Authors note: Hey everyone, I'm back. So here we are in the year 2021. Yeah admittingly this rut I was sorting out took way longer than I originally anticipated, I mean I remember posting my message last year in October and after that I just seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Well after everything the world is going through due to COVID-19, I guess we all had a lot of things on our minds, especially concerns for our friends and families. I was also going through this and I guess I lost track of time. Well now I'm back and I intend to get back to working on this story.
Chapter 30: Prime Pt 7
Samus and Arctiguana made their way down a long corridor and along the way they dealt with Two Scatter Bombus and two Crystallites. Afterword's they made their way through the next door and were met with an open area that had only three Space Pirates. The Pirates spotted them resulting in the two to quickly take cover behind several crates. Samus blasted one while Arctiguana froze another two leaving them vulnerable for Samus to finish them off.
Shortly after this the two suddenly heard thrusters and they looked up and saw six shapes heading towards them at a fast pace. The moment they got into view the two saw that it was six Space Pirates outfitted with a large jet pack apparatus.
"HEADS UP! SPACE PIRATE AIR SUPPORT!" Shouted the Polar Manzardill.
"'Flying Pirates'!" Samus shouted as she and Arctiguana quickly ducked for cover as three Pirates open fired at the two.
Deciding to change tactics Arctiguana tapped the Omnitrix and changed into Jetray and quickly took to the air with three of the Pirates perusing the Aerophibian, while Samus dealt with the remaining three. Jetray managed to avoid several blasts from the flying Pirate's blasters before he quickly returned fire by firing several neuroshock blasts from his tail.
Each blast nearly hit the Pirate's jetpack, but these Pirates were much faster and the quickly began to return fire. The Aerophibian quickly dodged several blasts from they're lasers, but he didn't expect them to suddenly fire missiles at him. Jetray quickly dodged several missiles and blasted several others with his neuroshock blasts, then he quickly shot towards the Pirates at an extremely fast pace. Seeing what his intentions were the Pirates quickly scattered as the Aerophibian sailed right passed them.
Little did they knew that was what Jetray wanted to do and he quickly flipped over and shot several blasts from his eyes hitting two Pirate's jetpacks, causing them to lose altitude and fall to their deaths. The last Pirate was smart to avoid the blasts and shot several missiles towards him but Jetray took off with the projectiles closing in on him. The Aerophibian shot around hoping to lose the tail but he looked down to see that the other three were giving Samus a little trouble.
That got him thinking and seeing he still has missiles following him he then flew towards the three Pirates. Firing several neuroshock blasts at the Pirates in order to get their attention, Jetray shot upwards creating a sonic boom that finally made him lose the missiles but that didn't mean that they had a lock on a target, or two. Or three.
The three Pirates didn't even have the chance to react as the missiles finally struck causing severe damage to them. All the Pirates could do was scream as the fell to their fiery deaths. With that Samus looked up to see Jetray waving at her and she quickly fired a missile at his direction. The Aerophibian quickly dodged the projectile and before he could say anything he saw the missile strike at the last Flying Pirate scoring a direct hit on his jetpack causing the Pirate to lose control and plummet to the ground, however the Pirate didn't want to go down like that and attempted to fall forwards Samus's direction.
Seeing what the Pirate was attempting to do, Jetray quickly shot towards the falling Pirate and quickly tapped the Omnitrix changing into Cannonbolt and crashing into the Pirate causing it to fall off course. The Pirate crashed next to a mountain while the Arburian Pelarota crashed into a pile of boxes that were scattered about the area. Samus ran towards Cannonbolt and looked to see that despite being on his back, the Arburian Pelarota was unharmed.
"You alright Ben?" Samus asked with a small form of concern as Cannonbolt changed back to Ben.
"I'm fine Samus, just a little shaken." Ben said as he slowly got back to his feet.
"I saw what you did. That was some quick thinking." Samus complimented.
"Thanks." Ben said as he shook off his shoulders.
"So first, Space Pirates that turn invisible and now ones that go kamikaze? What next?" Ben said as he looked at what remained of the six Flying Pirates.
"I'm not certain. But it's probably best we keep moving." Samus said before blasting the next door open.
Upon entering the two were met with another elevator room. After activating a nearby terminal and the elevator began to power up. The two then stepped on to the elevator and descended. Once the elevator stopped the two walked past a corridor while dealing with a Scatter Bombu that was in the way.
The two entered the next door revealing a room with a single tank in the center of the room. The two looked out the windows to see that down below them was another multi-level laboratory, this one however contained many stasis tanks, panels, computer screens, and crates with walkways running between levels.
"This must be another research lab. According to this terminal this place is called Research Lab Aether." Ben said as he read a computer terminal.
"Anymore audio logs?" Samus asked.
"There's only two logs up here. So that means there's bound to be more of them further down." Ben said as he played the first log.
'Log 10.444.4
Initial transfer of Metroids to Tallon IV research facilities has been completed. Three were terminated in an incident at the landing site, but the others were pacified and transported safely. Initial Phazon infusion testing is under way. We are eager to observe the effects of Phazon on Metroids, especially their ability to absorb and process the energy given off by Phazon sources. Early research suggests a considerable growth in power and size. Whether the creatures stay stable thereafter remains to be seen.'
"They're fusing the Metroids with Phazon. Mutating them and making them more dangerous." Samus said.
"That's not a good sign." Ben said as the next log played.
'Log 10.891.0
The reconstruction of geoform 187, code-named Ridley, was recently completed. After his defeat on Zebes, Command ordered a number of metagenetic improvements for him. Though aggressive, we were able to implement these changes in a cycle. The metamorphosis was painful, but quite successful in the end. Early tests indicate a drastic increase in strength, mobility, and offensive capability. Cybernetic modules and armor plating have been added as well. We believe our creation, now called Meta Ridley, will become the mainstay of our security force, a job he will certainly relish.'
"This must have been how Ridley got his upgrades." Ben said.
"Ben, look." Samus said as she looked inside the stasis tank.
Ben looked at what she was seeing and was shocked to find an all too familiar creature inside.
"A Metroid?" Ben asked.
Samus and Ben carefully walked closer to the container where the Metroid was held and observed it with both curiosity and caution. It floated in its container for several minutes and at first it seemed calm. That was before it suddenly broke out of its container like a cannonball, startling the two.
Ben and Samus quickly moved once the Metroid charged towards them and Ben quickly tapped the Omnitrix changing into Big Chill and unleashed his ice breath, freezing it in place. Samus took the initiative and fired a missile at it destroying the creature.
Shortly after the Metroid was killed a Space Pirate smashed through a window and attacked. Big Chill quickly went intangible and flew through the Pirate freezing him in place. This left the frozen Pirate vulnerable to a blast from Samus that left a large hole in its chest.
The Hunter and Necrofriggian looked outside of the destroyed window and saw that there were several more Pirates in the lab. The moment they saw the two the Pirates open fired at them causing Samus to duck and return fire. One blast struck a Pirate in the head while the other struck another in the chest. With both Pirates down Samus and Big Chill then continued down the lab where they saw three more Pirates waiting for them. Samus and Big Chill looked towards each other and nodded their heads in agreement as Big Chill phased underneath the floor and shot towards one of the Pirates before unleashing his ice breath freezing the Pirate.
Samus took the opportunity to blast the remaining two Pirates while they were distracted before finishing the frozen one off. Seeing that was it the two looked around the lab and saw several containment units each with a Metroid inside. Big Chill looked over to one of the nearby terminals and walked over to it. He tapped the Omnitrix and changed back to Ben before he looked towards the terminal and hacked into it to find any information.
"Anything?" Samus asked as she walked over to Ben.
"At least three more logs." Ben said as he pressed play.
'Log 10.957.2
Confidence is high regarding Phazon applications. We know enough about Phazon now to begin combining it with Space Pirate DNA. The code name for this venture will be 'Project Helix'. Preliminary studies indicate that Phazon infusion could produce radical new Pirate genomes. Benevolent mutation levels are high in current test subjects. Phazon madness is a concern, but refinements in the infusion process should reduce or neutralize the odds of mental degeneration.'
"So, Metroid infusion and the experimenting of Phazon were just tests and they're now starting to try to create their super soldiers." Ben said.
'Log 11.420.7
Metroid dissection continues to provide more questions than answers. Our research teams have isolated the energy conduits that run from the invasive twin mandibles to the energy core in the creature's quadripartite nucleus, but the manner in which a Metroid actually extracts the life force from its prey remains an utter mystery. The victim does not lose blood or any other vital fluids, and yet the Metroid extracts energy; identifying this energy is our central problem. It takes no physical form, and yet without it, the victim dies. We will continue to research this matter, as the isolation of this life-giving essence could be the key to our ascendance.'
"Ughh, that for some strange reason reminds me of Michael Morningstar." Ben said disgusted by how the Metroids drain life energy and how the Pirates would try to find a use for it.
"One of your enemies?" Samus asked earning a nod from Ben.
"Think of him as a human Metroid, he drains the Mana which is the life energy of my universe from young people in order to make himself younger, leaving his victims in what almost looked like a zombie-like state." Ben explained.
"That is... disturbing." Samus admitted.
'Log 11.550.6
Studies of Metroid biology continue, though with limited progress. It seems likely that we will be much more successful using the Metroids for our means rather than trying to reproduce their powers. If they could be adequately tamed, we would have no need of a proper understanding of their metabolism. A small force of disciplined Metroids could wipe out entire armies, and once we find a way to shield them from cold-containment weapons, they will be invincible. Furthermore, if we could then harvest the energy they'd consumed, we would have a near-limitless source of power at our disposal.'
"So instead of trying to recreate their power to drain energy, they decide to use the Metroids themselves as weapons." Ben stated.
"And they're trying to remove their weakness to cryogenic weapons." Samus added.
"Wow, that just makes things ten times greater." Ben sarcastically replies.
With that the two then decide to continue on and found a new door on the floor. Samus blasts the door open and the two dropped down where they encountered a new creature called 'Ice Beetles'.
Samus made quick work of them and the two moved through the next room where they were met with little to almost total darkness. Due to the little lighting they saw that the room is fairly large and round, and has four levels with ramps between them, the upper three each having a balcony. They also saw that several of the many tanks in the walls contain Metroids.
"Ok… did these guys forget to pay the electric bill?" Ben joked.
Before Samus could respond, the two suddenly heard a snarl of a Space Pirate who dropped from the ceiling.
Samus was quick to blast it and just as they thought they were in the clear they suddenly heard jet engines and saw two Flying Pirates who open fired causing the two to scatter. Ben quickly ducked under and slammed the Omnitrix and when the flash faded in Ben's place was an alien who's appearance is based on a werewolf.
It had grey fur, a long flowing mane, and a large bushy tail with three sharp claws on each hand and foot, and the inside of his mouth was green. He wore a white jumpsuit with black stripes and the Omnitrix symbol on his lower stomach.
"BLITZWOLFER!" He shouted before lunging towards the Flying Pirate.
The Flying Pirate didn't know what hit it and the next thing it knew, the Loboan managed to latch onto the Pirate's jetpack and sink his claws into it. This caused the Pirate's jet pack to malfunction and when Blitzwolfer jumped off the jetpack exploded.
Samus quickly took cover as the second Pirate fired several missiles at her before she quickly returned fire by aiming at the Pirates jetpack thruster which caused the entire Pirate to explode. With the area cleared the two looked around and saw something on the bottom of the room. In their eyes it appears to be another one of Samus's upgrades except it's in some sort of central tank. Looking around Samus and Blitzwolfer saw a computer terminal and Samus scanned it to reveal how to shut the tank down.
"There are three separate terminals that connect the three different parts of the tank, we just need to shut down each one." Samus said as she shut down one terminal.
The two then moved down a ramp to reach the next platform where they spotted the next terminal. Samus then hacked into it again and like before another part of the tank shut down. Once that was shut down the two then continued down until they reached the bottom. Before they could press on with the last terminal the quickly took cover from two Auto Defense Turrets. As they took cover Samus fired two missiles at the turrets destroying them both.
With the turrets now destroyed Samus hacked into the final terminal and the entire tank shut down to reveal something inside. Samus walked over to touch it when the object suddenly downloaded itself into her suits systems. Then a surge coursed through her helmet and her visor lit up brighter than normal before the light died down.
"What was that?" The Loboan asked.
"This is the Thermal Visor. I'll be able to see the Shadow Pirates should they get the drop on us." Samus explained.
As soon as Samus finished that sentence the lights suddenly went out and Blitzwolfer heard the distinctive sound of Shadow Pirates hissing.
"Looks like your about to get that chance to test it out." He said as two Shadow Pirates dropped down.
The moment they did, Samus and Blitzwolfer acted and began fighting the two Pirates Samus took one on the left while the Loboan took the one on the right. Samus quickly dodged a slash from the Shadow Pirate before delivering a hard blow to the left side of its face which knocked it back before Samus fired a missile at it blowing apart a good portion of the Pirate's upper body. Blitzwolfer was able to handle himself well in the dark especially since the Loboan was able to see in the dark and due to his sensitive hearing was able to hear the Pirates footsteps. He quickly dodged several attacks from the Pirate he was facing and leaped into the air before bringing his claws down on to the Pirate's throat. The only thing the Shadow Pirate felt was trickles of blood dripping out of the claw marks on its throat before collapsing to the floor.
With the area cleared the two began to make their way back to the door they entered through but along the way several Metroids were able to buts their way out of their containers forcing Samus and Blitzwolfer to move faster while the Loboan used his ultra-sonic howl to keep the Metroids at bay. They eventually reached the exit and quickly shut the door on the Metroids. Thinking that it was ok they turned around to see that not too far from them were two small machined that looked like the one they saw before.
"Two of those little drones we saw earlier." The Loboan whispered.
"There 'Sentry Drones'. Although they're small and have limited intelligence, they do their tasks very well." Samus said as she armed her blaster.
True to her word the moment the drones spotted them they immediately alerted each other and locked down the doors before deploying their weapons and attacked. Samus and Blitzwolfer quickly took cover as Samus used her wave beam to destroy one drone. The other drone began to cause problems for Samus, so Blitzwolfer quickly fired another ultra-sonic howl to knock the drone back hitting the wall and Samus used the opportunity to finish off the other drone.
Now that the drones are out of commission the doors unlocked allowing the two access to Research Lab Aether. Upon entering the door, Blitzwolfer heard a shuffle on the floor and saw that four Shadow Pirates tried to get the drop on them. The two quickly dodged out of the way as the Pirates began to fire at them. Blitzwolfer then charged towards one Pirate who immediately charged towards him, and ducked under the Pirate's attack, before slashing the Pirate's throat. Samus quickly ducked under several blasts from a Pirate that was on the upper level of the lab before she fired a wave beam at the Pirate obliterating it's head.
Blitzwolfer quickly ducked under a terminal to avoid sudden fire from above him and he looked to see that an Auto Defense Turret was activated. The Loboan quickly shot out from behind the terminal and unleashed an ultra-sonic howl that destroyed the turret and quickly lunged at another Pirate that tried to get the jump on him. Samus spotted the last Shadow Pirate who was standing behind a large stasis tank. Samus shot a blast that forced the pirate to dodge before Samus quickly fired a missile that hit the pirate in the chest, killing the pirate instantly. With the lab now clear the two took a minuet to catch their breaths with Blitzwolfer tapping the Omnitrix and changing back to Ben.
"Alright, so now where do we go?" Ben asked.
Samus was about to answer, but then their helmets informed them of some activity in an area called 'The Quarantine Cave'.
"I suppose that this will answer it." Samus answered.
So with that in mind the two then made their way out. Eventually they made it back to the room where they first saw the Metroids and were about to head for the door, but they quickly ducked to avoid being shot by another Auto Defense Turret. Samus fired another blast at the turret destroying it, and The Hunter and Omnitrix bearer walked out the door. The two eventually reached the elevator where it took them back to the control tower. They made their way across the area and entered the next room before stepping on to the elevator that took them back down to the observatory.
Upon entering the observatory the two were met with an ambush from two Space Pirates. Ben quickly changed into Eye Guy and the Opticoid jumped from one platform to another all while avoiding blasts from both Pirates. Seeing they were distracted Samus made her way down and shot at one Pirate while Eye Guy blasted the other. Both Pirates were able to avoid the attacks, but none were ready for the follow up attacks with Samus firing a wave beam striking one Pirate and Eye Guy firing an ice beam which froze the other Pirate's head.
With the two Pirates disposed, of The Hunter and Opticoid made their way out of the room only to be met with two sentry drones whom upon spotting the two quickly open fired on them. The two quickly took cover with the Opticoid firing an electric blast that momentarily stunned the drones, thus giving Samus a chance to finish them off. Now that the drones were dealt with the two made their way to the other side and re-entered Research Lab Hydra. The moment they entered they had to quickly take cover due to being shot at by an Auto Defense Turret. Samus quickly fired a missile destroying the turret and they heard the sound of six Shadow Pirates dropping from the ceiling.
Samus quickly moved to one side and began to fire at three of the Pirates. Eye Guy did the same, but he was on the opposite side of the lab and managed to freeze two Pirates before blasting the last Pirate in the chest. Samus quickly made short work of the other three and blasted the last one in the head. Now with all the Pirates dispatched the two began to make their way back towards the entrance of the research area. Upon entering they were met with five Shadow Pirates and Auto Defense Turret.
Now that they were in a much more open area The Hunter and Opticoid quickly scattered and Eye Guy quickly tapped the Omnitrix changing into Wildmutt and quickly got the jump on one Pirate causing it to fall on its back. Before the Pirate had the chance to react the Vulpimancer sunk his claws into the Pirate's chest and tore it out before jumping off to avoid another Pirate trying to stab him.
Samus was able to destroy the turret and quickly blasted one Pirate before ducking to avoid another Pirate who tried to get the jump on her. Without even looking she gave the Pirate a firm kick to the chest knocking it back before finishing it off with a headshot. She then looked towards a pirate who was ready to charge at her but then he suddenly was hit by another Pirate who came out of nowhere. Samus then heard a snarling sound and looked to see Wildmutt leaped towards the two Pirates and picked them up by their necks and bashed their heads together effectively crushing their skulls like soda cans.
"That was… surprisingly brutal, even for you Ben." Samus said as she switched to her normal visor earning a shrug from the Vulpimancer.
With that the two then maid their way back to the Ruined Courtyard. The two jumped across the gap and made their way towards the door that was in front of them. Just as they were about to press on, they saw that the door wasn't emanating any power meaning it wasn't active. Wildmutt tapped the Omnitrix and changed back to Ben who looked around the area hoping to see some sort of switch or a mechanism that could activate the door.
"See anything?" He asked as he looked over to Samus.
Samus didn't say anything but instead looked around the area and switched to her thermal visor and spotted a withered statue on top of the door. She blasted it to reveal a power conduit with a charged shot and switched to her wave beam and soon the door began to light up signaling that it was activating.
"Huh, that was easy." Ben said as the two walked inside.
With that they walked down a corridor while dealing with two Pulse Bombus and after they opened another door to reveal a morph ball tunnel. Samus entered her morph ball while Ben changed into Ghostfreak and the two entered through but had to avoid two more Pulse Bombus. When they reached the other side they entered through the next door and walked down a small tunnel where they were met with a new room that Ben and Samus knew must be the quarantine cave.
"Wow, this place is huge." Ben said.
With that the two dropped down and looked around to see if they could find whatever caused their helmets to spike.
"See anything that caused the activity we picked up earlier?" Samus asked.
"No, not really. There isn't really anything here, well except that giant pile of rocks." Ben aid as he pointed to the giant rock pile in the center of the room.
Samus was about to say something but then something… unexpected happened. A rock that was buried under the snow somehow shot into the air surprising Ben and Samus and seemingly floating right in front of them.
"Uhhh…. You're seeing this too right?" Ben asked as he and Samus were watching the floating rock.
"Yes." Was all Samus could say.
Then all of a sudden the pile of rocks suddenly began to slowly shake and then the wing suddenly picked up and swirled around the rocks before they suddenly began to rise, and they began to form what looked like a body.
"What the?" Samus asked.
"Oh man." Was all Ben could say as the rock monster roared at the two.