DISCLAIMER: I no own Metroid, please. I pwn Metroid, but I no own Metroid, please.
Songfic Numbero Tres: "Flaming Ice" by Imai Yukana
Scenario Numbero Tres: Ceres Space Colony
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Chapter Three:
Flaming Ice
~~~
Rivalry
The ship received the signal moments before it had entered the asteroid belt on its way from Ceres. Inside the ship, the woman was shaken awake by the voice of the computer in her quarters.
"Intercepting distress signal."
"Urgh…" Samus sat up and got out of the small bed. "Trace the source."
"Accepting command, one moment, please………" After five minutes of waiting, the computer replied, "Distress signal coming from Quadrant F-3 of the system; Ceres Space Colony."
"What-?!" Samus shouted even as she put on the helmet of her Power Suit and ran to the cockpit. "Turn the ship around, head back to the colony!"
"Accepting command, one moment please…" The computer responded, and autopilot slowed the ship, turned it around, and flew it back towards the place it had come from.
Even when my body is invisible, I am still here.
Shadow, light, I clad my form in them.
Among the breaths, I am listening for only one thing,
If that person makes a wish.
~~~
"I knew it!" Samus cried to herself as she jumped out of her ship. "The lab's on fire!"
She didn't even need to think of a reason why. Even as she did, she hoped the conclusion she had come to was wrong, that everything was wrong…
But once she entered the lab, her worst suspicions were confirmed. The place the elevator led down to was dead silent; not a single scientist walked in or out. Tensing herself and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, she continued down the tunnel and through the halls into the main lab.
She expected mass chaos. She was met with the aftermath of a slaughter. The bodies of scientists littered the ground like debris, their off-white coats stained with blood, and some were missing limbs. To make matters worse, the large, cylindrical tank that had been holding the Metroid Hatchling had shattered.
Even without exchanging words,
we just become one and battle. It joins our worlds together...
At first, Samus assumed the baby Metroid had broken out and absorbed the life force of the unsuspecting scientists. But she had seen how Metroids kill; they left no blood.
"Space Pirates…" Samus hissed to herself, and moved silently through the next corridor. 'But… it can't be…'
The room on the other end of the corridor was dark and empty. The only light was being given off by the small creature in a container at the end of the room. Upon Samus's entrance, it chirped in recognition.
In the moments that followed, Samus's guard dropped. "Thank God," she said softly. "I thought it was a bad idea to leave you with those crackpots," she slowly walked towards the Metroid and placed her hand on the top of the container. "Now let's go-"
A scaly hand, its claws stained with blood, slammed down on top of Samus's and squeezed it with superhuman strength. Samus let out a small cry of shock and looked up into a pair of reptilian, blood-red eyes.
If that is your wish, if that is your wish,
I will continue to battle
That answer, that answer,
Will come before long
I sharpen my blades of ice well
To the sword-point of my heart
"Tag," the dragon hissed, making his grip tighter, "You're it."
"You-!!" Samus shouted, but Ridley lifted her hand off the container and threw her against the wall. He took off into the air, leaving the infant Metroid in its container on the floor.
"I thought you were dead!" Samus shouted as she fired a missile which missed its target, "Who brought you back this time?!"
"Good to see you too, Sam," Ridley smirked and hovered in the air before charging at Samus at a high speed. "Obviously, my timing was a little… off. I was going to wait until you cleared the system but…" One of Samus's missiles hit his chest and he reeled backwards before continuing. "I thought I would surprise you a little."
"You didn't answer my question!!" Samus shouted as she dodged one of Ridley's fireballs. "Who sent you?!"
If we may know our destiny
Let us just follow it now
The form that sleeps within this body
Will awaken on that day
Ridley grabbed Samus's throat and shoved her against the wall. "Why, isn't it obvious?" He sneered, "Who else would sent someone to go and get the last of the Metroids?"
Samus's eyes flashed behind her visor, and she gasped as Ridley's grip began to sever the oxygen tubes. 'For what good it'll do…' she thought to herself desperately, and ripped off her helmet.
Ridley's eyes widened as he saw Samus's face glare defiantly at him before she lowered her head and sank her teeth into his hand. Taken by surprise, Ridley yelped and dropped Samus, but was quick to whack her with his tail before she put her helmet on.
"Well," Samus said as she staggered slightly before putting her helmet on tightly. "I didn't think you'd sink so low as to attack an unprepared enemy."
"You're one to talk, Sam," Ridley answered flatly, "You bit me. And you're not just any old enemy."
The place the Big Dipper guides us to,
We may be moving towards it, back to back.
"So," he continued with a sneer on his face. "Thought of anyone who would want the Metroid back so badly?"
Samus nodded. "But it can't be…" She whispered, "She's…"
"Dead?" Ridley's sneer grew even wider. "What do you think we've been doing for two or three years, huh? We've been working to get her back."
"And you succeeded, " Samus replied.
Ridley rolled his eyes. "Duh," he snapped. "So…" He settled down by the Hatchling and picked up the container with one hand. "I'll be taking this," he said.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH IT!!!" Samus screamed in an outburst of energy, and fired all her missiles into the dragon. He smiled, and with a sweep of his claw, knocked her backward into the door.
"Awww…" Ridley mocked, and flew above Samus, "Is the wittle Huntew sad that her baby's being taken away?"
"…………" Samus scowled, "Shut… up…"
There is only one person, there is only some person
Standing so far away, whose back
I still can see, I can still see
I am here, a lonely bird with only one wing
Whose form looks at the wind
"As I said, I'll be taking this," Ridley tossed the container up in the air with one hand and caught it with the other, "And you'll be going bye-bye," he waved with his free claw.
"Meaning…?" Samus stood up.
"I programmed the colony's computer to self-destruct, Sam," Ridley smirked. "If you want your wittle baby back, you'd better get out of here." With a mocking laugh, he took off and flew through the roof of the lab. "I'll see you on Zebes… Or in Hell, it's your choice!!"
"WARNING," the message flashed across Samus's visor. "SIXTY SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT. EVACUATE COLONY IMMEDIATELY…"
"Oh, great," Samus said sarcastically, her temper rising, and ran out of the unlocked door through the hall, a klaxon ringing in her ears and a computerized voice echoing through the hallway.
"WARNING, FIFTY-THREE SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT. EVACUATE COLONY IMMEDIATELY…"
When Samus exited the main lab, a shower of debris began to fall, and Samus found it harder to get to the other end. One large piece fell on her head, and she slumped over on the ground and remained motionless.
If it is your wish, if it is your wish,
I will continue to battle
That answer, that answer
Will come before long
I sharpen my blades of ice well
To the sword-point of my heart
She awoke about half a minute later, aware of pain shooting through her left hand where Ridley grabbed it. The computerized voice was booming through the hallway.
"WARNING, TWENTY SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT. EVACUATE COLONY IMMEDIATELY…"
"NO!!" Samus fought her way out of the debris and ran as fast as she could through up the stairs to the vertical corridor outside of where she had landed her ship.
As she climbed, the colony gave a violent lurch, and Samus tumbled off one platform and landed on the one below it. It would have been funny if it wasn't such a desperate situation.
"WARNING, SEVEN SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT. EVACUATE COLONY IMMEDIATELY…"
Samus struggled up and jumped back onto the ledge, and onto the next and the next, timing her movements and being wary of any sudden movements. Until she finally made it to the hoverlift that would take her to her ship.
"WARNING, FIVE SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT. EVACUATE COLONY IMMDEIATELY… FOUR…"
Once in the cockpit, Samus removed her helmet and guided the ship off the ground. She blinked when she cleared the top of the lab; Ridley was waiting, hovering in the air, the Metroid still in his hand.
"THREE…"
I sharpen my blades of ice well
To the sword-point of my heart
Upon seeing Samus's ship, Ridley turned around and flew through the colony's atmosphere. Samus pulled the ship to full speed and followed.
"TWO…
"ONE…
"HAVE A NICE DAY…"
Ridley cleared the colony's explosion just in time. He dared a look behind him, and was met with a pair of laser bolts flying right past his nose. Samus's yellow and orange ship appeared out of the flames, flying towards him.
'Nothing kills that woman!! She deserves more credit than I give her…'
He grinned, revealing all of his razor-sharp teeth, put on a burst of speed, and flew towards Zebes. Samus was watching from the viewscreen as she bandaged her left hand, the ship following the dragon on autopilot.
"The chase is on, Ridley…"