face. I did so happily, excited and nervous to be leaving with her. However, instead of moving towards the Facility's exit, we began to move deeper within the huge building. As we moved, my nervousness must have shown, because she told me not to worry, she had to show me something before we could leave.
Finally, we reached a nondescript door at the end of a hallway. The three of us stopped, and the man stepped in front of the door. He began to speak, rattling off a long list of numbers, and when he finished, the door slid open.
As I passed through, following the man and Mother, I stepped into a nightmare. I saw countless children in various stages of development, all malnourished and clothed only in dirty, patched, black jumpsuits, looking out at us from behind thick glass. They all looked eerily familiar, and I took a closer look at them. Their gaunt faces made it difficult at first, but soon I recognized them.
They looked exactly like me.
I looked at Mother, confused. She met my gaze, and with a smile, introduced me to my sisters. I stood before them, the contrast readily apparent, and I felt every set of their eyes on me. A few of the younger girls looked curious, but most of the older ones simply looked angry, their eyes burning with a fire that I had seen many times before in my own reflection. Mother began to speak, and I felt her words reverberate through the room as she told me about project SA-D.
Sorry about the increasing delay between chapters, uni is busy. I hope you are enjoying my rather depressing tale, hopefully I can get back to the action soon, so bear with me. I appreciate all of you, and as always, leave a review or pm me if you have any suggestions.
CM out.
