Chapter 6: Red-Hot Ridley Hunt
"You know something, boys?" Ridley asked Ezer and Garan. The brothers thought for a moment.
"What, boss?"
"I could kiss her for this if she wouldn't fire a Super Missile into my teeth." Ridley released an evil cackle as he watched his computer screen, which was showing security camera footage of Samus' fight with Draygon. Onscreen, the bounty hunter hooked herself; and by extension, Draygon-up to the electrical current, and the Evir was fried. All three of the Pirates watched it without blinking once.
"I think the best part is those spasming motions his claws are making." Ezer remarked to his brother in a conversational tone. Garan shook his head.
"No, no. The best is his eyes. Look how they're jumping around!"
"You're both wrong." Ridley said without taking his eyes off the screen for a second. "Here comes the best part... quiet, both of you..." There was a noise like a massive kernel of popcorn erupting, and Draygon fell back, crispy-fried. Ridley also fell back, but his cause was laughter.
"HA HA HA HA HA! Didja hear that, boys?! BAM! Brain popped, just like that!" He snapped his claws, still laughing insanely as he rolled around on the floor. "This is the best movie I've ever seen! It should win a Space Academy Award! You guys DID remember to make five seperate copies, right?"
"Ten, boss!" Garan grinned, attempting a thumbs-up. He failed miserably, of course, not having anything remotely resembling thumbs, but Ridley was too happy to notice.
"Good, good! I don't want some accident erasing this. Hell, I might even give a copy to Samus, so she can spread this all over the galaxy if she ends up winning the thing."
"You think she might?" Ezer blinked. The Drakar yawned and stretched.
"Ezer, please. I'm not like Draygon. There is no rationally denying that Samus Aran is very good; I was only whupping her on Ceres because her Power Suit was at the absolute minimum, and she's pretty close to maxing it out now. No doubt she'll be even closer by the time she gets here."
"And you're not worried?" Garan inquired. Ridley shook his head.
"Not in the least, Garan. You forget; I may be one of the most wanted criminals in the galaxy, but I'm still a Drakar, and there's nothing we love more than a good fight. Samus Aran is the only one who's been able to beat me in decades. Me, worry? On the contrary, I look forward to this upcoming fight with a great deal of enthusiasm. No matter who wins and who loses, I will enjoy this immensely. Not as much as seeing Draygon become the extra-crispy catch of the day, but still." He smiled. "I've got to remember to tell her we were behind that before the fight, though. If for no other reason than to see her reaction when she finds out that I was actually HELPING her there."
"It was a perfect plan, boss." Ezer complimented him. Ridley nodded.
"Yup. I knew Samus would see the potential of those cannons, and act on it. She could have taken Draygon without them, of course. I know she could have. But who am I to pass up a perfect opportunity to help out an old rival, eh? Reduces the possibility of blind chance screwing us over. Nobody's ever gonna be able to kill Samus except me, boys. I know that now. Kraid tried; bless him, he tried. But Phantoon was kinda right on that score... he really belongs in a lab, cooking up new inventions. Duels with Samus are my job... always will be." The two thugs looked at each other, then shrugged.
"Well, you're the boss, boss."
"Damn right I'm the boss." Ridley agreed pleasantly. "I'm glad to see you guys know that. I say jump, you jump. I say kill, you kill. And if I say fight Samus, you fight Samus."
"Exactly!" Ezer and Garan nodded, then did a doubletake and looked at each other in horror. "Wait a second... did you just say... you want us to..." They turned pale. "...Fight Aran?"
"That's exactly what I said, boys!" Ridley grinned toothily. "You two are gonna be the last line of defense keeping her away from me! Now, don't worry... I'm sure that you'll do just fine!"
"Boss... you're joking, right?" Ezer was trembling violently. "Look, we're flattered you have such confidence in us and all that... but, well..."
"We've basically got no chance." Garan confessed. "She's beaten all four of the Pirate Lords now, and even killed Mom! We're just not on the same level as Aran... and you."
"Stop whining." Ridley snapped. "You two could take Phantoon, I'll bet... or Draygon. You'll fight her, and that's that. Remember, I'm the boss..."
"Oh, is that so?" A new voice suddenly filled the heads of all three Pirates. An angry voice. A female voice. Mother Brain's voice. "I was unaware of your promotion, Ridley. The last time I heard, you were still subservient to me." Ridley gulped.
"I apologize profusely, Milady... I was only making a point to Ezer and Garan... of course, I remain your most faithful servant..."
"Well, that's good to know." All three winced; they could FEEL the sarcasm. They were in for it this time. "And yet, that loyalty did not stop you from setting up Draygon to be killed by Aran, did it?"
"Milady, I..." Ridley stammered. "I was merely trying to... to aid Draygon with those cannons... I had no idea that Samus would-"
"SILENCE!" Mother Brain yelled. "Fool, I see your thoughts! Your lies have no effect upon me! You thought your petty fighting a sufficient reason to betray Draygon to Aran! And you two helped him, knowing full well what you were doing!" Ezer and Garan were holding each other, speechless. Ridley tried to talk again.
"Milady... Draygon tried to kill me first... he had gone insane, he was a threat to all of..."
"None of that matters, you idiot!" The Pirate Queen hissed. "Our greatest enemy is Aran, not each other! Were you anybody other than my greatest Pirate Lord, you would be dead already for this idiocy, your brain exploded. As for you two... I allow you to live purely out of regard for your father. You will, however, do what Ridley had planned, and face Aran before him." Ezer & Garan nodded frantically. Ridley did as well... then stopped as the mental voice flared up again. "But before any of you do that, I must make sure you do not do this again. I will teach you a lesson, in the best way I know... a lesson in pain!" There was another flare of energy, and all three Pirates screamed in agony as their heads were filled with unimaginable pain. Clutching their skulls, Ridley, Ezer and Garan fell to the floor and rolled around, shrieking at the top of their lungs for an end to the torture, for mercy and forgiveness.
Unfortunately for them, Mother Brain was not noted for her merciful or forgiving nature.
***
"Okay, let's go over this again." Samus sighed. "It was supposed to be simple. Retrace my steps, go back to the Plasma Beam, get it now that Draygon's dead, and get out of here." She looked down at her arm blaster, which now contained the devastating power of the Plasma Beam fused with the Wave and Ice Beams. She had had to unequip the Spazer; even the new multibeam system had its limits, it seemed. "The first part went off without a hitch... even better, since I also picked up an extra few bonuses on the way. It only stands to reason that the second part should as well." The bounty hunter looked around at the completely unfamiliar landscape, then screamed. "SO WHY THE HELL AM I LOST?"
She glared up at the steady flow of sand falling from the ceiling. "The sand pit. It's always the sand pits. First before I whupped Draygon, and now again aftet? Why do these things hate me?" Something hit her on the head. Two somethings. "OW! OW!" It was a Missile Tank and another Reserve Tank, fallen from the sand as well. "Whoa.. deja vu. Well, glad SOMETHING good came out of this... okay, enough complaing. Back to work. Door on the left, or door on the right... let's go with... right." Walking through, Samus walked past three Evirs, who smiled and waved when they saw her.
"Hey, bounty hunter!" Samus turned to them, smiled back and waved as well. Because of this, she can be forgiven for not watching where she was going and seeing the hole in the floor. Yelling in surprise, the bounty hunter plummeted through and landed on her rear.
"Yeowch..." Rubbing the sore spot, Samus got back up. What she saw immediately cheered her up. "A map station! Yes! Finally, I can find out where I am..." Downloading it, she took a look. "Hmm... this way leads back to Brinstar... but I don't want that. I want the way up to Crateria..." Examining it further, the bounty hunter slapped herself in the face. If she had taken the left door in the room she had just been in, she would have been back on the road she had taken to get back up to Draygon during her first sand pit fiasco. Shaking her head and muttering curses in Chozo, Samus returned to the path and soon had ascended to the uppermost portion of Maridia. And what the bounty hunter saw up there made her want to scream.
"I don't believe this..." She growled, looking ahead of her, and then back to the map. "No way... this can't be real." Unfortunately, it was. She was standing... in front of the Plasma Beam storage room again. There were two more doors; the lower one led to Draygon's old room, and the higher one... it was the way out up to Crateria. She had walked right past it while getting the Plasma Beam. "Okay, that's it. Somebody up there's playing jokes on me. Well, whoever it is, I can assure them I'm NOT LAUGHING!" Angrily frying a few acidic Chute Leeches, she jumped out of the water into a swamplike area and hopped across a few small islands to the door. The bounty hunter emerged in a small room with a sand pit seperating her from the door on the other side.
"Well, I'm sure as hell not falling in he-WHOA!" Samus jumped, and the head of the angry Yapping Maw shot under her. She froze it and landed, wiping her brow. "Well, THAT was unexpected... and dirty. Draygon must've had that guy transplanted here for just this purpose... tricky SOB." The Maw was beginning to recover, so without further delays Samus jumped across the pit and went on, back into the swamps. Here, the only thing breaking the surface of the water were large, thick clumps of vegetation. Testing one with her foot, Samus decided they were sturdy enough to stand on and made her way across, clearing out slimy Puyos and more Chute Leeches. At the other end of the swamp, she found a familair-looking vertical shaft. Freezing Rippers to use as steps, the bounty hunter climbed up to the top, and took the waiting elevator back up to Crateria.
"Now, to just get back to my ship..." Samus muttered as she climbed through a beach cavern that met the tide. Grunting, the bounty hunter crawled into some narrow tunnels. "Grab a nap, and talk with Horzat again... then go after Ridley. Heh... bet that old crab'll be interested about Draygon and the Motchroids." She rolled her eyes. "Those things were just pathetic. Slow, stupid, clumsy, and weak. They didn't even need Missiles to kill! I probably just put them out of their misery... the other creatures in Maridia would have gotten them all before any of them grew up. And those fangs..." She smiled, remembering the one time a Motchroid had gotten close enough to feebly attempt draining her energy. "More like toothpicks... or pencils! Yeesh! Just sad. Those clones were an insult to Matrix... he's a lot tougher. He's got some real fangs, unlike those things... he could drain energy with the best of-" Samus suddenly froze, realizing what she was saying. "...What the HELL am I doing?! Matrix isn't going to drain anybody's life! I raised him better than that..."
But now Ridley is raising him, A nasty little voice in the back of her mind said. And even so, you really don't want him to be completely tame, do you? After all, you aren't... you want him to be able to stand up for himself, and fight for himself, right? And maybe even more... after all, he is a Metroid, and draining life is what Metroids naturally do... besides, he'll probably do it anyway... no mattter what you do, he is still a Metroid... Samus shook her head, clearing away the distraction as she hopped past some Kago nests and finally emerged on the open shoreline of the Maridian ocean. Directly in front of her was the familiar sight of Phantoon's wrecked ship.
"Almost there..." The bounty hunter went through the ship as fast as possible, eager to return to her own vessel. Once she was through, Samus jumped across the last few waves and entered the small cavern that seperated the two ships. It was but the work of a moment to dispose of the KiHunters in there before she came out onto the plain that was her landing spot. "Finally... time for some rest."
"Not quite yet, bounty hunter." A voice said from her right. Samus spun around and saw a single Space Pirate leaning against the outside wall of the cave nonchalantly. The Zebesian was old... older, even, than Horzat. However, his exoskeleton was shiny and metallic, and his eyes still held a cold fire. He appeared to be making no move to attack, but Samus kept her blaster trained on him jsut in case.
"All right, Ezer... or Garan, whichever." She said, as those were the only two Zebesians she knew had that kind of armor. They hadn't looked this old on Ceres, of course, but the light had been bad then. "Tell me why I shouldn't just cap you here and now on principle."
"To start, I am not Ezer or Garan. They are my sons." The Zebesian looked at her grimly. "My name is Zeral. I... was... the personal assistant to Mother Brain. As to why you should not kill me... first, I am only a messenger. And second..." He opened his claw, revealing that he held a Power Bomb. "Yes, I know your Power Suit is somehow immune to these... but your ship is not, and while we can't find that due to its cloaking, we know it's around here, so the explosion would damage it." Samus glared at him.
"Grrr... fine. What's the message?"
"The message is simple." Zeral explained. "My sons and Ridley are all waiting for you in his Lair at the lowest portion of Norfair, near the core of Planet Zebes. The map station at the entrace to Norfair has been updated to show you how to get to the Lair... I'm sure you remember where it is." He stood up. "That's all there is for my to tell you. They'll be there when you're ready..." The Pirate walked across to the other side of the plains and departed into the tunnels. Samus made sure he was gone, then entered her ship.
"Ugh... feels good to be back." She muttered, taking off her suit. "Hey, computer. Any messages from Horzat?"
"None." The ship's computer responded. Samus shrugged.
"Didn't think so... he's probably still asleep. I'll catch him after my own nap." Entering her bedroom, Samus flopped down and was snoring within minutes.
***
Horzat was, in many ways, a creature of habit. He always wore his fake beard, he always kept his computer on while the bar was open, he always made sure everything was fully stocked before opening, and he always woke up the same way. His alarm clock slowly built up music, then exploded in a deafening blast. Yelling, Horzat fell out of the bed, then slowly rose, releasing several four-letter words with perfect timing sharpened by years of work in a millitary society. After turning the clock off, he donned the pegleg, eyepatch and fake beard, then grabbed his cane and stumped downstairs to the bar. The bartender immediately booted up his computer, without bothering to look around first like he usually did. As it turned out, that was a mistake.
"Let's see if I've gotten any more messages from Zebes yet..."
"And why, exactly, would you be expecting a message from Zebes?" A voice asked challengingly. Horzat spun around with a startled oath to see the speaker, standing near the door. He was a middle-aged human with thinning brown hair, dressed in the uniform of an officer in the Galactic Federation; Horzat wasn't sure enough of the distinction to guess his exact rank, and he didn't really care anyways. The officer was flanked by a pair of toughs, also in uniforms. "Zebes is the headquarters of the Space Pirates. Most honest people don't have anything to do with it. Why have you been sending and recieving transmissions from Zebes lately all of a sudden, hmmm? Would the fact that it started right after the theft of the last Metroid from Space Station Ceres have anything to do with this, perhaps? What do you think?"
"I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are." Horzat growled, his one good eye turning angry. "I may be old, but I can still kick the ass of guys a lot tougher than you if they offend me, boy... and if I'm right, what you just said was about as offensive as things get." The officer chuckled, amused.
"I doubt we've been introduced. My name is Commander Mark Todar of the Galactic Federation." Horzat tried not to show his surprise, nor any sign of being impressed, and continued glaring.
"Horzat. Former Space Pirate, ranked Captain of Unit 34A, now bartender. That should do it for the pleasantries. Now, would you care to explain why you saw fit to break into my bar before opening hours..." He looked at the wreckage in the doorframe. "...And destroy my property? For a Federation Commander, you sure don't know the law too well, do you? I hope you're planning to pay for that door... otherwise, you'll be spending the night in the local lockup, Commander or no Commander."
"The door is unimportant." Todar shrugged. "What IS important... well, to answer your question... we're here to check out a report on unauthorized transmissions to a hostile planet... with suspicions of collaberation." The Zebesian stared at him.
"Collaberation...? Wait a second..." He suddenly began laughing, a rare occurance for him. "You think... that I'm going back over to the Pirates?! Oh, god, this is rich! You've just said the funniest thing I've heard all year!" Command Todar, however, did not look amused.
"I assure you, I am not laughing. This is not a joking matter. Especially at this particular time, any communications with Zebes are looked upon as highly suspicious by us at the Federation. And you, of course, are a special case." Horzat frowned.
"What do you mean by that?" Todar buffed his fingernails against his jacket buttons, still smiling.
"It's quite simple, my friend. You are a Zebesian... and a former Pirate. As such, we have to wonder what exactly you in particular are doing making calls to Zebes... and the courts will take that into account."
"You're saying because I'm a Zebesian, I'm more of a suspect than normal people?" The bartender growled. Todar shrugged.
"If that's what it comes down to, then yes, I suppose so. What is your point, exactly?" Horzat smirked.
"Bad idea, "friend." You don't want to do that." The Commander frowned, nonplussed.
"Oh? And why not?"
"This is one of, if not the, most popular bar on Magani." Horzat explained. "Your breaking in hasn't gone unnoticed. Several of my patrons are undoubtably out there right now, listening to this. If you take me in, word'll spread like wildfire, and before you know it... well... can you say 'Species Discrimination?' Your position isn't THAT secure, Commander." Todar glared at him.
"...Very well. In that case, would you mind explaining to me why you are making and recieving calls to and from Zebes?" Horzat's smirk grew wider.
"Something else you should know. Samus Aran is my best customer, and a good friend of mine to boot. Those calls had her on the other end... she just needed a buddy to talk to sometimes. She's doing quite well, actually."
"So you say..." The Commander looked dubious. "Do you have any proof that what you say is true?" Horzat looked downward.
"Well... no."
"I didn't think so." The look of smug superiority returned to Todar's face. "Very well. You have offered a reasonable explanation, and we are prepared to give you the benfit of the doubt. However... do not make or recieve any more Zebes calls. Mickey, set his computer up with it." One of the toughs moved over to Horzat's computer, inserted a disk, and worked with it for a few moments before withdrawing. "That'll block you off. And whatever you do, don't try to break through it... I can assure you, things will go very badly with you if you do. Come on, boys, let's get outta here." The three Federation members started to leave. As he was about to step out, Todar turned, as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh yeah... here's for the door." Tossing some credits on the ground, he departed. Horzat glared after him.
"Prick." Scooping them up, the bartender began getting his establishment ready for the day. About half an hour before he opened, his computer beeped with an incoming message. He looked over to see an automatic response pop up.
THIS ADDRESS IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ZEBES, BY ORDER OF THE GALACTIC FEDERATION.
"That's blunt enough..." Horzat sighed. "Hope Samus is okay. Better not think about it..." With that, he forcibly put it out of mind for several hours, up until about when Gelltor and Welhaam came in.
"Hey, Horzat!" The Drakar pickpocket and his friend sat down at the counter. "Any word from Samus? Oh, wait... that's right, the Federation's been getting in the way... we heard." Horzat nodded grumpily as he polished a glass.
"It's a real pain in the butt, all right..." The bartender agreed. He glanced up at one of the many television sets... and froze, stiff as a plank. The glass fell to the floor and broke. Gelltor blinked.
"What's wrong?" Horzat gestured towards the screen with his good claw, unspeaking. Gelltor looked, and he went pale. "Holy... no... no friggin' way..."
"Way." Horzat coughed. "HEY! Everybody! Anyone here a good hacker?" Welhaam perked up, immediately knowing why he was asking.
"I'm the gal for the job, but are you sure? Breaking a Federation restraint could get you in a lot of trouble... what do you need to tell Samus that's THAT important?"
"That." Horzat pointed at the television. The Elocto looked, and her eye widened, looking as if it was going to pop out.
"WHOA. Well, that's major all right... but you gotta be sure you wanna go through with this. I can't make the choice for you... it's your skin, not mine." Horzat nodded, thoughts racing through his mind at fever pitch. He teetered from one extreme of thought to the other, from self-preservation to priorities... and then, he made his decision.
***
THIS ADDRESS IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING COMMUNICATIONS FROM ZEBES, BY ORDER OF THE GALACTIC FEDERATION.
"..." Samus looked at the screen for a long moment, then turned away with a few low-pitched comments on the ancestry and personal habits of Federation Officers. "Hope Horzat's okay... at least they haven't locked him up yet, by the looks of the message. Still, I think I'm going to need to have a little talk with the Feds when I get back..." She frowned, remembering some of the things she had discovered on Space Station Ceres. "On many various subjects..." For the most part, since she had arrived on Zebes, Samus had tried not to think about the greatest reason she had come here. Matrix. She had fallen back into her old mindset, concentrating on the mission of shutting down the Pirates and the job of hunting bounties. Now, though, when she was so close to the end, the bounty hunter found her thoughts drifting back to the little blob of Metroid, and she realized that she wasn't so sure she wanted to hand him back over to the Federation again once she had him. More and more, she found evidence leading towards something she was still hoping against; that the Federation was rotten at the core.
"Keep on track, Aran." Samus shook her head. She could worry about the Federation later. Right now, her priority was the Pirates. Ridley. Exiting her ship, the bounty hunter made her way through Crateria and Brinstar at top speed. As she was about to take the elevator down to Brinstar, though, she saw motion from the entrance to Kraid's Lair. "Hmmm..." She hid behind a stalagmite, and watched as several grey KiHunters emerged from the gargoyle's maw.
"This was all that remained?" The apparent leader inquired, holding up a single Missile Tank. The others bowed their heads.
"I am afraid so, Captain... the bounty hunter pillaged it well." The Captain shook his head disgustedly.
"More likely, you babies just didn't search hard enough... but we have spent too much time here already. We must hurry to Crateria."
"What for, Captain?" Another one asked timidly.
"Our scientests have finally found a way to give us KiHunters G-Level protection like the Zebesians. With it, we can be completely protected from the accursed heat of Norfair." His team released a mass groan.
"Don't tell us we're being stationed there next!" The Captain nodded grimly.
"We are. Aran is heading there now, and we must be there to-" Samus had gotten bored with listening to them talk. Within a few seconds, none of the KiHunters would need to worry about being stationed in Norfair ever again. Grabbing the Missile Tank that the leader had been carrying, she took the elevator down.
"Back to the lava land..." Samus sighed. "Brinstar and Maridia had beauty... and at least the rain in Crateria is nice to fall asleep to. Norfair, though..." Shaking her head, she went into the Map Station nearby and downloaded the map. Checking it, she discovered that Zeral had spoken the truth... on the other side of Norfair, down at the very bottom, a new section was marked "Ridley's Lair." She had been near it before, but hadn't spotted the entrance. "Great... all the way over there." Examining the map closer, though, brought good news; a secret passage was also shown that would get her to the entrance much faster than the normal way. "Much better." Returning to the standard vertical elevator shaft, Samus dropped down to the bottom and went through the door... only to be confronted by a one-way gate, which she was on the wrong side of. "Dammit! Huh?" The gate raised, and the red Zebesian on the other side bowed.
"Lord Ridley sent me when he realized this gate would impede your progress. He awaits." Samus nodded perfunctorily and walked past him, crossing a metal bridge over a lava river while blowing away small lava dragons. Where the bridge ended, however, the lava did not. She could have just waded across with the Gravity Suit's protection, but the riverbed was also lined with spikes.
"Walking through that would not be pleasant." Samus smuled. "Fortunately, I don't have to. Time to test out the Space Jump for real." Launching herself into the air, she waited until the apex of her jump had passed, then used the artifact to create a jet of force from her feet, jumping again in mid-air. Further testing proved that it could indeed keep her up for as long as she needed. "This is almost like flying..." She murmured. "This is amazing... now I know why Ridley's so proud of his wings... this is unlike anything I've ever done before..." She could have stayed in that room for hours, simply enjoying her newfound mastery of the air, but reality brought her back to earth. "I don't have time to play with this now... I can do that later. Right now, I've got an appointment with a Drakar." Still, she though as she landed on the other side of the lava, now she would never have to worry about Matrix flying away from her. Walking through a door, Samus frowned; it looked like a dead end.
"No way... he wouldn't send me all this way for nothing." Using her X-Ray Visor, Samus quickly found the tiny, hidden tunnel and crawled through it in Morph Ball mode. On the other side was a yellow door, which she opened with a Power Bomb. That led to a dead-end with a small lava pool. At least it looked small at first; when Samus walked to the edge and looked down, she discovered it was really very deep. Checking her map, the bounty hunter reluctantly concluded that she would have to go through it to enter Ridley's lair. "Might as well get this over with... BANZAI!" She jumped in and discovered to her surprise that with her Gravity Suit, the lava felt no worse than a too-hot shower. It was still uncomfortable, but as long as she moved fast the damage would be minimal. So she did, Space Jumping to the other side of the lava lake and out, landing in front of the entrance to Ridley's Lair. Samus stared.
"...Ostentatious." Like Kraid's Lair, the entrance was a gargoyle. Unlike the one in front of Kraid's Lair, though, this one had a more personal touch. It was a huge, purple Drakar head, at least five times as big as Kraid's gargoyle. Past the menacing grin was a door in the throat. "Well, I'll give Ridley this. Nobody's gonna come in here by accident." She walked in and found an elevator waiting for her. "Once again, a bit ostentatious. None of the others had their Lairs seperated by elevators. Sigh... Ridley's ego appears to be getting the better of him. I'll have to talk with him about that." With that, she took the elevator down.
"Whoa..." Samus could only stare. Ridley's lair was filled with old marble pillars and structures. It was collapsed, of course, but the fact remained that there had once been an ancient civilization here. The Chozo. "No matter where I go... I always find their legacy waiting for me..." Unfortunately, these ruins would not hold much for her... their proximity to the planet's core had destroyed most of what had been here, and the rest had undoubtably been taken by the Pirates. Samus looked at half a pillar, then sighed and went back to business, taking a door on her left. She found a lake of molten lava, and could tell on sight that it was a lot hotter than the normal Norfair fare. Her Gravity Suit wouldn't be able to stand up to this stuff for long. Thus, she jumped over it to a partially broken wall of Bendezium bricks. Reluctantly tearing it down with a Power Bomb revealed a standing Chozo Statue with its hands open.
"Hmm... I remember what to do here." Changing into Morph Ball mode, Samus jumped into the Statue's hands. There was a rumbling, and all of the lava drained. The bounty hunter dropped to the bottom of the pool, through the "drain" hole and into a door. On the other side was a Missile Tank. Samus happily pocketed it... and fell through the floor, cursing intensely. "Sonofa-! Perfect trap... and I fell for it! Huh?" As she landed in a large, open room below, something else fell from above. It was a Chozo Statue, and it dislodged a Super Missile Tank as it tumbled down from the ceiling. Samus took the Tank, then looked at the Statue. It wasn't holding anything. "Huh... another one I should-YAH!" She leaped back in surprise as the Statue opened its eyes and stood up, glaring at her. "Oh, great, another Torizo... huh?!" It shimmered, and its rocky skin turned to a brilliant gold. With a shriek of rage, the Golden Torizo launched itself at Samus.
"SCREEEECH!" The guardian statue's mouth opened, and out came a barrage of rocks that bounced along the ground before exploding from the lava contained within. Samus jumped back and fired a Super Missile. The Golden Torizo easily snatched it out of the air with its bare hands, looked at it contemptuously, then flung it away. Samus frowned.
"Fast bugger, huh? Well, how about this?" She fired a regular Missile, faster than Supers. This time the Golden Torizo could not grab it, and the explosive hit it full in the chest... and bounced off the armor. The guardian blinked, than began making a hooting sound like laughter. Samus was not amused. "All right... how's about something with piercing power!" She charged up a blast, then released it into the Golden Torizo's face. As it turned out, the combination of the armor-piercing Wave Beam and the sheer power of the Plasma Beam was unhealthy for Torizos. Screaming in pain now, the statue fired a pair of heat beams from its eyes. Samus jumped, and watched the floor melt where the beams struck.
"That ain't healthy... close those orbs!" She fired again, methodically into each of the Golden Torizo's eyes, melting them shut. Howling, it used its claws to create a series of crescent-shaped blades of energy, then sent them flying at her. Samus winced as each one struck, but managed to return fire. After several shots, she finally managed to destroy the arms. Now desperate, the Golden Torizo spewed stone eggs that hatched into tiny, rock minions who launched themselves at the bounty hunter. But she would not be deterred; hurdling them so they crashed into the wall, she stuck her blaster into the Golden Torizo's open beak.
"Say aaah." One last shot, and the back of the Golden Torizo's head exploded. With a groan, the entire thing collapsed into rubble, leaving only a single, shining piece left. The core, which Samus picked up reverently. "The Screw Attack." The most powerful creation of the Chozo race, the Screw Attack surrounded her body with a locus of plasma when she jumped that would eat through anything she collided with. Alone, it was a deadly weapon, but combined with the Space Jump... devastating. Samus smiled as she took it; to her knowledge, except for more Tanks, she was at full power now.
"Ridley wants a fight... he's going to get one, all right."
***
"This is not going at all as it should." Mother Brain snarled to herself, in the depths of New Tourian. The Pirate Queen had been growing increasingly frustrated with things over the past few days, and she had reason to; from her point of view, whatever gods there were had decided to use her as their punching bag. At first, things had been looking up; with the capture of Matrix and defeat of Aran by Ridley, it seemed that luck finally smiled upon the Space Pirates. And then Aran had arrived and ruined it all, carving a path of destruction through Crateria, Brinstar, Maridia and Norfair, slaughtering any Pirate in her way and killing three of Mother Brain's four Pirate Lords. She glared over at the Galdezium tank where Matrix crouched sullenly. And that was another thing; the cursed Metroid had proven so far to be completely useless. He was still too weak to be subjected to radiation for division, and showed no signs of growing anytime soon. The cloning had failed miserably; all she had gotten out of THAT were the inferior Motchroids, which she had promptly shipped off to Maridia. That failure was made even worse by alienating Matrix; ever since she had had the DNA extracted, the little Metroid had refused to come near "Mommy" no matter how hard she pleaded, cajoled, commanded or threatened. He had disliked Kraid, Phantoon and Draygon as well; strangely enough, the only one Matrix was willing to approach was Ridley. It was enough to make her want to... The Pirate Queen's thoughts were cut off as she head somebody enter her chamber. "Who's there?"
"Only me, milady." It was Zeral, her loyal Zebesian assistant. Mother Brain nodded, not smiling as he stood in front of her.
"You are back. And did you deliver the message to Aran accordingly, my loyal Zeral?"
"Milady, please." The Zebesian looked offended. "Have you no faith in me? Of course I delivered the message as you ordered."
"Just checking." Mother Brain reassured him, and he relaxed, bowing to her. "I just wanted to make sure... it is a rare thing when a Pirate returns from speaking with her in one piece, even my aide." Zeral smiled grimly.
"It appears we were right with our guessing about the general location of her ship... Aran REALLY didn't want me dropping that Power Bomb."
"At least something went right for once..." Mother Brain sighed. Her aide frowned and walked closer.
"Is something wrong, milady?"
"EVERYTHING is going wrong, Zeral." She said wearily. "Kraid, Phantoon and Draygon are dead. Aran is heading for Ridley as we speak, probably to do the same to him and your sons. And once they have fallen as well, she will immediately come here to rescue Matrix... the last of the Metroids, and a complete failure!" Matrix twitched its fangs in an insulting manner. Zeral cleared his throat.
"Milady, if I may speak truthfully... I believe you are underestimating Ezer, Garan and Ridley. I've seen my boys in action... they are very good. Alone, of course, they are not on the same level as Aran or the Pirate Lords... but they will be fighting her together, two against one, where your Lords have always insisted on fighting alone. I think they have a chance, at least. As for Ridley... despite having been killed twice by Aran even before this, I do not think there is any doubt that he is the greatest of your Pirate Lords. He did defeat Aran on Space Station Ceres, even if she was not at full potential, and having fought her three times now, he undoubtably knows her abilities and strategies more than any other. And even if he fails as well, you do still have... Project B, milady." Mother Brain brightened up hearing his words.
"That is true... perhaps I should give those three more credit. They DID secure Matrix for me, despite his uselessness... I won't give up on them yet, then. And as for Project B..." She showed a dastardly grin. "I had almost forgotten about that... yes, I think Aran will be very... unhappy... if she sees it. You are very good at pep talk, Zeral." The Zebesian bowed once again.
"I live to serve, milady." The two Pirates' glee was cut off by the sound of Matrix ramming into the Galdezium tank repeatedly. Mother Brain sniggered.
"Look at him, Zeral. Every bit as fiesty as his 'mother,' that one is. But like Aran, now he's caught in our trap. Like that Galdezium wall, the Space Pirates will never let her escape." Suddenly, with a supreme effort, Matrix backed up to the rear end of the tank and flung himself forward fangs first, smashing through the Galdezium. He immediately dove towards Zeral. The Zebesian screamed and fell back, watching death swoop down on him... and then Matrix fell to the floor, stunned by an intense psionic blast from Mother Brain. The Pirate Queen glared down at her fallen underling.
"Don't just sit there, fool! Quickly, get the backup container out of that wall compartment and put him in it!" Nodding, Zeral scrambled to his feet and pulled out another Galdezium tank. As Matrix began to stir, the Zebesian grabbed him and shoved him into the new prison. It slammed shut not a second too late; Matrix slammed into the wall just as it closed and slid down, senseless. The two Pirates didn't speak for several moments; Zeral stood, clutching his chest, while Mother Brain just watched the unconscious Metroid. Neither gave voice to the thoughts racing through both their minds on the bad omen. Finally, the aged aide spoke again.
"Well, I'm not much use here, milady. Perhaps I should get going and see to the... emergency preparations." Mother Brain nodded in dismissal. As Zeral turned to leave through the door behind her, though, she spoke as well.
"Oh, and Zeral... in the event that those emergency preparations do come to pass... I've arranged for a pair of additional places on the Norfair for your sons. They're stupid, but loyal, and good enough fighters to be worth reviving after the Pirate Lords." Zeral almost tripped over himself as he quickly bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you, milady... they do not deserve-"
"Just get going." She barked. Zeral nodded and departed. The Pirate Queen's attention returned to Matrix, who was beginning to recover and slowly rise back up into the air.
"What am I going to do with you, my little last of the Metroids..." She whispered as she watched the infant fly around, still dazed. "Such power you hold within your tiny frame... more than any of my Pirate Lords..." Mother Brain found her thoughts drifting back to her four underlings. Ridley, the warrior... his power mainly came in the body, all deadly claw and coiling tail, although it also shone through in his fierce spirit, burning like a flame... Kraid, the scientest... his powers were of the brain, and the realm of science, creating wonders that made the earth tremble... Draygon, the torturer... he had held powers over spirits, breaking those of the unfortunates who fell into his grasp like shards of ice, overcome in a flood of agony... and Phantoon, the thief... silent as the air, quick as the wind, and stealthy as nightfall... Mother Brain's lip curled as she remembered how pathetic a fighter that one had been when he had first arrived. She had had to increase his strength by menas of her vast mental abilities, sending him psionic energy through his connection to the ethereal realm. Such could only be done to creatures who had an inherent connection to something having to do with life and death itself... and then, in a flash, she had the answer to the problem of Matrix. With an evil chuckle, the Pirate Queen looked upon the baby Metroid, now fully recovered, and smiled.
"Now, I finally know how to use you, little Matrix... Aran will be in for a surprise indeed..."
***
"Still works as good as I remember." Samus grunted as she finished tearing through a pack of red rocket Rippers with the Screw Attack. Opening a Super Missile gate, she entered a small room. As she was about to pass through, though, the bounty hunter heard voices from above, and stopped to listen.
"Come on, hurry! We need to get to our stations before she arrives!" One voice hissed.
"Wha-what if we're too late and she's already gone through?" Another asked. The first groaned.
"Then dad will rip us out of our shells and give us to the Metroids! Move it, bro, we gotta be there to protect lord Ridley!" The voices faded out. Samus smiled grimly.
"I'd bet anything those were Ezer and Garan... so they're guarding Ridley." She looked at her blaster. "I'm going to enjoy paying those two back for Ceres when I catch up to them..." Advancing, she ripped through some ancient pillars over rising lava and climbed a vertical shaft full of Zebesians, destroying them all and picking up a Missile Tank from one of the corpses. The next, gigantic room was filled with Zebesians. It was also filling with lava. Samus wasted no time with individual fighting; she simply plowed through everything with her Screw Attack to get to the door onward across the room near the ceiling. The next room held bright red G-Level KiHunters, but they too were unable to stand against the power of the Screw Attack.
"I LOVE this thing!" Samus declared exultantly as she opened a yellow door with a Power Bomb and continued deeper. What she found was a huge, thick Chozo statue of a different, more totemlike design than the artifact holders. Flame jets fired on either side of it. "This must have been some kind of temple for the ancient Chozo..." Samus realized. She laid a hand on the totem's head almost reverently. "I'm sorry... I wish I had time to explore this place, to learn more... but I have to go save a young one, just as you saved me." She turned and walked on, forcing herself not to turn back. It didn't help that the hall ahead of her was lined on either side by similar totems. Biting her lip, Samus walked on to the end of the hall. The only good thing was a Power Bomb Tank lying discarded in front of the door. Taking it, she walked in. Waiting for her, side by side, perfectly identical, were a pair of Zebesians whose exoskeletons were shiny and metallic.
"Well, well, well." Ezer smirked. "Little miss Samus Aran. It's about time you got here."
"Ezer and Garan." Samus growled. "Where's Ridley?" Garan pointed a claw over his shoulder.
"Back there, right past us. Through that locked door, which will only unseal itself if you kill both of us. We're not the smartest Pirates around, but we know how to be good guards. You're gonna have to do this the right way if you want to fight the bossman."
"Fine by me." Samus growled, raising her blaster. "You two should do just fine for a warm-up. I owe you two a great deal anyways... for all those people you butchered on Space Station Ceres."
"Oh, what bad boys we are." Ezer laughed. "Listen to her, bro. She's here to punish us for doing evil things." Garan snickered.
"Well then, missy, let's see you do it!" With a war cry, he charged at her. Samus moved forward to meet him, and her blaster collided with his foot. They leaped back and landed, Garan landing with his legs slightly bent in an expert stance before kicking again. Samus responded with a Super Missile that hit the Pirate thug dead center in the chest... doing absolutely nothing.
"Huh?!" Garan laughed.
"We're no ordinary Zebesians, hunter! Check this out!" He held out his claw, and Samus saw that the metal wasn't just armor, but was actually bonded to his exoskeleton. "The latest in cybernetics! We're completely plated with Bendezium! And don't get any idea about Power Bombs... the cybernetic part offers shock protection specifically designed for that. Of course, it did cost us our claw blasters, but it DOES let us do this nifty trick! Hit her, bro!" Something smashed into the back of Samus' head, and she turned to see Ezer waving one claw. The other... was attached to her head. Yelling, she threw it off, then recoiled as another hit her.
"They regenerate, you see." Ezer explained. "We can do that infinitely, and you can't even hurt us!" Samus narrowed her eyes.
"Well, I bet I know something that'll work on you..." She launched herself towards Garan in a Screw Attack, but the crafty Pirate jumped into the air himself and dodged it. As soon as she landed, he blasted at her with a flying kick to the head.
"Nice try, hunter, but you can't nail us with-huh?" Garan's skin had changed, the metal dimming to a sickly yellow. He frowned. "Dammit... must've overworked the cybernetics... there we go!" A moment later, he returned to his normal colors. But that moment had shown Samus what she needed... how to beat them.
"Have to nail them both at once..." She muttered to herself. "If I only get one, there's no way the other will fall for it..." Returning to battle, she began maneuvering around Ezer and Garan's claws and kicks until they were standing side by side once again, then launched herself towards them in another Screw Attack. And again, the simpleminded Zebesian thugs jumped it and retaliated with a flying kick. Unfortunately for them, Samus had expected this, and immediately gone into Morph Ball mode. They sailed over and landed behind her. Ezer grunted.
"Nice dodge, but that won't-HUH?!" Upon seeing her, the Pirate and his brother realized what Samus had really been doing when she went Morph Ball... setting a Power Bomb. The two brothers looked at each other in horror, seeing the dull yellow on their skin from when the cybernetics had temporarily been overloaded by the flying kicks. And then the Power Bomb erupted, filling their world with pain. Ezer and Garan screamed in unimaginable agony as the Bendezium fused to their skin was peeled away by the energy blast, piece by piece and plate by plate. But that wasn't all; Samus had been holding another Power Bomb in her hand without realizing it as she deequipped all of her Beams except the Charge and Spazer. As she charged a blast, something completely unexpected happen; the charge went into the Power Bomb she held, which glowed yellow for a moment before dissolving into a swarm of energy darts that clustered over the defenseless Pirates, leaving them bloody, mangled wrecks. However, Samus Aran wasn't done with them yet. The bounty hunter slowly walked towards the two ruined Zebesians, disgust stamped on every line of her face.
"Get up." When they failed to respond, she unleashed her beam, causing them to scream even more. That was why she had deequipped the other Beams; she wanted to goad them, not kill them. "I said get up, you accursed murderers. You claim to be great warriors... but yet you crouch there, squealing in the dirt, afraid for your own lives. The people you slaughtered on Ceres weren't like that... they all chose to stand and fight against you instead of running for their lives. Even Olvarey, corrupt as he was, chose to raise the alert instead of giving you the Metroid to save his own skin. They were far braver than you two could ever be... you're just cowards at heart." She watched, impassive, as the two Pirates slowly struggled to rise, finally whipped into action. Finally, they made it to their feet and turned to her. After several moments, Ezer spoke.
"We are a lot of things, hunter... but we are no cowards. We have fought, and failed, and now we meet our fate. That door is unlocked... Ridley awaits." Samus looked at them for a moment more, then spoke three words.
"They are avenged."
Two Super Missiles flew straight and true!
***
Samus walked past the corpses of Ezer and Garan without another word, and entered the door behind them. The room she entered was pitch-black, without any light. Samus knew what that meant. She immediately set a Power Bomb. It exploded, and with a cry of pain, the lights in the room turned on, revealing Ridley.
"HEY!" The Pirate Lord yelled. "What was THAT for? You RUINED my dramatic entrance!"
"That's exactly why I did it." Samus retorted. "I figure we've known each other long enough not to need drama. Besides, I've been itching for this fight for a long time now, you know."
"Same here, same here." Ridley admitted. "At any rate, here's what you want to hear. This door behind me leads to my personal quarters, and in there is the container I brought little Matrix here in from Ceres. But to get to it, you're going to have to get past me."
"Your boys Ezer and Garan said much the same thing." The bounty hunter observed calmly. "They're dead, by the way." Ridley blew a raspberry.
"Well, DUH. You wouldn't be in here if they weren't. They performed their final duties, and now it's completely up to me to take you down." He stretched his wings, fanned out his claws and grinned wickedly. "Shall we get started on that now, then?" Samus nodded.
"Yeah, let's. Oh, one more thing. I recently picked up a certain Chozo artifact that's going to make this fight completely different from all our others."
"Oh, really?" The Drakar blinked. "How would that be?"
"It's called the Space Jump." Samus leaped into the air and demonstrated its usage. "Call it a gift from Draygon." Ridley stared, wide-eyed, as she stayed in the air, defying gravity. But the Drakar did not seem displeased; as a matter of fact, a huge grin of joy slowly spread across his draconish features.
"You can fly... YOU CAN FLY!" He began cackling madly and clapped in approval. "Finally, the last barrier keeping our duels from reaching full potential is torn down! I hope you're comfortable up there in the air, Samus... because I"m coming for you!" With a shriek, the Drakar launched himself into the air as well, and the battle was joined.
The first impact as felt heavily by them both, as the Bounty Hunter and the Pirate Lord smashed into each other at full velocity. Both were knocked back, and then rushed forward again, repeating the same each time as they attempted to knock each other back down to earth and failed. Samus was the first to break this pattern; falling back, she shot off a stream of Super Missiles. Ridley ignored their impacts as he blasted forward and smashed Samus into a wall.
"This room's a little confining for a full arial duel... let's take care of that, shall we?" Smiling again, he hit a hidden panel in a wall, and another wall exploded, revealing a much more spacious arena. "Come and get me, Samus!" Laughing, the Drakar flew into the new chamber. Samus gave chase immediately, holding a cluster of Super Missiles at the ready. As soon as she emerged into the new chamber, Ridley attacked, diving towards her eagerly. She repulsed him with a flurry of Supers, and the Drakar flew away.
"Well now... if you're using your ranged weapons, then I should probably start doing that too, don't you think?"
"Knock yourself out." Samus agreed drily.
"That's the spirit!" Opening his mouth, Ridley belched out a stream of fire that Samus spun around before retaliating with more Supers, which Ridley also dodged. The two foes danced around the edges of the room, sniping each other with flaming blasts and flying Supers.
"Glad to see you aren't using the Sys-Gro too." Samus commented. Ridley looked offended.
"Me? Use drugs? HA! When my brain's taken over by hive-minded parasites!" This time it was Ridley who broke the pattern; he spat a fireball as usual, but followed it up by blasting forward himself. Samus was taken off guard and knocked into a wall by the attack.
"Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh..." She muttered. "Well, then... try some of this!" She spun towards him as well, and Ridley flew towards her eagerly. At the last second, Samus grabbed a Power Bomb and unleashed the same supercharged Spazer attack she had used on Ezer and Garan. Ridley, hit completely by surprise, was knocked out of his flight path and went spinning across the room into a wall himself. "HA! Now you know what it feels like!"
"Hurts more than I had thought." The Pirate Lord admitted, prying himself out. "That's a new trick as well. You've been improving your skills a great deal lately, it seems..."
"Same to you, pal." Samus quipped as she hit him with several more Supers. Ridley simply shrugged.
"True, true..." Suddenly, he shot forward again and grabbed Samus in his claws. "I think I'll take a cue from Draygon here..." Repeatedly, painfully, the Drakar's claws dug into her power suit, sapping energy with each stab. Unfortunately for Ridley, he had overlooked the flaw in his attack. Samus coolly pushed her blaster into his scarred chest and launched Super Missile after Super Missile. Screaming in pain, he threw her away into a wall.
"Ouch... well, I suppose I deserved that. Stupid of me, I know... should have known any attack Draygon liked wouldn't work. I won't be trying THAT little stunt again."
"Good call." Samus agreed, returning to the attack. And it's just as well, anyways. The bounty hunter thought. I'm out of Supers. Good thing he looks like he's hurting. WHOA! She moved to the side as Ridley's deadly tail whipped past, striking her arm. The Drakar shook his head.
"Clumsy, clumsy, Samus! I almost got you there! Concentrate!"
"Oh, I'm concentrating all right..." The bounty hunter muttered, spinning around him and firing salvos of Missiles. Ridley, undaunted, continued lashing out with his tail and spewing fire at the same time, although the plasma locus of the Screw Attack deflected a great deal of that.
"Speaking of Draygon, thanks for taking him down." Ridley told her. "I HATED that guy." Samus raised an eyebrow.
"Lemme guess. You were the one behind those cannons."
"You know me too well!" Ridley laughed. "Anyways, if you win here, I've got a video for you in my room of his death. It's really pretty hilarious. There's several copies; couldja circulate 'em for me? I'm sure it'd be popular all over the galaxy, knowing his reputation."
"Anything for an old friend." Samus said drily. The Drakar grinned at her.
"Hey, thanks. But remember, that's ONLY if you win..." From that point, both foes were silent as the battle dragged on. Blows were traded, and shots were taken, as Ridley's endurance and Samus' energy tanks were both steadily worn down. He's looking nearly done. Samus observed as a rather clumsy and tired tailstrike missed completely. I just need to land one really good... oh, I know... Accessing her beam controls, she disabled everything except the Wave and Charge Beams, and held a Power Bomb in her hand. Let's hope this works... Ridley saw the Bomb, and laughed.
"You gonna try those energy darts again? Well, this time I'm ready for-HUH?!" What emerged from the Bomb was not the energy darts, but four orbs of purple electricity that flew out in an X formation, then convered on Ridley, smashing into him from all sides with a million volts. With a scream, Ridley's body spasmed wildly, then began to drop. Samus looked down at where he would land, at the bottom of the large arena for the first time... and her eyes bugged out. The entire thing was a roiling mass of white-hot fire!
"WHAT-"
"The core... of the planet..." Ridley said falteringly. "Even I... will not be able to remain intact... complete... incineration. You have... defeated me for the... last time..." He began to plummet down. Samus watched him fall, as hundreds of conflicting thoughts ran through her head... and then she decided on her course of action. Blasting forward, the bounty hunter slammed into her rival's side and shoved him back into the room they had began the fight in. Ridley landed on the floor with a sickening thump, and slowly struggled upright. His eyes were dimming over with impending death, but Samus could still see the confusion in them.
"You... why did you..."
"You're a Pirate, you're evil, you're a merciless killer." Samus told him. "But you're the best warrior I've ever fought, and my greatest rival. For some reason, I don't want that to end. I've killed you twice before... a third time won't change that, but falling in there would have finished you for good. And that would mean I'd never get to fight you again. Don't ask me for any more explanation... just be ready to get your butt kicked again when they bring you back."
"I... will." Ridley looked at her, and he actually smiled, even as the last vestiges of his life slipped away. "And Samus... for what it's worth... I'm... sorry." The bounty hunter blinked.
"Sorry for what?" But Ridley did not answer. He simply pitched forward with one last sigh, and lay flat on the ground in front of her, dead. Samus looked at him, unable to shake off a feeling of dread that had suddenly come over her. She looked at her energy levels and choked; she had been down to her last Energy Tank without even knowing it. Draining all four Reserve Tanks to be on the safe side, she took the picture and scan for Ridley's bounty, then walked into the door behind him.
"This is it..." Samus whispered. Her final opponent was dead, and her mission was only seconds away from completion. In moments, she would be reunited with... "Matrix? Where are you?" Ridley's personal quarters were one big, messy room; there was junk piled everywhere around the bed, throne and computer. Digging through the trash, Samus found many things; two Missile Tanks, two Energy Tanks, and a Power Bomb Tank; she even found those videos he had told her about. But no Matrix. Finally, she thought to look behind the throne... and for a brief moment, she wished she had let Ridley fall. Behind the throne was the smashed remnants of a Galdezium container. Technically, Ridley had told the truth. But Matrix wasn't here.
***
The trip back to Crateria passed in a daze for Samus. She moved through Norfair and Maridia as if in a daze, moving mechanically and destroying everything that tried to stop her. Finally, she emerged back onto the plains where she had left her ship.
"That room with the statues..." She muttered. "That's where he is... I'll just go in and refill my armament, in case there's anything guarding him..." She stepped into the ship, and was immediately greeted by the computer.
"Urgent! Urgent! Incoming message from GrumpyOldZebesian! Priority one!"
"Horzat...?" Samus blinked. "I thought he was blocked off from here by the Feds... what would be so important that he'd risk breaking it? Accept call."
"Samus, you there?" The bartender's familiar voice came through.
"Yeah. What's the problem? And aren't the Feds gonna haul you in for this?"
'The Feds can screw themselves." Horzat replied tersely. "We've got bigger problems, I'm afraid. Pirate problems."
"No, it's okay." She assured him. "All the Pirate Lords are dead... now all I have to do is pick up Matrix."
"Well, that's fine and dandy." Horzat growled. "But it's not gonna be that easy, I'm afraid. This just came up an hour ago..." On her computer, a window opened. Samus looked at it... and her heart froze solid.
Name: Mother Brain
Bounty: 3000000 (Dead) 5000000 (Alive)
Wanted For: Space Piracy Grand, Murder, Mass Destruction, Robbery Larceny, Kidnapping, Illegal Chemical Usage, Illegal Technology Usage, Grand Theft Spacecraft, Grand Theft Science, Organized Crime, and many other punishable offenses.
Species: Unknown.
Dossier: CLASSIFIED. Believed to be have been killed by Samus Aran on Zebes. However, a recent sighting on Galron has been confirmed.
Last Seen: Galron.
Home Planet: Unknown.
"No..." Samus whispered. "No..."