Metroid: Mission Alpha
Episode 10: Constellation Chaos
After exploring Frozeterna, Samus and Alpha had returned to the Gunship. Even though Samus was experiencing worse effects from the Electrifier, Alpha and she pressed on. Michael's voice came from the speaker again. "It looks like Master Greblai and Master Silhouite have gone to the stellar planet Consteterna this time." The destination became highlighted on the CM's map.
Samus flew the Gunship to Consteterna, which was a dark blue planet with many bright stars surrounding it. However, before Samus could leave the Gunship upon its landing, she suddenly felt a terrible pain. It was a burning pain deep within her that coursed through her entire body, unlike anything she had ever felt. Alpha noticed that she seemed to be in pain and looked up at her with concern. After a few minutes, the pain faded. "For a minute it felt like something inside me was on fire!" Samus said, "But…we have important work to do. We'll just have to do our best."
After Samus and Alpha exited the Gunship, Michael's voice said, "Consteterna's environment is in a constant state of night, but the stars and moon shine very brightly, so you shouldn't have any trouble navigating. The stars form many different constellations; also, there is a signal station a distance away from you." Indeed, although it was clearly night, the numerous stars and Eterna's moon illuminated the environment. The grass-like plants glittered and the lone path ahead almost seemed to glow. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
When Samus started to move with Alpha, though, something was not right. She saw not one path, but three! "Which path should we take?" she asked. Alpha was concerned again, knowing there was only one path. He went in front of her and barked, trying to show her the way. But Samus still saw three paths…each with Alpha standing on it! Not only that, but everything was a blur. "Please, lead the way," she told Alpha, "I don't know what's going on…"
Samus tried to follow Alpha, who carefully led her straight across the path. The landscape was fairly simple, but somehow her brain perceived it as overwhelming. She tried to ignore it and kept moving, until Master Greblai and Master Silhouite came into view. Alpha growled. Samus recognized them but was feeling strangely confused. "What should we do about this?" she asked herself.
Master Greblai stopped digging for the Eternal Orb and jumped back. "How do you always manage to find us?" he said. Master Silhouite said something, but suddenly, Samus could not understand what he was saying; rather, he seemed to be mumbling. Alpha growled loudly, but Samus only heard a faint grumble. Something was wrong. Her vision was blurred and out of focus, her hearing faded, and her mind in a fog. She felt unusually lost, and she couldn't take it. She began firing randomly, but could not tell where the enemies were. Master Greblai and Master Silhouite dodged a few blasts and fled.
The blasts continued, and Alpha yelped with fright, frantically avoiding them. After one loud yelp, in a flash everything returned to normal. Samus's vision focused, her hearing returned, and her mind cleared. Realizing what she was doing, she immediately lowered her arm cannon. Seeing Alpha trembling, she felt a wave of guilt. "I-I'm sorry, Alpha," she said, "I'm…just not like myself right now." Fortunately, Alpha understood.
As Samus and Alpha moved on again, they looked at the gorgeous scenery. The twinkling, glowing features in the sky and on the ground were mesmerizing. The occasional shooting star added even more effect. It was all so beautiful that the two almost forgot about their troubles…until flashing lights nearby caught their attention. Tiny firefly-like creatures, lights flickering brightly, flew over to them and circled around them. Samus and Alpha watched as the fireflies fluttered in front of them, then moved forward. "I think they want us to follow them," Samus said. So Alpha and she followed the glowing creatures.
Meanwhile, Master Greblai and Master Silhouite came to an area where the ground seemed to glow more brightly. "This may be the place!" Master Silhouite said.
Master Greblai started to dig. "If we find this Eternal Orb, we'll only need one more!" he said, "I just hope Samus doesn't find us. No doubt she'll want to take the orb from us! Except, last time we saw her she was behaving strangely."
"It is all going according to plan," Master Silhouite replied, "Even if Samus does manage to find us again, she will have little hope of stopping us. Soon, there will be no way for her to stop us!"
Suddenly, there was a sound. Creatures native to Consteterna, wanting to protect the Eternal Orb, charged angrily at the two villains. "The native creatures! They want to stop us, too?!" Master Greblai growled.
"Keep digging. I'll take care of them," Master Silhouite said.
Samus and Alpha were still following the fireflies when they heard Michael's voice from the speaker again. "I'm picking up a distress signal from the station! It's not far from you now, just keep following the path. It also appears that Master Greblai and Master Silhouite are causing trouble just past there."
"We're on it," Samus replied. Alpha and she soon saw a building ahead. The fireflies flew around it, so they went inside. Inside the building, an alarm was blaring and a reading showing a fight between numerous life forms showed on the screen of a machine.
Unfortunately, when Samus looked at the machine, things went wrong again. All she could see on the machine was colorful blurs. The loud alarm sounded muffled and faint. Worst of all, confusion again clouded her mind. She suddenly felt lost again, with no idea what to do or where to go. In her confusion, Samus ran right out the open door. Alpha quickly followed, and soon they came to their enemies.
Alpha could see Master Silhouite knocking away the native creatures with his tentacles. But Samus only perceived a commotion, and it made her uneasy. She pointed her arm cannon at the villains, seeing them as two large blobs. "Whoever you are…whatever you are…I know you're up to something!" She then began firing at them, but all her shots missed due to her blurred vision. Still, Master Greblai and Master Silhouite tried to avoid them. All the native creatures ran, while Alpha stayed behind Samus, out of range. He knew that in this state, she had no hope of victory, but there was nothing he could do to help without putting himself in danger.
Without being able to focus, Samus had no idea what, where, or even why she was shooting. All she knew was that there was a potential threat, and it had to be eliminated. Still, Master Greblai and Master Silhouite were easily able to evade her missed shots. They started to charge forward. Alpha knew he had to do something, or the environment and its inhabitants could be damaged by the battle. So he used his Wind ability. His eyes turned grey and a grey glow surrounded his body. Then he took a deep breath and blew.
A powerful gust blew across the field, catching everyone but Alpha off guard and stopping them. Samus felt better at that moment and changed her strategy. With much-improved aim she sent missiles at the now clearly visible villains. Master Silhouite flew in front of Master Greblai, who began digging again, and knocked the missiles back. Alpha, in a quick reaction, blew the missiles back again, and they hit Master Silhouite.
Samus shot some Super Missiles, but Master Silhouite managed to dodge them. Then, Master Greblai uncovered the Eternal Orb and held it up. Samus and Alpha ran at him, but then Samus felt the same pain from earlier again and had to stop. Now it was too late; Master Silhouite teleported Master Greblai and himself away with the Eternal Orb. Alpha's face showed sadness as Samus slowly stood up, the pain fading. "Let's go. I think we'll have to make a change of plans," Samus said sadly. Alpha and she walked back across the path with heavy hearts. They had failed yet again. How would they ever complete this mission? How could they save Eterna from ruin with so many complications?
Back inside the Gunship, Samus picked up her speaker. Though she wasn't so confused at the moment, she still didn't feel right. "Michael, we weren't able to catch Master Greblai and Master Silhouite…and I think my condition is worsening," she said, "I haven't been myself at all."
"Samus, I know how important this mission is, but at this point, your health is more important. That's why I'd suggest coming back here and having it checked out," came the reply.
"You're right. I need to be alive and able to focus if I want to save Eterna. But…how will we protect the remaining Eternal Orb?"
"Don't worry. Foreterna is large and difficult to traverse. It would take a lot of searching for our enemies to find its Eternal Orb."
"All right, preparing to return to HQ," Samus replied. I just hope I can get there without trouble, she thought as the Gunship flew off into space.
(Original story from November 2016)