Riku has hardly been able to sleep ever since that day. He's forced himself through space, as far away from Hyrule as his body will take him.
In this vegetative state he's barely aware of the blue particles floating towards his body. They cling onto him, digging into his skin like a fungus.
He collapses unconscious, as the famed battleship the G.F.S. Olympus hovers over him...
When he awakens he's inside a medical bay, now forced into a suit of armor for his own protection, supposedly.
But taking it as a sign of danger, he rips free from his bindings and panics the nurse. The nurse activates the turrets and Riku arms himself to fight back.
When he tries to draw his sword, however, he's surprised by the presence of a new arm cannon in its place.
He still has the use of his elements too, and uses them to beat through their strongest turrets. However, the last one wears him down to the point of going unconscious AGAIN.
He wakes up greeted by the Admiral of this ship, Dane. Dane's puzzled by Riku's inhuman abilities and starts questioning him calmly over it.
Riku's answers don't make the Admiral flinch despite how strange they sound. Eventually Riku finds out he's been infected with Phazon, and has been forced into a P.E.D. Suit for his own safety.
Dane's explains that Phazon SHOULDN'T be back but somehow it did, and now he needs to hire their best bounty hunter to stop it once more.
But before their name is given the alarms go off, and Riku runs off to help. There he runs into Samus Aran, the famed bounty hunter...being attacked by a reborn Dark Samus, now clad in red.
The scuffle is brief, as Riku's presence causes Dark Samus to redirect their attention towards him. The Phazon in Riku's systems allows Dark Samus to rip his elements away and carry them off elsewhere, simultaneously robbing Samus of some of her functions too.
Riku then tries to introduce himself to Samus, but she is not amused.
In the aftermath Riku finds he still has Fire, Light and Dark at the very least. He's not gotten off to a good start with Samus though, and tries to apologize on the way to the meeting with the Aurora Unit and Dane...Only to screw it up.
The Aurora Unit briefs the two on what's going on with Dark Samus. Before attacking this ship she re-infected all the old planets on top of adding Zebes to the mix.
The mission this time is for Samus to fix the infection on all worlds and hopefully stop Dark Samus for good this time.
Samus accepts the mission and heads out to get a spare missile launcher. While she's gone, Dane pulls Riku aside and critiques his recklessness, but also thanks him for helping out willingly.
He wants Riku to follow Samus and help her out, recognizing that he too lost some important things to Dark Samus.
Riku will be given a different mission commander and will be introduced to him over the comms shortly. Dane then points out how Riku strangely had a Grappling Beam installed into his suit.
Riku remembers still having the Hookshot on him from "that last world" but doesn't know how it could've became the Grappling Bean.
Feeling melancholic, Riku goes after Samus and meets up just as she is about to board her ship. She of course doesn't want his help, but Riku tries to convince her by saying he knows her.
He pushes things a little too far by mentioning some personal details but it seems to get Samus to let him join, for now anyways.
Riku then explains his Elemental Overlord business, but she doesn't really care, focusing on the mission.
Riku then steps aside for the time being to call his new missions commander. Shockingly, its Adam Malkovich, Samus' old CO.
Riku briefly chats with Adam and promises not to let Samus know of his involvement. Then, Samus takes her ship off to their first destination, Zebes.
Upon arriving there Samus immediately tells Riku to stand back and guard the ship. Riku objects but Samus continues to beat back his logic and concerns. Though she briefly thanks him for his concern, its clear Riku's not endearing himself to Samus.
While he waits around he decides to try and contact Adam to figure out what's going on. Adam chuckles a bit, stating how he knows what's going on.
He recalls Samus being reckless long ago, and she probably saw a bit of her younger self in Riku when he went and attacked Dark Samus. She's trying to save Riku by fighting this battle alone, but honestly, Riku should choose to follow his instincts.
So Riku arms his cannon and decides to follow Samus into Zebes. He takes his time getting accustomed to his new suit and avoids the traces of Phazon along the way.
The creatures are acting bizarre under Phazon's presence, but more strangely, the environment isn't being corroded by Phazon...But repaired.
Riku takes a tumble after failing to realize his lack of flight in this world and falls into the lava domain. There, he runs across a phantom made of Phazon that's designed to take on Ridley's appearance and mannerisms.
Riku can't hurt this phantom with regular attacks and has to make it corporeal with Hyper Mode. But he doesn't get to deal much damage before it suddenly vanishes.
He then climbs out and continues to try and find Samus, running into her combating a phantom of Kraid.
Her efforts to fire missiles like before isn't working. Riku tries to work out what's wrong along with her. Samus remarks how this feels like a Chozo Ghost, but different somehow.
Riku puts together that it can only be harmed in Hyper Mode and so powers up to solidify the Kraid apparition so Samus can fire missiles into its mouth, and finish it off.
Samus then regains the Speed Booster while Riku gets the power of wind back. But in doing so, his corruption worsens.
Samus then pulls him aside and gives him the rundown of how things are going to go from now on. She doesn't want to hear anymore about her past from him, and also, he can't use Hyper Mode except against these Phazon Apparitions.
Her point made clear, they move on towards the source of the Phazon on this planet.
Samus and Riku deduce from the apparition's appearance that the Phazon is reconstructing the enemies from Samus' past. Why? They don't know.
But it does mean that if they want to save Zebes, they need to go to Tourian and confront Mother Brain.
There are also Tallon Metroids here, mutated from the Phazon. The two make sure to deal with them along the way.
Eventually they find Mother Brain in a corrupted version of her chamber. They listen to memories of Samus' past and then work together to open the way to the brain herself.
Upon Mother Brain's defeat Samus regains the Wave Beam and Riku has the power of water again. Phazon disintegrates from Zebes, but this also reactivates the old self-destruct mechanism in Tourian.
They quickly speed out to Samus' ship and leave before Tourian blows up. From there they receive an update from the Aurora Unit, telling them to go to Tallon IV next.
Samus has Riku give her a blood sample so they can use the Phazon traces to detect possible apparitions on the planets.
They lock onto a signal in Phendrana Drifts and, after setting the ship to auto-pilot around the planet, head towards it.
Along the way Riku gives Adam an update on the Phazon Apparitions. He advises him to keep slowly trying to get Samus to warm up to him.
Upon arriving at their destination they find the remains of Thardus now buried under the snow. However, it isn't long before the Phazon in the area revives Thardus in a stronger state.
But the two's slowly growing teamwork allows them to topple the titan, giving Samus back the Spider Ball and Riku the Earth element.
However, Riku is hesitant to take it back, for the corruption inside of him could threaten to take over, and give Dark Samus access to the means to take over the universe.
But he distracts himself from his doubts when Samus calls out to him. The Earth element also comes with the added bonus of letting Riku use his own Morph Ball so he can keep up with Samus through tunnels.
Now they sense a second signal in the Phazon Mines, and thus continue on their way to there.
One brief detour through Magmoor Caverns brings them to the Phazon Mines, which has collapsed and been abandoned since Samus' last trip here.
Riku offers his elements to her aid to dig their way down to the basement, where the signal comes from. There they encounter the Omega Pirate, now a pirate-zombie-ghost, in essence.
Samus and Riku deal with it just the same as it was dealt with before, giving Riku back the Grass element and Samus her Power Bombs.
Riku's corruption now stretches to his heart, bringing a great sense of exhaustion by the time him and Samus escape the mines and board the ship to leave the planet.
Now their next destination is planet Aether...
Riku rests on Samus' ship while the bounty hunter goes to the Luminoth Temple to speak with U-Mos. Learning of the return of Dark Aether and the Ing, now stronger than ever, U-Mos urges Samus' aid in helping save their world once more.
Samus has no hesitation agreeing, but first she needs the Light Suit back.
Meanwhile, Riku starts hearing Dark Samus inside of his head. The Phazon creature has gleamed a lot from Riku's head, such as his knowledge of events to come...and the massive guilt he's burying away.
Riku denies the effect guilt has on him and vows not to let Dark Samus control him. The creature laughs and says he'll make for an interesting puppet soon enough.
Samus then returns and tries to warn Riku about coming with to Dark Aether without a suit of his own. But as Riku's quick to point out, he has the Light element, so he should be able to survive.
Samus' hesitant to agree, but doesn't say so outright. Thus they decide to go to Sanctuary Fortress, the only place Dark Aether currently has returned to.
They make their way to Dark Sanctuary Fortress through one of the portals left behind by the Luminoth. Riku's in awe of the technology here, stating how for a long time now, his world's technlogy has stagnated.
They are briefly distracted by a corrupted Quadraxis on their way to the new Ing Hive, but Riku takes it down quickly to avoid wasting time.
Samus then regains the Annihilator Beam, as they head into the hive to confront the new Emperor Ing.
The new Emperor Ing can fly and has a tougher exterior, while also swarming his hive with smaller Ing. Riku fends off the smaller horde while Samus focuses her firepower into the Emperor.
Riku gets a clever idea midway through the battle to feed Samus more Light and Dark ammo using his own powers. And with it Samus is able to destroy the Emperor Ing with a Sonic Boom.
It leaves behind the Screw Attack for her and also undoes the existence of Dark Aether. Making haste back to Aether, Samus returns the Light Suit to U-Mos and decides to leave the Annihilator Beam behind as well, stating how the ammo refilling, while neat, would be inefficient if they got split up.
They then bid a fond farewell to the Luminoths and head off to their next destination, Bryyo.
Before advancing too far on Bryyo Riku calls in to Adam since he hasn't updated in a while.
From the information given so far, Adam realizes that the apparitions follow a pattern and this time, Samus' going to be forced to confront an older partner once again: Rundas.
Riku vows to be there to help her fight Rundas, physically and emotionally. Adam is thankful.
Riku and Samus finds Rundas deep in Bryyo's domain, but the apparition quickly seals Riku off from Samus.
Samus is forced to fight alone while Riku uses fire to try and burn through and help her out. But doing fire alone isn't melting the ice faster than it can reform, so, disregarding Samus' advice, he decides to activate Hyper Mode again.
Once he's melted through he manages to solidify Rundas for Samus to strike down. Riku's voice is now distorted in the process of using Hyper Mode.
Rundas' apparition thanks Samus as it passes, giving her back her Ice Missiles.
Samus then barricades Riku from going for his Ice element, saying that any more corruption and he'll be lost for good.
Riku tries to force his way through, and Samus briefly has an emotion moment in telling Riku that he's clearly suicidal.
Riku finally has to come to grips with his guilt and tells Samus the truth about his last adventure, and how he left a world to die to a demon because he was too cowardly to step up and be a hero.
He has to keep pressing on, feeling he can redeem himself here, even if it brings him to brink of death. He collapses from exhaustion upon acquiring the Ice element and Samus carries him back to her ship, clearly shaken. Their next destination...Elysia.
Riku wakes up once they've landed and Samus shows a little concern for him, on top of some respect for his dedication.
Riku hardly believes she's acting this way, but doesn't bring it up much. He thanks her for bringing him back safely, and with no need for further words they head out to take care of the apparition here.
But Samus wants to briefly take a detour to the Aurora Unit stationed here and ask it a question about the possibility of finding Dark Samus' new Phaaze. But sadly, the Aurora Unit can't sense it.
With that information in the back of their heads for now, Samus flies her ship to where the apparition, Ghor, lies.
The two beat him with a little more ease than Rundas, and Samus regains the Seeker Missiles. Now all that's left is the most dangerous location of all...The Pirate Homeworld.
After having Riku give a run down of the final apparition to confirm he's ready, the two stealth through the Pirate Homeworld to reach it. They are surprised by the lack of Space Pirate presence, assuming they may have abandoned this place after the last attack.
The confrontation with Gandrayda has her transform into other apparitions to throw the two off, but in time Riku and Samus wear her down to the point of defeat.
Riku regains his last element, Electricity, while Samus gets the Grapple Voltage.
But the real meat of their visit here has yet to begin. For it turns out the reason the Space Pirates weren't getting in their way is because all of their forces have gathered at the wilted Leviathan Seed to perform an operation to save their leader.
Before Samus and Riku can make their escape, the Leviathan Seed erupts with Phazon, and from it comes Ridley, revived in his Omega form.
He immediately tackles the area the two are trapped in, threatening to devour them both so he can be whole again.
Samus draws her arm cannon and swears to destroy him once and for all.
Ridley uses his cunning to take advantage of their enclosure and single out Riku, wanting his Phazon first and foremost.
Riku and Samus are forced to split due to Ridley's size and attack him as best they can until they force his retreat.
Ridley spews Phazon over the battlefield to force Riku into Hyper Mode and further his corruption, but Riku holds on tight to his sanity long enough to launch a powerful combined attack with Samus that blows Ridley away.
But the dragon doesn't stop there, as the Phazon sheds off his body and reverts him to Meta Ridley.
Ridley roars and the Space Pirates rally to the turrets to provide aid. Riku is tasked with tackling the turrets while Samus focuses fire on Ridley's ferocious assaults.
Eventually Ridley falls again, presumably for good.
But as they prepare to take the elevator out of here, Ridley rises, having now regained his original body in the last moments of Phazon infecting him.
He smashes into Samus and drags her down the elevator shaft, ready to finish her off for good. Riku follows close behind and helps her engage the enemy on the falling platform.
Ridley taunts Samus over her traumas, saying she'll never conquer it, for its connected to him, and he...is immortal.
He laughs at the irony that both are each other's worst nightmares and how ultimately, the only way their endless feud can stop is if one of them gives in to their fears.
Riku yells at him to shut up and attacks with all his might, while Samus begins launching her strongest beams and missiles into Ridley's body.
Ridley lashes out and tries to send the elevator into the abyss, but once more underestimates' his foes tenacity. Samus and Riku deal the final blow together, and Riku manages to save Samus from plummeting to her death.
Samus knows this isn't the end of Ridley, but for now, at least Phazon has been exterminated from all the present worlds.
They return to the ship to see if the Aurora Unit has found Dark Samus.
It has, and its not looking good. Armed with a new, red Phaaze, Dark Samus is launching an attack on the Earth.
If the two of them don't hurry and stop Dark Samus, Phaaze will merge with Earth and it'll become impossible to stop Phazon.
Upon arriving at Phaaze Riku is forced into a permanent Hyper Mode and realizes that they have two timers to deal with...His own, and the Earth's.
There is one long stretch leading to Dark Samus' chambers. Its clear the creature doesn't want to waste anymore time.
They arrive to find Dark Samus waiting patiently, and with a gesture of its hand it stops Phaaze entirely.
Samus is confused, until her dark counterpart explains how this was all a plan to bait Samus into coming here.
The Phazon creature then asks Samus if she's figured out what her plan is yet.
Samus draws her arm cannon while Riku looks at Dark Samus and, feeling unnerved, asks the creature to take off its helmet.
Dark Samus does so...and reveals that its beginning to take upon the appearance of Samus Aran herself.
Dark Samus lets out a chilling laugh, saying just as it corrupted other worlds, it too had become corrupted from being in contact with Samus' suit.
The DNA of Samus left behind in the suit has been infusing deeper and deeper inside of Dark Samus' body every time it draws out Phazon, causing its appearance to become like this while also granting itself Samus' memories.
Dark Samus corrupted all the places Samus had gone too up until now because it had planned to kill the memories of Samus inside of itself through destroying the apparitions that'd grow over time.
Samus' humanity and memories were causing Dark Samus to become something it doesn't want to be, and in order to rid itself of this corruption it needs to eliminate the existence of Samus Aran from the universe completely.
But Riku's appearance threw this plan off...In some ways. Even if Samus is still alive, Dark Samus can acquire Riku's body for its own soon enough, allowing it to spread Phazon at an unstoppable rate.
Dark Samus then puts its helmet back on and prepares to push Riku to his limits, while killing Samus for good.
Through a terrifying battle with many close encounters regarding Riku's corruption, the two manage to damage Dark Samus to the point of breaking its sanity.
Dark Samus decides to flood them out with Phazon in a last ditch effort to finish them off. Samus and Riku make a run for it, obstacles set in their pass to thwarting Samus' Speed Booster usage.
Riku starts noticing he's lagging behind and in a brief moment of clarity, makes a stand away from Samus.
He tells Samus that this was always how it was going to go...That he needs to sacrifice himself so that Samus can live.
Samus refuses to let him end his life for her sake and tries to pull him away, but Riku is defiant. He thanks Samus for letting him stick close to her, and says that he's glad to call her a friend.
Samus is a little broken up, but steels her resolve and makes one last run out of Phaaze while Riku stands back to hold off Dark Samus' flood.
In his last moments defending Samus, Riku gets in contact with Adam and tells him sorry for throwing his life away like this.
He then has Adam vow not to give Samus a hard time whenever they meet up again, and also not to give him a funeral.
Adam signs off, wishing him well.
Riku smirks and pushes himself against Dark Samus' Phazon, the world around him going silent...
Riku awakens, floating in the consciousness of Phazon itself. He is greeted not by Dark Samus, but its original form, Metroid Prime.
Phazon is truly dying this time, but Metroid Prime intends to make one last stand to consume Riku's body so that it may live.
Riku has nothing to gain or lose from this fight, but he refuses to surrender his morals and let Metroid Prime prevail.
Even if he's just part of the will of Phazon now, he'll fight with everything he has until this corruption fades for good.
Metroid Prime attacks feverishly to make Riku kneel, but Riku refuses. He stands triumphantly against every attack, and eventually breaks the creature's will instead.
Metroid Prime drifts in the sea of consciousness, mocking Riku for winning a pointless battle. Riku closes his eyes, ready to accept his fate.
Phaaze is destroyed, this time for good, taking all Phazon left along with it.
Samus watches on in the distance from the safety of her ship, hoping that Riku will escape...But she's not a fool. He perished in this last moment to save her life.
She gives him a salute, and swears to never forget him.
The Galactic Federation contact her, telling her of a new urgent mission regarding the Metroid's home world...
Samus puts on her helmet, and takes one last look into space, sensing something amiss. With a smile, she leaves to resume her duties.
Unknown to her, Riku's body drifts through space all on its own. In its last moments, Metroid Prime restored Riku's body from Phazon. Whether out of respect or curiosity, no one can ever know...Not even Metroid Prime.
Part 4 Story 2 END