Third POV
The SA-X walked through Sector Six, looking for the Hunter. It had to warn her of the Metroids. Suddenly, a klaxon sounded, and the SA-X realized what was happening. The Hunter had made her way to the Restricted Sector, and was unable to enter. The SA-X began moving towards the Restricted Sector, destroying everything in her path. By the time she reached the Restricted Sector, the klaxon had stopped and the Hunter had passed through here. The SA-X ran faster, and used her speed booster. She soon found herself standing in front of the tank of Metroids, but the Hunter was no where in sight. The SA-X sighed, and a piece of her right foot returned to its X form and slithered into a crack in the floor. The SA-X then proceeded to attack the Metroids. Another klaxon began sounding, and the Metroids began to descend towards the SA-X. The Hunter came in, and the SA-X tried to say something but a Metroid latched onto her helmet and began to crush it first. The Hunter stood there stunned, but then proceeded to Space Jump out of the Restricted Sector as more Metroids latched onto the SA-X. The Metroid that had first latched on floated away, now much larger. It floated out after the Hunter. The SA-X tried to aim her gun arm at it, but another Metroid latched onto that. The Metroid was able to slip out just before the lab detached. The Metroids drained the SA-X entirely, except for that one little bit in the floor. It didn't currently have much intelligence, but it knew to stay where it was. And it waited until the Restricted Sector had detonated before it assumed it was safe.
Ruska's POV
I finished my attack with a kick to the gut of the alien, right where the plating was open, and the soft innards were exposed. He exhaled sharply, and collapsed. I thought about killing him, but I remembered my bet with Samus. I bent down by his head. "You're lucky that I don't simply kill you." I told him. I wiped some the internal fluids off my hands using my jeans, and I stood up. As I walked away, the crowd gathered around the fallen alien. Riina came running down the hall, having heard the commotion.
"What did you do Ruska?" She asked as she came to a stop.
"Nothing. It's not like he's going to die or anything." I said, walking by her.
"Ruska, you can't just go around hurting people. It's against the law." Riina replied.
"So?" I said. Riina sighed in frustration.
"Just stop attacking people, alright?" Riina said.
"Where's the fun in that?" I asked. Riina just sighed again, and began walking back to the ship. I followed her. "Where's your Metroid?" I asked her.
"Most of the Metroids are in the environmental sector of the ship. Two of yours are following Brent around." Riina told me.
Third POV, Ruins of Ridley's ship
The strange boy began walking away from the remains of the ship, and towards Samus's. The guns shifted to aim at him, and a voice sounded out. "Hold it right there." They said.
"Why should I? And who are you?" The boy asked.
"If you move, I will fire. State your identity." The voice ordered.
"You haven't answered my other question yet. How rude." The boy said. A shot rang out, and there was a smoking hole between the boy's feet. "Testy, testy." The boy taunted.
"Answer the question." The voice ordered.
"Fine. My name is Abunai. Now who are you?" The boy said.
"None of your business." The voice replied. A groan from behind the boy caught his attention. He turned around to see Ridley standing up, and pushing rubble off of himself.
"Damn human." Ridley muttered. The sound of more rubble shifting also caught Abunai's attention. Samus was also standing up.
"I'll give him this much. He did more damage than the other one. Of course, the other one used hand to hand combat." Samus said, charging her beam.
"How about we put our fight on hold for a moment, and dispose of this nuisance?" Ridley growled. Samus was about to reply, but Abunai cut her off.
"You two are stronger than I thought; maybe I can use the body of one of you." Abunai said. He dashed forward towards Samus, and she swung her gun arm at him since the beam wasn't done charging. As she hit him, a smile crept across his face. He slammed into a chunk of rubble near Ridley, and he felt one of his ribs crack. He coughed up some blood.
"Maybe he isn't as tough as I thought." Samus remarked, coming closer. Ridley looked at her in confusion.
"All humans are weak without the aid of machines, why would this one be any different?" Ridley asked. Abunai forced himself to his feet.
"Well the other one was much stronger than he should have been. I was worried this one was just as strong." Samus said. Abunai's chest began to become discolored, and soon became a thick, yellow liquid. It then reformed into a normal human chest. Samus immediately aimed her gun at his head. "And this one isn't a normal human either, it's an X parasite." Samus told Ridley.
"Oh no, you found out my secret. I guess I'll have to kill you now." Abunai said.
"What's an X parasite?" Ridley asked.
"A creature that infects and destroys a body as it becomes the body. Only Metroids are immune. I lost my old suit to one of them." Samus said. A grin crept across Ridley's face.
"And I would suggest not using them as a weapon. If they touch you, you can get infected and you'll die." Samus told Ridley. The grin disappeared almost instantly. Abunai mad a move as if he was going to charge Samus again, and she fired. He immediately went back towards Ridley, and grabbed a hold of his tail. The armor on Ridley's tail began to steam as Abunai's cells began to eat through it. He began to immediately began to collect DNA, and Ridley shook his tail to get him off. Abunai went flying. He hit a cliff face, and his spine cracked from the force. He slumped to the ground, and began to laugh. His feet began to turn to their liquid form, and it continued upwards. Soon, he was entirely in liquid form. His cells began to multiply at an exponential rate, and he soon assumed Ridley's shape. The liquid then formed into Ridley's skin, skeleton, and organs. He immediately took flight.
"Thank you for this wonderful form. See you in hell!" Abunai said before flying away.
"Shit!" Samus exclaimed. Ridley inspected his tail for a moment. If Abunai had held on a few seconds longer, he would have drawn blood.
"What's the big deal if he has my DNA, its not like he can go around unnoticed like that. Now shall we resume our battle?" Ridley said.
"He can reproduce asexually. In a day there could be several Ridley- X's flying through space." Samus told him.
"The Federation can hunt them down." Ridley said.
"They created him. They'll try and use him, not destroy them. And if they give him a sample of my DNA, there could end up being several more of me running around in Varia Suits with all my weaponry." Samus replied. That caught Ridley's attention.
"Then how do we stop it?" Ridley asked.
"Weaken it enough to go into it's liquid form, and then I can absorb it." Samus said.
"I thought it would infect you?" Ridley said questioningly.
"I have Metroid DNA in me. It caused this suit to grow from what remained of my Varia suit. I've upgraded it past the Gravity Suit, and I've got all my weaponry and more. Since I have Metroid DNA, I'll be able to use it to restore another ability, or simply heal myself." Samus told him.
"Why wasn't I infected?" Ridley asked.
"He didn't get a chance to enter your body." Samus replied simply. "Adam, do you think you could track him?" Samus asked, turning back to her ship.
"I tried Lady, but he did something to throw me off his trail." Adam replied.
"He's got a tracking system in his blood. Just set your radar frequency down to channel 687" Ridley said.
"Should I Lady?" Adam asked Samus. She nodded.
"And Ridley, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions." Samus said.
"Fine by me, so long as you answer mine." Ridley replied.
Third POV, Salvaging ship
The SA-X grinned as it felt the power surge, and her suit began to change. It changed piece by piece, and the SA-X watched as the status gauge on her head's up display began to go off the wall with the readings it was getting. As soon as her suit finished transforming, she walked forward into the cockpit. She used the scanners to check the area for more ships. There were none. She took a look outside the cockpit, and saw the remains of SR388 and the BSL station. "No. Not my home." She muttered. She felt indescribable sorrow at the sight of SR388. She didn't remember ever being on it, but she had always thought of it as home. She felt that she knew who had done it, and understood their intentions, but it didn't ease the pain. The SA-X looked down at the controls, and began entering her destination.
Ruska's POV
"So what's the name of this planet that we're going to?" I asked from my position on the couch.
"I dunno, Brent hasn't told me yet." Riina replied.
"In other words, Brent hasn't found a place for us yet." I said.
"Yep." Riina replied.
"So explain to me again why I can't hurt people." I said. Riina sighed.
"It's illegal, and you'll be arrested." Riina told me.
"And I care about this, why?" I asked.
"They could sentence you to death if you continue this!" Riina said.
"They don't stand a chance in hell of killing me." I replied.
"They wouldn't go as easy on you as Samus did. They'd try to capture you for tests, and if they fail that, they will go all out against you." Riina said. I just shrugged.
"I'd like to see them try." I replied. "Say, why did you name me Ruska?" I asked.
"It was the name of a pet I had that acted almost like you do." Riina replied. I almost fell off the couch.
"You named me after a pet?!" I asked incredulously. Riina nodded. I sighed in exasperation.
SA-X's POV
I slowed down as I neared my destination, and began to turn the magnetic clamps on. A large ship flew by, and I smiled to myself. I passed by, close enough for the magnetic clamps to latch on. I felt a strange sensation in my gut, as if Metroids were nearby. I dismissed that thought quickly. The Hunter had destroyed them all when she destroyed my home and the space station.
Ruska's POV
The ship shuddered a bit, as if it was dragging something. The Metroids were actively broadcasting their apprehension. "I'm going to go see the Metroids." I said, getting up and walking out of the room. The ship shuttered again, and then a warning klaxon sounded. I ignored it, and continued onward. Three beams of plasma cut through the hull in rapid succession, and then metal booted foot kicked it out.
SA-X's POV
I released my charged Plasma beam at the floor of my small ship. It burned through my ship's hull, and part of the way through the other ship's hull. I fired three uncharged shots in a triangle formation, and then kicked it out. I jumped down to see a human, and the feeling in my gut strengthened. I grabbed him, and threw him over my shoulder into a nearby wall. I stalked up the hallway in the direction he'd be coming from. I came into a larger room that had a girl sitting in her chair. She had a look of surprise plastered on her face as I brought my gun arm to aim at her head. Something slammed into my midsection from the side, causing my shot to go wide. I cast a glance to my side to see what had hit me. I was surprised to see the human boy from earlier.
Ruska's POV
"Go get the Metroids!" I ordered Riina. She stood there for a second before turning around and running towards the environmental area. I turned my full attention to the armored being. The helmet and gun reminded me of Samus, but Samus's suit was almost completely organic. This one was mechanical. The being made a move, and I ducked and rammed my shoulder into their midsection, and they missed hitting me with their gun arm. I smiled; their moves were so much like Samus's that I could easily predict the next move. I pushed them back another foot or so, and then one of my Metroids flew over my shoulder at the being. They swung at it with their fist, and their other arm came up into my gut. The air was expelled from my lungs, and I was knocked flat on my back. My Metroid was frozen, and the being froze the rest of the Metroids. Brent had heard the ruckus, and was just arriving. The being walked over to me. I tried to punch them in the side of the head, but they grabbed my hand and blocked it easily.
"What are you?" They asked. Their voice sounded incredibly similar to Samus's.
"I am what you see." I replied vehemently.
"I see a weak human, but you've fared better than any other human I've seen. Why?" The being asked.
"What is it with that fuggin question!!" I exclaimed.
"Answer me!" The being ordered, bringing their gun to aim at my face.
"If you really want to know, why don't you cut me open, and take a look!" I said.
"I think I will." They replied, pulling a small energy dagger out of a slot near the hip of their suit.
"What are you doing?" Riina asked them.
"Just what he told me to." They replied. One of my Metroids began twitching as it thawed. The being turned the blade on, and inched it towards my throat, right by the main vein. The Metroid twitched more, and began to move. I suddenly felt a piercing sharpness in my neck, and I heard the click of the switch as the being turned the energy blade off. They pulled their gloved hand back which had blood over the palm. It had a strange bioluminescent glow to it. "That definitely isn't human blood." They remarked. They were silent for a moment, and my Metroid began rising up behind them. "You are one fucked up little person." They remarked. My Metroid screeched, and latched itself on their shoulder. They yelled in pain, and rolled up into a literal ball. My Metroid began to suck their energy, and I noticed something odd about their suit. It began to rust and deteriorate as the Metroid absorbed their energy. I stood over them, and looked down at them.
"You wanted to know what I was. Well, I'll be your death." I told them. I never noticed the small bomb.
The SA-X walked through Sector Six, looking for the Hunter. It had to warn her of the Metroids. Suddenly, a klaxon sounded, and the SA-X realized what was happening. The Hunter had made her way to the Restricted Sector, and was unable to enter. The SA-X began moving towards the Restricted Sector, destroying everything in her path. By the time she reached the Restricted Sector, the klaxon had stopped and the Hunter had passed through here. The SA-X ran faster, and used her speed booster. She soon found herself standing in front of the tank of Metroids, but the Hunter was no where in sight. The SA-X sighed, and a piece of her right foot returned to its X form and slithered into a crack in the floor. The SA-X then proceeded to attack the Metroids. Another klaxon began sounding, and the Metroids began to descend towards the SA-X. The Hunter came in, and the SA-X tried to say something but a Metroid latched onto her helmet and began to crush it first. The Hunter stood there stunned, but then proceeded to Space Jump out of the Restricted Sector as more Metroids latched onto the SA-X. The Metroid that had first latched on floated away, now much larger. It floated out after the Hunter. The SA-X tried to aim her gun arm at it, but another Metroid latched onto that. The Metroid was able to slip out just before the lab detached. The Metroids drained the SA-X entirely, except for that one little bit in the floor. It didn't currently have much intelligence, but it knew to stay where it was. And it waited until the Restricted Sector had detonated before it assumed it was safe.
Ruska's POV
I finished my attack with a kick to the gut of the alien, right where the plating was open, and the soft innards were exposed. He exhaled sharply, and collapsed. I thought about killing him, but I remembered my bet with Samus. I bent down by his head. "You're lucky that I don't simply kill you." I told him. I wiped some the internal fluids off my hands using my jeans, and I stood up. As I walked away, the crowd gathered around the fallen alien. Riina came running down the hall, having heard the commotion.
"What did you do Ruska?" She asked as she came to a stop.
"Nothing. It's not like he's going to die or anything." I said, walking by her.
"Ruska, you can't just go around hurting people. It's against the law." Riina replied.
"So?" I said. Riina sighed in frustration.
"Just stop attacking people, alright?" Riina said.
"Where's the fun in that?" I asked. Riina just sighed again, and began walking back to the ship. I followed her. "Where's your Metroid?" I asked her.
"Most of the Metroids are in the environmental sector of the ship. Two of yours are following Brent around." Riina told me.
Third POV, Ruins of Ridley's ship
The strange boy began walking away from the remains of the ship, and towards Samus's. The guns shifted to aim at him, and a voice sounded out. "Hold it right there." They said.
"Why should I? And who are you?" The boy asked.
"If you move, I will fire. State your identity." The voice ordered.
"You haven't answered my other question yet. How rude." The boy said. A shot rang out, and there was a smoking hole between the boy's feet. "Testy, testy." The boy taunted.
"Answer the question." The voice ordered.
"Fine. My name is Abunai. Now who are you?" The boy said.
"None of your business." The voice replied. A groan from behind the boy caught his attention. He turned around to see Ridley standing up, and pushing rubble off of himself.
"Damn human." Ridley muttered. The sound of more rubble shifting also caught Abunai's attention. Samus was also standing up.
"I'll give him this much. He did more damage than the other one. Of course, the other one used hand to hand combat." Samus said, charging her beam.
"How about we put our fight on hold for a moment, and dispose of this nuisance?" Ridley growled. Samus was about to reply, but Abunai cut her off.
"You two are stronger than I thought; maybe I can use the body of one of you." Abunai said. He dashed forward towards Samus, and she swung her gun arm at him since the beam wasn't done charging. As she hit him, a smile crept across his face. He slammed into a chunk of rubble near Ridley, and he felt one of his ribs crack. He coughed up some blood.
"Maybe he isn't as tough as I thought." Samus remarked, coming closer. Ridley looked at her in confusion.
"All humans are weak without the aid of machines, why would this one be any different?" Ridley asked. Abunai forced himself to his feet.
"Well the other one was much stronger than he should have been. I was worried this one was just as strong." Samus said. Abunai's chest began to become discolored, and soon became a thick, yellow liquid. It then reformed into a normal human chest. Samus immediately aimed her gun at his head. "And this one isn't a normal human either, it's an X parasite." Samus told Ridley.
"Oh no, you found out my secret. I guess I'll have to kill you now." Abunai said.
"What's an X parasite?" Ridley asked.
"A creature that infects and destroys a body as it becomes the body. Only Metroids are immune. I lost my old suit to one of them." Samus said. A grin crept across Ridley's face.
"And I would suggest not using them as a weapon. If they touch you, you can get infected and you'll die." Samus told Ridley. The grin disappeared almost instantly. Abunai mad a move as if he was going to charge Samus again, and she fired. He immediately went back towards Ridley, and grabbed a hold of his tail. The armor on Ridley's tail began to steam as Abunai's cells began to eat through it. He began to immediately began to collect DNA, and Ridley shook his tail to get him off. Abunai went flying. He hit a cliff face, and his spine cracked from the force. He slumped to the ground, and began to laugh. His feet began to turn to their liquid form, and it continued upwards. Soon, he was entirely in liquid form. His cells began to multiply at an exponential rate, and he soon assumed Ridley's shape. The liquid then formed into Ridley's skin, skeleton, and organs. He immediately took flight.
"Thank you for this wonderful form. See you in hell!" Abunai said before flying away.
"Shit!" Samus exclaimed. Ridley inspected his tail for a moment. If Abunai had held on a few seconds longer, he would have drawn blood.
"What's the big deal if he has my DNA, its not like he can go around unnoticed like that. Now shall we resume our battle?" Ridley said.
"He can reproduce asexually. In a day there could be several Ridley- X's flying through space." Samus told him.
"The Federation can hunt them down." Ridley said.
"They created him. They'll try and use him, not destroy them. And if they give him a sample of my DNA, there could end up being several more of me running around in Varia Suits with all my weaponry." Samus replied. That caught Ridley's attention.
"Then how do we stop it?" Ridley asked.
"Weaken it enough to go into it's liquid form, and then I can absorb it." Samus said.
"I thought it would infect you?" Ridley said questioningly.
"I have Metroid DNA in me. It caused this suit to grow from what remained of my Varia suit. I've upgraded it past the Gravity Suit, and I've got all my weaponry and more. Since I have Metroid DNA, I'll be able to use it to restore another ability, or simply heal myself." Samus told him.
"Why wasn't I infected?" Ridley asked.
"He didn't get a chance to enter your body." Samus replied simply. "Adam, do you think you could track him?" Samus asked, turning back to her ship.
"I tried Lady, but he did something to throw me off his trail." Adam replied.
"He's got a tracking system in his blood. Just set your radar frequency down to channel 687" Ridley said.
"Should I Lady?" Adam asked Samus. She nodded.
"And Ridley, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions." Samus said.
"Fine by me, so long as you answer mine." Ridley replied.
Third POV, Salvaging ship
The SA-X grinned as it felt the power surge, and her suit began to change. It changed piece by piece, and the SA-X watched as the status gauge on her head's up display began to go off the wall with the readings it was getting. As soon as her suit finished transforming, she walked forward into the cockpit. She used the scanners to check the area for more ships. There were none. She took a look outside the cockpit, and saw the remains of SR388 and the BSL station. "No. Not my home." She muttered. She felt indescribable sorrow at the sight of SR388. She didn't remember ever being on it, but she had always thought of it as home. She felt that she knew who had done it, and understood their intentions, but it didn't ease the pain. The SA-X looked down at the controls, and began entering her destination.
Ruska's POV
"So what's the name of this planet that we're going to?" I asked from my position on the couch.
"I dunno, Brent hasn't told me yet." Riina replied.
"In other words, Brent hasn't found a place for us yet." I said.
"Yep." Riina replied.
"So explain to me again why I can't hurt people." I said. Riina sighed.
"It's illegal, and you'll be arrested." Riina told me.
"And I care about this, why?" I asked.
"They could sentence you to death if you continue this!" Riina said.
"They don't stand a chance in hell of killing me." I replied.
"They wouldn't go as easy on you as Samus did. They'd try to capture you for tests, and if they fail that, they will go all out against you." Riina said. I just shrugged.
"I'd like to see them try." I replied. "Say, why did you name me Ruska?" I asked.
"It was the name of a pet I had that acted almost like you do." Riina replied. I almost fell off the couch.
"You named me after a pet?!" I asked incredulously. Riina nodded. I sighed in exasperation.
SA-X's POV
I slowed down as I neared my destination, and began to turn the magnetic clamps on. A large ship flew by, and I smiled to myself. I passed by, close enough for the magnetic clamps to latch on. I felt a strange sensation in my gut, as if Metroids were nearby. I dismissed that thought quickly. The Hunter had destroyed them all when she destroyed my home and the space station.
Ruska's POV
The ship shuddered a bit, as if it was dragging something. The Metroids were actively broadcasting their apprehension. "I'm going to go see the Metroids." I said, getting up and walking out of the room. The ship shuttered again, and then a warning klaxon sounded. I ignored it, and continued onward. Three beams of plasma cut through the hull in rapid succession, and then metal booted foot kicked it out.
SA-X's POV
I released my charged Plasma beam at the floor of my small ship. It burned through my ship's hull, and part of the way through the other ship's hull. I fired three uncharged shots in a triangle formation, and then kicked it out. I jumped down to see a human, and the feeling in my gut strengthened. I grabbed him, and threw him over my shoulder into a nearby wall. I stalked up the hallway in the direction he'd be coming from. I came into a larger room that had a girl sitting in her chair. She had a look of surprise plastered on her face as I brought my gun arm to aim at her head. Something slammed into my midsection from the side, causing my shot to go wide. I cast a glance to my side to see what had hit me. I was surprised to see the human boy from earlier.
Ruska's POV
"Go get the Metroids!" I ordered Riina. She stood there for a second before turning around and running towards the environmental area. I turned my full attention to the armored being. The helmet and gun reminded me of Samus, but Samus's suit was almost completely organic. This one was mechanical. The being made a move, and I ducked and rammed my shoulder into their midsection, and they missed hitting me with their gun arm. I smiled; their moves were so much like Samus's that I could easily predict the next move. I pushed them back another foot or so, and then one of my Metroids flew over my shoulder at the being. They swung at it with their fist, and their other arm came up into my gut. The air was expelled from my lungs, and I was knocked flat on my back. My Metroid was frozen, and the being froze the rest of the Metroids. Brent had heard the ruckus, and was just arriving. The being walked over to me. I tried to punch them in the side of the head, but they grabbed my hand and blocked it easily.
"What are you?" They asked. Their voice sounded incredibly similar to Samus's.
"I am what you see." I replied vehemently.
"I see a weak human, but you've fared better than any other human I've seen. Why?" The being asked.
"What is it with that fuggin question!!" I exclaimed.
"Answer me!" The being ordered, bringing their gun to aim at my face.
"If you really want to know, why don't you cut me open, and take a look!" I said.
"I think I will." They replied, pulling a small energy dagger out of a slot near the hip of their suit.
"What are you doing?" Riina asked them.
"Just what he told me to." They replied. One of my Metroids began twitching as it thawed. The being turned the blade on, and inched it towards my throat, right by the main vein. The Metroid twitched more, and began to move. I suddenly felt a piercing sharpness in my neck, and I heard the click of the switch as the being turned the energy blade off. They pulled their gloved hand back which had blood over the palm. It had a strange bioluminescent glow to it. "That definitely isn't human blood." They remarked. They were silent for a moment, and my Metroid began rising up behind them. "You are one fucked up little person." They remarked. My Metroid screeched, and latched itself on their shoulder. They yelled in pain, and rolled up into a literal ball. My Metroid began to suck their energy, and I noticed something odd about their suit. It began to rust and deteriorate as the Metroid absorbed their energy. I stood over them, and looked down at them.
"You wanted to know what I was. Well, I'll be your death." I told them. I never noticed the small bomb.