Chapter 5

Path to the Krocomire

            Quothos didn't know how long he had been out. But his nightmares haunted him. He saw the destruction of the last metroid before it could heal Samus, and then the agonizing death of Samus herself. His eyes shot open as he felt sweat pouring off him. He remembered where he was, and that this still wasn't a dream. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and jumped.

            "Hey it's me. It's okay!" He heard Samus say. Quothos' eyes focused further and he saw Samus leaning over him. She had a smile on her face and Quothos relaxed.

            "Ugh. How long have I been out?" He asked. He still felt pain in his side where Kraid's claw had hit him, and his head was still spinning, but the worst of the venom had passed.

            "A while anyway. I got the speed booster like you mentioned, and a few extra weapons to boot, but I can't seem to find this Krocomire you speak of." She said, sitting on a chair.

            "Oh he's hidden deep in Norfair. I'll show you where…" he started to get up but Samus shook her head.

            "Uh uh. No way. You'll tell me how to get there. You're still not fully recovered. Besides, the heat would easily overload your suit, not to mention boil you from the inside out." She said. Quothos could find he had no counter-argument so nodded his head and sat back down.

            "Alright. Here's what you do. Do you have the Ice beam?" he asked. When she shook her head he continued. "Okay just after you enter Norfair, you'll notice a yellow door. Those require you to use a power bomb on them. Blow that open, then use the speed booster to get through." She held up her hand.

            "Okay I'm on my way. You sure you're okay though?" She asked. When he nodded, she exited the ship and made her way back to Norfair. She took the quick route Quothos had mentioned by passing through Crateria and using power bombs. She made her way into Norfair and opened the door in question. Using the speed boost she passed by the closing gates and opened the secret opening only a speed boost can open.

            "Don't go that way just yet. Go through the door and proceed up. You'll find the Ice Beam up there." Quothos said. He was able to see where her relative position was on the map scanner. She acquired the Ice beam and made her way back to the opening. She made her way to a large chasm with ledges further down then she could see. She got the missile pack hidden in the wall and made her way to the bottom. Then, a speed boost later, she was at the door that led to Krocomire's lair.

            "I'm here Quothos. Anything special I should know about this creature?" She asked. But she got no response. "Quothos? Can you hear me?" she asked once more. She got nothing but static. Figuring it was simple interference preventing communication, she opened the door and entered his lair.

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            "Samus can you hear me? You can't physically kill Krocomire! Samus respond!" Quothos said into the comm. system. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't establish contact. He knew that Samus would have difficulty beating Krocomire because all the creatures she fought would die after just so many hits. But the only true way to beat the red beast was to force him back far enough so that he'd fall into the boiling acid. He started looking around and eventually left the ship. He made his way deeper into Brinstar, continually trying to contact her. A few times, the enemies had gotten his energy pretty low, to the point that he could feel the suit start to lose cohesion, but still he pressed on, knowing he had to help her.

*                      *                      *

            "Damn you, why won't you die?" She cursed under her breath. The red behemoth had forced her back to a spiked wall and though she kept filling it with missiles, it only seemed to grow angrier. She was starting to run low on ammunition, and if that ran out, she would be finished.

            "… hear me? ..mus it's m…" her comm. system was crackling to life.

            "Quothos? Is that you?" She asked. She launched a charged beam into the gullet of Krocomire and the beast stumbled back from the shock, but continued to press forward.

            "Samus! Finally! I didn't know if I could proceed much further." He said. "How are you doing?"

            "Not good, I can't kill the damn creature." She said, her breathing heavy and weary.

            "You can't kill him, at least not with your weapons. Keep hitting him with your charged shots. You'll be able to force him backwards." He said.

            "What good will that do?" She asked.

            "Just trust me!" he replied. She had learned that Quothos often knew what he was talking about, at least on this planet. She obeyed, pumping shot after charged shot into Krocomire's open mouth. The creature started to roar in fury, as it couldn't get close to its prey. Samus was growing weary from the battle, but after a few moments she noticed a large bridge with bubbling acid beneath. She pressed the battle with renewed vigor and the beast stepped onto the bridge. It cracked and gave out beneath the huge giants' weight. It toppled over and fell into the acid. With its great mass, it couldn't bring itself out of the acid. Samus watched as the creatures features slowly melted away to reveal the skeleton beneath. She fell backwards, sitting on the ground, her strength temporarily gone.

            "You okay Samus?" He asked, worried. She grinned to herself and nodded.

            "Thanks to you I am." She replied. She managed to stand and looked around. "Now what?" She asked.

            "Make your way back to the spiked wall. There will be an opening shortly." He said. "Oh and don't worry. The Krocomire's skeleton will 'attack' you, but it'll simply fall into a heap when it lands on the ground." She made her way back to the wall and sure enough the wall was thrown apart as the creature fell into a pile of bones. With instructions from Quothos, she collected the grappling beam attachment and made her way back to just outside Krocomire's lair. She tapped her helmet while eyeing the area for enemies.

            "Quothos, can you still here me?" She asked, speaking to the comm. system.

            "Loud and clear Samus. I'm glad you're okay. That Krocomire is quite deadly. Anyways, how's your energy doing?" He asked.

            "I'm a little low, but I still have three energy tanks worth. How come?" She asked. He pointed out the energy tank over the pit of acid back in Krocomire's lair. She collected the tank, then made her way back out of the lair.

            "Hey Samus, you can now make your way back to the surface. Your next objective is up here. It's an old ship that crashed here a long time ago. It's been taken over by the Phantom. Oh and... SON OF A…" his voice was suddenly cut off.

            "Quothos? Are you alright?! What happened?" She called out, but got no response. She opened the map stored internally in her circuits and had it flash across her visor. She could see his suit marker registering not far from her location. Close to the entrance to Norfair no less. She shot out the door above her, and made her way back to the location Quothos should have been. She blazed through the enemies that got in her way, a fury she didn't normally show. She blasted through another doorway and stopped short as she viewed the remains of a corpse as a few creatures feasted on it.