DISCLAIMER: Hope nobody took my laughing in the previous chapter as the fact that I DO own Metroid; cuz I don't.
Songfic Numbero Dos: "The Second Element" by Sarah Brightman
Scenario Numbero Dos: Post K-2L; End of Metroid II
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two:
The Second Element
~~~
Newborn
It felt to them as if they had entered a ghost town, worn away and destroyed by time, even though it had been bursting with life a few hours ago. The dry desert wind swept across the landscape, sending dust dancing around their birdlike feet. Three to five Chozo beings stood above the small colony on K-2L, where they had witnessed the slaughtering of hundreds of people living in that colony by the Space Pirates, the scourge of the galaxy. Not a single being, human or not, survived. Or so they thought…
As they entered the colony, the first house had opened windows. Upon lookin in, one of the Chozo recoiled when he saw three people scattered across the room, dried blood spilling from open wounds in their chests and pooling onto the floor. Their blank, open eyes reflecting dying thoughts of hatred, shock, and fear. As the Chozo turned away, a small noise in the house brought his attention back to the window. He looked back in time to see a small figure running up a flight of stairs in the back of the room.
Eyes were glancing, hopes set high,
But just another day went by.
Tears are falling like never before,
Still she's staring at the door.
"What's wrong?" one of his comrades asked in the language of the Chozo.
"I thought I saw something go up into this house…" the Chozo gestured inside.
"A survivor? Here?" the second Chozo was plainly confused.
"I believe so, yes," the first one nodded, and entered the house.
"I can't believe this," his friend followed him into the house, looking at the bodies in the room in horror. "If there is a survivor, they might be the only one…"
The first did not reply, and continued up the stairs. When he arrived at the top, he noticed a door slightly ajar at the end of a long hallway. He did not look in the other doors that lined the hall. All that lay behind them was death and destruction.
When he and his friend entered the open door, they were shocked to find themselves in the remains of a child's nursery. They gazed in amazement at the ruined toys, and the wallpaper decorated with bears and blocks and balls that had been ripped off the wall in many places.
Broken promise, will you understand?
My heart is in your little hand.
I hear you call my name…
From behind the Chozo came a small sob. He jumped half a foot in the air and turned around. Flattened against the wall was a small girl, no older than three, with blonde hair covering a dirty face streaked with tears. She was hidden in the corner of a bunk bed, and she was clutching a small, dirty, stuffed fox.
"A child?" The Chozo's friend walked into the room and looked at the girl, who looked back in horror. "A child survived this massacre?!"
"Ssh!" the Chozo silenced his friend. "You'll scare her!"
It was no use. The girl looked back and forth between the birdlike creatures and began to wail. The Chozo glared at his friend. "You see?" He scolded, "She doesn't understand us! You're only going to scare her more!"
This made the child cry even more. A third Chozo entered the room and looked at them all.
"A survivor?" he asked. "What's more, the survivor is a child…?"
"What did you find?" the first Chozo asked.
The newcomer shrugged. "Nothing of any interest. The entire colony has been turned upside-down and looted. The Pirates might have been looking for something."
"That isn't very likely," the Chozo turned back to the girl, who clenched her fox and shrank away in fear.
"W-who…" she began to speak, but in a different language than the Chozo. "Who are you guys…?"
And always you'll be blood and soul part of me
The second element (I am longing for you…)
And always you'll see that you reflect on me
My second element (Are you missing me too…?)
The Chozo blinked. "She speaks!!" He turned to the new Chozo. "What language is that?"
"Japanese," his friend responded. "This must have been a Japanese colony."
"Ah, right then," the Chozo cleared his throat, and turned to the girl. "Are you all right?" he asked, testing out the syllables of the language with his tongue. "Don't worry. We won't… hurt you."
The girl looked up at them, surprised. "What's going to happen to me?"
"Nothing bad, we promise," the Chozo responded, and held out his hand. "Come with us. We'll take you out of here."
The girl looked at his hand, then slowly placed her little hand in his.
"So… what's your name, little one?"
The girl blinked tears from her eyes, and looked up at him. "It's Samus," she replied. "Samus… Aran…"
~~~
Twenty-three-year-old Samus Aran took a deep breath as she climbed out of the Queen Metroid's gaping mouth. She took her helmet off to take deep breaths of clean air, but smelled the newly-dead Metroid carcass and began to retch from the stench and almost being swallowed whole. Holding her breath, she ran out of the large cavern into a small tunnel behind the Queen's tail. She put her sweaty head against the cool rocks of the tunnel wall and took deep breaths. After she calmed down, she put her helmet back on her head, where she received a shock. The small meter at the bottom-right corner of her visor blinked, changing from "00" to "01" in a heartbeat.
"Huh…? No…" Samus gasped, and swore. Had the Queen somehow survived? No way, Samus had fired a missile from inside its mouth directly up into its brain. No creature would be able to live through that. So she turned around, flattened against the wall, looking around. Finally, her eyes settled on a small red-and-green glowing egg in the middle of the path. There was only one thing that could be: a Metroid egg.
Time keeps moving, she's in so deep,
And she cries herself to sleep.
Angles dancing through the night,
And she cuddles up real tight.
Samus considered her options. First, she could shoot the egg before it had a chance to hatch. Second, she could wait until it hatched to kill it. Third, she could just walk away. The second option didn't please her very much, and the third was out of the question. So she raised her weary arm cannon and aimed carefully. Then the egg began to wiggle.
"Ah…" Samus backed up until she was flat against the wall. Every instinct inside her was screaming: "What are you waiting for?! Kill it!!", but she just waited. A decision that would alter the future of the galaxy forever.
For within moments, a small ivory tentacle poked out of the egg, and the creature inside began to make a strange noise that was a mix of a chirp and the distinctive "SKREE!!" that a fully-grown Metroid makes. The egg wiggled so furiously that it lost its balance and rolled down the inclined tunnel until it smashed against a strange rock wall at the end of the tunnel.
Samus hurriedly ran up to it to find the newborn Metroid on its back, chirping. Samus reached down with her left hand and flipped the hatchling right side up. It hovered in the air, bewildered, then seemed to notice Samus. With a chirrup of happiness, it reared back, and flew right at Samus's chest.
Samus screamed and recoiled, ready to change into her Morph Ball and blow the newborn to Kingdom Come. But nothing happened. She chanced a look to see the baby Metroid firmly latched onto her chest, but its tentacles were not piercing her chest armor. Rather, it was snuggled up, every now and then making a happy chirrup.
Children's laughter, the sunny day,
And ever more I go away.
Just like an endless dream…
"You…" Samus grabbed it firmly with her left hand and pulled it away. "What's wrong with you?"
The Metroid chirped happily at hearing her voice, stopped, and turned around. It slowly began to eat through the white rock-like structure that had blocked the hallway, and Samus realized that the tunnel actually went onwards and upwards, to the planet surface.
The Hatchling finished its meal and hovered around Samus's head. She blinked, then nodded.
"Thank you," she said softly, a little ashamed at thanking a creature who could kill her in an instant.
Then, Samus was struck with an idea. Infant or not, she really couldn't kill such a little thing. So she could take this hatchling to the scientists of the Federation for them to study. To the other civilians, it would seem that she had spared the hatchling for the human race's own purposes instead of a tiny spark of mercy and affection.
"Come on," Samus nodded to the baby Metroid. "Let's get out of here."
The baby Metroid gurgled happily, and settled on Samus's head, where it remained as Samus climbed the rocks out of the tunnel and up into the bright sun of SR-388.
And always you'll be blood and soul part of me
The second element (I am longing for you…)
And always you'll see that you reflect on me
My second element (Are you missing me too…?)
When Samus and the Hatchling returned to the ship, Samus wearily took off her helmet and set it on the control panel. The Metroid let out a chirp of astonishment, and flew towards the helmet, then looked at Samus again.
"It's all right, little one," Samus smiled. "Watch," She typed a code on her arm cannon, and climbed out of the suit, which split in half. The Metroid, confused, flew towards the fallen armor, then looked at the strange creature who had been in Mother's armor: a scrawny two-legged female with black skin over a layer of light pink skin, long blonde hair, and gray eyes.
"Miii……..?" Samus had the feeling that if the Metroid had eyes, it would blink.
"It's all right," Samus repeated. "Do you recognize my voice? It's me."
The Hatchling seemed to recognize her voice, and chirped again. Samus couldn't help but giggle. She instantly raised a hand and slapped herself. What was she, some airhead schoolgirl?
'Don't forget,' she told herself, 'You're on a ship with a dangerous killing machine. Even if it does think you're its mother, you don't know what Metroids do to their parents?' Samus wondered if that was really true, or just her trying to mask her doubts.
And always you'll be blood and soul part of me
The second element (I am longing for you…)
And always you'll see that you reflect on me
My second element (Are you missing me too…?)
She walked to the control panel and punched in the launch code. The ship kicked to life, and the Hatchling jumped a few inches in the air, surprised, then rolled over in delight. Its short life had already been full of so many surprises!!
After Samus's spaceship broke the atmosphere, she set the autopilot for the Ceres Space Colony. The computer processed the information, and with a beep, gave an ETA of three days.
'Perfect…' Samus thought sarcastically as she felt the baby rub it's jellylike body against her shoulder. 'Plenty of bonding time…'
Bonding had never been one of Samus's strong points. So she ignored the Hatchling for the time being and fell flat on her bed in her quarters. With a small chirp the Metroid Hatchling float into the room and lay beside Samus on the pillow. And with every passing hour they drew closer to Ceres.