Chapter 7: Matrix's Mother
"Two-hundred and thirty Missiles. Fifty Super Missiles. Fifty Power Bombs. Twelve Energy Tanks. Four Reserve Tanks. Charge, Spazer, Wave, Ice and Plasma Beams. Gravity Suit. Hi-Jump Boots, Speed Booster, Spring Ball, Space Jump and Screw Attack." Samus grimly finished checking her armament for the last time. "It'll have to do, I suppose... nothing helping it now."
"'It'll have to do?'" Horzat muttered, a little incredulously. "Samus, that artillery alone sounds like enough to take down a small planet."
"So?" She retorted. "That doesn't mean a thing when we're talking about Mother Brain. Forget Ridley. Forget all of them. Mother Brain is THE Pirate Queen, Horzat. When I fought her before, I barely made it out with my life. I was literally an inch from death. And I don't have to tell you that she's sure to have another Tourian built."
"Obviously."
"Plus... she has Matrix." Samus closed her eyes. "She's had him this whole time. Those Motchroids were a while back. There's a very good chance that by now, Mother Brain's found a way to successfully create more... more Metroids. A way to recreate the nightmare... to threaten the entire galaxy once more."
"Metroids..." Horzat muttered, half to himself. "Not tame ones like Matrix... but hungry, evil monstrosities that can suck the life right out of a being in just a few breaths... Metroids..." Samus sighed.
"I thought I had seen the last of that on SR-388... that I had taken care of that forever."
"So did we all, Samus... so did we all." The Zebesian bartender told her. Samus opened her eyes again.
"And now, it's all come crashing back down.on me... it seems like no matter what I do, the Metroids are tied to my own destiny." Her eyes hardened. "Well, this time, I'm going to finish it... once and for all. I'll destroy Mother Brain again. And there will be only one Metroid that will ever get away from there." Her voice caught a little on that part, and Horzat frowned.
"Samus... the other Metroids aren't really what you're worried about most... are they?" The bounty hunter closed her eyes again.
"No..." She whispered. "No... it's Matrix... Mother Brain has psychic powers. You know that, Horzat. What if she uses them... what if she... changes him? Turns Matrix to her side... against me?"
"No. No way. Ain't happening. Uh-huh." Horzat reassured her. "That is not happening, Samus. You raised that little bio-blip from an egg. No matter WHAT Mother Brain does to him, Matrix will never forget that... who his REAL mother is."
"I hope so." Samus agreed. "I just don't think I'd have the heart to fight Matrix if it came down to that. You know what I'm talking about, right? Don't you?" Her voice had a slightly plaintive tone to it, and Horzat had to struggle for a few moments before he could answer.
"Yeah... yeah, I think I do." Horzat was an old Zebesian, and he had been married once. Contrary to what some people believed, Zebesians knew what love was just as much as any other species. Horzat and his wife, Tazna, had never had any children; but if they had, the old bartender was sure that his love for them would have been matched by what was going through Samus' mind now. "Well, Samus... all I can say is that all of us will be praying for you... and Matrix."
"Thanks, Horzat... thanks, guys." Samus nodded, moving to chnage the subject. "Speaking of you fellas... what are you gonna do when the Feds come knocking, Horzat?" The Zebesian shrugged.
"Surrender and go in with them. Hrug the Iz trucker and some of the others wanted to set up barricades and an armed defense, but I ain't THAT ready to spit in the Federation's face. This was a stupid edict, but by the law, I've really stepped in it this time and Todar'll know it. Things'll go better if I just head in quietly." He raised an eyebrow. "However, I WILL be expecting you to get me out once you're done on Zebes. Don't even THINK about leaving me to rot." Samus pretended to consider it.
"Hmm... how many drinks are in it for me to get you cleared?" The bartender gave her a rather uncomplimentary "number" involving several nasty words. "Well, THAT was uncalled for. Don't worry about it, crab. I'll make sure the Feds let you go... IF I survive the fight with Mother Brain, that is." She smiled. "Now you've got an extra reason to hope I win!"
"Hey, I knew what I was doing when I made this call. You'd just better win, Samus. You'd just better win... for all our sakes." There was a loud knocking noise, and one of the patrons yelled.
"Hey, Horz! They're here! If ya want, we can delay them a few minutes more for ya to finish talking-"
"No, it's okay." The Zebesian squared his shoulders. "We're just about done here anyways. I'll just go with 'em now. Let 'em in." He looked back at the screen. "Well, Samus, I gotta be going. Federation goon squad's gonna break my legs if I don't. You know the drill." Samus nodded again.
"Yeah, I do. I should be going too... places to go, Pirates to kill!" She forced herself to sound cheerful as she said this. Horzat laughed and saluted.
"That's my girl. Give 'em hell for me, kid!" He cut the connection just as the door to his bar opened and Commander Mark Todar entered, flanked by at least ten Federation toughs, each with a nasty-looking blaster. The Commander had a triumphant smirk on his face.
"Well, Mr. Horzat. It seems you just don't know what's good for you, do you. You were warned what would happen if you sent any more messages to Zebes, and yet, you were in communications with that planet just a second ago. Not too bright, eh?" The bartender glared.
"I got nothing to say to you blockheads on the subject. Let's go. I'll come to the lockup with you quietly, and I'll be outta there within a few days when Samus comes back and vindicates me." Todar gave him a wintry smile.
"We shall see." Horzat stumped over through the crowd of patrons (all of whom were glaring at the Feds, down to the last lifeform) and was handcuffed by one of the thug squad. The Commander looked at the crowd.
"All right, you can all push off now. This bar's going to be closed for quite a while, I'm-"
"Screw that." Horzat growled suddenly. "Gelltor, Welhaam, Hrug, you're in charge. Make sure everybody has as much to drink as they want. And stay out of my cash register!" The last words were drowned in cheers from both the people in the bar and many more outside, who had gathered around to see the Feds and overheard. Commander Todar glared down at the Zebesian, his moment of triumph interrupted.
"I suppose we do not have the authority to close this... very well. Come on, you. We're leaving."
"Commander, I'm already gone." Horzat responded sarcastically, and he began to walk.
***
Mother Brain was feeling pensive tonight. As she floated in her tank, the Pirate Queen's thoughts swam around, flitting from one subject to another like a Skultera fish. Aran would be coming soon; she knew that. Whether the bounty hunter had figured out that Mother Brain was back or not did not matter; she would know that Matrix was here in New Tourian, and that would be all the reason she needed to come here. And once she did, it would not be very long before she discovered the Pirate Queen's existence even if she didn't know already. Either way, Mother Brain would soon have trouble with a capital ARAN knocking at her door. And that simple fact alone was enough to worry the Pirate Queen, despite her recent success.
"Samus Aran... the greatest warrior of the galaxy, child of the Chozo..." Mother Brain muttered to herself. The Chozo... the bird-people who had originally inhabited this planet called Zebes, and many others. They had been the ones who had raised Samus, had taught her everything she knew, and had given her that accursed Power Suit. And wherever Samus went, be it Zebes, Tallon IV or SR-388, the Chozo had left behind statues and artifacts to help her even more. It was if the mighty bird-people themselves were rising up out of the past to strike against the Pirates who had taken control over their planet. In a sudden burst of anger, Mother Brain unleashed a psionic wave of pure hatred towards the Chozo and anything of theirs in all directions. Briefly, she felt something stir, and the Pirate Queen immediately focused all of her attention on it, anger forgotten. It seemed to be a Torizo, like the ones who had attacked Aran. Mother Brain had to smile grimly at that memory; finally, the Chozo did something good. But this one that had just been awakened by her would simply attack anything it saw. Mother Brain watched it for a moment longer, then shrugged and turned away.
"Hmph... stupid statue. Nothing to worry about... the Metroids will find it before too long." Thinking of that immediately shifted her thoughts to a different, much more pleasurable subject. The Metroids. There, at least, the Mother Brain's hard work and perseverance had finally paid off in success. New Tourian was finally complete, as it should be: Absolutely crawling with Metroids. There were twelve of them at last count, not counting Matrix. THAT one was special, even if he still refused to acknowledge Mother Brain. For his service, unwillingly given though it was, Mother Brain had allowed him the run of New Tourian like the other Metroids. He needed the open space and freedom to hunt on his own anyways, and besides, the Galdezium container wouldn't hold him anymore after the... treatment. Mother Brain proudly observed one of the Metroids devouring a Sidehopper for a moment before reluctantly forcing her thoughts back to current, more important matters. The door behind her opened.
"Milady, it is me." Zeral bowed deeply.
"Zeral, you shouldn't be here." Mother Brain chided him. "You know that New Tourian is full of unrestrained Metroids, and they would have no compunctions about feeding upon you. Even Matrix, Aran's little pet, has reverted to his instincts; I was able to fix that much of his mind."
"Yes, I know, milady." Zeral nodded. "I simply came to inform you that the last of our... emergency preparations... have been completed on time, as ordered. If the worst comes to pass, we shall be ready."
"All five ships are prepared to depart at a moment's notice?" The Pirate Queen inguired sharply. Zeral bowed.
"Yes, milady."
"I mean that quite literally, Zeral." She glared at him. "You will not have any time to spare at all, not even seconds. Do you understand?" He bowed again, understanding her high level of tension.
"Yes, milady. We have tested response time, and the ships can all be in orbit and away from here in less than sixty seconds. We've triple-checked each and every one of them for errors already, and there were none."
"Good, good." The Pirate Queen frowned. "And my four Pirate Lords? Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon and Ridley... you have acquired all of them?"
"Every last one, milady." Zeral nodded. "Kraid and Phantoon were already secured when Aran battled Ridley, and some of his men brought that one-along with my two worthless sons-here as soon as Aran had left. Draygon gave us the most trouble; it seems his Evir have betrayed us, and they had their own plans for his body. But we managed to get him eventually, although we had to kill the ones guarding it. I hope you don't mind... they fought like madbeings. You know what Evir are like. There was truly no other way to get him."
"That's quite all right, Zeral." Mother Brain told her aide forgivingly. "They had it coming anyways, for turning against us, and trying to keep us from reviving Draygon... probably so they would not have to serve us again. Fools." She laughed, long and cold without a trace of humor. "They shall pay even more when he has been revived... I'm sure Draygon will be very happy to put some of them onto his torture rack once we tell him what his clan was up to in his abscence. He never was very forgiving, and I doubt that will change much" Zeral laughed as well.
"That should be fun to see. Anyways, they're all loaded up and ready. As for yourself, milady, the team of Zebesians is waiting in the escape hall. They're the best of our forces, and they've been specially trained for this purpose. Your... continual existence... shall not be an issue here."
"Excellently done, my aide." Mother Brain praised him glowingly. "Let us both pray that such preparations are not neccessary, however."
"Of course. After all, milady, you ARE the Pirate Queen, and you do have Project B. With luck, not even Samus Aran will be able to stand against that." Mother Brain closed her eyes, savoring the thought.
"To finally destroy her, with my own hand... yes, that would be sweet indeed, loyal Zeral." The Zebesian nodded, looking nervous.
"Yes, well... I should be going now, your majesty. As you said, with the Metroids around here, New Tourian is no longer safe for any save yourself." The Pirate Queen nodded in dismissal.
"You may depart now, Zeral. Take personal command of the fifth ship and be prepared in case of the worst." He bowed as he backed away.
"Yes, milady." Turning, Zeral exited the room, leaving Mother Brain to her own thoughts once again.
***
"Here it is..." Samus sighed as she emerged into the damp room with the huge, golden statue. The jewel-eyed visages of Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon and Ridley looked back at her. Then, with a groan, the three emeralds that formed Kraid's eyes went dark and exploded, and the tiny bit of the fat Iz's life force that had been trapped in the statue and bonded it to him escaped upwards. The golden Kraid went grey and lifeless. A moment later, the single large Topaz of Phantoon's eye did the same. Draygon's sapphires and Ridley's rubies followed. As the Drakar's statue died, the whole thing rumbled and sunk into the ground, revealing a hole beneath it. Samus jumped down. In the water-filled pit, the statue laid on its side next to an elevator leading downward.
"No question about where this goes." She muttered, checking her blaster. Confident that it still worked, she took the elevator down. The bounty hunter emerged in familiar-looking metallic surroundings, completely mechanical. A sign in front of her on the wall bore a message. WELCOME TO NEW TOURIAN. WARNING: METROIDS. Below the words was a picture of a Metroid. "Looks like I was right..." Samus groaned, jumping down the vertical shaft. Crossing a pit of lava, she walked down a hall... and was immediately attacked by a flying jellyfish-like beast with fangs instead of tentacles.A Metroid, hungry for her life force. Instinctively, she whipped her blaster up and fired, freezing it solid. Samus wiped her brow. That was the one weakness of Metroids; they hated ice. But that alone wasn't enough to kill them; already, this one was beginning to come around. Quickly, she emptied five Missiles into the beast, killing it.
"No time to waste... there's bound to be more." The bounty hunter set off again, across a river of lava, freezing and fragging more Metroid as she went. When the path turned vertical, she followed it on down without question, going deeper into Tourian. As she walked through a door into another hall, the Metroid waiting on the other side lunged forward and grabbed her. With a gleeful squeal, it started draining her life. "Dammit!" Cursing, Samus went into Morph Ball mode and dropped Bombs. The explosions knocked the creature loose, and before it could reattach, she killed it. The bounty hunter paused a moment to catch her breath. Checking, she discovered that it had taken an entire Energy Tank. Muttering more curses under her breath, she walked on. Dropping down another vertical shaft, Samus blinked as her surroundings suddenly, completely changed. Now, the mechanical tunnels of Tourian were covered in a strange sand. Out of nowhere, a fully grown Sidehopper jumped her.
"YOW!" Leaping away, Samus waited for it to jump again, then ran under and made for the door. On the other side, she breathed a sigh of relief; there wasn't much even she could do against those monsters once they reached maturity. Then she looked up, and sprang backwards with a yell. A Torizo was right in front of her, arms outstretched and beak open in a battle cry! It took her a moment to notice that the Torizo wasn't moving, and that it was a dull, dead tan. She recognized the work now. "Metroids... one of them got this guy..." She touched it, and the Torizo's remain immediately crumbled into sand... the same sand that filled this tunnel, Samus realized sickeningly. "To make the entire tunnel this deep... there must be tons of them, or else... or else they're hungrier than I remember..." With a growing ill feeling, Samus pressed on. She passed more Metroided creatures... Skree, Rippers, Geemers. Another Sidehopper jumped over, and Samus took a step back, but this one didn't go after her. It looked around nervously, as if it were scared of something, then took another hop... and then, like lightning, a HUMONGOUS Metroid blasted out of nowhere and latched onto it! Samus stumbled back and stared.
"GEEZ... it's huge!" The Metroid must have been at least ten feet across. The Sidehopper was dust within seconds, and with a snarl, the monstrosity was upon Samus. Its fangs felt like harpoons as they pierced the Power Suit, and Samus choked as she felt her energy being drained. The creature held her down; she couldn't raise her blaster to fire any weapons, nor curl up into Morph Ball mode and lay bombs. She was helpless as her Energy Tanks were drained within seconds. Samus knew... this time, she had had it. She was dead. As she felt the last bits of energy flow into the abomination gleefully attached to her, she whispered her last words.
"Matrix... I'm sorry... I failed you..." Suddenly, it stopped. The flow of energy stopped. Slowly, the Metroid's fangs retracted, and it floated up. Samus looked up at the giant Metroid, which was now floating around in slow circles. "You stopped... why...?" The Metroid was silent for a moment... and then it spoke. Not in the screech of hunger she was accustomed to... but in the hesitant chirp of a baby. It floated down, and for the first time, Samus saw the slight greenish tinge to its skin, that no other Metroid had... and she knew. "Matrix...?" She whispered. The last of the Metroids remained next to her as she laid a hand on its side. "Oh, Matrix... what has she done to you... my poor little Matrix..." Matrix remained motionless for a moment longer... and then, suddenly, it took off, running away, as if ashamed to have Samus see what it had become. Samus knew she was crying; she felt the tears running down her face. The reunion that she had waited so long for had finally occured, and it had been a terrible mockery of what she had hoped for, twisted by Mother Brain's evil like everything else. But she couldn't cry forever; after a few moments, she forced herself to go on, through her tears.
"Where is she... where's Mother Brain..." Samus growled in rage as she blasted through a strange, webbing-like material that clogged the tunnel. A Missile Station and an Energy Station caught her eye, and she took a moment to recharge, then forged on. There were no more Metroids in the sandy area; apparently, not even they dared encroach upon Matrix's territory. And then, the only thing left in her way was the same eye-shaped security system that had guarded all the Pirate Lords. Three Missiles, and the door opened. Samus took a deep breath.
"No turning back now... for better or for worse, it ends here and now." And she walked in.
***
"MOTHER BRAIN!!!" Samus screamed in challenge. She recieved an answer almost immediately.
"Mwa ha ha... I'm right here, little bounty hunter, over here..." It came from behind a security system every bit as complex as the one she had originally been protected by. The floor was flooded with a powerful acid, the only thing emerging from it multiple walls. Each wall was covered with Rinka guns that fired powerful disks of plasma, with Zebetites between them. Zebetites... pieces of the Mother Brain herself, seperated in order to serve as a living protection in the system. Samus was not deterred in the least; at this moment, nothing like that mattered. All that mattered was the destruction of the hated Pirate Queen.
"I hope you're enjoying yourself, cowering behind all this hardware... because I promise you, these are your last moments alive." Snarling, Samus launched herself across the acid onto the tiny ledge sticking out from the first wall, and began unloading Missiles into the first Zebetite. Not Supers... those, she was saving for the Brain herself. Three Rinkas, one each above and below the Zebetite and one above the door she had entered, sprang to life and began emitting their deadly shots.
"Well, look at you." Mother Brain observed mockingly. "Running on blind rage... pure anger. I can feel it... your hatred for me is like a sun to one with mental powers such as mine. But it's foolishness to think that that alone can garner you victory, Samus Aran. The first time you came up against my system, you won by a FLUKE, and we both know it. One more shot... just one more successful hit from one of my Rinkas, and you would have been the one who died there, not me. And you claim THAT sort of victory as a basis to think-AH!" She gasped as she felt the first Zebetite in the bounty hunter's path shrivel out of existence.
"You know something?" Samus told her as she leaped through the hole left by the now-nonexistent Zebetite and immediately attacked the next barrier, this one with two smaller Zebetites. "At this moment, here and now, all of that... means absolutely jack shit as far as the two of us are concerned. You're not like Ridley... you're not like any of them, and neither am I. All that matters in a fight between us... is that fight itself. And in this fight, here and now... I WILL win, and I WILL kill you. So don't even try any mind games... they aren't going to work. Nothing you have is going to work against me. On this day, and in this spot... you die."
"You're awfully worked up about something, aren't you?" Mother Brain frowned from her protective shell. She hadn't expected Aran to breach the first line that quickly. "I wonder what it could be... maybe it's about a fellow bounty hunter, a friend who was killed by one of my nasty little Pirate Lords?" Samus didn't respond, except to continue pumping Missiles into the Zebetites. "Or maybe it's about a traitorous friend, hauled away by the so-called 'good guys' for a crime he didn't commit?" This time, it got slightly more of a response; Samus gritted her teeth as she destroyed the second wall and advanced onto a small, metallic island in the sea of lava. But that still wasn't really hitting on it. Mother Brain decided to try her trump card. "Or maybe... maybe is it about a baby Metroid, all grown up, who wasn't what his mommy expected him to be?" That one hit home. Samus froze for a moment, head bent over, and the Rinkas scored several hits. When she raised her head, though, there was no sign of weakness in her eyes... only strength, and the fires of hatred.
"Yes... that's it exactly. You screwed with Matrix... you RUINED his LIFE before it could even truly begin... and for that, I'm going to enjoy blowing you apart little by little." She attacked the third Zebetite.
"Ruined his life?" Mother Brain protested. "Oh, come now... that's hardly fair, Samus Aran! Who are you to judge how he should live his life? Do you think you're truly his mother? HA! A foolish one like you, filled with notions of 'respect' and 'honor.' Pathetic! Ideals like that are what makes you weak, Samus Aran... and you should know that such ideals have no place within the mind of a Metroid!"
"The mind of a Metroid..." Samus muttered, thinking on that even as she slowly broke down the third wall. "But he's not like other Metroids... he's different! He..."
"He is NO DIFFERENT, FOOL!" The Pirate Queen shrieked. "He lives by the law of the Metroid! Devour, reproduce, survive! He was glad to accept the increased power I gave him... I made him STRONG, brought him out of that pathetic infant stage at incredible speeds, and gave him the strength to divide by Beta radiation, because it would create more Metroids! That's all he really cares about..."
"No..." Samus shook her head as she assaulted the fourth Zebetite barrier, ignoring the Rinka shots that scored into her back. "No... you're WRONG!"
"I'm RIGHT, bounty hunter, and in your heart, you know it!" Mother Brain cackled, tasting victory. Once she had crushed Samus Aran's spirit, her body would soon follow. "Even when he was among the Pirate Lords, Matrix never demonstrated the slightest bit of affection for them! He would not even permit any of them save Ridley to come near him!" Mother Brain carefully glossed over how the little Metroid had actually seemed to like the Drakar. A fluke, that was all. "Face it, Samus Aran... your affections are misplaced! He is just another Metroid, and he belongs with ME!"
"No..." Samus realized the truth, even as she destroyed the Zebetites. "No... you ARE wrong. Matrix knew... he hated your Pirate Lords, and he hated you! The reason he liked Ridley... was because that Drakar was the only one of you who knew who 'pathetic things' like respect and honor WERE!" Jumping through the barrier, Samus finally found herself face-to-face with the Pirate Queen. Contained within a tank of unknown liquid, Mother Brain was, as her name suggested, mostly cerebral matter, with spiked protruding here and there. Below the massive brain was a single eye above a fang-filled mouth. She was hooked up to the mechanical system surrounding her all over, both above and below. And the only thing protecting her from Samus Aran's wrath was a tank comprised of many layers of Galdezium. Samus smiled without any trace of humor, and charged a Power Bomb with the Ice Beam, creating a spinning shield of frost energy that protected her from the Rinkas, then switched to Supers. Mother Brain tried to draw back at what she saw.
"You... no, you can't have gotten through that fast, with this little damage! My defense systems were even more impenetrable than the last time... this is impossible!"
"Not really." Samus explained as she began her attack upon the Pirate Queen herself. "Perhaps you could say that my Chozo Power Suit is stronger than before... that I have greater armor, more energy tanks, and better weaponry than I did the last time we fought." The smile disappeared, even as the tank cracked. "Or maybe my will is just stronger." The tank smashed, and Mother Brain was laid bare. She screamed as Super Missiles smashed into her unprotected flesh... but that wasn't all Samus had. Taking a Power Bomb in her hand, she charged the Plasma Beam into it, and released a huge explosion of fiery energy. With one final screech, the Pirate Queen was blown backward out of the tank, wiring ripped out. Samus walked forward into the room behind the system. It was completely bare of all thing, a dead-end empty chamber. Mother Brain was lying on the floor, completely defenseless, slowly dying without her system to sustain her. Samus readied her blaster.
"Any last words?"
"Samus Aran..." Mother Brain hissed. It was too late by the time Samus saw the thick metal coil connecting itself to her. With a noise halfway between a scream and a laugh, Mother Brain rose, attached to a horrendous robotic battle body! "I'M NOT THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO THINK ABOUT HER LAST WORDS!!!" Samus stumbled back, stunned. The new Mother Brain was a massive, humanoid mechanical creature. The true body of the Pirate Queen was attached to the battle body by a metal coil that served as a prehensile neck.
"I should have known you would have something like this planned..." Samus snarled, recovering from her shock. "You just don't know when to die... you never did, and that hasn't changed."
"That's a laugh, coming from you!" Mother Brain snarled back. "You've been a pestilence upon us ever since we acquired the Metroids, and no matter what we did, you kept going, ruining our plans, like a damned cockroach! If it weren't for you, we would be the absolute rulers of this galaxy by now!"
"Well, isn't that a shame." The bounty hunter smirked. "I've got news for you, Brain. No matter how many times you come back, I'm still going to be here. Your Space Pirates are the ones who are a scourge... you're a scourge to the entire galaxy. And I'm the cure."
"Brave words, Aran!" Mother Brain backed up and glared downward. "Let's see if you can back them up!" Her eye flashed, and a laser shot out of it, striking Samus square in the chest and knocking her back onto her rear end. Undaunted, the bounty hunter leaped back up and responded in kind with Supers... doing no damage.
"What the-?"
"Idiot!" Mother Brain cackled. "This marvelous battle body is immune to any of your pathetic attacks!" She fired another laser.
"Oh, is that so..." Samus grunted as it hit her in the arm, and leaped up. "Well, it may be... BUT YOU'RE NOT!" Mother Brain screamed as the bounty hunter hit her in the head, the true body, with her Super Missiles. Furious, the Pirate Queen responded by throwing a bomb from her hand onto the ground. When Samus landed, it exploded, covering the floor-and her-with fire for a brief-but painful-moment. Samus gritted her teeth as the flames washed over her, and fired more Supers. Mother Brain responded with another eye-laser that knocked the bounty hunter out of the air, right into another bomb. Still, Samus returned to the air and continued firing Supers. Hissing, Mother Brain opened her mouth and emitted a concentrated blast of sound that ripped through Samus, and sent her spinning to the ground, where she laid, unmoving.
"What did I tell you?" Mother Brain shrieked exultantly. "I told you that you could not win, Samus Aran! Now, die-huh?" She blinked as Samus pushed herself back to her feet and returned to the attack.
"Nice try... but it'll take more than that to beat me!" Samus yelled, accompanying her voice with continual Supers. "Haven't you learned ANYTHING since the last time, Brain? I can not, WILL not be stopped, by you or by any Pirate, ever! I will just keep coming, destroying all of you whenever you dare to rear your ugly heads and threaten this galaxy!" Mother Brain stared at her for a second, then threw her head back in laughter.
"You think this is it? That you surviving that attack ONCE means victory for you? Fool, this battle is not even CLOSE to being over!" The Pirate Queen brought her head back down to spit another sonic burst. This time, Samus took it in stride, not even flinching as it took her in the face, and she kept firing Supers at the brain of the beast. Mother Brain let out a small grunt of surprise and backed off a bit.
"Fine, then. It seems I'll have to call in more of my new battle body's abilities to squash you, my pestersome little insect... so, shall we see how you cope when I push this body up to 75% power?"
"Oooh, scary." Samus told her sarcastically. "Let me guess, up until now, you've only been fighting me with 50% of your full capabilities. Yawn. So, what? Now do your attacks pack more kick?"
"Oh, yes..." Mother Brain raised her hands towards the bounty hunter, palms outward. "But I also can now use enough energy for THIS little trick!" Suddenly, a blistering stream of fire exploded out from the Pirate Queen's right hand, straight into Samus. Completely unprepared for this new attack, she was struck full in the chest, and collapsed on the floor, smoking. Mother Brain laughed, feeling sure that victory was now hers.
"Got you that time, bounty hunter!" She snickered. However, it died off into a groan of disbelief as Samus once again rose, using her hands to push herself back up, and resumed attacking. "Why won't you just DIE?"
"For somebody who's all brain, you sure are a slow learner..." Samus growled. "Now hear this, Brain... I will NEVER die, I will NEVER stop coming for you and all your Pirate ilk! If it is my destiny to forever oppose you... than so be it! I will NEVER stop, do you hear me? NEVER!"
"Never is a long time, Samus Aran..." The Pirate Queen hissed in rage. "But you shold not be concerned with such lengths of time... for if we are speaking of nevers, than you will NEVER defeat ME again!" Swatting away a Super Missile, she unleashed another stream of fire. This time, though, Samus dodged it, Space Jumping over the blast to fire more Supers.
"Funny... I seem to be doing a good job of it so far." Actually frothing at the mouth now, Mother Brain stretched her arms heavenward.
"Very well then... I will squish you like the roach you are, once and for all! FULL POWER!" Putting her arms back down, she grinned evilly at Samus, ignoring the Supers that slammed into her head. "You have done well, little bounty hunter... but not even YOU can survive THIS attack!" The Pirate Queen closed her eye, storing up power, even as she was hit again and again... and then, with a flash of movement, the eye was open again, pouring forth a horrendous beam of energy that blazed over Samus like a high-powered spray of water, blasting over, through and around her. The pain filled every fiber of her being; it encompassed all that she knew. Dimly, Samus heard herself screaming in agony as it burned through her... chuckling, Mother Brain watched the pathetic heap of human contained within the Chozo Power Suit fall to the floor. She had finally done it... she had finally killed that stupid, foolish, never-dying little bounty-"No..."
"No..." Samus whispered to herself, unconsciously echoing her greatest enemy's words. "No... I will not give up... I WILL NOT DIE HERE..." Ignoring the pain that shot through every inch of her body, running on sheer willpower alone, she struggled to rise to her feet. A noise came to her ears; clapping. Heavy, metal hands clapping.
"I must applaud you, bounty hunter..." Mother Brain smiled. "I have never met a lifeform before with as much inner strength as you. I suppose I should have known about how much of that you had by how long you've survived to pester us... but I don't think you quite comprehend the situation here!" She stopped clapping, bent over, and dealt Samus a vicious backhand that sent the bounty hunter screaming into a wall. "You wretch! You are like an insect to me now... both in body and in spirit! I could crush you underfoot just like that." She snapped her fingers, and chuckled. "No... knowing you, you might find some way to survive that... I think I'll feel much safer if I know that you are completely obliterated! Goodbye, Samus Aran!" Laughing, she closed her eye, charging up the death beam that had brought Samus to the brink of death. Groaning, the bounty hunter tried to rise to her feet, to find some way of dodging, of fighting back, even though she knew in her heart that she would not survive the next attack... and then, salvation arrived, in the form of a massive, slightly-green tinged Metroid.
"SKREEE!" With a cry of rage, Matrix swooped down through the hole Mother Brain had originally made crashing into the room. The last of the Metroids surveyed the situation in an instant, and with another scream, attached himself to the Mother Brain, plunging his fangs deep into the Pirate Queen's grey matter and extracting a dreadful toll of life force.
"What-NO! Matrix, what are you doing... I... you... c...a...n...'t..." Mother Brain's voice died down to a dessicated croak as her great new Battle Body turned a dead, drained tan color and stiffened into a statuelike pose. Satisfied with his vengeance, Matrix unhooked his fangs with a chirp and flew over to Samus.
"Matrix.... what are you... AH!" Samus felt a sting as the Metroid's fangs entered her arms... and then, for some reason, somehow... she felt the life returning to her. She was being revived... healed from the Mother Brain's deadly assault. Matrix chirruped in his familiar call upon seeing the effect. She blinked. "But... how?"
"Well, upon study, we found that if used properly, a Metroid may transfer life force TO a person instead!" The voice of Dr. Olvarey from Space Station Ceres rang through her mind, and Samus slowly smiled.
"He was right... you CAN do good things for other people... Matrix..." Suddenly, there was a scream of rage, and Matrix flinched as something hit him. "Matrix? What's wrong?!"
"You DARE to betray me, you little jellyfish?!" Mother Brain's voice screeched. Samus gasped; the Pirate Queen hadn't been killed by Matrix's assault, and by the sounds and feeling of Matrix, she was unloading everything she had on the last of the Metroids. Matrix, however, refused to fight back; he stayed where he was, leaving himself open in order to finish healing Samus.
"Matrix, no!" Samus urged her protector. "I'm healed enough! I can handle this! You can leave! Run!" But the Metroid didn't respond; he stayed where he was, taking hit after hit. Finally, the last of Samus' Energy Tanks was filled, and the infant Metroid rose. Samus looked up, and with horror, saw the dreadful toll the Mother Brain had taken on him. Matrix's skin was punctured in hundreds of places, leaking transparent goo, and his fangs were cracked and broken. Squealing weakly, he rose into the air.
"Trying to run away?" Mother Brain screamed. "You can't get away from me! You and your 'mother' will both die here!" The last statement seemed to have an effect on Matrix. He suddenly stopped, and turned to face Mother Brain with a defiant scream.
"NO! MATRIX, DON'T!" Samus screamed. "GET AWAY! RUN! GET OUT OF-"
"SKREEEEEEE!" With one last scream, the last of the Metroids flew towards the Mother Brain in one final, desperate assault. Right into the superpowerful beam weapon. For Samus Aran, it seemed as if time was standing still for that moment. She saw as the beam pierced Matrix straight through, burning through his nuclei. She saw him slowly float to the ground next to her. She saw him turn to her, looking upon her with his last view. And although it was impossible, although she knew Metroids did not have vocal chords capable of intelligent speech... in her mind, Samus heard one word.
"Mommy..." And then, with one last chirp, Matrix, the last of the Metroid species, died. His last battlecry as he streaked towards the Mother Brain, knowing that he was already dying but ready to give it all to protect his mother, would stay with Samus Aran for as long as she lived.
"Well, that's one taken care of..." Mother Brain growled, closing her eye. "Now, for his mother-Huh?" She opened her eye, but no death beam came out. "Damn it... not enough energy left to... to... to..." Samus Aran... looked up. And the look on her face... was unlike anything Mother Brain had ever seen before.
"YOU." Samus uttered a single word as she rose, pointing at Mother Brain like some executioner from the medieval times. "YOU." Her eyes held no trace of reason, of scorn, of contempt, of willpower, of any emotion Mother Brain had come to associate with the bounty hunter. Only sorrow... and hatred. One for the the last of the Metroid race, whom she had thought to be her enemies... and one for the one who WAS her enemy, who had just killed Matrix in front of her eyes. Deep within the confines of the Chozo Power Suit, the two emotions mixed, combining with the energy that Matrix had given his life to transfer to her, and exploded forth in a rush that filled every bit of her being, and of the Power Suit that was bonded to her, both physically and mentally... and something awakened. Samus felt the power rushing through her, as her suit was covered in prismatic light, starting from her heart and expanding outward over her entire body, culminating at the blaster over her right arm. Mother Brain saw this as well... and she was scared.
"What... what is this...."
"Your death." Samus spoke two words, and then she was silent, and let her blaster speak for her. The weapon on her arm unleashed not Super Missiles, not Power Bomb Combos, but something far greater... a rapid-fire storm of pure energy that ripped into the hated Pirate Queen like a storm of acid rain. The Metroid Beam. Screaming, Mother Brain tried to return fire, but all of her attacks were consumed in the wave of destructive force coming from the bounty hunter before her and continued on to break through her vaunted battle body. Eye lasers... flaming bombs... sonic bursts... bursts of fire... all of it was melted away under the blistering waves of energy. The beams kept on coming, ripping apart Mother Brain piece by piece, leaving her looking like swiss cheese. And Mother Brain was afraid. Afraid of the unquenching storm of the Metroid Beam... and afraid of the cold-eyed, prismatic bounty hunter who was bursting forth with all the power of a star. Desperate now, Mother Brain tried to escape, but the only way out behind her was too small to fit through with the battle body.
"You're not getting away..." Samus whispered at first, and then the whisper grew into a scream, as her left arm began emitting the Metroid Beam as well, doubling the destruction being inflicted upon the Mother Brain's already broken body. "Not now... NOT EVER AGAIN!" Mother Brain... could only scream. She screamed as her battle body broke down, losing first its arms, then its legs, and finally the rest of it. She screamed as her only real body, the brain, fell to the groun with a sickening splat. And she screamed one last time as she looked upon the cold-hearted, avenging bounty hunter before her... and saw death himself standing beside her.
"Samus Aran..." The beaten and broken Pirate Queen hissed with her last breath. "You cannot... stop us... we will be back... the Space Pirates shall return..." Samus looked down at her, silent, before she spoke.
"Go to hell, bitch." And then, for Mother Brain... everything was a blistering white, before it all went dark.
***
"..." Samus silently walked over to the still body of Matrix. Without a word, she picked him up and lifted him onto her back. "Matrix... I couldn't save you after all... I'm so sorry..." Suddenly, red lights flashed, and alarms blared. Samus groaned. "Aw, hell... not this again... lemme guess. New Tourian has been set to blow..."
"EMERGENCY." A computerized voice announced. "BOMB AT PLANET'S CORE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. PLANET ZEBES WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN THREE MINUTES. THE HUNTER IS TO BE ELIMINATED AT ALL COSTS."
"Exactly." Samus nodded, then did a double-take. "WHAT?" Cursing like a Iz trucker, she bolted for a small door behind Mother Brain, which she hoped would be the same as last time, and lead to the surface. She was immediately confronted by a cluster of Zebesians.
"She has killed the Mother Brain! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" They rushed past her, completely ignoring her. Samus frowned and half-turned to follow, then with another curse, ran ahead. Climbing through a maze of pipes and dodging more Zebesians, she soon emerged into Crateria's caverns. Her suit's internal chronometer told her she had a minute and a half left. Climbing up, she was about to escape into the outside when she heard a familiar squawk.
"Rsyq, Rsyq, RSYQ!" It was an Etecoon, and the voice was coming from a low tunnel. Samus crawled in and found herself confronted by Sa, Ji, Ni and Falar. They were standing in front of a dead-end; it looked as if the tunnel had collapsed recently. A sign on the wall read "Docking Bay 5."
"You guys need to get out of here!" Samus used the Metroid Beam to wipe out the blocking rubble. Ji, Ni and Falar ran ahead, towards a waiting ship, but Sa stayed and looked at her.
"Samus..."
"I'll be fine! I've got my own ship!" She urged him. "Now, GO!" Reluctantly, Sa went after the others, towards a Drakar vessel. Samus ran back out and climbed up to the entrance of the cavern. Blasting out onto the plains, she scrambled into her ship with only seconds left. "Computer! Take off! NOW!"
"Acknowledged." As she strapped herself into the pilot's seat, the ship rose into the atmosphere, turned towards the sky, and rocketed off. As it sped away, Samus looked behind her, through a rear mirror. The last second clicked, and Planet Zebes was surrounded by a purple energy locus. As she watched, it cracked, splintered, and then, with a horrendous noise, the entire planet detonated, creating a blast of light that covered the entire starscape for a moment, dying down into a briefly shining star of swirling purple energy that was all that remained of Planet Zebes.