Metroid: Mission Alpha

Episode 29: Out of the Darkness

I recently got Metroid: Samus Returns and am enjoying it! I may use some of the abilities from that game in future episodes of this series-there's even one in this episode. ;)


Samus and Alpha had just explored the Rainfall region on the planet Mysteke, where they had found an injured creature named Harmony. Leaving her safely in the Gunship and hoping for her survival, they followed Melody to another teleporter.

After teleporting, everyone could see an environment that appeared dark and dismal. The sky was filled with a strange fog, and the ground was nearly void of plant life. The few trees nearby loomed over the land with their slightly swaying, bare branches.

"So you're now in the Dark region," Michael spoke up, "It's a dark and mysterious place. I know little about the place, but it must be dangerous there, so I would proceed with caution."

Melody nodded and added to Michael's statement. "The Dark region is filled with the essence of all negative feelings experienced by the creatures of Mysteke. Very few creatures ever come here because of the danger that of that essence. M-01's evil intentions may be strengthened in this region. Please watch every step and your emotions while you're here." With that, she disappeared.

"Let's go," taking a deep breath, Samus began to lead Alpha. While the Snacanid was slightly afraid, he hid his fear, and his armored ally was fearless yet prepared. It was not long, however, before both of them heard a sound of movement from behind them. Turning around, they saw nothing at first, but then they saw what looked like a cloud. Once it got closer, it was clear that it was not a cloud but a dark haze that moved on its own. Samus fired at it, but nothing happened. She used a missile and a Super Missile with the same result. "None of my weapons can damage that thing!" she exclaimed, "Run!"

As the darkness continued to move towards them, Samus and Alpha turned and ran. They found that the faster they ran, the faster the darkness moved. They had to get to a safe place as soon as possible! The two of them raced over rocks and under tree branches with the darkness behind them the entire time. Eventually they came to a tunnel. Samus was too tall to run inside it, so she morphed into a ball and rolled through the tunnel alongside her Snacanid ally.

Once Samus and Alpha came out of the tunnel, they saw that the darkness was gone, so they stopped to catch their breath. "That was too close," Samus told Alpha, "Let's keep an eye out." So both of them moved on and soon came to a wide river. The water looked murky, but it was the only way across, so they carefully walked into it. The water was not too deep-it only went up to Samus's waist, and Alpha swam on the surface.

Suddenly, Samus heard Alpha howling and splashing. She looked back to see him flailing to escape from what appeared to be a hand of darkness. It had gripped him and was trying to pull him into the water! Quickly, Samus tried to pull Alpha away from the hand, but no matter how much she pulled, she could not free him. Suddenly, the scarf around Alpha's neck appeared, glowing very brightly. With a screeching sound, the hand glowed and vanished. Samus and Alpha rushed back onto land.

Melody came beside them. "That scarf contains powers of goodness and purity. Darkness and evil are no match for its power. That is why I gave it to Alpha-to help both of you in the mysterious Dark and Light regions."

"Will that power help us defeat M-01 as well?" Samus asked.

Melody nodded. "As long as you have a desire to do good, I believe it will. The light of good will always overpower the darkness of evil."

Soon Melody was gone again, and Samus knelt down to pet Alpha. "There's nothing to be afraid of as long as you have that scarf," she told him, "I know we can overcome M-01!"

As Samus stood up, she caught sight of something darting across the sky. "Speaking of M-01…" she muttered. Taking aim, she powered up a Charge Beam and released it at the flying robot. The impact of the beam knocked M-01 out of the sky. After a moment, the robot was seen hovering toward Samus and Alpha at breakneck speed. The two of them ducked swiftly to avoid it as it charged right over their heads. Samus immediately turned around and pelted M-01 with a stream of Plasma Beams.

M-01 took the hits, but then became surrounded in darkness. With new power, it flew out of the attack, the red light on its head radiating brightly. It swooped at Samus and Alpha, who rolled out of the way. Samus released her Grappling Beam, latching onto M-01. The robot dashed back and forth in an attempt to escape, but Samus stood her ground.

Alpha was ready to help out, so he used his Ice ability to freeze M-01. However, it broke out of the ice and charged up a powerful beam, which Samus and Alpha barely avoided. Samus shot a missile, but as she was doing so, M-01 caught her off guard and struck her Power Suit with some lasers, knocking her down.

M-01 ran at Samus, and Alpha tried to shock it with his Thunder ability, but missed every time. When M-01 came close, Samus knocked it back with a counter, a swing of her arm, and then jumped back. Alpha ran forward, jumped, and shocked M-01. After he landed, everyone stood ready for battle.

The mechanical enemy looked as if it were glaring at its two biological opponents. "It is useless!" it hissed, "You will lose!" It began to charge up another powerful beam.

Alpha yelped. "Alpha, you can stop M-01!" Samus told him. He looked up at her in surprise. "The scarf's power, remember? Just trust in the light and believe with all your heart that it will prevail!" So Alpha closed his eyes and focused on the power of good, feeling a new power. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the scarf shining. Its power strengthened so greatly that a huge white light surrounded Alpha's body. He charged right into M-01, striking it with the power. Sparking heavily, it fell back and then flew away unsteadily. Samus shot an Ice Beam at it, but missed.

As Samus lowered her arm cannon and Alpha noticed his scarf was fading, both of them looked over to see Melody. "M-01 appears to be heading to the Light region," she said, "It's nearly defeated now, so I know you will triumph there! The Light region is normally a peaceful place, but with M-01 there I wouldn't put my guard down. I'll lead you to the teleporter now."

Samus and Alpha began to follow Melody when they heard movement behind them. "It's that dark cloud again!" Samus exclaimed when Alpha and she looked back. The darkness was coming near!

"Follow me!" Melody called out. She moved faster, and Samus and Alpha ran after her. The darkness persisted as they ran as fast as they could, trying to hurry to safety.

Samus and Alpha came to a large wall. Looking back, it seemed at first that they were trapped-but then, Samus spotted a ledge on top of the wall. "Quick, up there!" She jumped up onto the ledge, and Alpha immediately followed; then the two of them continued to run from the dark haze that pursued them.

"Almost there!" Melody said from ahead. Samus and Alpha sprinted across another field. They heard the cloud of darkness right behind them as they came closer…closer…and then arrived at the teleporter. They entered it without hesitation, and the darkness tried to attack. But the three of them were already gone, safely teleporting to the Central region.

Samus, Alpha, and Melody arrived at the Central region. "We made it," Samus remarked, "Now on to the Light region!" So Alpha and she followed Melody to the proper teleporter, prepared to explore the Light region.

(Original story from September 2017)