Anthony

Samus stood in the landing bay, watching as a comfortingly familiar ship came in for a landing. Anthony. She let out a breath. She was glad for a familiar face. She'd been here a week, but most of that time had been spent either avoiding everyone she could, or watching as Ridley busied himself around the female's domain getting a little too comfy for said female's liking. It was an extension of Ridley's arrogance, she knew. If he intended to mate her, doubtless he believed he would defeat her without question. She could understand how that would be annoying to the female. Unfortunately for said female, Ridley could probably back up his arrogance.

Lately Samus had been observing the pterosaur's premating behaviors along with Doc and his daughter, Liza. Ridley had started out by crafting himself a temporary roost, conveying his intention to stay put in the female's domain until he could make his move. Then he had begun to do fancy, elaborate aerial maneuvers to catch her attention. Displays of power and a constant changing of color seemed also to be a beacon. The female watched on, always looking unimpressed, but the fact she didn't ever really look away either also hinted at intrigue. Currently, Ridley was out of sight. So was the female. Doubtless he was following her. Likely warding off any other unmated male getting it into his head to try and court his targeted mate. Ridley followed the female like a puppy and she, of course, allowed it, but if he tried to get too close, she lashed out and corrected his presumptuous behavior.

Sighing, she put thoughts of Ridley and the female out of her head and focused on Anthony's ship coming in for a landing. A smile spread across her lips when the door opened and he disembarked. He crossed quickly to her, concern written on his face. "Samus," he said in relief. "You had me worried, Princess. Really worried. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Anthony," she said. "You received the reports I got Adam to send to you?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around them," he wryly replied. "There was… a lot of information. To say the least."

"Yeah, well, a lot happened," she said with a sigh. "I trimmed it down as much as I could."

"Except for when you detailed your intereactions with Ridley," he said. She was quiet. "Were you afraid I'd judge you if you didn't thoroughly explain it, or was it just that important to you?" he asked.

"Maybe a bit of both," she confessed.

"You don't owe me excuses, Princess," he said. "Heck, you could have said 'Oh, by the way Ridley and I are friends now', and I wouldn't have questioned it. Just would have known there was a hell of a story behind it."

"I'm not so good with the face-to-face interaction. At least not in regards to something like that. Writing was easier. Gave me the time to sort out my thoughts, express myself coherently… Less pressure through the written word," Samus replied.

He nodded and looked around. "So, this is the place, huh? The planet, not the facility."

"Yeah. This is where Ridley is from," she said.

"It looks like a prehistoric earth. Complete with the fauna. Albeit seriously mutated," he wryly said, smirking a little.

"My thoughts exactly," she said with a small smile. There was silence a moment and she sighed, suddenly hugging him. "It's good to see you," she said, releasing him almost as soon as she'd hugged him.

"Wow, the last few months have really changed you," he teased, pleasantly surprised. "How it ended up being the space dragon that helped it out is beyond me."

"You and me both," she said, turning her back on him and walking away. He followed her quietly. She stopped at the side of the dome, looking out. He followed her gaze and saw Ridley in the distance following another of his kind. "I've never seen him like this before," she soon said.

"He's with his kind," he replied. "Not as much need to act like something he isn't just to survive. Not that he ever really stopped acting like an animal, as far as I can tell."

Samus nodded. "He's been courting that female for a while now," she soon said. "I think he's about ready to make his move. She's bound to enter heat soon at this point. The scientists here have observed that it happens once every quarter year."

"Every three months you mean?" he teased. She gave him a look. He chuckled, playing innocent.

"The point is she's about due," Samus coldly said.

"Never knew you were so interested in mating rituals," he teased.

"Funny," she dryly replied. "But his species… they're fascinating. More than I would have expected from what I knew of him before, well…" She trailed off. Anthony nodded in understanding and said nothing. They watched the two for a while in silence. "It wasn't supposed to be this way," she finally said. "For god's sake, he killed my parents." Anthony was quiet. He sensed that now wasn't the time to speak. "No insight on that?" she soon asked.

"Nothing you haven't already realized for yourself," he said. "You were able to forgive an animal acting on instinct and prey drive. If he'd been anything else, if he'd been human, maybe the outcome would have been different."

"Humans are far more treacherous than an animal could ever be," she bitterly said.

"But they're also capable of equal parts good. Something an animal isn't," he pointed out.

"I have yet to see it," she replied.

"Ouch," he replied.

She sighed. "Not you, Anthony," she said.

"Hey, you don't need to backtrack on anything, Samus. I get it. It's easier to let yourself trust an animal than to let yourself trust a human," he said sincerely.

"You feel it too?" she asked.

"Sometimes," he answered with a shrug. "But I think a lot of people feel that way. Some more strongly than others. Princess, if you've built a bond with Ridley, if you've gained his trust, then that's something really special. Never figured Ridley would give his trust freely to anyone. Never figured that you ever fully would either. I find it a bit ironic, though, that the first one you're coming close to giving that much trust to is the last one anyone would have expected." She was quiet. He smiled a bit. "Quite a twist, isn't it?"

"What?" she asked, giving him a puzzled look.

He smirked. "Most often the knight saves the princess from the dragon, sometimes the princess saves the knight from the dragon, but how often is it that the princess saves the dragon from the knight? Leave it to you to subvert subversions." She grinned a little at this, amused at the analogy, and turned back to watch Ridley and the female dance around each other in the air.

Ridley and the female flew towards the female's mountain roost. Samus took out some binoculars and looked through them. "You got an extra pair of those?" Anthony asked.

"In my ship. Storage compartment," she replied. He nodded, went to get them, and soon returned, joining her in watching them. "He's getting daring," Samus said.

"How so?" Anthony asked.

"He's approaching her roost more often. Even moved his own to the cliff, just far enough away that she wouldn't necessarily notice he moved at all. He kept his old nest in the tree and goes there pretty regularly. Probably trying to trick her into thinking he's not as close to her as he is. He doesn't know that a couple days ago she found his new roost. Not sure if she realizes it's his, but she knows now that someone is near. Just maybe not near enough that she saw fit to destroy or spy on the roost."

"She probably realizes it's his then. If it were a stranger's nest, she would have gotten rid of it immediately then hunted the unknown intruder down, I think. Ridley's roost would have his scent all over it besides, wouldn't it?" Anthony asked.

"You're probably right," Samus said. "It would make more sense than her allowing the presence of an intruder so close to herself."

"They've landed," Anthony noted. Samus pursed her lips, watching. The female was outside of the den her roost was in, glaring warily at Ridley who was keeping a respectable distance but still circling. Eventually he flew away and the female seemed to relax, laying her head on her talons and closing her eyes. "Uh oh. Ridley's getting ideas into his head," Anthony murmured. Samus frowned a bit, slightly concerned when she saw Ridley starting to stealthily creep up a path towards the female, sneaking up from behind. "He wouldn't do something that reckless, right?" Anthony asked.

"Oh, he would," Samus dryly replied. "He's going to get himself killed if he doesn't watch out."

Metroid

Ridley snuck up behind the female slowly. She seemed unaware. Cautiously he crept over top of her in a mounting position, but suddenly she reared up with a screech and snapped at his throat. Ridley shrieked angrily and fell back quickly, beating his wings in her direction as she growled and took to the sky, tackling him harshly. They began to furiously scrap, slashing and biting at one another viciously. Plasma flew and barbed tails jabbed rapidly back and forth as the duo tangled in the sky in their deadly dance.

"Stubborn hen!" Ridley finally snapped, using humanoid speech.

"Persistent drake!" she snapped back.

"You speak their tongue," he remarked in a measure of surprise.

"You speak it too," she said. "How do you know it?"

"How do you?" he replied.

"I have learned it from hearing them," she answered. "But you do not fit here. You do not belong. You could not have learned it from them. Are their kind really so widespread?"

"To every corner of the galaxy," Ridley replied.

"Enough talk. Now I drive you away, drake!" she said. She breathed plasma at him and he flew quickly over it.

"I will mate you, hen!" he barked. He unleashed plasma of his own, and the two dove at one another in the air, returning to their violent scrapping. Falling back after a particularly strong attack, Ridley suddenly shot at her with violent fury, seizing her with all four of his taloned limbs. He slammed her against the cliff and dragged her along it as she shrieked in outrage and fired plasma into him. He toppled with her, the two of them falling from the sky, but quickly they recovered themselves before Ridley went at her once more and attacked rapidly again and again in quick succession. From below he shot straight up, grabbing her, then slammed her down onto her roost and pinned her beneath him, growling. He made a sound of pain when her barb struck him point blank, getting quickly off of her. He crouched not far away, growling again, and the two began to pace around one another.

"Persistent drake, you are stronger than the others but I will still defeat you," she said.

"No, you won't," he answered. Immediately he pounced on her and the two began scrapping furiously once more.

Metroid

Anthony and Samus lowered their binoculars, Samus looking mildly concerned. "How long are they going to be at it?" Anthony asked in an effort to distract her.

"Hours probably. He wants to wear her down until she gives up. She wants to drive him away. Either one or the other wins, or they reach a stalemate and wear one another down to exhaustion. In which case she's more likely to accept him, but not guaranteed to. A female of his species will never mate with a male weaker than she is," Samus answered.

"Harsh," Anthony said, smirking a bit.

Samus huffed a half-laugh and peered through the binoculars again. "Neither of them shows any sign of giving in," she remarked. "We should check back at the end of the day. The scientists below will be observing constantly in shifts, so if their dynamic changes we'll probably hear about it."

"You think the female will accept him if they stalemate?" Anthony asked.

"She's a very… ornery hen, I'm told. Particularly picky and stuck up. No. I don't think she'll accept him if they stalemate. He'll have to try again, or he'll have to recover his stamina quicker than she does and overpower her before she gets the chance to overpower him first," Samus said. "You see why I find watching them so interesting?"

"Yeah. I kind of do," he replied, smiling. "Okay, so we check back at the end of the day. Fair enough. Now how about you show me around the place, Princess? Catch me up on what's going on and everything." She rolled her eyes but nonetheless led him inside. He followed her.

Metroid

Samus quietly filled Anthony in on everything that she suspected was going on here between Doc and his researchers, and the offshoot branch of the Federation. "I want info, Anthony. As much as you can manage to get me without getting yourself killed," she said quietly.

"I'll do as much digging as I can," he promised, nodding. "If Doc's right, this could mean trouble. A lot of it."

"Thank you. I appreciate it," Samus said, nodding. "Now, what are your thoughts on this facility?"

"Seems Doc's on the level. Place looks legitimate," Anthony said. "No weird experiments, no brewing poisons… I'm inclined to believe it's an almost purely observation-based center. Labs of course, and some exceptions, but observation-based for the most part."

"I hope we're both right about that," she said.

"We should check in with Doc. See if anything's changed on the Ridley angle," Anthony said. Samus nodded in agreement and they went to find the doctor.

It wasn't long before they reached the observation lab he was in. "Doc, what's the news?" Samus asked.

"They're nearing stalemate," Doc said. "If you want a better look, you should head up. They aren't going to last going at one another like they are for much longer." Samus nodded and took Anthony's wrist, pulling him along with her. He followed without protest.

Reaching the observation deck, the two set to watching the fight once more. "Oh, they're about to drop. Not a shock considering how long they've been at it, but still," Anthony said.

"I've never seen Ridley look so exhausted before," Samus said. "Wait, they're going down!" She and Anthony watched as Ridley and the hen crash landed violently onto the lookout of the hen's cave and roost. Panting for breath, chests rising and falling rapidly, the two of them lay utterly still, completely spent. "Do you think they hurt one another?" Samus asked.

"Your dragon's fine, princess," Anthony replied, smiling a bit.

She frowned at him in mild annoyance then looked towards Ridley and the hen again. "Come on big guy, you've got this," she said.

Ridley jerked a bit and seemed to be willing himself for all he was worth to get up. The hen, upon noticing it, began to try and stagger up too. Ridley growled and crept towards her slowly as she struggled to rise. With a screech he leapt on her, landing on her back and pinning her beneath him. She struggled and flailed and writhed, trying to escape from beneath him. With a shriek, he sank his teeth into the back of her neck and pinned her head down, laying his full weight on her and refusing to release her. She jerked and tossed for a few more minutes before inevitably going still. Ridley held her there a moment more. She thrashed a bit then stopped a second time. After a while, he released the back of her neck. She started to thrash a little more, but he began to lick her neck and head with his tongue in what appeared to be a gesture of reassurance and comfort. He continued to lick until she calmed completely down and lay still. He lifted his head, looking around as if checking for any potential interruption to the process, then adjusted his position a little more to give him better access to wherever it was he needed to go to commence the mating.

"We should probably stop watching this now," Anthony said.

"Agreed," Samus dryly replied, lowering the binoculars along with him. The scientists were doubtless still watching and observing the mating practices, but Samus was drawing the line there, personally. So was Anthony it seemed. "Let's head back down to the observation room."

Anthony nodded and they headed down. They entered and saw the researchers furiously scribbling in notebooks, recording their observations. Samus and Anthony approached Doc. He looked back at them, nodded, then looked towards the mating pterosaurs once more. "I take it watching them actually mate was more than you were comfortable with?" he said.

"I know Ridley far too well to be inclined to see that," Samus dryly replied.

"He began with typical mounting, as is commonplace for most animals, but it seems he is also able to mate her when he rolls her over onto her back. Though it's not at all carried out quite like humans do it," the doctor said.

"Doc, spare me the details," she dryly said.

"We hypothesize maybe there is more than one opening," he said.

"Doc!" Samus protested.

"Either that or he mounts her using both positions just to be extra certain it takes," Doc continued.

"Doc, come on!" Samus snapped.

"He's purposely trying to get under your skin, princess," Anthony said, smirking.

"I'm aware! I'm not impressed with it either," she bluntly said. Anthony laughed.

"They cycle through both methods, but seem to favor mounting," Doc said.

"I'm leaving you all," Samus deadpanned.

"Samus, come now. This is science and they are animals," Doc said. "It isn't as if they care who watches them mate or catches them in the act."

"Buh bye, Doc," Samus replied, waving as she left. Anthony chuckled.

Metroid

Samus was in the process of eating something when she was joined by Anthony again. She looked up at him with a frown. "How long did they go at it?" she dryly asked.

"They're still at it. Doc hypothesizes he'll mate her through the night. Then the two will probably sleep the day, possibly the next night as well to recharge their stamina from their battle, then mate again the day after just to be certain before settling down together in her roost. If his theory is right, your dragon has a new home now."

"Here's hoping the new mate and home are enough to keep him here," she said.

"You seemed certain it would be," he said.

"I am, but time will ultimately tell whether I'm right or not," she replied.

"To time," Anthony half-joked, lifting a cup of water.

Samus smirked. "To time," she repeated, raising her own. They drank from the cups and Samus turned to look out the observation window towards the mountain. "Do you think he'll stay?" she eventually asked.

"You could check up on him regularly just to make sure," Anthony replied.

"That your way of telling me to visit him?" she asked.

"Pets are big responsibilities," he teased.

"Funny," she dryly said.

"Well, he pretty much is at this point," Anthony said, shrugging.

"Tell him that to his face," she said.

"I'm sure he considers you his pet too," Anthony teased.

"You're only digging yourself deeper into a hole, Anthony," Samus warned, rolling her eyes with a frown.

"Alright, alright, I'll back down," he said. "But I'm not wrong. Maybe 'pet' is a bit of a stretch, but he's certainly something to you and you're certainly something to him, and it's not nemesis anymore. At least not like it was. Samus the Zookeeper? Well, Ridley's keeper."

"Don't be funny," she flatly said. "But you're right... At least in part you are. I don't know what he and I are anymore. If it's not enemies and not friends, then what is it? And don't say pet!"

"Kindred spirits? Bonded souls?" he offered with a small smile.

"Bonded... Adam said something like that. He said that animals would often bond to someone who had protected and taken care of them. Someone they trusted. Those weren't his exact words, but it was something like that," she said.

"So bonded souls it is then," Anthony said. "Because I mean, you could have left this planet a long time ago. There was no reason for you to stay, Samus. You might want to consider that maybe you bonded to him as much as he bonded to you." Samus was quiet, looking out the window and considering his words.

Metroid

Anthony followed incredulously behind Samus as she cut their way through the rainforest. "So let me get this straight. We're on a planet that's basically an advanced prehistoric earth populated by hyperintelligent, mutated dinosaur rip-offs, and you figured it would be a good idea for go for a casual hike through the woods?" he said.

"You didn't have to come, Anthony," she replied.

"True, but it's been a long time. I've missed you. Besides, I enjoy your company," he answered with a smirk

"Then don't make me regret inviting yours," she replied, giving him a mildly annoyed look. He chuckled good-naturedly, and she immediately felt bad for her response. Frustratedly she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Samus. Don't worry about it," he replied, coming up alongside her. "You sure it's going to be a good idea to infiltrate that female's domain like this? Ridley might be tempered, to you at least, but she isn't."

"I'll manage it," Samus replied. She paused a moment, considering her words with a frown, then turned to him. "We'll manage it," she corrected. He smiled a bit at her. "Just follow my lead," she continued, focusing on cutting their way through the undergrowth again.

"Princess, something might be coming up behind us. We should probably get into a tree or into hiding," he said.

"Trees are probably safer," she replied. "If it took until now for us to notice it, then it's probably small and probably can't climb." She went to a tree and leapt up to the lowest branch, hauling herself onto it. Anthony followed suite and the two perched a fair ways up before looking down to see what had been pursuing them. It wasn't long before an alien that looked a fair bit like a raptor strolled up. Two more followed it. "Good ears," Samus murmured to Anthony quietly. Anthony watched quietly. Eventually the creatures roared and raced off into the underbrush.

"I'm just gonna come out and say it. This hike is a stupid idea," Anthony flatly said. "Sure, we could hide from the little raptors. What happens if we run into something that's more like a tyrannosaurus only worse? We could have taken a ship you know."

"Where's the fun in that?" Samus replied with a smirk, leaping nimbly back down. Anthony blinked then smirked and chuckled. Nimbly he followed her and the two forged onwards.

Metroid

There were no other incidents on their way to the cliff. At last they found themselves at the bottom looking up. Anthony lowly whistled. "That's a hell of a climb," he said.

"Not up for it?" Samus asked.

"I'm always up for a challenge," Anthony replied, smiling a bit. He grasped the cliff and started up it carefully. Samus couldn't help the hint of a smirk that started to pull at the corner of her lips. She banished it quickly, though, as soon as she recognized it was there, and followed Anthony up, overtaking him swiftly. "Showoff," he teased good-naturedly.

It took about an hour of climbing before at last the two pulled themselves up onto the ledge where Ridley had built his temporary roost. Both were hot, tired, and panting at this point. "That sun is brutal," Samus said.

"The humidity's worse," Anthony replied, bent over with hands on his knees as he gasped in air. He turned around and caught his breath. "Wow," he said.

Samus looked back and stood up straight. The sun was setting and air-born creatures were flitting through the air. "It's beautiful here," she said to him. "The whole planet is a untouched utopia."

"Then best we make sure it stays that way, and this outlying branch of the federation Doc was talking about never learns about it," Anthony said.

"I don't think they could take it over even if they tried to," she answered. "The fauna here is too dangerous. Potent, powerful, versatile... Not even Ridley's top of the food chain on this planet."

Suddenly there was a screech and both gasped, looking quickly up. The female was there, soaring over the top of the cliff! She turned around and started hovering before them looking enraged. She slammed down onto the ground, shaking it. Samus and Anthony both stumbled a bit and stepped quickly back, bracing for attack with eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. The female shrieked at them again. And went to snap, but suddenly Ridley zoomed over and tackled her off the cliff, knocking her away and tangling himself in a mini brawl with her before both stopped and scowled at each other, hovering in the air looking ready to go at it.

"Intruders," the female protested in her raspy, grating voice.

"Mine!" Ridley snapped back.

"Foodstuff," she said.

"Not a mouthful," he answered. "Disgusting, chewy, fatty things. The female is mine!" He looked to them both, growling. "Do what you will with the human male."

"The human male is mine!" Samus snapped at Ridley sharply, quickly placing herself between Anthony and the two pterosaurs. Anthony looked startled at the remark.

"Mates?" the female questioned.

"Hardly," Ridley said in what sounded almost like a scoff.

"Ridley," Samus said through gritted teeth, fuming a little at the mocking tone the pterosaur had taken.

Ridley perched heavily in front of them, slamming his wings on the ground and causing them both to fly back with cries, Samus landing on top of Anthony who grunted in pain. Scowling, Samus sat up and was quick to get on her feet again. Anthony took a few seconds to catch his breath before scrambling up as well. Ridley sniffed in their direction. "The stench of his pheromone is thick. Humans. Such pungent, worthless, tiny little creatures." He sniffed again, closer.

"Back off!" Samus snapped, shoving away the dragon's snout firmly.

"He is satisfactory to be mated," Ridley declared, withdrawing his head.

"I'm not mating him, Ridley!" Samus shouted furiously. "And if I was I wouldn't need your approval anyway!"

"I do not speak of you, Samus," Ridley answered with a growl. "Other females would desire him."

"He is a pleasing and fertile male?" the female asked.

"By human standards," Ridley said with no small amount of condescension.

"And she is a pleasing and fertile female?" the female continued, flying around the two humans. Both humans kept a close eye on her, staying back to back just in case.

"She is like you. She will not be mated," Ridley said. "She does not care to be."

"And he cares not to pursue. If only you had kept such distance," the female bit at Ridley.

Ridley screeched at her in retaliation. "I will mate you hen!" he snapped, scowling up at her as she soared just overhead.

"You have mated me drake," she replied almost mockingly, pulling off some casual aerial maneuvers. "Our offspring will be strong. They will be powerful. Is his stock good? Is hers?"

"They are both strong. They are both healthy. Samus will not take a mate, but should the male choose to take one someday, his offspring will likely be healthy and strong. Then again, humans are such weak, pathetic little creatures. There is never a guarantee. Even if Samus took him as her mate and together they coupled and produced offspring, the survival of those offspring would not be certain. No matter the strength of their parents. Weak humans. Fragile humans," Ridley answered, taking to the air once more.

"This weak, fragile human has kicked your ass more times than can be counted!" Samus barked furiously after him. Ridley screeched at her indignantly. The female gave him a dubious look.

"She is not completely human," Ridley was fast to excuse. "She has the DNA of the Chozo in her. They infused her. She has her power suit also. It is strong."

"Then I will rip it from her body," the female said, diving at Samus. Gasping, both Samus and Anthony dove out of the way of the female's sudden attack. The female screeched, turning sharply on Samus. Samus got up, taking aim with her arm canon and charging it up.

"Back off Pteranodon!" Samus barked.

"Your suit is powerful. Your suit is a threat. You have conquered my mate before who could conquer even me. You are dangerous to my offspring," the female said.

"Do you even know if you're pregnant yet?" Samus bit at her.

"I know," the female replied with pride. "It does not take long to know for our kind."

"Back off dragon!" Anthony said from next to Samus. Ridley just watched on in a sort of sick amusement.

"Ridley, get her to back off or the blast is finding her face!" Samus shouted at Ridley.

Ridley scowled, growling a bit, then huffed and flew down, getting between the female and the two humans. "Samus is dangerous. Samus is a threat. But she is not a threat here. She will not become a threat unless we make her one," Ridley said, glaring at Samus and Ridley. He looked to his mate. "They are not worth risking our clutch for."

The female huffed, glaring at the two again. "They must leave. They must go away from my nest and roost," she said.

"Then take them away," Ridley replied with a dark grin. Samus and Anthony started. Before they could react, the female suddenly lunged with a screech, seizing them both in her powerful talons and taking off into the sky. Immediately she flew back towards the dome as Samus and Anthony struggled to wiggle their way out of her hands.

"You will be harmed more by the fall than by me if you struggle," the female warned. Samus and Anthony paused, exchanging side glances. She had a point, they knew. Soon she landed by the dome, depositing them on their stomachs. Samus pushed herself up with her arms and looked back into the sky. She saw Ridley hovering not too far back, but not too close either. It was clear that if the female had tried to do them harm, he would have attacked. For Samus' sake, if not Anthony's. The female screeched at them and flew back towards her mate. Without exchanging further words, the two began to screech at each other and fly towards the cliffs, dancing aerial dances around one another.

Metroid

As soon as the duo was far enough away, Samus scoffed and stood up. Anthony, shaking his head and gritting his teeth, staggered up himself and glared back at them somewhat bitterly. "Bad tempered, aren't they?" he wryly said.

"You have no idea," Samus dryly replied.

"Why did we even go there in the first place?" Anthony asked.

"I wanted to see how things were going," Samus answered with a sigh. "I was curious too. About how the roost was set up."

"You'd have made a hell of a researcher if you'd cared to, Princess," Anthony answered.

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

He started, then looked a little hurt, then recovered himself. "Whoa, okay, okay. No need to take my head off," he said.

Samus sighed in frustration, taking off her helmet and running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, Anthony. I don't mind it. Really I don't." In fact, low-key she liked it. More than she cared to admit.

"Hey, are you okay, Samus?" Anthony asked in a measure of concern.

"I'm fine," she said a little too quickly to be believable. Anthony looked incredulous. "Oh for the love of... Stop looking at me like that!"

"What? Stop looking at you like I care?" he retorted somewhat sharply.

"Yes!" she replied, turning sharply on him. "Stop looking at my like you care!"

"Bad news, Princess. I care. Suck it up," he retorted, tone getting a bit heated. "What the hell's gotten into you anyway?"

Samus was quiet, glaring at him. Truth be told, she didn't know. Frustratedly she turned away from him, glaring after Ridley and his mate. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, frustrated and angry for reasons she didn't understand. For a long time there was silence. "She wouldn't be mated..." Samus finally said.

Anthony was quiet. A bit puzzled too. He felt like he had an inkling of understanding as to what was getting to her now, but he wasn't going to presume he knew for sure because Samus wasn't exactly easy to read or pin down. "Until him, she'd never found anyone she approved of or could be bothered with," he finally chose to say, playing it safe and just sticking to plain old facts. "He matched her strength so he was acceptable. That was about it. In the animal kingdom, sometimes that's all it ever really is. Produce strong offspring, thrive." Samus was quiet. "You've said it yourself. They're animals. Their purpose in life is to..." he began.

"Eat, sleep, expand their territory, and mate," Samus cut off. "I know." He was right. She'd said it often.

Anthony was quiet. "Maybe it's a little more complicated for some creatures, possibly even Ridley's kind, but at the end of the day, that's really all they want out of life. Survival and the continuation of the species," he soon said.

"Animals don't love," she quietly said.

"Animals don't love like humans love," he answered. "That doesn't mean they don't have their own ways of loving. We just might not be able to figure it out." Samus was quiet. "Samus, what's really going on?" he finally asked. It was a risk, odds were she wouldn't even answer him, but dammit, he was worried. She was his friend, so of course he was going to try and figure out if she was okay!

"Nothing," she answered, turning and walking away. He resisted the urge to face-palm. Instead he just sighed heavily, shaking his head, and dutifully followed her back inside the dome.

Metroid

"Why does she call you Ridley?" the female asked, flying around her new mate.

"Because humans call one another by names. It is not what our kind or many others do. The humans called me Ridley, so Ridley is my name. It is what I go by. It is what I respond to," Ridley answered.

"And what would you call me if you were to give me a name?" she questioned.

"Annihilation," he answered without hesitation. "I would call you Anniah also, to shorten your name."

"Annihilation. I approve of this," she said as they twirled around each other.

"It suits our kind. You most of all," he answered, gripping her and drawing her closer. She made an affectionate sound and began to lick his throat and face. They perched on their shared roost and walked inside.

"He desires the female," she said.

"He reeks of it," Ridley confirmed. "She smells it also. It is in her Chozo DNA."

"He will not mate her," the woman said.

"Humans do not mate like us," he answered. "Both must be susceptible from the start. She is not and so he will not attempt to mate her. He has no further use for her, but humans value things called 'friendships'. Their love is not founded on desire to mate. Many humans choose not to mate or bear offspring at all, yet they will retain their friendships or loves."

"They seem foolish, impractical beings," she replied, laying down. "She trusts him. She must if she knows his desire yet does not try to drive him away. Puzzling beings, these humans."

"You knew of my desire to mate you and did not drive me away," he answered, laying next to her.

"Because I intended to mate you if you proved worthy, drake," she replied proudly. "She has no such intent if your words are true."

"I will not claim to know Samus's thoughts or intent. The minds of humans are too abstract to bother with analyzing," Ridley answered. "Sometimes nothing is ever as it seems and sometimes it is exactly as it seems. Sometimes it is both."

"She is attracted to him," the female noted.

"Humans can be attracted to other humans and not care to mate them," Ridley answered, resting his head on his talons.

"Incompetent creatures," the female said with a huff. Ridley chuckled darkly. "She has considered him. Her pheromones were pungent too." Ridley frowned, lifting his head curiously. "Do humans consider and not act?"

"Humans are cowardly creatures, but also brave. They are walking contradictions. Because of this, yes, they can consider but choose never to act. It happens often," Ridley said. "They are too afraid or stubborn or angry or proud, or they are too a great many things at once."

"And Samus?" she asked.

"I care little for what Samus is. Less about what she chooses to do. Her decisions are her own to live with," he answered.

"Are humans good with decisions?" she asked.

Ridley huffed a laugh. "No," he answered simply. "It is rare they surprise you otherwise." Annihilation nodded, considering his words, then lay her own head down, curling against him to sleep.

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I'm pretty busy right now, so no guarantee of another chapter being forthcoming in the next few days. Or weeks. Depends on how I do on writing up the next one. I'll either add to it later on or mark this one as complete and start on a sequel when I can. Depends. Leaning towards leaving it as is for now and hopefully adding on later, but we'll see. Thank you all for your reviews and feedback so far. I really appreciate it and hopefully I can keep up this momentum and make this story something special.