Metroid: Return to Tallon IV
Chapter 3 - An Arctic Problem
Energy Recharge Station, Tallon Overworld
"This passage, how far to get there?" I asked impatiently.
"Not far. Maybe about a half-hour's walk," the outlaw replied nervously. I could tell he was rattled about
something... or scared.
"Something's not right. Why would the SA-X just pass us completely without a second thought. I can very well
notice that it SAW us duck into this room. Unless... it's after... something else," I thought.
"Well, let's get going," the outlaw said, still with that nervous tone. Without saying a word, I followed him out
of the energy recharge station, and to God only knows where...
28 minutes later, secret passage
"Okay, now tell me this. WHY the hell did you land your ship in Phendrana Drifts, of all places?!" I asked in an
aggravated yet puzzled tone.
"Seemed to be the safest place. We saw several pools of Phazon in the Tallon Overworld, and most of the other places
are underground," the outlaw replied casually.
I rolled my eyes and said "Oh well, let's get going through this passage." Just then, I thought I heard a clank of
metal. As if by reflex, I snapped into a ready-for-battle stance.
"Something wrong?" the outlaw asked.
"... It was nothing. I thought I heard a metal clanking sound," I said. With that, I quickly curled into the
Morph Ball, and rolled into the crevice which was the 'passage' the outlaw was babbling about. Upon my entering the passage,
the outlaw quickly crawled in after me.
Part of the way through the passage, I thought I heard another unwelcome sound. This time, it was metal scraping,
much like the sound of the Morph Ball rolling through a rocky passage, much like the one we were in. "Damnit, there it is
again," I thought. Before too much longer, I noticed that the already-low environmental hazard meter was decreasing, I
came to the conclusion that we were getting closer to Phendrana Drifts, since the temperature was dropping. Seconds later,
I fell out of the hole, and onto the snowy ground in Phendrana Drifts. I uncurled and turned back into my regular form, and
waited for the last remaining outlaw. Then, I saw something on the ground that was so sickening that almost made me vomit.
It was the half-eaten corpse of a... human?!
"Oh hell, do not tell me this is what I think it is..." I thought nervously. Seconds after the outlaw crawled out
of the hole, I heard thundering footsteps. Then, this current fear I had was realized. This was the den of a Sheegoth. A
big one.
"Be ready for anything. And if I tell you to run, run!" I warned. The thunderous sounds were getting louder and
louder by the second, until the beast showed itself from around a corner. I quickly armed my Plasma Beam to defend myself.
As the Sheegoth walked in from the corner, a feeling of horror suddenly fell upon me. I had never liked Sheegoths, but...
Damn this one was huge! It must have been at least three times the size of the Sheegoth I battled for the Wave Beam all those
years ago. I charged my Plasma Beam, and waved my arm cannon at the monstrosity as a warning. It roared a deafening roar
back at me as a retort. Then, without warning, it charged at me with lightning speed. This was way too fast for a regular
Sheegoth to be moving. Before I could gather this, it rammed me up against the wall. It started trying to take a chunk or
two out of my suit with its huge fangs.
In retaliation, I shoved my arm cannon into its mouth, and released my charged blast. It backed off, and tried to
roar in pain as its mouth caught on fire, and was burning to ashes. Soon enough, it fell to the ground, supposedly dead.
Supposedly dead. But I didn't expect this Sheegoth to live after its mouth being incinerated by a fully-charged Plasma
blast. But, a familiar happening... happened. The Sheegoth merely regenerated its jaw!
"Argh... must be Phazon... Prime must be around somewhere," I muttered. As the Sheegoth got back up, it unleashed
my one weakness on me: ice. It exploited this weakness unknowingly by using its ice breath on me. Even my Varia Suit
upgrade couldn't protect me against this intensely cold blast. Upon contact, I was frozen solid. As this happened, I wished
I was in my Morph Ball form at the time, so I could have set off a Power Bomb to shatter the ice. But, the only thing I
could do was one thing: Plasma Beam. I repeatedly pulled the trigger within my arm cannon to set off several blasts of the
molten substance. Fortunately, it worked, and I was back in the fight.
Perhaps a second or two too late. The Sheegoth was now after the outlaw. He was screaming in terror as he was
running, and the Sheegoth was roaring fiercely. "Oh, no you don't. Not today!" I stated firmly as I shot blast after blast
of the Plasma Beam into its side. The Sheegoth buckled and roared in pain as it collapsed to the ground, its side charred.
I waited for a minute for the beast's breathing to stop. But it didn't stop. It was just sitting there on the ground with
its breathing heavily labored. After that, I watched in horror as the charred flesh slowly regenerated.
"Not this time," I bluntly said. Immediately after saying that, I curled into the Morph Ball, rolled up to the
Sheegoth, and set off a Power Bomb. Most of the Sheegoth was obliterated in the blast. What was remaining was oozing
blood. I also noticed that the brain was still there, protected by what was left of the skull. I barraged the skull and
brain with my Plasma Beam to put the beast out of its misery for sure. As if... something was influencing me, I kept
blasting at the now-charred ground where the Sheegoth's skull used to be madly.
"Whoa, whoa! Sheesh, remind me to never get on your bad side..." the outlaw said feverishly.
I looked down at the charred ground where the Sheegoth used to be, and said "... Did I do that?". I looked at my
arm cannon, and saw the superheated steam rising from the rapid use of the Plasma Beam. Without saying another word, we
exited the Sheegoth's den, and entered the open Phendrana Drifts. The sight that fell upon my eyes was even more unfriendly
than that potentially Phazon-mutated Sheegoth. It was a whole colony of smaller Sheegoths, adult and baby ones alike.
"So, are you going to fight them?" the outlaw asked in a whisper.
"Hell no. We're taking the scenic route out of here. Grab my arm, and possibly a barf bag," I replied, also in
a whisper. The outlaw then grabbed my arm, and I started Space-Jumping over all of the Sheegoths. Soon, I noticed that
something wasn't right about these Sheegoths. As soon as I was on the safety of a high-up ledge, I scanned one of the
Sheegoths to see if something was wrong with them. I read the scan data in complete bewilderment. The data read:
SHEEGOTH: Dominant predator of Phendrana Drifts. Uses its fangs and icy breath as means of hunting and attack.
Cause of death: Lethal parasite infection and radiation burn. Has been deceased for approximately 4 hours.
"Search 'parasite'" I stated. Then, more messages appeared on my visor. They read:
QUERY: parasite. RESULTS: X Parasite. A parasitic creature native to the planet SR-388. The only known predator
of these creatures is the also-parasitic lifeform known as the Metroid. The X Parasite infects the host's nervous system,
and multiplies. This multiplication is lethal to the host. Upon exiting the host, the X Parasite will copy a strand of DNA
into its own DNA, enabling it to morph into the host, as well as giving it access to the host's thoughts and intelligence.
Such a case was recorded when an X Parasite morphed into the bounty hunter Samus Aran's Power Suit. This morph was dubbed
'SA-X'. The effects of radiation on X Parasites is still unknown.
After reading the search results, more was clear to me. Apparently, SA-X wasn't the only X to escape the B.S.L..
This meant that more than one SA-X could have very well escaped, too. My attention was diverted from my thoughts as I heard
a clanking sound again. This time, I was able to barely spot the being who made the sound. It was shadowed, but it had the
same shape as my old Power Suit. But, it looked somehow... distorted. I wasn't sure whether to think if it was SA-X or...
something else.
End of Chapter 3.
Like the suspense near the end? More of it will be revealed in the next chapter. If you people have been anticipating it,
I'm planning on directly revealing Prime soon. As in within the next chapter or two.