-Metroid Fusion
--Blackdie
---Chapter 9: Invitation Only
The shrine was soothingly quiet. There was the sound of running water somewhere above, but it only seemed to add to the calmness. Each wall was covered by multiple inscriptions and pictures done by Chozo hands. Although the art was flowing together around the room, each part of it seemed to focus on different Chozo figures. These figures stood from floor to ceiling in great detail, modeled in an array of poses. Shapes and sizes varied greatly, but one thing in-common was the power suit each one wore. Even a complete stranger could see the progression of the power suit worn, becoming more and more impressive. Then it stopped.
Samus remembered this room. The Chamber of the Warriors. It was on Zebes before the Space Pirates made it their base of operations. However, it didn't make sense to her, she had only seen it as a child. But here it was before her. She tried to remember what she was doing last, where she was, what was happening at the time. But it escaped her and she began to turn her attention to the shrine... and a Chozo Sage that stood in the center of it. He had his back to her and was craning his neck to stare upwards at the many portraits.
"It was a sad time when these warriors lived. We had grown so fond of technological advancement... never knowing what it was doing to our spiritual energies."
The Chozo's words seemed to echo on forever.
"That is why we never celebrated them as we do now. We were jealous of how they had grown inside, living their lives for the greater good of our race. Most could never grasp that in an eternity, but they..." The Chozo shuffled around to look toward Samus. "Realized it from the start."
"The Chozo are extinct..." Samus realized.
"On the level of corporeal existence... Yes, that is correct. But you have seen the fires of the Turned. You know that we are still..." The Chozo paused to find the right words for Samus. "Around, to put it simply."
"I was thrown from a truck... Why am I here?"
"The more you remember... the shorter our time together becomes. Dancing between life and death is the only way we could meet like this. You have grown discontent with life. We can sense it. Tell me... what do you think of your fight now that the Gelatinous Plague has been felled?"
Samus knew he was talking about the X Parasites. It was after that mission where there was no longer anyone to greet her with a "job well done" speech. That mission left a dark mark on her relationship with the Federation. And when you have a falling out with the Federation, you have a falling out with most of the galaxy.
"Do you feel as if success or failure will change anything?" The Chozo asked again.
"I don't know. If I succeed, I can no longer tell if I'll be rewarded or hanged... And I can't accomplish anything in death..."
"These warriors had the same struggle. Each victory they had, the more and more fear they caused among the ones they sought to protect. The stagnation of our spirits had made fear a necessity. And where we could not find it what we didn't know... we soon found it in the ones we had known best."
Samus slowly looked over the many pictures of Chozos in the armor she had worn so long ago. Some were covered from head to toe, some wore robes over or underneath it all.
"But we always sought to understand what we did not know. This brought understanding, and the fear could stay no longer. Hatchling... although you are hardly that anymore... the question you must ask yourself... will the ones you fight to protect understand you in time?"
There was a long pause, the shrine became distant, it was slowly bleeding away into nothingness.
"Tanner... Tanner is trying to... he can't be allowed to succeed..."
Now she could hear the roar of a truck rolling over her and the sound of it banging to the ground. Tanner's voice came next... but most of it was distorted. Eventually a small part could be made out.
We have a cruise to catch...
She opened her eyes to find she was on her back, staring straight up into a bright light. Someone was shining a bright light directly into her visor.
"Ok... ok... ok! I have a response. Aran is conscious!"
A pair of paramedics had taken up position around Samus as she lie flat on the highway. They had wanted to remove the helmet for confirmation of consciousness, but had become all to aware something might be broken underneath that suit and moving any part of her could be a bad idea. Any equipment they might have needed was nowhere to be found and the only reason why they were there at all was because of a Police Cruiser.
"What can you feel? Can you understand what I'm saying?" One medic asked.
"Jeez, where the hell is med ship?"
"It's grounded, Ridley's been reported in the area. See those police guys over there? You know, the ones cut in half? They thought he was dead, now they're the ones who are six feet under. No one wants to get shot down in that flying brick when the Space Pirate's best is in the area."
"Good God, that's just damn wonderful... The best bounty hunter in the galaxy has been crushed by a truck and we're using hand signals and flashlights! Man, if we lose her, our asses are toast for sure!"
Samus made a silent gasp. The craving experienced in the spaceport had returned, and it was more vicious than ever. The thought of reaching up and grabbing one of the medics by the neck had become an irresistible idea. Her hand moved slightly upward, but her human senses fought the urge back. She had no intention of killing a bystander. It seemed like she could keep it under control when it struck back again and this time made her squirm with anticipation.
"Whoa whoa... I have movement!"
The two medics nearly did a double take as Samus stood up and grasped her stomach as if someone had shot her there.
"Hey hey hey! Take it easy! Something might be broken!" One medic cried. "You just got run over!"
"Quick, give her something to balance on!"
"Stay away from me!" Samus demanded.
It was clear... if anyone took even the slightest step toward her... she'd drain every ounce of their energy until they were dust. The crave got worse with each moment her body didn't have the energy to keep her in good condition
"What the hell..."
"She's acting like she's going into withdraw or something!"
Samus turned to try and move away, but only found more officers around the area where Ridley had been run over. The urge was worse than when the Vespula had attacked for some reason. She was sure the damage caused by Tanner's truck couldn't have been worse than the Zonagen Bomb... but the crave was stronger than ever. Her feet clumsily took her forward the two medics who had no idea what was going on.
"Get out of here!" She said again, only this time her voice trailed off into a whisper.
An idea suddenly popped into her mind. She moved over toward one of the cruisers and smashed one of the running lights. Sparks shot out everywhere as he leaned downward and searched for wires...
"What the hell are you-"
The medic could hardly finish his sentence when Samus pulled the live wires out and clenched them in her fist. At first, her body shook as a normal electrocution would cause. But then, it stopped and the sound associated with a Metroid draining its prey began to become audible. The cruiser began to shake and shutter as its systems were losing power. The lights and the engine went first, and then finally the antigravity system letting the cruiser drop to the ground, never to take off again.
"Holy shit... Did you see that?"
"I need to sit down..." Samus muttered.
But what Samus really wanted to do, was find out just what kind of cruise Tanner was trying to catch.
The massive ship dominated the South Blue Docks. It was huge, a virtual floating city with a sleek streamlined shape. One way to describe it was an earth whale. The ship was ovular and contained and contained large fins partly for design and partly for steering purposes. It was a metallic white color, sure to be brought out even more by the sunlight when it got out to sea. A running deck could be seen at several leveles where a passenger could look out across the waves and walk the perimeter of the ship.. And much like any Big Blue event or place, it was guaranteed to be expensive. "The Beluga" could be seen on both sides, just below the window "eyes". Passengers had begun to board through the mouth section.
Sebester Tanner thought it was ugly as hell, but was still amazed none the less. All the stories he had heard from the Zon deliverymen did not dissapoint. His position on the ship enabled him to see everyone who walked up the boarding ramp. There were a lot of clueless people, like the Federation's more profitable entrepreneurs. But he knew among the crowds there was plenty of low life's and dangerous people who could probably use the Zonagen he was selling. Even if the main parties Tanner had been trying to work over didn't come... there'd still be plenty of buyers.
His attention soon shifted to some approaching limos under guard. The first to arrive was the Vespula Queen and her "children". They formed a line from the limo to the boarding ramp when she stepped out. The cruise line already had its welcome party on the ramp, including the captain and some other big wigs. Serpent Reef owned the Beluga, so they took extra effort to pamper the Queen in every way possible. And she was in rare form, walking with a scepter of some sort and looking noticeably pleased. And if it wasn't clear from a first look, the way her wings were spread would have done it just as well. But when she reached the boarding ramp, she paused and turned around as another limo pulled up. Even Tanner shifted his weight slightly as if to get a better view. Out came six very distinct Vespula that he recognized right off the bat.
The Vesupla's Generals had been brought along for the trip.
With the stance and the armor, not to mention the one by one formation, they were easily the most disciplined group out of the bunch. All of them were known for the gold sash and the red stingers and the fact they personally led their armies into conflict zones. Commanders were nothing when stacked up against a Vespula General. Seb had only fought against the forces of one in his time with the Galactic Army, and figured the only time he'd ever see all six was a part of a Vespula firing squad. They loved to supervise executions.
"Holy... all six!"
Tanner turned to see Scratch next to him, almost leaning so far off the rail a fly could have pushed him to his doom. His boss just shuttered and smiled at the same time.
"They say when you see one, they want to burn a planet to the ground. When you see all six, they want something so bad the whole universe becomes expendable."
"Then that means..."
"Hah... it's on." Tanner finished with a laugh.
When the six generals reached their queen, they broke up into a line formation and gave a synchronized Vespula-style bow. She gave her nod of approval, and the whole group moved inside the ship.
"With those guys here-"
"Guys, Scratch?" Tanner snapped. "All of them are female loser. The ideal Vespula warrior has always been a female."
They became silent as more Vespula boarded the ship as if invading the place. Scratch and Tanner knew that every single one of them was there to serve their queen in some way or another. There must have been a hundred of them, and Tanner knew they didn't check out one room, they checked out a whole deck. It seemed like the boarding process was over but the Captain stuck around, and so did he along with Scratch. And very slowly, a convoy of vehicles showed up in much the same fashion as the Vespula. When the first car pulled up to empty its passengers, the ones that got out said it all.
"Black Hole..." Scratch whispered.
"Shut up loser."
There was a group of sixteen that swarmed the boarding ramp and took up various positions as another limo pulled up. The silver striped squad leader was nice enough to tell the captain...
"If you value your well-being, you will stay out of our way. They do not want anything from you and care nothing for your obligations."
The greeting party of the Beluga eventually pulled out after awhile and the limo doors opened up. Tanner gripped the rail in anticipation as Scratch had forgotten to breathe. The whole trip they had been trying to meet with Sturm and Drang of Black Hole, and every single time they had been blown off. It had gotten to the point where they began to doubt if the emperor brothers existed. But here they were... until four people stepped out of the limo and headed toward the cruise ship.
"What the hell... what the hell... what the hell is this?" Tanner stuttered.
He soon turned and took off, while Scratch did a double take.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Scratch didn't get an answer, and turned back toward the group of four. Three men and a woman... no, more like a little girl in a black labcoat. It went along well with the black uniforms the other three were wearing. The whole group was a sight to see. One man was the size of a house. Another was as thin as a rail. The last man looked as if he had never felt an emotion in his life. The girl couldn't keep herself still and ran circles around the group. Well, Scratch's mistake, she was on roller blades. And before they could take one step inside the ship, Tanner charged down the ramp with his fists cocked like he was going to punch someone.
"Where's Sturm and Drang?" He barked at them.
The Black Hole soldiers readied their weapons, but didn't fire a shot. The stoic man had raised a hand to pause them.
"Our masters have never stepped out in the open for simple transactions like this, and they certainly won't start for you." The thin man explained with a smile.
"Shut up you goddamn albino freak!"
Tanner was furious. The thin man simply laughed, a smooth and diabolical one and folded his hands behind his back.
"Insults are for the weak."
"Tee hee hee! He has a dirty mouth!" The girl squealed. "Can we clean it out for him? Huh? Can we?"
She was making gestures to the scores of armed soldiers standing around them. The stoic man simply kept silent and shook his head. This caused the girl to cross her arms and skate off somewhere behind the man that was as wide as a truck.
"Where are they?" Tanner asked again, this time holding his finger out in front like he was going to impale someone with a quick jab.
"You heard us." The stoic man finally said.
This caused Tanner to pause for a moment. There was something that hinted of a well of ruthlessness in the stoic man's voice. It was devoid of any sort of feeling except malice. Tanner was sure that even the Space Pirates had some sort of life in their voices when they screeched cusses or yelled at one another. But this feeling passed quickly and Tanner became more angry than before.
"Alright Mohawk, you tell your bosses that if they don't show up before disembarking time tomorrow, you won't even get to take a crack at Zonagen. If you come in, I'm gonna pretend like you're all something I crapped out last week."
"You gonna stop us? Worm?" The big man asked in a gruff, unforgiving tone. "Looks like the only thing you got is a big mouth."
The big man looked toward the soldiers around them. They had begun to close in, creating a circle around the four arrivals and Tanner. But this didn't shake Seb in the least and he simply cracked a grin and muttered.
"I heard stuff about you. The way you guys operate. You don't fire a shot unless you plan to go all the way. And I ain't talking about boarding a goddamn ship. You and I know, that the only way you're going to go all the way here, is if you land your hands on Zonagen. And you can't do that if your bosses don't get their asses down here now!"
There was a long and eerie pause. The only thing making noise now as the roller blades of the girl. She soon came to a stop to the left of the big man and all of them began to stare at Tanner.
"Ok, back in the limo." The stoic man ordered.
The other three made a reluctant shuffle back towards the car. The soldiers did likewise, and the stoic man simply looked over Tanner thoughtfully.
"You played your cards well. But let us hope you still have a hand left to deal with Sturm and Drang."
With that, they all returned to the limo, and their convoy drove off. Tanner turned around and looked up towards Scratch, shaking his head. He was going to have it his way if it was the last thing he did.
-To be continued...
--Next Chapter: Nightmare Hold