Gasping, Samus staggered over to the cliff wall and slumped against it. Her ears still rang from the roars of the Largonak, and her legs shook from exertion. It had been no easy fight. Faced with an opponent who could shape-shift into any type of creature, Samus had had to use creative methods to attack, including climbing on the beast and detonating a bomb inside its mouth. Besides that, she had been forced to dive behind rocks multiple times to avoid projectiles. And in the midst of the battle, she had committed a fatal mistake. After Samus had blasted the creature's mouth, it had swayed for a moment and then fell onto its side with a thud. Triumphantly, Samus had sauntered over to finish it off; however, before she could shoot, the creature had slashed its claw at her, pierced through her suit, and gashed her side. Despite the pain that had ripped through her body, Samus had been able to ignore it just long enough to give the final blow.
Now, as her racing heart slowed and her adrenaline drained away, Samus felt the pain surge through her body and crash over her. Overwhelmed, she crumpled to her knees. She gasped, the world spun, and for a moment she felt like she was plummeting into a dark hole. But the blessed darkness evaded her. Instead, she remained cognizant of the red cliffs that surrounded her, the dead creature that lay before her, and the agonizing pain that ravaged her side. Swallowing back the bile in her throat, Samus fumbled in her suit for emergency flares. After setting off the only one she had left, she focused on breathing and tried not to contemplate how her body was screaming at her in pain or how a red river of blood was flowing from her side.
Why had she let herself be wounded? Why had she not been alert, as she usually was? She had known the consequences of letting down one's guard, yet she had still let her confidence get the best of her. Perhaps it was worse than confidence. Perhaps it was pride. Even though she always claimed justice as her reason for bounty hunting, deep inside Samus knew her real desire was for fame, recognition, someone to notice what she had done. She didn't like it, but that feeling lurked inside her.
Pride kept her alone. Whenever others offered to accompany her on missions, she always refused, even when the objective could have been achieved faster or easier with multiple people. Oh, she might persuade herself that she merely didn't want others to get hurt, that they would just hinder her, or that she wanted to take personal revenge on Ridley; but secretly, her motivation was pride. She was the best. She could fight hundreds of monsters on her own. She could destroy a whole species, she could stop a virus from infecting the universe, she could save dozens of planets… but she could not rescue herself from her own folly.
Alone. Although Samus usually did not show her emotions, even in solitude, she now began to cry. In her weakened state, she could no longer persuade herself she didn't need people. She could no longer push her fear and loneliness into the corner. Out they leapt as big stinging tears that rolled down her face and crawled into her mouth, just like they had last time she had cried. The last time… so long ago… back when she had lived on Thebes with the Chozo, her alien family. The faint memory floated into her mind...
A little girl stood, lost among trees. Escaping the watchful eye of her adopted father Big Bird, as she called him, she had run off to explore Brinstar forest, even though her father had warned her against entering it alone. Of course, she discovered he was right. All around her she could hear creepy gurgles and squeaks, and she could just imagine dozens of hungry creatures waiting to reach out of the shadows and gobble her up. As she wandered aimlessly among the trees, the girl kept her eyes wide. Slowly, the jungle darkened, and she began to cry. "Father, Father!" she wailed. All of a sudden, two strong arms swooped her up and held her close, and she was gazing at the beaked face of her Chozo father. "I told you not to go alone," he said.
Samus woke. For a moment, she had slipped into a dreamy trancelike state where the pain and loneliness had been forgotten in memories. Now the pain surged back with a throb, causing her to groan. At least in her dreams, she had Big Bird to keep her company. The tears began forming again as her thoughts turned once again to her solitude and despair. There was small chance anyone would discover her in such a remote place, and even if someone saw her flares, he would not reach her in time. If only her father would come striding between those cliffs, coming to find and save her just like before! But he wouldn't… he couldn't…
Face it, Samus, you're going to die here. Alone, Samus told herself and began to cry harder, until she was sobbing. No! She couldn't die now, not before accomplishing her goal! She didn't want to go like this without having killed Ridley, without having avenged her parents' death, without- without—
"I don't want to die alone! I don't want to die alone!" Samus found herself screaming. No longer did she care about being the one who could do every mission on her own, the one who kept her emotions completely under control, or the one who would defeat the notorious space pirate Ridley. Stripped of her pride, she was no more than a scared little girl wailing for her daddy. But no one came. Her only companion was her echo.
Slowly her sobs subsided. For a while she continued sniffing, but by now she had lost so much blood she had no energy left, not even for crying. As she sat quietly waiting for the end, her mind wearily settled upon one question. If she had killed Ridley, would she have been satisfied? Surprisingly, she found herself answering "no." Ridley's death, though it might have awarded her much fame and achieved safety for the galaxies, could not bring back her parents nor give her another family. She still would have wandered space alone.
The world seemed to be getting darker now. Perhaps it would not be so bad to die… She would see her parents and Big Bird… "I don't want to be alone," she murmured one last time. As her eyes began slowly to close, Samus felt like she was floating, as if someone were lifting her very, very gently. Perhaps she imagined it, but just as the darkness took hold, a voice spoke to her. "You don't have to be alone."