Chapter 3
Danger Within the Ruins
Samus adjusted the view ports settings as she tried to see through the dense clouds that floated in the lower atmosphere of Tallon IV. She had lost track of Ridley during her entry into the upper atmosphere of the world. She was looking for a suitable place to land her ship while she searched for some type of pirate activity. According to her ship's computer, a nearby valley, Tallon Overworld, offered a safe hiding place for her ship and entry into the other regions of the Tallon world. She initiated the landing sequence as she came closer to the surface of the world. When she was close enough to the ground she activated the anti- gravity boosters, which allowed her ship to stay afloat using only a short amount of energy. Samus unbuckled her harness and slipped her arm cannon on as she made her way to the ship's hatch. The top hatch opened and a small elevator lifted Samus out into Tallon Overworld. She found herself in a lush green environment filled with ledges and rocks. A waterfall fell over the high ledge of the canyon wall in front of her, pooling into a small pond before overfilling and flowing downhill into the mouth of a small cave. Blue doors were visible all around the walls and she decided to head for the lowest door. Samus could tell right away as she landed on the grass that she was about to explore a world far from the known aspects of Planet Zebes.
Samus started for the indicated door before being interrupted by a rumbling noise that started low before turning into a whine. Samus looked overhead to find a huge flaming ball falling down toward the canyon. She ran for cover by pressing her body against the side of the canyon wall but that would help little if it landed in the canyon. The ball of fire flew over the canyon barely missing the upper cliff and slipping over the horizon before a massive seismic earthquake shook the ground indicating that the object had landed. Samus quickly made her way through the door. She cautiously began her journey-taking note of the sandy dirt just ahead of her. As she came up to it, the sands began shifting and two beetle creatures burrowed out of the dirt. She instinctively destroyed them as they charged her. She continued and entered into Tallon Canyon making her way to a door on the bottom portion of the area just past a rock formation resembling a half pipe. The next room contained a transport elevator leading to the Chozo Ruins. The elevator was surrounded by large pillars reaching skyward before turning inwards toward each other. Rings of stone were hoisted between the pillars like railing a light shone from nooks with the rock. Samus scanned a console and the elevator became operational. A hologram appeared in the middle of the platform and Samus walked to it and waved her hand over the lighted image. The elevator immediately started to descend downward into the depths of Tallon IV.
When the elevator stopped, Samus ran off and through the next door and passageway. The end of the rock corridor opened up into a small courtyard. Eroded pillars were aging in the sunlight while a few holograms shimmered around the entry way into what Samus presumed was the Chozo ruins. Just above the door, Samus noticed some strange hieroglyphics etched into the sandstone wall. Samus couldn't read the ancient language but she would be able to translate it with the help of her computer. She scanned the wall and a progress bar began filling as the computer translated the ancient scribbling.
"Fountain.
Chozo script translated. At the highest point of our city lies the fountain, a well spring of pure water that flows throughout our civilization. It is the jewel of the Chozo, the life-giver, and yet its waters speak of a clouded future. As we come to understand the paths of time and space more clearly, we have begun to glimpse rough tatters of past and future glittering behind reality by soft lights behind a curtain. We have seen the fountain in these glimpses, pouring darkness instead of water, and we cannot guess what the visions mean."
"That's a very peculiar script. I wonder what it means?" Samus shrugged off the writing and entered into the main plaza. The sun was just below the top of the walls and a light breeze stirred the sands that seemed to have covered the pathways long ago. Samus took note of a door to her left, which was in accessible because of the blast shield over it. She would need missiles if she planned on entering what the nearby holograms described as a shrine. A twisted and mangled set of branches above her created a bridge linking two ledges across the wide room and Samus could make out the top portion of a door higher up. Samus continued through the plaza and took a door on the bottom level into a passageway. In a corresponding passage, a few laser devices shot their deadly beams in random directions like some type of alarm system. The bounty hunter dodged the erratic lasers and entered into another courtyard like setting with a door above a staircase and one higher up only reachable by leaping from fallen pillars. A wasp creature buzzed around Samus who tried swatting at it. This only irritated the insect who then tried to sting her, she quickly destroyed it. As if on queue, a swarm of wasps flew from a hive along the wall. After dispatching the pests, Samus destroyed the hive so as not to be bothered by any more of them. Samus found more writing on the wall in the room and began translating the ancient script.
"Exodus
Chozo script translated. We Chozo are departing now after so many years in peaceful seclusion here on Tallon IV. When we came, this place was a refuge for our spirits, a civilization built from native materials, bereft of the trappings of our technology. We were linked to the land here, kindred to the plants and animals, far away from the machines we had become so dependent on, and so we leave it now pristine, a testament to the mortal forms we no longer need. We have drawn the veils of time and space aside and are withdrawing beyond the illusion, but we will never forget this the most sacred of our homes, and we will remain forever watchful."
"So then the Chozo left quite a while ago it seems but I still don't understand why. This place seems to be so peaceful and beautiful if it wasn't for the pesky insects and creatures."
Samus continued her exploration of the ruins and soon entered into a room that appeared really lopsided to her. A pool of water filled the lower sloping portion of the room and Samus dropped from the ledge she was on to take a closer look. A warning indicator lit up on her visor cautioning her of a poisonous substance in the water. In the middle of the room a wide stone platform rose from the floor. A bridge connected to some type of machine that, to Samus' relief, held a missile launcher. Samus climbed up to the stone platform and began making her way toward the bridge when suddenly the bridge folded up and the machine activated. Water began to flow from the heads of Chozo statues forged in the stone that Samus had just noticed. The poisonous water surrounded the platform and a wave of wasps flew into her view. She couldn't retreat because her safe passage back to the door was too high for her to jump up too and even then she couldn't swim in the toxic liquid. She quickly destroyed the wasps only to find them replaced by more. It wasn't until she noticed the red light on the machine that she realized where her problems were originating. She quickly fired her power beam at the red light in hopes of deactivating the machine but it seemed the more she hit it, the more wasps appeared, and there stings were not very welcoming.
Before long the machine began to spin faster and an explosion filled the room as Samus fired one last shot to destroy the machine. Thankfully for her, the wasps stopped appearing the water lowered out of the room and a stone had fallen to the floor allowing her safe passage back to the previous rooms. The bridge raised allowing Samus to access the missile launcher which she gratefully locked onto the arm cannon. She was given five missiles in the process. She destroyed the blast shield on the door behind the machine and acquired an energy tank for her efforts. With no where else to go, Samus turned and made her way back toward the main plaza.
Back in the main plaza, Samus destroyed the before mentioned blast shield with a missile and entered into the following tunnel. After destroying two swarms of Scarabs, Samus found herself in a room containing yet another half-pipe structure and the morph ball. Samus smiled to herself as she jumped into the bottom portion of the room and walked over to the morph ball that was situated at the top of a step structure. Before Samus could grab hold of the item a stone wall appeared blocking access to the item. The ground began to shake and before Samus realized it a good twenty beetles surrounded her. She tried retreating back to half pipe only to find once again that it was just out of her reach. She turned and began slaughtering the beetles, which tried attacking her by charging at her. She became overwhelmed by the mass of moving bugs and found herself struggling to destroy them. She was finally able to eradicate the herd and was soon finding herself face to face with what looked to be an adult version of the beetle. This beetle was by far a lot bigger then her previous encounters and a red tail took place of the usual hard-protected shell and it was here that Samus found she could hurt the huge bug.
After a grueling battle with the irate creature, Samus once again triumphed over the challenge before her and as her prize, the stone wall dropped and she acquired her morph ball. She quickly activated her ball and rolled through a small crevice under the half-pipe leading out to the other side. She soon found herself once again in the main plaza. Now that Samus had her morph ball, she decided to backtrack to the Hive Totem where she had found her missile launcher and access a small tunnel within the room that had the energy tank. Once there and through the adjoining tunnel, Samus came into an elevator chamber. The huge elevator platform lay dead with no power running through it. Samus scanned a nearby column to activate it and found that the elevator led down into Magmoor Caverns. Samus knew from her past experience with the Norfair region of Zebes that she would need to find a Varia suit or something before she could travel into the magma hot region. She continued on through one of the two doors remaining and found herself in another room, this one though had a missile expansion located behind a cage that Samus couldn't access. A nearby wall contained more of the ancient Chozo writing and Samus began the translation process.
"Beginnings
Chozo script translated. Our sanctuary grows by the day. We Chozo know much of technology but we have chosen to leave it behind on this journey. Our home here on Tallon IV will be a place of simplicity, structures hewn from the stone, bridges woven with branches, hallways caressed by pure waters. We build around the ancient and noble trees drawing from there strength and giving them our own in return. All that is wild will flow around us: our race will be just one more group of creatures in the knit of nature. It is our hope that such a state will bring with it great wisdom and greater understanding of the nature of the universe. Once our city here is complete, we will peer inward and discover the truth."
"Now that is deep", Samus spoke toward the wall in deep thought. "I guess the Chozo accomplished their tasks from what I can see, but I don't understand why they left." Samus exited the room and found herself looking out into the main plaza from high above a ledge. Just in front of her, Samus found an energy tank and quickly gathered it. She had a feeling she would need all of the items she could find.
Danger Within the Ruins
Samus adjusted the view ports settings as she tried to see through the dense clouds that floated in the lower atmosphere of Tallon IV. She had lost track of Ridley during her entry into the upper atmosphere of the world. She was looking for a suitable place to land her ship while she searched for some type of pirate activity. According to her ship's computer, a nearby valley, Tallon Overworld, offered a safe hiding place for her ship and entry into the other regions of the Tallon world. She initiated the landing sequence as she came closer to the surface of the world. When she was close enough to the ground she activated the anti- gravity boosters, which allowed her ship to stay afloat using only a short amount of energy. Samus unbuckled her harness and slipped her arm cannon on as she made her way to the ship's hatch. The top hatch opened and a small elevator lifted Samus out into Tallon Overworld. She found herself in a lush green environment filled with ledges and rocks. A waterfall fell over the high ledge of the canyon wall in front of her, pooling into a small pond before overfilling and flowing downhill into the mouth of a small cave. Blue doors were visible all around the walls and she decided to head for the lowest door. Samus could tell right away as she landed on the grass that she was about to explore a world far from the known aspects of Planet Zebes.
Samus started for the indicated door before being interrupted by a rumbling noise that started low before turning into a whine. Samus looked overhead to find a huge flaming ball falling down toward the canyon. She ran for cover by pressing her body against the side of the canyon wall but that would help little if it landed in the canyon. The ball of fire flew over the canyon barely missing the upper cliff and slipping over the horizon before a massive seismic earthquake shook the ground indicating that the object had landed. Samus quickly made her way through the door. She cautiously began her journey-taking note of the sandy dirt just ahead of her. As she came up to it, the sands began shifting and two beetle creatures burrowed out of the dirt. She instinctively destroyed them as they charged her. She continued and entered into Tallon Canyon making her way to a door on the bottom portion of the area just past a rock formation resembling a half pipe. The next room contained a transport elevator leading to the Chozo Ruins. The elevator was surrounded by large pillars reaching skyward before turning inwards toward each other. Rings of stone were hoisted between the pillars like railing a light shone from nooks with the rock. Samus scanned a console and the elevator became operational. A hologram appeared in the middle of the platform and Samus walked to it and waved her hand over the lighted image. The elevator immediately started to descend downward into the depths of Tallon IV.
When the elevator stopped, Samus ran off and through the next door and passageway. The end of the rock corridor opened up into a small courtyard. Eroded pillars were aging in the sunlight while a few holograms shimmered around the entry way into what Samus presumed was the Chozo ruins. Just above the door, Samus noticed some strange hieroglyphics etched into the sandstone wall. Samus couldn't read the ancient language but she would be able to translate it with the help of her computer. She scanned the wall and a progress bar began filling as the computer translated the ancient scribbling.
"Fountain.
Chozo script translated. At the highest point of our city lies the fountain, a well spring of pure water that flows throughout our civilization. It is the jewel of the Chozo, the life-giver, and yet its waters speak of a clouded future. As we come to understand the paths of time and space more clearly, we have begun to glimpse rough tatters of past and future glittering behind reality by soft lights behind a curtain. We have seen the fountain in these glimpses, pouring darkness instead of water, and we cannot guess what the visions mean."
"That's a very peculiar script. I wonder what it means?" Samus shrugged off the writing and entered into the main plaza. The sun was just below the top of the walls and a light breeze stirred the sands that seemed to have covered the pathways long ago. Samus took note of a door to her left, which was in accessible because of the blast shield over it. She would need missiles if she planned on entering what the nearby holograms described as a shrine. A twisted and mangled set of branches above her created a bridge linking two ledges across the wide room and Samus could make out the top portion of a door higher up. Samus continued through the plaza and took a door on the bottom level into a passageway. In a corresponding passage, a few laser devices shot their deadly beams in random directions like some type of alarm system. The bounty hunter dodged the erratic lasers and entered into another courtyard like setting with a door above a staircase and one higher up only reachable by leaping from fallen pillars. A wasp creature buzzed around Samus who tried swatting at it. This only irritated the insect who then tried to sting her, she quickly destroyed it. As if on queue, a swarm of wasps flew from a hive along the wall. After dispatching the pests, Samus destroyed the hive so as not to be bothered by any more of them. Samus found more writing on the wall in the room and began translating the ancient script.
"Exodus
Chozo script translated. We Chozo are departing now after so many years in peaceful seclusion here on Tallon IV. When we came, this place was a refuge for our spirits, a civilization built from native materials, bereft of the trappings of our technology. We were linked to the land here, kindred to the plants and animals, far away from the machines we had become so dependent on, and so we leave it now pristine, a testament to the mortal forms we no longer need. We have drawn the veils of time and space aside and are withdrawing beyond the illusion, but we will never forget this the most sacred of our homes, and we will remain forever watchful."
"So then the Chozo left quite a while ago it seems but I still don't understand why. This place seems to be so peaceful and beautiful if it wasn't for the pesky insects and creatures."
Samus continued her exploration of the ruins and soon entered into a room that appeared really lopsided to her. A pool of water filled the lower sloping portion of the room and Samus dropped from the ledge she was on to take a closer look. A warning indicator lit up on her visor cautioning her of a poisonous substance in the water. In the middle of the room a wide stone platform rose from the floor. A bridge connected to some type of machine that, to Samus' relief, held a missile launcher. Samus climbed up to the stone platform and began making her way toward the bridge when suddenly the bridge folded up and the machine activated. Water began to flow from the heads of Chozo statues forged in the stone that Samus had just noticed. The poisonous water surrounded the platform and a wave of wasps flew into her view. She couldn't retreat because her safe passage back to the door was too high for her to jump up too and even then she couldn't swim in the toxic liquid. She quickly destroyed the wasps only to find them replaced by more. It wasn't until she noticed the red light on the machine that she realized where her problems were originating. She quickly fired her power beam at the red light in hopes of deactivating the machine but it seemed the more she hit it, the more wasps appeared, and there stings were not very welcoming.
Before long the machine began to spin faster and an explosion filled the room as Samus fired one last shot to destroy the machine. Thankfully for her, the wasps stopped appearing the water lowered out of the room and a stone had fallen to the floor allowing her safe passage back to the previous rooms. The bridge raised allowing Samus to access the missile launcher which she gratefully locked onto the arm cannon. She was given five missiles in the process. She destroyed the blast shield on the door behind the machine and acquired an energy tank for her efforts. With no where else to go, Samus turned and made her way back toward the main plaza.
Back in the main plaza, Samus destroyed the before mentioned blast shield with a missile and entered into the following tunnel. After destroying two swarms of Scarabs, Samus found herself in a room containing yet another half-pipe structure and the morph ball. Samus smiled to herself as she jumped into the bottom portion of the room and walked over to the morph ball that was situated at the top of a step structure. Before Samus could grab hold of the item a stone wall appeared blocking access to the item. The ground began to shake and before Samus realized it a good twenty beetles surrounded her. She tried retreating back to half pipe only to find once again that it was just out of her reach. She turned and began slaughtering the beetles, which tried attacking her by charging at her. She became overwhelmed by the mass of moving bugs and found herself struggling to destroy them. She was finally able to eradicate the herd and was soon finding herself face to face with what looked to be an adult version of the beetle. This beetle was by far a lot bigger then her previous encounters and a red tail took place of the usual hard-protected shell and it was here that Samus found she could hurt the huge bug.
After a grueling battle with the irate creature, Samus once again triumphed over the challenge before her and as her prize, the stone wall dropped and she acquired her morph ball. She quickly activated her ball and rolled through a small crevice under the half-pipe leading out to the other side. She soon found herself once again in the main plaza. Now that Samus had her morph ball, she decided to backtrack to the Hive Totem where she had found her missile launcher and access a small tunnel within the room that had the energy tank. Once there and through the adjoining tunnel, Samus came into an elevator chamber. The huge elevator platform lay dead with no power running through it. Samus scanned a nearby column to activate it and found that the elevator led down into Magmoor Caverns. Samus knew from her past experience with the Norfair region of Zebes that she would need to find a Varia suit or something before she could travel into the magma hot region. She continued on through one of the two doors remaining and found herself in another room, this one though had a missile expansion located behind a cage that Samus couldn't access. A nearby wall contained more of the ancient Chozo writing and Samus began the translation process.
"Beginnings
Chozo script translated. Our sanctuary grows by the day. We Chozo know much of technology but we have chosen to leave it behind on this journey. Our home here on Tallon IV will be a place of simplicity, structures hewn from the stone, bridges woven with branches, hallways caressed by pure waters. We build around the ancient and noble trees drawing from there strength and giving them our own in return. All that is wild will flow around us: our race will be just one more group of creatures in the knit of nature. It is our hope that such a state will bring with it great wisdom and greater understanding of the nature of the universe. Once our city here is complete, we will peer inward and discover the truth."
"Now that is deep", Samus spoke toward the wall in deep thought. "I guess the Chozo accomplished their tasks from what I can see, but I don't understand why they left." Samus exited the room and found herself looking out into the main plaza from high above a ledge. Just in front of her, Samus found an energy tank and quickly gathered it. She had a feeling she would need all of the items she could find.
